The Temptation 061 (Patreon)

It was absolute chaos.

Floating Array unfurled from Penny’s back, the blades dancing through the air before trying to impale the Temptation. Thick black tendrils leapt from the ground, intercepting the weapons, their keen edge sinking into the vile Grimm flesh. A clawed hand grasped Penny by the face, wrenching her head back before that wicked tongue lashed out, snapping like a whip. It lashed Penny across the chest and it sent her reeling back across the room, hitting the opposite wall with force. The concrete cracked, her artificial body sinking in several inches before she fell to the ground, her aura flaring in protection.

“False life form,” the Temptation hissed, her red eyes glowing ominously. Jaune felt the pressure of her allure swell. “Empty soul!”

“Get fucked!” Yang shouted, her duel-shotgun blasts propelling her forward. The Grimm’s expression twisted into one of surprise before Yang’s dust steel arm slammed into its face, her head rocking back from the blow. Yang followed it up with several lightning fast punches, her weapons blowing thick chunks of flesh free from the Temptation’s body before she leapt back, Blake taking her place. Gambol Shroud flashed, rending skin as she slashed with precision. The Temptation howled in pain as she was forced back, lashing out wildly. Blake was hit, and then exploded as her shadow clone was destroyed. Weiss dashed in through the confusion, her rapier sinking deep as she lunged, pinning the Grimm against a pillar through her shoulder.

The dust chamber on Myrtenaster spun, stopping on red – and when Weiss pulled the trigger, flames roared to life. A sickening screech filled the room as fire ate at Grimm flesh, her resplendent body engulfed. Weiss tore her weapon free and retreated as several tendrils lashed up at her, a series of glyphs carrying her out of reach, only for Ruby to replace her. Crescent Rose whirled, slicing through the tendrils like a hot knife through butter. Bringing her weapon around, she slammed the curved blade into the floor and took aim, firing several high caliber rounds into the Grimm’s chest. It flailed in agony, falling – and then all hell broke loose.

The pods shattered like glass, and Jaune shouted a warning.

The humanoid Grimm swarmed and Ruby tore her weapon free of the ground, spinning around to take aim. Finger on the trigger, a familiar face filled her vision and she hesitated.

“Yang!?” she exclaimed moments before Grimm Yang backhanded her with a vicious snap of its arm. Ruby’s aura flared as she was hurled across the room, and the real Yang snarled, rushing her copy. Rearing back, her arm was suddenly restrained, a long tail halting her attack.

Grimm Neon flexed her tail, the appendage much longer than the original and much, much stronger. Yang was lifted off her fleet and flung aside, careening into one of the pillars and bouncing off awkwardly, tumbling to the floor.

Blake traded blows with Grimm Ruby, almost being skewered by her horns – only to scream in pain as Grimm Weiss rammed her from behind, her singular horn digging into Blake’s back. If not for her aura, she would have been impaled, and she managed to summon her semblance moments before several snakes lashed out, their fangs finding purchase in her clones. Toxic venom sprayed across the floor and they saw it eat at the concrete, hissing as it corroded in seconds.

Jaune tried to free himself but he was still restrained, and could only watch as Weiss swerved away from the small Grimm Fiona, her charge carrying her into a wall. The power of her curled horns was evident as the wall shuddered, several large cracks spreading like gnarled fingers. Getting hit by that would have caused significant damage.

Ruby dashed in, rose petals flying, and then Penny was back in the fight, her swords whirling. These Grimm moved with just as much agility and grace as the people they’d copied, avoiding and counter attacking with skill and brutality. They’d never seen Grimm fight in this manner. Even Cinder when she’d morphed into that abomination had been all brute force and rage, rampaging out of control in a vicious last stand.

These Grimm were something else entirely. Unlike Cinder who had been changed, these were a mixture of Grimm and human, Grimm and faunus. Even Salem herself, the Queen of the Grimm had begun as a human. Had anything like this existed before?

“Move,” Weiss commanded, and her team obeyed without question, scattering. Lightning dust crackled along her blade and then an arc of lightning flashed, almost blinding them. It lanced through the Grimm Yang and Grimm Weiss, their bodies spasming as they collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain. The other Grimm tried to stop her but her team defended her position, Penny’s swords pinning Grimm Ruby to the floor like a pincushion when she got too close.

