Moving Forward

Just on the other side of the once great village Kuroyuri, Melody sat on the staircase of what once was a simple little home as a set of crows gathered around it; some of them had been around her. Her knees had been close to her chest as she played with the cross around her neck. There was nothing but silence, all except for the wind that often blew in her direction. She would occasionally flinch from the cold, but… She didn't mind it a lot.

The words of her father kept repeating the back of her head. She had been in a turmoil about what happened. She had been trying to decide what it was she wanted to do. She desperately wanted to control the creature that had been inside her; hell, she wanted to tell them.

Her friends… Ruby… But… She couldn't.

She was… Scared.

Too scared to tell them, too scared to hear what they would think of her.

She resented her mother--No, Celia leaving sur, but she still blamed herself, for not even realizing it was there in the first place. She saw the way they looked at her, when she went to Jaune.

And… She hated it.

Melody sighed as she laid back on the wooden porch, running her fingers through her hair. Frosty who had been by her side the whole time crawled over her and sniffed the cross around her neck. A single crow sauntered over to her before it pecked at the cross a little.

She couldn't help but chuckle slightly, "You like it huh?"

Frosty tilted his head, while the crow let out a curious noise.

"It was a present from my dad when I got into Signal." Melody explained, "My sister has one like this too. Even after I left home, I still kept it. Funny thing is… I always thought it was protecting me, since--I've been alive out here for two years."

Her expression changed as she looked to the sky above.

"You know--" She started to say, "--Sometimes I wonder if I ever made the right choice. About leaving Patch. I want to see my Aunt sure, but..." She only groaned, as she collected her thoughts, "... I don't want to hurt them. Or worse--Kill them. Though… Sometimes I lie awake at night… Wondering if I made the right call. I don't regret not going to Beacon. I've seen too much of the world to know that it could use more people like me. But… What if the rest of them hate me for leaving so suddenly? What if--They decide, I'm not family anymore… You know what I mean?"

Frosty let out a yawn while the crow only ruffled its feathers. She only chuckled slightly at this sort of thing.

"Thanks--You guys are a huge help." She said amusingly, before she looked at her hands, "... Maybe I should tell them about the Creature. I kept it from them long enough… Even from Ruby. After what I was about to do to Jaune… They have the right to know at least."

Suddenly Melody felt the ground shake as the crows took to the skies and flew away; Frosty's ears perked up as he looked in the direction.

"The hell--?!"

She sat herself up as she looked to the direction of the noise. She could hear the sounds of gunfire, and saw the smoke. Her eyes widened in realization, as her body shook.

"Ruby--Dad--!"

With only that, she grabbed her weapon and ran towards the sounds; Frosty followed close behind as she hoped and prayed, they were all still standing.

***

Team RNJR, Roman, Cristal, Scout, and Rosario all flew back as each of them nearly slid across the concrete floor; though some of them had slight difficulty since some were still injured from the previous fight. They all caught their breath and turned their attention to what had hit them exactly.

A creature of Grimm, though it wasn't like any of the Beowolves or Ursa they have ever seen before. This Grimm in particular, was a bone-like horse-like creature, with paws on the front and hooves on the back, giving off a sound of a pattern as it had walked. On its back, there was a humanoid creature it's mouth sewn shut though the inside of its mouth glowed red.

It had long horns sticking out of its forehead and the arms being so long it's clawed hands had been dragged along the ground. It's eyes glowed red in a pool of black tar, and arrows and all other sorts of weapons were wedged into its back, though it didn't seem to care that they were nor did it even notice it was there.

The creature, a Nuckeleve as Cristal had called it, looked upon the group, most of them having a horrified look on their faces.

Cristal could hear its voice speaking out.

"NOT… ENOUGH… NOT… ENOUGH…"

"All this rage--" Cristal said, "--All this malice… I never felt it from just one Grimm alone…"

"Do--" Ruby said as she gulped, "--Do you think you can calm it?"

The Nuckeleve's head twitched as Cristal could hear its voice again, "NOT ENOUGH… NOT ENOUGH… SPILL… SPILL… SPILL MORE BLOOD…"

"I think--" Cristal said, "--That option left a long time ago…"

"SPILL… SPILL…" The Nuckeleve said before it set its sights on Qrow, "SPILL MORE…!"

Much to their own horror it started to charge towards Qrow, or at least--That was the Grimm's attention.

"SENKA! STOP HIM!!" Cristal shouted.

With a roar Senka charged at the Nuckelavee, headbutting the beast in its chest. He had been able to keep him from moving, though they could see he had been struggling. "He's not gonna hold him for long!" Rosario said, "Someone take him!"

"Right!" Jaune spoke up, before anyone else could have a chance.

The Nuckelave managed to toss Senka out of the way before it thrusted its arm towards him. Jaune was able to evade with ease before he got Qrow to his feet. This however didn't stop the Nuckelave from charging.

"Jaune!" Ruby cried out as she went to run towards him, though had been stopped by Cristal.

Jaune stood paralyzed with fear, as it came at him with an aggressive force just as he had gotten Qrow to his feet. However, just as it had gotten close the color on his and Qrows body suddenly vanished, shocking them. The very second it happened, the Nuckeleve seemed confused suddenly, even Senka himself; they even started to look around for him.

They looked over and saw Ren had been kneeling; his hand had been on the ground and glowing a dim white glow.

"Just go!" Ren shouted to Jaune, "Get him to safety!"

