G.N. Chapter 54 (Patreon)

Chapter 54 Heavenward, I Fall

Moving through Old Yharnam ground against one’s calm like a saw. The oppressive sound of the mounted gun raining down its consistent stream of lethal, hot Quicksilver destroyed any chance to recuperate.

It followed Jaune every step of the way; the constant hammering of the projectiles chipping away at the still-standing edifices was an ever-looming threat.

Numerous runs through Old Yharnam had ensured that he would never be able to forget the sound, and it had spawned in him no small amount of animosity.

Perhaps that’s why Jaune made sure to include the damnable weapon in his plans.

He made sure to approach as expected, moving through the burnt remnants of the town and sticking to the shadows of what remained. Any Beast that got in his way was taken apart as efficiently as possible to conserve energy.

Eventually, Jaune reached the point where his plan would be put in motion.

It began simply: finding a suitable position close to the bearded Hunter whilst still retaining more significant elevation. This would play a crucial part in what was to come.

Next, he moved to a specific room in the same building, one that he had died in previously due to a particular object that was stored inside. It would also play a part in what was to come but was to do so in a manner inclusive of the percussive gunfire that stalked him.

Impossible to ignore, terrible in its consistency… and Jaune embraced it.

The dull thunder only stirred his rage.

Jaune carried as much of his arsenal as he felt comfortable wielding, but nothing was as important as the new torch he now carried on his person. His last death had left a lasting impression, but more so the way that the Beasts had reacted so viscerally to the flames… he would be mad not to act on it.

So he found himself a very suitable light source, made of hardier, treated wood to make it more resilient and more applicable as a bludgeoning instrument. The head was still doused in the same pine resin as other torches around Yharnam, but Jaune customised the formula and added a mixture of thickened oil.

All in all, it made the torch heavier but also gave it a far greater chance to set things alight.

For now, though the flame was doused, having a live flame near the large urn he had retrieved from deeper in the building would not do.

Jaune peaked around the wall he was pressed against, casting his eyes upward to exactly where he knew the gunman to be. A second later, he jerked his head back into safety, and a fresh barrage began to rail against his cover. Jaune could feel the vibrations through the burnt stone surface he had pressed his back to, and he let the noise wash over him.

He was close; he almost had it down.

As soon as the rain of fire ceased, Jaune immediately whipped his head back out and lined up his pistol.

…-

He returned to cover as the barrage continued, and Jaune felt triumphant.

He had the timing down.

Jaune reholstered his pistol and stood up, moving to the large clay urn he had gathered earlier. It was full and weighed significantly, but that was just as Jaune planned.

The bullets railed against the wall in a furious staccato, and Jaune waited patiently, his arms tensing in preparation.

He was moving before the bullets finished.

He tugged on the urn, which was packed to the brim. The weight of it caused his fingers to strain as he twisted, bringing the container around in an arc.

He had timed it perfectly.

The urn soared out from behind his cover, careening through the air straight towards its target just as the gunfire halted, but Jaune didn’t have time to watch this.

He was already moving.

From behind his cover, Jaune leapt out into the air, armed and ready to kill, his torch in hand and scraping down the wall as he dropped, igniting.  

He landed with a crash, his legs bending to absorb the shock beneath him as a gluttonous crow bathed him in its innards as he crushed it beneath his Kirk Hammer. His torch batted away another that turned to attack him, the resin-coated head igniting its feathers and causing the rotund avian to screech as it was cooked alive.

Ahead of him, the bearded Hunter had turned to face him; Jaune could only make out his teeth as he snarled at Jaune’s sudden appearance. Above them both, the Gunman was bringing the barrel of his massive gun to point directly at Jaune.

Jaune saw the first flash of a bullet leaving the barrel and charged.

He exploded forward, giving it his all to race toward his quarry, making sure to use as much acceleration as possible to compensate for the considerable weight of the hammer and the other weapons on his person.

Bullets sliced through the air past him, one he felt scrape past his brow to leave a bloody score just over his temple.

Jaune didn’t slow.

The bearded Hunter had brought up their pistol and did not have to concern themselves with as great a distance as the Gunman.

Jaune was charging straight at him.

But he didn’t get to fire as the bearded Hunter finally spotted the giant urn careening straight toward him. He began to dash back, his whole body turning as he lifted an arm, hoping to shield himself.

Jaune didn’t break his stride as bullets continued to fall around him. The Gunman’s shots continued to stray, forcing them to move their massive weapon to track Jaune.

