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Breathe Chapter 41: Seafood
🕑 Added 2024-12-30 05:29:56 +0000 UTCMorning in the Nikos household hadn’t been what Yang had expected. Waking up in bed with two other people had been a bit different, especially when one of them was really hot temperature wise. It hadn’t been an unpleasant experience, but it had been different than what she was used to.
“C’mon, Weiss,” Yang moaned, pounding on the bathroom door. “You already had a shower last night… How much longer are you going to be in there?”
“Five minutes,” Came the muffled reply.
“You said that ten minutes ago!”
“Well, maybe I could get done faster if you stop interrupting me,” Weiss snapped.
Sighing, the blonde leaned against the wall, forced to wait in order to use the bathroom. Although it was nice having so many people in the household, it didn’t come without a downside... Namely, Weiss hogging the bathroom.
“This must be karma for all the times Ruby was forced to wait for me,” Yang muttered softly. Stuck waiting, she perked up when she spotted Pyrrha heading her way.
“Yang,” Pyrrha called out to the blonde. “Is… Would it be possible… Could I talk to you?” She finally asked. “In private?”
“Sure,” Yang hummed before turning back towards the bathroom door. “It’s not like I’ve got anything I need to do!”
Hearing Weiss yell something that she couldn’t quite make out, Pyrrha gave an awkward smile. “…Great. If you could just follow me, I know a place where we won’t be interrupted.”
“Lead the way.”
Following Pyrrha through her home, the duo made their way out the back, silently passing by the guest room which was currently occupied by Winter and Coal, both of whom were currently on a Scroll call with General Ironwood concerning the approaching Leviathan Grimm.
Yang looked around the small garden in the backyard, only briefly looking at the flowerbeds, before her attention was brought to a training dummy standing in the shade of the only tree. There wasn’t exactly a ton of space to train, but it was better than nothing.
“So, what’s this about?” Yang asked, turning back to Pyrrha. “I didn’t grope you in my sleep, did I?”
Turning slightly red, Pyrrha shook her head. “Ah, no… No you didn’t grope anyone last night.”
“That’s a relief,” Yang sighed. “For a second there, I thought…” She trailed off. “Wait, is this about last night?”
“Kind of,” Pyrrha admitted, looking away. “I… Need some advice.”
Well, she hadn’t been expecting that. If anything, she’d thought that the red head would tell her to back off or tell her that she’d overstepped her boundaries last night, not this.
“Okay… Sure,” Yang hummed. She’d helped Ruby out in the past, so she should be able to help Pyrrha with whatever this was. “What’s on your mind?”
…Breathe…
My first day back in Argus somehow seemed to go both quickly and linger on for an annoying amount of time, although those times were mostly when I had to deal with Cordovin. The older Atlesian commander had a way of making even the most basic things a chore.
Winter was busy helping coordinate the military and had also taken care to convince Weiss to stay away from the coming conflict while Yang, who had been excited at first, seemingly lost interest when she found out that this was a military operation and she would be stuck watching from the sidelines. Leaving me alone with Pyrrha
Spotting a small pack of young Nevermore approaching, I watched as a nearby Bullhead took off towards the Grimm at high speeds, unloading several missiles, killing them in only a matter of seconds.
It had been like this the entire day. With the approaching Leviathan Grimm, the Atlesian military was operating at full force, reinforcing the walls and ensuring that Argus’s population was safe, which also had the added effect of stressing the civilians.
More stress meant more Grimm, creating a feedback loop of negative emotions that continuously attracted Grimm. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done besides killing the Grimm. The people were going to worry regardless of what they were told.
As time went on, the sun slowly began to set on the ocean, lighting up the sky in shades of orange and red, before slowly being replaced by the night.
“I don’t think that I’ve ever seen the sun set from this angle before,” Pyrrha said, taking in the sight in front of her. “It’s quite beautiful… It’s a shame that the others aren’t here to see it.”
“There’s always tomorrow,” I hummed. “By the way, weren’t you supposed to meet with your sponsors today?” It had been one of the reasons why we came back to Argus after all.
