Chapter 4: What it Takes to Break

4 Years Later…

Jay blinked. "You know I'm not allowed into a bar, right dad?"

Qrow turned his head to look at Jay.

"You're old enough, Jay. I'm not getting you a drink. You're just there at my side. Anyone wants to give you trouble will answer to me. And there's always the groin shot. Works every time."

Jay opened his mouth to argue further, but found himself unable to come up with anything more to say. He was twelve years old, nowhere near old enough to buy a drink from anywhere on Remnant, not unless he used force to coerce a bartender. The only reason he knew what alcohol tasted like was that Qrow let him drink small cups of it. He wouldn't admit it verbally, but Jay didn't hate the taste.

What would aunt Summer and uncle Taiyang say to that?

They'd probably lecture me about the dangers of alcoholism. What I wouldn't give to see them again.

Jay felt this slight bulge of his pocket watch. It was more than a thing to tell him the time. It also held the picture of Taiyang, Summer, Yang, and Ruby. Four years had passed and not once had he seen them. The only thing he could manage to get to them was through letters. Qrow allowed only a letter every six months.

From what he knew, Yang was training with her dad to be a huntress. It was just like the elder sister; she was the adventurer, the daredevil, the risk-taker. Ruby, she still wasn't sure what she was doing. He wished her well regardless.

Taiyang and Summer were more or less okay, but Jay got the feeling that they still weren't on good terms with Qrow. With maybe a few words exchanged over the course of his isolated training, there didn't seem to be any hint of reconciliation.

In any case, Jay wouldn't be drinking anything this bar sold. He was just going to be there. This bar said that no one above the age of twenty could enter. It was unfortunate that Qrow Branwen, one of the best huntsman on the planet didn't listen to rules every now and then.

They approached the door, and the bouncer took note of them and immediately stopped them.

"I'm sorry sir," he said, "But the child can't come in."

"Do you know who I am?" Qrow crossed his arms.

"Qrow Branwen," the man answered. "And the answer is still no."

Jay shook his head in frustration at seeing just where this conversation was about to go. People who refused Qrow should never do so. Anyone who didn't know this single thing would learn it.

This man was going to learn the hard way. Jay stepped back a bit to give space in case it got to… that point.

Monty Oum above, he hoped it wouldn't happen.

The bouncer stiffened when Qrow put an arm around his shoulders. "You ever the stories about me taking down Grimm hordes in seconds? Might be a fan favorite? Or better yet, you ever hear what happens when I'm denied alcohol?"

The man was clearly become more and more uncomfortable as Qrow droned on. It was wrong, and it was terrible, but he had to genuinely struggle to hold in his laugh. His dad had a habit of using these sort of tactics to get people to do what he wanted.

Qrow grinned. "Oh, you'll love this one. There was this mission that got seriously screwed up, and I needed a drink to dampen my anger. When I didn't get what I wanted, I may have used my aura to break a few arms. Can't remember how many got hurt."

Just a few of theses tails were clearly bullshit, but nobody had to know that. There were inklings of truth to what Qrow was saying. It was merely exaggerating the truth, and maybe one day those exaggerations would actually come to life. It was the way of the Qrow to make himself more truthful so he had more to work with.

"There was also this other time," Qrow recalled. "I think I-"

"Sir," the bouncer strained, "I think I got it the first time. Just… go in, but be prepared to face consequences."

The moment the words left the mouth of the bouncer, Qrow released the man and motioned for Jay to follow, to which the boy responded, giving the bouncer only a glance, but not with any pity or apology. More like indifference.

Clearly people with balls were lacking.

Qrow made sure that Jay was within sight at all times, because even if Jay could perform some pretty intense cheap shots, he was still an apprentice in training. He didn't even have a weapon yet, relying solely on martial skills as well as aura. That left the boy at a serious disadvantage.

That would all change once Jay enrolled at Signal Academy. He was overqualified to enter the school and because Qrow was already a teacher there, it was a guaranteed entry ticket.

For now, the reason they were at a bar?

Tomorrow, they were about to go on a field mission together. These things Qrow found were the greatest teachers for any aspiring warrior. All the training in the world didn't do much good if they weren't applied to the various situations that life presented.

Qrow sat down at the bar, and Jay took the seat next to his father, eyeing the man with curiosity.

"How many tonight," Jay inquired.

Qrow turned to Jay. "Three. I can't afford to be too hammered. This is kind of a serious mission."

"Most of our missions are," Jay remarked, "And that doesn't always stop you."

"Call it my gut instinct," Qrow insisted. "But I've got a feeling something's really up this time."

Jay rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, old man. Just make sure to take a breath mint after you drown yourself."

Qrow glared at this, and Jay replied with a sly smirk. To anyone else looking at this conversation, it would appear to be a best frienemies sort of thing, and it was in a way. Jay and Qrow had grown to playfully insult each other.

"I dunno," Qrow downed his first drink, "This old man might need help getting up tomorrow. You know how old people are. Can't do shit on their own."

"How you've survived this long," Jay quipped, "I'll never know. Maybe the Grimm were so repulsed by your breath they turned tail."

Jay would call Qrow an asshole and not feel sorry about it, because he was an asshole to everyone. That was who he was, even to those that he cared about.

It was very hard for Qrow to be sappy.

Very hard.

(X)(X)(X)(X)

Jay changed into his night clothes as he prepared for bed. Qrow had rented out a room with two beds in a motel for the night. It was fortunate that his dad wasn't too badly buzzed otherwise talking to the receptionist would be a hassle.