All of this had taken place in the span of few mere moments, actions performed in instants.

But at last, Jaune’s plan reached its culmination.

As he closed in on the bearded Hunter, the trail of bullets followed until, at last, their trajectory met the path of the falling urn.

The urn full of explosive oil.

When Jaune had died in the room full of them, he had not even been aware of what it was that had killed him. His death had been so sudden and so surprising that he hadn’t even realised he was dead until he awoke next to the Lantern at the entrance to Old Yharnam.

This was why Jaune closed his eyes and brought the arm, holding his torch up to shield his face.

The explosion was literally deafening, crashing into Jaune as a wave of physical force and robbing him of his hearing so that the blast seemed bereft of noise. The pain was all-encompassing, swallowing up his whole world. Jaune only endured it by gritting his teeth so hard that he was sure they cracked.  

But he kept charging.

Through the shockwave and into the blooming heat, Jaune powered through, even as his flesh began to redden and blister. But at the feel of the flames washing over him, Jaune dropped his torch and let his free arm fall to his belt, pulling free two Blood Vials simultaneously.

He slammed the two vials into his neck at the same time he opened his eyes.

His world was light, heat, and red, but through it all, he could make out the shape of the bearded Hunter, thrown to the ground and fighting to get back to his feet.

Jaune exited the ball of lingering fire like a demon exiting hell; his flesh reddened, his eyes bloodshot. Cloaked in black and stained in sizzling blood, he wielded a weapon that would be impractical for an ordinary man.

The bearded Huntsman was utterly brutalised; the urn, having exploded almost on top of them, had ravaged their body and left them grounded on the floor, discombobulated and hanging on by a thread. They had managed to struggle up onto their hands and knees; a Blood Vial plunged into their chest, but Jaune was determined not to let them climb any further.

Jaune stomped forward, planting his leg firmly. He reached back and grabbed his hammer with both hands, his face a mask of exertion and wrath. He directed all the force and momentum of his charge into his attack, his hammer barely leaving the ground as he performed a low swing.

The massive stone head of the hammer flew toward the bearded Hunter like an apocalyptic meteor on course to end it all.

The bearded Hunter raised the arm, holding his pistol in a doomed-to-fail attempt to guard against the blow. It accomplished nothing as Jaune’s swing collided, and his arm crumpled, folding back in on itself as he swung his hammer to completion and drove it into Hunter’s chest.

The Old Blood coursing through his foe's veins meant nothing as Jaune’s swing sent the metal-coated head of his weapon deep into their chest. The blow was infused with such force it scooped them off the floor and threw them back with tremendous force.

The bearded Hunter flew back, rolling through the air, blood spewing from their mouth as his crumpled chest forced the contents within to escape his body. Jaune completed his swing, his hammer now hanging over his left shoulder as he watched his Quarry sore through the air in a state that would leave anything else dead before they hit the floor.

But this was a Hunter with the Blood in their veins.

The bearded Hunter slammed into the old rickety wood that lined the shoddy stairs one needed to use to get up onto the courtyard they were standing in. The wood crumpled, the bearded Hunter half hanging over them, his body ravaged, but Jaune saw the arm he hadn’t mutilated move, and that was enough.

Jaune howled as he twisted, stepping forward and swung once more.

But as he did, he triggered the mechanism of his Trick Weapon.

His swing turned the stone head of his hammer into a projectile as the colossal head flew through the air like a stone from a catapult.

The Hunter could do nothing as the massive stone rammed into him and sent his body rocketing down into the soot-stained cobble below.

Out of the Gunman’s range of protection.

Jaune chased after him like a predator, lunging over the broken stairs, leaving the Gunman with no chance to hinder his pursuit. Jaune’s feet hit the cobble at the same time he spotted the Hunter… or what was left of them.

The stone of his hammer lay behind them, blood and viscera having served as a lubricant for it to slide away, leaving a red smear in its wake. The smear led back to Hunter’s prone form; their body cast out on the stones as little more than a bloody mess.

This did not cause Jaune to pause. The sword component of his Kirk Hammer rested on his right shoulder, ready to be brought down swiftly. He marched forward, eyes glued to the bearded Hunter, looking for any hint of danger.

He stood over his foe and found his worries had been for naught.

Their body was still, warped and twisted, nearly beyond recognition, showing that his blows had served to leave them in the mangled form they were in now. Their left arm was folded back in on itself, the flesh having ruptured and torn, leaving it a red, ruptured mess.

