So, uh, hey. I was maybe, sorta, kinda, really inspired by some older works on this site that showed Jaune either roughing it, or dealing with, uh, more permanent injuries. So I wanted to try my hand at it. Don't be to surprised if it sucks.

I do not own Roosterteeth

or the rights to RWBY

and may Monty Oum be forever unbound by death.

Untamed, untouched, and filled to the brim with creatures that wanted nothing more, and nothing less, than the extinction of both Humans and Faunus alike. This was what best described the Wilds, and very few had the power to change that. Fewer still actually did so.

The density of these creatures, that are referred to as Grimm by sentient life on Remnant, only increased the further one trekked into these daunting forests.

Underneath the deep, forest green canopies that cast the world beneath into shadow was a team of four. A bronze armored hoplite by the name of Pyrrah Nikos brought up the rear of the group, with the middle being comprised of ninja like boy garbed in green that answered to the name of Lie Ren, and a small, energetic redhead named Nora Valkyrie. She skipped happily behind their "Fearless Leader", who led them with a level of strategy unseen in most that attended their academy, and even fewer with his lack of training. This white knight, whose blonde hair and blue eyes led them through thick and thin throughout their time at Beacon, even after the Vytal Tournament that they fought tooth and nail to claim their first place spot in, to the dismay of their sister team RWBY.

Back to the present, the four moved through the foliage at a tense pace. The forest was crawling with Grimm of all shapes and sizes, and to say they were spent was an understatement. Pyrrah and Ren were completely out of aura, while Nora had a solid ten percent left. Jaune was best off, his massive amount keeping him at around half, yet he was still lightly bruised with more than one aching rib that was slowly being repaired. They hadn't seen many Grimm since leaving the mission sight, the search for and consequent destruction of the old Beringel that had been sighted by nearby villages. It hadn't done much anything yet, but the towns did not want to risk anything by it's prolonged lifetime. So here the team of the hour was, exhausted, lightly injured, but finished with what they had to do.

Or they would have been, had Ren not held his hand up, stopping Pyrrah and Nora while Jaune followed suit after only a moments delay. The silence was deafening to the four, signifying the lack of wildlife. A lack of wildlife only meant one thing, and thus the four drew their weapons. Ren and Pyrrah remained towards the back of the formation, with Jaune and Nora taking up the front. Normally the two redheads would have swapped places, but nobody wanted the resident champ to tempt fate so much. So, with bated breaths, they waited. Muscles tenses and relaxed as a passing breeze shifted the emerald leaves. They slowly released their breaths and Jaune was the first to lower his weapon.

A mistake that would follow him the rest of his days.

As soon as Jaune's arms relaxed, a flash of black quickly tackled him to the ground, giving him a violent shake before he was hurtled tree, a grunt escaping his mouth upon impact. A large wolf like creature with a pelt of black and many spots of bone armor decorating its frame stood on its hind legs in the center of the small clearing they resided. An Alpha Beowolf, injured lightly based on the marks across some of it's bone plating but otherwise completely fine. The rest of the team quickly formed up once again as Jaune staggered into something resembling a combat ready stance. The creature paid none any mind however, as it instead raised it's head high and let out a long howl that pierced the otherwise still and silent air. That broken silence was completely shattered by the returning cry that came from the direction behind the Alpha, and Jaune made a swift and tactical decision that he would never regret, no matter what it had cost him in the end.

"Run!" He shouted, pointing in the direction of the evac zone, which was thankfully in the opposite direction of the Grimm. The four ran, not even needing to look back for the sound of pounding paws and canine growling to reach them. They were gaining, and evac was still to far. So as their leader, Jaune did the only thing he could to help his team, his family, and his best friends.

"Ren, you're leader! Keep them safe!" Jaune called out as he whirled around, sword drawn and swung in time to cleave a smaller beowolf through the head. He heard a few outcries in response, but he tuned it out as he focused on any negative thoughts he could muster.

Weiss' denials

Ouch

Cardin's Torment

Yeouch

The potential loss of his newfound family

"Never." Barely a whisper over the beowolves working to surround him. They had left the other three to their escape as they focused on this beacon of negativity. They could feel it's delicious taste dance across their tongues, it's euphoric qualities bathing them with their own bloodlust. Or they would have, had a pink explosion not torn through a small number of the beasts. Jaune glanced to the side, tsking as he caught sight of Nora with a Grenade Launcher at the ready. A little further back was Ren and Pyrrah, laying down fire upon the pack. He could only smirk on the inside as he took a swipe on the face of his shield, a quick parry removing the offending limb. Looks like they might have this in the bag.

It was not to be, for soon enough the Alpha was once again upon Jaune. Now, Jaune was no slouch, having progressed to be on par with and even above some their grade, but an Alpha beowolf on a quarter of his aura was too much. The others were being pushed towards the direction of the evac point, and consequently, away from him. This resulted in a similar decision to the one made earlier, with an equal lack of regret.

"Everyone, run! I'm right behind you!" He called, and watched as the others ran without question. The best team a leader could ask for, was all he thought as a large claw scraped across the face of his shield. He went for the counter, but was thrown off balance when he was tackled by a normal beowolf. He stabbed it through the neck before rolling to the side. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he did a quick spin that beheaded two more of the beasts. The alpha hung back as more and more Grimm threw themselves at Jaune. He heard the faint sounds of engines, and spared a glace upwards as he saw a landing bullhead.

A fatal mistake in the heat of combat.

The alpha wasted no time in capitalizing on this error, and Jaune could barely raise his shield to block the lunging bite from it. He felt… lighter after the attack, and used the newfound spry to quickly turn and stab in-between the exposed ribs of the alpha. It hit the ground in a slump, and it's form began to dissipate almost immediately. He flipped the sword in a reverse grip and swept back with it, stabbing another one of the Grimm by sheer luck alone. He took in his surroundings, the now empty clearing covered in a mix of scorch marks and trenches dug by claws. He could only smile at himself. He had slain an alpha beowolf, and about eight normal ones to boot. He had earned the small amount of pride he felt. Taking a step forward proved to be much more difficult than he had anticipated, and he staggered forward a few feet before falling onto the damp earth beneath him. He glanced towards the now dissipated form of the alpha, seeing his shield over next to a tree.

What made him slowly glance towards his shoulder, however, was the arm still attached to it.

Torn from its socket, his left shoulder was a complete mess of torn cloth and blood, exposed muscle suddenly burning at his attention. In fact, the pain and exhaustion caught up with him finally as he glanced upwards, the blue sky peaking through the canopy of emerald only blotted by the escaping form of a bullhead.

Even as dots swam in front of his eyes as he dragged himself to sit against the nearest tree, he could only smile as he drifted into unconsciousness from a mixture of shock, pain, and exhaustion. He did good, and he had no qualms in dying to protect those dearest to him. His team that was comprised of a brother in all but blood, a sister that would fit in perfectly with his seven others, and his mentor/crush that helped him survive the brutal school he was a student of.

The best team a leader could ask for.