The darkness ate the sound of my footsteps as I walked the dark corridors of the Madre's Villa. I wasn't a particularly loud walker to begin with. Plodding along like a Brahmin is typically a good way to get shot at. But normally I could at least hear my footsteps as I went, especially with spaces as enclosed as the Villa's almost fissure-esqe streets.

It was slow going, walking and stumbling through the darkness. Part of that was due to my own caution. Something about this place made my teeth curl, and it wasn't just the corrosive smog. There was a feeling of claustrophobia about the place. The buildings were practically built on top of each other, and looming over everything. The streets themselves could hardly even qualify as such, being hardly any wider than any back alley you'd find in Freeside. As if the place wasn't dark enough to begin with, the building's shadows dyed everything an even inkier shade than it already was.

Even barring the situation I'd found myself thrust into, there was just something wrong about the place.

It probably did not help that I'd lost sight of the…'inhabitant' Elijah had warned me about.

Though I'd immediately followed up after the 'inhabitant', whatever it was, it had already disappeared into the ether. I had no idea where it could have gone either. The path it had taken, and the one I was walking, was straight forward and cramped. No-where for it to go but forward. Which either meant it was much faster than I'd given it credit for, or was hiding.

Either thought was disconcerting.

Regardless, I pressed on. The only way out of this mess right now was forward, not doing it was the same as saying I wanted to lose my head.

The alley forked not far from the fountain, but I had my pip-boy to help guide me through the Villa. Even barring that, I followed the signs pointing me to the police station. The path led me after the 'inhabitant', weaving through the tight alleyways, under a few balconies, and up a flight of narrow brick stairs. Which then itself lead into another, smaller plaza, laden with rubble and another flight of stairs in the far corner. There hadn't been much of immediate note on my first pass through, though I did manage to find a bottle of scotch and some more of the brassy casino chips in a basin along one of the walls.

Then I noticed the skeleton.

I'd been about to continue up the next flight of stairs when I saw it. I'd just mistaken it for rubble at first, only picking out what it was as I'd gotten closer. It was sitting under what was, likely one of only a few, working lights in the Villa, which itself should have raised a few alarm bells. But I stopped and examined it regardless. There wasn't much telling how old the bones were. Elijah had said the cloud was corrosive, So there was no telling how quickly everything had actually decayed. They could be over two centuries old, or they could be less than a day. Given the fact I was still breathing despite being in the cloud myself though, I was inclined to think closer to the former than the latter.

More foreboding than the skeleton however, was the rather overt cause of death:

A long, triple bladed spear rammed through its back.

I pulled it from the bones and inspected it. The blades at the end of it appeared to be some form of kitchen knife, though I didn't recognize the style. They were still sharp though, dangerously so. I cut myself just lightly tapping its edge.

I added it to my collection. If it was still good enough to cut me after however long it had been sitting there, then it was good enough to use on just about anything else.

The skeleton lay on the ground, beside the stairs and another basin. Not too far from it, a message was scratched into the wall.

'Find goD in the simplest of beasts.'

Whatever that was supposed to mean. Perhaps it was in reference to the 'FEV Reject' Elijah had told me to find.

In either case, I pressed on. I got the feeling that lingering there wasn't a good idea.

Up the flight of stairs, I found myself in yet another small plaza. This one had not only another flight of stairs in it, but also a corridor that, if my pip-boy and the signs were to be believed, lead to the police station. Rather than waste time scrounging, I decided to focus on the task at hand, and followed the signs.

The small plaza's corridor gave way to an even larger one. At one point, I might have imagined that it was a beautiful place. There was another large fountain in the center of the plaza, boxed in by large tree planters. The sidewalks were shaded by the building's overhangs, and would have had an overall 'quaint' feeling.

As it was though, that was the past.

The plaza was almost over flowing with rubble, and looking ready to come in on itself. Only one tree stood intact amongst the planters, and the fountain looked as though it had been dry for centuries. But then, it probably had.

Worse though, there was a ringing.

At the far side of the plaza, glowing gold in the rusty haze of the cloud, was a sign. One of an old-world police badge. From it, or perhaps near it, came the ringing of a tinny bell or alarm. A frantic, clanging series of notes that lasted several seconds before falling silent. Only to begin its call again not long after.

It was… troubling. But I knew better than to rush straight to it, even if it was at my destination. Elijah had said there were traps around, and given I wasn't alone, charging blindly ahead could prove disastrous.

So I chose to work slowly, searching the square for anything worthwhile to prepare myself. All that I found were more casino chips, lying in the fountain at the center of the plaza.

In the end, it nearly proved more disastrous than rushing ahead would have.

No sooner had I begun picking up the chips than I heard it.

The slow, cold, labored rasping.

I turned to look over my shoulder and found it looming over me.

The 'Inhabitant'.

They were so close I could see it clearly now. What I had thought to be eyes before were actually the lenses of a gasmask. One I did not recognize, nor readily note at the time.

As, with whip-like speed, the creature raised a familiar tri-bladed spear.

"Shit!"

I rolled to the side with hardly a moment's reaction.

I came to a crouch in time to see the spear strike the fountain's edge. Chunks of rubble breaking free as the spear crashed into it, somehow embedding itself into the masonry. Whether it was by the creature's own strength or the spear's sharpness I couldn't tell. But it hardly mattered, it would've been my death If I hadn't moved.