“I decided to wait until things had calmed down a bit,” She replied. “This seems a little more important than some cereal sponsorship.”
I couldn’t fault her there. In the grand scheme of things, a Leviathan Grimm definitely took priority over Pumpkin Pete’s Marshmallow Flakes. Oddly enough, it did remind me of something I needed to talk to Pyrrha about… A conversation I’d been putting off for a while now.
“I’ve been meaning to ask… Have you decided what you’re going to do next after we’re done in Argus?”
Pyrrha looked at me quizzically. “What do you mean?”
“Well… The year’s almost over... You were originally planning on applying to Beacon, right?” I asked. I’d really come to enjoy the time I’d spent with Pyrrha, but if she still planned on going to Beacon, I wouldn’t stand in her way.. “Are you still planning on going, or would you rather continue hunting Grimm with me?”
Blinking, Pyrrha let out a small laugh, hiding her smile behind a hand. “I’m sorry, it’s just… The fact that you even feel the need to ask.”
Right, that seemed to answer my question while making me feel a little dumb for asking. At least I could put my worries to rest now.
Regaining control of herself, Pyrrha smiled. “No, I don’t think I’ll be attending Beacon, Coal,” She hummed. “Between learning about what’s really going on with the Grimm… The Maidens and Ozpin’s secret. I’d prefer to travel with you, making an actual difference in the world while I train to be a Huntress.”
“Sorry about that,” I apologized, sighing. “I didn’t mean for you to get caught up in all of this… At least not so soon,” I clarified
Grabbing my hand, she laced our fingers together. “Don’t be,” She replied. “Learning about Salem was a bit of a shock, but I don’t regret it. If I was given the option to do it all again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Except maybe being stabbed,” I suggested.
“Not even that.” Pyrrha shook her head, squeezing my hand. “Some moments might not have worked out perfectly, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”
The sun passed below the horizon, leaving us in the dark for a few moments before the lighting system automatically switched on. A soft thumping sound washed over the area as several large spotlights shone out onto the ocean, lighting it up in preparation for the Leviathan Grimm.
Looking off into the distance, I caught sight of the water stirring as a massive bone spiked fin broke through the surface, followed by an elongated head. It wasn’t quite as large as the Ancient Grimm that I’d fought, but it was still large enough to be a problem.
Feeling my Scroll vibrate, I reached down to grab it with my free hand, only to find that I’d unconsciously grabbed my blade in my excitement. Releasing my sword, I grabbed my Scroll, briefly noting that it came from an unknown number, before answering it.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“It’s Winter,” Winter answered. “The Leviathan’s arrived ahead of schedule and Cordovin’s ordered for everyone to get into position. I’ve sent for a Bullhead to collect you and Pyrrha.”
With the water now at its chest, the Leviathan let out a loud roar that washed over the entirety of Argus. Back at the Atlesian base built around the rock formation just off the cost of Argus, a large set of mechanical doors opened and a mech matching the size of the Leviathan stepped out.
“ALL UNITS, FORM A PERIMETER AROUND ARGUS AND LEAVE THE REST TO ME!” Cordovin’s voice blared over the built-in speakers excitedly. “THIS BEAST IS NO MATCH FOR THE AWESOME MIGHT OF ATLAS!”
As annoying as she could be, I couldn’t blame Cordovin for being excited right now… Hell, I’d be excited too if I got to pilot that thing. How often does one get to fight Grimm in a giant robot… So focused on the fight that was to come, I barely noticed the Bullhead that landed near us. Being prompted to climb aboard, I followed Pyrrha onto the Bullhead before it took off into the night sky.
Holding onto the railing as the Bullhead shuddered, I stared out the window, watching as a pack of Griffons were reduced to rapidly dissolving chunks of black flesh. Being up here really didn’t serve any purpose besides being closer to the action. It didn’t help that neither of us knew how to operate a Bullhead… That was something I needed to look into later on.
I kept a close eye on the Leviathan Grimm and Cordovin below. I knew the mech was technically able to kill the Leviathan, even in a damaged state, but that had been when the Leviathan was almost entirely petrified and unable to move.
