He couldn't stand.
He couldn't breathe.
He couldn't stop shaking.
The tears were swelling in his eyes and through the grinding of his teeth he quietly pleaded, "Weiss... Ruby, please help her. Please..."
The one person who has stood behind him, who supported him, who made him who he was today- was all alone. She was fighting for him, their friends, and the future of Vale. The tears started fall freely. He knew how pathetic he must look; bent over on the ground crying, but he couldn't stop. He knew she would hate to see him like this but she wasn't here now, and she might possibly never return.
And with that thought he completely froze.
"How could I live with myself if she died?" He thought in dismay. "I will never be the same let alone be able to face our friends knowing I had a chance to stop her but I was too weak." He looked down at his hands, now covered in dirt from the surrounding debris. "You were supposed to help me get stronger, to teach me to overcome any challenge. How will you do that now?"
He clenched his fist and struck the ground. "DAMN IT!"
He could feel the blood running from his knuckles down his fingers. Only for an instant did this help subdue the pain he was feeling in his soul. At that moment his memories of Pyrrha overwhelmed his thoughts: from their initial meeting in the locker room, to her amusement of his dress at the school dance, to their first kiss.
Subconsciously he brought his hand to his lips. He still remembered everything in vivid detail- the warmth of her lips, the touch of her hands, and a slightly salty taste of her tears running down his cheeks.
"Pyrrha..." He whispered, "come back to me, please."
The deep guttural howl of a Beowolf snapped Jaune out of his melancholy. It was only then that he recognized the gravity of his current situation. He was all alone in some part of the city that he couldn't recognize due to the destruction. He knew Grimm were pouring into the city and unless he found other hunters and huntresses, Pyrrha's sacrifice will have been in vain.
"I have to do my best to survive for her. As long as there's a chance I can see her again, I'll do everything I can to stay alive", he said aloud, drying his eyes and drawing his sword and shield. "Make you sure you do everything you can to come back to me" he muttered. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, observed his surroundings, and started running in a direction that he hoped would lead him to others.
He had been to Vale a few times and knew the areas where his team and Ruby's team visited but at night amongst all this destruction, he was hopelessly lost.
"Come on, come on, come on, give me something I recognize, anything!"
At that moment he received something better, BANG BANG BANG!
"Gun shots!" He exclaimed. He glanced to the right, "it came from over there!" He came up to an intersection and made a right turn, only to be stopped by a massive Ursa.
"Out of my way! I don't have time for you!" He shouted as he ran towards the beast. The Ursa stood on its hind legs to face him and prepared its enormous right paw to strike him. Jaune anticipated this. He brought his shield up to his shoulder and threw his entire weight against the strike. It worked. The Ursa was knocked off balance, and in one swift move Jaune countered by decapitating the beast. For a second he stood there looking at the enemy he defeated. Flash backs of Pyrrha aiding him on the roof of their dorm were starting to creep their way into his consciousness.
However, he was quickly brought back to reality as he heard the cry of a Beowolf behind him, followed by two more howls that succeeded the first. He looked back and saw three Beowolfs trailing him jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
"Aw come on! Can't I get a break!?" he said as he hunched his shoulders in despair.
Again someone seemed to look out for him because the sound of more gun shots snapped him out of his trance. Hope replaced his despair and again he continued running in their direction. As he ran he could hear the Beowolfs' claws on the rooftops following him. He came upon another intersection.
"Ok they definitely came from the left" he said to himself as he rounded the left corner. As he did he caught the name of the street on its respective sign: Caboose St. Normally there would be nothing special about this street on a regular day, however, he knew if he was running northward, the next street would be Puma Ave. If that was the case, then Main St would follow. It was one of the main tourist spots in Vale: at the end of Main St one could make out Beacon Academy in the distance with its signature green beacon and the outline of the school in the moonlight. Although he was still miles from Pyrrha, any chance he had of possibly seeing... Something, ANYTHING, from the school he was going to take it.
He was approached the next intersection.
"Oh please, let it be...YES!" He loudly exclaimed, catching the ears of a few Beowolfs the next street over.
"Puma Avenue! Just one more to go!"
He quickly glanced over his shoulder, " Damn they're still on me. These guys just don't give up." He knew he would have to deal with them, but that can wait until he reached the end of Main St. He came upon the next intersection, Main St it read. He cut right and although he was far from the end he could make out the school's outline but noticed something was off.
"The beacon, it's gone..." He didn't know whether this was good or bad, but he abruptly stopped after what he saw flying in the moonlight- the giant Grimm.
"Pyrrha, please be all right".
He was about to resume running when we saw two large figures land in front of him from the rooftops. It was two other Beowolfs who heard him shouting earlier. Jaune didn't want to waste time fighting right here and desperately scanned around for an escape route. He quickly looked over his left shoulder and noticed an alley: that was his escape. He started to back up slowly, ensuring he didn't completely turn his back to the Grimm and succumb to a sneak attack.