Their right had been what the hammer’s head had used as a lubricant to skid the extra distance, and it was thus little more than paste.

Their chest was crumpled with rips jutting out through broken skin, letting blood pool out and drown him in his sanguine red. Looking down, Jaune saw that his hips were twisted at an odd angle, likely evidence of some spinal trauma.

Finally, Jaune met his foe's gaze.

Their eyes were wide and maddened, his left filled with blood that pooled out onto his cheek, the other vibrating in his head as he stared bloody murder up at Jaune. Their mouth was filled with something chunky and red, and Jaune wondered what it had once been before it had been forcefully ejected up his airway.

Jaune had seen enough.

He stepped over the near corpse and moved over to the head of his Kirk Hammer, slotting his sword into the mechanical sheath and feeling the click as the parts locked together. With the Kirk Hammer now whole, he turned back to the gore-covered Hunter, giving the man a calculating look.

He slammed his hammer down on the bearded Hunter’s skull, causing the thing to burst. The heavy weapon didn’t halt until it cracked and dented the stone.

He let the hammer rest there for a moment, no space between the hammer and the floor as pieces of the Hunter’s head dripped off his pants. Jaune let himself breathe and feel the surge of potential that came with the Blood Echoes filling the space left nearly devoid by his preparations.

Jaune relaxed, dragging the hammer to stand next to him as he turned his eyes toward his next destination. From his vantage, he could not see any sign of the Gunman… but he knew he was up there.

Jaune’s eyes trailed down from the roof to the side of the building he now stood facing, his gaze tracing downward, following the path of a ladder bolted to the surface of the building.

The path to the gunman lay open.

As his Kirk Hammer sunk into a pool of mist that grew beneath it, Jaune took satisfaction in the fact that his plan had been so successful.

He had not even needed the torch to ignite the urn.

“One down…” Jaune mumbled, both his hands glossing over serrated weapons as he began to walk down the blood-stained stairs towards the ladder. He rolled his shoulders as he took his first step onto the bottom rung of the ladder, taking a moment to adjust to the extra weight on his person.

Jaune looked up and felt eager.

It was time for some payback.

YVYVYVYVY

Atop the racing fire truck, amongst the few survivors that remained, only Jaune was the one in full command of his faculties. Jaune crawled towards his sisters, his right leg behind him as he moved, bumping painfully along the roof, causing bursts of pain to radiate from the limp end of his limb.

It was nowhere near severe enough to keep Jaune from getting to his siblings.

“Jade! Sky! Look at me, right here,” Jaune spoke hastily, guiding his sisters to meet his gaze, their blue eyes staring into his own. You both need to climb to the front of the truck; now, go quickly!” Jaune ordered, his severe demeanour causing both of them to begin crawling toward the cabin with a stuttering start. Both girls only glanced back once before they went on their way.

“Ayame!” Jaune barked, rolling on his back to face the sobbing teenager. “You need to get to the front of the truck now!”

Ayame ignored him, her teary eyes staring off into the sky as her shoulders shook.

Jaune snarled as he was forced to crawl across the truck to reach her, grasping her shoulder and pulling her around to stop her staring forcefully. “Ayame! Front of the truck! Now!” Jaune shouted in front of her face.

She stared at him, stunned, but Jaune was already moving, crawling to Salmon to check on the Faunus.

Jaune looked him over and was happy to see that other than some nasty knicks and a rather harsh-looking claw mark on one of his furry arms, there were no other apparent external injuries. Jaune was rolling the man over and hooking his arm around his chest when he felt the Faunus stir.

“Argh… w-what hap- Where? Fuck what’s going on,” Salmon asked as he gained more clarity and looked around.

“Still on the truck heading towards the Breach, you took a blow to the head,” Jaune informed him, keeping his head low so he wouldn’t have to shout.

“…Fuck me, how long was I out?”

“Approximately a minute or so,” Jaune answered, tugging the Faunus to the front of the truck; Salmon caught on and began to crawl so as not to be so burdensome.

“Shit, that’s bad, right, like medically, rig-“ Salmon cut himself off and looked around, “Where are the others?”

“Dead,” Jaune answered succinctly.

“Wait, what? Teak, Teak! What happened to Teak? And the Huntress and the manager- what-“

“They’re gone, all of them,” Jaune shook his head, continuing to guide the bear Faunus to the front of their vehicle.

“… But… they were right… fuck,” Salmon finished breathlessly, the man seeming gutted.