Feeling a presence beside me, I leaned as the Bullhead made a sharp turn, expecting to bump into the person standing at my side, only to feel my arm pass through them. Looking to the side, I let out a half exasperated, half amused sigh.
“Of course,” I muttered under my breath, staring directly at the familiar featureless face. It seemed that my old friend was back once more.
…Breathe…
Cordovin smirked excitedly as she piloted the Colossus mech. Stepping into the shallow waters she steered it past the deactivated hard light barriers, stopping only a few steps past where the barrier would be.
It was unfortunate, but the Colossus wasn’t designed for fights in deep water.
Waiting for the Leviathan to come closer, Cordovin ran out of patience. Being able to demonstrate the full might of Atlas was a rare occasion, one she had only just gotten a taste of when Mistral was attacked by those scoundrels that hacked the CCT.
Raising its arm, Cordovin aimed the Colossus’s cannon at the Leviathan. The internal mechanism spun rapidly before it fired off a blast of electricity that collided with the Leviathan, causing it to stumble a few steps back.
“Did you really think that I would just let you slip into Argus?!” Cordovin taunted the Grimm, not caring that it couldn’t understand a thing she said.
Regaining its footing the Leviathan turned to face Cordovin, revealing a scorch mark across its chest.
Taking a deep breath, the gill like markings on its neck turned red with heat, before it exhaled a concentrated beam of fire at the massive mech.
Shifting the Colossus’s hand in front of the incoming flame, a hard light shield formed, blocking the Leviathans attack. Inside A bead of sweat dripped down Cordovin’s head as the interior of the mech began to heat up.
“Is that all you’ve got?!” Cordovin roared.
The mechs cannon clicked and twirled as it was reloaded. Bringing it under her shield, she fired off a shot of ice that collided with the Grimm, growing large spikes that dug into its flesh, forcing it to halt its flame attack.
Taking a moment to quite literally cool off, Cordovin regarded the Grimm with more caution. She’d underestimated it and believed that it wouldn’t fare well at a range. A mistake she wouldn’t make twice.
Her cannon, while damaging, hadn’t had that much of an effect on the Grimm, only managing to wound it superficially. If she was going to kill it, she would need to get in close and drill through its chest… To do that, she would need to lure it closer to land.
Breaking free from its restraints, the Leviathan let out a loud roar as it began charging up another fireball.
Choosing to enact her plan, Cordovin pushed the Colossus into full throttle. The giant mech bounding across the ocean, sticking to the shoreline as closely as it was able.
Lifting its cannon, the Colossus fired off several shots around the Grimm, creating a makeshift wall of ice that would help guide the Leviathan to the spot Cordovin chose.
Coming to a stop, Cordovin fired off one more ice blast that encased the Leviathan’s mouth and neck, putting a stop to its ability to use fire for long enough that she would be able to finish it off.
Smirking victoriously, Cordovin shifted the Colossus’s hand into its drill form. “For the people of Argus and the glory of Atlas,” Cordovin shouted excitedly. Launching the mech forward, she brought the drill down onto the Leviathan, only to suddenly jerk to a stop. “What?!”
Before she had any time to process what had happened, a massive dragon-like head attached to a serpentine body burst out of the water, its powerful jaws biting down on the Colossus’s drill arm, preventing her from moving it. Attempting to use the cannon to blast it off, another head shot out of the water, wrapping around that arm.
“What is this?!” Cordovin muttered. Several more heads shot out of the water, biting down on the Colossus, preventing it from being able to move. She gasped as the mech began to report several failings. Getting a good look at the attacking Grimm only left her with more questions than answers. “Sea Feilong?! And so many of them… How?”
Attempting to signal for help, Cordovin growled when she found that the communication system was down. One of those bastards must have managed to damage the transmitter. Admittedly, it was fairly old, dating back to the Great War itself, but it had worked efficiently and Cordovin saw no reason to replace it.