The creature's head slowly twisted towards me. Close as I was, I could hear the crackling of stiff joints and creak of old ligaments. It almost twisted more at the shoulders than it did its neck.

It stared me down, silent. The only noise to escape it, the rasping of whatever lay behind its mask.

I scrambled from the ground and back pedaled away from it; I wasn't going to take my eyes off of it. I fumbled to take the Holorifle off of my back and get it to my shoulder. While I fumbled, the creature withdrew its spear from the stone, its motions stiff, slow. By the time I got the weapon to my shoulder, at was already rearing around to strike at me again. I pulled the trigger before it could.

Energy weapons were never my forte. There's much more science and engineering that goes into maintaining a simple laser pistol compared to, say, a revolver or semi-automatic. A firearm is mostly moving parts that function in intended and predictable ways. Springs are compressed when you cock the striking hammer. The hammer strikes a primer on a loaded cartridge, igniting the contained gunpowder. Rifling cuts grooves into a bullet as it's propelled down and out the barrel in a ball of fire.

Energy weapons aren't like that, at all. Everything is intended to stay in place during operation. Optics and lenses stayed tuned to the proper depth. Resistors regulate the amount of energy pulled from the power cells. Capacitors prevent excess energy from being forced out of the diode, burning it out. Along with a host of other processes I only had a vague understanding of. There are a multitude more things that can go wrong, or just inherently function differently, with energy weapons. That did not even begin to scratch the craziness that surrounded plasma-based weapons. Something that, in my limited knowledge, only further confounded me.

But the holorifle I had been so graciously gifted was a beast all its own - even by energy weapon standards.

I pulled the trigger and watched as the shroud at the end of the 'barrel' glowed a pale blue. The same color the holograph over the central fountain had been.

For the briefest of moments I could have sworn I saw a bolt of light clear the gap between me and the creature. A burst of light left the shroud with a bark somewhere between distant thunder and the grenade launcher it was built from. A warbling, polyhedral mass moving almost as fast as a laser bolt. A trailing of blue sparks littered the air behind it, vanishing almost as quickly as they appeared.

Whether it had actually been there or not, something hit the creature and visibly impacted it as though there were mass to it. The projectile shattered on contact, emitting a burst of light that cascaded over the creature, dyeing it blue for but a moment, as electrical sparks danced over its form.

I saw the creature flinch, its body tensing as whatever had hit it ran its course.

I lowered my weapon and inspected it again. I was genuinely at a loss for what it was.

Unfortunately, this turned out to be a nearly fatal mistake.

In the instant I had looked away, the creature had shifted its stance and hefted the spear into a thrower's stance. Even with its stiff motions, the creature hurled its spear at me with practice ease.

I tumbled back once more, narrowly avoiding the spear as it flew through the space my head had previously occupied. It flew through the air and collided with the still-standing tree. It shattered on impact, its knives burying themselves to the hilt with ease white the shaft splintered away. If I had a moment to do it, I may have wondered what the hell those things were made of.

As it was though, I didn't.

I tried to fire another shot at the creature, but I had never used the holorifle before now. I had expected it to function similar to every other energy weapon I'd seen. Of course, it didn't.

Keeping the creature in my field of vision, I continued moving backwards, and adopting a sideways strafe. In my mind, I'd hoped to use the small fountain we were beside as a small barricade. Something that would at least slow it down.

Unfortunately, I hadn't accounted for the fact it was hardly knee high. Something anybody with half a brain could easily just step over and through, even if it had water in it.

With stiff, jerking motions, the creature stepped onto the fountain without so much as slowing down. It didn't so much as run at me as it did pounce. Moving in a way that was somehow looked both painful and feral.

Right before it closed on me, I realized how the holorifle worked, and pumped the action. I fired from the hip and hit the creature once more with a shower of blue light. Not that it did much good, it was right on top of me.

The creature raised a dark arm and swung at me. He connected with the holorifle, and I felt it be ripped easily from my grasp. As though I hadn't been holding onto it for dear life right then.

It answered one question: Even if those knives were sharp, this monster was strong.

Which made my close proximity to it a death sentence.

Before I could get further afield from it, the creature grabbed me by the collar of my jumpsuit. It was hardly any larger than I was, but with ease it lifted me off my feet as though I were a child. I tried to draw the spear I had collected earlier, then it sent me crashing to the hard stone ground. The spear clattered away from me.

The wind was knocked from me with a bark of pain, and I struggled to pull it back.

I was stopped by a vice like grip clasping around my throat.

The creature loomed over my prone form. Its hands wrapped tightly around my windpipe. It was close, closer than I would have ever cared for it to be. I could see scratches in the glass of its mask's lenses, could see the mesh of its respirator. The rasp of its breathing cutting at my ears with sharpened fangs.

It was only muted by the burning of my lungs.

I twisted, punching the creature in the head. If it even felt it, the beast didn't show it. It continued to loom over me, hands slowly gripping tighter around my throat as I hit it with everything I could. Even with the adrenaline rushing through me now, it didn't so much as grunt. As if my fists weren't even so much an annoyance to it. Darkness began to creep in around the edges of my vision, as it became harder for me to hit the creature.

I needed to breathe.

This creature was going to kill me.

