Two days past since team CULA were reunited, most of the time was spent with them all catching up and Andrew showing them around Oakfields as they resupplied and rested. They were all happy to be back together and Andrew hadn't really realised how much he missed them until he saw them again. On the morning of the second day though, Andrew got up earlier than normal and spent a few hours packing for the mission he would be joining them on and then decided to have a decent wash before going as he didn't know when he would get another. For all he knew, it could be weeks before they got back here although he hoped it wouldn't be that long because now the thought of leaving Carissa was starting to affect him.

"Carissa, I know I'm dumping a lot on you right now, but can you make sure to voice my opinions at the next town meeting regarding the plans for the new storage building." He called out from the bathroom after rubbing his face.

"Don't worry I will. I'll also make sure that Damien and Nickolas behave themselves." She replied from the bedroom while she was getting ready for the day. Andrew nodded to himself.

"Thanks, what about patrols? Are you going to be okay on your own?"

"Yes, I'm sure I will. Things have been pretty quiet lately so I should have an easy time."

"I know but you can never be too sure." He finished washing his face and looked in the mirror at his clean-shaven reflection. He liked having some hair on his face but seeing as they would be gone for some time, he made the decision to shave so it wouldn't be a mess when he got back. Heading into the bedroom he saw that Carissa was already gone so got dressed quickly but as he went to grab his bag, it had gone. With a quizzical look he wondered what happened to it as he walked to the stairs only to see it sitting in the hallway next to Soul Splitter and sighed.

"Thank you, Carissa." Now Andrew was fully prepared and had his armour on, he grabbed his axe that he'd left standing in the corner of the main hallway by the front door. He holstered it on his back and then grabbed his bag, he then went to leave but stopped short of the door.

"I'm going now to meet up with the others, not sure how long we'll be so I'll see you when I see you!" Carissa emerged from one of the other rooms and walked up to him.

"Okay, you give them my best and tell them to stop by when you're all done."

"Will do, it's been three years so I'm sure that they'll still have some more stories to tell us." Carissa moved closer to Andrew and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

"And you look after yourself out there. I won't be happy if you come back all beaten up." Andrew gave her a hug.

"I'll be fine, can't promise about not getting any new scars though. You just look after the town while I'm gone, you're the sheriff after all." She chuckled but then changed to a more concerned look "Hay what's wrong?"

"This job, the fact they want you to help them has got me worried." Andrew hadn't told her what Chris had told him before about what they were dealing with. If he'd told her that the Grimm that they were sent to destroy was something that got Chris nervous would only make her panic and out in the frontier, that was dangerous.

"They just want me to come along with them, you know like the good old days of Beacon. They are my family after all, and we have missed each other."

"So am I." Andrew brushed her cheek

"I know, I love you more than anything. They just want to spend some time with me, it's going to be almost another two years before we can go and visit anyone, so they want to make the most of it while they were passing by." She sighed

"I guess I can understand how they feel. I would want to spend as much time with my parents if they came through." Andrew laughed nervously

"And I would want you to. Particularly your father, you can spend as much time with him as you want. All the time as a matter of fact." Carissa laughed

"He's fine with you Andrew, don't know why you're scared of him." Because he didn't like the fact his daughter fell for a human.

"I'm just terrified of father figures." He said as a way of avoiding any further questions. He then turned around and opened the door. "Take care Carissa, I won't be long. Keep everyone safe." She smiled

"I will, don't do anything too rash."

"No promises." One final smile between the pair was shared then Andrew left the house and closed the door behind him. With a deep breath of the fresh morning air, he headed off towards the inn the others were staying at. As he went, he noticed how much colder it was today and looked up at the total cloud covered grey sky.

"What a miserable day to start a job." When he reached the inn, he saw Chris waiting outside it with all his things resting on the floor. When Chris saw him, he gave a short wave and picked up his belongings.

"All ready to go?"

"Sure am. Where's Lauren and Ulysses?"

"They went for a morning stroll; they've taken to doing that now. They'll meet us at the edge of town." Andrew smiled.

"They do morning strolls now? I can kind of see it but just imagining Lauren being calm doesn't fit in my head."

"She enjoys it. When it's just the two of them, they look quite cute. Almost like how you and Carissa were when you started out. But without the awkwardness." The pair of them then started walking towards the edge of town where they would meet the others.

"How long do you think we'll be?" Andrew asked to which Chris shrugged.

"Really can't tell you, we've narrowed down where we think the Grimm nest is but it's out in the middle of nowhere. Could be weeks, maybe over a month." Andrew sighed

"Great, I know I said I'd help you, but I don't want to leave this place for too long."

"You worried about the town or Carissa?"

"Both. I shouldn't be because I know she'll keep everything safe, but I can't help but worry. She is my wife, and this is my home."

"So you are planning on staying here then?" Andrew paused for a moment.

"I…. I still don't know but…. I can't rule it out…. just yet." Chris put his arm around Andrew's shoulders.

