Author's Note:

Two chapters in a week. Yay. Thanks again to those who read and left a review.

Hmm...I make this tower seem bigger than it is. Okay people pretend it's a much bigger tower. It's a story afterall. And let me know how you guys feel of the overall tone and theme of the story. I'd definitely love to hear from you guys about it.

I might have an update again this week for this story, I might not. I still have to post the upcoming chapter for "Wild As I Wanna Be" (My blake/Sun fanfic). We'll see how much time I have.

Jaune Arc: Einherjar

Chapter 3:Dragonslayer

"Fairy tales are more than true:

not because they tell us that dragons exist,

but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."

~Neil Gaiman, Coraline

One half of the fearsome quartet of team RWBY closed the distance rather quickly, making their way to his side and Pyrrha's with ease.

The young hooded girl launched herself directly at Pyrrha, catching her in a tight embrace.

"Pyrrha! I'm so glad you're safe!"

The red haired warrior maiden happily returned the hug, despite her injuries. "It's good to see you too, Ruby."

"I'm fine as well, thank you for asking Ruby." Jaune blurted out, feeling more than a little left out; it wasn't his fault it came out sarcastically.

"Well of course you're fine, you're Jaune." She said it so casually she made it sound normal for him to survive monumental dangers.

"Oh my God! What is that in your heel?!" Of course it was Weiss who would pick up on the more important matter.

"I'm fine, really…" Pyrrha smiled nervously.

"Fine my bare derriere!" Weiss shrilled her concern and stamped her foot.

"That's what I said! Wait… you mean butt, right?

All at once the four cut off their idle prattle as they reacted to a serpent of fire heading their way, the flames flared around its hood and it bore its orange fangs before exploding on the ground the four had stood.

Ruby had dodge out of the way, but she did so with ease, as her semblance of uncanny speed made it simple.

Weiss launched herself into the air with one of her glyphs, slowly descending down with the beauty and grace of a ballerina.

As for Jaune he did what he always did best. Thought of others.

He scooped up Pyrrha quickly but carefully under his arms before he jumped out of the way of the fire explosion.

"J-Jaune…y… you can let me down now..."

It only than dawned on him that he had been holding her like that for longer than necessary. Pyrrha's cheeks had a tint of red to them and suddenly so did his. He could feel the heat on his cheeks burn as it made its way to his ears.

"Oh, s-sorry." He gently laid her on the ground, careful not to touch her wound any further. "You weren't hurt right? I didn't pick you up too fast? I wasn't too rough?!"

Pyrrha swayed her head from side to side gently. "I'm fine. Thanks to you, Jaune."

He smiled. "Good." He truly meant that.

He had never held a girl before. Not like that anyway, he embarrassingly thought. Pyrrha was so light. His forearms could still remember the warmth of her.

"Uh guys, can we save on the flirting til later? Angry witchy woman is still in front of us!" Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose, and her metallic clanging indicated she was taking her scythe form.

"Don't you mean bitc-" Weiss got cuff off from her remark as she formed a Glyph in front of her and thrusted out with Myrtenaster. Before its power, ice collided with fire and produced a sea of mist. "...How dare you. Don't you know it's impolite to cut people off when they are talking?!" The heiress directed her anger at the person who had shot at her.

"I'm pretty sure what you were about to say wasn't polite either," Ruby was quick to make light of her partner even during such dangerous times.

"Enough! You children need to learn your place!" Cinder's voice boomed all around them like she was everywhere.

The new Lady of Autumn closed her eyes for a split second before opening them. Renewed determination blazed inside her smouldering iris.

She pursed her lips.

And then came a hauntingly beautiful whistle.

For a second nothing.

But it was followed by the loudest, rumbling roar from up above.

The Grimm Dragon was definitely heading their way now.

Jaune could hear the massive flapping of its wings as it wound from above began to beat down on him.

A Dyr. So the cursed children of the Black Wolf exist in this world too.

A what now?

Whatever. He was just going to add that to the ever growing pile of questions he had for the ghostly trio.

"Hey-" He stopped himself mid sentence. Wait, can you hear my thoughts?

Like a clear song, lad. I can hear you.

Jaune sighed inwardly. Okay good, it was going to be awkward if his only communication with the Einherjar made it look like he was talking to nobody in particular. He had a reputation for being weird already… but not that weird.

That was one concern down, now all that needed his attention was the ever growing shadow that loomed above them.

The black Grimm Dragon was looking more and more menacing by the minute.

Holy crap was it big!

And they were suppose to fight against that?!

Steel your heart, Jaune. I've fought worse.