They were even fighting for each other.

Wait a minute… two of them were missing.

Jaune saw something in the shadows move.

“Weiss, watch out!” he yelled in desperation.

Darkness heaved and grasped at Weiss’ legs, holding her in place. Grimm Blake grew out of the shadow, her mouth opening wide.

“Weiss!” Ruby screamed. A hasty glyph appeared between Weiss and the Grimm, but it wasn’t enough. She flowed around it like flowing water and with a lunge, her mouth latched on, fangs sinking into her aura.

“Argh~!” Weiss grunted, dropping her weapon. Yang swung at the Grimm but it let go at the last moment, avoiding the punch and slinking back into the darkness. Weiss grasped at the back of her neck as her aura flickered but held.

“Are you okay?” Blake unloaded with her pistol, her dust rounds punching into the body of Grimm Neon. It did little to halt her advance, and Blake was forced to dodge as it lunged at her. That thin, strong tail whipped at her and struck her across the face, blasting her back.

“Fine,” Weiss shouted, shaking off the pain. “Where did it go?”

“It appears that I have found her!” Penny said, her voice calm despite the shadowy limb that wrapped around her neck. Grimm Blake fell from the ceiling, crashing into Penny and forcing her to the ground. Again that mouth opened and bit down, and even Penny gasped as her aura strained under the force of the Grimm’s bite strength.

Ruby exploded across the room in a streak, Crescent Rose slashing wildly as her silver eyes glowed ominously. This time it couldn’t escape unscathed, howling as the curved blade tore through its shoulder. It spat at Ruby, something dark purple and bubbling. She managed to avoid most of it, but some splashed along her face. Pain unlike anything she’d ever felt spiked through her body, muscles seizing up as she collapsed, the power of her eyes extinguished before she could unleash their strength. Her scream was horrible, body contorting as she clawed at her neck.

“Ruby!” Yang went for her sister but was slammed aside by the rampaging Grimm Fiona. It was a direct hit, her charge throwing Yang into a wall with a thunderous crash. Aura flashed, a bright yellow – and then Yang reappeared in a wreath of fire, her eyes blood red. “Oh, you are going down!”

Yang exploded across the room, her hair aflame. Her fist struck Grimm Fiona in the chest, the air rippling as a shockwave cracked throughout the room. One moment she was there, and then the next the Grimm was blasted through one of the support pillars, dust billowing as chunks of concrete rained down, the steel within exposed.

When Yang went to advance, she was taken by surprise by her copy. Having recovered from Weiss’ dust attack, it slammed into her from behind. Turning, Yang swung with a wild haymaker, only for her fist to be stopped dead as a serpentine appendage restrained her arm. Grimm Weiss attacked from the left, while Grimm Yang attacked from the right. They moved with precision, picking Yang apart as she tried to defend. Her strength grew as she took damage, the pair chipping away at her aura, but whenever she tried to counter attack, they moved as one. Their teamwork was impeccable, avoiding her punches and retaliating with brutal efficiency.

Teamwork.

They were displaying teamwork.

Growing enraged, Yang punched the floor and it heaved. Thrown off balance, she managed to clip her copy in the side, blasting her back – but then that corrosive venom sprayed across her chest and arm, hastily raised to protect her eyes. Yang howled, aura wavering as it burned and Grimm Weiss moved in.

If not for Blake, Yang would have been gored on the end of a horn.

The cat faunus looped her ribbon around Grimm Weiss’ horn and pulled, throwing her off balance. Spinning, Blake lashed out with a powerful kick, her shin slamming into Grimm Weiss’ jaw. Rocked by the blow, Blake prepared her weapon and went for the kill but was halted by Grimm Ruby, who had managed to tear herself free of the swords that pinned her to the floor. Bleeding from her wounds, it didn’t slow her down. She moved like a blur in a cheap copy of Ruby’s semblance, but it was enough. Blake was forced to halt her attack and disengage, and even then she was hit.

Claws raked across her face like hot coals, and Blake cried out as she jerked back. Weiss rushed in to help, forcing Grimm Ruby back as she moved between glyphs, gaining speed. Moving with purpose, Weiss landed several sweeping slashes, dark blood misting in the air. Grimm Ruby hissed as she was slashed to ribbons, and if not for the timely intervention of Grimm Neon, Weiss would have impaled her.

