Grimm Nightmares Chapter 63

Chapter 63 Thirst to Quench

The Blood, he could feel it, his mind consumed with the sensation of the potent substance carving a path through his ruined body. An immense pressure swelled where it went, forcing the still intact veins to bulge outward from his skin.

The pain of the poison and the ravaged mauling wounds that sundered his front were soon washed up in the mixture of the Blood’s healing power. The sudden onset of the new overwhelming mixture was so intense that he was driven to slam his back into the stone floor, his muscles clenching and twisting as his spine arched and his body shook.

His left hand, with blood spurting from ruined stumps of two of his fingers, began to pound on the derelict stones of the church’s floor with such forgone ferocity that the floor cracked. His right arm shot up violently, forcing in a bone that had been pulled free by the flayed Beast’s claws before flesh and muscles shifted around the break, moving it into place.

His body slid back across the tiles as his feet kicked, pushing him through his spilt blood as the massive lacerations on his body began to seal, stretching and throbbing. He rolled over to his front, hands pawing at his throat as the healing slowly closed the gash that had opened up his trachea. 

All this while, he had been trying to scream, but it wasn’t until he rolled onto his front and evacuated the built-up blood in his lungs and freshly healed throat that it came out. First, it was soft and wet, overshadowed by the noises of his movement and the splatter of red he threw up.

It was when he got a fresh lungful of air that it changed.

It started as a guttural scream as he felt his ribs move and heave as his breathing shifted them in tandem with the Blood’s healing. Then it became deeper, wrought with rage and hurt and madness as he felt too much, too quickly.

His hands, slick and red, slipped from his throat, traced up over his shredded chin and across his exposed teeth to cup at his eyes as pressure built in his head. His fingers parted as his nails bit into the skin, drawing fresh blood to his already-painted face as he choked in more air from his still-burning lungs.

Thus, he saw his prey.

Jaune roared as he looked at his quarry, the Beast glancing over its shoulder at the noise, its face painted in the Pungent Blood it had been distracted by.

Jaune heaved air into his body through his ruined nose that spurted blood with each breath as the air clung to his exposed teeth. The Beast had halfway torn the flesh from his face with its attack, and the Blood was always slow to heal what had been removed.

Jaune’s lipless mouth opened wide as he desperately shoved Antidote pills inside, his teeth clacking shut as he swallowed. As the medicine did its work and the burn of the toxins in his body abated, he jumped to his feet, heart racing as he snorted out a spray of crimson from his mauled face.

His right hand fell to his waist, and with a swift tug, he tore his Threaded Cane away from where he had wrapped it over a belt. The weapon, his last resort, concealed as a piece of his attire, swept over the stone, sparking as its blades raced over the solid surface.

The monster was now facing him, its tongue darting out to lap at the crimson mixture that had clung to its maw where it had scraped said substance from the church floor.

Jaune stared it down, his eyes bloodshot and shaking, as he pulled a single slip of paper from a pouch hidden near his back. It wasn’t until the first sight of flames that the Beast reacted, its teeth parting as it hissed with its head lowering as it met Jaune’s enraged stare.

Jaune paid the noise no mind as he continued to drag his Threaded Cane through his three-fingered left hand and the Fire Paper it held. Even as the paper wore down and the teeth along the weapon length bit into his hand, he didn’t stop until the whip-like length was fully ablaze.

The blood at his feet hissed and sizzled as the flaming Threaded Cane lay in the crimson mixture, the noise agitating the flayed monster further.

Jaune gave a lipless hiss as he began to manoeuvre to the centre of the room with steady, measured steps.

The Beast matched him, its claws dragging as it tracked his ever-minute movement.

Jaune attacked first, waiting for the Beast to lift its leg before he dropped into a dead sprint, his left hand disappearing into his dripping coat. The Beast tried to react, but the awkward position caused it to stumble, giving Jaune all the time he needed to close the distance.

He could not afford to miss.

His arm whipped out from beneath his coat and threw the concealed item forcefully, sending the object careening straight into the Beast’s veiled skull. The sound of shattering clay was lost to the Beast’s affronted shriek, but it didn’t matter, as Jaune could see the splatter of slick, viscous fluid blanketing the pink meat.

Jaune inhaled, twisting with his next step as he brought his Threaded Cane above his head in a flourish of searing flames.

It was likely all in his head, a symptom of temporary madness drawn upon in anticipation of what was to come. But bereft as he was of a nose, his senses utterly downed in a copious slew of blood the Beast had drawn forth…

Jaune swore he could smell the oil.

The Threaded Cane came down.

The Beast screamed. Poison gas blasted away in a bursting conflagration that cooked flayed flesh brown. Blood and poison sizzled and burned even as the shredding teeth of the weapon twisted in the air, ready to lash forward again.

The Beast flailed retreating, its steps panicked and crazed, gouging stone as it shrieked.

Jaune exhaled with each lash, each strike, every breath painted red as he pursued his prey. His weapon swung and snapped with savage ease, opening wounds that were quickly caressed by flame.

The Beast stumbled, snapping its jaws in a maddened frenzy as it swiped wildly, desperation tainting its movements.

Jaune snapped his Threaded Cane at a snatching strike, the weapon's tip cracking against its long, hooked fingers in a flare of burning orange.

The flayed thing choked as it reared, back, clawed hand pressed to its chest, missing fingers of its own.

Jaune lunged into action before its fingers even hit the floor.

Fire and steel coiled around him as he twisted, drawing his pistol. The Beast began to drop, its head turning as it readied to bite.

The barrel of his gun scrapped across the tip of its snout before it completed its journey.

He pulled the trigger.

Its right eye exploded as the round hammered into its skull.