Jaune turned back and saw that Ayame was crawling behind him, the younger Faunus shaking as she did her best to stay low, her eyes darting around, searching the sky. Jaune ignored her, satisfied that he wouldn’t have to waste time crawling back to drag her to the front of the truck.

Jaune crawled past Salmon to move towards the driver's side of the cabin. Salmon let out a foul curse as Jaune’s broken ankle was dragged across his line of sight, but Jaune ignored it.

He was ignoring a lot at the moment.

Jaune banged his fist on the roof as he shouted, “Tara!”

“What!”

“You must get us as close to the White Fang convoy as possible! Quickly!” Jaune roared over the rushing wind, wishing he could hop down by the driver's side door, but the task would be too much effort with his ankle broken.

“I thought I was supposed to ‘keep my distance’!”

“That was then! This is now!”

“But why!”

“Because we are going to die! There are only five of us left up here! Your daughter is one of them, so do as I bloody say and drive!” Jaune snapped, slamming his fist down so hard on the roof that it warped.

“Arrastra is dead! We can’t keep fighting the Grimm, and they have Aura users, but we don’t!” Jaune continued, his voice growing in volume. “Grimm are attracted to Aura more than anything else, so either you lure the Grimm to them, or you can listen to your damn daughter die!”

No one spoke following Jaune’s furious rant, and Jaune was mere seconds away from crawling into the driver's seat and taking over the vehicle, but before he could, the fire truck began to accelerate.

“Than-“

A thunderous screech ripped through the air, causing Ayame to scream as she buried her head under her hands. Jade and Sky looked around wildly, trying to spot where the colossal avian might be, but they had little hope.

For his part, Salmon just gripped the truck even tighter, his eyes closed as his lips moved silently.

He was praying.

Jaune’s gut squirmed at the sight, and for the first time that night, he feared he might be sick, but he steeled himself, and instead, he looked up at the night sky.

No stars… clouds, or smoke had formed a blanket obscuring the sky.

The moon was also hidden.

‘That’s a shame; I am quite fond of that broken moon…’ Jaune thought.

He was forced to stop when he heard the sound of massive wings as something flew overhead.

“Jaune…”

He turned to his sister, Sky. She looked at him with teary eyes, and her hair was blowing wildly in the wind, her cap long since lost. Jade’s arm was over her, holding the younger girl close to her side to comfort her.

“… Are we going to die?” Sky asked, her voice practically lost to the wind, but Jaune heard her.

And something in Jaune… writhed.

Jaune got to his knee, leaning over to his sisters and pulling them into a hug, his face buried in the space between their heads. While holding them, he spoke softly but loud enough to be heard over the wind, “Stay safe, stay together… I love you two; take care of each other until I’m back.”

He let them go as he rose to stand. Both girls were looking at him, worry etched on their faces, but Jaune forced himself to ignore it.

Ignore one more thing.

He turned to Salmon; there was no need to be quiet, “Get them out of Bastion, get them somewhere safe… I’ll meet up with you later… or someone from our family will.”

His words were a threat, every syllable a promise, as much an order as a death sentence.

Salmon knew this and nodded.

“I’ll get them out. Don’t keep us waiting, though,” Salmon replied seriously. The sound of wings made another appearance, and a rooftop exploded in dramatic fashion.

Jaune said nothing more. He had no words to share, nothing that would make any difference.

Jaune turned and began to limp.

Despite his broken ankle, despite the fact he was on top of a speeding vehicle… despite the fact that both Jade and Sky were calling out for him… he moved.

He pulled the fire hose he had tied around his waist free. The stretch of sturdy material ending in the hefty metal nozzle found a new home wrapped around his right arm. His left moved to his belt, and he pulled his Challenger free.

He popped it open to be sure and saw inside the single remaining bullet Sky had loaded.

He flicked it closed and continued to limp to the back of the truck.

There were bloodstains on the ruined rear of the vehicle, and Jaune recognised a shoe that belonged to Mr Keppel. The area where Arrastra had been grabbed was bare of blood but horrifically warped as the Nevermore had taken a chunk of the truck when it had abducted her.

Jaune even found a bloody shoe print that belonged to the police officer who had fallen prey to a griffon earlier in their escape.

Then he heard the screech again.

He looked up and saw the soaring monster's red, baleful eyes as it looked down.

Jaune met its gaze.

He met it with hate and rage and bloodthirst.

He met it with the same ferocity he had brought to bear on gods.

The Nevermore couldn’t resist.  

It banked, its left wing dipping as it descended, and the avian Grimm disappeared momentarily as a building separated them.