"Well wherever you decided to live, we'll come and see you as often as we can." Andrew returned the gesture and smiled.

"I know." He looked around the place he'd help to build over the last few years then thought about Carissa and his team. All of them had become too valuable to him and he couldn't imagine his life without them now. He turned to Chris "Thanks"

"What for?"

"Taking a chance on me. I couldn't have done all this without you, any of you. I couldn't have asked for better friends when I needed them most." Chris laughed and pushed Andrew away jokingly.

"Alright, don't get sappy with me." After a short pause he then added "Don't mention it, thanks for helping me too." Before Andrew could ask what he meant they heard someone calling for them.

"Hay sheriff! Where are you going?" Andrew turned around as two boys came running up to him, they were Douglas and Thomas Reyes. They were the boys that he and Carissa had saved not long after coming to Oakfields and since then, the pair of them always tried to tag along with their duties around the town. Douglas had just turned twelve and Thomas would be ten in a few months, despite this they looked very similar with the same short black hair with the only main difference being Douglas being a few inches taller.

"Nowhere." He replied

"That's not true, the mayor said you're going off somewhere with some other hunters!" said Thomas as they had now caught up with Andrew and Chris.

"The mayor is prone to telling tall stories."

"So why are you all packed up and who's this guy then?" Douglas said as he thumbed over to Chris with a disapproving smirk while Chris smiled.

"He's my brother."

"No he isn't, you don't look like brothers." Chris began to laugh.

"I know, I got all the looks." Andrew shook his head and sighed as Douglas continued.

"Well we know you're no way near as strong as our sheriff, he's the best hunter in Remnant!" Chris took a deep breath and gave Andrew a quick glance to see him covering his face.

"Alright, calm down boys now why are you here?" They both looked at Andrew then Thomas said

"We wanted to know where you're going?"

"And how long will you be away?" Added Douglas. As Andrew folded his arms and looked each boy in turn then said.

"I'm going on a mission with my team and I have no idea how long I'll be. There, satisfied?" From their faces, they didn't look it.

"What are you going to be doing and you're definitely coming back aren't you?"

"Come on, why all the questions? It's not like I haven't left the town before on scouting missions so what's the problem?" They both remained quiet for a few moments then Thomas said.

"Are you leaving us?" Andrew tilted his head.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because my dad says that when you and Mrs Tinman are done here, you're going to leave us. Is that true?" He looked over to Chris who raised his hands and took a step back so with no help from his friend, he knelt in front of them.

"Look, your father thinks he knows what we're going to do but to be honest, we don't know what we're going to do when our job is done here." They suddenly looked more excited.

"So you're going to stay then!?" they shouted in unison and Andrew nearly fell backwards.

"Well…... we might but as I said, we're not sure yet."

"Please stay! We don't want you to go, things won't be the same around here if you leave." Andrew smiled and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Thank you, it means a lot to me to know we'll be missed. Listen, me and my wife have things to discuss first but when we've decided then you'll both be the first to know." They sighed but yielded.

"Okay. You're tell us as soon as you've made up your minds, before anyone else?" Andrew nodded.

"Of course, but right now I've got to go. I'll see you when I get back." He stood up and then said "I need you two to keep an eye on things while I'm gone. Can I count on you to do that for me?" They smiled and said in unison.

"Sure can!"

"Good, glad I can leave things to you both." He turned around and with a wave left the boys as he and Chris continued walking.

"I had no idea you were already practising for father skills with those two." Andrew suddenly went wide eyed.

"That's not what I was doing."

"Not to you but it certainly looks like that to me."

"Well it's still not public knowledge yet, not even my wife knows I'm considering children so don't say anything at the moment." Chris mimed zipping his lips together and then patted Andrew on his back to get him moving towards the edge of town. When they got there, they could already see Lauren and Ulysses waiting for them.

"Took your time slow pokes! Are we doing this or what?" Lauren shouted and Chris shouted back.

"We're here now so don't get all bent out of shape." When they were together, they marched out of Oakfields once again as team CULA and headed out into the wilderness beyond. None of them aware of what was waiting for them or what it would mean going forward after this mission was over. They travelled for most of the day and only stopped a few times as they continued out to where they believed their quarry was hiding. When the sun started to dip too low, they soon found a place to make camp for the night.

"We'll hold up here for tonight and at first light move on. We're still a few weeks out if what Ulysses has determined is right."

Thinking about what Chris had told him about the creature and how it had affected him so, Andrew had spent much of his first day pondering about what it could be. One thing he was uncertain of was if it was an unusual Grimm and not merely normal Grimm nor an alpha that had got a little too big. What he was sure of was this thing was something completely different and Andrew didn't like the thought of that. After they had made camp and set up a fire to cook their meal, they all sat around and began to chat.

"Ah, I forgot how nice it could be out in nature with just the moon light." Chris said as he looked up at the sky for a moment.

"What? No night sky's in Vale?" Lauren asked as she looked over the food.

