Escalation 006 (Patreon)

Their task was a simple one.

Periodically, the Emerald Forest heaved with increased Grimm activity. Being so close to the city of Vale, it was no surprise. Anywhere you have a high concentration of people, Grimm were sure to gather. They were attracted to negative emotion, after all. Life in Vale was good, for the most part, but life was filled with pain, loss and sadness just as much as joy, jubilation and happiness. It would be a heady meal for those dark creatures, should they ever breach their defenses. Luckily for the people, Vale was built in an advantageous position, protected by the lay of the land just as much as man made walls. They would not be breached easily, not without help like the case had been before the Vytal Festival. The more intelligent Grimm didn’t even bother trying, knowing it was sure death to attempt an incursion.

The less intelligent Grimm? Well, they gathered where they could. Forever Fall, the Emerald Forest – and then they would try to advance in a mindless frenzy. They would fail, even in truly massive numbers, but the situation presented an opportunity for the students of Beacon Academy to garner experience close to home.

Their task? Extermination.

The bullhead engines roared as they hovered just above the canopy, the ramp lowering and revealing the bright green leaves the forest was known for. Weiss double-checked her weapon, Myrtenaster. Red, blue, yellow, white – she spun the dust chamber, inspecting the cartridges, ensuring they were all locked and ready. Satisfied, she snapped it shut and held the rapier aloft, eying the slender blade along its length. Needle straight, she twirled it expertly before clipping it to her belt, ready.

Around her, her friend’s similarly checked their weapons. Blake loaded ammunition into a magazine before holstering her weapon while Nora inspected her belt of grenades. Yang tested the mecha-shifting quality of her gauntlets, deploying them and retracting them constantly. Ruby slipped heavy duty sniper rounds into her belt, face calm as they prepared to jump.

Weiss found her eyes wandering to Jaune – and to Pyrrha.

Jaune stood motionless as his partner checked the straps of his armor, her hands ghosting across his shoulders, down his arms and around his back and chest. They were standing close together, almost flush and Weiss couldn’t help but acknowledge that the scene looked intimate. While Jaune looked at ease, his eyes closed and breathing controlled, Pyrrha’s emerald eyes were fierce and full of fire as she completed her assessment. Weiss saw the way her fingers lingered here and there, saw the quirk of her lips as she whispered something only they knew.

Weiss wanted to step over and break the moment, but doubt stayed her hand. She had been watching them carefully, ever since that day and more and more, her initial assessment of the situation was being torn to shreds. She had believed Jaune had been the aggressor, had held something over Pyrrha to force her compliance in his perverted games – but now, Weiss wasn’t so sure. The longer she watched, the more she began to truly understand.

It wasn’t Pyrrha that was in danger.

Jaune jumped as a hand briefly rested on his ass, blue eyes opening as he turned his head to face his partner in question. Pyrrha simply smiled, as if oblivious.

No – it was Jaune that was in danger.

At first, Weiss didn’t dare believe it. She still didn’t want to. There was no way. Pyrrha was an upstanding young woman of such talent and conviction, of such beauty. She could have anyone she desired, anyone at all. Men more handsome, men of greater status and wealth, stronger men that could one day stand as her equal.

Jaune was none of these things.

Weiss frowned.

There she went again, being unkind.

Weiss had spent more time with Jaune recently than all the previous weeks of their first year combined. They had studied together, eaten together, learned alongside one another and helped each other with their school work. They had even spent an afternoon or two together, doing not much at all. Simply enjoying each other's company – and wasn’t that a shock to realize, but enjoy his company she did. He was surprisingly witty, at times; funny. He made her laugh, roll her eyes, forget herself. He was also a lot more intelligent than she ever gave him credit for with a mind for tactics and strategy that had frankly astonished her.

He was also a good person.

Jaune was kind and warm, and now that he wasn’t tripping over his own feet to impress her, Weiss could see all these things and more. He treated her like he treated Ruby, Blake and the others. She wasn’t special. Perhaps some of his affection remained. She wasn’t so blind as to not see the care in his eyes that he showed no one else, but she was now just a friend and it was freeing, knowing that he had no ulterior motive. She wasn’t an object for him to obtain. His actions with Neptune and his attitude now solidified what she had begun to notice before, but had been too stubborn to accept.