But when it reappeared, Jaune was there.

Ready.

Waiting.

Watching.

The Grimm gave out a booming call that bounced off the buildings and was loud enough that it echoed in Jaune’s ears for a moment.

He remained unbothered, his stare piercing and unwavering.

The Alpha Nevermore could do nothing else.

It turned, uncaring for the building that its wing cut through in its haste to pursue. Rubble and debris rained behind it as the flying Grimm descended until it was right on the fire truck's tail.

It was eye level with Jaune, a pair of deep blue piercing into four bloody reds.

Jaune brought his left arm up, his Challenger feeling heavy in his grasp, allowing Jaune to feel as if he was wielding another weapon for a moment. Though this was not named for a woman nor bore an intricate design… it was loved all the same.

The Nevermore’s wings left a trail of destruction as it grew closer and closer, its eyes blazing and its beak slightly parted. A foul hiss left its abominable throat as it continued to close in.

Jaune took aim.

Then, with a singular, mighty flap, it caused an explosion of wind strong enough to throw away nearby debris and roll a couple of cars. Its whole body shifted as it gained elevation, its talons raised and poised to snatch Jaune away.

Jaune, without breaking eye contact, pulled the trigger.

The custom-made Dust round exited the barrel of his Challenger with a bloom of fire as it soared through the air like a shooting star. An orange streak as the Dust within became agitated, and the round flew straight and true.

The explosive bullet hit its target, and the staring match between Jaune and the Alpha Nevermore was brought to a swift and forceful end as the round pierced the Nevermore’s uppermost right eyes and exploded.

The bird thing screeched and screamed as black ichor erupted from the obliterated eye socket and splashed onto the street below it. It flapped wildly as it tried to right itself, the flying monster losing elevation so rapidly that it was forced to hop off the road in a bid to keep from crashing.

Its wild flapping left it slowed its gut, dragging on the road at one point as the Nevermore tried desperately to regain control.

Jaune wouldn’t let it.

In one smooth motion, he holstered his Challenger, bent his left leg and tucked his arm back.

And in one agile pounce… Jaune left the fire truck.

In one single leap, Jaune separated from his sisters.

Jaune launched through the air like a flesh and blood missile, his right arm cocked back, a trail of disintegrating Grimm essence trailing him as he travelled. His blow was perfect, practised, instinctive and with the experience of strike performed tens of thousands of times, Jaune lashed out.

His right arm punched into the ruined eye of the Nevermore, unleashing a fresh deluge of Grimm essence that splashed over his front as his limb dug deeper. Jaune felt his feet hit the floor, his broken ankle sending a flash of agony racing up his leg as it was violently dragged across the road.

Jaune kicked off the asphalt with his good foot, snarling as he swung his left leg up and savagely kicked it into the lower eye.

The Nevermore’s pained screams somehow became louder, and Jaune was positive his ears would ring when it ended.

Jaune heaved himself up, utilising the lower eye socket for purchase, sinking his arm deeper into the pulverised optical organ.

This was enough to prompt retaliation from the massive Grimm.

The Nevermore began to ascend, its massive wings allowing it to climb rapidly and leave the ground but a distant sight. Jaune was torn between burying his fist into the deepest reaches of the Nevermore’s skull and holding on for dear life.

Jaune kicked and snarled, twisting his arm about as he tried to inflict as much hurt as possible on this soulless monster. Grimm's ‘blood’ nearly covered every inch of him, the odd substance leaving him looking as if he had been affected by an oil slick.

Then, there was light.

Jaune looked back to see what could cause this sudden illumination and found himself staring up at Remnant’s shattered moon. The heavens were littered with stars and cosmic dust visible in the vast black sky as the light below remained trapped beneath an oppressive layer of smoke and cloud.

Jaune resisted the urge to reach out and try to touch it all.

He didn’t have long to stare at the infinite expanse as the confusing sensation of weightlessness beset him. Jaune turned away from the heavens and saw below a sea of clouds.

A sea that was rapidly approaching.

The Nevermore was diving.

Jaune redoubled his efforts, jamming the metal nozzle of the fire hose into the Grimm’s eye while his good foot kicked and stamped on the lower eye. His left hand was clutched fiercely against the monstrous bird’s beak, and his right leg was doing little more than kneeing the black feathered flesh below the Grimm’s ‘blood’ stained mask.

They plunged into the clouds, Jaune’s sight robbed as they rushed through the cold, moist layer.

Then they were back above Bastion.

