The Bell Chimes Rose’s Nocturne [Closed]

Cheshire stared at Bell for a while. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to put Bell in danger but at the same time he needed her to lead him. The faunus knew time was running out and he had no time to search blindly. He had to get to Liseran right this instant. With a click of his tongue, Cheshire made his reluctant decision.

"Tsk! Fine, but no matter what, stay by my side, understood?"

Wait. What did she mean I needed her to get in? The dungeon will only allow Liseran in the first place. How can she get in?

Regardless of Cheshire's mental questions, he was running out of time. He grabbed Bell's hand and pulled her towards the door.

"We must hurry. Where to?"

Bell nodded and held Cheshire’s hand tightly, leading him outside of the family quarters and into the dark hallways of the Archives. The hallways were only dimly lit by what looked like moonstones embedded on the floor’s lining. From the family quarter’s area then to the dormitory corridors, they made their way to the main hallways where Bell took a left turn.

“Aunty Lena showed me where the dungeons were because I wanted to wish Mama good luck on her first day,” Bell explained. “That’s why I know where it is.”

The left turn brought them to another part of the Archives that was of white tiles and gray marble pillars. There were a multitude of doors at each end, though Cheshire would never find out where they led to as Bell showed him the door at the very edge. Unlike the rest of the doors that were tall and wooden, this one looked like a metal vault door with a valve. Next to it was a hand scanner, its screen area blinking green, the outline of hand barely seen in the darkness.

Bell placed her hand on the scanner, her hand hardly fitting the outline and it blipped.

Hand print recognized...Liseran Dormirse-Veiller…Access granted.

Bell looked at Cheshire triumphantly as the vault door clicked and the valve twisted of its own accord. It opened to a lapis lazuli stairwell that seemed to go down onwards and onwards.

Bell resumed to holding Cheshire’s hand.

“This way,” she said.

They descended down the steps that went on for at least a three minutes before they finally came to a large round room of stone bricks and moss. There were a few glass cylinders with doors that led to a floating platform, elevators or transfer capsules, one might assume. Each one had a number from one to four and the last one read: Infirmary, the only that had an open ceiling, meaning it was the only one that could go above the floor they were on now. Under the numbers were screens and each one, save the fourth said: Passed.  The fourth one read: Ongoing.

“She’s in the fourth,” Bell stated, pointing at the door. There was another hand scanner there and she went over to it. Once again, a computerized voice was heard.

Hand print recognized...Liseran Dormirse-Veiller…Access granted.

The glass door slid open and Bell stepped in with Cheshire. Almost immediately, the platform they were on shot downwards, the only thing they could see before them the passing stone bricks. After a minute, the stone bricks gave way to an opening and as they descended, they saw a dimly lit round room also made of stone. There was but a single torch lit while other torches with skull heads surrounded a bird-like statue.

The platform stopped here but just as Bell tried to open the door it wouldn’t.

“Hey!” she yelled.

Fourth level is currently engaged. Access denied until Liseran Dormirse-Veiller has succeeded or retreated.

“But—”

Before Bell could continue to argue, a loud yell that sounded like it belonged to Liseran came from behind the statue.

“All this time and you still can’t win,” the deep voice of a man echoed throughout the walls.

The cracking of bones could be heard and Liseran’s voice screamed in agony.

“Mama!” Bell shouted as she tried to force the door open.

A bright gray light came from behind the statue and Liseran’s body shot away from it only to slam hard against the left well. She fell flat on the ground as her bells clanged onto the stone surface and rolled away from her. Her uniform had tears at all edges and looked like it had been rolled around in dust. Liseran’s face had its own scratches and her glasses had cracked.

Liseran’s eyes widened as she tried to reach for her bells.

“N-no…” she muttered. “I have to-I have to…!”

A blurred image of a man slid across the room to where Liseran was, multiple images of him following after him. The man wore a cloak from head to foot, his face hidden by a hood. In one hand he held a long  and thick black scimitar.  His foot kicked one of the bells away and slammed hard on Liseran’s hand.

