Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Inside the “From Dust Till Dawn” shop—the local store for dust and other basic needs were three young workers. One of them was Jaune Arc who was standing awkwardly by the cash register. The other was Cardin Winchester who was grumbling while sweeping the floors with a busted broom. And finally, Ruby Rose who was wiping the windows of the store while she had her red headphones—listening to her favorite music.

All three of them were wearing the store clerk uniform with the trademark red aprons. 

“Man…today is a slow day, huh?”

Jaune said while laughing. But no one shared his sense of humor as Cardin and Ruby were busy with their own task. The blonde boy cleared his throat and spoke again.

“I wonder where the Shopkeeper went? Is he still taking care of those deliveries?”

“I hope that old ass bat crooked on the way there,” Cardin stated aloud as his sweeping was starting to look more rough.

“N-now don’t say things like that Cardin!” Jaune replied. “He looks like he is on death’s door already from how many wrinkles are on his face…”

Cardin sighed and threw the broom to the floor.

“This is fucking bullshit! ”

Cardin kicked the wall, leaving a small hole. Ruby quickly noticed due to the sound of the impact and gasped.

“Cardin! You know we will get in trouble if the Shopkeeper sees that right!?”

“We’re already in trouble! This is our fucking punishment! Taking care of this stupid store for a whole fucking week! Even on the damn weekends! What the fuck!?”

Cardin’s face was getting red with anger as was throwing his arms in the air and shouting. Jaune was sweating and looking away while Ruby rolled her eyes at the sight of the brute.

“You know, the only reason we are here is because you started a fight in the cafeteria!”

The words from Ruby caused Cardin to quickly snap his head around and stomp over to her. Winchester towered over the silver-eyed girl like a bear compared to a squirrel. Steam seemed to almost exit from his ears and nose as he was staring down Ruby with a look of pure rage. But Ruby Rose combated his angry stare with her own puffy pout…which in truth looked very adorable.

“Are you dense!? You were the one who threw the first punch! And I wasn’t even talking about you! I was talking about your damn bitch of a teammate!”

“Stop calling Weiss a bitch!” Ruby screamed. “Still mad because she beat you in that obstacle course two days ago?”

“That bitch didn’t beat me—she fucking cheated! I know she did!”

“Weiss would never cheat!”

“Well too bad! She cheated and made a fool out of me—I know she did and when I get proof she is going to know what happens when you mess with the Winchesters…”

Ruby’s eyes flash dangerously.

“Are you threatening my friend!? You think you can get away with that!?”

“Oh?”

Cardin lowered his head, grinning.

“What are you gonna do, Rose? Try to jump on my head like before?”

“Maybe! But this time, don’t use Jaune as a battering ram!”

“Y-yeah!”

Jaune called out from the counter.

“That was super uncalled for man!”

Cardin sighed.

“Like I said, I didn’t mean to use you as a damn weapon! When this wild animal of a girl threw herself at me—I instinctively reached for anything near me and you were right behind me!”

“Getting food in the line!” Jaune whined. “So how on Remnant did I get in trouble for something that wasn’t even my fault!?”

“I’m sorry Jaune,” Ruby apologized. “B-but at least it’s not detention with Professor Glynda!”

“Yeah…she gave us an earful yesterday…”

Ruby, Jaune, and Cardin shuttered as the memory of a completely enraged Glynda Goodwitch resurfaced in their brains. 

“Would’ve thought she was gonna murder us on the spot!” Ruby said jokingly. 

“ARGH!” 

Cardin stared out the window to see if any car or customer was pulling up. But it almost seemed like a ghost town which enraged the brute.

“Where is that old man!? I want him to check us out so I can go back to the dorms! Hey Rose—use your semblance to run down Vale and find him!”

“I don’t know where he is and I am not your dang mule! Don’t order me around!”

Ruby and Cardin were ready to shout at each other again which Jaune was not in the mood to hear. He quickly left the counter and went in between the two.

“Guys…how about…we just do what were tasked with doing in the meantime. Cardin, can you go to the back and take care of the boxes in the supply closet?”

Cardin scoffed.

“Whatever…”

The big kid did not hesitate to bump Ruby roughly with his body as he walked past her. The silver-eyed girl snarled back.

“Screw him! It’s like he lives and breathes to be a jerk!”

Jaune shrugged.

“Well…that’s just who he is. I understand why you're mad, trust me, but I don’t want you two to destroy the store. Unless you want another reason to get another loud lecture from Professor Glynda.”

“No…how can you deal with him?”

“Hm? With Cardin? Well, he honestly stopped picking on me after the Forever Fall Incident.”

“So what? You guys are friends now?”

“Definitely not friends. I think we just…acknowledge each other's existence and be on our way.”

“Well excuse for not acknowledging him!” Ruby snarled. “Especially after all the horrible things he said about Weiss!”

Jaune picked up the broom and placed it behind the counter. He then took out a box of supplies—two of them and handed one of them to Ruby. The two started to restock the shelves as they continued talking. 