At that realization, I felt a final burst of strength go through me. I coiled my legs up to my chest and planted them against the creature's abdomen. With all the hysterical strength my body could muster in that moment, I pushed off of the creature. The creature did not want to yield, its grip held firm. As my legs extended as far as they could, I stopped pushing and let them draw back towards me. Letting the momentum build as my body recoiled. Then I pushed back, harder and further. Again it did not let go, but I felt my legs go further, and its grip wane. I drew my legs back once more, and pushed for everything I was worth in that moment.

Their grip broke, and the caustic air began racing back into my lungs in spastic coughs.

I pushed with all my might, forcing the creature off of me, and scrambling away from it again. I could hear it lunge for me again, and rolled to the side as a boot slammed the space my chest had occupied. My hands scraped the ground as I tried to get to my feet, tried to improve my odds of surviving that moment. Much less the beast hounding me.

In that moment, my fingers brushed over the spear I'd failed to grab.

Seizing it, I stood and turned to face the creature as it continued its pursuit. I didn't make the mistake of letting it get within arm's length again. That was a fight I stood absolutely no chance of winning. My still burning lungs could attest to it. In fact, they were screaming at me to run and not look back. But there was nowhere to run, not with the police station so close.

Running the risk of trapping myself indoors with it was out of the question as well.

So I gripped the spear and thrust it forward, stabbing the creature at center mass. I felt it connect, but whatever they were wearing must have protected them. They continued towards me despite my efforts.

The creature made another grab for me, but I wasn't letting it happen. I slipped around the side of it, cracking it on the side of its head with the blunt end of my spear. As the hit passed, I spun it back around, running the blades of the spear's make-shift head across its back, score marks very clearly etching themselves into the creature's suit.

Completely unfazed, the creature jerked around to me, lunging as it did. I, in turn, did my best to keep out of its reach, using the spear to stab it when it got too close. But for as stiff as the creature was, it was fast, tenacious. I swung the spear at it, stabbed it, cut it, everything. Yet it hardly seemed to so much as inconvenience it.

But I was nothing if not tenacious myself.

Keeping my distance, I focused my strikes, aimed for its legs. It wouldn't be so fast once I'd broken its knee cap. Or, as I was noticing with every slash of the spear, cut its legs off. The spear's blades were indeed dastardly sharp.

Having watched long enough, I stopped back pedaling and thrust the spear down towards its feet. The creature's stiff movements kept it from stopping in time, and I watched the spearhead sink deep into its legs. I was almost certain I felt it connect bone.

Yet the creature didn't even so much as groan.

Which some portion in the back of my mind took immediate note of, and was disconcerted by.

I twisted the spear in my hands, tearing and shredding the creature's leg at the knee. The limb gave out, and the creature collapsed into it. Before it could react though, I withdrew the spear and spun it around once more. Using the gathered momentum, I swung it at the creature's left arm, in the midst of extending towards me.

I cleaved through it at the middle of its fore arm, sending the severed limb flying in a spray of discolored viscera.

At the loss of its limb, the creature seemed to lose energy. Its head looked up to me for a moment, tilting. It stared at me for a moment, its breath still rasping. I was almost certain it was going to try and attack me right then.

Instead, it flopped over on its side, going still and limp. Its rasp slipping into silence.

Judging from the pooling… liquid that surrounded them, the wounds had caught up to them and they'd finally bled out.

I stared down at it for a moment longer, then began walking past it. I had no clue what the hell that thing had been, but I was glad it was dead.

Walking a few yards away, I returned to the spot where I'd dropped the holorifle and looked it over. Now that whatever that thing was could no longer jump me, I needed a moment to properly assess the weapon.

I racked the action again, and watched as a microfusion cell fell from the tube where the grenades were normally loaded…

A thought occurred to me as I stared down at the expelled round: I'd never checked to see if it was loaded.

That could've been a disaster.

I shook my head and focused on the MF cell. Normally these things could be good anywhere from twenty to thirty shots, depending on the weapon. Why was it built to dump them after a single shot?

I picked the good cell back off the ground and looked around for a moment. The cell I'd racked out of the action was still on the ground not too far away. I knelt down and picked it up. There aren't too many ways to check if a cell has any juice left in it or not. Most of them involve hooking them up to something and checking if you can still draw a charge from them.

I just stick my tongue to the terminal.

Yes, it hurts and makes me look like an idiot. But it's also easier and faster to do than hooking it up to a light switch. Most times I didn't even need to do it anyway. If I was worried they were depleted, I'd just save them for recycling.

When I did it with the expended cell from the holorifle though, I didn't even get so much as a tingle. The cell had been drained dead. I lowered the cell and looked at the holorifle. Whatever it was, it had eaten through twenty to thirty rounds of ammunition in a single shot.

"What the hell…"

I shook my head and checked my MF cell reserves. I had plenty of them back in the Mojave, the fiends used energy weapons with surprising regularity. Except I'd been stripped of everything with inherent value when I was brought. That included ammo. I'd had a few cells on me when I woke up, probably given to me by the same person who left me the holorifle. But if this thing ate through ammo like I assumed it did, it meant I also had far fewer shots available than I thought I did at first glance. I'd also wasted one of them trying to take down that… thing.

I suppressed a shudder, and slid a pair of replacement cells into the holorifle. The only blessings I had in that moment was that I wasn't completely defenseless, and that I'd managed to kill… whatever that was.

I should learn not to count my blessings.

Because right then, I heard it again.

The rasping.

A chill arced down my spine like frigid lightning, driving me ramrod straight.

I turned back to where I'd felled the creature.