But this was Yharnam and nothing in this accursed city knew how to die properly.

Jaune knew the Beast had yet to perish and saw how its whole body shuddered as it shifted its weight and made ready to leap.

Its actions were pointless.

Jaune was within its guard, his body perched beneath the now-charred veil of meat draped over its head.

Beneath its open and bloody throat, the torn flesh from his Saw Cleaver’s teeth still hanging in mauled strips.

Savage, bloody instinct stirred, rushing through his veins, riding the currents of his own screaming blood as it thundered through his insides. His heart slammed into his ribs, and his lungs felt constricted by his ribs as his body cried for more and more.

He moved forward, left leg sliding through blood and over the stone as he dropped his entire body low, his right leg bending as it supported most of his weight. He discarded his weapons; his pistol was left spinning in the air as the fire along the length of his Threaded Cane continued to crackle as it plummeted to the floor.

He tucked his right arm in, holding it close to his side as he twisted at the waist, fingers curling into the facsimile of claws. His mouth opened wide, flecks of red on his breath as he howled his wrath, the shredded traces of his lower face dripping from his jaw.

The Beast pounced.

His arm arced up, carving through the air with all the lethality of any one of his weapons.

Blood, copious and crimson, erupted from the Beast’s throat as Jaune’s clawed limb speared into the savaged incision left behind by his Saw Cleaver. Flesh, meat, muscle, and cartilage were rent to pieces as he hooked his fingers around the flayed Beast’s insides.

The Beast tried to make some noise but only succeeded in spraying Jaune in more visceral red as it dropped its mass and shoved forward… or tried to. Jaune’s teeth grit as the weight pressed down on him… but he didn’t yield, pushing his arm deeper still.

But he was still yet a man, and the Beast shoved Jaune back, his boots scraping along the dirt as it gurgled and tried its utmost to crush him beneath its girth. The Beast took a step, then another and Jaune screamed as his muscles burned and his bones creaked.

The weight was immense, so Jaune did the only thing he could.

His empty left hand snagged a fistful of the Beast’s flayed veil, and with the strength he once could not have hoped to wield…, he heaved.

He did not hurl the beast with some herculean feat of might but instead let the Beast’s descent carry it while he served only to shunt its mass to the side. The Beast fell, and with his arm ledge up to the elbow in its throat, Jaune was pulled along until he was left straddling the fallen monster's throat.

But it still wasn’t dead, the musculature within the Beast’s throat twitching as it tried to breathe, blood continuing to pump out around the space where his arm was lodged. Jaune snarled, already feeling the urge to take another antidote as the Beast’s poison threatened to retake hold.

With no time to waste, Jaune clenched his right arm with his left, wedged his boot against the monster, and wrenched his arm free with a feral combination of strength and desperation.

Flesh yielded, and Jaune was launched backwards, a fistful of the monster's throat clutched in his bloody grip as blood arced up and over his head, painting the nearby pillars and wall.

His body ached, and he was sure his heart should probably not be racing as fast as it was in his chest… but he ignored his body's condition and sat up. He looked to the mangled meat in his grip, his mind a swarm of feelings and half-formed thoughts.

Frustration eventually won, and Jaune threw the clump of flesh to the side as he returned his attention to the flayed Beast.

The Beast was looking at him, red of a violent sanguine surging out of the massive gaping wound in its throat, its burnt skull unmoving.

That was until the pool of blood growing about its limp form became too much to ignore.

Jaune watched, chest heaving, as the Beast’s bloodied, skeletal maw opened shakily, its tongue a large, rough-looking flap of muscle slid out… and began to lap at the blood.

He didn’t look away, not even blinking as the monster weakly dragged its tongue through its Beastly gore. The sound seemed louder than it had any right to be, louder than the blood rushing through his ears, his heart pounding in his chest and the sounds of lit sconces above.

He just watched… he watched until the Beast’s tongue finally ceased its efforts, the organ dropping to the floor as life fled it entirely.

It was dead.

Jaune continued to stare at the corpse as its strength, its Blood Echoes, flooded his being, swelling the pool further.

But just as before with the Cleric Beast and Father Gascoigne… it wasn’t alone.

His mind filled with… something, not thoughts, not as he recognised them, and they were more than feelings.

Whatever pervaded his mind eventually settled, and when it passed, Jaune knew what name to lay upon the flayed Beast.

Jaune pushed his tongue out to run between his teeth and his shredded lips, the metallic taste of his own blood ever-present.

But his eyes didn’t leave the Beast.

‘Blood-Starved indeed.’

YVYVYVYVY

“How did you convince them?”

Jaune snorted out a spray of tinted water that he had been running over his face to try and wash off some of the Baboon Faunus’s blood. Swiping at his eyes, he looked to Jade, who was leaning against the wall of the hanger all the non-combatants would be stationed at.

Before he could respond, a rag was shoved against his face by Sky, who was the most grossed out by his current appearance. “Thank you,” Jaune nodded, wiping more of the congealed gore away from his nose.

He could still smell it, but it was less… he didn’t mind overly; he had smelt worse.

“Oi,” Jade nagged lightly, kicking her brother's leg.

Jaune wiped his brow as he responded, “A well-placed threat.”

“Yeah, no, I figured… I just guessed it wouldn’t be so… effective,” Jade commented, glancing at where several of the Faunus, possibly White Fang, were being guided to different carts. The vehicles were being used to run supplies and people across the base with all haste, and Jaune had already deemed them a non-option in case they needed to escape.

They were not nearly robust enough.

“Thank them,” Jaune sniffed, dumping another bottle over his head to dislodge a fresh slew of dirty red and brown from his blond hair.

“Huh?” Oto exclaimed, standing nervously to the side.

