Chapter 8: Inner Demons

RNJR, Qrow and Vest were exhausted from their battle with Scarlet and Tyrian. Not to mention it was getting dark as well, Ruby helped Vest move as they had headed into Kuroyuri, which was a haunting memory for Nora and Ren.

"I'm going to go put Vest down by one of the buildings, we need to look around for firewood to make a smoke signal." Ruby said.

"Okay...be careful, like Ren said. Those two were only a mere distraction for something bigger." Jaune said as he watched Ruby take Vest over to a building. "Ren, what kind of Grimm did all this?"

Ren was silent as he didn't answer, Nora held his hand to calm him down. There on the ground not far from them, was a knife that belonged to Ren's father.

"Come on...we need to move...before that thing shows up again." Nora said. "Please Ren, once Ruby finds firewood we can make a smoke signal to get out of here."

"No, I need to kill it. Before it can do anymore harm on anyone else." Ren said. "We wait for it to come find us, then we kill it."

Qrow cocks an eyebrow up. "Kid, I don't think you know what you're saying, we've just fought two dangerous people, who I would assume is probably working for her. Which might explain why they were after Ruby." He took his flask out as he looked at it, the flask was empty as he had turned it upside down. "And I'm out.."

Ruby had placed Vest down near a building as she looked at her. "Hopefully I can find some firewood to make a smoke signal, just don't die on us so soon. We still need your help." She stood up and dashes off running all around Kuroyuri looking for any wood that would help.

~~~

Ruby couldn't find any firewood as she went back to the others. "I couldn't find anything, what I had found was either damp, moldy, or well...rusted with screws or nails."

Everyone was silent as Qrow shushed Ruby. Qrow knelt down as he put his ear on the ground, he could hear footsteps as he looked up at the rest, he signaled RNJR to move to where Vest was at.

Jaune nodded as him and RNJ as well as Qrow walked to where Vest was, Ruby looked at Qrow. "What is it?"

"Footsteps." Qrow said. "Possibly Grimm..as much as I don't want to fight. We're going to have too, again. Hopefully it'll be a cake walk."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Jaune said as he slowly poked his head from the corner of the building spotting the Nuckelavee. "I haven't seen that type before.."

"We have." Nora said holding Ren's hand still. "That came here when we were kids..."

Ren lightly nodded as he held his fathers knife. "I will avenge him.."

The Nuckelavee walked around Kuroyuri scanning the area, it didn't spot Jaune looking at it. However, there was tickle in Ruby's nose as she wiggles her nose as she was trying not to sneeze.

Qrow noticed as he tried to cover up Ruby from sneezing, but it was too late. Ruby had sneezed loudly as it attracted the attention of the Nuckelavee. The Grimm started to run over to the sound as Nora took this as an opening to attack with her hammer, swinging it at the Grimm.

The Nuckelavee hit Nora away with a hard slap as her hammer didn't do too much damage to it, it's long arms were the problem. It's long slender arms could block anything from hitting it in the face. But what about the horse? The horse was wide open, unless the long arms had also protected it as well.

Ruby turned Crescent Rose into it's rifle form as she loaded it with ice dust and shot at the horse in the eye. The Grimm screeched as the Nuckelavee had did a ear pricing screech as well, clearly it wasn't happen with what the huntress had done.

Everyone covered their ears as Qrow picked up a nearby rock and threw it into the Nuckelavee's mouth. "Will you just shut up!"

Jaune had an idea. "Ren, use my shield as a bounce pad."

Ren nodded as he ran at Jaune, who had his shield ready for launch Ren. Once Ren had jumped onto Jaune's shield, Jaune launched Ren into the air as Ren started to shoot at the Grimm.

~~~

"We have to think of a way to take this thing down." Qrow said. "If only we could cut it's arms off, and then leave it opened to stab it."

Ruby looked at Qrow as she giggled. "Good idea, we both have scythes. We can do that, but we need someone to distract it."

They both looked at Jaune who was looking at them. "No, you're not making me a decoy!"

"Too late." Ruby said grabbing Jaune and pushing him out in the open, she whistled as loudly to get the Grimms attention. "Have fun Jaune."

"Ruby!" Jaune shrikes as he saw the Nuckelavee charging at it. Jaune braced himself, but notice how fast it was charging him. "Crap, crap, crap!"

Ruby and Qrow watched Jaune run the other way from them, as the Grimm followed Jaune. Nora and Ren looked at the two with a similar idea, but the two would shoot at it after Ruby and Qrow had cut it's arms off.

"Okay, here goes." Qrow said as him and Ruby started running around the corner of where Jaune was coming from.

The Grimm had followed him around the buildings as once it had came around the corner where Qrow and Ruby were waiting at, the two scythe wielders swung their scythes at the Nuckelavee's arms successfully cutting them off, leaving the Grimm armless.

"Okay Ren, our turn." Nora said as she turned her Hammer into it's grenade launcher form.

Ren nodded as he held tightly onto his father's knifes. "Right, let's do this." Ren held one of his weapons in one hand and the knife in the other.

"Do it!" Qrow barked.

Both Nora and Ren started to shoot at the Nuckelavee as this had also made an opening for Ren to charge head on. He jumped from nearby building's walls and up to the Nuckelavee as he swung his father's knife at it's neck cutting it's head off. The Grimm's head fell off as Nora used her hammer to bash the horse Grimm's head in.

Ruby dashes over to Vest as she helped her up, everyone watched to see what would happen to the Grimm, the Nuckelavee's head exploded into a small poof of smoke while it's body and the horse exploded as well, but into a pillar of uprising smoke. Which drew attention to two nearby airships, which had landed nearby.

RNJR got onto one airship while Qrow helped Vest onto the other one. "Take us to Mistral, this one needs a doctor."

The pilot nodded as both airships took off from Kuroyuri and headed off to Mistral, Ren was relieved knowing he got vengeance on the Grimm that had killed the entire village, he rested his head against the wall of the airship and closed his eyes. "Mission...accomplished...for now."

A/N: [Vest didn't get to do anything in this chapter, since she was poisoned in the last chapter. But I still can't take credit for her character, credit goes to my friend on Discord.]