Watching as the heads gnawed on the Colossus, Cordovin’s attention was suddenly brought to the Leviathan Grimm that was grabbing at the ice that encased its mouth. It wouldn’t be long before it managed to free itself and when it did… She was dead.
…Breathe…
“Open the door,” I ordered.
The Bullhead shuddered violently as it took evasive maneuvers through the new wave of Grimm.
“Are you crazy? It’s a nightmare out there!” One of the soldiers on board snapped. “If you go out there, you’ll be ripped to shreds!”
It was… And it would only get worse if the Leviathan and that freaking horde of Sea Feilong killed Cordovin and continued on into the city.
Pushing the soldier to the side, I unlocked the door and tugged it open, allowing the cold night air to enter. All manner of flying Grimm and Bullheads attacked each other in a chaotic frenzy, lighting up the night sky with brief flashes of explosions
Stepping next to me, Pyrrha looked down at the city below. “How are we doing this?”
Seeing the confident smile on her face, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to dissuade her from joining the fight… Not that I was planning on anyway. She had a decent grasp of Total Concentration Breathing and was beginning to understand Flame Breathing… Something like this should be fairly safe for her.
“Back when Maria first began to teach me, she took me to a frozen over lake filled with aquatic Grimm and had me train to keep my footing while on a slippery surface while being attacked. At a certain point, I started using the Grimm as stepping stones,” I explained, doing my best to suppress the memory of the Anglerfish Grimm. “There are a lot more Grimm here.” Turning towards Pyrrha, I smiled excitedly. “Think you can keep up?”
“ Yes,” She answered plainly, her eyes burning with determination.
“Then follow my lead.”
Launching myself out of the Bullhead, I kicked off a nearby Griffon and landed on the back of a Nevermore. Turning to see if Pyrrha followed after me, I caught a flash of red and reached out, grabbing her arm before she missed her mark and plummeted to the city below.
“Easy there,” I said, helping steady her. “You have to look where things will be, not just where they are right now.”
Nodding, Pyrrha regained her balance. “I think I’ve got it now.” Crouching down, she scanned the skies and took a deep breath before taking off at high speed. Colliding with a Griffon, she cut right through it, before hitting another Grimm, using it as a stepping stone.
Being sure to make sure she didn’t get in over her head, I took a hissed breath and kicked off the Nevermore, shattering its organs as I launched myself in her direction. Passing by several dozen Grimm, I made sure cut them down as I continued to follow Pyrrha.
The further out we traveled, the more distant Grimm became, making it more difficult. Keeping an eye on Pyrrha as she started to struggle, I briefly landed on a Griffon, before launching myself towards a Nevermore, only to see it blown up by a missile.
Shielding my face as I passed through the cloud of vaporized Grimm, I began my descent towards the ocean below. My landing strategy was ruined by the inability to change my direction in the air.
Turning my attention to Pyrrha, I watched as she launched herself off the final Grimm, using her Semblance to increase the distance of her jump. She was heading straight for Cordovin... And she was going to get there before me.
Pyrrha was strong… Maybe even strong enough to handle two or three Sea Feilong, but a Leviathan… That was something else entirely.
“Shit,” I cursed.
Increasing my perception with the Transparent World, I took several hissed breaths in an attempt to alter my descent, even if it was just a little. It seemed that nothing I did worked, but I refused to give up.
Trying every possible movement, I suddenly found myself launched forward as I kicked off the air as hard and as fast as I possibly could.
…
Ping!
A new tech…
,,,
“Don’t care,” I said, dismissing the notification.
Replicating what I did before, I stopped my descent, launching myself higher into the air. Unlike Sun Breathing techniques, this didn’t seem to drain my Aura, but I did feel a significant strain in my legs which was odd, because Aura should prevent that... I’d look into it later, but for now, I had a Grimm to kill.
Nearing Cordovin’s mech, I kicked off the air one last time, sending myself barreling towards the Sea Feilong that was currently munching its way through the mech's hull.
Stabbing my blade into its neck, the Grimm, not paying me any attention, continued to rip the mech apart.