Jaune Arc was a good man.

He was a worthy man.

Perhaps he wasn’t rich and his family weren’t considered elite, yet the stories he told of them made her realize that such things mattered little. This was something she already knew but sometimes her upbringing blinded her, made her forget. Her own family was a mess and no amount of wealth or status could change that, and she would give all that up for just a fraction of the warmth that Jaune held when he spoke of his siblings, of his parents.

As for strength, Jaune was improving constantly. Weiss witnessed this in Combat Class, and had seen with her own eyes that very day as he sparred with his partner that he had come so far in such a short amount of time. She had been watching them train far longer than they realized, having found them relatively quickly. She had only stepped in when she had seen the signs, her stomach twisted in knots. Professor Goodwitch’s task had been the last thing on her mind.

As for there being more handsome men? Well, there were.

But that did not mean Jaune wasn’t incredibly attractive in his own right. Those boyish looks had been refined into a much more chiseled visage. He had always been cute. She even thought so the first time she laid eyes on him, tall and scraggly as he was. But now? He looked like a man. It wasn’t just his face, either – but his body.

Weiss clamped down on that thought instantly, destroying it. The bullhead chose that moment to rattle as it lowered further and they lined up, ready to disembark.

She shouldn’t be thinking these things. They were to be friends. Hadn’t she already made it clear to him that she wished for nothing else? They were closer now because she wished to make it up to him. He had shown her a great deal of loyalty at the Beacon dance. It was time to repay that, that was all.

He wasn’t a pervert. He wasn’t forcing his partner. Her overactive imagination had gotten the better of her. Jaune was the decent man she now knew him to be.

It was Jaune she needed to save now.

Pyrrha was the culprit.

Weiss watched as Ruby jumped first, followed by Yang, Nora and then Ren. Weiss followed after, stepping off the ramp into free fall. Her stomach swooped as gravity took hold momentarily but then her feet touched upon a summoned glyph and she tiptoed her way down to the forest floor on a staircase of her own making. Blake sailed by, raven hair streaming out behind her as she swung with her ribbon. By the time Weiss reached the ground, Pyrrha appeared through the branches and leaves, kicking off the sturdy trunks with supreme ease.

Jaune hit the ground like a meteorite.

Ruby giggled. “You really need to work on a landing strategy.”

Jaune huffed as he rose from his crouch, unharmed. His large pool of aura had protected him completely from the force of landing like an uncoordinated stone. “You aren’t kidding.”

“Nah, sis – don’t you see it?” Yang grinned. “That is totally a superhero landing. Next time you should have your shield out, it’ll add to the vibe for sure.”

Jaune grimaced as Nora joined Ruby in laughing. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ren pulled out his scroll, “I believe we should get moving. We don’t want the two groups to become one.”

Weiss nodded. It was the sensible course of action. Ren was, as ever, the voice of reason. Reports had shown that two large concentrations of Grimm had formed, several miles apart. While the larger group was stationary, the second mass was slowly making its way to join with them. Letting them join forces was unwise and would make their mission much harder, and so the plan was to destroy the smaller, mobile group first before moving onto the rest.

It had been a long time since the eight of them had worked together in such a fashion. Not since the failed attempt at taking Vale and Beacon by the White Fang and the mysterious woman, Cinder Fall, had they all fought alongside one another. A single squad was typically enough for any mission assigned to a first-year team.

Weiss felt a little nostalgic despite herself. That had been a horrible time and many of them had nearly lost their lives. If not for Headmaster Ozpin cutting off the head of the snake, so to speak, things may have gone a lot worse.

“Right,” Ruby nodded, all business. “Let’s get moving. Blake, Ren – scout ahead, wide sweep. Pyrrha, you are with me in the rear.”

Everyone moved without a word, getting into position and setting out. Weiss found herself beside Jaune while Nora took point with Yang lagging behind them by a few steps. Glancing to the side, she met Jaune’s eyes and smiled. He smiled back.

