The Game The Gods Play

by Izlawake

Magic & Gods AU. Ruby, Jaune, and others learn of their destinies to protect the world as Paladins, mystical warriors chosen by the Gods to fight against the evil Goddess Sheena who created the Grimm and started a war over a thousand years ago at the dawn of time. Can our heroes end The Game The Gods Play, or will they just be mere pawns in a seemingly never-ending war?

4. The End of the Beginning

Chapter 4: The End of the Beginning

Salem looked out onto the bleak landscape that was the Dark Realm of Remnant, watching the shattered moon of her world loom in the blood red sky. For three thousand years, she has been trapped in this realm by the Light Paladins, unable to escape, but her powers are strongest in this realm, and the Dark Realm feasts off evil and negativity of the Light Realm, so as evil flourishes, her power steadily returns. During those three thousand years, she had only Sheena for company, as well as the words the Laghsling and Cothrosling they told her before they departed. "'A smaller, more honest soul,' you told me," she said to herself. "It's true that a simple spark can ignite hope, and breathe fire into the hearts of the weary. Such is the way of the Paladins, is it not? The ability to derive strength from hope is undoubtedly mankind's greatest attribute. Which is why when the day comes that I can return to the Light Realm, I will focus all of my power to snuff it out."

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November 2nd 1580

The Vytal Festival Tournament

Teams RWBY and ABRN kicked off the start of the Vytal Festival Tournament with the first team round, to which Team RWBY won after a wondrous victory against the Haven team. Team RWBY went to a noodles stand for some lunch, where they were joined by Teams JNPR, LOST, and ABRN, who congratulated them on their victory. "You girls just better win this tournament since we're the first to lose, got it?" Arslan told Team RWBY, to which Ruby gave her word that they will. Everyone sat around swapping stories and discussing the RWBY vs ABRN fight while slurping down noodles until they stuffed themselves silly.

"I feel like I'm going to throw up," Jaune moaned before resting his head on the counter. Pyrrha reaches over to rub his back, but remembers the last time she did that and retracts her hand. She instead gives Jaune her handkerchief—the same one she offered before initiation—and he took it, placing it over his mouth and lurching forward. "I'm definitely going to be sick."

"Ooh, aim at the enemy!" Nora injected, making the others laugh. "No one is gonna beat us in our match today! We got a ninja, a world-renowned fighter, I can bench five of me, and we have Jaune!"

"Well, at least we'll be fighting with actual guidelines instead of…well, murderers," Pyrrha noted.

"Yeah, you can say that again," Olivia of LOST added before slurping down some noodles. "Personally, I'm looking forward to an actual challenge; most of the terrorists and thugs I've dealt with in the past barely knew how to use Aura for protection."

"Well, we've dealt with worse as well," Yang told everyone. "Grimm invasions, violent extremists, and a destructive sociopath."

Suddenly, an announcement came over the intercom system alerting Teams JNPR and BRNZ to report to the Amity Coliseum for their team match. Team JNPR bid everyone farewell and headed off.

"I think we should head back to Beacon to prepare for our team match after theirs," Lucas ruled, earning collective agreements from his teammates. Before leaving, Olivia and Reese shared a kiss and Arslan grabbed Lucas' arm and planted a peck on his cheek, making him blush in surprise. Nearby, Nebula of NDGO waved Tristan from afar, which he returned and added a suggestive gesture of him flicking his tongue in between two fingers.

"I hate how you act like that with Nebula," she scoffed.

"Aw, widdle Senna's jealous she doesn't have a boyfriend!" Tristan teased, to which Senna shot a bolt of lightning at him, which he ducked under, allowing it to strike into a nearby stand and making the patrons jump in fear. "Okay, we better go. Now!" Team LOST scrambled out of there as fast as possible while the stand's owner yelled at them. They headed back to their dorm to suit up for their first match against Team ZPHR from Haven Academy.

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Amity Coliseum

Team JNPR were in their dressing room adjusting their gear and were preparing to head out. Even from inside, they could hear the thunderous applause of the audience who were eager to see the next fight. After they finished gearing up, Jaune sent profiles of the opposing team BRNZ to the others to look over. "I looked over Team BRNZ and the guys on the team are all close-combat melee fights; Brawnz uses claws, Roy has circular saws, and Nolan has an electrified baton; Nora, you best fight him so he can supercharge your Semblance," Jaune directed, to which Nora gave a smiling salute. "Now, the last one, May, uses a sniper rifle to provide cover to her teammates by keeping the opposing team at bay or by distracting them while they're engaged in combat with the boys. Our top priority would be to take her out quickly." The team took a quick minute to formulate a quick plan and then headed out towards the arena.

On the other side, Team BRNZ were looking over JNPR's profiles. "Now, we have little to go on for Ren and Nora, but we must not let our guard down around them, especially Nora. I heard she once attacked an Ursa and piggyback rode it around Vale back when those Grimm got inside," stated leader Brawnz Ni. "Now, Pyrrha Nikos will be their ace in the hole, given her athletic background. Do not let your guard down around her. As for their leader Jaune, he will be a pushover. His stats are the lowest of his team, and he uses only a sword and shield in battle, giving him no long-range abilities whatsoever."

"What about their Semblances?" asked May Zedong as she loaded a fresh magazine cartridge into her rifle and pulled the hammer back.

"Pyrrha Nikos' is Polarity, giving her control over magnetic objects, but I don't know how effective this is or what the range on her ability is. Either way, be careful. As for Ren, he has a repulsive Semblance that allows him to force back attacks that come near him. Jaune's and Nora's are unknown to me."

Roy looked over both Jaune and Pyrrha's stats and exhaled at the comparisons between the two. "It baffles me that this guy is leader over Pyrrha Nikos," he commented.

"Well, whatever the case, we gotta win this for our school." The team headed out onto the arena along with Team JNPR, where the two teams stood facing each other, weapons drawn. The combat environment roulette began spinning and ended with two biomes: forest and thunderstorm, with the former on BRNZ's side and the latter on JNPR's. Jaune quickly noticed a dark cloud hanging over top the small mountain. "Alright, team, let's get ready!" Jaune ordered them, where they each raised their weapons in response.

"READY…GO!" yelled Professor Port, sending the teams into action. Jaune leapt forward at Brawnz swinging his sword, which Brawnz blocked with his spiked knuckles. Pyrrha leapt at Roy with her shield leading her and Miló in its xiphos form. Nora went at Nolan with a gleeful smile. Ren dashed at May, firing his guns at her while she zipped away, heading straight for the forest thicket, which she succeeded. She jumped up into a high tree and began picking off at Team JNPR with her sniper rifle, hitting Jaune in his shoulder, Pyrrha in her ankle, and forcing the team to take cover back in the thunderstorm biome, safe from the sniper fire as the rest of Team BRNZ began converging on them.

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At that present moment, Team LOST was gearing up for their fight against their opponents, Team ZPHR from Mistral. Olivia gave Lucas a left-handed desert eagle and a gun belt, stating that she wants to give him a firearm for when he's using Fida'an's machete form, which Lucas gladly accepted. After the finished dressing, they took a quick look at their opponents' profiles before switching the television screen to the fight.

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Back in the fight, Jaune clashed his blade against Brawnz's spiked knuckle where Brawnz spun around and kicked Jaune square in the chest, making him heave forward. Brawnz followed up with a jab to the gut, making Jaune cry out in a moan and lurch forward. "Dude, you okay?" Brawnz asked, worried that he may have hurt Jaune, moving close to him.

"Oh, it seems there is something wrong with Jaune Arc!" cried Port from the commentator's box, making the crowd turn their gaze to the blond. Even the members of Teams JNPR and BRNZ took their attention from the battle to look at him. Jaune pressed his hands to his stomach and lurched forward. BLEAAH! Jaune then puked all over Brawnz, covering the teen in digested noodles and gravy, making him spin about, trying to wipe the stuff off of himself. The crowd was caught in a wave of gasps, moans, and laughs. "Ooh! And it looks like Jaune has lost his noodles! Literally!"

"Which reminds me, the tournament is partially sponsored by A Simple Wok Noodle House, they're the noodliest!" announced Oobleck. The fight resumed, with Pyrrha dashing in front of Jaune and attacking Brawnz and knocking him backwards before she pulled Jaune to cover behind a boulder just as May Zedong opened fire on them again. During Jaune's puke session, Nora had climbed atop the mountain and raised Magnhild high, where it acted as a lightning rod and causing the dark cloud to strike her with a bolt of lightning. However, instead of feeling pain, Nora became supercharged, thanks to her Semblance, which allows her to absorb electrical sources to supercharge her attack. "By the power of pancakes, I have the power!" she screamed as she transformed Magnhild into its grenade launcher form, where it opened up, revealing a full six-round chamber inside. Nora pulled the trigger and all six grenade shells were fired, where they soared through the air towards the cluster of trees and formed into a pink heart of smoke. May saw this heart fly towards her and she bit her lip and braced herself. The grenade heart struck the forest and created a giant crater where it hit. May emerged from the destroyed forest and joined alongside her teammates in the middle of the arena along with Team JNPR who stood opposite of them.

"Alright, looks like it comes down to simple team tactics, guys!" Jaune told his team. "I know they look tough, but we got this! Nora, Ren, Flower Power!" He struck his sword towards Team BRNZ, expecting the two to commence their tag team attack.

"Wait, what?" Nora questioned. Jaune turned to his team, who were all confused by his sudden call of play.

"Flower Power, you know, your tag team move?" Jaune told them. Team BRNZ stayed put, watching this unfold.

"I get the power part, but what do you mean by 'flower'?" Ren asked.

"I think he means 'flour,' like a cake!" Nora interjected.

"But why would I bring a cake to battle?"

"Um, what's our tag team name, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked her leader.

"Pyrrha, we discussed this before! You and I are Arkos!"

"Arkos? Why that name?"

"Well, it's a combination of both our names."

"Oh, I see, I see. Very clever."

"EXCUSE ME! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Brawnz interjected.

"We're trying to have a conversation here!" Jaune shot at him.

"WE'RE HAVING A FIGHT HERE!"

"Um, Jaune, he's right, you know," Pyrrha reminded him. Jaune now became aware of the booing the entire crowd was giving them.

"Um…Nora, just hit them with your hammer," Jaune ordered. Team BRNZ grew nervous while Nora merely grinned. She leapt at them and smashed Magnhild into all four of them, rocketing them out of the arena and slamming them into the dome barrier, earning Team JNPR victory by knockout.

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An airship docked down at the Vale Airship Airport and a number of passengers disembarked and went off. The last two to leave the airship was Kyler Carnaid and Qrow Branwen, the latter of whom had his large buster sword strapped to his back while he drank from a hip flask. Kyler had his trench coat buttoned together and his hands dug into his pockets. "Well, we best get to Beacon and notify Ozpin that you're back," Kyler told Qrow.

"But first, I need a drink," Qrow added.

"You just drank from your flash though."

"Yeah, but I need a different drink."

Kyler let out a sigh. "How has alcohol not killed you yet, old man?"

"Hey, you're older than me, old man!" Qrow chuckled before heading off. Kyler let him go, choosing to let him enjoy some quiet time for a while while he heads for Beacon to talk to Ozpin.

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Beacon Academy

Kyler stood in Ozpin's office in front of the large desk as the headmaster of the school stared at him. "It's good to see you back, Kyler," Ozpin told him.

"Thank you, Oz. It's good to be back. Listen, I brought Qrow back, but he's…" Kyler started.

"He's gone off to the nearest bar for a drink, I take it?" The surprise on Kyler's face made the old man smile. "As I suspected. Well, he's been away for quite a while, so let's let him have some time alone."

"Qrow wouldn't tell me what he discovered over in Mistral, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Kyler. However, I do wish you and Qrow would make amends and learn to get along just a little." Ozpin poured Kyler a mug of coffee, which the black coated man took and sipped from.

"I wish the same, though I doubt he will ever forgive me for Summer."

"Please. Let's not talk about such things for now. Let's not talk about the war, the Paladins, or anything. Let's just have a moment to relax and enjoy this peace and quiet." Ozpin went and brought out a chair, which Kyler accepted. While Kyler sipped his coffee, Ozpin brought up a holographic television screen depicting the Amity Coliseum with Teams LOST and ZPHR in the arena before their fight begins. "Well, looks like four of our chosen Guardians are going to be fighting soon." Kyler nodded in response.

"Do we have a list of our other Guardians?" Kyler asked. Ozpin procured a note from his desk and handed it to Kyler, who read over the names.

"I will be contacting the past Guardians to come to Vale to train the new Guardians once the Vytal Festival nears its end," Ozpin explained. They both sat sipping their coffee as they watched the next tournament fight.

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The fight was rousing and entertaining, as put by the viewers, but in the end, Team LOST claimed victory by a small margin, pushing them to the doubles round. Their friends went to them to congratulate them, and their girlfriends raced to them to give them massive hugs (and a wet kiss from Nebula to Tristan) and then they headed off to get lunch together. While leaving the coliseum, Weiss noticed an unique airship flying through the sky towards the airship yard, and she grew excited. "She's here!" she exclaimed, dashing off for the airship yard while Ruby followed after her, curious as to what has gotten her partner so excited.

Ruby followed Weiss to the docked airship, where a tall woman in Schnee-brand clothes and snow white hair was with several Atlesian Knights and Atlesian workers. "Winter!" Weiss called out to her older sister. The two went to each other and conversed until Ruby interrupted, asking about Winter. "So, this is the leader you spoke of in your messages," Winter inquired, stepping towards Ruby and looking her over. "How…interesting." Ruby gulped and froze up, allowing the sisters to pass her. Winter questioned Weiss about her well-being, completely ignoring her studies and grades. The two headed off towards Beacon with a group of Atlesian Knights, where they ran into Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood, and Kyler, who they all greeted properly.