Roman, Ruby, Nora, Rosario, Cristal and Scout quickly drew the Nuckelavee's attention as they started to fire at it; Cristal quickly whistled for Senka before they started their barrage. As expected, it turned to them before charging.

"SCATTER!" Ruby shouted.

They quickly split apart as the Nuckelavee ran into a ruined building, shattering it to pieces. They fired on the beast once more just as Jaune used it as an opportunity to get Qrow to safety; the color soon left them, just as Jaune was far enough from the others.

He had gotten Qrow just far enough from the fight as he set him against the wall of a half collapsed house. He jumped at the sounds of gunfire and the cries of his friends, though he didn't let his fear get the better of him. With a grip of his weapon he went back into the fray. That was until he felt something grab his hand.

When he looked back he saw that it had been Qrow, as he had a look of worry. He looked as though he had been about to say something, but he failed to do so as he ended up passing out again. Giving one last look, Jaune quickly ran back to help his friends as Qrow unconsciously let go of him.

As he ran back into the fray, the group either fired or charged at the Nuckelavee, doing what they could to bring it down. Ruby, Roman and Cristal charged at the beast, with Roman backing the girls as he fired from his cane. They charged at the Nuckelavee, blades in all.

Cristal went to attack its legs, attempting to get it at a disadvantage, however all it did was attack her. It kicked her back with its foot causing her to fly back and hit the ground. Roman quickly rushed to his daughter's side and tended to her.

Ruby gritted her teeth before she went to attack high above. She leapt high into the air with the help of her Crescent Rose. She would have succeeded at least in getting one hit, were it not for the Nuckelavee. It grabbed a hold of her and slammed her in the ground hard, causing a significant amount of damage to her aura.

Nora and Scout went to attack next but the beast grabbed Nora with its other arm before it tossed her to Scout causing them to fly back as well. Rosario and Ren ran around it as they fired from their own weapons, getting its attention.

The Nuckelave extended its arms towards them, as it had succeeded in grabbing ahold of Ren. He struggled from its grip but had no such luck in getting free.

"Oh hell no!" Rosario said before she dashed towards the creature and let out a series of kicks firing rounds.

The bullets hit the hands of the Nuckelavee and it was forced to let go. The whole now standing surrounded the creature all armed and ready.

"GUYS!" Jaune yelled, "RUN IN A CIRCLE! KEEP MOVING!"

They nodded their heads to Jaune and started to run in a circle as they fired onto the creature and attacked it from all sides. The Nuckelavee tried to attack them all but had no such luck hitting them since they all just kept moving, and dodging its attacks.

Despite their bullets and even the flare shots from Roman's weapon the Nuckelavee didn't even seem phased by it whatsoever. Their strategy fell apart suddenly when Roman fell on his knees, when he felt a sudden dizziness. Blood had gone through his shirt and dripped onto the stone floor; he groaned and coughed up some blood.

The Nuckelavee used this as an opportunity to attack.

"DAD!" Cristal exclaimed with worry.

Ruby acted fast and used her semblance, equipping her scythe (Since she folded up earlier) and managed to get in front of him. She blocked the hand from hitting him, but it grabbed the base of her scythe. With a scream she found herself flying through the air. It shook her back and forth as if she were a ragged doll. Jaune went to strike; we attacked the Nuckelavee legs and it cried out with agony dropping Ruby. While she landed on her feet he was kicked back with his back legs and Jaune was sent hurtling back a few feet, though he managed to stick the landing.

Ruby quickly ran to Roman's side, as he was still on his knees, holding himself up with his cane. "Are you okay?" Ruby asked him with concern.

"I'm fine." Roman said standing up, hitting his side in an attempt to stop the bleeding, "Just worry about taking that thing out!"

Ruby helped him to stand up, still having a look of concern on her face, "As long as your sure…"

He and Ruby soon noticed Jaune sheathing his blade, "What are you doing!?" Ruby shouted to him.

"Fights not over yet Arky!" Roman yelled after Ruby.

He removed the sword from his belt sheathed in all; the blade had extended itself, making the sword seemingly bigger, which colored Ruby and Roman impressed. They quickly jumped back into the fight, despite Roman's wound having opened back up. Jaune ran behind it and attacked it with his two handed weapon, and it screamed, while Ruby fired onto the creature.

Once again the group had fired onto the beast leaving it somewhat defenseless. Finally the Nuckelavee had enough; stretching itself it started to spin around with it's arms extending, catching everyone by surprise and sending them flying in all directions.

The spines on its back had extended, and it let out a very powerful screech, causing everyone's ears to bleed; they tried to muffle the sound, but it was to no avail.

"HEY UGLY!"

A bullet had hit its arm letting the screeches come to a halt. The whole group turned and saw Melody armed with her weapon, and Frosty hanging on her shoulder.

"Leave my friends alone!" She said, as she coaxed the beast to come to her. With another roar the creature charged over at the young girl.

"MELODY! DON'T BE AN IDIOT!" Rosario yelled.

"RUN THE OTHER WAY!" Scout shouted.

Melody quickly jumped out of the way as the beast charged at her; she took the opportunity to equip her scythe and she charged at it with full speed. Despite only having one working arm, she used all of strength and energy into her attacks and swings. The others and cousin shouted at her, trying to tell her to run the other way and regroup, though she wasn't listening; she just kept attacking it with full force.

It seemed like she had it on the ropes as the blade hit its leg and arms, though that was short lived when the Nuckelavee grabbed her ankle and swung her upward. Right when it threw her to the ground Melody managed to catch herself with the help of her scythe. Once again it was short lived when it hit her with its other arm, right across the face, and she skidded across the floor; Her aura shimmered slightly showing that it had easily broken.