She did her best to ignore the way her stomach trembled at the sight.

In this part of the forest, the terrain was mostly flat, though the trees were dense and made fast movement difficult. Ancient pines and oaks dominated their surroundings, the soil damp and soft with fallen pine needles and moss. The longer they traveled the quieter the forest became. Where once you could near the sounds of nature all around them, the nearer they approached the Grimm, they vanished upon the wind as if they never existed in the first place. The chirping of birds, the scuttling of squirrels and the overwhelming song of insects, all silenced.

They knew then that they were close.

“Grimm sighted,” Blake spoke through their earpieces, voice a whisper. “There are...a lot.”

“Mostly ground-based Grimm,” Ren continued. “Beowolves, Ursa, Boarbatusk – I cannot see any Nevermore with them.”

“Deathstalker,” Blake suddenly hissed. “Big.”

“How big?” Yang asked.

“Bigger than initiation,” Blake returned instantly, sounding alarmed. “Much bigger.”

Weiss frowned. Nora glanced back at her and Jaune, eyebrows raised in disbelief. Jaune raised a fist and they all came to a stop instantly. Ruby and Pyrrha appeared from the trees, their rifles in hand.

“Keep an eye on them,” Jaune ordered. “We’ll be there in a moment.”

“Roger,” Ren and Blake replied simultaneously.

“We need to deal with the Deathstalker first,” Ruby said. Jaune nodded.

“You’re right. We can’t fight the others with such a Grimm at our backs. We know how dangerous such a Deathstalker can be,” Jaune turned to her. “Weiss, you’ll be the key.”

Weiss blinked, taken aback. “Me?”

“We will need to strike hard and strike fast, before it knows what is happening,” he continued. “We will have one shot at taking it by surprise and this is where you come in. That Deathstalker cannot be allowed to move. Understand?”

“You want me to immobilize it.”

“I do. If it is as big as Blake says it is, you’ll have to use all of the ice dust you have on you. I want you to freeze it in place, capture its legs and tail if you are able. Ruby, Pyrrha – disable its eyes, remove its vision.”

“Got it,” Pyrrha answered.

“How are we going to penetrate its armor?” Yang asked.

Nora’s face lit up. “Oh, oh – the tail thing again?”

Jaune shook his head. “That will take too much time. Weiss, after you freeze it in place, are you able to make something sharp underneath it? Big enough to skewer it?”

Weiss nodded. “I can. If I use ice dust to hold it, I can use earth dust to create a spike to erupt under it.”

“Perfect. Once that is done – Nora, smash it with everything you have.”

Nora’s smile was feral as she pulled a cartridge from her pocket and Weiss was surprised to see that it contained lightning dust. “Got it, leader-man.”

“After that, we kill everything that moves,” Jaune finished. “Yang, while they deal with the Deathstalker, we’ll engage the other Grimm along with Ren and Blake. Stick with me.”

Yang pumped her fists. “No worries. I won’t leave your side.”

Resolve flowed through her veins as Jaune motioned for them to advance. The Headmaster had been correct in making Ruby and Jaune their leaders. He had seen their true qualities far before Weiss had and it no longer stung to admit that he had been one hundred percent correct in his choices.

She would follow Ruby anywhere – and she would follow Jaune, too, if he so asked. Weiss would have found that unthinkable, not so long ago.

She moved ahead of everyone else, readying her blade and rotating the chamber in her sword until it rested on ice. This plan relied on her and she wasn’t going to let her friends down. Passing by rapidly thinning trees, they shot clear of the forest and into a clearing and were met by a sea of black and white. There was a moment of hesitation as they thundered forward, the Grimm taken aback at their sudden appearance – then the air was filled with roars, malicious red eyes burning with hatred.

“Weiss, go!” Jaune shouted and she shot from the ground with the assistance of the glyph, launching herself far above the roiling mass of monstrous flesh beneath. She quickly spotted the Deathstalker and felt her heart freeze in shock. Blake had mentioned its size but seeing it with her own two eyes filled her with a primal terror that only the Grimm could evoke.