“What did we do?” Salmon asked as he wrapped his knuckles, the Bear Faunus now boasting even more injuries from where the Atlesians had subdued him. Upon Jaune discovering his fate, a simple command had seen the Bear Faunus freed and several more Atlesians swiftly distancing themselves from the group.

None had dared make a fuss after Jaune’s earlier displays.

“You were my threat,” Jaune answered, running his fingers through his hair, his lips a firm line as he scraped out more filth.

Slamon snorted in amusement, “I’m pretty sure you’re scarier than me and the twig combined.”

“Twig…” Oto muttered.

Jaune shook his head away from Sky, not wanting to splash his little sister. When he was done, he stood straight and replied, “It was not a matter of intimidation, rather imminent threat.”

Salmon pounded back a handful of pills with reckless abandon, following it up with a swift swig from a canteen. With a rasp, he spoke, “What? Like making them realise that they should worry about the Grimm first?”

Jaune nodded, “My speech merely served to aid in enlightening them to the scope of the situation… But it was Oto who provoked them to react.”

“How the brat just stood there looking like shit, no offence mate, you still look better than me right now,” Salmon followed up genuinely.

Oto stood there, his eyes cast down as he grew increasingly uncomfortable with the present conversation.

“For a threat to work, there needs to be a force behind it,” Jaune lectured, using the rag to wipe down his neck. “An ‘or else’ that one is wary of and thus eager to avoid-“

“Like you?” Oto cut in, the young Faunus’s eyes darting down to Jaune’s right arm, which was still utterly caked in red. When he looked up, he flinched as Jaune pierced him with an azure-blue gaze.

“… Yes, and given time and inclination, I am sure I could have performed a demonstration to achieve such an end… but there was no need.” Jaune finished with a lazy shrug as he set about wiping down his torso. It was almost futile, as where he wiped was still very much stained by the gore he removed, but it was more for his sister's benefit that he was doing this.

So he persisted as he spoke, “The White Fang had chosen to cower amongst other Faunus, to use the others as their shield against the other base’s occupants. In my own words, I reminded them that they are not safe, that danger is present, immanent, and looming, but that is not enough. No…”

Jaune moved to his arms as he glanced at the cargo cart that had just pulled away loaded with all the Faunus who had volunteered to aid in the base's defence. A number were looking his way… a number more were looking at the Fox Faunus, and Oto’s ears twitched at the discomforting attention.

“No, because they still had security,” Jaune explained. “They had the hope that if the base defences held that, they might be able to slip out, never mind that such action would likely be damning all the other Faunus in the base. Witch hunts are rarely orderly, and there is opportunity in chaos.”

Salmon spat to the side, “The Atlesians here are wound up something ugly… If we make it through this, I will see I ain’t nowhere near the lot of them.”

“Indeed, things are likely to turn quite savage without intervention… but the White Fang knew that,” Jaune agreed as he turned his focus back to a now very uncomfortable Oto, who had flattened his ears to his head.

“But they’re helping, and as the other Faunus on the base are not combat personnel, aren’t they kind of just giving themselves away?” Jade spoke up.

“It will indeed brand them with a greater deal of scrutiny… but I merely removed that as a concern, or more accurately, Oto here did,” Jaune finished, gesturing to the boy in question. “Because while I can threaten all manner of violence… only he could take away that tricky little sense of security.”

Oto’s eyes widened before he very noticeably turned to look towards the interior of the central hangar where the other Faunus were being moved.

“… You mean…” Salmon murmured, scratching at his upper arm, where all the Arcs knew that a scar had once been a symbol of allegiance.

Jaune didn’t need to say anything as Oto spoke, “Your threat… will you follow through on it?”

Jaune examined the Fox Faunus, taking note of the fur on his ears and its stiffened state in combination with his clenched fists. With uncaring ease, Jaune threw away the blood-soaked rag he had been using as he answered the younger man's question. “… It will not be necessary.”

All eyes turned to Jaune, though with very different expressions.

The tall blonde continued, unfazed. “I’ve been watching, and it seems your former compatriots took my words to heart… and that old man you care about is better here than near the wall.”

Oto swallowed loudly and almost looked back into the hangar only to stop himself; he instead only nodded his head.

“Thank you.”

Oto turned and walked to the cargo cart left for Jaune’s personal use. Salmon, uncaring if the Fox Faunus’s large ears could hear him, immediately turned about to address Jaune. “You know the Fang won't take that lying down, right? Especially not considering how utterly batshit this lot is.”

“He is a former White Fang,” Jaune clarified.

Salmon scratched at his beard, “If he wasn’t before, he definitely is now… but I think you knew that.”

Jaune inclined his head subtly, “It is my experience that change can be terribly hard… and also frightfully easy.” Jaune had to fight to keep his tone level as the current situation and the persisting aroma of his recent prey’s blood stirred old memories.

Salmon didn’t argue, instead shifting the topic, “What I said about making a hasty exit if we make it through this… that’s gonna go double for the kid.”

Jaune stood straighter, “You followed through on my request and watched over my sisters as you said you would… stick by my side, and I will repay this favour and ensure this night does not claim you.”

Salmon seemed taken aback, but Jaune was no longer looking at the hairy Faunus; his eyes were instead drawn to the warmth radiating from Jade’s gaze.

“I… appreciate that… and afterwards?”

“Your plan to make a hasty retreat is sound, and I will do all in my power to help facilitate it,” Jaune supplied.

“… And the kid?”

Jaune did not miss how Oto’s ear twitched at Salmon’s quiet question and thus did not even bother to lower his voice as he responded. “I cannot speak for him… but considering his situation, it would be in his best interest not to linger. Likely, you would understand his present situation better than I could.”