“Gaaaaaaah!” she screamed.

“You sicken me, you know that?” he said. “You’re a poor reflection of Rose herself. Honestly, how did she let her blood dilute with that Zephyr Veiller? It makes me wonder…”

He shifted the foot pressing down on her hand back and forth, letting it press  down on every joint and knuckle Liseran's hand had, making her scream despite herself.

“I mean sure you’ve defeated the Grimm on every level and even the one destined for you to pass this one,” he said casually. “But when I ask you for a challenge because I think you’re not worthy of Rose’s weapon, five days later you still can’t defeat me!”

Liseran’s body shook as he shifted more of his weight down onto his foot slamming her hand down on the floor.

“And now you’ve stooped down to the level of saying you need to pass through to the fifth level because of a vision? Ha!”

“I’m telling the truth!” Liseran yelled.

“Quiet!”

His other foot kicked at Liseran’s face, making her grunt, but she stifled down any other scream by clenching her teeth.

“You’ve said enough lies!” he said. “All because you can’t defeat me…”

“STOP IT!” Bell screamed as she pressed against the door. But the glass suppressed whatever sound she made from being heard in the room. “MAMA!”

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Cheshire roared. With a clear view of the room, no wall or cage could restrain Cheshire. His semblance activated, appearing on the man's left side. Without thinking or planning, Cheshire jumped towards the cloaked figure and tried to tackle him with his shoulder if only to get him away from Liseran,

The man's image blurred as he stepped sideways, letting Cheshire land on the ground, Liseran in front of him with wide eyes.

"Cheshire...?" she said trying to stand up. "What are you...?"

She turned to her side to see Bell banging on the glass of the cylinder.

"Why is Bell here!?" she shouted, half-angry, half-scared. "Cheshire, both of you have to lea-"

"Oh, now this is just plain pathetic!" the cloaked man groaned in exasperation, and then laughing mockingly. He twirled his scmitar around "Did you actually call for backup?"

"NO!" Liseran shouted. "Please, leave them out of this!"

The man stabbed the tip of his sword into the ground and let his hand rest on it like a cane.

"Then it means they know you're too weak to handle all this by yourself..."

Liseran's shoulders shook terribly. Thoughts raced through her mind as she tried to think of what to do.

"Please, Grimm Master...let me continue fighting you...and leave them out of this..."

She reached out for her bells, but it rolled away under his foot.

"Cerinthe," he said plainly. "Another weak woman who's known in history for her tragedy because she couldn't fight. You're just like her. And I've had enough of it!"

The foot pressed down on the bell, the metal bending while it let out a piercing echo.

"NO! PLEASE DON'T!"

The foot slammed down, crushing the one bell into pieces as small bursts of fire and ice and thunder came from it. It's last ring a high-pitched cry, calling out to Liseran. Liseran's eyes began to water.

"N-no..." she muttered. "Cerinthe! NO! HOW COULD YOU!?"

Grabbing the next bell she charged towards him, shifting it into dagger form and trying to stab him. The Grimm Master's image shifted and he went behind her, his scmitar at her back.

"You're a failure," the Grimm Master spat. "You're not worthy of Rose's weapon at all."

The scmitar's blade blazed alight and slashed at her back, blowing her against the statue. Liseran slammed hard against it and fell on her knees, her hands clutching the floor and holding her last bell. Tears falling down her eyes, her breath unsteady as she tried to keep in a convulsing sob.

"You're also the reason Rose is gone," he said sharply. "You don't deserve to live."

"Don't listen to him Liseran!" Cheshire yelled, Vladimir and Elizabeth pulled out, "You're not weak! You're not a failure! And your life is worth more then anything in the world!"