Suddenly, from behind them, two Atlesian Knights were decapitated and fell to the ground and Qrow was the culprit, standing behind where they stood with his sword in hand. "Qrow, what is the meaning of this?!" Kyler demanded.

"Well, well, for the so-called protectors for the Vytal Festival, these guys sure go down easily," Qrow noted aloud for everyone, including the civilians who were beginning to gather.

"Qrow, my Atlesian Knights weren't meant to be taken down by ally Huntsmen who attack them in a drunken fit," Ironwood growled.

"Qrow, I suggest you apologize to General Ironwood immediately," Winter warned him, stepping forward.

"Heh. Or what? You gonna run home crying to daddy if I don't?" Qrow teased with a chuckle. Winter responded with a cold glare and drew her swords and then charged at him. She swiped forward with multiple stabs, each of which Qrow easily dodged before drawing his own sword. "What do you think of my huge sword?"

"It's not that big."

"That's not what you used to say back when we used to fool around." This earned a few snickers from bystanders while Winter blushed a deep red. She gritted her teeth and charged at him, both of them going at it with swords swinging.

"What's going on?!" Ruby asked Weiss after arriving to the scene.

"Some crazy drunk just attacked our Atlesian Knights and is fighting my sister!"

"What?! Who would do such a…" Ruby turned to the fighters and saw that Weiss was talking about Qrow. "…THAT IS MY UNCLE! KICK HER BUTT, UNCLE QROW!"

"Teach him some manners, Winter!" Weiss retorted. The fight continued on for a while, resulting in Qrow and Winter destroying part of the courtyard.

"Ozpin, shall I end this myself?" Kyler asked the old headmaster, who answered positively. Kyler drew his sword, Bloody Tears. The blade materialized from nowhere and he leapt high into the air, where he came down in between Qrow and Winter just as they swung their blades at each other. Kyler's blade connected with Qrow's, knocking it aside, then he dodged Winter's swing and got behind her, where he grabbed at both her wrists, twisting her blades out and onto the ground. He spun around and jumped onto Qrow, knocking the old man to the ground. "Enough of this childish squabble already!" While the two combatants were calming themselves dow, Ironwood and Ozpin went to them and Glynda tended to the hole in the courtyard, repairing it with mere ease.

"What on Remnant were you thinking, Schnee?" Ironwood demanded from her.

"H-He started the altercation, sir!" Winter argued, to which Qrow shot them a shaking of his head from behind. "Actually, she did it first," Qrow corrected.

"Qrow, we need to talk up in my office. Kyler, I need you there as well," Ozpin told the two.

"UNCLE QROW!" screamed Ruby, latching onto her uncle. "Ohh, it's so good to see you! Didja miss me? DIDJA MISS ME?!"

"Nah," he answered, scratching her head and dropping her. "Look, kiddo, I gotta go talk to Ozpin, okay? I'm sorta in trouble since I tore up the courtyard a bit."

"No worries, I did the same my first day here." Qrow laughed and scrubbed Ruby's hair up again. "You're your mother's daughter alright. Catch ya later," Qrow told her, giving her a big hug before leaving. Kyler gave Ruby a wave and a smile as he followed after Qrow.

"I can see where you get your recklessness from," Weiss told her after the two regrouped. Ruby gave her a cheeky grin while Weiss shook her head in her hand.

"You're just mad that my uncle whooped your sister's butt."

"Hey, that was a draw, at best."

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Beacon Tower

High up in Ozpin's office, the headmaster, Glynda, Ironwood, Qrow, and Kyler had gathered. "Now, tell me what on Remnant were you thinking attacking my specialist?" Ironwood demanded of Qrow. "If you were one of my men, I would have had you shot!"

"Heh, if I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself; better than having to work for you," Qrow retorted, earning a growl from the general.

"Look, let's not get ourselves too worked up here," Kyler quickly added, hoping to calm the situation. "Although, while Qrow does have his habit of…doing things his own way, you shouldn't have retaliated the way you did while provoking him, Winter."

"He was drunk!" she shot at him.

"He's always drunk!" Glynda growled. Even at that moment, Qrow was drinking from his hip flask, though he froze when he noticed they were looking at him. "Uhh…it's the alcohol. It wants me to drink it," Qrow explained with a chuckle.

"Qrow, did you discover anything about our enemies while you were out in Mistral?" Ozpin asked him, hoping to steer everyone away from the courtyard fight.

"Yeah, and thanks to you sending your 'Old Wolf' buddy out to get me, we managed to cover more ground and we happened upon something in an underground cave." Qrow paused for a moment, hoping that someone will ask, but no one did. "Geez, I could at least get a drum roll or something…we discovered that a Dark Paladin, possibly more, is in Vale as we speak."

"Yes, we know about that. We suspect that she broke into the CCT a few weeks ago," Ironwood informed him.

"Oh, so you know, and you didn't bother telling me about it!" Qrow snapped. "Well, guess what? I also discovered that this Dark Paladin is working directly for Salem herself!" A collective group of gasps followed.

"But Salem was sealed away in the Dark Realm nearly a thousand years ago. Both Kyler and I ensured that," Ozpin argued.

"That's true, Oz, but I've learned over the years that whenever evil flourishes and grows, the seal on the Dark Realm weakens, allowing Salem's power to flood into our world," Kyler explained. "I learned this sometime during the Great War, and after it ended, the seal grew stronger, so so long as Light and Good flourishes in this realm, Salem cannot return."

"But it still means that Salem could return, and Kyler, you and I are not enough to stop her, not this time," Ozpin warned him.

"I know…I know. We will have to prepare the next generation of Paladins for this creature."

"And when was it that you intended to tell me who the next generation consists of? I would like to be prepared for who will be the forefront protectors of our world," Ironwood inquired.

"I don't think it's best if a simple man like yourself should know, Jimmy," Qrow told him. "After all, you're not one of us."

"And why should that influence my part in this?" Ironwood growled. "I have protected this world with my armies for years. I have been protecting the citizens of Remnant while the Paladins have been acting as school headmasters and as a lonely Huntsman. I have been ensuring that people feel safe while the Guardians have all been living semi-normal lives in this world."

"Yeah, and you've been doing a pretty bang-up job of it so far, and you even named your latest military creation after the Paladins as well," Qrow shot at him. "We are more than just Huntsmen, generals, and headmasters, we are the ones who keep the world save from the evils that should not exist, the ones told as bedtime stories to children. We use powers that should not exist that can make the simplest of men mad with power. We have lied to everyone we know, including our families, to keep them safe, and you know what, I have a very good feeling it was all for nothing, cuz they're just going to see all those bedtime stories come true when the Paladins of Light and Dark emerge." Everyone was silent. "You know, Jimmy, when you brought your army to Vale to protect everyone during the Vytal Festival, did you think you were being discreet, thinking our enemies wouldn't notice, or did you just not give a damn?!"

"ENOUGH!" Kyler shouted, stomping his boot onto the floor. Ironwood ignored him and placed his scroll upon Ozpin's desk, causing a holographic image of Vale with the Atlesian fleet in the sky to appear in the middle of the room.

"Discreet wasn't going to work, not this time," Ironwood explained. "I did this because it was necessary."

"You're only here because Ozpin trusted you with the secrets of Remnant!" Qrow shot at him. "He figured that we would need the strength of the Atlesian military for when the prophecy comes true and that's the only reason!"

"And I am grateful for it. I am."

"Well, you have a pisspoor way of showing it, especially after how you just took over overseeing the protection of Vale away from the Huntsmen."

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them, especially after that Grimm attack inside the walls. They needed someone to act, and when they see my fleet in hovering in the sky and Atlesian Knights patrolling the streets, they feel safe, and when our enemies see it, they will know fear."

Qrow began to laugh. "You think they're scared of your little ships?! We've seen what Sheena is capable of, both with her Grimm and just two of her Dark Paladins, and I can assure you that they are not afraid of robots, giant airships, or even you! They can turn your army to dust in seconds!"

"Qrow is correct, James," spoke Kyler. "The Dark Paladins fear only the power of the Light Paladins and their magical weaponry, and both have powers that can only be measured by the other."

"James, I know you mean well, but an army is a symbol of conflict, and yours only tells us that the time could be nigh, but the Paladins and the Guardians, those are symbols of comfort and light. When the darkness returns and evil blankets the sky like it did so long ago, it will be the Paladins and Guardians who will cast beacons of light into that darkness for the world to see," Ozpin explained.

"So what do you suggest we do, Ozpin?" Ironwood sighed as he retrieved his scroll.

"For now, we must prepare ourselves and summon the previous Paladins and Guardians to Vale for the next generation, but until then, let us enjoy this time of peace a while longer. We shall begin when the Vytal Festival has ended." Ironwood took his leave. "Kyler, can I trust you with Ruby when the time comes?"

"You always can, my friend."

"Qrow, I know you'd want to accompany Kyler and Ruby, but I will need you here to train the next Guardians."

"I understand." Qrow shot a glare at Kyler.

"What about the other Paladins?" Glynda asked.

Ozpin was silent for a moment. "I want all the Paladins to be taken to the Xiao Long household on Patch, where they will be safe for the time being. There, Kyler, Grace, Pecado, and Raven will tell them of their destinies and take them away; Qrow, get in contact with Raven and notify her of this decision." Qrow nodded.

"And what about Jaune Arc?" Kyler asked.

"…We will have to talk to him privately. Just the four of us, not James. Pyrrha Nikos as well…"

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A few days have passed, and the doubles rounds for the tournament had begun now that the team rounds were all finished. Team RWBY elected that Weiss and Yang should move on, where they were to fight Team FNKI's Flynt and Neon. Team JNPR chose Jaune and Pyrrha to fight Team SSSN's Sun and Neptune. Team LOST sent Lucas and Tristan for their doubles round.

The night after Team JNPR's decision, Jaune and Pyrrha's training regime picked up speed, with both of them focusing more on new tag team tactics for the two while analyzing Sun and Neptune's fighting styles, but neither of which cut into Jaune's training. Pyrrha was constantly pushing his limits, which irritated him at times, but he was showing a lot of improvement; his moves were less telegraphed, his speed had quickened, and Jaune began using his sword and shield in conjunction more and more.

"You're getting better each day, but you're just not quite there yet for the doubles round," Pyrrha told him after helping him off the floor. "However, I'm really impressed with your development, Jaune. You've gotten stronger, faster, and you've improved a great deal as a leader, and I couldn't be more proud of you, and you did all this without having full control over your Aura, which is most impressive."

"Gee, thanks, Pyrrha," Jaune said, turning a little red from her compliment.

"I'm serious! You're improving faster than I ever did, and I had Aura and my mother to help me!"

"And I'm serious too. Thank you." Pyrrha was speechless. She smiled and gave him a big hug, which he returned.

"You still need to work on your Aura though. C'mere." She brought him close and placed her hands on his. "Now focus your Aura into your hands, try that, at least." Jaune did that, focusing his Aura into his hands, but he could not. "Here, let me try something." She placed her hands on his right cheek and over his heart. "I'm going to try using my Aura to draw out your Aura and make it easier for you." Pyrrha concentrated as hard as possible, seeping her Aura into Jaune's body, where she discovered his Aura inside his body. There it is, she thought as she worked to draw it out. As hard as she tried, however, Jaune's Aura stayed put, and her own ended up cementing itself within Jaune's body and his Aura, merging with it instantly. Pyrrha gave a gasp and let go, falling to the floor.

"PYRRHA!" Jaune cried, scooping her up into his arms.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" she gasped, waving her hands about to regain her bearings. "I just need…just need some rest from all the training, that's all." She tried getting up, but Jaune forbad it.

"Forget it, I'll carry you back to our dorm," Jaune told her as he hoisted her up and carried her back in his arms. The entire time of the trip, Pyrrha rested her head against Jaune's shoulder. "So, any luck with my Aura back there?" he asked her during the trip.

"No, none. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it'll appear eventually." They eventually reached their dorm, where Pyrrha went and changed into her pajamas and went to bed while Jaune stayed up to read a fantasy book called The Warrior of the Sun, which is about a young man with a magical sword on a quest to slay a witch that killed the woman he loved. He was just getting to the good part where the hero was confronting the evil witch when a nearby Nora cleared her throat to get his attention.

"So, I take it nighttime training went well?" she asked him, to which he nodded. "So, I guess Pyrrha got tired out training you?"

"Sorta. She tried something to help me with my Aura and she collapsed," Jaune explained. Nearby, Pyrrha, who was not asleep yet, decided to listen on the conversation.

"Oh-ho, so you thought you'd put the moves on her by carrying your warrior princess to your dorm and put her to bed, huh? You like~ Pyrrha!"

Jaune blushed a deep red. "I don't…I mean I…It's nothing like that!" he stuttered.

"You've been getting really friendly with Pyrrha ever since the dance though. I remember how you wore that dress for her because of your silly promise. Any girl would want a guy who sacrifices his ego like that for her." Jaune was silent for a moment. "So, do you like Pyrrha or not? I mean, you know she likes you. I saw that you were awake when I spoke with her the morning after the dance." Pyrrha held in her gasp, shocked that Jaune was awake that morning. She stayed silent and still, curious to hear what Jaune has to say.

"Well…Pyrrha is my best friend, and I do like her, I do. It's just that I'm scared of being in love with her. I've never been in love with anyone before and I never had any friends growing up, and Pyrrha is the first of both of those. I guess I'm just scared of screwing it up for the first time ever and ruining our friendship, which will put our teamwork on a tilt and ruin that as well."