"THAT'S IT!" Ruby exclaimed, as she ran she grabbed ahold of her Crescent Rose that she dropped earlier; Rosario and Scout soon followed behind her. Ruby charged at the best, hitting it with her scythe before gaining a distance and firing at the Nuckelavee.

Rosario jumped high into the air and fell towards it, attempting to hit its face, but it grabbed a hold of her prosthetic leg, which was a mistake on the beasts part when she equipped her blade; she sliced off one of it's fingers, and flew towards it thanks to her gun heels and hit the horse and the humanoid, head on.

Despite this it still didn't seem phased by it.

Scout charged at it with blades and attempted to attack its legs but once again it proved to be useless. It tried to hit her with it's foot, but Scout was able to use her semblance and the foot just phased right through her.

As Rosario and Scout got the Nuckelavee distracted, Ruby ran over to her cousin and helped her up off of the floor.

"What in the world were you thinking!?" Ruby exclaimed, "You can't take this thing on by yourself!"

"I could've handled it!" Melody said to her, picking up her scythe.

"The only way we can beat this thing is together!" Ruby said to her, "You don't have to fight it on your own!"

"I'm just trying to keep you safe!"

"You don't have to keep me safe!"

"Yes I do! Because you don't know that thing like I do and I don't want you to get killed because of me!"

Ruby looked at her with a confused look, as Melody covered her mouth suddenly. Ruby was soon to realize that Melody wasn't talking about the Grimm before them. "Wait, what?" Ruby said.

Right before Melody was about to say something, her whole body had tensed.

"LOOK OUT!" Melody yelled, shoving Ruby out of the way suddenly.

The next thing Ruby knew, Melody's head snapped to the side roughly as the Nuckelavee's hand ran across her skull. Melody's pupils dilated as she fell on her side roughly; the whole group's eyes widened in horror as most of their faces paled.

"NOO!!!" Ruby shouted as tears started to form.

"No!" Jaune said fearfully, "No, not again!"

"God damn it!" Roman said.

He started firing at the Nuckelavee, getting its attention towards him. The Nuckelavee charged over at Roman, Cristal, Nora, and Ren as they quickly scattered. As they had engaged, Ruby rushed to her cousin's side as she took her in her arms; Jaune, Rosario and Scout went to her side as they did everything they could to keep Melody's eyes open. Even Frosty tried his best as he started to lick her cheek.

"Melody!" Ruby pleaded, "Please stay with me!"

"Damn it Melody!" Rosario said, "You didn't have to do that!"

"What's wrong with her!?" Jaune yelled.

Scout looked over Melody; she felt her pulse before letting out a gasp, placing her hand over her mouth. "What?" Ruby said, "What is it?"

Scout started to tear up as she looked at Ruby and Rosario, "I'm sorry…" She said with her voice cracking, "I'm sorry… There's nothing I can--I'm sorry…"

Scout started to drown herself in sobs, as the three of them put two and two together. "No…" Ruby said her voice cracking, taking Melody in her arms holding her close, "No, no, no, no... I can't lose her… Not her, please not her!!"

"Melody… You idiot…" Rosario through her tears.

"Melody I'm sorry…" Scout said burying her face in her hands, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

Jaune lips started to quiver, he fell to his knees as tears started to form, "No… This can't be happening…" He said before yelling, "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!!"

"Melody…" Ruby cried before shouting, "MELODY!!" Ruby buried her into her hair, as she continued to cry.

The world seemed to have slowed down around them, as the Nuckelavee batted Roman, Neo, Ren and Nora to the side, turning its attention towards the sound of cries. They didn't realize that Melody's eyes started to move, struggling to look around.

"Wha…" Melody started to think through her head, "Am I dying…? I can't… I can't die… Not here… Not while…"

Melody's attention was drawn to the sound of sobs; Her eyes moved and saw where the sounds were coming from.

"Jaune…? Rosario…? Scout…?" She saw tears falling from their faces and the Nuckelavee in the distance preparing to charge them.

"No… It's… Please stop crying… You have to run… If you don't you'll all be…"

She soon felt tears run down her face that were not of her own. Her eyes moved up and saw that Ruby was in tears and felt her holding onto her. Ruby's face was drenched with her own tears and though her vision was a blur, her eyes bloodshot red, and she was letting out horrific wails.

"Ruby…? No… Please don't cry… I'm still here… I'm still here… I can't die… I can't…"

Images soon started to go through her head, as she saw herself once more as a child in front of familiar faces, just laughing at not just her, but at a child younger than her, with big silver eyes, just crying after being pushed. Melody felt her body, her blood run cold as she heard them laugh mockingly at her

"Eat dirt you little babies!"

"Shut up…"

"What are you going to do about it? We're bigger than you!"

"... Stop laughing..."

"Don't tell us what to do little girl!"

"... I'll make you pay… I'll make you all pay with blood…"

Melody's fingers in her makeshift cast, just as the the people around her, turned to finally realizing that the Nuckelavee was going to charge at them, and the others shouted at them as to try to get them to move though, they just stood there as still as statues as it went to attack them.

"No! No, not them!" Cristal cried as she went to rush towards them, though Senka was quick to stop her.

The Nuckelavee soon charged towards them as the rest of the group watched helplessly.

"NO!" Ren exclaimed.

Just as he was about to run over to help them, a blade of some kind suddenly appeared, hitting the knee of the large beast, making Ren stop in his tracks and the others jumped at this. Ruby and the others soon realized that it wasn't a blade, but a narrow claw that had acted like a blade.