"You know what I mean. It's quiet and tranquil out here, no hum of traffic or noisy city life."

"And absolutely nothing to do. It's so boring out here! Give me excitement any day over this." Chris sighed

"So, I take it after you two get married that you'll stay in Vale?" Ulysses shrugged

"We have not really thought about where we wanted to go afterwards. We still have a wedding to worry about first."

"I know but you have been together for years now. Where do you both see yourselves living, in the city or out here in the world?" Lauren and Ulysses looked at each other for several moments then as they held each other's hands, they both said

"With each other."

"Oh for Gods sake, first it was Andrew then you two. I can't believe you all went romantic on me. I need to find a new team." Andrew laughed.

"Good luck with that, I don't know anyone who'd have you." Chris threw a stone at him which clinked off his armour. "Hay! Don't take it out on me because it's true."

"Well we could try and help you find a special someone. It cannot be that hard." Ulysses was rummaging through his bag looking for something as Chris scoffed.

"I don't need help with that, I can get anyone I want without trying."

"Except Kavita." Ulysses remarked as he pulled a map out of his bag and Chris went sombre.

"Except Kavita…." He trailed off and stared at the fire. "She was so perfect; I wish she'd give me another chance!" Andrew turned to him in surprise.

"You actually went out with her?" Chris shook his head.

"Not since the tournament in Atlas. She agreed to be my partner but after that she just wanted to be friends."

"Maybe I could ask Carissa to talk to her for you. She is still good friends with her, although you'll have to wait a few years." Chris lit up.

"You think she could convince her?!" Andrew shrugged.

"Maybe." Before Chris could say anything, else Lauren clapped her hands.

"Anyway! Can we leave that subject for the time being and tell Andrew what we've found?" Chris nodded and Ulysses put the map down so they could all see it. They showed Andrew where the other villages and towns were that had been attacked, they were all within the same twenty-mile radius. With this they had determined that the Grimm had a central location rather than a wondering hoard attacking as it went. They were heading for the centre of this circle and would start their search from there and as they spoke, they told Andrew what they'd witnessed at the ruins of the other towns. The story they told made Andrew wonder what was behind this, it was either a very aggressive creature or a very intelligent creature, no survivors were found at each site and they were no sign of struggle. No one seemed to want to defend themselves and this was the most worrying part of this band of Grimm.

The next few weeks went by the same as the first day as they travelled further and further into the wilderness until they came upon a ravaged campsite. It had been destroyed and a few bodies were scattered around the carnage, so they decided to investigate the area as Chris took charge.

"Okay, let's check the site over. Look for any signs of what could have done this and where they went afterwards." The all nodded and did as they were told and started to look the site over. They were thorough in their search, but Andrew couldn't find anything that would mean that something other than normal Grimm came through.

"Do you think this was caused by our Grimm or just some bandits passing through?"

"Too soon to tell." Lauren said as Chris stood up and patted himself down.

"Well we can assume that this happened about a week ago guessing from the bodies and they were definitely killed by Grimm from the wounds and tracks." Andrew shook his head.

"Can you tell from the tracks where they went?" Ulysses who was examining some of the belongings of the deceased people then spoke up.

"We are trying but it looks like several animals have been this way as well so finding the right tracks is proving difficult. It does look like only a handful of Grimm attacked them, but they did not seem to put up a fight so maybe they were caught off guard or something else happened."

"Just like the villages, it has to be the same thing." Lauren was now far more alert as Andrew scoffed.

"These guys look like traders not hunters and I'm sure that the villages weren't warriors, so it doesn't necessarily mean it's a super Grimm. Just a normal one that knows what it's doing." Chris was more alert now as he looked around the camp.

"No, it has to be something we haven't seen before. Look at the bodies, they weren't killed in their sleep and they weren't even trying to run. They appeared to have died on their feet, like they'd stopped moving and simply waited for the Grimm to kill them."

"Hay! I think I have found something!" Ulysses called out as he started to walk out of the camp, so the others followed him. When he stopped, he bent down and brushed the ground to reveal a large paw print in the ground with dried blood spotted all over it. "I think this is they way they went judging from the direction of the footprint, but I cannot say what this belongs to." Andrew took a closer look.

"Could be an Ursa or a really big Beowolf." Chris scratched his chin for a few moments then said.

"Perhaps. Although the shape does seem a little off for either of them. Ulysses can you find anymore?" Ulysses took a detailed look around and found a few other tracks, but the weather and other animals comings and goings made it difficult.

"There are a few other tracks, but they are faded." He looked up in the direction they were heading and sighed. "All I can tell you from this limited information is that they went west." Chris gathered them all up and put forward a plan.

"Right listen up, for the time being we'll use this campsite as home base. We'll bury the bodies, so they don't attract anything else and rest up for the night. Tomorrow we'll head west and fan out to cover more ground, keep quiet and low while we move so we don't alert anything to our presence. Hopefully we'll find where these creatures are hiding but if we don't then we'll all come back here and move forward the following day. I have a hunch that we're close, we're in the right area so we just need to find it." The others nodded and headed back to camp to do as they had been instructed. The next day they only took what they needed and left the rest so they could travel better through the dense forest ahead of them.