Salmon grumbled, “There’s truth to that…”

“Maybe…” Jade hinted, gesturing with her head toward the Fox Faunus in question.

Salmon didn’t say anything, but the burly man did nod as he walked over to the cart, leaving the three Arcs with at least the illusion of privacy. This suited Jaune just fine, and though he wasn’t sure what to say, he was still grateful for the moment alone with his sisters.

He did not have to wonder what to say for long, though, as Sky had moved behind him, the youngest of the two slumping into his side, her head resting on his torso. Jaune draped his arm over her back by reflex, gently holding his younger sibling as she leaned on him.

“I’m tired…” Sky mumbled into his side, the words conveying well the true extent of the weariness the night had heaped upon her. Jaune knew well the kind of exhaustion a night such as this inflicted upon a person and so began to rub his sister's back with his thumb.

Sky’s arms flopped around weakly as she hugged him, and Jaune relaxed into the embrace, his own feelings somewhat calming.

“Do you need-“ Jade began but cut herself off as her brother’s attention fell on her. Her eyes welled up with a slew of emotions that she attempted to sort through but gave up instead, biting the inside of her cheek.

Jaune’s gaze narrowed as he held a hand out and ushered Jade closer.

She didn’t even hesitate.

She hurled herself into Jaune’s midsection, her brother not so much as budging and the sudden assault. The three Arc siblings enjoyed the group hug, relishing this moment of peace in a night that seemed unending to the two younger girls.

But Jade knew the moment could not last, and so pulled away, her eyes immediately dancing over the filthy bare chest of her brother. She let her eyes linger on the tattoos she had etched into his flesh, the same Slayer Marks she considered one of her magnum opi.

But they were marred by the thin remnants of the blood that painted Jaune’s front.

“Apologies, sister,” Jaune uttered contritely as he noted her scrutiny. “I will need a far more thorough bath to remove it all.”

“I would kill so many Grimm for a fucking shower,” came Sky’s muffled curse, honestly surprising Jaune.

Jade snorted at her older brother’s expression as she replied to her younger sister, “I reckon Jaune’s killed more than enough to earn us all more than one shower.”

“And a bath… I want a bubble bath,” Sky whined.

Jaune blinked as his mind was cast back to the Eternal Night and the many, many times he had longed to sink into a bath and purge his body of the accumulated horror that stained his skin.

“A bath does indeed sound pleasant,” Jaune agreed, the earnest nature of his words shining through as his shoulders slumped.

Though they didn’t laugh, the three revelled in the moment of quiet levity, pushing back the awfulness of the night for a few seconds more.

The sound of a distant gunshot cut the silent revelry short as Jaune’s relaxed stance transformed in a manner only the girls were genuinely aware of. The tensing of muscles across his whole frame, the slight increase of pressure and adjusted curve of his fingers upon their backs, the soft exhale as his breathing changed.

He was once more a Hunter primed, a thing ready to explode forth and sow carnage.

“Are they her-“

Jaune leaned down, his flexibility on display as his back arched, “No Sky, not yet, just a stray, likely a Nevermore… I am afraid that this night will require more of me… of us, before it is done.”

Jade swallowed loudly but pressed her head into Jaune’s sternum and spoke, “Do you need to go? Can you not stay with us?”

Jaune was silent for a beat before he hummed, the low tone neither scolding nor judgmental as he pondered his sister's change. She had already apologised several times, and he knew his sister was likely tearing herself up internally about her earlier decisions.

He was no stranger to self-flagellation.

“I could stay here; truthfully, it would be more comfortable for me to do so. I would feel much more secure if I knew where you both were precisely while I fought… but…”

Jade pulled away, blinking her wide blue eyes as she looked up, “But?”

“But on that wall… I could safeguard you both, as well as the many others who reside in that hangar… I could meet the threat in location while the both of you remain a distance from the most fraught of the fighting.” Jaune listed as he laid out the truth of the situation honestly, curious to see what his siblings would think.

“I would sacrifice the certainty of knowing your conditions… for the benefit of others and the chance to fight the Grimm free of nearly all restriction…”

Both his sisters were looking at him now, and truthfully, Jaune was beset by a unique curiosity.

So he spoke, “You need only ask me to stay.”

Jaune observed his siblings with rapt attention, watching as his cherished sisters were confronted with his matter-of-fact statement. Sky’s brow furrowed, the bags under her eyes seeming deeper, and she looked down and mulled his words over.

Jade’s expression was… different.

Jaune saw such conflict in his younger sister that it felt like a wire wrapped around his heart as he tried to track the emotions rampaging through her eyes. He breathed in through his nose, and it was as if he could taste a litany of pain in the air, suffused with guilt and remorse and relief and…

It was a lot, made worse by the fact it came from Jade.

Jaune hugged both his sisters a little bit tighter.

Jade responded by leaning to the side and looking towards the cart, with the two Faunus waiting.

Jaune knew it was the fox she was looking at, though.

“… You saved him.”

Jaune’s eyes darted up as he considered for a moment, then he replied, “I… suppose, but it was far from a fairy tale rescue, I assure you.”

“Why?”

“… I wanted… I wanted to try,” Jaune squeezed out as he tried not to lie but, at the same time, was unwilling to express the true scope of what it was that had stayed his hand in the end. “I wanted to try and be more like the brother you see me as.“

Jade’s eyes lit up with that same warmth as before, but it did not linger as her features dimmed and moisture built in the edges of her eyes. “But I caused-“

Jaune moved swiftly, his body wrapping around hers as he pressed the side of his head into her hair and lifted her into his renewed embrace. “You saved people tonight, sister… you didn’t cause anything, I can assure you.”

“But if we had just left when you-“

“Could you have lived with that?”

