Mistral was just a few more miles to go. Even though I've fully recovered from the gunshot, I still didn't feel like myself. 

I couldn't stop thinking about that form I took. It must have something to do with my ability to tame Grimm, and Ash seems to know more about it. 

But when I asked him about it, he replied, "It appears you have the ability to take the form of a Grimm. The next time you struggle to return to your true self, remember to keep a clear image of yourself. Remember that you... are you." 

I'm not entirely sure that he meant by that, and I'm pretty sure it didn't answer my question to how I'm able to transform. 

Is it supposed to mean something important? I hate riddles, especially when I can't figure out what they mean. 

At the moment, Ash and I rested under a tree from our long walk. As I stared out into the woods in front of me, I started to doze off until I finally fell asleep. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"You would risk your life for a dead person. You truly are naïve." 

"Shadow, you saved us!"

"No! Please, no! Shadow!"

"Li... ly..."

"SHADOW!!!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I gasped awake while sitting up from the tree trunk. After taking a few breaths, I sighed while placing a hand over my head. 

"A memory. A very bad memory," I mumbled. I noticed Ash wasn't next to me. "Ash? Where'd you go?"

I stood up and began to walk forward in attempt to look for him. From a distance, I could hear what sounded like crunching. Loud crunching. 

Creeping behind a tree, I could see a figure on their knees while tearing away the flesh of a dead King Taijitu. It was Ash, and he was eating the Taijitu. 

"Grr... Huh? Who's there? I know you're there because I can smell you." He said. "It's just me, Ash," I informed while stepping out from behind the tree. 

He wiped his mouth and the dead Grimm slowly turned into black smoke. "Were you... eating that Grimm just now?"  

"Yeah, I was hungry," He said, almost aggressively. He held a chuck of flesh from the King Taijitu and began to munch on it while growling. 

When he was finished with it, he let out a relaxed sigh while closing his eyes. "That feels better." His tone of voice sounded calm and relaxed when he said that. 

Oh, I get it. He's only aggressive when he's hungry. I thought, making a mental note of that. "Mother, can I ask you something?" Ash asked. "Sure, what is it?" I replied. 

"Why are we heading to Mistral when Beacon is the one that seems to be the most problematic?" He asked. "I... What?" I was confused by his question. 

"You've mentioned before how Beacon is overrun with Grimm and you wish to return it to the way it was before. So, why are we heading to Mistral instead of Beacon?" Ash repeated. 

"Oh... Well, if I'm being honest, I guess it's because I'm stalling." I admitted. "Stalling?" Ash repeated. "I don't understand."

"I'm scared to go back to Beacon. I'm scared because... I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can clear a whole army of Grimm. I'm afraid I might fail." I explained. 

"How can you be sure when you haven't tried yet?" Ash said. "You mustn't doubt yourself, Mother. I'm sure you can do it because I have faith in you."

"But what if I try and I fail?" I asked while lowering my head. I looked up at Ash when he took my hand in his. 

"I believe the only true failure is when you stop trying or don't try at all. So, don't give up. Have faith." He encouraged. 

He gently petted my head, much like how I used to do to him when he was smaller. I smiled at him and nodded with agreement. "Right."

Ash summoned a Nevermore to our location and we used it to fly to Beacon. But when we got there, it was much worse than what I saw on TV.

"It's... dreadful, isn't it?" Ash mentioned. "From what I can tell, it would seem that stoned Wyvern is attracting the rest of the Grimm." 

I looked at the Wyvern at the top of the tower. "Let's go," I had the Nevermore take us to the Wyvern, then approached it. 

Placing my hand over the statue, I closed my eyes and could feel something beating from within the stone. Is that... its heart?

"The Wyvern is... It's still alive?" I said in disbelief. "Kill it." Ash commanded. "What?" I faced him, surprised to hear the sternness in his voice. "But why?"

"If this Grimm is the source that gathers the Grimm, then shouldn't the reasonable solution be to kill it?" He said. "With the source gone, Grimm won't have any reason to lurk here." 

He makes a good point. If the Wyvern dies, the Grimm might disperse and leave Beacon. "Wait, how am I supposed to kill something this big?" I asked Ash. 

He chuckled. "An excellent question. Mother is small, so I will take care of it." He volunteered. 

"Hey, I take offense to that!" I said as he approached the petrified Wyvern. Ash hovered his hand over the stone and closed his eyes.

"Hrr... Argh!!!" 

Ash threw his head back with a yell as his eyes glowed red. Black smoke began to leave the stoned Wyvern and seemingly flow into Ash's arm. 

Ash is... absorbing the Wyvern. That's amazing. I stared in awe as Ash continued to absorb the Grimm, then stopped after a moment. 

After successfully absorbing the Wyvern, its hollow shell started to crumble off the tower. "Wow..." I murmured. Ash lowered his hand and faced me with a gentle smile. 

"Good... Good job?" He said. "Very good job. Great job, in fact." I praised. "Hearing you say that... makes me happy." Ash informed, smiling again. 

I looked down at the Grimm below us. They looked around as if they were confused, lingering about. 

Ash picked me up and leaped off the tower, landing on the ground with a semi-hard thud. After setting me on my feet, I took his hand in mine and we raised our arms out in front of us. 

LIVE

"Beacon continues to be overrun with Grimm. Authorities are still doing all they can to... Wait, what's this?! Zoom in! Am I seeing this right?! The Grimm are... retreating! They're leaving Beacon! This is unbelievable! Wait, there's someone down there! It... It looks like the Grimm Whisperer! Yes, there's no mistaking it! The Grimm Whisperer is forcing the Grimm out of Beacon!"