It sat up right with ease, head slowly scanning the area. It's slow, rasping breath filling me with a primal dread reserved for creatures much larger and inhuman than it.

Its gaze ceased its search, locking on to me with an almost machine-like focus.

It didn't say a word, or make a sound beyond its own breathing.

It didn't need to; I could already feel the ice flowing in my veins.

I was out of my depth.

With feral strength, the beast leapt to its feet. Its knee was still mangled beyond reasonable use, I could hear it grind and crack as it stood. But it didn't mind that its bones were splintering. If it did, it didn't show.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

It moved like it too.

The beast bounded towards me in a loping gait, not waiting for me to get ready to defend myself again.

With hardly a moment to think, I pulled the holorifle to my hip and squeezed off a shot. It connected in a shower of sparks and light, but it didn't so much as stun it. The beast'd had its leg shredded, its arm lopped off, and its body cut and burned in ways I couldn't begin to fathom. Yet shrugged it all off like a light rain.

What kind of monster was I facing?

With its remaining good arm, the monster swung at me, and I narrowly avoided it. My legs hadn't caught up to the rest of me in recognizing the danger we were in.

I took a fist shaped sledgehammer to the side of the head. Bells rang, but I was somehow still on my feet, scrambling.

Barely focusing, I lashed a leg out at the monster's already damaged knee, striking home. I felt it bend back in the wrong direction. It was treated with little more than annoyance.

I racked the action again and fired another bolt at the monster, striking it square in the chest. I was close enough now to finally see what kind of effect it had. Whatever material it wore was scorched black, and the sparks I'd been seeing weren't just a trick of the light. There was actual electricity dancing off of them. Whatever I was firing at them was on a level that, even with my lack of knowledge, I knew was beyond plasma weaponry.

The fact the monster was shrugging it off like it was nothing only made them more terrifying.

My limbs finally freed of their stupor, I realized I couldn't keep wasting ammo and pulled the spear back around. It had so far proven more effective, at any rate.

The creature hadn't exactly been waiting to attack me, but it took it a moment to charge me. Its mangled leg certainly wasn't going to make it any faster. But it was still frightening how unrelenting it was. If I'd heard even half the noises its knee was making from anyone else, they'd either be dead or going into shock, much less moving.

It threw itself at me regardless.

In kind, I thrust the spear at it once more, aiming for the scorch mark the holorifle had made on its chest. As they had before, the blades sank hilt deep into the creature with ease. Though its momentum carried it forward regardless, and I felt it begin pushing me backwards. I was just barely out of its reach.

With a twist, I began working the spear in a clockwise motion. Judging by where the blades had hit, I had to imagine I'd stabbed its heart. This thing could shrug off losing limbs and the like, but what about getting its heart pulped?

It was more a move of desperation on my part than anything.

The blades' terrifying sharpness aided me greatly. The spear twisted a grisly hole into the monster's chest with about all the effort I'd put into opening a can of cram. I then dragged the spear down on the diagonal, slicing the monster open. I'd rather not describe what spear dragged out with it.

I retracted the weapon, and back pedaled, heart hammering in fear as the monster stood there.

It slowly looked down at itself. At Its… parts that weren't in the right place anymore.

Then it continued hounding me.

I froze again.

It was like something out of a jet-fueled nightmare. Whatever this thing was, it didn't seem to care what happened to it. It should've been dead nearly ten times over for as many reasons. Nothing should be able to survive that kind of punishment.

But it had.

Worse, I was about to pay for it.

The creature swung at me again, and I pulled the spear's shaft up into a guard. The spear's shaft broke, eating the brunt of the hit. What was left hit with a force that rattled my ribs. I dropped the broken haft in my off hand and tried to counter. But it had all the effect a drop of water does to a campfire. The monster tanked it, and immediately responded with a heavy fist of his own. It caught my forearm as I tried to avoid it, and I felt something crack. I gave a yelp of pain, and the beast grabbed the collar of my jumpsuit.

It had no grace, no skill, no technique. But it didn't need any.

It had power.

The monster slammed my side down against the fountain, and I felt something break. I tried to power through it, but the beast continued to attack me. It only had one arm, but it was treating me like a ragdoll. Smashing me against the masonry, hitting me with bone breaking force. It was almost worse than when it had been choking me.

The only saving grace was that I could open VATs.

Because it saved me.

The beast recoiled to strike me again, and I pulled open VATs. Because of how it works, the pain I felt would be constant until it was closed. Meaning it was almost blinding. But it gave me a second to try and think of a way out of it. The monster was too strong. It was too… inhuman. Nothing should have survived having its heart shredded, let alone being disemboweled. Calling it a monster was fitting. But it was also going to kill me if I didn't do something. I still had a grip on the spear head, even if it couldn't qualify as one anymore. The blades had proven effective. Maybe I couldn't kill it, but I might be able to at least cut its other arm off. Without it, what else could it do to me?

Besides trying to kick me to death with its good leg, anyway.

I was dead either way, so trying it was worth a shot.

I let VATs end, and brought the spearhead up as the monster brought its fist down at me once more. I skewered its arm, even as the force of its blow continued to come crashing down towards me. I shifted at the last moment, allowing the blow to connect with the ground, preceded by the broken spear. The force drove the blade through its arm like a wedge, cutting its hand off at the forearm.

Having missed its mark, I found myself with precious free moments to think. Compounding it, the monster wasted a precious moment looking down at the stump where its other hand had been.

