... the ones we once saw...

Logan watched as the child leave, taking cover deep in the forest behind him. Soon after, Logan could sense the child move erratically to make sure none of those that were controlled could follow him back to the cave he and the others called home. Sighing one he was sure the kid was gone, Logan looked back at those that were patrolling the gate. They had gone back to ignoring Logan after the kid left.

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Deciding to make sure the kid was telling the truth, Logan used his [Aura Pulse] (The ability to vanish for one minute) after getting into a blind spot on the gate. Once [Aura Pulse] was used, Logan flew up and over the gate as quickly and as quietly as he could. Landing on the other side, Logan was met with a desolate village, not counting those behind him. Moving quickly towards the resident section of the village, Logan took cover inside a random house when his mental timer for his [Aura Pulse] was almost out. Inside Logan found a relatively sparsed furnished house with a firepit in the center of it.

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The house was nothing fancy, but one you would easily find in a rural village. Logan took the time while his [Aura Pulse] need to come back (5-minute recharge) to check out the house. Logan found nothing out of the ordinary in any of the rooms or basement the house had. Just spare clothes, food, furniture, and tools for farming. Make sure nothing was disturbed when Logan was looking around, he headed back out after his [Aura Pulse] was recharged and activated once again.

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Finding no one waiting in ambush for him, Logan dashed away and headed off towards the mine knowing that he would have to deal with the Grimm first. If he didn't and destroyed the Brother's avatars, the Grimm would attack the villagers. Getting to the mine, Logan found an overhead perch to hide on as his timer ran out. Peaking over the edge, Logan had a clear view inside the main shaft of the mine. From what he could see, there were four branching paths almost right after the entrance. From the traffic going in and out of the mine, the four paths were divided into ins and outs.

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Logan: 'So far, nothing out of the ordinary.' Logan thought as he laid on the ledge. 'From the looks of it, if I can see where they sleep or lay down for the night then I'd be able to stage a night attack when they would least expect it. Hell, even killing the Grimm while they slept would be even better. Though with the Brothers so close by, I would doubt they wouldn't notice if they suddenly died during the night.'

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As Logan planned out what he would need to do, he watched and waited for night to fall, looking for anything that he could use to his advantage. Making a mental map of the village from what he could see while keeping track of what Grimm came out and when. Soon it got too much for Logan to keep track of it all, so he pulled out a notepad and pencil. Jotting down things that he noticed or would need to keep in mind while also writing down his plan in chicken scratch. Legible enough for him to read but not for others who may find the notepad if he ever drops it.

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Logan: 'All I've seen so far in Grimm are Beowolfs, Ursas, Creeps, Beringals, and the odd Centinel.' Logan thought as he jotted them down. 'The Beringals and Beowolfs are the heavy lifters while the Ursas and Creeps move the carts when the people can't. The Centinels act like deep penetrating scanners looking for ore and watching out for caves. Out of all of them, only the Centinels would pose a problem since they sleep underground. Maybe I can find a way to draw them to me once I start? Or find a way I could trap them for now then deal with them later?' Logan continued to think as he examined all he could. 'But still, I feel like I'm missing something.'

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As Logan pondered what he was missing, he heard a horn sound out from the village gate. Soon, every person and Grimm rushed out from wherever they were. The people armed themselves with bows as the Grimm charged the gate. From the other side of the Gate, the doors broke open to reveal Grimm with glowing blue eyes as they charged towards the ones controlled by the Brother Gods. Logan watched in awe as Grimm fought Grimm and with each one that fell, they rose back up and joined the other side in the fight with the villagers fighting from behind the red-eyed Grimm. As the fight raged on, Logan felt someone hop down beside him. Acting on instinct, Logan had his [Ace of Spades] out and pointing at the unexpected guest.

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02: "Same team! Same team!" The familiar form of the Homunculus 02 shouted as he raised his hands into the air.

Logan: "02?!" Logan exclaimed in shock. "It's been almost a full year since the last time we've meet."

02: "Yeah, long time no see." 02 said as he dropped his hands. "Master Magus sends his regards about not contacting you sooner. But with the current Grimm King disappearance and the odd Grimm behavior, we've been swamped with trying to find out why."

Logan: "I can answer that." Logan said as he gestured towards the battle occurring before them.

02: "The odd Grimm?" 02 questioned as he watched. "Why is this happening?"

Logan: "I'm not too sure about those with the blue eyes, but the ones they are fighting are being controlled." Logan explained as he put away his notepad.

02: "By who though?" 02 asked. "The only ones that could control them are the Grimm King, who's missing, and the Brother God of Darkness."

Logan: "Well, you've got your answer." Logan told him. "The Grimm King decided to try and forcibly summon the Brother Gods to Remnant. But, what he got were the avatars they had made and now are currently controlling everyone in the village including the Grimm."

02: "That's not good. That's not good at all." 02 muttered, sweat starting to fall down his face. "Master must be notified at once."