The sound of the wind had been bad on the back of the fire truck, but now it was a roar only surpassed by the horrid screeching of the Grimm he was doing his best to slay.

Jaune met its screams with his own.

They fell, Grimm and Slayer, Monster and Killer, Beast and Hunter.

Jaune's blood-slicked fingers slipped.

Jaune flew back, his shoulder blade slamming into the Nevermore’s horn as the Beast continued to descend, and the wind pulled him away.

Then he was jolted to a stop, the fire hose wrapped about his arm, stopping him as the nozzle became jammed in the mauled eye socket.

Jaune slammed into the Grimm’s back and latched on with claw and tooth, going so far as to bite onto the feathers on the Grimm’s back to stay attached. The Nevermore’s head was jerked back, and Jaune felt their descent slow.

An idea was born.

Jaune tugged back on the hose ever harder, and the Nevermore was forced to adjust, granting Jaune some allowance as he began to crawl up the Grimm’s back. Jaune had only made it as far as the monster's wing when it started to bank slowly.

Jaune looked on as the abandoned district of Bastion was revealed to him in all its aerial clarity. He could see buildings engulfed in flames, the towering structures like pillars of fire raging against the night.

He could see the inner wall in the distance, illuminated by flares and gunfire. Bullets lit up the sky in speckled trails that raced into the air in streams that crossed and swayed. He could make out the faintest hints of the horde that clawed and bayed at the base of the wall, struggling against its defences.

But that’s not where his eyes stayed.

Jaune looked for the Breach.

It was not hard to see. It was a massive crater where an unobstructed wall should have encircled the city's limit. Jaune’s eyes rapidly traced back from the Breach, desperate to spot some sign of the fire truck his sisters were on.

Its bright red colouration aided him, and Jaune felt his blood turn to ice.

Grimm were closing on it; the convoy to the front was taking up the entire street, making it impossible for them to pass.

The Grimm were going to overtake them.

Ice turned to fire.

Jaune climbed higher until his left leg was positioned above the Grimm’s wing; his body hugged the side of the Grimm as he waited for the right moment.

Then he struck.

Jaune released his hold on the monster's feathers and let his good leg slam down onto the front of the Grimm’s wings, the fire hose jerking violently to the side, causing a fresh spray of gore to eject from the ruined socket.

The Nevermore was forced to bank and drop rapidly, and Jaune came off its back momentarily as it fell. But just as Jaune knew it would, the avian Grimm caught itself, and Jaune was once more clutching to its back.

But the Grimm was already too low.

Jaune braced as the Nevermore slammed into the ground or, more accurately, slammed into the slowly building horde of Grimm chasing his sister’s ride. Jaune listened as everything beneath the giant flying Grimm was ground and crushed beneath its mass.

The Nevermore screamed and flapped, and they flew again. Jaune looked up and spotted the fire truck with ease. Behind it was now clear of the pursuing Grimm as Jaune’s impromptu attack had left them broken and scattered. On the truck he could just barely make out some huddled figures.

He saw his sisters.

Saw Jade point at him, Sky following finger to look towards him.

Then they were gone, a building concealing them as the Nevermore climbed.

But Jaune wasn’t done yet.

The Grimm would re-converge, and his sisters would be in jeopardy again unless they could leave the city.

So that meant Jaune needed to clear the way.

This did not take nearly as much ‘encouragement’ as Jaune pressed down on the wing only to find the Grimm already turning. Jaune smiled viciously as he realised the Grimm was bearing down on the centre of the White Fang convoy.

Jaune relaxed the pressure he was putting on the fire hose and let the Grimm go.

A monster to kill monsters.

Jaune dropped his total weight onto the wing as the Nevermore reached its lowest point again, forcing the thing to grind along the road, ensuring Jaune would reap the maximum amount of devastation. Jaune ducked his head as an entire armoured vehicle rolled over the top of the Grimm’s head to be thrown into a nearby building.

He only looked up when the sound of calamitous destruction ceased, his head immediately turning about to see if the wild swoop had worked.

It had.

The armoured convoy was in utter disarray, and Tara had taken the queue to speed past them, racing up the centre of the road and gunning it for the Breach as fast as she could go. Jaune would have watched longer but was forced to stop as the Nevermore whipped around, tugging on the fire hose.

Jaune stood no chance of retaining his hold on its body and was whipped out and around like a yoyo on a string in the hands of a furious toddler.

He swung uncontrollably until he crashed into the other side of the Nevermore’s body.