“That’s not all I have,” I muttered. Squeezing the hilt, I launched myself downward, cutting a large, cauterized gash in its side. “One down, seven more to… Huh?”
Letting out a screech of pain, Sea Feilong flailed around in pain, detaching itself from the Mech while the rest of them stopped what they were doing and turned towards their injured brethren.
Hearing the sound of something rushing through the water, I turned and saw an eighth Sea Feilong rushing towards me, its mouth opened wide as it aimed to swallow me in one bite.
Readying myself to cut through it, the head suddenly let out a screech as Pyrrha’s spear embedded itself in the Grimms eye.
Pyrrha’s spear tore itself free from the Grimm, much to its immense pain and returned to her waiting hand.
Breaking free from the ice that locked its jaw in place, the Leviathan took a deep breath as a hot ball of fire began to form in its mouth, only to be smacked to the side by the mech's broken drill.
Turning towards us, the mech revealed its torn up front and shattered window with a wounded Cordovin sitting at the controls, giving a bloodied smirk. “You two handle the Sea Feilong… I have a score to settle with the Leviathan.”
That would probably be for the best. Pyrrha wasn’t quite ready for such a large Grimm and it left us with the Sea Feilong which would give me the chance to see what was going on with them.
They were supposed to be fairly solitary Grimm, avoiding even their own kind and yet there were eight of them here helping the Leviathan. Even weirder, they were capable of flight and yet they all remained in the water.
Lunging forward, Cordovin’s mech smashed its cannon into the Leviathan. The arm sparking dangerously as it failed to fire. Forgoing its traditional ranged use, Cordovin proceeded to smash the Leviathan’s head in with the useless cannon.
The sea rippled as a sudden tide rushed towards us with several pieces of bone armor sticking out of it.
“You ready for this?” I asked.
“More than ready,” Pyrrha said confidently.
Rushing onto the rocky shores, the Sea Feilong attempted to overwhelm us with sheer numbers and size. Their long armored bodies tore up the ground as they aimed to tear us apart.
Glancing at Pyrrha who had her shield raised and her spear at the ready, I turned my attention towards the approaching Grimm and took a relaxed stance.
“Sun Breathing: Raging Sun”
-200 AP
Stepping forward, I brought my blade up and rapidly slashed several of the approaching Grimm, beheading two of them.
Pyrrha on the other hand had held one of the Sea Feilong at bay with her shield as she stabbed another one in the brain. Using their size against them, she managed to limit the number of Grimm that could attack her at any given moment.
Pulling her spear back, Pyrrha spun it around in her hand, before piercing it into the other Grimms head.
Letting out a deafening screech, the four remaining Sea Feilong pulled back, dragging their brethren bodies with them.
Something wasn’t quite right here, Grimm didn't just retreat like that, not even the older ones. I was beginning to have my suspicions about what was really going on with the Sea Feilong.
Entering the Transparent World, my eyes widened in surprise. These weren’t Sea Feilong at all… Or, if they were, they were highly mutated. They weren’t working together, because together implied that they were separate entities when in reality, they were one fused to a massive body resting at the bottom of the ocean.
“Hydra,” I muttered softly.
A massive head burst forth from the water, letting out a shrill shriek as it thrashed around, the remaining heads joining it. Turning its attention towards us, it exhaled a jet of water that tore up the rocky shore, cutting into the stone behind us.
“That one’s a lot bigger than the rest of them,” Pyrrha commented, nervously watching the Grimm.
I nodded. Its size was comparable to the Leviathan.
Submerging its mouth, the Grimms neck began to bulge as the shore briefly grew before more water rushed in to take its place. The Grimms swelled to double its size, before it finally raised its head. Opening its mouth, ocean water began to drip out.
“Move!” I yelled.
Grabbing Pyrrha, we managed to avoid being hit by the massive wall of water the Grimm launched at us, unfortunately, it didn’t end there. Thrashing about violently in the ocean, the Grimm generated massive waves that collided with the stony shores, making it difficult to get a proper foothold.