Cheshire pointed his pistols at the grimm master, but he did not shoot just yet. "Who are you to judge her?? You don't know anything about her!" Cheshire roared loudly. "She's a shy girl who's terrible with meeting new people and buries herself in books. She gets depressed easily and is a bit of a crybaby. She's so stubborn sometimes I'm half convinced she can bust through a brick wall with her head! But she tries her hardest at everything she does! No matter the danger, no matter what may happen to her, she does everything in her power to help other people! She's the kind of person who would stand by your side as long as you need her and ask for nothing in return! That alone makes her the strongest person I know!"

Cheshire's exclamation was loud, the faunus pouring out his feelings into his small speech.

"Don't let him get to you Liseran! You can take him down, I know you can! You just have to believe in yourself!"

Liseran looked at Cheshire with wide eyes, tears streaming from them as she listened, but she soon lowered her head once again to the ground.

"Cheshire..." she muttered.

The cloaked man merely shook his head.

"This battle's already over," the Grimm Master said to Liseran. "You're down to one bell that can't cast half the spell's without its partner. And you know from our fights that you can't possibly win with it in dagger form alone. It's a done deal, you've failed."

With a snap of finger, a wall of fire circled around him and Liseran, forcing Cheshire to have to move back unless he wanted to get singed. Near Liseran was one of Cerinthe's bells and the handle of the other that had been destroyed. Her shoulders continued to shake and her head bowed only lower in what looked like utter defeat. The scmitar pointed at Liseran's head.

"When Zephyr was alive, he caused Rose tears," the Grimm Master said. "Tears because she worried about him. Tears because his suffering had to be her own. When she knew she was going to give birth to you, all she felt was the fear that one day you'd be taken away from her. I watched her suffer that much and from the distant corridors, I heard her screams as she died giving birth to you. I can never forgive you or your excuse of a father for giving Rose those tears. So, now, I'm going to finish you. And when I do, I'm going to take out your freak of a friend...and that stupid foundling in the cylinder."

The scmitar swung over Liseran's but just before it connected, there was a loud clash followed by bright light. The flames surrounding Liseran and the Grimm Master subsided as it showed the young woman holding up two daggers in an x hard against the blade just hovering inches over her head, both of them glowing black.

"H-how...?" the Grimm Master said with the smallest hint of shock.

For the first time, Liseran glared at the Grimm Master, her eyes full of nothing but anger and her teeth clenched tightly.

"You..." she said under her breath. "You may call me whatever you want...you may mock me, ridicule me and even beat me senseless as many times you want...!"

Her glasses had fallen now and the Grimm Master's stare came face to face with Liseran's blue and green eye, both shining brightly.

"But never will I let you defy or hurt my family!" she shouted. "NEVER!"

She pushed forward as a black Dormirse emblem came in front of her and against the Grimm Master pushing him back against a wall. Panting, she shifted one of her daggers back to bell form.

"If there's anything that gives me worth, it's my family!" she yelled. "My mother and father suffered terribly, yes, but they had each other and they're love made everything worth it. In the same way, no matter how awful a fighter I may be, no matter how much I fail, no matter how many times I have to listen to your dejecting words and take your blows, I'm going to fight you because of them!"

She pointed one dagger at the Grimm Master while the bell was raised behind her.

"I'm going to protect them no matter what! And that means going through that fifth door and defeating the Stilken before it comes out!"

The Grimm Master stepped back for a bit, unsure how to move next. He then shook his head and then steadied his stance, keeping the scmitar in front of him.

"The Stilken's been asleep for years," the Grimm Master said bluntly. "I'm not about to believe you're lie of a vision just now. But that aside...how are you able to use both bells when I just destroyed one."

"I'm not," Liseran firmly. "But just because you destroyed the bell doesn't mean the dagger was, too."

Liseran rang her bell once, making her dagger glow brightly.

"But you did teach me something just now," she said. "You said I couldn't beat you with daggers alone. And I know I couldn't beat you relying on both bells using magic. That's true. Magic alone takes too much time to conjure and my daggers don't stand a change against you the way the are...however, if I use my dust to fortify them, they gain just as much strength as your scmitar. That's also how Briar Rose works, isn't it? That's why I wasn't worthy of it before because I wouldn't have known how to work it."