As Weiss dashed in for the decisive blow, that slender tail whipped in and seized her ankle, tripping her. Weiss hit the ground in a roll, and when the shadows moved, they knew what was coming. Grimm Blake emerged with a lunge but Floating Array skewered her mid-leap, the Grimm screaming in challenge. Penny appeared in a blast of her boosters, kicking her in the chest with a crack.

“Why won’t they stay down?” Yang snarled, panting in a mixture of fatigue, adrenaline and pain. Her hair was still alight, crackling as it licked at her shoulders and back. She rushed to Ruby’s side, attempting to wipe away the purple substance on her face using her prosthetic hand but it did little good.

Suddenly the air felt heavy, thick with magic. Covered now in warped skin, flesh peeling from the flames and yet still somehow exuding beauty and desire, the Temptation glided across the room. Penny spun around to engage when she was slammed into the ceiling by a large section of the Grimm flesh that covered the room, crushing her with incredible force.

Blake charged only to sag on suddenly weak legs. She crashed to the floor, sliding until coming to rest at the feet of the Temptation. When she looked up, her face was filled with delight, with an overwhelming desire. It was clear that she was lost in a sea of lust, and Jaune watched as his friends began to succumb to her powers.

No longer holding the element of surprise, he watched as one by one, their wills were stripped. The halo of fire around Yang’s head faded, her eyes lilac instead of crimson. No longer writhing in pain, Ruby panted as she stared at the Temptation with lust drunk eyes. Weiss fell to her knees, trembling as she crawled towards her with a rapturous expression…

“Stop,” Jaune said weakly, feeling the effects himself. “Please, stop.”

“Impudent little worms,” the Temptation snarled, her face twisted in a true expression of horror. “You cannot stop the inevitable.”

If only he could get free…

Jaune watched as Yang, Ruby, Blake and Weiss began stripping their clothes without prompting. This was the true power of the Temptation. Hadn’t Ozpin said it best? They weren’t strong combatants. Weak to ambush. But once you were caught in their thrall... it was over.

The other Grimm – his children, so said the Temptation – gathered around obediently, observing. They’d taken damage in their fight with Team RWBY and Penny, but Jaune saw their skin stitch itself back together, wide gashes knitting neatly until their skin was smooth once more, almost like they had aura fueling their recovery. This was wrong, and yet Jaune felt his body reacting to the magic, to the sight of his girlfriends revealing their bodies. Perky, youthful breasts spilled forth – Yang’s bountiful bosom, Blake’s shapely bust, Weiss’ small upturned tits and Ruby’s young, supple breasts. Still exposed, his cock jutted out lewdly as it swelled with renewed vigor.

“Husband,” she suddenly cooed, her attention focused solely on him. “Be a dear, and feed on these pieces of meat.”

Jaune grit his teeth until he felt they were on the verge of cracking, his muscles tightening to the point of pain. He felt compelled to obey, to take out and vent his lust on those willing bodies, to fuck himself into them again and again until he could no longer move. His restraints peeled away, freeing him, and he fell to the ground, catching himself at the last moment.

“Come,” she ordered. “Feast. Feed. Devour.”

He climbed to his feet. His clothes were in tatters, leaving him mostly nude. Other than the belt around his waist that held Crocea Mors and the boots on his feet, his nakedness was absolute. He took one step, and then another, and another. Team RWBY turned to face him as he approached, their eyes glittering with want. They stared at his member with a maniacal hunger.

This wasn’t right.

A flicker of aura bloomed inside him. Now that he was no longer bound by Grimm flesh, it seemed that the power of his soul had returned. It was but a small spark, almost nothing at all. For anyone else, it might have been useless – but for Jaune, it was more than enough.

Where there was aura, there was semblance.

He focused on the spark, grasping it with his mind. That spark soon became a flame. That flame soon became a bonfire. Amplification surged, and with a gasp, white-gold light erupted from his skin. It curled off his body like smoke, motes of golden light peeling off him. The room was bathed in his glow, his soul made manifest. The Temptation flinched away at the sudden ignition, covering her eyes as if to shield them from pain.

That feeling of desire and lust, of want, that drive to fuck his girlfriends into oblivion was still there but blunted by the resurgence of his aura. Jaune paused mid-step, his boot scuffing against the ground as he grunted in effort, his hands shaking. Body tense, he fought with every scrap of his strength to resist the call.