“The stuff Cardin said about Weiss was…not kind.”

“He called her a “cheating bitch”! Just because she did better in the obstacle course than him! What is his problem!?”

“But in the end, no one was taking him seriously. Why did you get mad and attack Cardin?”

Ruby huffed.

“I can’t stand anyone making fun of my friends, you know!”

“But Weiss wasn’t letting it bother her. And I’m sure she already gave you a lecture after you got in trouble!”

“Tell me about it…”

Jaune snickered as Ruby grimaced.

“Maybe she can deal with it, but I won’t stand for it! Someone needs to shut that jerk up—“

“The fuck is this?”

“SHUT UP, CARDIN!!”

Ruby screamed all the way to the back of the store while throwing the box of supplies down in anger. Her yell was quickly met with the appearance of an annoyed Cardin.

“You shut up! And come look at this you two!”

Jaune and Ruby looked at each other and then back at Cardin with confusion on their faces. They walked over to him and saw that he was holding a small strange wooden box that was blocked and designed in strange and eerie red lines.

“What…is that?” 

Jaune asked while staring at the small black box curiously.

“I don’t know…I found it in one of the boxes. I don’t think it’s been opened.”

Ruby folded her arms.

“It’s just a tiny box? What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal…”

Cardin looked up at Ruby and Jaune with uncertainty all over his face.

“Is that the box is moving like crazy! As if something is living in here!”

“Living…in that box?”

Ruby chuckled.

“Stop playing around there is nothing—“

The silver-eyed girl grabbed the black box and opened it. A thick black mist burst from the inside and covered the entire store. The three students coughed their lungs as the black fog dispersed everywhere.

“THE HELL IS THIS!?”

Cardin screamed.

“I-I DON’T—“

Jaune tried to talk but started coughing aloud instead. 

“GUYS! I CAN’T SEE!”

Ruby was yelling as she tried to find her way out of the fog. 

In seconds the fog faded away and the store was visible once more. But then the three first years of Beacon noticed a fourth person standing in the center of the store.

Well—not a person but a creature. A Creature of Grimm that looked like a human-sized frog with twenty yellow eyes.

The Grimm Frog did a simple ribbit as Ruby, Jaune, and Cardin stared at it with widened eyes.

“Is that a fucking Grimm?”

Cardin said aloud as if to confirm if what he was seeing was real. But neither Jaune nor Ruby had a chance to respond as the long gray tongue of the monster sprung out from its mouth and attacked one of them.

“Huh?”

Unluckily, it was Jaune Arc.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!”

The tongue pulled Jaune towards the Grimm Frog at incredible speed while the monster had its mouth open. Instantly, he chomped down and captured Jaune in its mouth leaving Ruby and Cardin completely bewildered.

“JAUNE!!”

“WHAT THE HELL!?”

Jaune’s muffled screams could be heard from inside the Grimm Frog as it bounced around—destroying the entire store in its wake.

Chapter Text

“SHHHHIIITTTT!!!!”

Cardin and Ruby threw themselves out of the way as the Grimm Frog ricocheted itself around the entire store. Only dark lines of its movements could be seen as it bounced against the walls and floor of the store. Everything in its path was broken and left in shambles.

“WE GOTTA HELP JAUNE!”

Ruby screamed as she picked up the broom lying next to her.

“HOW!?” Cardin shouted. “THIS THING IS TOO DAMN FAST!!”

Ruby used her semblance, transforming into rose petals as she managed to catch up with the frog. She put the broom around the neck of the creature and tried to choke it out, however, the broom snapped in two leaving Ruby weaponless. 

The Grimm Frog then placed its two slimy feet onto Ruby’s stomach, putting all its weight on her as he pushed against her like a board. The silver-eyed girl felt as if a bull railed her. She flew all the way to the back of the store, crashing into the window and shattering the glass. 

Ruby Rose was then outside of the store, lying painfully in a pile of broken glass. Cardin covered his mouth at the sight.

“Holy Mother of the Brothers!”

The Grimm Frog was moving towards him. Winchester stood his ground and waited for the monster like a football player waiting to catch the ball. The Grimm Frog slammed its head against Cardin’s stomach—which made the brute feel as if all the air left his body. He grabbed onto the back of the monster, hoping to capture it. 

“Gotcha motherfucker!”

Cardin then put the Grimm Frog in a headlock and started to choke it. The slimy creature made of shadows began to let out a terrible roar as Cardin continued to put pressure on its throat.

“Spit Arc out now!”

Slowly, the mouth of the Grimm Frog opened, giving Jaune the moment to stick his tongue out. As if he were raising himself from a pool after being underwater for so long, Jaune breathed heavily to take in the air around him. He was covered in clear slime and looked terrified.

“C-CARDIN! MY LEGS ARE STUCK!”

“J-JUST——HOLD ON!——A SECONDDDD!!!”