Somehow Jaune doubted that. How?! What could be worse than a flying man eating dragon that had an instinctive hatred for humans?

Forget it. It was a rhetorical question anyway. Besides, he really didn't want to know what was worse than a dragon. That was one piece of knowledge Jaune could do without.

He lifted his gaze up once more at the creature. But wait… was he seeing this right?

Sparks were coming from behind it. Two blurry figures were running all over the dragon, hitting and prodding it. Even with the distance he could hear the sound of metal hitting scales alongside furious gunshots.

The dragon was more irritated by his unwanted passengers than hurt by whatever they were doing. It flew over and made a loop, causing whatever was on him to fall.

Their descent was rapid, the wind violently played against their clothing but it was that one unmistakably brave laugh that could not be silenced despite the situation which caused Jaune to recognize the falling unexpected guests.

After all, what kind of team leader was he if he could not even recognize the sight and sound of his own teammates?

"Nora! Ren!"

The pink clad girl spotted him as soon as he called her name. Her hand rose to point at him, like he was her intended target. She grabbed hold of her partner and rocketed both of them using Magnhild's explosive force.

"They're coming in too fast!" Jaune warned everyone as they scattered from Nora's intended landing spot.

With a thunderous boom, an earth shattering landing and a hearty laugh the remaining two members of team JNPR had arrived in style.

"Haha! Again! Let's do that again!" Nora couldn't contain her excitement.

"Nora… remind me to never listen to your ideas when it comes to dragons." The calm young man next to her dusted off his coat without even missing a beat.

"Guys!" Jaune ran over to them.

"Hey, Jaune!" Nora casually waved like what had happened was natural.

"What are you doing here?!" He was saying those words out loud but the feelings behind them betrayed their meaning.

He was just so glad to see them.

"Aw its simple, leader," Nora prattled off at top speed. "We heard from Weiss what you were up to. She and Ruby were already ahead of us so we had to make time. We saw this guy heading towards the tower and we figured-"

"You figured," Ren corrected, undeterred by her rapid speech patterns.

"Right, I figured it was the quickest way to the top. So... Surprise!" Nora held out her hands like she had just performed the greatest trick in the world.

"...You guys are crazy…"

He couldn't help but smile. The sight of the two of them filled his heart with strength and vigor. He always knew that when team JNPR was together, they were stronger than the sum of its parts.

"...But we're glad you guys came… The gang's all here." He turned and spotted Pyrrha hobbling over while leaning against Ruby, Weiss was on her other side standing watch for any more sudden attacks on Cinder's part.

"Pyrrha!" Before Nora could hug her Ren had grabbed hold of her collar. "Another time, Nora. Dragon first."

"...Oh, right. When you're right you're right, Ren!" She saluted before taking on a battle stance.

"But we both are glad you're okay, Pyrrha." Ren gave one caring glance before he assumed the same stance as his other half.

"...likewise, Ren."

Pyrrha's voice wavered slightly. Jaune couldn't tell if it was due to her injury or something else but he felt the need to stand closer to his red haired warrior maiden.

Team JNPR (along with half of team RWBY) stood valiantly against the titanic monster that laid before them.

"What now?" Weiss had to ask the question that was on everyone's mind. The ground shook, the Grimm Dragon had descended. Its menacing eyes glowed with crimson hate. Cinder seemed to be content for them to fight the beast alone because she was already making her way down from the tower.

Jaune could not help but answer, his words the merest echo of another's making.

Simple

"Simple."

We slay a dragon.

"We slay a dragon."

A symphony of battle cries filled the air. What they lacked in numbers they made up for in spirit.

Jaune was the first to lead the charge. It always seemed funny to Pyrrha how their team leader could be such a meek individual outside of combat, but when it counted Jaune was always there when he was needed. Ren and Nora were not far behind him.

And deep down Pyrrha felt frustration beyond belief. Here she was, the strongest girl in Beacon, and she could barely do a thing to help fight against the monster before them. She was relegated to support duty, a vital position, but it never suited her fighting style.

Nevertheless it was her duty, and if it was all she could do, than Pyrrha would perform it admirably.

"Ren! To the side! Nora, frontal assault! Keeps his eyes on you!" Field command often went to Jaune, but in this case she was sure her blonde leader wouldn't mind if she helped direct the flow of combat.

"You heard your vice captain!" She could see Jaune smirked confidently as he agreed with her plan.

"Gotcha, Pyrrha!" Nora happily complied while Ren nodded hastily.

