I'd like to set the record straight about something. The weapons Jaune is using are not Nero's weapons. They are Jaune's weapons. They may be based off Nero's weapons, but are fundamentally different (for example, Nero's right hand is that of a demon, while for Jaune it is simply covered by a clawed gauntlet). You guys want a story where Jaune is essentially Nero, read "Grimm May Cry", the story that inspired this one. Here, Jaune is still Jaune just more mature and better trained. Also, this will not be a harem fic, sorry. Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or Devil May Cry.

Chapter 4: Forest Exploration

Yang had finally taken a stop to catch her breath and see if she couldn't find her sister. When she heard something rustling through the bushes, she peeked through them saying, "Ruby, is that you?" Upon hearing a growling sound she uttered, "Nope." Backing off as a dangerous Ursa, a bear-like Grimm, attacked, she readied her Ember Celica. A second Ursa soon showed up, but Yang was able to blast it back with a quick shot. After knocking down the first one, she quipped, "You guys wouldn't happen to have seen a little girl in a red hood, would you?"

Rather than answer, one of the Ursa tried to take a swipe at her. "I'll take that as a no," Yang said as she fired off a few shots. Backing away from another quick swipe, she smirked. "Jeez, you guys couldn't hit the broadside of a b-" She stopped when she saw a strand of her own hair fall to the ground. If there was one thing Yang hated, it was people messing with her hair. The Ursa looked at each other in confusion as Yang seemed to just explode with energy.

In a massive flurry, she took down one of the Ursa, killing it before sending it crashing through the trees. As she turned to face the second one, there was a quick sound of something thunking into its back, causing it to fall over dead. As Yang calmed down, she spotted Blake behind the now-dead Grimm, having struck it with her Gambol Shroud. Blake smirked at Yang, who quipped, "I could have taken him." "Maybe," Blake said, "But I thought I might as well help. Anyway you're the first one I've seen since landing." Yang shrugged. "Same here. Guess we're partners then. Hope Ruby won't be too upset."

At that moment, Ruby was upset, but not by losing her chance to be partnered with her sister. She and Weiss were now staring down a whole pack of Beowolves, wolf-like Grimm. "Tell me you've at least had some training," Weiss said. "Oh yeah," Ruby said, "Plus I've dealt with a pack like this before. Just a few weeks ago some Beowolves ambushed me as I was coming home from my mom's grave." Weiss looked back at her partner with some concern. "I'll... Ask about that part later... For now we must deal with this threat."

They each took one side of the pack, and Ruby took the time to observe Weiss in between strikes so as to better work with her. Weiss must have been doing the same because it wasn't long before their fights got intermixed. Although it was a little clumsy, it wasn't long before they forced the pack leader to call a retreat. The two girls took a second to catch their breath. "Well," Weiss noted, "I don't know who trained you, but they clearly knew what they were doing. Now, we'd better find that temple." Ruby nodded. "It was supposed to be to the north, right? Which way is that from here?" They looked at each other as they realized they had no way to tell directions.

Elsewhere, Pyrrha and Jaune were walking in what Jaune assumed was northbound when they heard gunshots. "Well, Ozpin did say there would be trouble in this forest. Must be rife with Grimm." "Yes," Pyrrha said, "And it seems some of the others have begun to encounter them. I hope everyone will be alright." Jaune shrugged. "I wouldn't worry. Put it this way, would the faculty put us in this situation if they felt we couldn't survive it? We're quite a distance from Vale proper and most of the Grimm who dwell out here are still at an instinctive level."

Pyrrha nodded and the two kept moving. At one point, Pyrrha pushed a tree branch out of her way, then whirled around as she heard it snap. But the only thing behind her was Jaune, who looked confused. "What's with the jumpiness? You'd think the moon was about to crash into Remnant." Pyrrha breathed a sigh of relief. "Sorry. I've been trained as a warrior my whole life. It's left me in a state of hyper-alertness." She then looked at the broken branch, and noted Jaune didn't seem to have a scratch on him. "Amazing. Even with one's Aura this should have caused you to flinch, yet you seem unmoved."