Liseran's bell once again shifted into a dagger, both of them once again glowing in black dust.

"But now I'm going to try again and I'm going to win."

The Grimm Master was silent for a while.

"Very well," he said bluntly. "You can try one more time, your friend and foundling can even join in. But let's mix things up a bit shall we?"

Twirling the scmitar around, the Grimm Master let it's handle extend and the blade form into a giant spearhead. He then proceeded to tap the ground, making the walls with faces on them open and reveal a Grimm...five Beowolves on each side. The door of the glass cylinder also opened and Bell ran out before it shut again and the platform lifted away leaving no way of returning above.

"Mama!" she screamed running towards her. Liseran's eyes widened.

"Bell, stay where you are!" she yelled. Bell stopped just where Cheshire was, suddenly standing very still as the Grimm growled and drew closer.

Liseran looked at Cheshire.

"Cheshire, I need you to protect Bell," she said firmly. "If I finish off the Grimm Master, the Grimm will be put in place, I'm sure. I...I need your help, this time, I won't deny it. Just please, both of you, keep safe!"

"Liseran..." Cheshire murmured, "Kick his ass."

Cheshire shot his pistols at each of the Beowolves, his sharpshooting ability aimed at their knees and chests, making sure Bell remains safely by his side.

Liseran briefly smiled and nodded before darting after the cloaked man who had disappeared through one of the tunnels. Meanwhile, Bell clung onto Cheshire's coat as he shot away the Beowolves one by one, stopping them from pouncing midair.

"Papa said a bad word," Bell reflected as she watched Cheshire fight the Grimm. "Oh, well."

As the Beowolves began to retreat, another sound was heard and this time it was a low grunting, snorting sound.

"Papa!" Bell pointed at one of the tunnels.

A Boarbatusk emerged and looked at Cheshire and Bell, it's plates of armor slightly glinting in the faint torchlight. It squealed and began charging towards them head on.

***

The tunnel Liseran came through led her to a narrow stone platform raised so high above the ground that nothing but pitch black could be seen as she peered down. Her opponent was at the other side, just in front of the fifth door which was shaped like the face of a demon with its mouth open. Liseran held her stance.

"You're not going to listen to me are you?" Liseran said. "Even if I said the Stilken could very well corrode that door any moment."

"The fifth door is guarded by dust, steel, stone and bone," the Grimm Master said bluntly as he charged forward with his spear. Liseran ran at the same pace, slashing her left dagger to push away the spear head while the other tried to graze him. The Grimm Master pulled back and shifted the handle so it would come in contact with the second dagger.

"You're knives might be a bit stronger now," the cloaked man said. "But you're forgetting another reason why you failed."

The Grimm Master leaped backward and his image began to shift, creating multiple copies of himself as he circled around her. Liseran narrowed her eyes as she watched each one, every figure's weapon tightly gripped and slowly pointing towards her.

"What's your strategy now?"

"Well hakuna ma tata to you too," Cheshire murmured. He pulled out one of the grenades out of Felix, pulling out the pin with his teeth and throwing it at the spot in front of the boarbatusk. If the blast doesn't kill it, the explosion would most likely knock it off its feet. Cheshire would take advantage of that moment to lash out with Vladimir, extending it to its full chain whip form and gutting the pig with the hooked end.

As Cheshire tossed the grenade, Bell closed her eyes and covered her ears. The toss had been timed right and the explosion came in contact with the the Boarbatusk from the front, knocking it backwards and onto its belly. Squealing, it tried to get back upright, but couldn't due to its shape and weight, allowing Cheshire to take out Vladmir and gut it as planned secondly.

Bell was now covering her eyes, but peered at the mess through the spaces between her fingers, groaning. She then clutched Cheshire's coat again and tugged it.

"Is it over?" she asked.

The moment she spoke, another part of the wall slid open and there was a multitude of squeaks and screeches. In the darkness, hundreds of red beady eyes looked at Cheshire and Bell before a loud screech was heard followed by the sound of a dozen flapping wings. Bell let out a scream as a swarm of bat Grimm with long fangs and plating on their heads charged towards them.