Winded, he latched on and gave a retaliatory tug on the hose, causing the Grimm to scream in pain as its head turned into the pull.

This had the unintended consequence of letting Jaune see the Breach again.

His stomach dropped as terrifying realisation settled on his shoulders.

The crater… it was too deep.

Jaune knew what needed to be done.

“One more! Give me one more!” Jaune screamed, pulling his leg up and planting it into the bottom left eye. The upper one was looking right at him, and Jaune kneed it violently as he tugged on the hose, retaking the reign of the Grimm.

It was too much.

The hose came loose.

Jaune let go of it as soon as the tension disappeared, the makeshift weapon disappearing as it was taken by the wind and swallowed by the darkness of the night.

The fingers on his left hand became as claws.

Jaune performed his second Visceral Strike against the Alpha Nevermore.

His left arm pierced into the giant flying Grimm’s lower eye, going in until just below his elbow.

The Nevermore screamed.

Jaune screamed back.

He felt the thing blink, its eyelid shutting on his arm. He caught a face full of inky black fluid as his right arm grasped about wildly for something to hold onto. He didn’t find it but cast such thoughts away as he remembered what was at stake.

Jaune swung his lower body up and slammed his left leg into the Nevermore’s chin, behind its beak.

His back strained as he pulled, his left arm taught as he did everything in his power to draw on the Nevermore’s eye.

It worked.

They were falling again, Jaune struggling to breathe as they descended. His eyes were watery as he powered through the rushing wind to find his target.

Given his current situation, he couldn’t hope to fill such a colossal crater or build a bridge for the truck.

But he could clear a path.

Jaune’s target was near the crater, one of the entry passages, large enough to allow multiple massive loads through at once.

It was half intact.

One of its massive doors had collapsed into the crater along with the ground beneath it. The other remained intact but closed, an obstacle sealing off his sister's escape. Caring not for the risks, Jaune’s plane was simple but extremely dangerous.

He was going to use the Alpha Nevermore to open the path.

Looking through tears, Jaune continued to zero in on the target; the Nevermore, however, was beginning to fight against him, seeing the rapidly approaching ground.

But Jaune wouldn’t let it.

Jaune clenched his right hand about his left wrist and pulled so that he was now all but crouched upside down on the Nevermore’s jaw.

Jaune held his breath; they were falling so fast he could no longer aim them with a great deal of accuracy.

So he stopped trying.

Jaune finally relented, pressing himself against the Nevermore’s face as tightly as possible and braced for the coming impact.

He was not disappointed.

The Nevermore turned with everything it had; still, it was not enough as it crashed into the half gate with the sound of wrenching metal and breaking flesh. Jaune felt something slam into his head but grit his teeth as he worked through the pain and dizziness, putting his all into staying as tiny a target as possible.

Jaune felt the monstrous bird scrape along the ground again, but once more, to his immense surprise, it managed to recover and shakily returned to the air.

Jaune tried to look back to see if his ploy had worked, but that was out of the question as the Nevermore might have been flying, but there was no precision in the act. The monstrous bird flew, but it was turning, its wings flapping unevenly, as its head began to shake, a massive crack on its bone-white mask leaking more of its pitch-coloured essence.

Jaune held on for dear life, his thoughts torn between trying to think of a way out of his current situation and hoping that his sisters were safe and that his plan had worked.

They were gaining speed, the Nevermore performing a roll in midair, the force of its acrobatics causing Jaune to groan in exertion as he struggled to remain clinging to its side.

A struggle he nearly lost as the Nevermore slammed into something.

Jaune looked up and around, seeing the dust and glass flicker off the Nevermore’s feathers as it flew away from the gouge it had left in the side of the towering building it had cut through.

Jaune turned about wildly, looking for anything he could use to orientate himself, but despite his efforts, he was as lost as the Nevermore seemed to be. He was shortly after swallowed in a plume of smoke as the Nevermore soared above a blazing fire, and Jaune was left coughing desperately as he tried to clear his lungs.

Upon clearing the plume of smoke, Jaune tried to scope out his surroundings again, but the Nevermore must have felt him move as its whole body shifted in response to his fidgeting.

Jaune was not going to sit back and let that come to pass. With a violent heave, he pulled himself up and plunged his left arm deeper into the Grimm’s savaged eye, twisting the limb as it clawed into the organ, hoping to make the Gimm stop.

It did not stop.

The Grimm let out a wet, bubbly hacking noise like a failed scream, its massive beak open as its oil-like ‘blood’ spewed out. Jaune could only cling as it turned over, its enormous wings span stretched out vertically.