Cardin squeezed harder, hoping to pop Jaune out of the Grimm Frog. But the monster did not let that happen as strange white spikes erupted from all over its body—some of them managing to pierce Cardin. The brute screamed out in pain as he staggered back. 

“CARDIN!”

Jaune called out to Winchester who was too busy writhing in pain—his body covered in scratches and blood, while his aura was slowly healing it. The blonde boy did not even get time to ask if he was okay as the Grimm Frog bounced forward and slammed itself against a shelf full of supplies. Jaune unluckily had to take the full brunt of the impact head first, leaving him dazed and aching.

Outside of the store was Ruby, who had finally managed to get back on her feet. The silver-eyed girl took out her scroll and dialed the numbers of her locker. A few seconds later, the very same locker came down next to her like a rocket. Ruby opened it to take her trusty weapon—Crescent Rose and ran back into the fray of battle.

“HOLD ON, JAUNE!”

Ruby zoomed up to the Grimm Frog and slammed the blunt side of her weapon into its stomach. The monster and Jaune screamed as they were thrown into the dust section of the store…which immediately exploded into a horrid mess of elements the moment they slammed into it.

“Uh oh…”

Ruby sheepishly looked away, realizing that she’d just caused a bigger mess. 

“OUCH!”

Jumping from the disaster in the dust section of the store was Jaune with fire hanging on his butt like a tail. He rolled around on the floor a few times, managing to put the flame out. Once the blonde boy was sure he was not burning anymore he let out a sigh of relief.

“Thanks for that! I thought I was going to be digested!”

The Grimm Frog let out a nasty roar as it flew towards Ruby and Jaune. Coming in between them was Cardin who now had his trusty mace—the Executioner in his hands. Ruby looked to the side of the store to see Cardin’s locker there too, but the ceiling of the store had a notable hole in it.

“Cardin!” Ruby shouted. “You broke the ceiling! The Shopkeep is going to be mad!”

Cardin retorted, “We are fighting for our lives here! We can worry about damage control after!”

The Grimm Frog bounced around the entire store and back at Cardin repeatedly. The brute managed to slam the monster back into the wall or floor like a baseball after time it came flying back. After the tenth hit, Cardin put fire dust into his mace and slammed it against the Grimm Frog which caused an explosion of fire to erupt and consume it. 

Now on fire, the Grimm Frog screamed and stumbled back. Ruby took advantage of the hurt monster and fired rounds of bullets at it. All the bullets hit their target but they strangely did not seem to do much.

“What kind of Grimm is this?” Ruby asked. “I’ve never dealt with one like this before…”

“I know! It’s so fucking weird! How do we kill it!?”

Cardin was getting more irritated as the Grimm Frog showed no signs of dying. 

The monster itself then puffed up its cheeks and then transformed into a ball of blackness.

“What the…?”

Ruby, Cardin, and Jaune tilted their heads in confusion but then they turned pale as the ball of darkness covered itself in multiple white spikes.

“Oh shit…”

Those were the last words Cardin said before the Grimm started to bounce the store again——this time causing more damage to the store and its opponents.

Ruby, Cardin, and Jaune were being thrown away for who knows how long—the clothes ripped apart and left a bloody mess by the spikes they were impaled by. At the end of it, Cardin and Ruby were left on the counter in an unconscious state while Jaune was on the floor clutching his pierced arm.

“T-this is the worst…”

The Ball of Grimm then headed towards him like a truck at top speed. Jaune squealed as he grabbed the thing nearest to him——which was a broken board from the ceiling. The board managed to bounce the ball off of Jaune and then the huntsman-in-training wasted no time but the broken end of the broom and throwing it at the Grimm. 

With all his strength, the broken piece of wood was fired like an arrow, piercing the soft flesh of the Grimm. Like a balloon, the Grimm popped as heavy amounts of air escaped from its hole, deflating it and leaving it a blanket mess. 

“I-I got it!”

Jaune cheered. 

“I got it!”

Ruby quickly regained consciousness and stomped her foot repeatedly on the deflated Grimm. 

“No—I got it!”

Then finally Cardin jumped up to the ceiling and slammed both of his feet onto the Grimm. That was the final ticket which managed to kill to creature and make it disperse into a black fog.

The three injured first years let out a sigh of relief as they fell to the ruined floor of the store. At first, it was nothing but their breathing that could be heard, until Cardin spoke up first.

“Can someone please explain to me…why in the name of Brothers there was a fucking Grimm in a small ass box? I didn’t even know that was possible…”

“Same,” Jaune replied. “Should we let the Shopkeeper know?”

“Let’s just pray that there aren’t any more Grimm Boxes back there or whatever,” Ruby said as she rolled around the floor.

“Oh…”

The three students sat up as they looked at the entrance of the store. It was the Shopkeep who looked absolutely upset that his store was in ruins.

Ruby and Jaune sheepishly smiled while Cardin rolled his eyes.

“Ha ha…don’t we have a story to tell you, sir…”