"PAPA!" she yelled.

***

Liseran slid on the floor as she was pushed back by a stiff jab from the Grimm Master's spear. If it wasn't for the light plating under her uniform, it would have been fatal. The Grimm Master was hidden among the three other images, now spinning their spears as they ran towards her. Hastily, she took her bell and swung it into a diamond, shooting out an ice wall as she inched backwards.

"I'm guessing you have no strategy at the moment," the Grimm Master said as the spear slashed against the ice and broke through. Liseran managed to stand up, looking at the copies, knowing only one of them was tangible. As she looked, something caught her eye and as the Grim Master and his images once again charged forward, she created a figure "7" with the bell, ringing out a line of fire against them but hardly catching fire onto them.

"Close your eyes," Cheshire ordered, placing his hand over Bell's eyes. He took out Felix once more and pointed the side with the eye at the echolacers, hiding his head behind the case himself. The eye flashed as bright as a flash grenade. Blind as a bat was a very misleading term as bats are actually near sighted and mere sunlight could hurt their eyes terribly. The moment the flash was over, Cheshire transformed Felix into its sub machine gun form and started shooting the flying rodents out of the air.

The steady, directed swarm of Grimm Echolacers went out into a full-scale panic as the eye flashed. No longer focusing on attacking, they flew in every direction, even against one another, and in the state of loss were taken down by Cheshire's sub-machine gun, falling onto the ground in dozens like flies on their last day of living. The tunnels were quiet for a while but more howling and grunting could be heard.

"They're more?" Bell said worriedly as she held tightly onto Cheshire.

***

"That hardly even touched me," the Grimm Master's voice came from the four images in front of Liseran. Liseran stood where she was, panting heavily from exhaustion, knowing fairly well that she was hardly recovered from earlier. She kept her bell steady after ringing it again, a Dormirse emblem charged and ready glowing at its mouth while her dagger was in her other hand.

"You're at your limit now, aren't you?" the Grimm Master told Liseran. "Just a little bit more and your aura's going to wear out, prompting you to retreat...not that I'll let you."

The cloaked man and his copies twirled the spear around before pointing it at Liseran once again.

"Let's end all this with the next move, shall we?" he said, Liseran fully aware he was going to take advantage of his copies to confuse her and strike.

The Grimm Master charged forward running at high speed. Liseran clutched her dagger and bell tightly as she ran towards him mustering the rest of her strength and shouting as she came closer and closer.

The images blurred and surrounded her, two at her left, one at her right and one in front of her. They each gripped the spear handle firmly before charging. For a moment, the images slowed down in Liseran's eyes. She looked at each of them until she saw what she was looking for...the edge of the cloak's fabric singed. Seeing the image with this minor difference, her darkly glowing dagger came into contact with the spear and forced it out of the Grimm Master's hand. Before her opponent could react, she swung her bell in an 8 figure, the emblem right under his feet.

"Binder!" Liseran shouted.

She swung her bell in a horizontal slash, forcing the Grimm Master hard against the fifth door and keeping him there with the spell, frozen and weaponless.

"H-how--" the Grimm Master started. "How did you know which--"

"Your little images look as tangible as you do," Liseran said bluntly. "But none of them are affected by my attacks. When I sent my fire at you, it only burned your cloak. It's funny how I never thought of it before..."

Panting, she walked up to him, both of her hands now wielding daggers, her eyes staring at him coldly. She stopped only inches from his face before one dagger came to his throat while the other stabbed...into the door.

"Call off the Grimm," she said.

The cloaked man was silent.

"CALL OFF THE GRIMM!" she shouted angrily.

The cloaked man nodded. With Liseran dispelling the Binder but keeping the dagger at his neck, the Grimm Master reached for belt and pressed a button.

"Congratulations," the Grimm Master said as if surprised to be hearing him say it himself. "You've passed the fourth level. You...may claim Briar Rose ahead."