"Just a few more feet", he thought, and then he'd make a run for it knowing the creature would have difficulty maneuvering in the alley with its size.
Suddenly he sensed immediate danger closing on him, he rolled out the way just in time to miss being landed on by one of the Beowolfs tailing him from earlier. "No...", he cried. His exit was cut off and the other two Beowolfs landed behind the first one.
Now he was surrounded.
He never faced so many enemies at once, and without his semblance he didn't know if he could. Whilst doubting himself, the beast in front of him lunged forward while he was looking back. Jaune almost didn't react in time but he managed to raise his shield to block the attack. However, the attack had enough force to propel him into a brick wall and crack the spot where he struck. Then without skipping a beat, the second Grimm lunged toward him; keeping his composure, Jaune simply side stepped causing the Beowolf to crash full force into the wall, effectively stunning it.
While it was recovering Jaune stabbed it at the base of the head in an instant kill strike, with a renewed fire in his eyes he looked at the nearest Grimm and belted:
"I. WILL NOT. DIE. HERE!"
The nearest Beowolf, sensing that this human wasn't going to be killed easily, started to circle Jaune.
"This is it" he thought. "This moment determines my future amongst the living, or as a memory with those who perished. " Jaune readied his stance, he could see the Beowolf preparing to pounce as its movements started to slow. Before the Grimm could attack, it was thrown off guard by the loud CLANG of Crocea Mors hitting the ground.
He didn't know what was happening. The pain was so intense he couldn't hold onto his sword and subsequently fell freely from his hands as his entire body collapsed on the ground
"Wha-what's happening?" He groaned as he tried to clutch his chest through his armor. He could feel the source of the pain emanating from his heart. He never felt this pain before, he didn't know if it was a heart attack or not, but it felt like someone stabbed him through the heart. The pain only grew in intensity. He shouted in agony at the top of his lungs while the pain spread. It felt as if his body, no, his soul was on fire. He really believed that whatever was causing this pain would kill him. As the pain reached its climax, his body started to convulse and his eyes started to close. Unable to control anything except his voice, he decided his last words would be to Pyrrha. A barely audible "I'm... Sorry", escaped his lips. He resigned himself to this fate. Expecting any moment to be his last, until he heard it:
"No, I'm sorry" said an omnipotent voice that was so familiar to him.
At that moment the pain stopped and he sat straight up. "Pyrrha!" he exclaimed. Suddenly, he saw the most brilliant white light shoot across the sky, originating from Beacon.
That's all he had to say for he knew, she lost. He didn't know how he knew for sure, but he knew. After the pain disappeared and his senses returned he knew something was off. The pain that engulfed his whole body was now replaced by... Nothing. The entire time he was fighting for his life he felt complete, like a normal person. But now, there was a void, not in his heart but in his soul. All the drive, all the motivation he had to survive- was gone. A part of him was now missing, a part that was burnt away by the pain. He never knew it was there, until it was gone. Until, she, was gone.
He looked to the ground at his sword. He could see the Beowolf out of his peripherals. He knew he should pick it up, to prepare to fight, but he couldn't. He didn't want to. He lost all will to live. The Grimm sensed his prey's defeat. It casually walked up to Jaune and using a paw, swatted him against the brick wall once more. Jaune never looked up. He only stared at the ground. He knew he should shout, fight, run; he should do something! So he did. He turned his gaze straight into the beast's eyes.
He said " well what are you waiting for? Just finish it."
The Grimm was more than happy to oblige. It walked straight up to Jaune, looked him in the eyes, and with what Jaune thought was a slight grin... It proceeded to bite his throat and tear it out. Got ya! Just keep reading, it doesn't end here.
After he struck the wall he could feel something wasn't right, especially after he heard a loud crack. He sat up and felt a sharp, stinging pain on the right side of his abdomen. As he went to feel the area with his right arm, he felt another shooting pain, and the trickle of blood.
"Fantastic. My ribs and arm are broken. Never thought it would end like this." he grinned in hopelessness.
As he sat there he could feel his eyes getting heavy and see his vision blurring. His whole body began to ache from all the stress as the adrenaline started to leave his system. It was so bad he couldn't even sit up anymore. He keeled over, holding his ribs with his left hand, his eyes watching the Beowolf's legs saunter ever closer to him.
"So this is how I go?" he asked.
He closed his eyes, just waiting for the pain to end. The Beowolf's breath becoming more audible.
"Pyrrha, I'll see you soon" he whispered, as a smile formed on his lips. And the world faded to oblivion.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! His eyes shot open and saw he was face-to-face with the Grimm lying dead in front of him.
"Who..." And that question was answered immediately as he saw a figure in front of him. The figure wore dark colored stockings, white shorts, and a white shirt with a dark colored vest that met at the stomach.
All he could muster was "Who... Are... You?"
The figure turned around and that's when he saw those yellow eyes... And the outline of a bow in the moonlight.
"B-Blake?" His vision started to fade again and as the world turned black, and he heard more gun shots as she stood her ground to protect him.