Soon the speedier part of the duo was already flanking the dragon. Pyrrha often forgot how fast Ren could move. The Grimm Dragon eyed the incoming powerhouse of team JNPR and brought down a fierce claw foot to smite her. Nora was eager to reply with a swat of her mighty Magnhild, the force of the blow everyone could feel, as did the dragon who withdrew the claw in pain. "No touching!" Nora grinned heavily, her eyes glinting with purpose.

If there was a person out there who could match a dragon's strength alone it would be Nora.

"We can't let you guys have all the fun! Weiss! Ice Flower!" From Pyrrha's side the white and red half of team RWBY prepared their own deadly combination as Ruby transfigured Crescent Rose into her deadly Sniper Rifle, her partner already etching a circular white glyph in front of the gun barrel.

"Eat this!" Ruby cried out as she pulled the trigger, not relenting for a second.

Every bullet she released found its target. Each one also exploded upon contact, activating Weiss' glyph and encasing bits and parts of the dragon in clear blue ice.

But Crescent Rose only held so many bullets before she needed to reload. Not nearly to fully cover the Grimm Dragon in ice, but hopefully enough to slow it down for their ongoing assault.

Pyrrha could hear the furious gun shots of Ren's Stormflower. Glancing his way she spotted the taciturn young man was already zipping along the underbelly of the beast, making carefully selected shots at multiple angles.

Knowing Ren, he must be trying to find a weak spot, but soon he called out in dismay. "No good!" He reported to Pyrrha. "Every side of this thing is covered in scales and my bullets are not cutting it!" It only took him a mere second to reload and continue his assessment. "I doubt blades would work either!"

On Ren's right Jaune's blonde mane caught Pyrrha's attention, he was valiantly swinging Crocea Mors deep into the side of the dragon. It made a ringing noise as it bounced right on back. "Yep!" he agreed. "Definitely does not work!"

Jaune's sarcastic remark went unnoticed, eclipsed by the loud roaring the dragon. WIth a sweep of its mighty wings it effortlessly sent Jaune and Ren flying head over heals into the air.

"Jaune! Ren!" Pyrrha called out, feeling useless again.

She had to do something or they'd be blown right off the tower. She spotted another gigantic cog in the ground. With an open palm Pyrrha pointed at the gear and willed it to move. It answered her command flawlessly and flew to intercept the two flying teens against its flat surface. With a heavy smack it caught them both like a catcher's glove would a ball.

"...Nice one Pyrrha." Ren gave a small thumbs up as his body slowly skidded downwards.

"I'm okay…. I'm ooooookaaaaayyy!" Jaune wheezed out with that high pitch tone of his.

She struggled for a moment not to giggle at the endearing voice. Despite his fears and shortcomings he still managed to bring himself out to the field to fight with them.

Pyrrha would regret letting her guard down for that one second because the dragon was also searching them for weaknesses, and in that moment it had found a target.

For something so big she didn't realize it could move so fast. It hovered slightly above ground, the ice having done nothing at all to stop its momentum, and with its mighty talons it grabbed hold of Jaune, who must have been too dazed from being smacked into the metal cog to react. Before Pyrrha could move the cog out of its way, the beast had flung him hard across the ground.

"Jaune!" She wasn't the only one to shout out his name in concern as Ruby's and Weiss' voice joined hers.

The blonde boy landed crashed into a pile of debris, dust and rocks flew from his direction. Even with his aura to protect him that should have been the finishing blow to any huntsman.

So you could imagine the surprise on Pyrrha's face when he emerged from the awful site, dinged, but not badly bruised or broken. He was coughing more from the dust than he was groaning from the pain of the impact. "...Li… Like I said ,*cough*, I'm okay!"

Her heart sighed with relief.

"How is he still standing after that?!" Weiss scratched the back of her pretty little head, her previously worried face was now replaced by a mildly annoyed curiosity.

Deep down Pyrrha could only find one answer. "Because he's Jaune." She felt a fond smile curl her lips.

My Jaune.

The affection turned to steely determination as Pyrrha glanced back at the monster who dared hurt her man.

Injured she might be, but she was Pyrrha Nikos of Mistral.

The Invincible Girl.

It was time to live up to that title.

With a scowl and a growl Pyrrha hefted her fists out and her semblance went into overdrive. Every metallic debris, every cog, every wheel obeyed her calling and threw themselves at the dark creature. Thousands of sharp shards found their mark with ease, their tips embedding themselves against the creature, particularly the wings.

Pyrrha's defiant act must have caused the creature some pain because the dragon stopped hovering and bellowed out angrily. She would have none of that as two more massive wheels flew with blazing speed and pounded the head of the dragon. Like an accomplished boxer the first came from the left, while the second wheel smashed from the right.