"What do we do if we find anything?" asked Lauren and Chris replied

"Call the others and give your coordinates so we can attack as a group. No one is to attack without full support from the others." Lauren and Ulysses nodded as Andrew scoffed.

"Fine but I've not seen anything so far to suggest that is different from a normal Grimm attack. You're being way to cautious."

"Better to be safe than sorry."

"Well I've been out here on the frontier for a few years now and I'm sure I know just a bit more about how things are out here than you."

"Oh, do you? So you've seen every Grimm there is out here then?" Lauren interjected.

"I wouldn't say that, but I've been patrolling around these parts and have never come across a Grimm that was out of the ordinary. They're just monsters that are good at ambushing, that's all."

"Regardless of that, lets treat this as a serious threat and follow the plan. We find them, call the others and wait until we are all ready before we attack." Andrew waved his hand as an acknowledgement to Chris and then the four of them broke off and went their separate ways. This day was warm and muggy which only served in making Andrew extremely uncomfortable in his full armour, but he wasn't stupid enough to take it off while hunting for Grimm. As he searched, he was thinking to himself about the fact that Chris had ignored him when he told him about his experiences out in the frontier. He'd gain much more experience than any of them who were still working out of the city and hadn't done anything like he had over the last few years.

"I'll show them what I'm made of, that I know what I'm talking about. When we find these Grimm, they'll be regular monsters and they'll all see I was right." He kept on searching for hours until he eventually came across an overgrown area of trees so great that it took him nearly fifteen minutes to push his way though it. When he reached the other side, he found a clearing covered in sand situated in front of a large cave and as he went to investigate it something emerged. Several larger than normal Beowolfs that seemed to have materialised from the darkness, so Andrew quickly and quietly headed for some bushes and crawled underneath them. He then grabbed his scroll and contacted the rest of the team.

"Hay guys, I think I've found the nest. Sending my coordinates now." After a few seconds he got his reply from Chris.

"Great job now wait there for us to back you up then we'll go in as a team. Ulysses, Lauren how far are you from Andrew right now?" A few seconds later they joined the channel.

"We are some ways off, cannot say how long it will take to get there but we are coming now."

"Good, I'm on my way to. Hopefully I won't be too long. Andrew, are you able to stay out of sight until we arrive?" Andrew looked out from behind the foliage he was hiding under to see if the Grimm had noticed him and luckily, they seemed to be more interested in something else.

"Yeah, I've not been noticed but there doesn't seem to be too many of them. I could deal with this and then we can investigate the area when you get here."

"Absolutely not, we can't take any chances. There could be more coming back, can you see anything that looks different or more evolved?" Still looking Andrew gave it another once over then replied.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Looks like a Beowolf pack with some big guys mixed in, I can take them no problem."

"As I said, no you won't. Stay put and wait for backup, we'll deal with this together and then we can assess the threat." Andrew hid again and grunted.

"Fine then get here quickly, who knows if they'll stick around for long. They might head off to a new area or decide to attack another town." He cut the transmission and remained where he was but kept a constant vigil on the Grimm pack to make sure they didn't do anything unexpected. Quite some time past as he laid there watching the Grimm and with every minute that went by the more nervous he got at the thought of them getting away or growing in numbers.

The collection of Grimm before him seemed to be mostly comprised of Beowolfs but on a closer examination he could also see several Boarbatusks as well amongst the pack. He couldn't see anything that looked like it was particularly threatening and decided to wait a little bit longer just in case anything else joined up with the group. After several minutes, he hadn't seen anything else come by and assured himself that they had just been playing up this threat more than it was. He was convinced that it was just a band of simple Grimm had become something very threatening especially to a collection of villages with little to no defences. He'd not seen the damage of the other towns that had been destroyed and he didn't doubt that what Chris said was true that something dangerous had done it but maybe he'd overestimated the threat. After another few minutes and still no sign of the rest of his team he checked his watch and noticed that it would be turning to dusk soon, and they would lose any advantage over their enemy with the light.

"I'll get this done myself. I can't wait for them to come, who knows how long they'll be. There's not that many and if I'm quick then I can take them down before they even know what's going on. If I can then I can show my friends how much stronger I've got out here and they'll be impressed with the fact I was right and appreciate my experience I've gained. Yeah, I can do this. This will be easy." Andrew took a step out of the bush he was spying from and made a whistle to catch the Grimm's attention as he walked across the sandy ground. It worked as all of them looked in unison at the source of the sound as Andrew grabbed his axe with a smile.