"Well, yeah, you've got a good point, but it's better to at least try and acknowledge your feelings for her. Why let it all hide inside you and end up regretting it in the future?"

"I just…"

"Jaune, Pyrrha likes you," said Ren from his bed, making the blonde jump at his voice. "The fact alone that she didn't rat you out on your fake transcripts says it enough, plus with how much she has trained you to get better while asking for nothing in return shows how much she cares for you, and you care for her enough to ruin your ego wearing that dress at the dance. Just tell her how you feel when you two are alone, and nothing can go wrong." Ren rolled over and went to sleep.

Jaune let out a sigh. "Okay, I'll try." He went to his bed and soon fell asleep. Pyrrha looked over at Nora, who flashed her a wink before climbing into her bed, then she rolled back over and focused on trying to sleep.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

November 16th 1580

"Here, Jaune, this is for you." Pyrrha handed Jaune a small data card after breakfast. Jaune loaded it into his scroll, which downloaded a large number of short videos to his hard drive. Each video consisted of Pyrrha showing him detailed instructions on various fighting techniques on a combat droid from the Beacon Training Facility. "I made these this morning for you, so you can practice a little on your own before our doubles round tomorrow."

"Thanks, Pyrrha. This will really help a lot," Jaune complimented, clicking on one video, which showed Pyrrha ducking under the sword of the training droid and leaping onto it, knocking it backwards onto its back, where she stabbed Miló into its unprotected chest.

"That move is good for when your enemy's guard is down, but if it isn't, then it will leave you open instead," Pyrrha explained.

"I'll start trying out right away. Thanks, Pyr." Jaune was about to say something, wanting to tell Pyrrha about his feelings, but he ended up losing his voice on the spot and instead turned and left. Pyrrha watched him go and let out a sigh.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

The doubles rounds for Teams RWBY, JNPR, and LOST were successful, with all three teams moving forward to the singles rounds; Yang, Pyrrha, and Tristan were chosen for by their teams for this.

After they finished their round against Team SSSN, Jaune and Pyrrha went with their team to have some noodles for lunch. During the course of their meal, Jaune's scroll rang. "Hello?" he answered.

"Mr. Arc, I need to speak with you about an urgent matter immediately. Please bring Mrs. Nikos with you as well. No one else," spoke Ozpin.

"Um, okay, but can I ask what this is about?"

"It's a private, and extremely urgent matter. Please come to my office with Mrs. Nikos straight away, and bring your sword if you do not have it with you." Ozpin hung up, leaving Jaune confused.

"What was that about?" Pyrrha asked after slurping down some noodles.

"Ozpin wants to see us in his office immediately, just you and me," he told her. "Nora, Ren, just enjoy yourselves, we'll be back in no time." Jaune ensured that his sword was on his hip and the two headed off. Given that they were on the festival grounds, they opted to just walk back to Beacon, and after about twenty minutes, they had arrived upon Beacon grounds. They made their way to Beacon Tower and took the elevator up. "So, what do you think Ozpin wants to talk to us about?" Jaune asked his partner on the way up.

"I don't know, but I'm curious as to why he only wants to speak to us two and not Ren and Nora. Do you think it may have something to do with your fake transcripts?" she inquired.

"It can't be. He said that he knew that they were fake straight from the beginning."

"Well, let's just hold tight and see what he wants." They waited a couple minutes longer and the doors slid open, revealing Ozpin's office inside. The headmaster was seated at his desk and Glynda was beside him. Kyler sat on the edge of the desk at one end watching the two enter, and Qrow saw leaning around a pillar with his flask at his lips.

"Jaune, Pyrrha, please come in and take a seat," Ozpin told them, motioning to two chairs before his desk. Both teens seated themselves and waited for Ozpin to begin speaking with only the sounds of the tower's cogs turning making any sound. Kyler stood and slowly went to Jaune, taking a close look at him.

"Even at such a young age, you look so much like your great-great-grandfather, Jaundice," he remarked.

You knew my grandfather?" Jaune was confused, and Kyler chose to ignore him and went to his right hand, where he pulled off his glove and marveled at the mark on his hand.

"Have you shown this to Pyrrha yet or anyone else for that matter?" Kyler inquired.

"Wait, you can see it?" said a bewildered Jaune.

"Only special people like us and you two can see it," Ozpin answered.

"So how do you think we should break the ice to them?" asked Qrow.

"What is going on here?" Pyrrha asked sternly.

"I will explain, but first, would you two like some coffee, or maybe some tea?" Ozpin asked. Both teens declined, both of them now eager and curious to know why Ozpin brought them here. "Tell me, Jaune, what is your favorite fairy tale?" Jaune was taken aback by the strange question. "Any sort of fairy tale, a bedtime story, even."

"Um, I don't quite understand," he answered.

"Well, have you at least heard the story of the Paladins of Remnant?"

"Who hasn't heard that story at least once in their life?" Pyrrha interjected. "It's one of the most popular fairy tales of Remnant and has been passed down as a bedtime story to young children for ages."

"Do you know how the story goes, Mrs. Nikos?"

"Well, I don't know it word for word, but according to the storybooks, the Paladins were alive a very long time ago shortly after the creation of our world. When the Grimm were created by an evil Goddess, the five other Gods bestowed their power unto five chosen mortals and gifted them with magical weapons to fight the Grimm. They each carried a unique set of magical powers given to them by their respective God."

"Yes, that is correct. All five Paladins were tasked with protecting the world from the Goddess Sheena and her Grimm, and that was their destiny for as long as they lived."

"What happened to the Paladins afterwards? The version of the story my parents always read me ended with 'The Paladins continued to fight the ever growing darkness until their dying days'," Jaune asked.

Ozpin stood and strolled over one of the pane glass windows, sipping his coffee as he stared out onto Beacon Academy. "No version of the story details what happened to the Paladins, nor does any version detail what sort of people the Paladins were."

"Headmaster, you speak as if the Paladins were real people," Pyrrha commented.

"That's because they were." Jaune and Pyrrha's eyes widened. Ozpin turned to face them. "Everything about the stories of the Paladins actually happened. The Gods exist, the Paladins exist, their Draíochta, their power, the destruction of Iris' moon, everything is real."

"S-Sir, what are you talking about?" Jaune stuttered.

Ozpin said nothing, instead he set down his mug and began rolling up his left sleeve, where a small tattoo of a black hourglass sat upon his skin. "My name is Ozpin, and I am the Cothrosling, the Paladin of Sklor, the God of Balance and Time."

Kyler stood up and removed his coat and shirts, revealing a body full of scars small and large and a tattoo of a black circle sun with m-shaped ravens flying into it upon his left breast, over his heart. "My name is Kyler Carnaid, and I am the Laghsling, the Paladin of Oum, Lord of AboveRealm, and I am the very first Paladin."

Jaune and Pyrrha were both shivering, and they both looked to Glynda and Qrow, expecting them to reveal similar tattoos. "We are not Paladins, but we are Guardians to them," Glynda told them, recognizing their unsteady faces.

"I am a Guardian as well, and I once served a Laghsling that came after Kyler, and her name was Summer Rose," Qrow told them.

"Rose…You mean like Ruby?!" Jaune spat out. Qrow nodded.

"That's right. Ruby's mother was destined to be a Laghsling, and I personally trained her and Qrow served as her Guardian," Kyler answered.

"This cannot be real!" Pyrrha protested, jumping to her feet. "How can you two be these…Paladins?! The stories said they existed over a thousand years ago!"

"The Gods gave us immortality to both time and disease so we may fight evil for as long as need be until we either fall in battle or someone else succeeds us," Ozpin answered. "Many other Paladins followed after us, but we chose to stay alive in the event that we would be needed again."

"What does this have to…!" Pyrrha started before suddenly gasping, looking over at Jaune and his mark. "…No…You don't mean…!" Ozpin nodded.

"Jaune, ever since the day you were born, you were destined to be Aziela's Paladin, the Dànsling," Ozpin told him, making Pyrrha gasp. "You are destined to rise up and become a hero to Remnant, to cast away darkness and fill it with light, to serve the Goddess of Victory and destroy the Grimm that threaten our world."

Jaune was silent, staring open-mouthed at Ozpin. "This has to be a mistake…I mean, I'm nothing special, really. How can I be this Paladin? I mean, I thought they were just fairy tales."

"That is what we thought was best for the world. Ever since we ended the war long ago with the Shattering of the Moon, we kept ourselves a secret from the world. Our successors were always seen as simply powerful warriors and we ensured that any talk of us became nothing but simple fairy tales, like your grandfather, Etrius Arc."

"Etrius…Arc…" Jaune mumbled.

"Etrius was the very first Arc of your family, Jaune. He was an incredible Paladin and he was a good friend to us both," Kyler remarked.

"Jaune's grandfather was a Paladin?" went Pyrrha.

"He was the first Dànsling, and the most powerful of the Paladins, even compared to me," Kyler told them. "After we achieved a temporary peace, Etrius disappeared from the world, leaving his family his sword for his descendants to wield." Jaune looked down at his own sword. "Yes, that's the very same sword Etrius wielded a thousand years ago, but he had its true power sealed away for protection. And now, the sword passes onto you, the next Dànsling." Jaune swallowed hard and was silent.

"Jaune, do you remember what I told you when I interviewed you before the school year began? I told you that it is not only the Grimm that you would be fighting, but those who threaten our world and that one day, you would probably have to make decisions that will send your fellow Huntsmen to their death. That time has come. The past Dànslings, all of them Arcs, were all great leaders who possessed a special Semblance that passed down through their descendants."

"Wait, you know what my Semblance is? What is it, I gotta know! I've been trying to figure it out forever!" Jaune retorted. Ozpin smiled and waved his hand, urging Jaune to calm down. Ozpin retrieved his scroll tablet and opened up a video of Team JNPR's fight against Team BRNZ.

"Look at how you command your team with minimal words and simple gestures. They follow your command and your tactics when you enforce them with your own will; that is your Semblance. The ability to command and direct troops in battle with only one's voice was the power every Arc possessed in life, and the same follows for you too, Jaune."

"This is…wow…" Jaune muttered as he looked down at his hands, completely lost for words. "All my life I dreamed of being like the heroes in stories and fairy tales, but I never imagined that I was born one of them."

"Jaune, it is not easy being a Paladin, and I know that you have little control over your Draíochta—not Aura—but once we begin training the new generation of Paladins, you will learn how to properly utilize it and do incredible things with it."

"Why am I here then? If Jaune is a Paladin, then what am I doing here?" Pyrrha asked.

"You're his Guardian, plain and simple. Aziela appeared to you the day you were born just as she did with Jaune and she gifted you with Draíochta and made it your destiny to protect Jaune and serve as a Guardian of Remnant," Kyler answered.

"Jaune, we intend to set things in motion once the Vytal Festival is over. From there, Kyler and I, as well as the other previous Paladins, will take the new Paladins for training. Since there isn't a Dànsling available to come for you, Pandora Nikos will be taking you to Mistral to proceed from there," Ozpin dictated. "There is a small island where Aziela wants you to go to for your training." He showed Jaune his tablet, which had a map of the continent of Mistral with a glowing island off the east coast.

"My mother…?" Pyrrha started.

"Your mom is a Guardian as well, and she is a damn good one," Qrow commented. Pyrrha gasped. "You're a lot like her yourself."

"Do you understand everything, Jaune?" Ozpin asked, to which Jaune nodded. "Try to understand, we are not trying to scare you or anything and I know that this is a heavy burden to place onto you, but we have enemies in this world who are targeting us, and we felt that you should know who you really are so you may prepare yourself ahead of time."

"I would advise that you continue to enjoy the Vytal Festival for now, even with this knowledge, and please remember to keep this an absolute secret between all of us; not even Lie Ren or Nora Valkyrie must know about this," Glynda advised. Jaune got up and headed for the door, but Pyrrha remained put.

"Ozpin, sir, if you intend on taking Jaune away to this island for training, then I insist that I accompany him as well, and the same for our friends Ren and Nora," she declared.

"Pyrrha, we will need you here acting as a Guardian to help protect Remnant while the Paladins are training."

"I don't care. Jaune needs me with him more than the world does. If it's my destiny to protect him, then surely I need to be with him to help him train and grow stronger."

Ozpin was silent for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face. "If you so desire to be with Jaune, then I shall grant it. Just ensure that he is properly ready for his return." He gave her a wink, which make her body jolt for a moment, but she quickly regained her bearings, gave everyone a nod, and exited the room with Jaune.

"Well, now that that is done with, I'm gonna go have fun with my nieces," Qrow remarked, heading down in the elevator once it had returned.

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And that is exactly what Qrow did; as soon as he arrived at Team RWBY's dorm, Ruby and Yang leapt at their uncle and clung themselves to him while whooping for joy. "It's so good to see you, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby screamed, burrowing her face into his chest.

"Wassup, Uncle?!" Yang yelled, giving her uncle a bear hug, squeezing his innards to dust. Weiss and Blake opted to go out for tea and coffee to allow the girls some alone time with their uncle. The three began their episode of fun by playing a video game together, of which Qrow completely slaughtered both girls much to their dismay, then he decided to tell him a few of his Huntsmen stories while they told them about their recent adventures battling Roman Torchwick and the White Fang.

"Well, it seems you kids are turning out to be powerful Huntresses, and you kids haven't even graduated yet," Qrow remarked after Ruby finished telling the story of how they stopped the White Fang's plans in Mountain Glenn. He took a sip from his flask then pulled out an old tattered photo. "You girls remind me of my team back when I was your age. Back then, I was part of Team STRQ with your parents, and we were the best of the best back then." He handed the photo to the girls, which depicted a young Qrow, Taiyang, Summer Rose, and Raven Branwen, the last of whom Yang quickly recognized as the woman who rescued her on the train. Qrow took the photo back and took another swig from his flask. His scroll gave off a beeping sound, making him get up and head for the door. "Sorry, but I gotta go. Ozpin needs me for something. Listen, I know you kids think you're tough, but you've only foiled some simple plans set up by some lowly criminals. Those guys are nothing compared to the bad guys I've seen outside of the kingdoms."