"Ouch! That's gotta hurt!" Nora commented colorfully.

Pyrrha had always held her power in check. Always feared to find out how strong she could be. Always afraid that she might hurt the others.

But against such a monster, surrounded by only people whom she would trust with her very life, there was no need to pretend. No need to hold back.

Her successful string of attacks restored her friends' will. They followed her example with no hesitation. Weiss summoned glyph upon glyph before unleashing a barrage of white light, dozens of tiny explosions rained down against the monster. Ren had taken to the air and landed on the dragon's backside, the gun flash from Stormflower illuminated his calculating face, there was a proud glint in his eyes, saying as if we'd lose to you. Nora was not far from her partner, delivering one devastating hammer blow after another her face cackling maniacally. Ruby's form was busy zipping all over slashing at what she could with Crescent Rose Scythe form.

"This will take us forever! We need to aim for the head!" Jaune pointed out the flaw in their brave but uncoordinated attack.

Jaune was right. If this thing was just like all other Grimm than the vital weak point it had laid inside its head… protected by the thickest of skull mask. "What do you have in mind?!" Pyrrha hoped he had a plan.

"I've got a plan." He said the magic words.

"I'm listening..."

And listen Pyrrha did. It was bold. And risky… very risky. Not to mention half-cocked. Even if they succeeded what then? Were they really so low of options?

"Trust me!"

Every single trace of doubt left her. She trusted him. God, she trusted him so much her own devotion scared her. But he had never left her astray before. She knew he wouldn't do so now.

"Okay." She nodded. "Weiss!" She called for the heiress.

Weiss Schnee was integral to the plan, so she laid out the plan for Weiss, passing it across the battlefield like a game of telephone. Not like the dragon could understand their words anyway. Weiss seemed to share the same concern Pyrrha had.

"What… are you sure?"

"Please."

Weiss looked at Jaune than back at her.

"...Okay. We'll give it a shot." She than pointed at Jaune's direction with Myrtenaster in hand. "You'd better be ready. We only get one try of this. I can only do so many glyphs before I'm completely drained, and I've been fighting Grimm all day, so I'm nearly out."

Jaune gave Weiss the same assuring look he had always given Pyrrha, the same look that made the warrior maiden painfully aware of how handsome his face could be when he was determined to do something right. "I'll be ready. You can count on it."

Pyrrha wasn't sure but she could have sworn some color had appeared upon the heiress's pale porcelain cheeks. "...What are you acting so cool for. You're Jaune. You don't get to say cool things," the girl muttered under her breath so that Pyrrha could barely hear her words.

"Guys! A little help here!" Ruby called out, still trying to keep the dragon busy.

That was Pyrrha's signal to act. She told Jaune to let her handle this part of the plan. She would carry it out flawlessly. She just needed the help of a fallen friend.

Carefully she concentrated, slowly she reached her will out. She knew he was there. Broken he may have been by her adversary but she knew his fighting spirit was still there. Come to me, my old friend. Please… I know you have one last fight left in you…

Eventually he did. The very tip of her once proud Milo spun rapidly and made its way towards her, catching it in her hand. With another creative use of her semblance Pyrrha gathered whatever steel material she deemed viable and began to shape them to her will. It wasn't long before she created a makeshift spear shaft. The warrior maiden then tore off a piece of her crimson drapery, using the cloth to tie spear tip and shaft.

One last task to do.

She took a deep breath before infusing the weapon in her hand with her own clear aura. By itself, Milo in its broken form would not be enough. But she had always fought together with her weapon and he had always given her the strength to win. Now it was her turn to return the favor, infusing the spear with her own spiritual energy. He deserved a glorious victory if this was to be his final battle.

She was ready.

Pyrrha nodded, giving Weiss the signal to start her own part of the plan.

The heiress conjured forth a ring of Glyphs, each one in front of another, like they were treading a path. All she had to do was follow Pyrrha's directions of where to placed them.

Finally Pyrrha checked the spear one last time in her hand, ready to hurl it. The weight felt right. She placed one hand in front, her thumb gauging the wind and the direction, while the other held back the spear, ready to be thrown.

Fly for me one last time, Milo. Fly true.

With a cry of victory Pyrrha threw with all her might and Milo rocketed forth from her hands. The spear made its way through each glyph, and each and every single one Milo passed increased his speed, until he was accelerating at an alarming rate.

Faster than any human eye could see, it crash into the monster. Like a shooting star the spear had found its mark, deep into the iris of the monster dragon he went, penetrating unstoppably deep. The Dragon howled out loud in pain and violently shook all over the place, the humans dodging out of its way.