There eyes followed and saw that it was Melody herself, as more claws started to grow from her good arm, which put them all into a state of shock. When they turned to Melody, they saw her eyes were black and her pupils narrow.

She gave a faint growl, as she bared fangs; her shirt and jacket started partly tearing up as her body started to grow bigger. Her hands grew larger and claws started to grow, tearing apart her gloves. She ripped up her makeshift cast and the once broken arm just seemingly repaired itself, which left the group stunned.

Her raven black hair had become undone as her white ribbon fell from where it was tied. Most of her hair started to sink into her skin as it changed into dark gray fur, and white fur appeared underneath her neck. Her face changed to that of a wolf, and a black nose appeared just above her mouth and even ears appeared at the top of her head. A pair of antelope horns suddenly grew out of her head, just near her ears, and a tail started to grow on her lower back.

Her legs started to grow as well, ripping apart her leggings and partly her pants as her legs grew longer. Her shoes were ripped apart as her own feet grew slightly bigger.

They became gray hind feet and claws developed on two of her toes, and her legs became furry just up her knees where a part of her leggings were still seen and a long reptile's tail grew out of her lower back, and everyone that saw her knew her appearance didn't know what to think.

Frosty whimpered as he hid behind Ruby, while Ruby herself stared at Melody, feeling very mixed emotions on what she was witnessing.

"What… The hell…" Rosario said in shock.

"What… Is this?" Scout said.

"... What…" Jaune said, "What happened to her…?"

Ruby let go of the teenage girl as she stood up from the ground on her tall legs; Ruby stood up as well just shocked by Melody's sudden change of appearance. "Melody…?" Ruby said, "... Melody is that…?"

As the nail retracted itself into the being's hand, it let out a fearsome roar, before charging at the Nuckelavee attacking its arms and horse. The Nuckelavee tried to attack back, but the Creature proved to be too quick on its feet as it moved like the animal the young girl was now.

It moved with its hands and feet, and at one point it jumped onto the horse latching onto the Nuckelavee's humanoid body. The group jumped when it sunk its fangs right into the beast's shoulder and neck making it roar with agony.

"HOLY CRAP!" Rosario exclaimed.

"What the hell is going on?!" Roman said, shocked.

Cristal could feel something familiar off of Melody as she continued to attack the Nuckelavee with full force. "That thing--" She said shocked, "--Has magic?"

Ruby was just left stunned at this, as she didn't know what to say exactly; what do you say to this, when you see someone change into someone completely different!? Into a different kind of being?! The Nuckelavee just grabbed ahold of the Creature and threw her off roughly.

The Creature managed to stick the landing as she dug her claws into the ground, making her slow herself down, before charging at the Grimm, baring her claws. Though it had stopped in its tracks when Ruby and Scout blocked its way.

"Stop this Melody!" Ruby said through her tears, "You're going to get yourself killed!"

The Creature turned itself towards Ruby as it growled aggressively as it gave her a look to kill.

With its claws growing longer slightly it went to attack her, catching Ruby by surprise as she had no way to defend herself.

"SHIT!" Rosario yelled.

"SENKA, HELP HER!" Cristal yelled.

Senka quickly spread his wings before grabbing Ruby just as the Creature went to swipe at her. "Cristal, what are you doing?!" Ruby exclaimed as Senka carried her.

"What's it look like I'm saving your--"

SLASH!

Cristal had been taken back when the Creature suddenly seemed to have appeared in front of her; it took one slash at her as they saw Cristal's body spewed a fountain of blood; though most had been taken back when they saw her blood was mixed with what they could only describe as an inky black substance.

"CRISTAL!!" Roman exclaimed as she collapsed to the floor.

"No!" Ruby shouted.

The Creature turned its sights back on Ruby as Senka put her on the ground. She moved out of its way as it went to attack her.

"Great, as if we didn't have enough to deal with!" Rosario said with a click of her tongue.

The Nuckelavee readied itself to attack again, just as Roman ran to Cristal's side with Senka's help. Nora, Ren and Jaune quickly got the Nuckalevee's attention just as Roman pulled her to the side for safety; they could see the black substance started to evaporate, similar to a Grimm's body.

"We'll keep the Grimm busy!" Jaune told Ruby, "Help Melody!"

Ruby nodded before she armed herself and defended herself from the Creatures attacks; Rosario and Scout quickly rushed to Ruby's aid as they attacked with the attempt to slow it down rather then kill.

Roman managed to pull Cristal along the side of a ruined building as he could see she had bleed profoundly.

"Hang on baby!" Roman said. He reached out to put pressure on the wound, however the moment he touched the black substance it started to burn through his glove; his hand immediately retracted back just as his glove completely vanished revealing his bare hand.

"No, no!" Roman said as his eyes widened in realization. His body started to shake as he realized… He had been helpless to do anything.

Tears started to form as his body shook.

"I can't lose you again... Not again…" He said tearfully as he took her hand, "Trinity… I'm sorry… I can't save our child…"

Senka had stood over the young girl as she gave out moans of agony and as she gave out raspy breaths. He knew she wasn't going to last much longer. He knew she was fighting for her life right now, but though from the way she was he knew she was losing the battle. He couldn't let her die, she was his partner and he couldn't let her die. He knew that there was only one way to help her, though he didn't know how it would affect himself, he had no choice.

He had to save her in the only way he knew how.