Built like a tank with a body covered in white bone several inches thick and marked with those unknowable red etchings, she could see instantly that it differed from the Grimm they had killed during initiation. While the previous Deathstalker had thin black legs unprotected by armor, this one had several plates of bone protecting them from harm. Its tail was much longer with an even larger stinger, bright red instead of orange and dripping thick, syrupy venom upon its own carapace.

They needed to kill it – and kill it now!

Thrusting her rapier, she pulled the trigger and watched as ice dust lanced from the tip of her weapon and struck the massive Grimm before it realized what was happening. Several smaller Grimm clustered around it were flash-frozen instantly, completely consumed, while the ice entombed its legs in several feet of solid ice. It screeched horribly and attempted to wrench itself free. The ice shuddered and cracked, but held – but it wouldn’t be long before it escaped. It was much stronger than she had hoped.

She had also failed to capture its tail in the blast.

“The tail is still free,” she shouted, landing in a crouch. Before any Grimm could try and attack, Yang barreled through with pistoning fists, their flesh torn asunder as dust shells were blasted into their bodies. Jaune followed close behind, sword flashing as he cut down any stragglers.

The Deathstalker heaved again before recoiling in pain, screaming as Ruby and Pyrrha did their best to blind it. Blood and ichor exploded from its mask as it attempted to shield its face behind its massive pincers and Weiss quickly shifted her dust chamber to earth. Giving her sword a flourish, she pulled the trigger and nodded in satisfaction as a spike of dirt and stone punched through the underside of the Grimm.

“Now!” she called.

“Woohoo!” Nora screamed in jubilation, already in the air. Weiss watched with awe as lightning surged from her body, streaking off into the air behind her as she swung Magnhild far back above her head. Her body was a perfect arch, the tips of her boots almost touching the shaft of her war hammer before she brought it down with all of her considerable might.

In a final attempt, the Deathstalker lashed out with its tail but it was too slow. The head of her hammer crashed into its back with a deafening crack, the bone splintering but ultimately withstanding the incredible force of her attack – that was until its body was forced down, and the spire of earth erupted through its belly and back, spearing it completely.

Nora whooped as she spun away, the Deathstalker screeching as it thrashed until its dying breath, its tail flopping down as it became still in death.

“Hell yeah~!” Nora cheered – before swinging her hammer around and pulverizing a sneaky Beowolf. It was reduced to a fine red mist. “All fall before my mighty hammer~!”

Weiss tried to suppress it but couldn’t, a very unlady-like snort passing her lips. Covering her mouth, she looked around to confirm that no one had noticed her slip before remembering they were in the midst of a literal horde of Grimm.

Weiss shook her head at her silliness. “Deathstalker down,” she spoke, knowing they would hear her through their communication devices.

“Alright~!” Yang called out, grunting as she smashed aside a particularly ornery Boarbatusk. It slammed into a tree in a shower of splinters, snapping upon the trunk. “Exterminating time!”

“Did you just snort?” Ruby questioned with her usual innocence and Weiss paled. They’d heard it!

“I did no such thing,” she snapped, twirling and stabbing a Beowolf in the throat with a precise jab. It gurgled wetly as she wrenched her blade free and spun away, repeating the action a second and third time, laying them to waste. “You heard nothing.”

“I heard a snort,” Blake chimed in.

“Same,” Pyrrha added and Weiss scowled. They were all ganging up on her.

“You all have bad hearing.”

“I have four ears,” Blake pointed out.

“Four bad ears,” Weiss returned viciously. “Now shut up and kill Grimm.”

She ignored the laughter that filled her ear and took out her frustrations on a large Ursa, slashing open its throat before driving the tip of her sword through its eye. Hot blood splashed across her face and white dress but she was unconcerned. In a few moments, it began to flake away in a black smoke until nothing remained, leaving her appearance as pristine as usual.

That was perhaps the one thing she liked about Grimm, if there was anything to like about them at all. They didn’t leave behind a mess when you killed them.