"But none of our other classmates have done anything like that," Ruby argued.

"I'm not saying that what you kids did wasn't an achievement or anything, I'm just telling you not to get too cocky; there's far worse dangers in this world other than the Grimm. Being a Huntress isn't all about fighting Grimm and saving the day, but so long as you keep moving forward, there will always be a brighter day ahead." Qrow took his leave, leaving his nieces with his words.

"Those are the same words Mister Wolf said on our first day…" Ruby commented.

"I guess those three simple words mean a lot to all sorts of people," Yang told her sister. The two sat down together and played another game together, choosing to enjoy the rest of their afternoon as the Fall breeze blew into their room through the open window.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Pyrrha sat on a bench near the Beacon cafeteria alone with only her thoughts to accompany her. Only a couple hours have passed since her meeting with Jaune and Ozpin and the memory was still fresh in her mind; she could recall every moment of when everything she once knew about the world, her family, her friend, and herself came crashing down onto her and filled her head with nothing but concern and worry.

"Hey, I've been looking everywhere for you," said a voice. Snapping herself awake, Pyrrha looked up to see Jaune next to her wearing a comforting smile and holding a tub of popcorn. He sat down next to her on her left and handed her the tub, to which she mumbled a thank you and ate a couple kernels. "I imagine you've been going over everything that happened in Ozpin's office, huh?" Pyrrha nodded. "I gotta admit, it really surprised me learning all that. I mean, imagine that; my family is composed of legendary heroes! My family is blessed with the Draíochta of the Paladins by the Goddess Aziela, who actually exists! It's…exciting!"

"That's nice," Pyrrha mumbled.

"Hey, you okay?" Jaune rested his hand on her shoulder, but Pyrrha shrugged him off and looked away. "Pyrrha, what's wrong?"

"'What's wrong?!' Don't you understand what this means?!" she snapped, making him flinch. "Everything we've known about our world, its history, its stories, everything was a lie! A couple hours ago, I just learned that I was born with an unchangeable fate, that my mother was the same, and you were born to fight evil!"

"Pyrrha, what's gotten into you? Aren't you happy for me? I mean, I'm finally realizing my dream of becoming a hero!" Jaune protested.

"A hero?! Jaune, you're…You're weak! You're pathetic, you barely qualify as a Huntsman, let alone some mythical Paladin!" Jaune was hurt by her words, but he noticed that she was saying them with tears in her eyes and with flustered cheeks. "Why must it be you with the destiny to save our world?…Why couldn't it be me instead?" Pyrrha fell to her knees on the grass and began weeping. Jaune quickly got down to her level and pulled her into a hug, where she cried into his shoulder.

"You're worried about me, isn't that it?" he whispered. She quickly nodded and he hugged her tighter. "Look, I understand that this is serious, I get that, but understand that this is something I've dreamed about ever since I was a kid."

"You don't get it," Pyrrha sobbed, pulling back and showing her tear-ridden face. "You're a Paladin, and that means there are people out there who's sole purpose is to kill you and look at yourself; you can barely fight like a Huntsman even with my teachings and you have no control over your Draíochta; Gods, I can barely say that word."

Jaune lifted Pyrrha's chin up and dabbed at her eyes and cheeks with a red handkerchief, which happened to be Pyrrha's handkerchief that she gave him at the start of the Vytal Festival. "I know I'm weak, that's why I want you to come with me to help me train when I have to leave. I would've asked you to come had you not already ask Ozpin to allow you to. You've always believed in me that I could become a great Huntsman and leader, so believe in me that I can become a great Paladin too."

Pyrrha smiled and wiped at her eyes. "I'll always believe in you, Jaune, no matter what," she answered. Jaune could only marvel at the sight of seeing her smile again, filling him with happiness. He extended his hands to her and pulled her back into a hug, this time more loving and warm. "I…I love you, Jaune," she whispered into her ear.

Jaune knew that was true, and he understood why Pyrrha felt that way about him; he is her best friend, her first friend, and he was the first person who recognized her as a normal girl and not a Mistral champion, star athlete, or anything of the sort. He helped her learn to socialize with normal people and helped her build friendships that will last her a lifetime. As for Jaune, Pyrrha made him feel special; even before they were sorted into teams, she gave him confidence that he could succeed as a leader of his own team. She put her faith in him when no one else has done so in the past. Whenever Pyrrha was injured in combat, Jaune would always rush to her side to protect her with ferocity and determination, and whenever she was happy, mainly for his improvements and strides, it made him happy to see her like that. She became his first ever friend, and one that he will treasure his entire life. And right now, seeing her hold him and full of concern for him because of his newfound destiny, he knew that she was crying because she is scared that she might lose him, because of how important he was to her, just as how important she is to him, so Jaune had no trouble saying those same words back. "I love you too, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha pulled away, wide-eyed and her cheeks red like her hair. Jaune gave her a smirk, and her lips pulled back into one in return. She inched closer to him and he did the same. Both hovered mere inches from each other for a moment, as if hesitating, but then they closed together at the lips in a passionate, loving kiss. Jaune's arms wrapped tighter around Pyrrha's waist while her fingers dug into his back, desperate to hold on. Both stayed still for about a minute—yet it felt like an eternity for them both—before coming apart, both of them blushing a deep red. They both had their first kiss, and they both could not be happier with who they chose to give it to. "So, wanna go to the festival and have some fun before we return to our dorm for the night?" Jaune whispered.

"That sounds lovely," Pyrrha answered with a smile. Both got up and headed to the festival together hand in hand. "You know, this is technically a date," she told Jaune, who chuckled.

"I guess it is."

"We kinda got things out of order. You're usually supposed to take a girl on the date before kissing her."

"Hey, we learned about our destinies, we had a heart to heart moment, we hugged, then we kissed. I think that works just the same in my book." Pyrrha laughed and Jaune joined in with her.

The two had a wonderful time at the festival, taking part in some of the carnival games and snacks, of which Jaune won himself a small teddy bear at a ball throw game while Pyrrha then won a giant stuffed Beowolf, making Jaune's prize pale in comparison.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

At the end of the day, everyone returned to their dorms for the night. Team RWBY, after a busy day at the festival, all went straight to bed so Yang could get a full night's rest for her match against Mercury Black of Team CMEN tomorrow. Down the hall, Team LOST all went to bed, except for Tristan, who stayed up past midnight playing classic video games on his computer until Senna dragged him into his bed. "Wait, I'm so close to killing Lavos!" he whined before she shut off his game.

"You can kill Lavos after your singles match is over," Senna sighed.

"How can I focus on the match when I will have the fate of the world and the future lingering in my head?!" he shrieked.

"Will you shut up and go to sleep before I get the duct tape?" growled Olivia, who gave him an evil eye. Everyone went to sleep following that.

In Team JNPR's room, Nora was sprawled about in her bed snoring loudly and Ren was still and compact in his. Jaune was rolled off to the right side of his bed snoozing away when he felt something poke his cheek. Prying his eye open, he found Pyrrha next to his bed gently poking him. "Hi," she whispered, to which he moaned in response. "Um, would it be okay if I sleep with you tonight?" With it being so dark, Jaune could not see Pyrrha's flustered face. He lifted the covers and she slipped under next to him, where they inched closer and snuggled up to one another. "Jaune, I promise I will help you fulfill your destiny," she whispered to him.

"You've already done more than enough," he told her, his left hand brushing along her cheek. She took his right hand in hers and kissed it, then she laid herself to rest and fell into a deep sleep, with Jaune following her soon after.

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November 17th 1580

The morning sun rose into the air and hung over Beacon. Jaune's alarm clock went off and Pyrrha reached over and hit the snooze button on reflex then snuggled herself against Jaune with a hum. "Good morning…" she mumbled to him while he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Mmm…morning…" he gave back. Both smiled and shifted a little in place, content to stay in bed a while longer. However, their sleeping peace was interrupted by a clearing of a throat, and both pried their eyes open to see Nora sitting at the base of the bed smiling to herself. Jaune and Pyrrha both knew that if Nora knew about this, then it was only a matter of time before Team RWBY, LOST, and anyone else curious enough to listen would know.

"I already sent pictures to RWBY and LOST, if you're wondering," Nora told him, reading the shock off their faces. "I think Weiss, Blake, Lucas, and Senna will owe me some money now, given that you two finally got the hint and got together before the end of the Vytal Festival." Nora let out a whistle and left the dorm.

"Oh, dear…" Pyrrha muttered.

"Well, I guess we better prepare ourselves for them before we go down to breakfast, huh?" Jaune suggested to her.

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The first round of the singles matches were to start with Yang of RWBY versus Mercury of CMEN. Team RWBY wished Yang the best of luck in the locker room. Across the arena in his locker room, Cinder and Emerald were with Mercury, who was gearing up for his fight. He rolled down his pant legs, covering up his cybernetic legs, and attached his gun greaves onto his ankles. "You know what to do, correct?" Cinder asked.

"Of course," he answered.

"Good luck out there," Emerald commented.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

The fight turned out to be worth the watch, with both fighters using similar styles of play yet different weapons, but in the end, Yang came out as the victor after hitting Mercury with a hard and fast series of punches that drained him of his Aura. "Nice try, better luck next time," Yang remarked to Mercury after the arena reseted, to which she walked away, heading for the locker room.

"There won't be a next time, blonde!" Mercury growled. He leapt to his feet and charged at Yang's back, leaping at her with his boot aimed for her head, but as soon as he drew near, Yang spun around and blocked his kick and followed with a punch to his knee, sending him to the floor screaming as the coliseum filled with cries from the audience.

"My Gods!" cried Oobleck.

"Cut the camera!" went Port.

Mercury lied on the floor whimpering in pain while clutching his knee. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Yang protested. Almost immediately, a small group of five Atlesian soldiers arrived on the scene and surrounded the two fighters.

"Stand down, Yang Xiao Long! We'll handle this!" ordered one soldier, who went to Mercury and dragged him up onto his feet. "You're in trouble, kid!" he told the teen.

"Are you alright, Yang Xiao Long? Are you hurt?" another soldier asked her, to which Yang assured her she was fine. The audience continued to boo and berate Mercury for his poor sportsmanship while Port and Oobleck commentated on what transpired as Mercury was escorted off the arena and Yang left to go be with her team; her victory was short-lived due to Mercury's actions, but Team RWBY was still pushed ahead to the next round.

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Outside of the kingdom walls all around, especially in the ruins of Mountain Glenn, the Grimm turned towards the floating coliseum, attracted by the negativity of the audience. The Grimm began grouping together and made their way towards the borders of Vale.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

The rest of the day continued as normal despite the outcome of the Yang versus Mercury match. Mercury and the rest of his team disappeared after the match, but no one was concerned about them, not with the next match coming up that afternoon: Pyrrha Nikos the Invincible Girl of Team JNPR versus Penny Polendina the Blade Puppeteer of Atlas.

Long before the match was set to start, Penny went to visit Ruby, where the two went to the festival to enjoy the afternoon. Team JNPR enjoyed the day with each other as well, spending time at the festival as well.

When the time came for the match, everyone eagerly headed to the coliseum and tuned into the match on their televisions for the upcoming epic fight. Ruby and Kyler both went to the coliseum to watch it together as well as catch up on Ruby's accomplishments since the beginning of the year. Yang chose to view the fight from the comfort of her dorm so she can rest in her comfy bed as well. Weiss and Blake chose to go out for coffee and tea out on the fairgrounds with the civilians and other students.

Far away and deep in the heart of Vale, Cinder and Mercury sat atop a tall building while Cinder watched the match on her scroll. "Things are going according to plan," she purred.

"This better be worth Yang pulverizing me in the ring though," Mercury scoffed. "I could've beaten her if I wanted to, you know."

"Just calm down, Mercury, this will definitely be worth all the time we had to wait. Thanks to my virus in the CCT, I was able to arrange all the fights to my liking, especially with the next one; how fitting to arrange a Paladin with the power to control metal against a machine." Cinder grinned as she watched the fight unfold, with Pyrrha leaping and dodging Penny's flying swords and laser beams.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

The battle grew more intense with each passing moment, and both Pyrrha and Penny showed no sign of giving in, nor could anyone predict who would come out as the victor yet. It eventually came to a point where Penny used her weapons to knock Pyrrha's Miló and Akoúo away and leaving her defenseless. A grinning Penny readied her swords above her head and prepared to attack. Nearby, Emerald stared directly at Pyrrha and activated her Semblance. Immediately, Penny's swords instantly transformed into dozens, hundreds, and what appeared to be thousands to Pyrrha, which scared her. She quickly regained herself and charged up a force field blast of Polarity and blasted it towards Penny. The polarity blast flew Penny's blades away—all five of them in reality—and caused the wired strings attached to the swords to snag around Penny's body. The polarity blast affected Penny's internal systems, making her lurch forward and cry and cause the strings to dismember her, cutting her body in half and her right arm as well. The entire audience screamed in shock and fear at what they had witnessed and Pyrrha staggered backwards with her hands on her mouth, looking as though she was about to be sick to her stomach.

In the crowd, Ruby fell out of her seat and began weeping on the floor, horrified at what she had witnessed. "P-Penny…" she sobbed. Kyler went down and pulled her into his arms and burrowed her face into his chest. "Don't look at it…" he warned her, brushing her hair with his hand.

"Shut the cameras off!" Port ordered.