It had only been a moment though.

Despite being quite literally disarmed now, the beast refused to give up. It reared its head back, clearly intent to somehow headbutt me to death.

Too bad for it, I wasn't one to waste time, given the chance.

I pulled the spearhead from its severed arm and lurched it upward once more, in direct path with its head. My strike wasn't as true this time, but it was close enough.

The spearhead caught the beast on the right side of its head, piercing its mask through the lenses and helmet.

The beast lurched; its momentum carried it forward but there didn't seem to be as much intent behind it. Using the spearhead as an anchor, I hauled it to the side and kicked it free. In a frenzy of adrenaline and fear, I began feverishly slashing at the monster's head. I was afraid it was going to get back up and attack me at any moment, or throw me off of it. I don't know how long I spent slashing at it with the spearhead.

By the time I was done though, I'd reduced its head to a macerated paste. Slamming the spearhead down into the stone work.

I backed away from the monster's prone form, shaking and breathing hoarsely. I was used to brushes with death, but fighting… whatever that was, had been an entirely different beast.

It should have stayed down the first time.

It should have dropped when I stabbed its heart.

It should have died when I fucking disemboweled it.

Now I was sitting on the ground and hoping it was dead. Because if it was possible to kill this thing, I sure as hell didn't have the means to do it right now.

I sat there for a moment, breathing, trying to rein myself in. A minute passed, then two.

Longer than it had taken to get back up the first time.

"… F-fuck."

I didn't relax, but knowing I wasn't going to be immediately fighting that thing again was a weight off me.

I took another deep breath, then spat out a wad of coppery phlegm forming at the back of my throat. I brushed the dust off me and stood, carefully walking back to the monster's supposed corpse. I stared down at it for a moment, waiting.

Nothing happened.

I was fairly certain it was dead now.

"…Fuck me." I exhaled "Thanks for the heads-up Elijah, fuckin' asshole."

If this was the standard fair for things I was going to see in the Villa, this was going to be even worse than I thought. I needed to start stocking supplies, and fast. More importantly, I needed to figure out what these things were so I could better avoid them.

I reached down and yanked the spear head back out of the stone work. The knives and spears were beyond salvaging now, but I could at least try and salvage what I could from them. Whatever they were made from was some scary stuff.

As I stood there examining the blades, I felt my ears prick up. Just over the trilling of the police stations alarm bell I could hear something. Something off in the distance, echoing.

Rasping.

"… Fuck this!"

I turned and bolted for the police station. I couldn't see where it was coming from, but I wasn't waiting for it to find me again.

I slammed into the police station door and it flung open. I then closed it and barred it with whatever was at hand. There wasn't much, but there were a few deadbolts on the door to begin with. It might not stop whatever was living in the Villa, but it would slow them down.

As soon as the door was shut and barred, I stood there for a moment. Breathing, listening, trying to make sure I hadn't been followed.

"… Master, where did you go?" A gravelly voice asked.

As if I didn't have enough gray hairs already, I felt myself tense again. The voice had come from behind me.

I turned slowly and better examined building I had thrust myself into.

It was a large area, mostly occupied by a holding cell, a drunk tank perhaps. A few dimly lit doorways, doubtlessly leading deeper into the station. To the left of the door I'd barreled through was a reception desk, beside a door. I could see an old HAM radio on the desk, lit-up and active. To the right was another table, housing a decrepit looking coffee maker. There were a few other desks as well though they were far less notable.

In the middle of the drunk tank was a nightkin. Sitting in a curled, almost fetal like position.

They weren't any particularly larger than any other nightkin I'd seen before. But they certainly looked more battered than any I'd seen. It was hard to hit a super-mutant and leave a mark, they had thick skin and were fast healers. But the one in the drunk tank was marred it battle scars and… was that a bear trap embedded into its arm?

"… Master please come back." The nightkin whined, almost sounding… scared. "Dog will be good this time."

Something told me this was the 'reject' Elijah had been talking about. I didn't see a collar around its neck though.

I began walking forward, trying to better assess my supposed partner in crime.

I stopped when my collar began beeping.

It began a slow, steady beat that I recognized from when Elijah threatened to blow my head off. But it was different, intermingled with an unfamiliar broadcast.

The beeping sped up.

I didn't immediately understand what was happening. Elijah had threatened to kill me if I didn't comply. But as far as I knew, I had been. Barring nearly getting killed twice, I'd only found my way to the police station to avoid getting killed. What did I do wrong?

I back pedaled away from the cage, towards the door. As the beeping grew in tempo, so did the volume of the garbled broadcast. I tried to pick up on it, figure out what it was. It sounded like a radio transmission, but where would it be coming from?

There were no radio stations in the…

I looked to the HAM radio sitting on the nearby desk. A moment's insight flashing through my mind.

The beeping reached a fever pitch as I dove for the desk. I jerked the main dial counter clockwise until I heard it *click* into silence, powered down.

The beeping immediately died with it and, once again, the only thing I could hear was the hammering of my heart.

I took several deep, calming breaths.

With everything that had happening so fast, I'd nearly forgotten Elijah's warnings about the radios. As if there wasn't enough shit on my plate to begin with. Here I was about to lose my head over some bad music.

I scanned the rest of the available office, searching for anything else that might try to kill me.

There was another radio, near a terminal by the drunk tank.