***

Before any more Grimm could appear, a grinding sound was heard and the tunnels slowly closed save for the one Liseran went through. At the same time, the platform returned to the cylinder Bell and Cheshire had gone through and the door opened. Words glowing above it: PASSED.

"Mama!" Bell shouted as she darted into the tunnel without warning.

Once Cheshire would follow, he would see Liseran alone at the very edge of the narrow platform, standing and staring blankly at the door before she'd fall down to her knees and collapse once again.

"Liseran!" Cheshire exclaimed, running towards were with Bell following him. He wrapped an arm over Liseran and and placed his hand under her head. Cheshire gently and slowly lifted her up. "Come on Liseran. Please wake up. You've gotten so far. You're almost there, just a little longer."

"Mama, please wake up!" Bell said trying to shake the girl awake.

Liseran only muttered and her eyes stayed closed. She winced as Cheshire moved her, subconsciously moving her hand to the right of her abdomen where her uniform had torn and a faint amount of blood began to soak the fabric as it seeped out the holes of the chain guard she was wearing on the inside.

"She's hurt, Papa," Bell said with teary eyes. "What do we do?"

Before Cheshire could say anything, the door in front of them began to open. The door opened to a layer of what looked like obsidian, only it glowed faintly embedded with Dust stones. It slid open as it made a grinding sound. It was followed by another layer that was a door of steel and that, too, slid open only to reveal a stone door.After that, there was a layer that looked like a door fashioned from the plating of Grimm armor. The last layer slid open and revealed a large domed area that was strangely filled with golden colored wheat that reached midway to the ankles. Something that looked like sunlight poured from above but as one peered it was a cluster of bright amber dust stones fused together.

In the middle of the room was a large oak tree with leaves in the color of fall. It shaded a marble slab that encased something with a glass cover, a bright silver rapier with an intricate hand guard made of leaves, vines...and a large blooming rose in the middle.

"Oh, wait!" Bell said in sudden realization. She knelt down and went through the contents of her knapsack and pulled out a first aid kit. "This is Mama's."

There wasn't much inside save for some gauze. Bell looked at Papa worriedly. "This can help her, right?"

"I'll do what I can," Cheshire murmured, taking the first aid kit. He carefully lifted Vide's shirt, (careful not to pull it too high up) and worked on pulling up the chain mail to inspect the wound. Unless he found some disinfectant in the first aid kit, Cheshire would otherwise lick the wound clean like a cat then apply pressure to it while wrapping the gauze around the wound.

Since whatever had jabbed Liseran hadn't broken through the chain mail, the wound was more of the effect of strong blunt force. It was around 3 inches in length and surrounded by terrible bruising. It was somewhat deep, but not too deep that pressure wouldn't be able to keep it in control for a while. Fortunately there was antiseptic spray and more spare gauze, allowing Cheshire to clean it up before pressing it down and dressing the wound.

By the time he was done, Liseran suddenly shot upright with her eyes wide open before wincing.

"Gaaaah...." she groaned before looking at Cheshire and Bell in surprise.

"Mama!" Bell exclaimed as she cautiously hugged Liseran. "You're awake, are you okay? I was scared!"

Bell began crying after that and Liseran stroked her back soothingly.

"I'm okay," Liseran said. "And I'm glad you two are safe, too."

Liseran winced a bit but then saw how her wound had been dressed. She turned to Cheshire.

"O-oh, did you do this?" she asked, a light pink tint brushing over her face. "What happened? Did I pass out again?"

"Yes," Cheshire deadpanned, but then he petted Liseran's head, "Right after you beat the grimm master and made it here."

Cheshire looked over at the doorway, staring at the rapier. "Is that it?"

Liseran looked at Cheshire sheepishly as he petted her head and Bell proceeded to let go so Liseran could get up.

Liseran looked at the fifth room warily.

"Yes, that's it," she said solemnly. "Briar Rose. My mother's weapon."

Quickly enough, she moved closer to the room and looked around.