"We can't! Someone has hacked the cameras!" Oobleck argued.

"Who on…!" The giant television screens suddenly cut to static then turned to a blood red background depicting a black queen chess piece.

"Hello, citizens of Remnant," said Cinder's voice. "I hope you are all enjoying the Vytal Festival Tournament as much as I have, though I doubt you are having a good time given what you have witnessed; the murder of a creature born of men's hands at the hands of the Gods' chosen Dànsling. Now, I ask of you, why do you entrust your lives in children trained to be warriors yet you pit them in battle against each other for the sake of entertainment? Why does Atlas, the powerhouse of military power, build a synthetic girl that acts human yet is not, and enter it into your competition if not to proclaim the might of their power?"

"Somebody shut this off!" yelled Port.

"You honor your so-called 'heroes' when they save your life by murdering others. Heroes like your legendary Kyler Carnaid, who is here in the coliseum right now." Kyler released Ruby and stood up to face the crowd. The center television screen flicked to show him on screen. "You praise this hero for his numerous accomplishments, yet you ignore all the evils he has done in the past." Kyler took a deep breath and clenched his fists tight, but he gave no counter attack in response. "I have seen the evils of you mortals for a long time, and as per my Goddess' desires, I am now taking action. Today, Vale and humanity will fall to the Grimm." The television screens ceased function and promptly shut down. Everyone in the audience was terrified, and became more so when a giant Nevermore, a Stage 6 one, landed down on top of the invisible barrier atop the arena. Everyone screamed and began running for the airships, all except the Huntsmen and Atlesian soldiers stationed there, who began escorting all the civilians to the airships. Kyler, Ruby, and all her classmates remained put, ready to fight, even without their weapons.

Pyrrha remained frozen to the spot as she was transfixed upon the remains of Penny, who's robotic eyes were open forever with a dead gaze. All she could think about was that she killed her in cold blood, not even noticing as the giant Nevermore broke through the barrier and landed onto the arena. The creature let out a ferocious caw.

"PYRRHA! GET OUT OF THERE, PYRRHA!" Jaune screamed at her from the audience. When he saw that she was not going to move, he leapt over the barrier and ran out after her while Nora yelled after him. "RUN, PYRRHA!" Jaune sprinted as fast as he could as the Nevermore went towards Pyrrha. When he reached her, he tried carrying her off, but Pyrrha refused to move. "PYRRHA, WE GOTTA GO!" he yelled directly at her, to which she did not respond. The Nevermore drew closer, its beak open ready to snatch them up. Jaune did not what to do, even being a Paladin, so he did the only thing he could think of: pray.

Lady Aziela, please help me. Help me protect Pyrrha. he prayed as he held Pyrrha close to him.

"There is no need. Help is already with you, Jaune Arc," said the voice of Aziela inside his head. Almost immediately, a blur of red flashed through the air and struck at the Nevermore. The blur fell to the floor, revealing itself to be Ruby gripping one of Penny's swords. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" she shouted at the Nevermore. Kyler swooped in as well with his sword Bloody Tears and flew at the Nevermore, where he swung his blade and severed off its beak in one clean swipe, sending black blood spraying across the arena.

"Lord Oum, give me the power to kill this monster here and now," Kyler prayed after landing. His entire body glowed red with his Draíochta and he swung his hand outward, where a burst of blood red balls of energy flew out and struck the Nevermore, making it scream out and fall dead.

After the Nevermore disintegrated, Ruby went to Pyrrha to help her.

"Ruby…I…I didn't…I'm so sorry!" Pyrrha whimpered to her.

"Don't be sorry, Pyrrha, it wasn't your fault," Jaune assured her. "Whoever hacked into the television systems is responsible for Penny's death, and we're going to stop her."

The students called in their weapon lockers and geared up. "We have to get to Vale and defend the city," Kyler told everyone after gathering together. "Let's get to the airships and head down to Vale." Everyone went towards one of the tunnels that lead to the airship station as dozens of Nevermore and Griffon Grimm began descending down into the arena. Outside at the airship station, Atlesian Knights were attacking the Grimm while soldiers escorted civilians onto the airships while protecting them. Ironwood had just thrown a Stage 5 Beowolf Major over his shoulder and fired four shots from his revolver into its skull.

"Kyler, over here!" he called out to the Huntsman, who went to him. "Look, I need your help. Roman Torchwick, who I've been holding captive on my ship has somehow escaped and he's taken over my ship and is attacking my fleet. I need you to get aboard my ship and stop him at all costs." Kyler nodded and ordered all the students to get aboard a ship. Ruby, however, stayed behind.

"I've fought with Torchwick before, and he is tougher than you think he is," she told Kyler. "Plus, if he's escaped, then there's a chance Neo might be with him. Let me come with you, Mister Wolf."

Kyler took a long look at the little girl before him. "It'll be dangerous, you know. Are you sure you're up for this?"

"More than anything." Kyler smiled and accepted her request. "I've got an idea for how we can get to the airship without being fired on by Torchwick too!" she told him, grabbing his hand and leading him back to the arena. Ironwood watched them go, then boarded his personal airship and took off for Vale.

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Up in the air, Roman and Neo stood at the main controls on the bridge. Neo was dressed as an Atlesian officer while Roman was pushing several buttons, trying to figure out how the controls work. He eventually found the controls to the cannons and fired them upon the neighboring Atlesian ships. "Woo! Now that's how you get business done!" Roman whooped.

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With the Atlesian fleet out of commission, a large number of bullheads flew through the sky and touched down into the Vale airship yard and at a number of locations. Several opened up, where a large number of Grimm filed out and went into the city, attacking civilians. The rest opened, revealing Adam Taurus and the White Fang. "Go kill as many Humans as you can find!" he ordered everyone. "If you find Blake, notify me immediately! She's mine!" Everyone saluted him and went off.

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Down in the festival grounds, Weiss, Blake, and Team BRNZ had called in their lockers and began defending civilians from the Grimm. Weiss froze several Grimm into ice, Blake shot and sliced up a few Grimm on her own, May took up position upon a snack stand and picked off Grimm at a distance, and Brawnz beat a Grim to a pulp. Roy sliced an Ursa's neck, but he hear a loud caw behind him. Upon turning around, he came face to face with a Stage 5 Nevermore, which snatched him into its beak and took flight.

"ROY! ROY!" Brawnz cried out, chasing after the Nevermore. Inside its beak, Roy tried prying himself free, but the creature's jaw was too strong. May aimed towards the sky and fired upon the flying Grimm, but her bullets barely fazed it. The Nevermore let out a caw and snapped its beak shut, splitting Roy's body in half, sending the halves tumbling down to the ground in a bloody fashion. "ROY!" his entire team screamed. When his body landed, a few Beowolves converged upon it and began feasting.

"WE GOTTA GO!" Weiss yelled at Team BRNZ. Her and Blake ran to them and pulled them away. "THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO FOR HIM!" The five ran away to a safer location, where Blake called up Yang on her scroll.

"Yang, are you okay?" Blake spoke.

"I'm fine, I'm at Beacon, but I can see Grimm flooding the city and coming towards Beacon! And I can see the White Fang too!"

"The White Fang is here?!"

"Yeah! Hey, is Ruby with you two?"

"No, she was at the coliseum for the match." Yang went silent on the other end. "Yang, I'm sure she's okay. She can handle herself. We're gonna get to Beacon as soon as possible." Blake hung up and the five headed for Beacon.

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The airship carrying all the students settled down near Beacon and everyone disembarked. "What are we supposed to do?!" cried Octavia of Team NDGO. "How are we supposed to defend Beacon?! We're just students!" A couple other students joined in with her and were ready to abandon the others to save themselves.

"Are you seriously going to just run away?" Jaune called to them. Everyone turned to see him standing upon the statue memorial in front of Beacon, where he stood next to the swordsman with his own sword drawn. "I don't know about all of you, but I'm staying to defend the city, no matter what happens! We are the defenders of Remnant, and it is our mission to protect the four kingdoms and its citizens from the Grimm and anything else that dares threaten them! And that threat is coming now! We may be inexperienced, we may be children, but that is what our enemies are expecting! They think that we will run to save ourselves while they take this city, and I say that we prove them wrong! Let us show them that we are Huntsmen and Huntresses, and that we will not give Vale to them so easily, not without a fight!" Several students raised their weapons and cheered.

"But what if we die?!" questioned Octavia. At that moment, Weiss, Blake, and the remains of Team BRNZ joined them.

"We have been training for the day we die for years, Octavia!" Jaune proclaimed. "But we have been training for that day not so we die on it, but so we can survive that day and tell Death 'not today' and fight for another day! I do not intend to die today! I intend to live and fight the creatures of Grimm until my sword must be pried from my hands!" A few more students joined in cheering now, including Team NDGO. "I ask all of you to stand by me and fight! Fight to defend Vale! Fight to survive! Fight to show the darkness that we will not go so quietly! Fight for your friends, your family, and those you love and care about! Fight because it is your duty as a Huntsman and Huntress!" Everyone was now cheering for Jaune.

"I will fight by your side until the very end, Jaune!" Pyrrha proclaimed, stepping forward.

"I will go with you to the ends of the world, if need be," spoke Ren, stepping forward.

"It wouldn't be any fun to run away now!" shouted Nora, who stepped forward.

"I will follow you into battle, Jaune Arc!" called Weiss, who came forward.

"I've been a Lawful Mercenary all my life, so this is second nature for me, so count me in," said Olivia Marquette.

"Vale is all I've got left to call home," spoke Lucas Dias as he stepped forward.

"Don't count on me running," said Senna Raleigh.

"I'm looking to have some fun before crap hits the fan," grinned Tristan Cortes.

One by one, everyone else stepped forward, even those who debated running to save themselves, and they proclaimed Jaune as their leader. "Looks like you're doing pretty good as a leader so far, Dànsling," Pyrrha told him with a smile, which he returned.

Jaune's scroll suddenly rang and it was Ozpin. "Jaune, I saw what you did there, and I am impressed. I'm sending you Ironwood's scroll number. I've already notified him that you are leading the defense at Beacon. Get information from him on the situations within Vale and plan accordingly. Good luck, Dànsling," Ozpin told him before hanging up. Ironwood's number flashed onscreen and Jaune tapped it, linking him straight to Ironwood.

"Jaune Arc, I do not know why Ozpin entrusts you with the safety of Beacon, but if he trusts you, then so shall I," Ironwood told him. "I'm heading for Vale to assist a group of Atlesian Knights and Paladins, and I've called in reinforcements, but there's no safe place for the airships to land. I need you and your fellow students to clear out the western docks to give the ships space to land. There's a squadron of soldiers west of Beacon; contact them and take them to the docks so they can help guide the airships where to land. Maintain protection at Beacon; if the tower falls, then we'll lose all communications. I'm counting on you, Arc." Ironwood ended the call.

"Everyone, I need a group to head to the harbor to clear the Grimm as well as find a group of soldiers who need, but some of us need to stay here at Beacon to protect the tower. I need some volunteers to go to the docks," Jaune told everyone.

"I will go," Nebula Violette stated. Dew Gayl joined her, as did May Zedong, Nolan Porfirio, Olivia Marquette, Tristan Cortes, and Nadir Shiko. They all set off for the west.

"Okay, now we need to clear a path to the nearest evacuation location in the event we need to retreat." Jaune brought up his map on his scroll. "The logical locations would be the district airship yards, so keep that in mind, everyone." A loud roar echoed near and everyone turned to see Grimm coming towards them. "And here come the monsters." Jaune drew Crocea Mors and took point. "Everyone get ready!" Everyone drew their weapons and spread out. As the Grimm drew closer, everyone charged forward, following Jaune into certain death.

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Up in his tower, after he had called Jaune, Ozpin quickly scrolled through his contacts on his computer and selected a special, unknown number, which required a passcode. He entered the code and a series of video boxes appeared onscreen, each of them buzzing as he attempted to reach the recipients. Finally, everyone answered, showing Qrow Branwen, Taiyang Xiao Long, Pandora Nikos, Blanche Arc, Gris Ducit, Forrester Shinegate of Glas Radiance, Chara Raleigh, as well as Grace Evergreen and Pecado Midnight. "I need all of you to come to Vale as quickly as possible to help protect Vale from the Grimm," he simply told them. "Grace, Pecado, bring as many Huntsmen and Huntresses as you can. I shall be waiting.

"I'm already on the move towards Vale with my team, Oz. We left as soon as we saw the Grimm attack on the televisions," Forrester added.

"Always quick on the dot, Forrester," Ozpin complimented before logging off. He grabbed his cane and headed down to meet with Jaune and the students.

Down on the ground floor, Jaune and his group were holding out against the Grimm, with none of the monsters ever touching Beacon itself. Ozpin watched Jaune duck under an Ursa Major's claw swipe and leap onto its back, where he plunged his sword through its head and leapt off. "You are performing admirably," Ozpin noted to him. Ozpin spun his cane around in his hand and held it high, where a dome of emerald energy emitted from his body and expanded outward, enveloping all of Beacon, the students, and the Grimm. The Grimm all let out a painful screech before they all suddenly burst into Dust and faded away. Ozpin fell to one knee, but Jaune held him up. "Thank you, Jaune. Using that sort of power takes the wind out of me a bit, given my old age."

"Ozpin, sir, you don't even look a day over a thousand," Jaune joked, to which Ozpin chuckled as everyone else gathered near the two.

"Jaune, the Grimm are coming in stronger numbers and there's a large group of White Fang with them heading towards Beacon," Ozpin warned him. Jaune nodded and got up. Ozpin beckoned Pyrrha to him and had her lift him up. "I need you to come with me to my office; I need some help." Jaune did not hesitate in telling Pyrrha to go before he turned back to his fellow classmates.