In the distance, she could hear the popping gunfire of Ren’s automatic pistols. Blake spun through the air above them, her weapon scything through the air as she swung it around like a whip. The ground beneath their feet rumbled before a serpentine Grimm erupted in a shower of soil, the King Taijitu hissing menacingly. Swiveling around to strike, it recoiled as the edge of a red and bronze shield slammed into its nose, gouging out a pound of flesh. Roaring, it was completely defenseless as Ruby blew by in a stream of rose petals, Crescent Rose flashing. The decapitated head hit the ground with a crash, blood splashing across the battlefield as the headless body flailed.

It wasn’t dead, though. King Taijitu had two heads.

It was trapped as it was, though, its surviving head still underground. Nora cackled as she smacked a Grimm into the sky before collapsing her weapon down into its grenade launcher form. Aiming at the flailing snake Grimm, she fired two grenades down the hole. The resulting explosion vaporized what was left of the King Taijitu and caused the land to sink, taking several more Grimm with it.

The rest of the fight followed a similar vein, the eight of them working together in perfect sync. Weiss found herself fighting beside Jaune and Yang, using her glyphs to attack at unusual angles as they stood back to back, an unbreakable wall as they cut down beast after beast. They were surrounded on all sides and yet Weiss felt no fear, nor did any of her friends. Their training held true.

Pyrrha finished off the last Grimm with an expert throw, her javelin sailing through the air with pinpoint precision. It slammed into the Alpha Grimm with tremendous force, lifting it off its feet and carrying it several meters before pinning it to a tree. Wrenching her weapon free with her semblance, she fired it back into the Ursa again and again until it stopped moving, slumping to the ground and beginning to smoke.

It was done.

Yang whistled. “Feeling a bit savage, there, Pyrrha?”

“I must admit that my blood is up,” the crimson haired girl said, her cheek smeared with dirt. Covered in a fine sheen of sweat, several strands of her hair had pulled free of her ponytail, framing her face in a series of curls. “This was a good fight.”

Ren was panting when he rejoined them, though he looked untouched. Nora was covered in grime, her explosions having covered her in all manner of debris.

Ruby reappeared in a burst of her semblance, a wide smile stretching her lips. “We did it!”

Jaune laughed and Weiss turned to face him, her breath hitching as she took him in. Like Pyrrha, he looked positively disheveled, sweat on his brow and his hair damp with moisture, slicked back after running his hand through it to keep it out of his eyes. And his eyes! His blue eyes looked even brighter than usual, alive with adrenaline and filled with fire. It was passion born from the fight, not bloodlust but something close, his blood heated in a way that only another warrior would understand.

Weiss felt her tummy clench and a heat bloom, dark and heavy.

She hastily looked away before pausing. Pyrrha was looking at Jaune as well, a very obvious look on her face. Weiss gripped the hilt of her weapon until her knuckles popped.

“We aren’t done yet,” Jaune reminded them.

He was right. This was the smaller of the two groups of Grimm they would be fighting today.

“How are you with dust?” he asked suddenly, turning her way.

Her face felt hot but she was unsure if it was from the fight or something else, something she refused to acknowledge. Her mouth felt dry and she took a moment to wet her lips, clearing her throat.

“I am out of ice dust,” she replied, meeting his gaze. Something within trembled at the look in his eye. She had rationalized it away but what if she was wrong again? Maybe it was Jaune who was the aggressor. When he looked at her like that, she felt like prey. Like he could see all her little imperfections and wanted to take advantage of them. “Water is full, as is lightning. I only used a little fire and earth.”

“Right,” he said, and Weiss felt like she could breathe again when he looked away. “We good on ammo?”

Ruby saluted. “I’m good~!”

“I’ve used around half,” Ren admitted, checking his weapons.

“Don’t worry, Ren. I packed some for ya,” Nora patted her satchel with a beaming smile. “Momma has you covered.”

Blake snickered at the complicated expression that crossed Ren’s face.

Jaune smothered a smile. “Good work, Nora. Well – everyone ready?”

It was going to be a long day.