Roman had been taken back when his eyes started to glow a familiar orange glow as small red markings appeared from his neck to his beak.

"Senka…?" Roman said, shocked to see what was happening.

With a screech, he bit her wounded shoulder as her red eye on her back glowed violently. "What the hell are you--" Roman started to say before he stopped himself.

Red markings suddenly appeared on her and the Griffon's body and they were both swallowed in a red light.

***

The Nuckelavee had been ready to charge at Jaune, Ren and Nora, though Ren quickly acted fast.

He ran towards the dead tree and started to fire upon the Nuckelavee, getting its attention to him. As Ren tried to jump out of the tree, the Nuckelavee launched its arm grabbing a hold of him, pinning him to a building nearby; Ren struggled to get out of it's grip but it was to no avail.

"RUBY!" Nora shouted as Ruby was close to her.

Ruby nodded before she acted fast and got in position. Just as the Creature came charging at her Nora ran to Ruby. With a spin from Ruby, she launched Nora with the help of her Crescent Rose and she flew towards Ren just as the Nuckelavee went to strike Ren who had already shut his eyes.

A crashing sound soon echoed throughout the area, as Ren felt no pain from the strike. He opened his eyes and saw that it's other arm was holding onto something. Looking to his side he saw Nora dangling from her Magnhild, just a bit higher than from where Ren was stuck. Ren looked up to Nora with concern as Nora looked to him.

"Stop looking!" She said as she pulled on her skirt to cover herself.

"Gah, sorry!" Ren said, looking away and covering his eyes, and his face turning red slightly with embarrassment; not even realizing that Nora was grinning to herself.

"FOR REAL!?" Rosario yelled before she was pushed back by the Creature.

The Nuckelavee suddenly swung Nora around slamming her on the buildings and floor before throwing her to the ground roughly; a light shimmered around her body, indicating that her aura finally broke.

"Nora!" Scout shouted with worry.

She attempted to make her way over to Nora, though Melody was quick to block her way. Ren suddenly lost it, as he started to hit at it's hand with the blades on his Stormflowers before firing at it.

Jaune quickly went to help as they attacked both sides of its leg, forcing it to drop Ren. As he hit the ground, and got up on his feet he charged at the Nuckelavee with aggressive force and went to attack. He was hit back by the hand of it but that didn't stop him from charging at the beast again.

"REN KNOCK IT OFF!" Jaune yelled to his teammate, as he noticed his behavior.

Ren had blocked off their words as he let out a battle cry as he charged at the beast firing at it. Though it didn't seemed phased by it, he was hit back again. This time he armed his blades and went after the beast, but he failed to realize that it's arm had come up from behind Ren.

It grabbed ahold of his ankle and he was thrown around like Nora was before, hitting the various buildings and floor forcing him to drop his weapons, and he was roughly thrown to the ground, and rolled right beside Nora; a light was seen shimmering around his body as his aura had broken too.

With effort the two of them sat up, groaning slightly from the pain; Ren's eyes filled with rage were still focused on the beast. The Nuckelavee kicked its front foot back, once again preparing to charge but towards Ren as it was drawn to him. Right as Ren stood up, Nora tackled him and they both fell just underneath a building, just as the Nukelavee ran towards them with brutal force.

With everyone else scattered about, and with Rosario and Scout dealing with Melody they just watched helplessly as the Nuckelavee was going to kill them.

"NO!!" Jaune shouted.

Nora and Ren both shut their eyes, as they did not want to see it coming towards them, but despite their eyes being closed, there was a sudden flash of light, and no sound of a crash. While the group's jaws just seemingly dropped by who it was, Ren and Nora were left confused as to who had just saved them, since they saw everyone else was where they stood.

It was Cristal.

"Hey bitch." She said as her body and veins glowed a red glow; her eye had shifted to a familiar color of gold as well as a familiar butterfly's insignia.

She pushed the Nuckelavee back as she blasted it back, though it looked as though it had been mixed with the color of red.

"Cristal!" Ruby, Jaune, Scout and Rosario shouted with relief.

The Nuckelavee let out a roar as it went to attack her with it's arms. Cristal only smirked before with the clap of her hands she formed what looked to be a blade made of light. She hopped over its attack before thrusting it through the palm of its hand causing it to screech with agony.

"HA!" Cristal shouted with enthusiasm, "I LOVE MY NEW TRICK!"

The Nuckelevee quickly got free before it went at her again. Before it could, a set of flare shots hit against the beast causing it to stumble. Despite his wound Roman went towards the beast.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" Roman shouted as he continued to fire at it. The Nukelavee roared just as Cristal threw her fist across its face, as it looked as though she had a set of gauntlets made from the very energy she was using.

"HEY!" Roman yelled getting Jaune, Ruby, Rosario and Scout's attention, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR, AN INVITATION!? BACK US UP!"

Jaune nodded as he quickly jumped back into the fight. Right when Ruby, Rosario and Scout were going to rush over, the Creature blocked their path.

"For God's sake--" Rosario said before the Creature attacked them aggressively. Frosty started to let out a series of barks as the girls quickly protected themselves. Finally, Rosario and Scout collapsed from exhaustion as Ruby still stood her ground.

The Creature towered over them baring its fangs and claws and preparing to strike them. But--

"Melody!!" Ruby soon called out, "You have to stop this!

The Creature looked to her and growled, getting low to the ground, as she prepared herself to charge. Ruby's look softened before she did something neither parties were expecting.

taking one glance at her Crescent Rose, before looking back to the Creature, she stood out of her stance, and just tossed her weapon to the side, leaving Scout and Rosario speechless.