"Everyone, did you hear that? Grimm and White Fang are coming! I know you all have fought the Grimm plenty of times before today, but I know many of you have not fought the White Fang, and I must stress it to all of you not to hesitate in killing any of them! You may hesitate, but they certainly will not, and if you do, they will kill you!"

"Okay, so everyone but us, Huntsmen, and Artesian soldiers are trying to kill us, sounds simple enough," Lucas called out.

"Jaune, Yang is still here at Beacon. I gotta find her," Blake told him. Jaune let her go and Blake dashed off towards Beacon Cafeteria to start looking while everyone prepared again for battle. Jaune called up Olivia on his scroll. "Olivia, are you guys any closer to clearing out the docks yet?"

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"Hey, it's not a picnic over here, ya know!" Olivia told him as she fired a few shots from Prime into a stage 3 Ursa, killing it. "We've grouped up with those Atlesian soldiers and we're at the docks now, but it's swarming here. I'll call you back when we're finished." Olivia hung up and switched to Eclipse and emptied its magazine into a few Grimm and smashed the butt of the rifle into a small Ursa that got close to her, denting her rifle into two. "Aw, shit! I need a new rifle!"

"Here!" one soldier yelled, passing her an assault rifle from a fallen soldier and several magazines. Olivia loaded up and went back to killing.

May sat up on top of a small building sniping away at Grimm while Nolan and an Atlesian soldier remained by her side as her spotters, attacking any Grimm that tried climbing up to get them. Tristan, Nebula, and Nadir worked side by side with a few soldiers shooting down Grimm with their Aura arrows, bolts, and guns. Within time, the Grimm masses began dwindling to a small handful, which were easily taken out. The Atlesian soldier on the roof with May popped a green smoke from two canisters and waved them up in the air, awaiting the arrival of the reinforcements, which soon touched down and fifty soldiers, a few dozen Atlesian Knights, a few Atlesian Paladin MK2s, and three armored warthogs with machine guns, one of which had a cannon rifle instead of a machine gun. "I call the cannon!" Olivia yelled, leaping upon onto the spot and wrapping her hands around the triggers. "Woot! Bitches love cannons!" she screamed as they headed towards Beacon.

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Up in the sky, Roman uploaded a special scroll containing a virus into the Atlesian mainframe, which quickly spread out and began infecting the Atlesian Knights and Paladins in Vale. "Now this is where things get interesting," Roman commented while Neo simply smiled and skipped around.

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Down on the ground, all of the Atlesian Knights and Paladins suddenly ceased function for a brief moment before their faceplates suddenly began glowing a blood red and they turned on their fellow soldiers and began attacking them, forcing them to retreat while civilians screamed in terror and ran.

In his small airship, the Atlesian Knights stored in the back of the ship activated and drew their guns on Ironwood, who screamed in protest just as they opened fire and destroyed the controls, sending the ship crashing down into a few buildings.

With the docks team, the Knights suddenly turned on the others, forcing everyone to pile into the warthogs and take off while a few soldiers stayed behind to take out the Knights, but they were quickly shot down and killed. Just as the young Huntsmen and Huntresses piled into a machine gun warthog, one Knight fired a shot from a sniper rifle, where the bullet struck Nolan in the head, sending him tumbling to the ground dead. The others screamed for Nolan and May tried to drag him into the warthog. "NO! Leave him! We don't have time! They're already firing on us!" Olivia shouted at her from the driver's seat before she twisted the stick shift and slammed her foot on one of the six pedals, sending them screaming forward with the other two warthogs behind her stuffed with Atlesian soldiers. Olivia called up Jaune immediately. "Jaune! We are under attack by Atlesian Knights! Do not approach near the Atlesian Knights! I repeat, DO NOT APPROACH THE ATLESIAN KNIGHTS!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked her while he cut down a Beowolf.

"Something is affecting the Atlesian androids and they're attacking us! We're heading towards you right now with the Atlesian reinforcements, but our numbers got cut by the sudden attack!" Olivia hung up and continued driving and while doing so, May smacked her shoulder.

"Why did you do that?!" she roared. "Why did you make us leave Nolan?!"

"He was gonna slow us down!" Olivia shot at her. "If we stayed still any longer to lift his body into the warthog, more of us would've been shot, and I'm not letting any of us get killed over a dead body!"

"He's my friend!"

"And he's dead, May, and plenty of other people will die today too, so we gotta focus on staying alive instead of on our dead!" That hushed up May, allowing Olivia to concentrate on the road while Tristan and Nadir kept their weapons ready to attack any nearby Grimm.

They all arrived at Beacon and unloaded, where they took positions and began attacking the Grimm and White Fang thugs. Brawnz questioned May where Nolan was, but her silence told him everything. Brawnz went to Olivia and punched her, to which the rest of Team LOST went to her to defend her. "Enough of this! You can argue about this after we're safe!" Senna yelled at Brawnz, who huffed and went back into position.

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High above the destruction and mayhem on a tall building, Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury all stood together watching everything unfold while Mercury recorded it all on his scroll, which was broadcasted across all four of the kingdoms, especially with the Atlesian Knights and Paladins attacking civilians. Emerald spotted the students at Beacon giving their all, even with the destruction all around them and the Grimm forces growing more and more. "It's…tragic…" she noted, feeling sadness for them all.

"It's horrendous," Cinder purred as she stepped in front of Mercury so she would appear on the video feeds. "You see what is happening now, Atlas? Your so-called mighty military has fallen under my control, and you have no one to blame but yourselves for believing that machines can be more powerful and reliable than a human. Watch as your army kill your civilians and destroy Vale alongside the Grimm while you sit back and watch in horror." Suddenly, the entire city shook and quaked. "And now, an ancient horror is awakening, birthed by the combined horror and death within this city." Cinder slipped an evil grin as her eyes glowed with an eerie light.

Far off to the east of Vale, a nearby mountain shook multiple times, and the peak cracked open before a large draconic Grimm burst from it with a thunderous roar. The Grimm Dragon took flight and headed straight for Vale as large blobs of dark matter formed from its stomach and fell, where the blobs turned into Beowolves, Ursai, and Creeps, all at least Stage 3, and these Grimm followed after the Grimm Dragon.

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Blake ran all over Beacon looking for Yang, constantly calling out her name while cutting down a couple Grimm that came at her. Eventually, she came upon the cafeteria, which was in shambles and on fire. She heard a cry from inside and looked through a broken window, where she gasped. Adam was inside and he has just stabbed an Atlesian soldier with his katana. He spotted her just as she hid behind a wall. "I know you're there, Blake, so come on out! Don't run away from me again!" he called to her. He went to a nearby fallen Atlesian soldier and slammed his boot onto his chest, making him cry out. "I will kill this human if you don't come out!" Blake activated her Shadow Semblance and appeared directly in front of Adam with Gambol Shroud drawn and the two clashed blades together, but they quickly broke apart and separated.

"Why are you doing this, Adam?!" she questioned him.

"You and I were going to change this world, remember? We promised each other years ago that we will work together be the fires of the revolution! This is the spark of that revolution! Humanity will now know that belittling us and deeming us as inferior creatures was their gravest mistake!" he retorted.

Blake narrowed her eyes and charged at him. Adam slashed Wilt at her, but Blake turned into a shadow and appeared behind him swinging her sword at him, to which he blocked using the scabbard of Blush then swung Wilt again, this time shattering Gambol Shroud to pieces and then he kicked Blake down to the floor. A Creep appeared inside the cafeteria and lunged for Blake, but Adam shot it dead before it could get near her. "You betrayed me, you betrayed the White Fang that was your home, and you betrayed your people, just like every other Faunus that defies us, and I will make sure you suffer for your crimes before you die." He stomped down onto her, making her cry out. "This could've been our day! We could've been standing together victorious while Humans ran in fear from us! Isn't this what you wanted?!"

"I never wanted this! I wanted equality and peace between Humans and Faunus!" Blake cried to him. She transformed the remains of her blade into its gun form and fired at him, but Adam absorbed the bullets with Wilt, making the blade glow a crimson red, then he kicked the gun away from her and stomped down onto her again.

"WAHT YOU WANT IS IMPOSSIBLE! HUMANS WILL NEVER SEE US AS MORE THAN THE FILTHY ANIMALS THAT THEY THINK WE ARE!" Adam yelled at her. Blake tried to force herself up, but he merely slapped her until she fell again. Adam reached down and tore her ribbon off, revealing her Faunus ears. "You claim you want peace, yet you hide your true self from everyone around you. Perhaps, since you desire to live among Humans so much, I should cut your ears off and turn you into a damaged creature forced to live among them, so they can see what you are and hate you for it." Adam grabbed Blake by her neck and lifted her into the air while his hand went into his coat and pulled out a pocket knife. Blake thrashed, kicked, and screamed as the knife drew nearer to her ears, but to no avail. Then, just as sudden as Adam started, his hand retreated and he dropped Blake to the floor. "No, I won't damage you, not like that. I'll let you live just this once, but know this, Blake, while I set upon this world and deliver the justice that humanity so greatly deserves in the name of Sheena, I will make it my personal mission to destroy everyone and everything you love and hold dear, and when you are left with nothing, I will end your life then and there when you are at your lowest, most miserable form."

"BLAKE! BLAKE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" yelled Yang from nearby. Adam turned and saw the blonde brawler take down an Ursa and a White Fang thug and call for Blake again. Adam glanced at Blake and saw the horror in her eyes.

"I shall start with her," Adam hissed coldly.

"NO! DON'T HURT HER! SHE'S DONE NOTHING WRONG!" Blake screeched at him, grabbing at his boot, to which he shook her off.

"She's committed the crime of being Human, as well as forming a close bond with you."

"ADAM, PLEASE!" Adam quickly drew Wilt and plunged it into Blake's stomach, making her scream in agony. The wound bled, but the sword did not pierce her completely.

"I won't kill you with this, but think of this as a memento from me," he told her before retrieving his blade and facing Yang, who heard the scream.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Yang screamed and activated her Semblance, enveloping herself completely in fire. She let out a bloodcurdling scream and flew at Adam at a supersonic speed with Ember Celica armed for a deadly shot.

She thinks she can stand up to the Murtsling, Adam thought with a grin. As Yang drew near, Adam drew Wilt at equal speed and his sword cut through Yang, making her spiral out of her attack charge. Her right arm detached from her body as a shower of yellow Aura sprinkled through the air as she tumbled down to the floor unconscious. Her wound glowed a bright yellow, having sealed itself up with her Aura. Blake let out a scream and ran for Yang's side, holding onto her limp body as she wept over her. Adam drew close with his sword in hand, but Blake kept herself between him and Yang. "Do you really intend to continue hurting me like this, Blake?" Blake said nothing, instead protecting Yang with one hand while the other clutched her stab wound as tears streaked down her cheeks. "Blake…I love you, I still do…"

"Well, I don't! The Adam I loved is dead! He died when you returned home with that heart tattoo and that sword! I could not love the new you after that, not when you became a monster!"

"You…think I am a monster?" he asked her.

"You're worse than that! You're worse than the Grimm!"

Adam hesitated for a moment, as if pondering what she said, then he swiped Wilt at her, decapitating her instantly, but then Blake's body turned black and disappeared as well as Yang's. Adam turned and saw Blake limping away with Yang over her shoulder. Blake stole a quickly glance at Adam, who did not give chase, and continued to run. Adam sighed and made his way back to the rest of his convey, where he ordered a retreat. "We've done what we came here for," he would tell his troops before they all herded onto the bullheads and took off.

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Ruby's plan for her and Kyler to reach Ironwood's airship involved riding her rocket locker up into the air and jumping onto the ship, which was a complete success, with both of them on the roof with a swarm of Griffons flying around them. They both peered over the edge—with Kyler holding Ruby back so she would not fall—and saw the city under attack. "We need to get to the bridge and take out Roman and Neo if we intend to stop this ship," Kyler notified her. They both headed towards a hatch that would lead into the ship's interior, but then they heard a sound behind them. They turned and found Neo behind them, snapping pictures with her scroll, which she sent to Roman straight away, then she activated her Draíochta, causing her Atlesian clothes to strip away like shedding scales and replaced with her usual clothes. Overhead, the Grimm Dragon flew through the sky towards Beacon, where it tore through the tower's roof and sending it into shambles. "NO!" Kyler screamed. He watched the Grimm Dragon circle around and fly around the city for a while before he turned to Ruby. "Ruby, I need you to destroy this ship as fast as possible, then I need you to skydive into Beacon Tower, do you understand? You have to protect the tower!" Ruby rapidly nodded, to which Kyler hugged her tight and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Ruby, remember that." This confused Ruby for a moment, but then Kyler broke from her and dashed towards Neo, who did not anticipate this. Kyler slide kicked Neo, knocking her down and tumbling towards the edge of the ship, but that was what he wanted as he leapt onto Neo, making them both fall over the edge.

"MISTER WOLF!" Ruby cried, dashing to the edge and watching them fade down below.

"NEO!" cried Roman, who had just arrived. He turned towards Ruby with a growl and began attacking her.

In the air, Kyler and Neo twisted and tumbled through the air mixed up with each other. Kyler held on for a while longer before he released himself from Neo and continued his plummet down towards the earth while Neo deployed her parasol and drifted through the air, floating down towards the Residential District near Beacon. Kyler would land down in the Industrial District near where Qrow, Glynda, and Ironwood were located, the latter of whom survived his airship crash thanks to the half of his body covered in cybernetic enhancements, and regroup with them, where he told them they had to head for Beacon where the Grimm Dragon was.