His hand fell to his sword, wrapping around the hilt in a white knuckled grip. The worn leather was a comfort and an anchor, helping to focus his mind. The blade sang as he wrenched it free of its sheath, a loud, ringing rasp that filled the room with a sudden feeling of danger. All the copies of his lovers tensed, watching him with burning eyes as the Temptation lowered her hands, a cruel smirk twisting those lovely, terrible features.

“So strong,” she licked her lips. “But your body doesn’t lie, husband.”

His cock was still iron hard and leaking between his legs, throbbing as it jerked up and down. His balls felt like they were ready to burst, wrung dry repeatedly yet somehow ready for more. Her eyes raked up and down his body, and he couldn’t help but shiver.

“Come,” she opened her arms wide. “Come to me.”

Jaune stepped forward.

It all happened within the blink of an eye. The large Grimm appendage pinning Penny to the ceiling erupted in a ball of misshapen flesh and viscera, dark blood raining down on them as a powerful green beam cut across the room. The Temptation screamed as the energy tore through the ground, across her body, her flesh parting in a spray of gore. Tensing his legs, Jaune felt her spell upon him weaken and he moved without thought. He resembled a blur of white light, Crocea Mors humming as it cut through the air…

...red eyes met him, filled with surprise and wicked delight, a smile curling her lush lips...

...and then his sword passed through her neck with zero resistance.

Jaune slid to a stop and spun, his breath uneven. There was a moment of silence despite Penny’s rocket boosters flaring to life, keeping her afloat, his ears deaf to it. And then with a tumble, Jaune watched the head of the Temptation tumble from those slender, beautiful shoulders, hitting the ground with a meaty smack and rolling several feet until it came to a stop.

The air trembled, a visible rippling – and then Team RWBY were themselves again, their cries of shock and anger filling the room as they scrambled for their clothes.

“What the hell is going on?” Yang shouted, pressing her top against her bare tits.

It was… over? They’d won? The Temptation was dead, surely? Jaune stared at the head, waiting for something, anything. Cinder hadn’t died so easily. Even when smashed into pieces, she’d still tried to kill them. If not for Ruby’s silver eyes, she might have succeeded. But then Jaune spotted the familiar sign of a dead Grimm, black smoke beginning to curl from her body and severed head.

It really was finished.

Jaune relaxed – then tensed, realizing that the danger wasn’t over. Surrounded, the humanoid Grimm looked ready to pounce.

“Stop!” Jaune yelled in desperation but it was too late! Grimm Blake had already leapt forward, and even Penny wasn’t fast enough to intercept. Mouth open wide, she descended upon Ruby with vicious intent…

...and then she stopped.

They all did.

As one, they froze where they were, poised to attack. Penny’s Floating Array slammed into the ground where she predicted Grimm Blake would be but missed by several feet, the blades sinking into the ground. Team RWBY hurriedly got to their feet in various states of undress, their weapons at the ready, and if not for the seriousness of the situation, Jaune would have found the sight of them half-naked with their weapons bared to be one of the sexiest sights he’d seen, and he’d seen quite a few of them these last few months.

They weren’t attacking.

Why?

Jaune stared at them as they all turned his way.

“Father,” Grimm Ruby said, and Jaune felt his heart stop cold in his chest.

It spoke.

She spoke.

Even her voice sounded the same as Ruby’s. A little darker, rougher, almost sultry – but it was the same in all the ways that mattered.

“Father,” Grimm Weiss parroted.

“Father,” Grimm Blake chimed in.

“Father,” Grimm Yang, Neon, Fiona chorused together.

What?

They moved – not towards Team RWBY but towards him. Crocea Mors shifted across his body as he prepared to defend himself but they weren’t moving with killing intent. They gathered around him calmly, reaching for him with curiosity and despite his instinct to flinch away, he remained perfectly still.

“Hey,” Weiss looked ready to attack. “Get away from him!”

They didn’t listen. They crowded him, rough hands grasping at his arms, at his chest, those wicked claws lightly running across his skin. Jaune remained tense, ready to move if the need arose but they didn’t harm him. He must have been a beacon of negativity at this moment, calling to their base instincts and yet they made no move to hurt him. They seemed intrigued, mesmerized by his presence. Without their mother to guide them, they seemed almost lost.

