Chapter 2

The morning sun rose in the distance, bringing with it a weird feeling of hope that had been sorely lacking these past few weeks. As Team RNJR rose from their peaceful slumber, undisturbed by Grimm all night, which was very much a blessing, one member, as noted by Ren, was noticeably absent. The silent ninja pondered the knight's whereabouts as he prepared the fire and pan for breakfast.

However, this was no ordinary breakfast. This was one of the most important breakfasts Ren was ever going to cook. Why? Well… because Ren was going to make pancakes. Yes you heard right… Pancakes! Why was this so important? Well, as you know, Nora loooveees pancakes. She even gets withdrawals sometimes if she does not have pancakes every so often. After the fall of Beacon and the loss of their teammate, Pyrrha, Nora tried to remain light hearted and energetic as always. Once she found out that they had gathered enough ingredients to make the food, Nora was over-the-moon. Which is why Ren had to be careful. If the pancakes were not cooked properly or became inedible, Nora would either break down and cease to be the giddy person she usually is… or flip and try to attack anyone or anything in sight in a blind rage.

But there was another reason this needed to be perfect. Ren wanted to keep Nora happy. Not in fear of her, but because he cared for her more than he had ever cared about anyone in his life. Since their journey with Ruby had begun, Ren's one motivation to keep striving was Nora. The ninja had never before felt such of a powerful feeling towards anyone in his life but he knew what it was… Love. He was falling in love with his life-long friend, Nora.

The sun was fully risen by the time the smell of pancakes filled the air and made its way into Nora and Ruby's tent. Ren heard a loud crash, followed by sounds of cloth and a moan as Nora burst out of the tent and started to run laps around Ren and the fire, more hyper than ever before and that's saying something. Ren merely smirked at this act and continued to check on the pancakes, which he was stacking on 4 separate plates, one for each team member, being cautious to not allow Nora to snatch the treats before anyone could eat them. Once all the pancakes had been cooked, Ren, Nora and Ruby all sat down and enjoyed the tasty treat, happy to eat food other than pre-packed food that tasted of grime and whatever else they could scavenge.

Although, one thing was bothering all 3 of them. Where was Jaune?! Last they saw him, he was fast asleep (well… they thought he was anyway) in his bed in Ren's tent that they had "borrowed" from Ruby's dad. He had never been absent for so long before. He had sometimes been absent to deal with some wandering Grimm during hi nightshift, but never this amount of time. A single look was shared between all 3 of them and they silently agreed. Once the cutlery, extra food and tent were packed away, they drew their swords and went looking for their friend.


They managed to find a trail of footprints in the mud as rain start to pour down, soaking the ground and making it harder to find a trail. After a while, they came across an open plot of land where they saw a horrific sight. Countless Grimm, from Beowolves to Ursai, were scattered across the field, blood staining the ground, body parts strewn around! And in the centre was Jaune Arc, kneeling on the blood-soaked ground, drenched head-to-foot in crimson, head drooped down in the rain.

His team slowly made their way to him as the storm continued to fall. Ruby crept over to the heroic knight and slowly bent down beside him. She gently caressed his cheek and turned his head to face her. The first things she took in as he was turning was his body twitching and shaking and the obvious tears running down his face, separate from the rain. Once the two were face-to-face, she was terrified to see that he was in fact smiling and though his eyes were shadowed by his hair, she could clearly see the glowing red that had replaced the blue. Then… he started to laugh… and laugh… and laugh! His laughter became manic as the others watched on, terrified!

Jaune then rose, still laughing, and readied Crocea Mors. He then lunged at Ruby, attacking her with quick slashes to the chest. Though she blocked them, she had never seen Jaune be so quick and deadly before. He then lunged at Ren, swiping his sword at his friend, distracting him momentarily, giving him the chance to sweep his legs and kick, sending Ren into the air, and swing his shield, smacking Ren square in the face, breaking his nose and sending him flying across the field.

This was the moment that Ruby and Nora knew that Jaune was not himself and would not stop on his own. They needed to take him down without seriously injuring him. Ruby activated her semblance, flying in front of Ren, protecting him as Jaune continued to walk towards his friend. As Jaune swung down, Ruby parried and smacked him in the face with the handle of Crescent Rose. She then slammed the hilt into his legs sending him sprawling on the ground. Ruby pointed the tip on the blade at his neck and heaved a sigh of relief. They has won. Jaune looked at the blade, then to Ruby and spoke, simply saying "Do it…" with the same smile as before. This freaked out Ruby more than anything. She was inches away from killing her closest ally, the goofball of Beacon, the first friend she had ever had since arriving at the academy… and he was asking for it. She backed off, horrified. Just as Jaune was about to rise, Nora kicked him straight in the temple, knocking him out cold.


Jaune awoke, head aching, bound to a chair in a tent with his three teammates speaking quietly to each other outside. They noticed he had awoken and stepped inside.

"Umm guys, why am I bound to a chair…?" He grew more worried as he noticed the looks of fear and caution they had while looking at him.

"Jaune… W-what the last thing you remember?" Said the Red Reaper.

"Well, I got out of bed around two o'clock in the morning, got dressed and went outside to… walk!" He lied. Though he tried, Jaune was never good at lying, especially to his friends.

"Jaune please tell us!" Ruby pleaded, tears forming in her eyes. She hated seeing Jaune bound and not allowed to move. It hurt her that he just flat out lied to her after he attacked her, unknowingly, a few hours ago.

Jaune looked down in shame. He was a disappointment. He had just lied to his friend with only brief hesitation and she knew he had. "I-I… I went out to train. For a while now I've been going out at night to train and become stronger. Ive never been as good a fighter as any of you. So I decided to train to improve what… she taught me."

Everybody knew what he meant by her. They all lowered their heads as if giving a moment of silence to the fallen Spartan. Ren then broke the silence, asking "Do you remember anything else?"

Well, I came across a pack of Beowolves, got ready to fight and then I woke up here. Why…? And why am I bound? What happened?!"

Ren then proceeded to explain what happened, from leaving to the fight and then binding him. While this was happening, Ruby was deep in thought. Is it right to bind him when he clearly said that he must've blacked out? Was he still a threat? Why did it happened?

Finally, they decide to release Jaune but are on guard in case anything happens. Jaune sighs as he sits on the wet grass, staring into the sky as the stars come out. He sighed. "Why can't I fight? Why am I even here? I'm more of a hindrance than a help. I'm just dragging them down."

"You're improving immensely!" A voice called out.

"Yeah… But I will never be good enough…I wasn't good enough to save you."


Hey guys! Sorry for the cliffhanger but a good ending point is a good ending point! Thanks for reading and as always if you have any criticism or want me to continue, write a review! I'll try to get the next chapter up by Sunday or Monday!