"… Ok, one step at a time." I said "Just need to be careful."

…

"… Mister Six!" Port Boomed

I jolted awake, leaned back in a chair and head craned towards the ceiling. "*snrk* I-I'm awake- I'm awake, what's up?" I lurched forward, leaning on the table in front of me. We were in Port's class if my, admittedly hazy, memory served.

We were seated a few rows up from the floor Port taught from. So I was treated to the sight of multiple rows of eyes, and Port's bushy brows staring up at me.

"… While I will be the first to admit that a rested hunter is a ready one-" Port boomed "There is both a time and a place to for it. As such, I must ask you to refrain from sleeping during lecture."

"I wasn't sleeping." I yawned, cracking my neck "I was… mentally reviewing some notes from last night."

Port cocked an eyebrow at me "Indeed?... well then, perhaps you can answer this question for me?"

Oh joy, just what I wanted.

"Shoot." I answered

Port, not wasting a moment, tapped his clip board before pointing it to the chalk board behind him. There were sketches of Grimm on it, large ones. Elephantine you might say.

"Tell me, what are the anatomical differences between the Goliaths found here on Sanus, the Megoliaths of Solitas, and most importantly: How would you go about fighting them?"

I stared silently at the board for a moment, stroking the chin of my mask. Contemplating an appropriate answer. I definitely wasn't trying to kick my brain into motion after putting me to sleep again, no sir, not me. I'd totally gotten enough sleep.

I'd gone the rest of the night without finding anything. I managed to hit up a few more, albeit minor, locations from Yang's list. Sadly, foiling a bank robbery and attempt to turn Vale into a warzone was the extent of everything I'd accomplished. Not bad for a night's work, but I knew I could do better. I caught the early ship back to Beacon sometime around four, and fell into my cot about a half hour later. Blake had still been up, which I thought was worth noting, but I conked out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

About three hours later Ruby tried to nudge me awake and almost got reacquainted with my sawn-off for her trouble.

Lucky for her the safety was on.

She helped drag me out of bed in time to make sure we were all present for class. Which led back to now. Gotta get my winks in where I can, Things aren't going to slow down just because I'm running around under the moon instead of the sun.

My brain shook out enough of the haze for me to begin pulling the facts together.

"… Well, for starters, Megoliaths are, on average, smaller than their cousins the Goliath. Conversely to that however, they've been found to have even thicker skin as well, likely for some form of insulation. Megoliaths also have an ancillary set of tusks on either side of their head, and an additional set of eyes."

Port nodded, accepting my answer so far

"Conversely, Goliaths are massive, and while they lack the extra tusks and eyes of their cousins are no weaker for them. They're thinner skin is also of note, as even it can be troublesome to bypass. Of the two grimm the more powerful of them, for a term, would be the Goliath. Due largely to its inherent size."

"… Adequate." Port nodded "… But how would you fight them?"

"Well… if you would let me ask a question of my own?"

Port stroked his moustache, before nodding his assent.

"Can I assume I wouldn't be receiving any support in this purported fight?"

"Hmm…" Port hummed "…For the purposes of this question, I will answer… no. You would be left to handle the fight on your own."

"… Well then, the answer is simple." I said after another pause "I wouldn't."

Now both of Port's eyebrows shot up, surprise evident on the older man. Judging by a few of the murmurs around me, a number of others were as well.

"You wouldn't?" Port asked, confused

"The average Goliath is over two hundred feet tall." I explained "They've also got hides thick enough to tank most physical attacks. Megoliaths may lack the inherent size and durability of their cousins, but they make up for it with speed. And just because they're not two hundred feet tall, doesn't mean fighting a fifty-foot tall grimm is any easier. Aside from their base characteristics, both goliaths and megoliaths have one other important non-physical feature: They travel in groups. One Megoliath would be bad enough on its own, and maybe even feasible under the right conditions. But I'd be rendered to a paste if I had to fight one that had its pack nearby. That leaves Goliaths right out as well. I'd have about as much luck stopping one of them on my own as I would stopping a wave with a sheet of paper."

Port remained silent for a moment, seeming to take in what I was saying.

"If I were forced to do something, assuming there were lives at stake, I would prioritize evacuation and re-location of those in immediate danger. I am confident in my own abilities, but barring access to, say, heavy artillery, fighting a Megoliath, let alone a Goliath, is unfeasible at best and guaranteed suicide otherwise."

Port didn't say a word. He seemed to just stand there for a moment, mulling. His eyes were still seemingly drawn closed, as they ever were, but I couldn't shake the feeling he was looking at me… intently.

"… And now comes the part-" I said, perhaps a bit derisive "- Where you proceed to tell us how I'm wrong."

"… I'm… surprised, that is an excellent answer."

I was fairly certain everyone was taken aback by Port's response, myself included.

"… Really?" I asked.

"Quite." Port said, stroking his moustache again "One of the most important lessons you will learn as a hunter is not to overestimate your own abilities. While there will be times where you are not given a choice in the matter, knowing when something may be beyond you is an important trait. As it also plays into what I've been focusing today's lesson on. Excellent work Mister Six, clearly the studying is paying off."

"Uh- yeah, thanks." I stuttered.

"Now then-" Port continued, not missing a beat "While it is important not to overestimate oneself-"

I let Port slide into the background again as I turned to look at my teammates. Specifically Ruby, who was seated next to my right. "Thanks for the warning."

