Dire Reunion

"GIL!" Laura yelled as she ran down the hill and into her cousin's arms. He froze in place, watching in confusion as she hugged him tightly. "How did your assignment go?"

"Well enough," Gil replied while moving his hand away from the scabbard on his back. Usually, his cousin being affectionate would've warmed his heart were it not for the murderous look of embarrassment plastered on her face. [She must've figured out what I was planning.]

She stepped back with a forced smile and peered at the black-haired girl beside him. "Were you and Blake getting along okay? I know how nervous you get around new people."

"We got along just fine. We were just finishing up an interesting conversation about Imperial Arms before you arrived." Gil replied. [This sounds forced, I might have to go through with it anyway.]

Thankfully they weren't able to dwell on the conversation for long, as the sounds of loud yelling and laughter echoed towards them. It was a surefire sign that Alisa was close by.

"So you're telling me that old Junior's the one who runs that shady nightclub downtown? I thought that place was run by some ancient old man." Alisa walked between Yang and Weiss, two members of Team RWBY. The blonde-haired one known as Yang was laughing loudly at the girl's eagerness for information. Weiss, on the other hand, seemed less than pleased. "Okay, okay, just to double-check. He's got those two bodyguards, right? The girls with the heels?"

"Yup, right on the money," Yang replied. Her blonde hair was a mess of orange leaves, and she kept picking them off tenderly. Her outfit was revealing to say the least. With a brown short cut top that left her midriff exposed and a similarly-sized pair of shorts, Gil was surprised she wasn't freezing in the autumn weather. "Speaking of money..."

"I know, I know, one minute!" Alisa's pen scribbled a mile a minute across the pages of the heavy tome she carried at all times. Once she was satisfied, she stowed it on her hip and produced a bag full of lien, which she generously handed to Yang. "Here's your commission as promised. Keep coming to me with more juicy info, and we'll both leave very happy."

While Yang began to think of what to use her newfound wealth on, Alisa turned to Weiss with a perverse look of excitement.

"Weissy! Can you tell me some of the inner workings of the SDC? Nothing major or dangerous, of course, nope, nothing like that!" She reached around, patting the girl on the shoulder, eliciting a look of disgust from the noble-born girl. "Maybe the location of a mine or two, guard shifts, easy harmless stuff like that!"

"No. I'll pass. And my names, not Weissy!" She huffed, crossing her hands protectively over her chest. "While I admire your eagerness for information gathering, there are some things I can't discuss with you."

"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud! Another time 'kay?" She made sure the tome was hooked onto a pair of straps and readjusted the bag of jars she'd slung over her shoulder. "Regardless, you two have made momma very happy. And very rich too!"

Weiss started to back away from the pink-haired girl, but Yang seemed to get swept up in the mood. Together the two of them ran back to the group, where they counted their collective jars. Once everything was in order, they began to move back towards the landing site.

Yang leaned over to Alisa and whispered. "Remember, some of those extra jars you got are mine. I'll hide one or two in my shirt. I think if you keep one in your skirt, we can get off scot-free-"

"GAAAAAAGH!!"

A loud scream from the forest made everyone but Gil jump. Immediately, they dropped the jars to the ground and moved back to back, weapons at the ready intrepid anticipation.

"Grimm?" Gil asked calmly. Instead of being in the circle, he stood in front of Laura protectively. "Now of all times?"

"Most likely," Weiss said, eyeing the forest cautiously with an elegant silver rapier in her hand. "We can't move like this; either we find a better place to fight, or we run to the bullheads."

"Yeah yeah! What she said!" Ruby hollered in agreement while switching her red scythe into its rifle form.

"We'll reposition, get better ground and buy time for the other students. Follow my lead!" Pushing past her cousin, Laura broke into a sprint. She elegantly ducked under branches and vaulted over tree roots without losing any speed. Suddenly something broke through the foliage on her left. She tensed up as a Beowulf broke through the trees, its jaws opened wide to bite at her.

She backstopped, dodging the attack while gesturing towards the creature with a finger. "Gil!" She ordered, as her semblance sent the beast down to the earth, pinned under the weight of gravity.

"Of course." Having been following closely behind her the entire time, it was easy for him to split the creature's skull in two with his axe. There was a satisfying crunch, and the Grimm stopped moving. "Don't slow down; there are more coming from the other sides."

"I see a spot we can fight in!" Yang called, gesturing to a spot of open area.