Jaune was so disorientated he nearly didn’t see the approaching building.

Hunter and Grimm slammed into the building. Jaune’s body was forcefully shoved through glass and plaster and piping as the Nevermore’s body pushed him unrelentingly. Jaune could do nothing; his body was merely along for the ride as the Grimm ploughed through the multistory structure with abandon.

When he was finally cleared of the building, Jaune was in the worst state he had been in all night. Blood gushed from multiple lacerations all over his body; his left arm was broken and dislocated, and Jaune was left hanging limply from the Nevermore’s ravaged eye. He was very likely concussed and was suffering from a myriad of less prominent internal injuries and minor fractures.

He also lost his left boot.

But all this meant was that Jaune was unprepared for the following building.

YVYVYVYVY

His ears rang painfully.

Breathing hurt, and his lungs felt restricted.

It was a battle to open his eyes.

They stung at first; he had to blink them several times before his vision finally cleared and the irritation lessened.

When it did, and he could see, he was presented with the sight of the Nevermore’s thrashing head, its marred mask swinging to and fro.

He watched silently, unmoving, as it continued its erratic actions.

At last, though, the colossal Grimm succeeded in what it was trying to do, its head pulling back as it managed to become unstuck from the building it had crashed into.

Jaune watched as one of its remaining glowing crimson eyes glared back inside.

The Nevermore let out a gargled squawk as it leaned back and fell off the side of the building. Jaune watched it fly away unsteadily, its wings beating in a manner that was still not even. However, now he had more of a clue why that might be the case.

Its underside was devastated, and it was missing a leg.

Jaune had brought it to the brink of death.

Jaune’s head fell.

It had returned the favour.

Jaune lifted his right arm and let it fall limply atop the massive pipe that jutted out of his guts.

“Well… that’s… unfortunate…” Jaune wheezed.

He had to physically restrain himself from reaching for his belt.

There was no salvation there.

Jaune looked around the room, searching for something…

Anything…

But there was nothing.

Nothing but rubble and ruin and blood.

So much blood.

His blood.

He moved his hand along the top of the pipe, more of his blood smearing the metallic cylinder as his hand moved across its disfigured surface. His fingertips slid along the edge that had pierced through his back.

They curled around it.

He tried to pull himself forward.

Jaune didn’t so much as budge… he was spent.

But he kept pulling.

He achieved nothing more than filling his airway with a fresh smattering of blood that happily came out his nose in a choked snort.

Jaune coughed, his mouth filling with more blood.

But still, he pulled.

Jaune groaned as he gave it his all, his hand shaking from the strain.

He moved an inch.

Blood he didn’t even know he had spewed out of his mouth and nose; it pooled down his back and spilt over the floor.

Jaune, his vision blurring, looked at it all…

He hadn’t seen blood like this…

“So much… heh… hehe,” Jaune laughed wetly.

It was a weak, broken thing that slipped from his mouth like a death rattle.

“It’s like I never left…” Jaune hissed, the noise being all he could generate.

Jaune blinked furiously, “Stay… awake… have to… can’t keep it up…”

“When… when did death… start to feel… like sleep…” Jaune cursed, blood dribbling from his mouth as his lips refused to obey his commands.

“Hunter… free of dreams!” Jaune growled, slamming his fist against the pipe in defiance.

“Free of nightmares!” Jaune shouted quietly.

It was useless.

With the last of his strength, Jaune lifted his arm to his collar.

He didn’t even need to pull for it to tear away; the shirt, little more than a blood-soaked rag, shredded and stained, came off his chest with the added weight of his grip alone.

Jaune’s chin dropped to his chest… the muscles in his neck were too weak to hold it aloft any more.

But that was fine.

The room he was in was practically pitch black. Only the light from the world outside creeping in through the massive ruined hole gave the barest illusion of visibility.

But it didn’t matter.

He could see it all the same.

His family crest.

Jaune brought his shaking hand up and laid it on his heart.

Right over the crest.

“… Not this time…” Jaune tried to mumble, but the words didn’t even come out cohesively.

But they didn’t have to with no one to hear.

“… Am… Jaune… Adamant… Arc… And I… I…”

Jaune closed his eyes.

“… Know… my… name…”

Jaune rasped.

“… Guess… my turn… to rest a while…”

Jaune forced his eyes open.

He couldn’t see.

“Girls… stay saf-”

“…”

…

…

..

.