“I-“

There was another gunshot, but there was no tensing, at least not from Jaune, as he slowly relinquished Jade's one-arm embrace and leaned into Sky instead. The younger girl snorted as her big brother rested his head atop hers, his voice nearly a hum as he spoke.

“I will say that there will be time enough for such considerations later, dear sister. For now, there is yet more work to be done, though hopefully, this will be the last stretch of this particular ordeal,” Jaune grumbled, his patience long since extinguished.

Sky patted Jaune’s face blindly where it lay atop her hair, her hat long since lost at some point during their escape from the city. “So you’ll be at the wall?”

Jaune nodded, his breath coming out as an amused huff at Sky’s affections, “Unless you two say otherwise.”

Sky squirmed out from beneath her brother so she could talk to him face to face. “No, no… I know that you probably know best… and I know you’ll catch up.”

Jaune stood to his full height, “Jade?”

Her eyes were still wet, but with a sniff, she responded, her voice croaky, “Go be heroic.”

Those words coiled and danced in his ears, leaving Jaune with emotions he was ill-equipped to decipher. So he fell back on the familiar and pushed the confusion and its source aside so he might better plot his and his sister's course.

“Very well, first things first,” Jaune began, looking over his sisters with a furrowed brow, “Where are your weapons?”

Both sisters looked at each other and then down at their persons, Jade with a grimace and Sky with a smile that masked shame.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t actually remember when I lost mine,” Sky stated plainly, her fingers bunching on her hands.

Jade answered with action. She slung her backpack off her shoulder and opened it to reveal her Bolto resting atop. “Empty, not that it matters as I doubt the Atlesian’s carry Mistrali make…”

Jaune hummed, “I do not have time to search, so these will have to do.”

Without pageantry, Jaune moved to the stack of boxes where Salmon had been tending to his newest injuries and shunted the raided first aid kit aside. With a subtle glance at the few soldiers posted about, he opened the crate he had sought with the snap of the latches that had sealed it.

He pulled from it a pair of sidearms, handguns that were all gun metal grey and stainless steel beneath the sheer illumination of the floodlights above. Sleek, smooth and stark in their nature, guns and nothing more as that was what was right.

Atlas through and through.

Just as he knew she would, Jade’s face twisted at the sight of the handguns, “Ew, Atlesian.”

Jaune did not try to hide his lips' quirking at his sister's distaste, “You will manage; they are only temporary.”

“But the memory will haunt me, no doubt,” Jade whined in jest.

Sky snorted as she took her handgun and looked it over, the amusement fleeing her face as her expression hardened. “It’s… heavier than the other one.”

Jaune hummed and nodded, “Yes, but it should have less recoil, or so the soldiers have led me to believe.” Jaune tossed Jade hers as he turned back to the same case and removed a handful of magazines, three to each hand. “Here,” he said.

The girls were swift in their obedience. Both loaded their guns before quickly placing the spare magazines somewhere on their persons. Jade, who finished quicker, spoke first, “So I assume you want us in there?” she asked, nodding towards the central hangar.

Jaune shook his head, earning looks of curiosity from both sisters, “No, I… I am uncomfortable leaving you both as is. To leave you in a room filled with people who will only become more anxious as time goes on…”

Jaune trailed off, but both girls got the message, so Sky asked, “Where do you want us, Jaune?”

“See the guards,” he began, gesturing to the two Atlesian soldiers posted at the front of the warehouse, “They are to operate as security, but both have been made aware that you two are to be allowed to move freely.”

Both Atlesians waved, Sky returning the friendly gesture while Jade settled on nodding in return.

“I want you both to stay proximal to the hangar… but I have a task that I would entrust to you both,” Jaune declared as he led his siblings towards the hangar directly adjacent to the one that held the rest of the base's inhabitants.

Peering through the vast, open sliding doors revealed the inside was a bustle of activity. Many engineers ran around with long stretches of wire between multiple tables and benches. Machinery and airship parts were strewn about, and a partially disassembled bullhead, with its sides open, had sparks shooting from the cockpit, where metal grinding could be heard.

There were two more soldiers, and these both stiffened at Jaune’s approach despite the older Arc paying neither of them any mind.

“I would have you two here. Those inside are working to restore our long-range communications, but I am told it is hard going.” Jaune explained, and both girls could see the truth of his words at the pace of those working hard inside. “As with the other two, the guards have been instructed not to impede your travel… and this is where your task comes in.”

Hearing their brothers' strained tone, the two younger Arcs looked at their brother and saw the conflict in his expression. “I… I will fight sisters, but I can only do so knowing the two of you are safe, and even then… I am not infallible. To that end, I leave this to the both of you; I will buy as much time as possible; others and I will hold back the tide, but… if we don’t receive relief…”

“It will be like in Bastion, no other option but to cut and run…” Jade finished.

Jaune nodded. “I know you want me to be… heroic, but if the worst comes to pass-“

“I understand.”

Jade's swift response pulled Jaune up short, and as his mind turned her words over, his younger sister hugged him once more.

“I’m sorry for what I did before; heaping all of that onto us wasn’t fair in the slightest, and… not when you ended up shouldering the extra strain,” Jade uttered, and though she wanted to linger and hold Jaune a little longer and espouse further apologetic assurances, a pair of gunshots forced her to focus on the present.

“Tell me what you need,” Jade spoke as she pulled back from her hug.

“Us, tell us what you need,” Sky jumped in.

Jaune took a breath and allowed himself to take his sister’s words at face value. “The moment they get the communications fixed, I need you to contact me to let me know… then I want you both to hang around nearby and listen.”

“Listen for what?” Sky asked.