"You were asleep." Ruby said, not meeting my gaze.

"No I wasn't." I said defensively.

"You were snoring."

"Again, no I wasn't."

"Nope, you were." Yang said, smirking "Pretty sure everyone could hear you."

"I wasn- you know what, forget it." I shook my head "What'd I miss?"

"Not much." Yang said "He's mostly just been rambling about Goliaths and Megoliaths."

"… It sounds like you haven't been really paying attention either."

"He's actually been talking about several hunters he knew who've encountered trouble in the field." Weiss said, proving me correct "Hence the question."

"Hm… He's probably building up to a point." I grunted.

As if on cue, Port pulled out his scroll and tapped it a few times. A familiar hole opened in the floor and a metal cage rose out of it, giving me a sense of déjà vu.

"Now then, would anyone care to volunteer?" Port asked, polling the room.

A few murmurs rose up from the class. Nothing of particular note.

"I'll do it." Cardin said, rising from his seat. Clearly demonstrating he hadn't been paying attention either.

"Nice to see you are finally choosing to participate in class, Mister Winchester." Port nodded "Go collect your equipment."

Smirking, the jackass sauntered off to the changing room. He stayed gone for a few minutes, and surprised me by actually knowing the way back. During the time he was gone though, Port had returned to the chalk board at the front of the class room. Having chosen to retrieve his apparent weapon of a choice: a combination double-bit battle axe and muzzleloader with a flare at the barrel's end. I believe it was called a blunderbuss, but for all I knew on remnant it was called something else.

As Cardin swaggered back into the room, Port took his spot beside the cage.

"Before you begin, I must warn you:" Port said smoothly, with a notable lack of his usual boisterous air "The creature you are about to face is one of the most dangerous found in Kingdom of Vale. Its kind have claimed the lives of more hunters and huntresses than can possibly be counted. These Grimm alone are responsible for more death and destruction than many will ever give them credit for. So before I release the beast, I will ask one last time: Are you ready?"

Truthfully, I was listening to what Port had to say and considering his words seriously. This was a man who regarded 'hunting' as much a sport as it was a profession. It was a matter of pride for him. The fact he was going to the lengths of arming himself and providing an additional warning meant he was serious. Whatever was inside the cage, to Port at least, warranted it. If it were me in the situation, I'd have re-evaluated everything I was doing, and begun double checking myself. Typically, when someone gives you a warning like that, it's wise to listen.

Fortunately, I wasn't the one in it for once.

"Puh-lease, I was born ready." Cardin smirked, clearly having forgotten his past run-ins with the reaper.

Port just shook his head and chuckled. "Very well then, have at it." He gave his axe a light swing, more dropping it than anything, and busted a lock off of the Cage's door.

The last time I'd been paying attention for one of Port's demonstrations, a boarbatusk had burst forth with the intent of trying to gore Weiss. This time though, the door opened slowly, its metal hinges creaking in similar fashion. Once fully opened, silence fell as the beast emerged from the cage, slowly, step by step.

As a Grimm, its fur was still black as the night sky, contrasted by a bone white mask on its face. It had bone white claws tipping each of its feet, and dagger like fangs at the front of its maw. With hind legs that were clearly better developed than those at the front. Its eyes glowing a fiery red, as though coming from the depth of the abyss itself.

It was also less than two feet long, and maybe only half that high. With long, floppy black ears making up fifty percent of that height.

Silence continued to hang in the air as the grimm hopped a short distance out of the cage. Its head slowly tracing around the students before fixing on Cardin ahead of it.

It was a… rabbit?

"… PFF-HA HA HA-"Cardin burst with laughter "-That puny thing's-"

The laughter nearly got him killed.

The rabbit launched from the ground like a rocket and collided with Cardin's upper chest area, closer to his throat. Impacting with enough force to throw Cardin back, losing his mace in the process as he landed on his back.

His laughter instantly died away as the small Grimm began its assault. Replaced instead by a sudden, panicked screaming.

"AH!- AGH!- get it- GET IT OFF ME!" Cardin shouted, his voice rising a few octaves.

Cardin and the Grimm grappled on the floor for a moment, rolling around as Cardin tried to keep the little beast away from his throat as it kicked and bit at him.

It didn't take much for Cardin to find his grip on the creature, it was smaller than him after all. Gripping it by its abdomen, Cardin peeled the Grimm off of him and tossed it away. Scrambling to his feet like someone'd lit a fire under his ass. He quickly tried to regain his bearing, and bolted to get his mace back.

The Grimm meanwhile, hardly lost a step.

Cardin tossed it and for a moment it spiraled through the air uncontrolled. Then it kicked its leg, bringing control to its flailing. It landed on all fours a few yards away from Cardin, and immediately resumed its assault, its claws clicking off the floor like suppressed SMG fire, as it cleared the distance between itself and Cardin with startling speed.

Cardin had grabbed his mace and just barely gotten recovered when the Grimm was upon him again. The grimm launched into the air once more, but Cardin was ready this time, pulling his mace into a Guard. The Grimm collided with it and rebounded off it. Almost treating it as a springboard as it launched back to the ground and began to run, strafing around Cardin.

Cardin, none the worse for blocking, tracked the small Grimm as it ran. It was rather apparent the creature was trying to flank him. Maybe not a smart idea, given the size discrepancy, but the little Grimm was fast. Even as it began to track around Cardin it practically blurred with movement. Even if all Cardin needed to do was pivot his head to keep it in sight, its speed made that more than a challenge. Countering it would be even more so.