"It's strange..." she said as she kept both her weapons close to one another. "The Stilken...it should have been corroding the door around this time...but it's nowhere. Could it really still be asleep?"

Liseran thought for a while, but then nodded her head.

"Either way, I should get Briar Rose before something else happens."

Before she could walk, however, Bell grabbed her hand and Cheshire's.

"We're going with you," Bell urged. Liseran was about to say no, but Bell looked at her firmly, almost as sternly as Cheshire did most times and looking at her and Cheshire, she sighed.

"Let's just be careful," she finally gave in.

The three walked inside and it strangely felt like they were in a real field and not inside a dungeon room. Liseran kept her eyes alert for any movements, her ears for any sound, but they seemed safe for now. They came to the marble slab with Briar Rose in it. There were small engravings on the slab.

For my darling and my blood

What looked like a hand scanner was also there and Liseran placed her palm over it, letting it read.

Identity recognized...Liseran Dormirse-Veiller...Access granted...

The engravings on the slab glowed bright weight and there was a small clicking sound. The glass lid opened. Carefully, Liseran touched the handle and raised Briar Rose in the air.

"It's beautiful..." she muttered.

"Mama," Bell said. As Liseran looked Bell was holding the violet sheath. Liseran took it gratefully and equipped it before tucking the weapon inside it. She then looked at Bell and Cheshire and then embraced them tightly.

"Thank you..." she said. "Thank you so much for everything."

She let go to reveal she had small tears in her eyes again and she wiped them away.

"We should get going," she said. "It's late and--"

Something stirred in the wheat and the grass. The dust stones glowing brightly above suddenly went dim and were replaced by the glowing distant pale blue ones, making the field look like it was night time. Liseran moved closer to Cheshire and Bell, keeping an arm over them as if to guard them. The grass continued to stir in the distance. The ground shook and the wheat moved in a single wave.

"Cheshire..." Liseran said. "You have to get Bell out of here. Take her back to where you came from."

Something like the sound of rocks crumbling was heard and it was only getting louder.

"Hurry," she said, the hint of panic was in her voice.

"I'm not leaving you Liseran," Cheshire said, taking out Vladimir and Elizebeth. "Something's coming and I could tell it's dangerous. You're not in any state to fight Liseran. Take Bell and run. I'll handle it."

Liseran's eyes got big and her mouth dropped. Her expression turned from shocked to angry.

"Are you crazy!?" she yelled. "I can't let you--"

Before she could speak, the ground began to shake violently. So violently that Bell fell over her. As she and Cheshire would look, the bone layer of the door would slam down due to the quaking.

"No!" Liseran said.

Rocks began to crumble somewhere and as Liseran looked past the old oak tree, she could see something that looked like a giant monster mantis carved into the far off wall. It was about 20 feet in standing height, two monstrously large forelegs crossed against one another like two blades, each one as long as a 7 feet and with long crooked hooks on its one side. The carving began to crack and there was also the sound of something else. A hissing sound as if something were being corroded.

The blades of the carving began to melt away to show bone white ones and the stone statue finally broke open. A giant Grimm mantis that looked just like the carving was there, its many legs folded and its blades still crossed. Its exoskeleton was bone weight and covered with armor on its belly and its surface. Two large red eyes bulged from a bone-plated mask and opened.

"The Stilken..." Liseran muttered in shock.

A large, inhuman screech filled the air and the mantis' legs unfolded as it leaned forward into an upright position, moving swiftly across the field. Liseran pushed Cheshire and Bell to hide behind the old oak tree.

"Quiet...!" she said sharply.

The three stood still as Liseran gripped her her bell and dagger tightly, Bell clutching onto both her parents trembling. The steps grew louder and sounded like it was going to get closer but then it faded away to somewhere else.

Liseran breathed out.

"We need to find a way out-"

The large shriek returned right above them and the Stilken's bladed foreleg appeared above the tree and came clashing down, slicing through the trunk like it was a knife in hot wax as something oozed out from its foreleg like acid, aiming right at the three.