"Ruby, what are you doing!?" Scout yelled.

"Are you crazy!? You're going to get yourself killed!" Rosario yelled.

Ruby looked at them and smiled reassuringly to them, "... She won't hurt me."

She stepped forward towards the Creature actually making it back up, though it still growled at her aggressively. Ruby held up her arms, just to show it that she was unarmed.

"Melody… I know your in there…" Ruby said to her gently, "I know you can hear me…"

The Creature continued to growl at her but shook its head slightly as if to try to block her out her voice.

Ruby stepped closer to it as she moved herself slowly.

"I just want you to know... I'm not afraid of you. " She said, as she reached her hand out, "You're my family, my cousin, one of my best friends… Our family."

The Creature backed up again and was going to attack her but surprisingly it actually hesitated doing so. Rosario and Scout looked somewhat shocked, but were thankful at the fact that whatever Ruby was doing seemed to be working.

"The Melody I've met--" She said, "--The Melody Maize spoke fondly of--And the one I grew up with is funny, smart, and incredible like my big sister, and that of her dad, my Uncle Qrow. You would stand up for me and Yang, and you even stand up for others like the heroes in the stories. We both dreamed of growing up to be Huntresses, like our parents. And I know for a fact that… You're not a monster. Whatever this now, neither animal nor Grimm, I know this isn't you… That's why I'm not afraid of what's in front of me right now."

Finally Ruby was close enough to the Creature, as it still growled. Though it stopped growling and froze when it felt her hand on her furry cheek. Ruby started to pet the Creature as it stayed frozen, just unsure of what to do. This had felt foreign to it, and it wasn't sure how to react all it knew was it just felt nice.

After a few short moments it started to lean into Ruby's touch. Rosario and Scout soon approached it, and saw that it was longer going to attack them.

"Wow…" Rosario said, "... I can't believe that worked. She's herself. Sort of."

Frosty finally approached the Creature, as he kept his head low. It flinched at the sight of Frosty but it started to sniff him, while doing the same. Frosty soon gave it an affectionate lick before nuzzling himself into its neck. Scout started to pet the Creature on the head as did Rosario, and it leaned for the touch, "We're right here Melody. We all are." Scout said.

"We're never gonna leave you alone." Rosario added.

Ruby smiled at her as she kneeled right in front of her, "... I love you Melody. And I always will. That will never change."

The Creature started to whimper slightly at Ruby's words as if Melody was actually trying to cry but couldn't. Ruby kneeled in front of it as she put her arms around the Creature. Soon enough Rosario and Scout joined in on the hug, and Frosty nuzzled into its neck as his way to comfort the animal.

***

From a distance, Ren and Nora watched as Cristal, Roman, and Jaune engaged the Nuckelavee once more, though his eyes were more focused on the beast they were fighting. He felt all the rage, boiling his blood at the beast responsible for destroying his home, his village, and taking the way of the people he loved most; his own parents.

He wouldn't let the Grimm take away his new family, he would make it pay for what it did, he would make sure it would. He would make sure it felt his rage, his anger at what it did, and what it did to Nora.

He was about to join the others in the fight against the Nuckelavee when he felt something grab his wrist. Though he was soon quick to realize that it was Nora.

"Nora, let go!" He said as he did his best to get out of her grip, "They need us!"

Nora didn't say anything, she just kept her head down and tightened her grip on Ren. He tried and tried to get Nora to let go, but she refused.

"Nora!" He yelled turning to her, "They're going to get hurt if we don't--"

SMACK!

Ren felt his head turn to the side suddenly at a sudden burning sensation on his cheek and he froze. He registered that Nora had smacked him across the face. He looked to her in complete and utter shock at what she did since it was unlike her to do that. Her head was still down and she finally let go of his wrist as she put her hands on her lap. Finally she spoke up.

"No." She said, "I won't let you kill yourself like this. After everything we've been through… After all we've faced together… I won't let it end…"

As Nora finally looked up at Ren he was taken back slightly. For a moment he thought he saw the scared dirty little girl. The same little girl he met on the very same day and night where he had lost his home and loved ones, the same one he told, that they had to be brave. When he blinked the real Nora was there in tears like she was back than.

"...Not like this." She said her voice cracking slightly.

Ren's eyes widened slightly as he realized the way he acted, the way he had lashed out. He let all of his anger get in the way and he had lost sight of what was most important to him.

His very own life.

He was supposed to help Ruby with finding answers, and he wanted to find the little one Destiny as much as everyone else and her father did. If he were to die here and now, he would be dying in vain, and he would leave the people important to him behind.

How could he be so blind?

With a sigh, he took out from his back compartment what he held onto ever since he was a child; His father's dagger. He held it in his hands, and Nora placed her hand over the weapon; they both looked into each other's eyes, Nora with a determined look on her face.

"We can do this." She said to him

Ren looked Nora in the eyes and nodded in agreement. They both moved out from under the building with Nora picking up her weapon; just as this happened, Cristal, Roman, and Jaune soon stood beside them, each of them catching their breath. They were soon joined by Ruby, Rosario, Scout, and the Creature itself, AKA Melody, Frosty who was at Ruby's side.

"Get somewhere safe boy." Ruby told Frosty.

Frosty understood her as he quickly took off to a safe area, though he had still kept close.

"Okay--" Cristal said as she caught her breath, the glow on her flickered like a candle, "--I don't have much boast left--And we won't take this guy out the old fashion way. If we can just pin him than we might have a chance."