Like children.

“Friend Jaune,” Penny drew his attention, her expression troubled. “What is happening?”

“Er – I don’t know, exactly,” he squirmed as Grimm Neon’s tail tickled his side. “But… I think they’ll listen to me?”

They’d halted their attack when he’d screamed for them to stop. Would they follow other commands?

“What?” Blake said incredulously. “You must be joking.”

He wasn’t.

“Um – sit?” he told them, and they watched as they all sat down around his feet, still touching his body with reverent hands. “Holy crap.”

“What the fuck is going on?” Yang snapped, looking a little stressed out by this new development. “Why are they listening to you?”

“Why are they calling you father?” Ruby asked, put out. “Why do they look like us? This is kinda freaky.”

No kidding. That was selling the situation a bit short.

Penny cocked her head to the side, as if listening to something only she could hear.

“My message was received by General Ironwood, and Huntsmen are inbound.” Penny announced at once. “I recommend dressing.”

“O-Oh,” Blake stuttered, suddenly remembering that her breasts were visible. She covered them shyly. “What about Jaune? He doesn’t have any clothes.”

Jaune looked down. He looked a little ridiculous in nothing more than his belt and boots, especially since he was still sporting an erection. It didn’t seem like it was going down anytime soon, either. Especially with these Grimm-hybrid creatures stroking his body as they sat around him.

“Uh, yeah,” he muttered. “I need something.”

Ruby approached warily, eyes on the Grimm as she tossed him her cloak. He hastily tied it around his waist. He looked a little less ridiculous; only a little.

“How did you guys find me?” he asked.

It was Weiss that answered.

“When we returned to Mantle from our mission, we tried calling but it went straight to voice message. We thought that was a little strange but then Ruby received a call from Cerise.”

“We exchanged numbers,” Ruby admitted, her silver eyes still trained on the Grimm arranged around his feet. “She said that you’d gone out to get food but never returned. That you’d taken the student escort mission but you never turned up to walk the children home. She was worried.”

“We knew something was up,” Yang scowled. “You wouldn’t just dip like that, not in a million years. You had to be in the city somewhere.”

“If not for Penny, we wouldn’t have found you as quickly as we did,” Blake’s face was full of appreciation. “She’s the one you should be thanking.”

As they all looked her way, Penny landed on the ground, her face full of embarrassment at the attention.

“I just followed the last location your scroll pinged on the network,” she reasoned shyly. “From there, I gained access to the security feed from the nearby apartment block. They have cameras facing the street. I found footage of you being taken into the sewers. I then used my x-ray vision to track your whereabouts as we combed the streets.”

“Then she blasted through the road like it wasn’t even there,” Yang snickered, some of her natural levity returning. “Think we have to pay for that?”

Penny shook her head seriously. “No, the Atlas military will foot the bill. We shall log it under necessary destruction of infrastructure in the course of a rescue. The General will understand.”

Blake smirked. “There is something like that?”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Typical.”

Sometimes it was really handy to have an android around outfitted with the latest and greatest technology. Without her, who knows what would have happened to him. No, he had a pretty good idea what would have happened to him. He’d have been drained until he was nothing more than a husk.

Penny then snapped to attention. “Friend Jaune, you will require medical attention.”

Jaune opened his mouth, about to issue the typical “I’m fine,” when he was pinned with four sets of disgruntled eyes. His mouth snapped shut with a click.

“Yes,” Weiss sniffed primly. “He will. Who knows what that… thing did to him.”

Now that he thought about it, she might have put more of those parasites inside his body. Jaune grimaced. That was a bit gross and not something he wanted to repeat.

“What are we going to do with these… uh, Grimm?” Blake gestured at the sitting Grimm girls, reminding them of their situation.

They weren’t doing anything beyond occasionally nuzzling his legs and touching him with their hands, seemingly content to be by his side. Their neutral, docile expressions almost made Jaune forget just how terrifying they truly were. A sliver of fear remained within him but strangely, he felt a little… protective.

He frowned.

“We should kill them,” Yang said – and then stepped back as the Grimm all turned their heads towards her simultaneously, red eyes glowing. Her arms tensed, ready to throw down. “Oookay, that was fucking creepy.”

They were listening. They understood.

Ruby looked troubled. “They’re like people.”

Weiss shook her head. “Ruby, they’re Grimm.”