The group followed her and found themselves in a relatively open part of the forest. It was a plain like area, with flat ground and good visibility of the surrounding forest edge.

"Excellent! We'll stand our ground here. If you feel you're being overwhelmed, retreat into the trees to lose some of the aggression." Laura commanded, "We'll gamble on their size, keeping them from maneuvering in a large pack."

No sooner had she finished speaking when bright red lights began to shine from the shadows around them. Slowly, they moved forward, revealing the snouts of Beowulf. One of the creatures stood out from the rest. It was roughly two and a half times as big as the others, with more armor plating than three of them combined. It hobbled forward, and Laura could see its front left leg was missing from the joint downward.

The Alpha Beowulf howled, sending the sea of black lurching towards them. The next few seconds were a mess of close combat, filled with the howls of dying beasts and the cries of the Huntsmen. It was frantic, a mad dance of life and death. Yet, the students were all prepared for it.

Ruby and Alisa somehow ended up fighting in the treetops. Together the two of them rained down bullets and explosions on groups of unsuspecting Grimm. Every crack of a rifle meant that another Grimm had been struck down.

Both Yang and Weiss worked together to keep their numbers at bay. Whenever a large mass of Grimm would approach, Weiss would use glyphs to freeze the horde in place. Yang quickly followed, smashing into skulls and ribs with her gauntlets, sending the creatures flying into the air.

Running around the group was Blake. There was a small group of Grimm following her, nipping at her heels. Suddenly she fell to the ground, and the Grimm piled on top of her, only to discover they'd just attacked a copy. Before they could react, she fell onto them, piercing the throat of the one she landed on, before turning her gun on the other two and executing them.

Gil and Laura fought their way towards the boss. Their teamwork was impeccable; even without words, they swapped positions frequently. Gil would cleave a Beowulf in two, and Laura would slice the head off another with her twin blades. However, things began to go south. One Grimm slipped past their guard and raked its claws across Laura's shoulder.

Purple aura flared around her body, and she pierced its heart with her sword, turning it to ash. There was no time to rest as the horde surrounding them grew thicker and thicker the closer they got to the Alpha. Another Beowulf snuck up on them, jumping on Gil's leg and dragging him back into the crowd.

"Laura! Be careful! They're trying to separate us!" He cried as he fought through the mass of black to reach her. He felt claws rake his back, teeth bite into his arms, but he fought through the discomfort to close the distance between them.

"I'm trying!" She yelled while stabbing her swords into a Grimm's collarbone before snapping its neck with a brutal twist. Right as she pulled the blades free, the Alpha appeared behind her with astonishing speed. She quickly raised her guard but was too slow to fully guard its body slam.

She flew backwards, sliding across the ground as she felt the air knocked from her lungs.

"LAURA!" Gil roared while desperately fighting his way towards her. Hatchet dug into bone and flesh, his fists slammed into snouts, and he kicked away the smaller Grimm with ease. No matter how hard he fought, it seemed to drag him farther and farther away.

There was no time. The Alpha was upon her again, drool leaking from its mouth as it growled at her. Soon those jaws would be around her neck, and her life would be extinguished.

[I won't be killed by a filthy creature like that!] She snarled, shakily rising to her feet and raising her swords defiantly. Her shoulder ached from the attack, and she couldn't seem to draw a full breath. "If my place is to die here, then I will die with honour!"

She felt the crowd surge towards her; it was suffocating, terrifying. Right as she thought she would die, something yellow flashed across her vision. The Grimm surrounding her quickly turned to dust, save the Alpha whose claw stopped a foot away from piercing her skull.

The loud scraping sound of metal on chitin filled the area. She looked up and saw a figure standing in front of her, dressed in a black capelet with a hood thrown over their head. The figure let out a loud roar and pushed the Grimm off balance, sending it tumbling to the ground.

"Hey, there stumpy! remember me?" The hooded figure slammed his foot into the creature's chest, leaned closer while tapping their sword against their shoulder. The Grimm snapped at them, but the figure simply chuckled and leaned back just enough to avoid being injured. "Woah! Easy there, buddy, it was just a joke!"

Laura's eyes widened, "That voice... don't tell me."

The figure threw down their hood, revealing a mess of spiky blue hair. The black sword on their shoulder glinted in the midday sun, along with the red armlet on their wrist. From their back was an explosion of yellow-coloured shards of energy. They vibrated in the air, crackling energy stretching between them to form the rough shape of a sharp wing.

"Raishun... Is it really you?"