Logan: "Could you help me before you leave?" Logan asked when he saw that 02 was about to teleport away.

02: "I can't risk myself being exposed to the Brother Gods while those avatars are here." 02 explained. "My existence could destroy all that we have worked towards."

Logan: "That's what I'm here for anyway." Logan spoke. "All I need you to do is get the people that are being controlled out of the way after I knock them all out. Get them towards the back of the village and put a protective barrier around them, then leave. Can you do that?"

02: "I can, but what about the avatars?" 02 asked. "What will you do about them?"

Logan: "Simple." Logan said as he armed himself with his sword and the [Ace of Spades]. 'I'll kill them before they can do much more."

02: "Killing their avatars is one thing, but to kill the Gods themselves..."02 shuttered, but before he could continue, Logan had jumped off. Leaving him alone with his thoughts.

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As Logan plummeted down towards the village, he was already shooting the red-eyed Grimm before he reached the ground. Taking out the one that would prove to be a hassle before he even moved after hitting the ground and rolling. By the time the controlled villagers even turned to face Logan, he was too close for them to use their bows. Most did the smart thing and threw away their bows before picking up the nearest thing to use as a melee weapon, some using the bows themselves as an improvised weapon.

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Logan paid no heed to their readying and rushed in. The first few weren't fast enough and suffered a blow to the chin which rattled their brains, courtesy of the flat-side of Logan's sword. One managed to grab Logan's arm while several came at him with stones in their hands. Logan pivoted and threw the one that grabbed him over his head and onto the ones charging him with stones. Moving back, Logan dipped, ducked, and dodged as they started to show a good cohesion in attacks. Acting before they could make the pace of the fight, Logan unleashed his ash and fired condensed balls at them. Knocking a little less than a dozen out cold. A few managed to dodge them mostly but still got grazed. Just enough for Logan to catch them off guard when they stumbled and knock them out.

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{With 02}

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02 watched in awe as he looked upon Logan's form as he fought. Each strike was where it needed to be and with enough force to do its job. Even after the villagers started to work together, 02 was amazed at how Logan moved and countered. To him, Logan appeared to be dancing in battle. When 02 saw that they were starting to pile up, he noticed Logan pulling them away from those he knocked unconscious.

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02 saw what Logan was doing and acted quickly. Conjuring up blindfolds and binds, in case they woke up, and teleporting the ones already out cold to the back of the village inside a food storage building. 02 kept pulling them when he could without giving himself away. During a lull in people he could pull out of there, 02 set up a simple barrier to keep them safe and unconscious. Checking back on Logan, 02 found that he had disabled and knocked out the last few villagers. Taking the chance, 02 blindfolded and bound them before teleporting them into the building.

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{With Logan}

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Logan watched as 02 took away the last villager after binding them. When Logan looked to 02, 02 pointed to a building on the backside of the village. Logan nodded his head, getting what 02 was saying before he teleported away. Logan sighed as he looked over the blue-eyed Grimm that surrounded him. None moved to attack him as Logan stood there.

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One large Beowolf approached Logan and sniffed him before turning and heading off towards the unfinished castle along with the rest. Logan figured it wouldn't hurt to have a few allies when fighting the Brother Gods so he walked and then fell into step with the Beowolf that sniffed him. A quick glance at the Grimm gave Logan all he needed to know about it. The Grimm, while larger than a normal Beowolf, was extremely old and experienced. Numerous bone plates showed deep gouges, scratch makes, and cracks throughout them. Its body was the same way yet Logan could tell that had learned from its losses and had overcome a lot that its life had thrown at it.

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Logan sighed as he continued walking, understanding that if they fought, one would cease to exist. That thought plagued his mind until Logan and the Grimm were at the massive wooden doors that lead into the half-built castle. Logan looked to the Beowolf that seemed to be the leader of the blue-eyed Grimm and the Grimm in question did the same. They looked at each other for a minute before Logan just nodded his head and stepped back. The Grimm took the offer and raised an arm and then pointed at the doors. The surrounding Grimm charged past them and broke down the door in one big tidal wave of Grimm. Logan and the Beowolf watched as the flood of Grimm surged into the castle without pause. As soon as they were the last ones outside, the two walked in. The Beowolf growled and Logan held his sword and his [Ace of Spades] at the ready.

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Inside, the two found the avatars of the Brother Gods fighting off the Grimm with relative ease. The Brother of light was releasing blasts of concentrated light that destroyed any Grimm that approached him. The Brother of Darkness was creating tendrils of magic to capture and turn the Blue-eyed Grimm back and sending them off to fight. Logan motioned for the Beowolf to take care of the Darkness brother's avatar while he would take on the Light brother's avatar. The Beowolf nodded its head and dashed off, leaving Logan alone and growling out orders that got the Grimm's attention.

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Logan sighed once again, he knew that this was going to be a long fight.