Blake nodded. “They’re dangerous.”

Were they, though? They listened to him. How far were they willing to go for him? They named him father. Did that mean they would follow his commands, no matter what? Or did they carry a will of their own? He wasn’t sure what was better. If he had total control, then that meant they could never harm a soul if he said so. If he didn’t, and they could think and act of their own accord, then that meant they stopped their attack not only because he said so but because they chose to listen.

If that was the case, it meant there was more than Grimm there. It also meant that if they so wished, they could harm those around them and his control of them only extended as far as their desire to listen to their ‘father’.

Children were known to disobey at times, after all. And they all appeared to be teenagers. What teenager didn’t rebel a little?

Thinking about this was starting to give him a headache.

“What do you think, Jaune?” Ruby asked.

He didn’t know. What was even the answer here?

Blake was right. They were dangerous. But did that mean they should die? Jaune pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Why do they look like us?” Yang grumbled.

“We made them,” Jaune said quietly. “This was her plan all along. I think she was hoping for more. That I would…”

“Have sex with more women?” Weiss said dryly. Jaune nodded.

“Yeah. But she said these ones were stronger for it, though I don’t really understand what she meant by that,” his selection of women, or his focus on a select few? “Magic is weird.”

Blake appeared to be counting. “Was this all of them?”

“What do you mean?”

“There is one for each of us,” she pointed. “Ruby, Weiss, Yang, myself – Neon, Fiona,” she tried to hide the disgruntled tone of her voice but did so poorly. “But I don’t see Cerise anywhere.”

Jaune blinked, looking down. He counted – and she was right.

One of them was missing.

Jaune wracked his mind, trying to remember if he’d seen her in the midst of all the fighting but no, she’d been missing the whole time. His eyes settled on the pod she’d occupied and it was empty. She’d slipped away in the chaos like a ghost.

“Crap,” he muttered.

“What?” Weiss said. “What’s wrong?”

“Blake is right. There was one for Cerise but it isn’t here. It must have escaped during the fight.”

Penny snapped to attention. “I shall find it.”

“Just don’t…” he began as she got ready to fly. She turned to face him curiously. “Don’t… kill it, unless you have to.”

Jaune could feel the weight of his girlfriend’s stares but didn’t wilt under the pressure, meeting Penny’s eyes.

“Please,” he said. “If you can.”

Penny smiled, nodding sharply.

“I will try my best.”

That was all he could ask.

Penny blasted off and vanished down the partially collapsed tunnel, the echoing thrust of her boosters fading into the distance.

“So we aren’t killing them?” Yang asked wryly.

Jaune grimaced. “They… could be useful?”

He wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. Maybe it was going to blow up in his face spectacularly. But… he felt compelled to at least try.

Ruby smiled. “If they step out of line, I’ll just zap them with my eyes.”

Weiss shook her head, palming her face. “You two are unbelievable.”

“The General won’t just let them be,” Blake said grimly. “You know that, right?”

“I know,” Jaune sighed. “Hopefully I’ve built up enough goodwill that he’ll at least listen to what I have to say.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Uh, guys,” Yang suddenly said. She was looking at the corpse of the Temptation. “Why is that still here?”

The black smoke of its disintegration had dispersed but to their surprise, a body remained. The corrupted white and black flesh had peeled away to reveal lush human skin. Smooth, light brown skin adorned with dark red tattoos around her thighs, calves and along her back. They were simple, a series of squares and rectangles linked together in the form of a very basic script.

“She was human?” Blake asked, aghast.

“Like Cinder,” Ruby breathed.

Almost but not quite. He wasn’t sure why but Jaune had a feeling that it was different to the foul transformation that Cinder had undergone. That had felt like a punishment. Whatever this was, it seemed more intentional. She had been created for a purpose.

Weiss frowned, “Who is she?”

Black hair hid most of her face but from the small glimpse he could spy through the tangles, her face was also adorned with tattoos. He quickly looked away from the severed head.

It was likely they’d never know.

“Someone who had the misfortune of running into Salem,” Jaune settled on.

They all shared uncertain glances.

“You guys should probably get dressed,” he said, trying to hide his smile. “You’re – uh, showing still.”

Call him crazy, but he was sure he heard one of the Grimm by his feet snicker as Team RWBY hurriedly resumed dressing.