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In Beacon Tower, Ozpin was at his computer arranging something while Pyrrha stood guard with Miló and Akoúo̱ in hand. The Grimm Dragon made a beeline straight for the tower and let out a roar, which caught both of their attention. "PYRRHA, GET DOWN!" Ozpin shouted, leaping at her and pulling her down to the floor just as the Grimm Dragon crashed through the tower, sending pieces of the roof onto the tower floor and tumbling down to the ground below.

Down on the ground, Jaune yelled for everyone to run from the falling debris. Sky Lark of CRDL was unfortunately crushed by a giant cog. Cardin raced towards his friend, but Jaune held him back, for several Grimm had already gone to the body to dig it out and feast. "It's too late, Cardin!" Jaune shouted as he dragged him back. Above them, the Grimm Dragon flew overhead and let out a menacing roar while more Grimm and Atlesian Knights began converging onto Beacon, and in greater numbers. "There's too many of them…RETREAT! RETREAT! EVERYONE GET TO THE AIRSHIPS! RETREAT!" Jaune ordered. He gathered everyone together and had them load up onto the warthogs. "GET TO THE AIRSHIPS!" He ordered everyone, but he did not get into a warthog.

"Jaune, what about you?" went Cardin.

"Pyrrha and Ozpin are at the top of the tower, I need to get them out of there. I'll meet up with you guys later…" he told them. He was about to walk off, but he turned back. "…If I don't arrive at the airships within an hour, take off without me, that's an order."

"I'm coming with you!" Weiss added, hoping off the warthog. Jaune did not argue and took her with him. Everyone headed off while they ran inside Beacon Tower. They found the elevator box torn to pieces and in ruins, forcing them to have to climb through it and go up the service ladder inside.

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Ruby dueled with Roman atop the airship, even with the Griffons flying around, some of which landed to attack them, which they both took out together to save themselves. "Roman, why are you doing this?!" Ruby questioned. "What do you get out of this?! People are dying down in the city, and you're helping evil people!"

"Do you not get it already, Little Red?!" he yelled at her. "I'm not doing this because of what I get out of it, but because of what I could lose if I don't! I kill, cheat, and steal so I can survive, nothing more!" Roman reloaded his cane and aimed at Ruby. "Sorry, kid, but I gotta do this, though I'd rather keep you alive for my entertainment!" He fired off a few shots at Ruby, who dodged them, and he began to laugh, but he did not notice the large Stage 5 Griffon that landed behind him.

"LOOK OUT, ROMAN!" Ruby warned, running towards him, but it was too late. Just as he spun around and cried out, the Griffon lunged forward and snatched Roman into its mouth, swallowing him whole. Ruby gasped, horrified at what she saw, but she quickly regained herself for the Griffon then charged directly for her. Ruby stole a quick glance at the ship's bridge behind and activated her Semblance, dashing straight for her and forcing the Griffon to pick up speed. When Ruby reached the bridge, she skidded to a stop and waited for the Griffon to come near. When it did, Ruby leapt straight up into the air with a few shots, making the Griffon crash directly into the bridge and sending the whole ship into flames. Ruby landed and stumbled as the ships teetered and rocked back and forth, where it slowly decreased in altitude and headed for the nearby ocean. Ruby waited for the ship to pass over Beacon, where she jumped down onto Beacon and skydived down towards the tower's roof, which was in shambles. Down below, she could see bursts of fire and things moving around down below.

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After the Grimm Dragon burst through the tower's roof, Cinder Fall appeared in Ozpin's office in a blur of dark energy. "Hello, Ozpin," Cinder called to him. Ozpin and Pyrrha sprang to their feet, with the old headmaster blocking Pyrrha from the Wytch. "Give me the Dànsling and I will let you live."

"I won't let you have me without a fight first!" Pyrrha yelled at her without hesitation, determined to falsify her goal.

"So be it." Cinder rose into the air using her Draíochta and made a ring of fireballs materialize around her and began firing. Ozpin drew his cane and swung at every fireball, where they were extinguished immediately. Cinder flew straight for Ozpin, plowing directly into him and sending them both tumbling out of the tower.

"OZPIN!" Pyrrha screamed, rushing straight for the edge. She saw Cinder and Ozpin rise up into the air. Cinder's hands glowed with fire while Ozpin glowed an emerald green, his Draíochta. Both struggled with each other for a minute before Ozpin's grunts turned to screams and Cinder's evil smile grew wider.

"IT'S OVER, OZPIN!" Cinder shouted as she made Ozpin's entire body turn a bright fiery orange, then his entire body dissolved into ashes and faded into the wind.

"NO!" Pyrrha screamed, switching Miló to its rifle form and opened fire, where Cinder merely blocked each bullet with her hand before flying at Pyrrha, where she grabbed her by the throat and dragged her across the floor before throwing her against a wall, sapping away her Draíochta. Pyrrha leapt to her feet and swung Akoúo̱ like a frisbee, but Cinder merely smacked it away, but this distracted her, allowing Pyrrha time to lift the giant cogs of the tower with her Polarity, and she smashed each one down onto Cinder, burying her underneath. The pile of cogs suddenly glowed with a fiery color and the cogs burst outward, one of which struck Pyrrha and drained her Draíochta completely in the damage absorption. Pyrrha fell to the floor while Cinder stood up, completely unharmed, but Pyrrha quickly dashed at her with Miló in its xiphos form and swiped at her, but could not make contact. Cinder grabbed Miló by the blade and after applying Draíochta into her hand, she shattered the xiphos with a simple squeeze and pushed Pyrrha to the ground near where Akoúo̱ lied. Cinder materialized her bow from thin air and nocked a glass arrow aimed straight for Pyrrha, but Pyrrha quickly grabbed Akoúo̱ and flung it at her just as Cinder released the arrow. Both projectiles clashed in midair causing the arrow to shatter to pieces, but it quickly reformed around the shield and continued its path, where it flew and pierced Pyrrha's achilleas tendon. Pyrrha fell, screaming in agony and clutching at her ankle while Cinder smiled and circled around her while the Grimm Dragon returned and perched itself on the tower's edge.

"I expected better from the girl destined to be Aziela's Paladin, even when she was groomed and trained for the life of a hero since the day she was born," Cinder commented with a smile. "And yet, you failed, and this will be the day you fall."

"You're wrong," Pyrrha retorted, lifting herself up to stare at her. "I was…I was never meant to be a hero, but…someone else is, someone I trust, and when the day comes…he will kill you."

"Are you by chance speaking about that leader you follow around like a lovesick puppy? Ha! I have seen him fight, and he is pathetic!" Cinder laughed. "However, I admire your faith in the boy, passing on your teachings and your will onto him so he can be a so-called hero, but let me tell you this, Pyrrha Nikos, after this day is over, there will be no hero who will rise above me or the Dark Paladins." Cinder stood up and nocked another arrow, this one aimed straight for Pyrrha's heart. The arrow glowed a bright red for a brief moment. Ruby finally landed within the tower and rose up from the floor.

I love you, Jaune…I will always love you…I'm sorry… Pyrrha thought just before the arrow pierced her heart, making her gasp in pain. Ruby was frozen to the spot, only able to watch. The arrow pierced Pyrrha's heart and was sticking out of her back while she choked on the remaining air in her lungs as her chest wound glowed with red energy and small wisps of red energy emitted from the arrow before her. Cinder smiled and approached the girl, where she clasped a hand to her hand and turned Pyrrha's entire body a bright orange, like she did with Ozpin, and then she turned into dust and faded away, leaving only her circlet behind, which Cinder dropped to the floor.

"PYRRHA!" Ruby screamed, earning Cinder's attention. Ruby felt her entire body grow hot—burning hot—as a strange feeling welt up within her and began rising. Suddenly, everything went white but she could hear the Grimm Dragon's screech and Cinder's yells, and then she knew no more.

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The remaining students and soldiers reached the airship location in time before the ships were to take off and everyone loaded into them while the soldiers stayed behind with Port and Oobleck, who stayed behind to ensure everyone got on safely. Blake and Yang were immediately taken by Atlesian medics and tended to, with Blake's wound addressed and patched up and Yang's arm cleaned and wrapped in bandages. Arslan Altan carried the dead body of her teammate Nadir, who was shot in the head by a White Fang thug. Tristan carried a young girl dressed in black with black twin tails and green eyes; Tristan found her wandering the streets and took her with him, and upon asking her name, she spelled out "Mint" with her finger. He held her in his arms the entire time, determined to protect the young girl.

"Hey, look at that!" May Zedong called from the airship's cargo door. Everyone hustled out to find the top of Beacon Tower enveloped in a strange bright, white light. "What is that?" Everyone had no idea what the bright light was, but everyone was instantly worried for Jaune, Weiss, and Pyrrha, who were supposed to be up in the tower.

In the Residential District, Kyler, Qrow, Glynda, and Ironwood saw the bright light at the top of the tower and the former three instantly what it was. Kyler ordered Glynda and Ironwood to go to the Huntsmen, Huntresses, and Atlesian soldiers and order them out of the city to where the students and civilians are being taken while he and Qrow get to the tower. "You ready to do this, Kyler?" Qrow asked him after Glynda and Ironwood left.

"Not particularly. I haven't flown in ages; you know I prefer to run," Kyler remarked while cracking his fingers.

"You get used to flying after a while." Qrow's body turned a deep black and his body shrank in size and morphed into that of a crow's. Qrow glanced up at Kyler with his beady eyes and let out a caw. Kyler sighed and followed suit, morphing into a large black bird with a red tail. Both took flight and flew straight for the tower.

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Jaune and Weiss reached the top of the tower, but the elevator door was sealed. Weiss thrusted Myrtenaster into the door and encased it in ice, then she switched to fire and burst the ice and the metal door in a fiery explosion, allowing both to jump inside, weapons drawn. However, both were surprised to find the entire tower encased in a strange white ice-like substance. Overhead, the Grimm Dragon was frozen forever in a state of shock, and nearby, Ruby laid unconscious. "RUBY!" Weiss called, rushing straight for her while Jaune looked around, noticing a large lump of the strange ice nearby.

"Pyrrha?" he called, but received no answer. "Pyrrha?" he said again, now louder. He spun around, expecting her to appear out of nowhere behind him with an "I'm sorry" as she would always say, but she never did. "PYRRHA!" he yelled, his worry growing more and more.

Suddenly, the lump of ice burst open and Cinder flew out of it, her entire body encased in fire. Jaune drew his sword and shield and stepped between Cinder and Weiss. Cinder glanced down at Jaune for a brief second, then looked at Weiss cradling Ruby in her arms. "Give me the silver-eyed girl," Cinder coldly hissed, her eyes glowing brightly. Weiss held Ruby closer to her while Jaune got between them.

"You'll have to go through me first!" he yelled, holding his shield in front for defense. Cinder merely grinned and fired a large ball of fire at him, striking his shield and making him stumble, but Jaune did not fall. Cinder landed onto the floor and calmly walked towards Jaune, to which he charged forward and slashed with his sword, where Cinder caught the blade in her bare hand. Jaune, shocked, wrestled with her and retrieved his sword, quickly swinging it at her, to which Cinder ducked and leapt back. She snapped her fingers and a line of tiny embers appeared in front of her and she fired them all at once at him. Jaune swung his sword parallel with the embers, striking them all and making them all disperse.

"Fascinating," Cinder remarked with a grin. Cinder spun her hands in the air and shot them out off to the sides, where straight waves of fire burst from the floor, sealing off any possible escape for the three. "but as fun as this is turning out, I'm on a tight schedule thanks to that silver-eyed girl, and I'd rather eliminate three Paladins while I'm here."

Jaune's face twisted into shock. Three? So…she's killed two already…Ozpin and… he wondered for a moment. Cinder stretched a hand towards Jaune and ray of fire burst from her palm and sought to incinerate him, but he threw his shield up in time, making the embers curl around and lap at his skin, burning away at his clothes and skin, but he dared no move else the fire instead touch Ruby and Weiss. Cinder moved forward while Jaune slid backwards, to which Weiss threw up a Glyph behind him to halt him in place. Aziela, help me…

"I am here, my Paladin. Envision your Draíochta surrounding your skin like armor and focus on it," she answered within his mind. Jaune obeyed and pictured a suit of armor made of his Draíochta covering him and concentrated on making it happen. The mark of Aziela glowed brightly upon his hand and Draíochta seeped out from his skin and enveloped his entire body. The pain ceased and the fire no longer harmed him, allowing Jaune to move forward. Keeping his shield up, he opted to use the Shield Bash attack from one of Pyrrha's videos.

"What you want to do, whether you are on the offensive or defensive, is quickly charge forward with your shield raised. This will allow you to bash your shield into your opponent while it protects you from frontal attacks, and bashing your foe with leave them temporary dazed, then you follow up with a quick attack." He remembered from the video. Jaune quickly charged forward with his shield raised, bashing it into Cinder's stomach, forcing her to cease fire and he quickly followed up with a slash at her face, of which Cinder narrowly avoided, suffering only a long cut along her cheek, which drew blood. She leapt away and the flame walls died down.

Weiss stared at Jaune in amazement, for his entire body was surrounded in what looked like white Aura in the form of a suit of knight's armor. "How can…?!" Cinder spat out, to which Jaune merely raised his right hand with a deathly glare and showed her the glowing mark upon his hand. "What?! You're…You can't be the Dànsling! You're just a pathetic boy who snuck into Beacon!" At that moment, the two black birds arrived and materialized back into Qrow and Kyler and stood beside Jaune with their swords drawn.

"You're wrong! I am the Dànsling, and I have been ever since the day I was born! It is my destiny as a Paladin to protect the world from evil such as yourself!" Jaune proudly declared. All three men went towards Cinder, who turned and jumped off the edge of the tower, forcing them all to run to the edge, but she was nowhere in sight, as if she had vanished.