"Let's make this quick, I've got a wife waiting for me to come home." He said with an arrogant swagger. The Grimm then all charged at once with Andrew taking slow and deliberate steps, when the first one was in range he attacked. He wasn't even trying as he swung his axe with one arm, slicing the Grimm one at a time as they came into range. Each time it looked like he would get surrounded, he would barrier snap under his feet to zip out of the way and get clear, trying to keep one step ahead of them. Unfortunately, he didn't see one Boarbatusk in time as it span towards him from his left and before he could stop it, the Grimm barrelled into him and sliced his face with its tusk.

"ARGH!" he called out and barrier snapped his arm to slam his armoured fist into the Boarbatusks head. The force of the hit went straight through its skull and killed the creature instantly as he steadied himself on his feet. His face was now hurting and bleeding, but he forced himself through the pain, he couldn't back down now or the Grimm would overwhelm him.

"Bloody monsters, you ruined my perfect streak!" He then ran into the remaining Grimm and unleashed a barrier slash from his axe that carved many of them into pieces. Before long there were only a few left and they had learned from their fallen not to underestimate the hunter standing before them and slowly started to circle him. Soon Andrew was flanked by two Beowolfs with a third standing before him in a stance ready to pounce when the other two attacked. Andrew simply sighed.

"This is really annoying; can we end it now?" with that the two flanking Beowolfs leapt at Andrew and with a thud crashed into the barrier that Andrew had encased himself in. The third Beowolf was already in mid-flight when it realised that something had gone wrong just as Andrew collapsed his barrier and swung his axe in a fluid motion, cleaving its head from its body whilst side stepping to avoid it hitting him. He looked at the Beowolf to his right and threw his axe at it, it flew end over end until the blade found itself buried in the head of the Grimm. The one on his left was now back on its feet and before it could charge Andrew, he had used his barrier to pull the axe from the dead Grimm and send it straight at the second one, slicing it in half. Andrew had stood perfectly still as the axe seemed to have taken a life of its own while it flew around him and once again, he sighed.

"Did this really need a whole team to deal with? Guess these villagers out here don't want to take any chances when it comes to Grimm." The axe flew back to Andrew who caught it with one hand and holstered it on his back. He wiped his face and looked at his blood covered hand, his vision was becoming blurred in his left eye, but his other eye could still see perfectly well.

"Bastard Boarbatusk! I nearly got through that without a scratch but no, damn thing had to blindside me!" He looked at all the diminishing bodies and grunted in furry. "Fortunately for you I can only kill you once. Do you have any idea how Carissa will react to this!" he shouted as he kicked a Beowolfs head as hard as he could and caused it to fly off its body. For a few moments he held his face and examined the mark the Grimm had given him, there was a sizeable gash from his cheek bone up to his forehead with what he knew to be a scratch on his eyeball as well. After calming down, he took in the scene before him and hoped that this would outweigh his wound.

"Better let the others know it's all done and tell them to head back to the campsite." Before he could reach for his scroll though, the ground below him shifted and he was caught completely off guard by the two Creeps that had burrowed up. One, barely out of the ground, had swallowed almost the whole of Andrew's left leg as it bit down hard into his thigh from both sides. Its jaw was powerful enough to pierce through the armour that was covering his leg and bit deeply into the flesh beneath causing Andrew to release a cry of pain that echoed in the forest around them. The second had jumped clean out of the ground and latched onto his right arm at his bicep with such force that Andrew thought it would have bitten through the arm completely. He continued to scream in pain as the two Creeps began to pull against each other, almost ripping Andrew apart as he reached for his axe with his free hand which was almost impossible to do.

When he did grab it, he tried to swing the axe out of its holster, but he was pulled hard and it slipped from his grasp, skidding away from his reach. He felt like his arm and leg would soon be pulled off and when they were, he would most certainly die from blood loss or if he was unlucky the Creeps would continue devouring him alive.

Please help me! I don't want to die! I need to tell her!

BANG! BANG!

Two shots rang out and the Grimm wrenching his arm suddenly went limp as the other one stopped moving and turned to where the shots came from. Running through the undergrowth was Lauren at full speed and when she was in the open, leapt into the air and brought down a drop kick onto the Creeps head that killed it instantly. With the Grimm dead, Andrew was free but in a bad way as he continued to cry in pain.

"Oh crap Andrew! What happened?!" she shouted as she tried to examine his wounds.

"The Ground! They came from underground!" he screamed through his pain.

"Underground? Ulysses, I need help!" Ulysses appeared moments later and saw Andrew.

"Andrew! What happen to you!?" Lauren then focused on Ulysses.

"No time! Set up and prepare for more Grimm! They might come from underground!" Almost on que, dozens of Creeps started to shoot up out of the ground. Ulysses did as he was told and locked himself down while his auto-cannon began to fire at them, each time one fell two more seemed to take its place. All the while Lauren started to pull Andrew to safety as he shrieked in agony.

"Shut up! You're going to be okay but if you keep this up then you'll just draw more Grimm here!" Andrew immediately tried to lower his cries of pain to moans but was in too much pain to remain quiet. When Lauren had pulled Andrew past Ulysses, she found a flat rock to lean him up against and then started to properly assess his wounds.