They all nodded their heads, except for Ren who still held onto the knife.

"Ren." Ruby said, getting his attention, "Jaune, Roman, Scout and I can take care of its arms."

"Rosario, Cristal and I will take care of the horse." Nora said.

"And I'll take care of the rest." Ren said.

Ruby soon looked over to Melody as she smiled, "Watch our backs cuz."

Melody only growled in response at this as Ruby only had confidence come over her. With a plan set, they all went to attack the Nuckelavee once more, with Nora, Rosario and Cristal heading up to one of the buildings.

Cristal got herself floating and though she had stumbled a little she was able to maintain herself before taking hold of Rosario and flying on the rooftop, before Nora followed them with the help of her hammer.

​​Ruby, Jaune, and Roman, charged at the Nuckelavee; Ruby took its right side, while Roman and Jaune took the left.

Ruby got the Nuckelavee's attention by firing at it, and as it went to attack, she quickly jumped out of the way. She got herself in the air and fired a round so that she could fall fast; she lodged her blade through her wrist and into the stone ground and it roared with agony.

Ren threw his father's blade and it hit its side, making the horse act up.

"Hey over here!" Jaune yelled, getting its attention.

Jaune stood with his sword in hand and the Nuckelavee turned to him. It launched its other arm towards him, and just before it could hit him, Scout quickly ran to his side and activated her semblance just as her hand touched Jaune's shoulder.

The hand went right through the both of them, and they moved out of the way of the hand. Right before it could retract its hand the Creature jumped right onto the arm, sinking its claws into its arm before biting the arm hard.

The Nuckelavee struggled to get out of the Creature's grip and right when it was about to, Roman thrusted his cane with just enough force to pierce it through its palm, keeping it there.

"NOW'S YOUR CHANCE!" Roman yelled to Jaune.

Jaune nodded his head and Scout fell to her knees having exhausted her energy, though she kept herself from passing out. Jaune ran over to Roman and the Creature's side and ran his sword through its arm to prevent it from moving.

"NOW!" Ren yelled to the ones above.

From high up in the tower, Nora, Cristal and Rosario stood ready to strike.

While Cristal and Rosario took a leap, Nora only let herself fall. Rosario did a roundhouse kick, while Cristal threw a powerful punch as her entire arm glowed purple and Nora prepared to hit the beast with her hammer.

They all hit the horse at the same time, with Rosario and Cristal snapping the horse's spine and Nora slamming her hammer on the horse's head killing it; the humanoid creature was left just roaring in pain. Ren went to retrieve his knife and he went in front of the humanoid.

Despite its ferocious roar Ren stood his ground with the knife in hand.

"For my mother."

Ren swung his knife blade and he sliced the left arm of the Nuckelavee and it roared loudly. Ren took hold of its horn so that he would hold it still.

"For my father."

Ren swung his blade again, slicing off the Nuckelavee's right arm and it roared again, slumping forward.

"For all those you've slain."

He struck the torso of the Nuckelavee and it once again roared; Ren took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"For myself."

With one final strike, Ren sliced the head off of the Nuckelavee, finally killing it. It's whole body and head disappeared in a puff of black smoke. They all took deep breaths and their silence among the group as they watched the body of the Grimm disappear without a trace.

"We…" Scout said as she nodded off slightly, "... We did it…?"

Roman went to his knees as he sat down clutching his side feeling dizzy; Cristal rushed over to him as the glow started to fade from her body.

"We did..." He said with a smirk.

Nora let out a squee and launched herself onto Ren, hugging him; they both fell to the ground and Nora kicked her legs and Ren hugged her back. The Creature fell flat on it's stomach catching the whole group by surprising them. In a few short moments the Creature had changed back to the familiar raven black haired girl.

"Melody!" Ruby exclaimed as she went over to her; Cristal and Jaune went over to her as well while Rosario helped Scout up off the floor. Frosty came out from his hiding place, and went over to the young girl, pawing at her slightly.

Ruby flipped Melody so that she was laying on her back, and she was breathing softly.

"Is--She okay?" Rosario asked.

"She's okay." Cristal reassured the group, making everyone sigh with relief, "She's just asleep."

"Yeah, we're going to have a long talk when she wakes up." Rosario said as she let Scout lean on her.

Ruby removed her red cloak from her shoulders and placed it over Melody to cover her entire body so that the parts exposed were protected from the cold. "Watch her for me." Ruby said to Jaune.

He nodded his head, and Ruby ran off to where Qrow was, though not before catching Melody's white ribbon before it could blow away in the wind.

Just as the glow finally vanished from Cristal's body, and her eye reverted to normal, she let out a groan of agony as she fell to her knees.

"Are you alright?" Ren asked with him and Nora standing up.

"Yeah I'll be fine." Cristal replied, "That boast and new trick took a lot out of me… I'll be okay after awhile."

"How the hell are you even here?" Scout asked, "You had a high fever from an infection and were in so much pain that you couldn't even move."

"Actually I was wondering that myself." Jaune said, "Not that we're all happy to see you on your feet, but, just how is that even possible?"

Cristal replied with a shrug, "To be honest… I don't know myself."

It wasn't long before they realized that someone was missing from the group. "Wait--Where's Senka?" Nora asked.

Roman took a breath through his teeth, "Well, about that--"

Just as this was said, they heard the sound of a small squawk just nearby. They turned at the sound and their eyes widened again.

"What the--!?" Rosario said with shock.