It was the opening they needed.

"Now Jaune!"

"Right!" Jaune began his running start.

He knew the plan. He only hoped he had the strength to do it the way he'd imagined.

I cannot fight your battles for you, Jaune Arc. But I can assuredly lend you my strength. Trust in it. Trust in me.

Easy for you to say, you're already dead.

Jaune shook of such unpleasant thoughts. Truth be told he trusted the old warrior. Tonight, the armored giant had already saved him numerous times. At this point Gandry was not about to let him down.

He could only hope he could say the same about himself.

"Weiss!" he called out.

His former crush nodded and proceeded with a fencer's flourish. Soon enough he could feel a time glyph appearing before his feet, the clocks of its handle rapidly accelerating.

If they couldn't slow down the dragon with ice then why not make one of them faster instead?

It was a brilliant idea, if Jaune did say so himself.

But as soon as Jaune's legs took off his eyes were wide open in shock and delight.

He had never gone this fast before, it seemed like everything else around him began to slow down. He felt like one of the superheroes in the comic books he was always reading about.

Get it together, Jaune. You've got a dragon to kill!

With his newfound speed he blazed forth a trail over the dragons back, he was mere moments away from arriving at the skull when four dark orbs pulled itself from the dragon's back, two Beowolves and two Ursa barred his way.

"Are you kidding me? This thing can make it's own Grimm?!" Not long before he finished those words Nora and Ren had jumped in and engaged the new Grimm in combat. "I don't know what you're planning but you better do it fast!" Ren called out over his breath.

"We got this! Just go, Jaune!" Nora assured him.

"Right!" It wasn't that hard to sprint past the Grimm with his friends' help.

With a firm grip on the base of the dragon Jaune had arrived at the top of its head.

...Now what?

Now we slay the beast.

"GAAAAH!" A loud cry came from above him as Ruby descended downwards with a powerful slash, but the skull mask proved to thick and bounced the attacking scythe right back on up. "Owowowowow." Ruby cried out, desperately trying to steady her reverberating weapon.

"Rubes!"

"Got your back, Jaune!" Ruby shook off the effect of her failed attack and now switched her weapon back into its sniper form. She planted the end of her gun barrel right at the base of the skull and began to open fire. "We need to get to it's head, right?! So let's get to smashing!"

"Rubes! You're one scary girl, you know that right?!" Jaune couldn't help but smile as he joined her assault.

"Less compliments! More hacking and slashing, Vomit-boy!"

And he did. But no matter what he could do he felt like they were barely making a dent on it. At this rate even Crocea Mors would break.

What's the matter, boy? Is this all you are capable of? Can't you harness more of my strength?

I'm trying here!

No you are not. What are you afraid of Jaune? What is holding your hand back?

Nothing.

You cannot lie to me, lad. Not while I reside in your thoughts and your heart. See this monster before you? It will take everything you hold dear. It will break their bodies…

No…

...and devour them whole.

No…

And when all is said and done, it will consume this world and all who inhabits it. It will consume your Pyrrha. WILL YOU LET THAT HAPPEN?!

NEVER!

High above his head Crocea Mors gleamed proudly in the moonlight. With an anguished cry Jaune plunged the blade deep into the skull of the dragon. Its tip piercing through, but not enough.

With a desperate yell he pulled out the shield half of his weapon and placed it atop the hilt of his sword. His fist began to pound away, like a hammer would a nail.

With fury and grit he continued away the reckless act. His fist began to form a mangled shape as his knuckles continued to bleed raw.

"Jaune! Stop!" He could hear Ruby's voice but he could not help himself. It was as if he was possessed by something greater than himself.

A white aura began to emit around his body and around his beaten hands.

The red liquid continued to ooze out from his fist as Jaune placed both of them together for one last time. He could feel it. His built up energy, his own aura. Alongside Gandry's strength he could pull it off.

Haha… Did you know what they used to call me, lad? Because I'm sure it is what they are going to call you.

He brought down his hammer fist with all his might and a resounding boom echoed in the night, Crocea Mors launched itself through the dragon's skull like a bullet would from a gun, it's Grimm mask shattering in the process.

The final cry of the dragon was long and loud before it began to topple over. Out into the open sky.

Dragonslayer.

He hoped Ruby had jumped in time, because he sure as hell could not. His legs wouldn't allow it.

And so Jaune fell with it, the last of his own strength depleted by his one valiant act.

I did it Pyrrha.

He could feel the cold wind's harsh caress. His eyesight was fading from consciousness. His last thoughts wondered if the cold ground would hurt when he landed.

Well done, lad. Well done...