“I doubt Bastion will be able to send us any relief, not while they are still inundated by the lingering Grimm. But at the same time, I have little doubt that relief is on the way. To that end, I want both of you to listen and, if need be, aid them as they send out the call.”

“Okay… but why?” Sky asked for both herself and Jade.

“Because those to respond, sister, are likely all heading towards Bastion, they are also likely to be Valean… and this base isn't Valean…” Jaune finished with an unrepentant shrug.

Sky blinked, “You think… that they would just skip the base over?”

Jade hissed, “That’s kinda fucked big bro.”

“Perhaps I am wrong, but the fact remains that Bastion is a major city settlement, and this is an Atlesian military base… Huntsman have priorities in such situations, and those coming are likely Valean,” Jaune explained.

“Ah,” Sky vocalised, “So you want us nearby so we can play the ‘brats’ card again.”

“I would do it, but I feel I have sadly outgrown the ability to play the innocent young child,” Jaune muttered, gesturing again to his filthy, still bloodstained form.

“Yeah, plus, for some of us, it isn't an act,” Jade quipped.

Jaune smiled at Jade’s teasing, and Sky managed a snort but nothing more as she stayed on topic. “So that’s a fair plan, I guess, but what if they can't fix the communications or there is no one besides the city…”

The negative hypothetical didn’t dampen Jaune’s spirits as he took a knee, “Then your job is to stay right here.” His tone was stern as he issued his order, and his eyes danced between his sisters as he tried to impress them with the importance of his words. “As I stated, I will hold the line, but should the need arise, I and the others defending the wall will retreat here. To that end, both of you need to be here for me to return to… at that point, we will decide our next course of action together as we will likely need to play things by ear.”

Sky frowned, “That’s it?”

“I know you want us safe, but-“

Jaune cut them off, “Remember sisters, I need you safe, yes, but I need people I trust near the communications-“

“Communications that they may not be able to fix,” Jade cut in, not letting her brother finish.

“True, but now is not the time to be pessimistic,” Jaune remarked sternly. We are all the worse off if they fail in their endeavours, but that is irrelevant. Do not make light of what I would request of you sisters… I fear it will not be so easy.”

Jaune’s grim resolve left both sisters speechless as their brother rose to stand, turning to look to the north of the base where no doubt Grimm were already gathering. “There are no others present who I would have at my back, who I would trust as I now trust you girls.”

The girls staggered. Jaune’s presence suddenly bloomed in a shimmer of red, and his Arc-blue eyes seemed to gain a keen edge.

“I would have both realised that as you have trusted me, I now do the same unto you, though it unsettles me greatly. But this night seems hellbent on stirring up all that is my worst… so be it.” Jaune rumbled, his voice hovering low in a near growl.

“I will give it my worst!” Jaune snapped, eyes darting up to gaze at the broken moon, but the pleasing sight did little. It was too late. Never had he been so close to Yharnam, never had that which kept the echoing howls that plagued his mind at bay been so at threat.

The Mist lapped at his finger and drew out old temptations, old urges.

Jaune wanted more…

He wanted the Hunt, and his sisters had given him the leave he needed, but it was a testament to his time with his family that he needed more. He now required his sisters to grant him the peace of mind only they could ensure.

He needed them to be his anchor, to lure him back lest he fall to old fervour and lose himself in it.

They would serve as his guiding m-

Jaune’s head snapped back down, and he gave his sisters a look of pained concern, his hands clenching to distract him from the lure of his arsenal.

He took a moment, a breath.

“… Do you two understand what I am asking you?” Jaune spoke, seeking to clarify his orders with his siblings.

“You want us to stay here and wait for the communications… right?” Jade offered.

Jaune nodded, “Exactly, but I feel you fail to grasp the scope-“

Jaune paused as a particularly long stream of gunshots echoed over from the north side of the base. The number of Grimm was only increasing.

“Sisters, when I tell you to remain here, I mean for you to hold this point as it is here that will serve as our last retreat,” Jaune explained, earning looks of pale understanding from his siblings. “Both of you and those four soldiers will be here to defend the engineers who are hard at work and the others.”

Jaune gestured to the sidearms he had given them, “More than likely, both of you will find ample opportunity to use your new weapons.”

Both girls gave their new guns due consideration, and Jaune couldn’t help but snort as he thought back on how he used to act when he collected a new piece for his arsenal. Both their blonde heads bounced up to shoot him perturbed looks at his open amusement, but his blood was up, and he had not the energy to pretend otherwise.

“Do the two of you now grasp what it is I ask of you?” Jaune pressed as he tried to keep his eyes from darting north. The staccato of gunfire was increasing, and Jaune was urged to make his way over.

Sky spoke, “We… we can do it, Jaune; we’ll stay safe and keep this spot safe.” Her words and speech were broken as she tried not to fluster, but Sky was an Arc, and her eyes blazed with earnest purpose. She was afraid, and she did not try to hide it, and this endeared her to Jaune all the more as he saw that she summoned all her courage and prepared to meet the challenge.

Jade though…

At first, she nodded slowly, slightly, the actions minuscule as if performed for herself and no one else. Then she transformed. Her back straightened as she stood straight once more, bringing her head to near the same height as Sky’s. Her shoulders pulled back, and her chin jutted out as she met her brother's gaze.

Jade breathed in, and when she exhaled, the weight that had dragged on her sloughed off, and instead, steel gripped her spine. She looked every bit her mother's daughter as her brows narrowed and her lips set in a razor-thin line. There was renewed life in her as if once more she was the same girl who fought her brother to aid the others at the start of the Breach, but it was… harnessed.

Jade Arc looked less like the Brat… and more like the young Huntress.

“We’re Arcs,” she declared proudly. “We don’t give ground easily,” she said, referencing their family's extraordinary feats during the Great War.