Rushing towards a ledge, we came to a sudden stop as a jet of water collided with it, crumbling the stone. Turning towards the Grimm, a massive wave large enough to engulf the entire land formation approached us.
“Hold your breath!”
Anchoring myself to a rock, I held on to Pyrrha as the wave crashed into us, hoping to ride it out before getting serious.
Spotting one of the heads watching us underwater, I leveraged my feet into the rocks and held my sword with a single hand. Waiting for it to make its move… Only, it didn’t.
Instead, a nearly invisible jet of water shot towards us, colliding with the rocks I’d been using to prevent myself from floating off just as the water began to recede, dragging us off into the ocean.
Attempting to swim while keeping a hold of Pyrrha, the smaller heads attacked, ready to rip us apart in their domain.
Slicing through the Grimm, I managed to cut a few more down before the last remaining head crashed into us, dying to Pyrrha’s spear.
Feeling a new current as something shifted in the dark of the water, I turned towards Pyrrha, only to see her holding her hand over her mouth, a small stream of bubbles floating to the surface. Her movements grew sporadic as she fought against her natural instincts that were attempting to force her to take a breath.
Damnit!
Swimming closer, I grabbed a hold of her and pulled her hand away from her face. Grabbing her head, I pressed my lips against hers and slowly exhaled my breath into her.
A few moments passed before I pulled back, feeling light headed. We needed to get to the surface now! If I used a Sun Breathing technique now, I’d probably pass out.
My lungs burned with a desperate need for air. Swimming alongside Pyrrha, only to spot a large pair of glowing red eyes watching us from the dark of the water.
Feeling the water begin to push upwards, I began to swim faster, breaking through to the surface, I managed to get a single breath and pushed Pyrrha towards the shores before being swallowed whole by the Grimm.
Stabbing my blade into the Grimms mouth in order to prevent myself from being dragged into its stomach, I accessed the Transparent World and took a moment to examine my surroundings.
Finding a weak spot, I dug my foot into the base of its mouth, before launching myself upward, towards the place where its brain sat.
“Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form”
-0 AP
Cutting through the softer, unprotected tissue of its mouth, I carved a passage straight through the Grimms brain, before tearing my way out the top of its head, only to find myself falling towards the ocean below.
Landing with a splash, I quickly swam to the side as the Grimms body splashed into the water, sinking to the bottom, dissolving.
Taking several deep breaths, I looked around and spotted Pyrrha near the rocky shores, standing waist deep in the ocean.
Swimming over, I gave an apologetic smile as I finally found my footing. “Sorry about throwing you. I saw that the Gr…”
Silently wading through the water, Pyrrha grabbed a hold of me and pulled me into a kiss that lasted for a few moments, before finally pulling back. We stood in silence for a few moments as my brain struggled with oxygen deprivation as I once more stopped breathing.
“I’ve wanted to do that for the longest time, but I never had the guts,” Pyrrha admitted softly. “I even went to Yang for advice and she suggested that I should just kiss you, but I wanted to wait for the right moment and then you gave me your breath and you were eaten by that Grimm and…” She babbled nervously before getting a hold of herself. “What do you think?”
“I think…” I said, taking a breath. “That Yang gave you some good advice.”
Processing what I’d just said, a beaming smile appeared on Pyrrha’s face. Grabbing a hold of me, she pulled me into another kiss, one that I was ready for.
Off in the distance, Cordovin continued to smash the broken cannon and busted drill into the Leviathan Grimms head, beating it to death.
Comments
SkulduggeryHaven
Thanks, I really appreciate it. I'm super glad you enjoyed the chapter.
nasapeepolover116
Fantastic as always
SkulduggeryHaven
Lol, yeah, that's exactly what I was going for. Romance with a slice of Grimm brutality.
HunterWithPatience
Coal and pyrrha kissing in the shallow water, lit by spotlights, as the shattered moon and the stars, start to shine in the sky. then camera pov zooms out to show cordovin beating the absolutely shit out of the leviathan.
SkulduggeryHaven
You're welcome. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
Radiant Tiefling
Thank you for the chapter.