There they saw a small Grimm griffon standing before the group, letting out a couple of small squawks. Cristal's eyes widened with realization when she put two and two together. The group had put two and two together as well.

"Is that--" Rosario said.

"Senka…?" Scout said, shocked.

"Yep." Roman replied, "When I opened my eyes, he just looked like this."

"He shrunk." Ren said, surprised.

"... Oh my goodness…" Nora said, before exclaiming, "... He looks so cute!!"

Cristal stood up from the ground and went over to the now small Griffon and the group watched. She bent down and picked up the little Grimm Griffon and held him.

"... It was you." Cristal said softly, "Your the one that helped me. You risked your own safety, your very own life so that I could live…"

Cristal smiled at Grimm and pulled him in for a hug, "... I would've died today if it hadn't been for you… Thank you my friend." Senka let out another small squawk as he nuzzled her cheek, making her laugh a little, and the group couldn't help but smile at this as the Griffon continued to nuzzle her cheek.

Roman looked in the direction where Ruby ran off to, having a look of worry.

He was able to bring himself up and walked over to where Ruby had gone with the help of his cane.

It didn't take him long to find her as they saw her kneeling beside her uncle in the alleyway; she was quiet, a little too quiet for their taste.

"Red?" Roman called out, making the young girl flinch.

Ruby turned to Roman with a look of relief on her face, though he still saw the fear in her eyes. "Is he…?"

Ruby shook her head before saying, "He's still with us… But he's still…"

Roman only nodded, "Yeah… I know."

They soon heard a groan coming from the Huntsman himself, Qrow, and they turned to him. They saw his eyes open slightly, as he turned to face Ruby.

"... It's quiet…" He managed to say before smiling, "... Good job kiddo…"

Ruby couldn't help but give out a small laugh and gave her uncle a hug. "We'll get you to Mistral. Somehow, someway." Ruby said to him reassuringly though mostly, it was to reassure herself.

"It's gonna be a long walk, but we'll manage." Roman said, groaning slightly from his wound.

Soon enough they heard something that had caught their ears, which drew their attention towards it; they were left perplexed by it. The rest of the group heard the sounds too, and they listened to the sounds. "What is that noise?" Jaune asked.

"Wait a minute…" Rosario said, "That almost sounds like--"

From out of the clouds they saw what had made the sounds. It was airships, and the whole group was left relieved at this when they saw the logo to where the airships were from.

"Mistral…" Nora said with a smile, "They're from Mistral!"

Thus the group started to cheer, as it had been out of relief. Ruby especially had been relieved as they didn't have to worry about walking; especially since most of them weren't in any condition to do so.

Two men came around the corner of the alleyway and tended to Qrow, getting him onto one of there stretchers.

Two others had done the same for Melody and they got them both onto the ship, with Ruby following behind to be with her uncle and cousin.

One of the men attended to Roman's injury, and managed to get the bleeding to stop and he had gotten onto the same ship Ruby had gone on, with Cristal and Jaune.

Cristal was able to hide Senka with Roman's white cape coat and she carried him like how a mother would hold a baby. Rosario, Scout, Nora and Ren went onto the other airship and they took to the skies once everyone was onboard.

Ruby sat in between Qrow and Melody, holding onto both of their hands while Frosty laid on Melody's side curled up with his ears down. Roman and Cristal sat on the chair provided as she held Senka asleep in her arms. They both had a blanket over their shoulders.

"How did you find us?" Jaune asked as he had been holding onto a metal bar provided.

"We were out on patrol when we saw the smoke." The Mistral Pilot replied, "Nobody's been out here for years, thought something might be wrong."

"Well you weren't wrong there." Roman said, "I'm not even sure how we made it out of there."

"Not to worry." The Pilot reassured them, "Once we get there we'll have you and your friends treated."

Ruby looked to Qrow still with a worried look as she tightened her grip on his hand. "What if we don't make it time?" She said,

"Ruby, it's okay…" Jaune said, "We'll get there… I hope…"

Cristal's eyes soon brightened when she had been taken back by such a beautiful sight.

"You really need to see this…" She said in awe.

Ruby, Jaune and Roman soon noticed why she had a look of awe.

There it was before their very eyes was the flourishing city of Mistral, where they saw many houses on the cliffside and beautiful waterfalls as far as the eye could see. They were just left speechless by how the scenery looked, how beautiful the city of Mistral was.

Ruby looked at Qrow and Melody finally with a warm smile; taking one of Melody's hands she placed it on top of Qrows and she still kept her hand on top of her cousins.

She felt Qrow tighten his grip on her's and his daughter which made Ruby's smile grow wider.

"We made it Melody…" Ruby said with a smile, "We made it Uncle Qrow…"

***

In the other airship Scout slept soundly on the bench recovering her strength, while Rosario, Nora and Ren sat along the edge of the airship just enjoying the breathtaking view of the city. "This is amazing…" Rosario said with a smile, "... I can't believe we're finally here…"

"It took a long time." Nora said, "But we did it…"

"Yeah…" Rosario said, "We did… We're just a step closer now, to finding out the truth."

"... And finding Destiny…" Nora added with a smile.

Nora had soon jumped slightly when she felt an odd sensation. She looked and was surprised to see that Ren's hand was over her own. Smiling, she took his hand and their finger intertwined with each other, and she looked up to Ren who was smiling as well. Nora scooched over and rested her head on his shoulder and he rested his head on hers.

"Aww, how cute." Rosario couldn't help but say, earning a laugh from the three of them.

In a few short moments the airships landed in the city and they were escorted to where they would be staying during their time in Mistral.