"Gods, how did this happen to you?"

"I…. I didn't…. keep my guard….up." he winced between laboured breaths.

"I've got to stop the bleeding; we'll have to strap you together when we can get out of here!" She looked at Ulysses keeping the Grimm at bay. "Where the fuck is Chris?! We need him right now!" Before Ulysses could answer, a roar unlike anything they'd ever heard before emanated from the cave and even the Creeps stopped moving.

"What was that?" Ulysses asked to which he got no reply as none of them had the remotest idea what it was as the sound of large heavy foot falls began to echo out of the cave.

"I don't know, but whatever it is we need to be ready for it. We can't run with Andrew like this."

"Leave…. Me." Andrew wheezed, and Lauren grabbed his head.

"Not an option sulky, just stay with me and whatever happens. You stay away from any bright light you see; you're staying right here so I can tear you a new one when we got you patched up back at home."

The earth-shaking footsteps soon revealed the monster that they had come to slay, and it was unlike anything any of them had seen before. Its mostly large feline features appeared first from the cave's entrance in the form of a roaring Lion's head, its white mane waving in the wind and its piercing red glowing eyes looking right through the three of them.

"That's a new one." Lauren said as Ulysses activated his arm mounted buzz-saw's.

"I will keep it distracted. You get Andrew to safety and find out where Chris is, we need him." Before Lauren could reply, the creature took another step out and something even more unsettling appeared. On the Grimm's back there was a second head in the form of a goat, its curved horns almost scraping the entrance to the cave. It took a few more steps, so it had fully emerged from his hole and a third equally unnerving head showed itself. A snake that was actually its tail that lashed out at them, trying to reach past the lion's head to which it snapped at its over ambitious tail causing it to rear back behind the creature. Ulysses looked back at Lauren with a face covered in fear "Tell him to get here now." He was struggling to sound calm, but his voice cracked as he spoke.

"You can't fight that thing alone." Andrew said as he attempted to lift himself off the ground, only for Lauren to push him back down.

"He's not, I'm going to get you sorted then I'm going to kick its ass…. Unless its ass is another bloody head?" she said with a puzzled look. She then turned to Ulysses "Be careful." He smiled back at her

"Whatever you say Miss Tornade." He ran forward and activated his auto-cannon on his shoulder, firing shots at its lion and goat head as he sliced up the remaining Creeps that charged him. Lauren then pulled Andrew back to a safe distance as he protested.

"I can still help! Let me help!" She pushed him against a tree and then started to rip the sleeves off her jacket.

"Stay still you idiot! I need to do something, or you'll bleed out before we can get you back to camp!" She then wrapped one sleeve around his bicep and the other around his thigh. "There that will have to do, now stay put and we'll deal with you after we've killed this thing!" She looked like she was putting on her normal persona to reassure him, but Andrew could see the uncertainty in her eyes, she didn't know what would happen. A second later she darted off towards Ulysses, leaving Andrew helpless were she placed him.

I was such a fool! Why didn't I wait for them….no…. I know why. Because I thought I could do it alone, I've grown to arrogant these last few years without them and charged without thinking. Even now I still need them in my life.

When Lauren joined Ulysses, he was not fairing so well. With three heads keeping him watched at all times meant he could never exploit a weakness through a blind spot. The Lion head was the most dangerous with its large powerful jaw but and the Snake's quick strikes kept him on the defensive too much. However, it was the Goat head that seemed to be the most worrying as each time Ulysses went to attack, its eyes would glow and he would only just avoid an attack.

"Watch out!" He heard Lauren shout as the snake lashed towards him and he just manged to step out of its reach. "What's wrong?!"

"I do not know; it is like each time I attack it I lose concentration for a moment." The pair of them then started to circle it to divide its attention. It worked in only making the creature more agitated as the Lion stayed watching Ulysses and the Snake fixed its gaze on Lauren. They then began to attack in earnest but with three heads watching everything they did, they couldn't find any blind spots to exploit. No matter how they tried, it could also counter them and when they did find an opening they seemed to pause for no reason.

"What is happen to us?" shouted Lauren.

"I have no clue! I think this thing it mentally affecting us, but I cannot say how!" Ulysses answered and then gave a quick look back at Andrew. "We have to end this soon; I do not know how long Andrew has in his current condition!" Lauren looked back briefly as well and groaned.

"We'll deal with him as soon as we can but right now forget about him. He's strong, we've tried to get rid of him before and he stuck around." Ulysses then nodded in agreement and they both once again focused on the Grimm as its Lion's mane started to shimmer. It then let loose an ear-piercing roar as shock-waves emanated from its mouth that caused the earth and rock to crack and shatter, the sheer volume of it deafen the pair. Clutching at their ears the Grimm saw its chance and attacked them both at the same time. As its claws reached for Lauren, they slammed into an invisible wall and the Grimm backed away confused.

"I'm not going to sit here and do nothing!" Shouted Andrew with his one good arm outstretched and Lauren ducked away.