Jaune gave them both a smile that he usually would have been somewhat ashamed to have displayed… but this was not a night where he could have practised his usual restraint. And so both sisters found their bold declarations met with a manic smile from their blood-stained two-meter-tall brother.

The soldiers behind them both flinched and did their best not to stare.

“My sisters…” Jaune whispered with unrestrained fondness that had both girls smiling all their own. “Right then,” Jaune declared as he raised a hand and waved over one of the guards, who quickly made his way over. The Atlesian quickly handed over two short-range radios, one of the devices Jaune swiftly gave off to his sisters.

The Atlesian soldier was also quick to retreat, though noticeably did his utmost not to rush away.

“These are already set so that the both of you will have the ability to communicate with me and me alone; if you need to get in contact with anyone else, such as Norrel or Huntress Blue, you will need to enquire with the soldiers,” Jaune explained succinctly making sure both Jade and Sky understood.

“Right,” Sky muttered as she pressed the button on the side of the device and heard how the low crackle of audio static changed.

“We will contact you as soon as the communications are back up,” Jade repeated. “Then we will put on our best act and get some help here ASAP.”

“We can do this,” Sky exclaimed.

“I know you can,” Jaune agreed with a far less disconcerting smile. “But I would ask one last favour of you, dear sisters.”

Not waiting for their response, Jaune undid his holster, in which rested his Challenger. He handed the load to Jade, who squinted at her older brother in confusion as she took the weapon she was sure he would soon need.

“Umm, bro-“

“I would rather not be forced to endure Orr’s sulking if it is all the same to you,” Jaune admitted, gesturing to the gun.

Jade nodded, “Like yeah, that makes sense, but don’t you kind of need a weapon?”

A gleam of cunning joy danced in his Arc-blue orbs, “I am quite sufficiently armed, Jade; do not fret.”

“Umm, right.”

The gunfire of before was now a continuous and chaotic staccato, and each echo left Jaune with the sensation of something welling up in his chest.

He was eager.

“I shouldn’t delay any longer…” Jaune uttered. “You girls… I am proud of you, both of you.”

Jaune walked away, afraid that if he did not do so, he would linger as a not inconsiderable part of him did not wish to be away from his siblings. He settled that part by thinking of what would come and how it would be best for his sisters not to be in the thick of things once more.

For now, came the Hunt.

“You took a while there,” Salmon commented as Jaune approached the cargo cart.

Jaune sniffed, “I dislike needing to be away from them, but understand where I can do the most good in this dire situation.”

“Fair,” Salmon surrendered, looking back at the two girls who were staring at their brother's back.

“Enough, you said so yourself; we need to go; there is work to be done,” Jaune barked, his tone severe as he jumped into the back of the cart where his long legs would not be so restricted.

Salmon needed no further encouragement and moved into the front of the cart with Oto in the passenger seat. Though he tried to resist, Jaune could not and looked back to see his sisters, both of whom had begun to move towards the hangar where the engineers were hard at work.

He smiled, and pride once more bloomed in his heart at both his sisters' seeing to the task he had given them. “Good girls,” Jaume breathed.

The cart set off, and as he drove, Salmon quickly began speaking, “So what’s the plan?”

“We fight on the north wall; we keep the Grimm focussed there and kill as many as we can,” Jaune answered.

A beat of silence rang out following Jaune’s succinct response.

Oto broke it, “… And?”

“And nothing, we fight; should the wall be overrun, we fall back to the central hangars and make our stand,” Jaune’s words rung with damning finality.

Salmon chimed in, “Suppose it will be a nice change of pace from the rest of our night.”

“That’s it?” Oto questioned.

Salmon shot the younger Faunus a grim look, “You got a better plan in mind?”

Oto stammered, “I- What, no! That’s not a plan; it’s a task! Plans need steps, they need objectives, they need a way to succeed!”

“Focus on killing the Grimm,” Jaune snapped, his temper spiking as the sound of gunfire grew louder the closer they got to the northern wall. “You fought before to save your home; you failed,” Jaune reminded the Fox Faunus, making the younger male flinch in his seat.

“This time… you don’t get to fail,” Jaune ended with a flash of teeth.

“Listen to the blond kid,” Salmon joined in, his tone carrying far less bite than Jaune’s. “You want to make it through this? To keep those Fang friends of yours safe? Then you fight.”

“But- can we win like this? There were so many Grimm back in Bastion…” Oto fearfully recalled.

Jaune hummed before replying, “We will not need to fight all of them. Some will disperse, Bastion will kill others, and some may not even make it to us before aide comes.”

The words were enough to cause Oto pause as he considered them. They also allowed Salmon to look in the rear-view mirror with a quirked brow, his unspoken question obvious.

Jaune shook his head, his words being little more than empty platitudes and misleading near-lies. However, a positive outlook was a shield one should not do without when fighting Grimm, even if the primary goal was for the north wall to function as a lure.

It was something of a balancing act; on the one hand, they needed the negativity to keep the Grimm from trying to encircle the base. On the other hand, if the defenders felt the situation was truly hopeless, morale would drop, and they might break.

These were not points Jaune was overly concerned with at present as both Norrel and Huntress Blue were seeing to the overall picture.

Jaune’s objectives were far more straightforward.

He was to kill the Grimm, and he would do so.

They reached the section near the north wall where other cargo carts had been parked, where a base staff member waved them down. Jaune was already out of the cart before it even came to a rest, and at the sight of his tall, rapidly approaching form, the staff member stepped back and threw up a hasty salute.

Jaune ignored it, as the salute meant little and less to him. He saw himself as neither Atlesian nor Huntsman and thus was not someone they should salute anyway.