Jaune just smiled. "Well, I've always had more Aura than most people. Ever since I started learning under my father ten years ago I've been able to brush aside most casual injuries. As for getting attacked... Well, I'd be lying if I said nothing could make me so much as flinch. But my Aura is so durable it just seems to heal almost instantly. I've even been able to weaponize it via Azure Fang." Pyrrha was standing there is awe. This man was just talking about his abilities, not with any sense of pride, but as if they were normal. "Hello?," Jaune asked, "Remnant to Pyrrha Nikos." Pyrrha mentally shook herself. "Sorry... Let's keep moving."

Back at the cliff, Glynda and Ozpin watched as Ren successfully defeated a King Taijitu, a snake-like Grimm, and shortly thereafter was paired off with Nora. "That's our last pair for this year," Glynda noted, "Though I can't possibly imagine Lie Ren getting along with a girl like Nora Valkyrie." "Then you don't have much of an imagination," Ozpin noted with amusement, "Those two have been together for many years now." "If you say so," Glynda said with a nod, "At least not all the pairs are so mismatched. Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos have also been paired up. Perhaps that boy's home-schooling and personality will help ground Miss Nikos."

"I hope so," Ozpin said, "Perhaps this time things will work out..." Glynda looked at the headmaster with confusion, but brushed it off as more of his eccentric nature. "Anyway, at the pace the students are going they should reach the temple within minutes. If I may ask sir, what did you use for the relics this year?" "I decided to go with something thematic," Ozpin said, "Something that could accurately represent what our students are in relation to society. Oddly enough, the inspiration came to me during a game I was playing with an old friend." Glynda looked curious.

"Great," Weiss said incredulously, "Just great! We're lost! We're lost in the forest with no way of knowing where to go!" "It can't be that hard to find our way," Ruby noted, "I can still see the cliff we got launched from, so we at least have a point of reference." Weiss sighed. "Well, at least we're not totally lost. But returning to the cliff base to get our bearings is just going to waste time. Any ideas?" Ruby thought for a minute. "Well, I learned in elementary school that the sun always rises in east and sets in the west. And when you face north west is to your left and east is your right. So maybe..." But before Ruby could continue, the two girls heard a loud squawking.

Meanwhile, Jaune and Pyrrha had found their way to a small cave. Pyrrha was reluctant to go inside, but Jaune was curious to see if it might hold clues to where the temple was. Crafting a makeshift torch, he led his partner inside. "Are we sure this is good idea?," Pyrrha asked nervously. "Put it this way," Jaune said, "It's a Huntsman's job to take risks. After all, we put our lives on the line to fight Grimm, right?" At that moment, he wound up tripping, dropping the torch into a puddle. "Great," he muttered. Then both of them felt a dark presence.

"You feel that?," Pyrrha asked. "The feeling that we're not alone in here?," Jaune replied, "I think it might be a good idea to get back outside." The two of them retreated back to the cave entrance as they heard something stomping behind them. Once outside, the mysterious creature burst from the cave, revealing itself to be a Death Stalker, a scorpion-like Grimm. Before either of the two warriors could move, the Death Stalker swung its tail and sent Jaune flying across the forest. Pyrrha, smiling nervously, quickly ran in the same direction.

At around the same time, Yang and Blake found themselves at what looked like the ruins of an altar. "Think this is it?," Yang asked. Blake gave a nod, and the two of them jumped down to where the altar was. Sure enough, the altar was surrounded by twenty-four pedestals, which seemed to have been placed recently, most of them with an item on top. Blake regarded the relics, which looked very familiar. "Chess pieces?" "Some of them are missing," Yang noted, "We're not the first ones here."

She looked over the pieces before picking up one of the gold knight pieces. "How about a cute little pony?" "Sure," Blake replied with amusement, "Now we just need to get back to the cliff." Just then, they both heard a loud yelling. "That sounds like Jaune," Yang said, "He must be in trouble. What should we do Blake?" But Blake was more concerned with another yelling sound. Much to her bewilderment, she looked up to see Ruby falling from the sky yelling, "Heads up!"

To be continued...

And more cliffhangers. There's still a mystery I have yet to solve which I'll get into next chapter. Read and review.