"Thanks! I owe you one!" She called out but as her attention shifted back to the Grimm, she noticed that Andrew had only blocked one attack. Her face went pale when she saw Ulysses hanging from the Grimm's snake's mouth, it having pierced his chest with its fangs.

"ULYSSES!" she screamed and charged towards it and now she wasn't watching as the lion reached out again to attack her and this time hitting her. She was slammed into the ground before she could block and was desperately trying to push the Grimm's paw off her.

"Leave them alone you bastard! Come and finish me first!" Andrew went to stand but the excruciating pain in his leg was too much and he slumped back against the tree. He looked at the desperate situation they were in and started to think of absolutely anything that could get them out of this.

"Look out below!" He heard Chris shout as he came hurtling down from the sky onto the beast. He landed on the Lion's head with the force of an avalanche and it couldn't hold itself up as it was buried into the sandy ground. Lauren was able to get out from under its paw and then stumbled to reach the creatures Snake tail. With a bust of wind, she flew up and delivered a powerful kick into the snake's throat causing it to release Ulysses who fell to the ground.

"Don't worry I got you Ulysses!" she shouted and went to pull him away just as the Snake went to lash out, but a series of bullets stop it from getting ahead of itself. Using the distraction, she pulled Ulysses away from the fight and only after putting some distance between them and the Grimm did she then look at his wounds. The fangs had pierced his chest and abdomen on the right side, the two gaping holes bleeding profusely. Trying to reassure Ulysses she held his head.

"It's nothing Ulysses, you're going to be fine!" Ulysses was breathing but slowly and with each breath they became shallower. "Ulysses! Stay with me! I need you!" suddenly he whispered something, but she couldn't hear him so leaned in closer. "What is it?!"

"The…... Goat's…... Eyes"

"What?"

"Do…... not…... look….at…...them." She looked at the Grimm fighting Chris and noticed the Goat's eyes were closed but when she was about to ask what he was talking about, she remembered that when she saw the goat's eyes open was when she seemed to lose concentration. She looked back to Ulysses who had reach his head up to hers and kissed her on the lips. When he pulled away, she could taste blood and saw his pale face begin to smile.

"No no no no no! Don't die! You can't die! I can't live without you!" after she began to cry "You're the only person I have ever loved!" Ulysses brushed her hair and she clasped his hand.

"I…. love…. You…. too…... Lauren" As soon as the last words were out of his mouth, she felt his hand go limp. She continued to hold it as her tears fell upon his face as the Ulysses she'd know was no longer beside her.

"I'm going to kill it." The normal joy and excited tone that was her voice had vanished and been replace with pure rage and sorrow. After putting his hands over his chest and closed his eyes, she stood up and ran towards the Grimm.

"Lauren! Be careful! I think this thing messes with your head!" Chris shouted as he tried to stay out of its way. Lauren was focused on one thing, the Goat head as she could see it was about to open its eyes, so she unleashed a fire ball kick right at them. The flames shot across the battlefield and right into its eyeballs causing it to roar a truly alien roar and the rest of the creature retracted in pain.

"Not anymore." She replied.

"What?!"

"Its eyes were screwing with us, so I incinerated them." She them ran full force towards its snake tail and using the blades on her boots, flew into a spinning kick and sliced the head clean off its body. It hit the ground with a thud, and she landed next to it. "That's for killing my man you evil shit."

"Lauren look out!" Before she could react, the Grimm had turned around and the Lion was facing her. It opened its mouth wide and lunged towards her, Lauren watched it approach and unmoving she simply closed her eyes as its massive jaws chomped down at her waist with a wet crunch. It then pulled her off the ground and began to swing her around but not letting go of its prey. Before it could do anything else, Chris climbed the Grimm's body and sending out his hidden blades from his gauntlets, thrust one of them right into the eye of the Lion's head. It immediately let go of Lauren and sent her body flying into the rocky walls around its cave, her body landing in an unnatural heap on ground. With the Lion continuously roaring in pain, Chris climbed further up to the Goat's head which was still screaming in its own disturbing way. He reloaded his guns and with a clear shot fired a hail of bullets at its head until it was silent and swayed with the beast movements.

"Snake down, Goat down, just Lion to go!" Chris could see that the Grimm was no longer in any state to fight as the Lion's roars started to sound like that of a wounded animal, so he went behind its head and aimed. "Let me put you out of your misery." With another round of shots, the Lion let out one final roar of agony then fell to the ground and started to fade.

Chris stepped off the Grimm and wiped away the sweat that had formed on his forehead, not feeling any sense of satisfaction that the creature was dead. Instead feeling grief at what it had cost him as he looked at the lifeless bodies of Ulysses and Lauren. He went over to them each in turn and assessed them, already knowing that it was too late but as he stood up, he could hear Andrew calling to him.