Cheshire jumped, pushing all of them out of the way before the mantis claw.... thingy came down. Cheshire placed Vladimir and Elizabeth away and pulled out Felix, transforming it into high impact sniper rifle mode. He shot multiple rounds at the grimm's eyes while yelling at Liseran and Bell, "I'LL HOLD IT OFF! YOU MUST WARN YOUR FAMILY!"

The Stilken screamed as one of it's eyes burst from Cheshire's shot but the other stayed intact. It's claws came back to its face as if to guard the area and backed off, moving farther away. Liseran was about to rush Bell to the door, but the bone layer had shut closed.

"We're locked in!" she yelled at Cheshire.

Soon enough, the Stilken regained control of itself and was walking towards her and Cheshire again.

"BELL STAY BACK!" Liseran shouted. She rang her bell and a glyph appeared under the little girl and surrounded her in a light black orb that soon dragged her to a distance.

"Mama! Papa! No!" she yelled.

Liseran knew her dagger wasn't going to be of help. Gritting her teeth she tucked it back into its handle form and into her belt before unsheathing Briar Rose. It was going to be risky using it for the first time without practice, but she had no other way of offense. She had read enough to know that Briar Rose could use dust moves as well as fire gun rounds but she had no way of knowing how to aim a gun just yet.

"Cheshire, I'm going to try and binding it," she told Cheshire as she moved closer to him. "We can't get close enough without its claws getting us. Try to shoot its other eye so we can!"

The Stilken moved from walking to rapidly running on all it's legs. Liseran pulled Cerinthe forward to zip her closer before she made a large figure eight. As the Stilken moved it charged only to be halted by the Dormirse seal that had developed under it. It couldn't walk but it leaned its long upper body forward to just where Liseran was, its foreleg stretching out to clash down on Briar Rose and splattering Liseran's sleeve with the substance it was oozing in. Liseran shouted and pulled back as it took both claws and tried to strike her and Cheshire at once.

Fast as a cat, Cheshire picked up Liseran and took her away from where the claws would strike before setting her down. Cheshire lifted up his sniper rifle again and started shooting at the Stilken's remaining eye while it's claws were still down.

The Stilken's next eye was shot successfully and just as the Binder spell flickered away from it, it moved slightly backward once again. Liseran stood up and swung Cerinthe to dart her forward. She zipped past and towards the Stilken as it was distracted, its claws up and covering its damaged eyes. Most of the Stilken's underside and back was covered, but Liseran could see the exposed part of its abdomen that connected the top and the bottom. Raising her bell upwards, she was lifted herself into the air and charged Briar Rose until it glowed red. Parrying at her distance, Briar Rose glowed, the light extending from its blade as she jabbed and it pierced through. The Stilken screamed once again and its claw came down but Liseran darted back.

She had managed to graze part of the connection, but the Stilken still stood. It's antennas extended and began searching around, recognizing Liseran and Cheshire's position. But instead of swooping down its claws, it raised them up and then slashed them into the air, its dozen hooks detaching and flying towards them like sharp thorns.

Cheshire teleported to Liseran's side and lashed out with Vladimir and Elizebeth, extending them both to full chain whip mode and lashed them about to deflect the incoming hooks.

"What the hell is this thing??" Cheshire yelled.

Liseran waved Cerinthe into another figure eight counter clockwise to create a repelling emblem and deflected the others.

"An old Grimm," Liseran said wearily from where she was. "There used to be two but my mother killed the other and detained this one. But now it's awake."

With its antenna's in the air and hearing the two speak, it moved forward once again and struck down, but missed. It was only then that Liseran staggered and she fell to her knees, clutching the area her wound was. The claw raised itself over her and was coming down to strike. It also revealed that the joint of the part that connected to the arm wasn't plated at all.

Cheshire saw the unguarded spot. Standing in front of Liseran protectively, Cheshire grabbed a grenade from Felix and chucked it at the spot. He readied himself to grab Liseran and carry her away to safety.