Case in point, once the creature was sufficiently flanking Cardin, it launched at him again. Rather than aim for his neck though, it aimed lower, at shoulder height. It raced across his back, raking its claws as it went, before leaping off of him and continuing to strafe. The force of it twisting Cardin, and nearly dragging him off balance.

Planting his feet, Cardin growled and swung his mace on the horizontal, low enough to catch the Grimm in its tracks.

Except it didn't.

The Grimm launched over it, sailing well out of swinging range, and colliding with the short wall separating the seating from the impromptu arena. I heard its claws click and scrape as it landed and ran across the wall. After it a short distance, it launched back off the wall at Cardin. He was ready for it this time, but only barely. I saw its teeth graze his side as it sailed past him.

Landing directly behind him.

Cardin's head just began to turn around as the little bastard rebounded.

The Grimm rocketed back off of the ground and latched onto Cardin's back like a magnet. Its teeth gnashing against his aura as its claws clung and ripped. Cardin began flailing, trying to get the little monster off of him. But the little Grimm was persistent. Cardin managed to get a grip on it and tried to wrench it free of him, but the Grimm just dug itself in deeper, making demented squeals as it tried to tear into Cardin.

In an act of what was very clearly desperation, Cardin back-pedaled and slammed himself into the chalk board. Fortune must have favored him, because as he stumbled forward the small Grimm landed on the ground with a flop. Fortune did not, however, favor him highly. He stumbled and landed on his stomach almost as hard as the Grimm had. Difference was, the Grimm was still faster. By the time Cardin had himself flipped around, the Grimm had already gotten back on its feet. None the worse for getting hit by two hundred some-odd pounds of idiot.

Normally, this would be the moment before disaster strikes. I've seen it plenty of times in the Mojave. If you're a second too slow to react, someone's dying, and something's getting lunch. I've been in it, outside it, and been it. Right then I felt the almost instinctual urge to open VATs and run interception. I may have no love lost for Cardin, but that didn't mean I was going to sit and watch it - no matter how cathartic and/or karmic it may have been. But I was unarmed. I also didn't need to.

Port beat me to it.

There was a thunderous boom and a flash of light, then the Grimm was gone, reduced to a spray of viscous ink and broken bits blown to the opposite end of the room.

The class's collective gaze shifted to Port, who had stayed leaning against the cage. He'd shouldered his weapon and had deftly proven he wasn't such a bad shot. He then lowered the weapon, flipping it around and blew any remaining smoke from the gun's muzzle.

"…The name of that beast-" Port boomed, as serious as he had been in his warning "-is, or rather was, known as a Caerbannog." He slid the cage door shut and began walking slowly over to Cardin. "A cousin of sorts to the Vacuo Jackalope, indigenous to the regions surrounding Vale. While they lack the size of their Vacuo counterparts, they are far faster for it. Their legs are powerful enough to launch them great heights and distances, moving at greater speeds than many can believe. Their claws, though too small, are as adept at sheering through steel as any Beowulf's. Their teeth even more so."

Port stood Over Cardin, looking down at him. Cardin looked like he did when I'd threatened to shoot him, frightened.

"They are the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodents you will ever set eyes on." Port spoke, calm "They also prefer to travel in packs."

That last sentence sent a chill down my spine. Cardin wasn't a sterling example of combat readiness, but how utterly one of the little monsters had trounced him was telling. If there'd even been two of them, he'd have been reduced to bloody giblets before the word go.

Port extended a hand down to Cardin, which he accepted, and hauled the boy to his feet. He then motioned for Cardin to return to his seat.

"… If there is one lesson I expect to be taken away today it is this:" Port continued "The hardest lesson any Hunter in training will be forced to learn, is what their limitations are." He motioned to me. "Whether that is learning not to overestimate your abilities." He then motioned to Cardin "Or underestimating your opponent's… We all have our limits. It is important to learn them. So that you may learn how to work with them, around them, or as some of you may prefer: break them."

I nodded; it was an important lesson. One I could begrudgingly note I still struggled with.

"… This is the safest place you will ever have to learn them." Port continued "Once you are out in the field, the time for safety will have passed, and you will not want to discover them then. I do not believe I need to tell or remind any of you the Story of the Grimm Reaper."

I felt my head cock to the side, just barely refraining from asking 'Who?'

"But, just as in the story, there is another way to circumvent your own limits. It is, perhaps surprisingly, a far simpler answer than many would expect." Port gave a wide smile, one who's corners just peeked past the edges of his moustache "After all, it's the reason we place you all on teams."

A high-pitched bell tolled then, signaling that class was finally coming to a close.

"I believe that is all the time for us today students." Port boomed, regaining his usual manner of speaking "To those of you who do not have training today, I wish you well. For those who do, I shall see you all again shortly. And as always: Stay Vigilant!"

People began filtering out of class as my, still slightly groggy, brain tried to play catch-up again. The gears ground for a little bit before I stood up and stretched.

"Well… That was something, huh?" Yang asked.

"Y-yeah." Ruby agreed.

"Mm" I grunted "Note to self: Beware the bunny."

I heard someone snort out a little laugh, so clearly, they got enough sleep to joke about serious notes.

A moment passed, as I came to realization.

"… Aw shit." I groaned "We've got PT today."