"CHRIS! Chris are you alive!?" Andrew's voice was distraught and full of pain, so he immediately rushed over to him to see what had happened. When he saw his partner lying against a tree with two mangled limbs and half a face, he knelt quickly and started to check him over.

"I'm sorry." Andrew wheezed through gritted teeth.

"Shhh. I got you."

"Ulysses, Lauren?! Are they…?" Andrew managed to rattle out as Chris looked him over and then looked over his shoulder. He paused for a few long moments "Chris…. They're alive, aren't they?" Andrew's voice was almost nothing more than a whisper now as he asked once again about his teammates. Chris turned back to him, harbouring a look of sorrow he was trying to keep it from showing.

"No. They're gone Andrew." A pain unlike anything Andrew had ever felt pierced his heart at that second. He reached up and grabbed Chris' shoulder and tried to pull himself up.

"You didn't check, they could still be alive! We've got to go and help them." Chris grabbed Andrew's hand and starred him right in the eyes.

"They are dead Andrew, there is no life left in their bodies." Andrew fell back and tears mixed with blood began to pour from his eyes. "There's nothing that can be done for them now, but I have to get you out of here and try and find help. You're torn apart and there is no way I'm losing you too!" He tried to reach Andrew through his cries of pain, but it was all in vain, Andrew wasn't with him anymore.

"It's all my fault! It's my fault!"

"I don't care right now; I just need to get you out of here!" He looked for something he could use to cover his wounds to stop them from bleeding anymore. "I'm going to save you." he said as he pulled Andrew up by his one good arm and then slung it over his shoulder. After a few steps Chris could tell he couldn't get anywhere like this so grabbed under Andrew's right thigh, pulling him into a piggyback whilst trying to avoid hurting his crippled limbs any further.

"You have to make it. There is no way I'm telling Carissa that I lost you as well, she'd never forgive me…. or herself. Come on Andrew, think about her. Think about what you told me before we left, you wanted to try for a child. You have more you need to do." All the time he was talking, Andrew whimpered in pain as tears poured from his eyes, but Chris carried on walking away at a slow pace. Andrew was a larger person than him and his armour didn't make him any lighter, unfortunately the armour was also helping to keep him together so removing it wasn't an option. "If I'm going to be your kids godfather then I have to make sure that his father can live first. There is no way I'm failing before I have a chance to teach your child to have a decent sense of humour." He walked further and further away from the fading massacre still trying to get through to Andrew. "You're going to live, you're going home, you'll be back with your wife and you are going to be a father. If you've finally gotten up the courage to be that then I'll carry you all the way back to Oakfields on my back if I must. You are my….."

Before he could finish, something emerged from the ground and flew straight towards the pair and Chris was too late to see it coming. It entered his gut with such force that it ruptured his back and stabbed into Andrew's gut as well causing them to both scream in pain. It stopped him in his tracks and as he coughed up a mess of blood, he finally had a chance to see what it was. It was the stinger of a Deathstalkers tail which was sticking out of the ground and soon the Grimm itself began to emerge. As it did it started to lift them off the ground and Chris knew he couldn't get free but Andrew was still able to escape, even in his current condition so he let go of him and let him fall to the ground.

Andrew hit the ground with a clunk and he almost lost consciousness then and there but somehow managed to stay awake as he clutched his gut where the Deathstalker stinger had stabbed him. After a second he realised that if he'd been stabbed then Chris must have been too. His vision was blurred and red in one eye but when he looked up, he saw his friend's lifeless body slumped as it dangled from the Grimm's tail.

"No…. No…. Not you too." He cried while still in agony. He thought about trying to get away from it and save himself but in the next moment he gave in. Why run? He'd cost his friends their lives trying to save him from his own arrogance, he didn't deserve to live if they couldn't. Instead he laid there, still holding the hole in his abdomen and bloody tears running down his face. The Deathstalker lowered Chris on its tail and snapped its pincers although before it did any more to him it caught sight of Andrew.

"What are you waiting for? Go ahead, end this and let me die!" The Grimm began scuttling forward as Andrew continued starring at Chris' body, the death that was coming towards him would be a relief after what he'd done. I'm sorry Carissa, I won't be coming home to you. I hope that you know that I love you with all my retched heart and I'll never stop loving you.

As the Deathstalker got closer, it was only a few feet away from him when it reached out with one of its pincers and Andrew braced for the pain as he closed his eyes. Suddenly a sound was heard like something slicing through wind and Andrew opened his eyes quickly to see the Grimm with one less pincer. He began to screech and went to move but there then came another slash and this time it split in two and began to fade. As it did, Chris' body fell next to Andrew and landed so that Chris's face was facing his. It didn't look like his friend, losing all his life-force had taken away everything that made Chris who he was. Instead a hollow pale face looked at him with no expression, his last memory of the man he called brother was this being, and Andrew tried to pull himself over to his teammate. He didn't even move an inch before his body finally gave in and he started to lose consciousness from the pain and blood loss but not before he heard a voice he couldn't make out.

"Hold on! I'll get you out of here, just stay with me!"