Instead, he took in the organised chaos.

Forklifts and manned carts were loading and unloading crates and gear that soldiers and the more courageous staff were quick to organise. He could see clumps of volunteers being talked to by Atlesian soldiers, his ears picking up on the shared lecture many were being presented.

“-This is the LS-200 standard issue. Get a feel for it, check the heft, and if you aren’t familiar with rifles, try to get a feel for shouldering it. It has a 32-round magazine, and you can check your ammo on the rear display.” An Atlesian on a box overseeing another group's equipping lectured.

“You will be split into squads and take your firing instructions from your group leaders, but the premise will be simple. Shoot when they tell you and make your shots; every Grimm you down buys us precious time. You, as volunteers, will be on level one of the wall and will-“

Jaune stopped listening to the lecture as the elevator for the wall arrived, Salmon and Oto quickly rushing over from the cart to join him on it.

“So where are we going to be?” Oto enquired as he looked around, noting the assortment of staff, soldiers and volunteers.

Jaune didn’t miss how several Faunus eyes followed the fox Faunus.

Jaune slapped the button for the top level of the wall and answered Oto’s question, “You will be with me.”

“R-really? Shouldn’t you be with like the Huntress or like doing your own-“

Jaune shook his head. “Huntress Blue has her own duties, overseeing things elsewhere. Mine own will be best served here.”

“Right… but what-“

The elevator stopped, and Jaune marched off it, the sound of gunfire now present and damning as the two remaining anti-air turrets sniped Nevermore from the sky. A voice could be heard yelling over the percussive staccato of the large guns; it was Norrel.

“- We are soldiers! Accuracy is our game! Conserve your ammo, line up your shots and do not aim for their armour! Up here on top, your targets are yours to choose; land or sky doesn’t matter, so long as you kill it!”

Jaune turned the acting Base Commander out as he quickly moved along the wall to one of the enclosed spaces meant to provide cover from above. Inside, he found soldiers and staff, as well as open crates containing ammo and weapons.

He turned to the two Faunus who followed him. “Grab what you are most comfortable with; it doesn’t matter what; just grab it.” Salmon nodded and moved almost instantly to the shotgun Jaune had seen in a magazine once. Oto was more hesitant, seeming unsure of what weapon to grab.

“Slayer!”

Jaune turned and found Norrel standing there, his face once more covered but his mouth visible, clearly turned upwards in a toothy smile. “Commander Silt,” Jaune said as a way of greeting.

“Glad to have you here,” Norrel admitted earnestly, “Your sisters safe back at the hangers?”

“They are armed and alert and have been told to contact me as soon as our long-range communications are functioning,” Jaune answered.

“Glad to hear it,” Norrel stated before looking at Salmon and Oto. “Are these two-“

“They will be sticking with me,” Jaune declared firmly, leaving no room for argument. “How are the Grimm so far?” Jaune asked, his blood rising at the thought of the hunt to come.

“Early birds are making themselves known, only a couple of Beowolves so far, but we are-“

“Griffon!”

The panicked scream tore through their conversation, and the turret ramping up was clearly audible as soldiers began to take their shots. Jaune moved outside, peering up in time to see the pair of Grimm the cry had alerted him of.

The first was already bleeding, and the turrets were doing their job well tracking it through the air with deadly machine accuracy. The soldiers' additional aid sealed its fate, and the larger aerial Grimm was already careening out of the air.

But the second one was nearly atop the wall.

Jaune moved.

Three steps carried him out from the cover until he stood exposed atop the wall, directly in the path of the Grimm as it bore down on him, eyes glowing red and beaked maw wide. Ichor black blood flecked off its hide as the soldiers did their work and hammered it with ammunition, but Griffon were far more resilient than Minor Nevermore.

Jaune’s lips pulled back over his teeth as his fingers swiped back and dragged through the immaterial Mist, the substance infinitely more real in that very instant.

His hands wrapped around a weapon that caused the muscles in his arms to bulge and strain as he heaved it out and up in a devasting upward swing.

The Kirkhammer crunched into the chimeric Grimm’s skull, its bone-white mask shattering as the eyes on the left side of its head exploded in a visceral display of carnage. Its neck twisted and snapped as the flesh burst under the sudden impact, and the massive force contorted its very shape.

The Grimm’s descent was diverted and changed as Jaune followed through with the swing and, with a snarl, hurled the Grimm around and behind him. Its large, broken body careened over the rear of the wall, and Jaune heard the startled yelps below as people darted out of its path, followed by the meaty crunch as the Grimm slammed into the unyielding ground below.

Many looked to him as he stood there, looking down at the first of many Grimm he would slaughter upon this wall for the sake of buying as much time as possible.

He breathed in…

… and revelled in the Hunt.

His sisters weren’t here; there was only prey and those who had chosen to fight.

Only Salmon was a concern in his mind, and the Faunus had proved to have acceptable survival instincts.

Jaune turned back to look at the north and saw the red of numerous abominable eyes coming for the base and the souls contained within.

But now…

He was done running.

He rested his massive hammer on the wall, the hefty, bludgeoning weapon clanging loudly for all to hear, even over the gunshots.

His blood surged, and Jaune did not even try to restrain it for a moment as he roared out in challenge, “Come! Upon this stone, I will break you!” Jaune stomped on the harsh stone of wall letting himself enjoy the feeling of being unrestrained.

“There is life in the night yet! Let me partake! Give me my Hunt!”

Jaune’s roar of challenge and eager desire to slaughter the Grimm was only enhanced as cheers rang up from the display of power he had put on. All along the wall, others joined him, blood lust and defiant rage blooming as the numerous souls present readied themselves for the fight ahead.

The Grimm were here.

They were ready.