Qrow went to Ruby and took her into his arms. "She's unconscious, but she's not hurt," he notified everyone, earning sighs of relief.

"Jaune…" Weiss stuttered out, pointing to something in the middle of the room encased in the icy substance. Jaune went to it and found it to be Pyrrha's circlet.

"…I'd rather eliminate three Paladins while I'm here…" went Cinder's voice inside his head.

Ruby's mother was a Paladin, and Cinder wanted to kill Ruby…So she is the third Paladin Cinder meant by…Kyler is here, which means Ozpin is gone…And Cinder was shocked to discover I was the Dànsling… Jaune's eyes teared up as he quickly realized what happened to Pyrrha. He fell to his knees in the middle of the room, his entire body shaking as he wept. Memories of her flooded into his mind.

"It takes a lot of guts to wear bunny pajamas…"

"I want to help you become the leader I know you can be. You have the potential…"

"You didn't even know my name, and even after you learned who I was, you still treated me like a normal girl…That's what I like about you, Jaune…"

One memory stuck in his mind, the memory of how Pyrrha felt she was lonely, which she told him during the dance. "Even though I'm a star athlete and everyone thinks I'm going to become a great Huntress one day, I always felt alone, like I was trapped in a place cold, dark, like it was empty in my life, even with everything going on, but then you appeared like a ray of light, and you made me hope again, and you helped me make real friends. Thank you, Jaune…"

Why didn't I realize how you felt about me then? he wondered, feeling angry with himself.

"I believe you can become a great Huntsman, Jaune, I know you can…"

"I love you, Jaune…" Pyrrha's kind, loving smile stuck in his mind, forcing him to realize that he will never see her again, that he never see her smile again, that he will never be able to share more memories with her, and worse of all, that for the first time in her life, she felt love for someone who loved her for who she is deep down and not because she was a celebrity, and now all that is gone.

"Pyrrha…Pyrrha…PYRRHA!" Jaune screamed as his Draíochta burst within him, bleeding out of his hand and enveloping his entire body in a series of energy-laced waves. He clutched the circlet close to his body as his Draíochta rubbed along his burns, cuts, and bruises, healing every wound upon his body while everyone could only watch.

"JAUNE!" Weiss yelled, rushing towards him, hoping to help. Kyler reached out to grab her, but missed, allowing her to get close, but as she did so, she was struck by a wave of Draíochta, throwing her backwards and tumbling across the floor. Kyler went to her and saw that some of Jaune's Draíochta had stuck onto her wounds and was healing her, including her scar, which was slowly covered in Draíochta before it formed into skin and healed the scar completely, as if it was never there.

Jaune's sudden outburst of Draíochta continued for about a minute, lighting up the tower with a bright light during so, until finally, his Draíochta faded away and the teen collapsed, still clutching Pyrrha's circlet, which became the last thing he saw before his world faded to black.

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The Next Day

Outside of Vale and far beyond the dangers of the city, every Huntsmen, Huntress, student, and soldier was gathered in a large camp, and Glynda was in charge. She made it vocal already to everyone that she intends to formulate an army to retake Vale back, but for now, their goal was to heal, recover, and gather information. Ruby, Jaune, Yang, and all the wounded were moved to a fenced-off area to be tended too. All of the students paid their respects to the fallen who were to be sent to their families for a proper burial, and they went to visit Jaune, who was still unconscious, yet they all said their thanks for leading them in battle, and many believed that had he not, they might not have lived. Some people noticed that Blake was nowhere to be found, and it was quickly discovered that she had run away. Brawnz Ni had also disappeared, leaving his only remaining teammate May worried sick.

Weiss, Nora, and Ren visited the unconscious Ruby, Jaune, and broken Yang; no one knew when or even if Ruby or Jaune would wake up, leaving their friends with nothing to do but hope and pray to the Gods above. Weiss visited Ruby and Jaune most of them all, especially Jaune. One late afternoon, Weiss' father arrived in an elegant airship to bring Weiss home to Atlas, explaining that he felt she would most safe there. Weiss protested and resisted, claiming that her friends needed her, but her father ignored her wishes and insisted that she come home, but he did allow her to say goodbye to her friends so long as she did not take long. Weiss said a one-sided goodbye to Ruby, one to Yang, who was so depressed that she did not say anything back, and to everyone else, who each said their own goodbye and gave her hugs. She even said goodbye to Tristan Cortes and apologized for her rude behavior towards him, which he accepted. Last, but certainly not least, there was Jaune left.

"Jaune, my father has come to take me home," she explained to his sleeping body as she sat next to him. "He feels that I would be safer at home than I would be here, and while I really want to stay to help everyone, my father's word is law, as he would put it." One of Weiss' fingers traced over the smooth skin where her scar once sat. "You know, I'm curious about how my scar has healed, and what all that you told Cinder up at the tower meant, but perhaps it's not my business to know. Maybe it's something that only you understand…but I know you had something to do with my scar, and I just want to say thank you, Jaune." Weiss gave him a smile and leaned over, where she kissed his cheek. She blushed red like an apple and left him, where she boarded the airship and went home.

The remaining students all gathered together around a campfire to stay warm and remained apart from most of the other Huntsmen and soldiers, choosing to hang out together until Glynda had decided on what should happen to them. "I've heard that Glynda intends to retake Vale," Velvet Scarletina told her fellow students.

"I've been hearing the same. Do you think she can do it?" Reese Chloris responded.

"I don't see why not, I mean, she is among the most powerful of the Huntresses," went Fox Alistair. "If she thinks she can do it, then she will do it."

"But she surely can't do it with just this handful of Huntsmen and Atlesian soldiers," Octavia Ember argued.

"Maybe we should help her in this fight," Olivia Marquette suggested.

"We're just students!" said May Zedong.

"Yeah, and we were students when we stayed at Beacon to defend it, we were students when the Grimm invaded, and we were students when we found ourselves fighting Grimm, Atlesian Knights, and the White Fang, so why shouldn't we fight?" Lucas Dias shot at her. "It's our responsibility as the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses to protect the world, no matter if we're students or full-fledged Huntsmen and Huntresses!" A number of them agreed with him. "I say we stay and fight."

Elsewhere, Tristan sat with the girl Mint near a fire that was cooking some food so they can stay warm as well as smell the scent of cooking meat. "So, I've been looking around and I haven't found your parents yet, Mint," Tristan told her, to which she remained silent. He threw an arm around her and gave her a hug. "Don't worry, we'll find them soon." Mint gave him a sheepish smile. "You know, you kinda remind me of my little sister; she was a mute too." Tristan went into one of his pockets and retrieved a folded-up photograph and showed it to her. "See, here we are, though this was a few years back. There's my parents, there's me, and there's my little sister, Neo." He pointed to each one, including the tiny girl with multicolored eyes and hair. "She was an odd-looking one, but I loved her." Tristan got called over by his team, so he bid farewell to Mint for the time being. After he left, Mint went into the nearby forest undetected, where she transformed herself back into Neo, and disappeared.

The Guardians all arrived within time. Upon arriving, Olivia went to Glas Radiance and gave all of them massive hugs and expressed her excitement on seeing them again. Senna gave her mother a big hug, and asked her how she has been lately.. Blanche and Gris instantly went to check on Jaune, and both of them were relieved to see him alive. Taiyang went straight for his daughters, and upon seeing Yang, he broke into tears and held her in his arms. When Pandora learned of Pyrrha, she fell to the ground in tears and had to be taken away by Kyler.

After everyone had arrived, Kyler went to Glynda in a small cabin. "Glynda, we need to move the Paladins to Patch to keep them safe," he told her.

"You have my permission," she answered without hesitation. "And Kyler, what should we do about the Grimm Dragon that's now frozen atop Beacon?"

"Without Ozpin, our powers are limited, and with just Grace, Pecado, and I, there's no way we can kill it; it took me and the other Paladins all our power just to seal it in that mountain ages ago."

"So what should we do?"

"Perhaps it's best to wait for when the five Paladins emerge. Once we become five again, we will have a chance to destroy it this time. Until then, I think you should just focus on reclaiming Vale." Kyler turned to leave, but he stopped at the door. "I also believe you should employ the students, especially the Guardians among them; you need all the troops you can get ahold of." He left her there with her own thoughts. As soon as he had left, Glynda clenched up his fists, grit her teeth, and began to weep. "You stupid old man, Ozpin…" she cursed as tears ran down her cheeks.

Kyler gave the order to Qrow, Taiyang, and Pandora to gather the Paladins onto a small bullhead to take to Patch. Qrow gathered Ruby, Taiyang got Yang, Pandora took Jaune, and Kyler went to Velvet and Cardin, urging them to board the bullhead, even despite their teammates wishes. Ren and Nora, however, snuck onto the bullhead and refused to leave, so they were allowed to accompany their leader. Before they left, Kyler instructed Pecado and Grace to remain at the camp to protect everyone until the time is right to take the Paladins away for training, of which they both agreed upon. The bullhead took off and headed west for Patch, leaving all the students curious as to where their friends were being taken to and why.

As the bullhead flew through the sky, Kyler spied the frozen Grimm Dragon at the top of the remains of Beacon Tower, and below, legions of Grimm were being drawn towards Beacon by the frozen corpse of the creature, like moths to a flame. He stole a glance back at Ruby, who Qrow was holding in his arms, and Jaune, who was in Pandora's embrace with Pyrrha's circlet clutched tightly in his hand, and Cardin and Velvet were huddled together looking confused, given that they do not know why they are here on the bullhead heading to Patch, and Yang sat silently staring out the window, wondering where Blake could be. "Qrow, Taiyang, when Ruby awakens, I think we should tell her the truth, and you know what I mean. It's time she learns about the Silver-Eyes and the circumstances of her birth." Both men nodded in agreement and looked at the sleeping girl in the red cloak.

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The Dark Realm of Remnant

Pyrrha's dead, naked body laid upon the barren land of the Dark Realm until it was founded by a couple of Grimm, who carried her lifeless body to the tall, black castle that nestled in a deep valley swarming with Grimm. The Grimm carried her body inside, where they were greeted by the ancient Wytch and Dark Paladin, Salem, who threw a black cloak onto the girl's corpse. The Grimm then took her to a stone slab and laid her upon it, then Ozpin was dragged in, held up by shackles attached to two Ursai.

"Look upon her, Oz," Salem told him. He refused. "Look upon her and see what your actions have done to her! Look upon her and see the fate you have cursed her with!"

Ozpin glanced at Pyrrha with a sad face. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry, Pyrrha," he whispered to himself. "I've done this all wrong. I should've prepared the Paladins and Guardians earlier than I intended, but I thought that spending the last of your youth was more important."

"Ozpin, one again, you have made another drastic and terrible mistake, and now you shall pay the price by watching Pyrrha become our second general." Sheena then appeared, flying into the throne room on her black wings. She landed beside Salem and Salem bowed and addressed her as "Lady Sheena."

"So, this one will become our next Grimm General?" Sheena questioned, pulling Pyrrha's head towards her to inspect her. "Why was the Dànsling or the new Laghsling not brought instead?"

"Cinder Fall made a mistake, but this one, Pyrrha Nikos, is powerful, and she shares a close bond with Jaune Arc, the next Dànsling."

Sheena glanced upon Pyrrha's body. "Very well, she shall suffice. Bring the Grimm Parasite."

A humanoid Grimm brought in a small display case full of water with a strange ell-like Grimm the size of a person's finger floating around inside. Salem reached in and retrieved the creature and hovered it near Pyrrha's face. As soon as the Grimm slid down her throat and entered her stomach, it went to work corrupting her body. Her body began to shiver and convulse. Her entire body glowed with a dark light, making Sheena and Salem make evil grins at how well the process was working. The girl spun over and tumbled off the stone slab. Salem casually walked around towards and lifted the girl up. While her face was obscured by the hood of the robes she wore, it was clear that her skin had changed to an ash-like color similar to Salem's. Two bright green eyes—eyes that were shaped like evil slits—glowed from under the hood, and upon her chest, directly in her chest wound, was a small gem that glowed with the color of fiery orange.

"It is done. Soon, the world will fall apart once the Grimm are released upon the Light Realm," Sheena remarked.

"How does it feel, Ozpin, to have all your time and effort be for nothing? To have your Paladins and Guardians fail you even before they have started? Everything you've built shall be torn down in time," Salem told him with a purr. "A long time ago, Kyler warned me that humanity is a noticeable threat when banded together, united by a common enemy, but when we divide them and place doubt in their minds, like we did with the Atlesian fleet, then your visage of power fades away. Of course, your people won't realize it at first, for they will be still clinging to their fleeting hope, and then you will turn to your Paladins. So send your Paladins, your Guardians, your Huntsmen and Huntresses, and you will in turn watch them fall one by one and their deaths will be on you, Ozpin, who chose to put his faith into children. You believe that a smaller, more honest soul will be the one who will decide if Light or Darkness shall win, as you did over twenty years ago, and if you do the same now, you will only send her to the same pitiful demise!"

At once, a new figure entered the throne room. The figure was some kind of woman, covered in fabric armor and wearing a tattered white hood over her head and a white cloak behind her that was in torn rags. Below the hood, Ozpin could see glowing silver eyes, and he gasped. "No…You didn't!"

"I did, Ozpin," Sheena hissed. "I have two generals ready to lead my armies now, and finally, things are set in motion. But don't fret, I promise to keep you alive so you can see your Paladins and Guardians fail you, the world, and the Gods, and when it's over and you have nothing left to lose, I will enjoy watching you burn. This is the day I've been waiting for for so long." Sheena gave him an evil, victorious grin.

Next Chapter: The Paladins of Light