Qrow chose not change into any other clothes, simply sleeping in his regular clothes. Jay opted to do the same thing, that and shower a bit.

Jay's blue eyes looked at his reflection in the mirror, and he stared at himself. There were a few scars along his jawline, hardly visible to the fleeting eye, which constituted a lot of people. Yet those same people seemed to think scars were awesome to have either for bragging rights or to add to the so-called good looks.

The blond boy didn't think scars were anything worth fawning over. It was just a stupid obsession propelled by media.

Jay's build was athletic, even if he was only twelve years old. Qrow had been adamant that he grow a certain way. Bulky muscles, the huntsman said were not the way to go. The way to go was more muscle in a small space. Having strength and speed both was a hard thing to reach considered it was often the case that one was traded for the other.

He was well muscled, but still retained a slim body. It was a build he was happy with.

That was enough staring at himself. Jay still had a great deal of growing to do. He was just getting into puberty, and so far, it was a bit of a bitch. Between Qrow's version of "the talk" and learning about some of the stuff himself, he wished he could skip to the end and be done with it.

He turned off the light, lightly feeling the few drops of water still in his hair from the recent shower he had taken.

He entered the main room to find Qrow's eyes were focused on his scroll as he typed away. Jay could see the screen, noticing that a chat conversation was in play, and an important one at that if his dad's face was any indication.

With nothing better to do, Jay reached for the remote and turned on the television built in the room. With much boredom, he switched between channels, not really finding anything worth spending time to watch.

There was news about the White Fang, again about another protest that went sour due to Human prejudice and racism. Jay had heard this story so many times and he began to wonder just what the Faunus group was hoping to do by continuing to be like they were. On one hand, Jay felt sympathetic to the Faunus part of the White Fang. On the other hand, Jay wasn't impressed either. One didn't get results by holding up signs.

Another news channel was about the Schnee Dust Company promoting new programs to better the production of dust. Jay huffed in annoyance at this announcement, because he didn't like the name Schnee. They may have the press eating out of the palms of their hands, but Jay wasn't fooled by such displays. The SDC had problems internally, a lot of problems, and this was merely to cover some of those issues. It was just a dressing action.

Another channel showed children cartoons, something that Jay hadn't watched since he was six years old: Grimm-Man. The blond was less interested about the fighting and more interested about the character of Hunter Parker, a teenager with a lot of things going on in his life.

Jay then frowned, shutting off the screen and sighing loudly. Watching television didn't satisfy him as much as he wanted it to.

"Nothing good on," Qrow asked.

Jay shrugged. "Depends on your definition of good, though you'd be stupid to think there's anything good on."

Qrow looked thoughtful for a moment, and then as if struck by lightning, he got an idea. He once again activated his scroll and quickly tapped a few words. Jay then felt his own scroll buzz, and he went to see what his dad had sent him.

When he opened the alert, he was greeted with a single message.

Request from GrimmReaper04 to play chess.

Jay's eyes flickered up. "You sure your screws are on?"

"I'm sober enough," Qrow dismissed. "Besides, you have a better chance at winning now that I'm partially inebriated."

Jay chose not to respond to Qrow, instead just accepting the request and letting the game begin. The boy took white pieces while the huntsman took black pieces. Qrow pulled a coin from his pocket and displayed it to Jay.

"Tails," Jay said.

Qrow expertly flicked the coin on the nearby coffee table, and both pair of eyes turned to watch the coin as it spun rapidly, then began to slow, then come to a loud stop on the side of heads.

Qrow simply made a move with his pawn two spaces forward, opening the way for his king. That was the obvious move, but Jay looked and also realized instantly that the bishop and queen were also free to move.

Jay chose not to open his king to attack by moving a pawn to center. Instead, he opted to move one of his pawns closer to the edge. He was also careful not to leave important pieces too exposed either. Jay's best piece was the rook, and he could work wonders with it.

Qrow moved to position his queen piece in a place where the only thing between Jay's king was a single pawn. A pressure point.

Jay should remember that Qrow wasn't one of the best huntsman for nothing. The man was already planning potential moves he could make as long as the blond boy didn't play certain moves. Looking carefully at the board, he decided to position his knight in order to defend the pawn that he'd already played out.

Qrow disregarded the move and played his bishop in a way to position himself to target the same pawn that his queen was taunting. Jay's eyes darted back and forth on the board, discerning every single attack vector that put his king at risk.

Jay moved the pressured pawn forward, ensuring a trap should Qrow be so kind as to fall for it, which the man was not.

This was going to be a long game.

(X)(X)(X)(X)

It was an early morning when Qrow and Jay had set out, still early morning, with only the dawn of the day just seeping into the sky. Their sleep was what they needed, not too much and not too little. They made sure they were both ready and then they set out.

They would soon be crossing the walls that separated civilization from the Grimm wilds. Once out there, there would be no help coming for them. They had to rely upon each other solely. To anyone else but them that would've sounded really bad. Qrow as a reliable person? It didn't click for most people.

With the visibility low, both of them had to keep extremely quiet, using very minimal light sources to find their way. Neither of them had night vision, making their limited light source all the more important.

Qrow gripped his weapon tight as he looked for signs of Grimm. The easiest ways to find them were to find signs of life. At their very core, discounting the unnatural hatred they had for Humans and Faunus were still animals. They acted like them in all ways, and that meant looking for clues of feeding grounds, sleeping places, territory marks, everything a normal animal would do.

The only real obvious signs were Beowolves that looked to be hunting in packs for fresh meat that day. The remains of a half-eaten carcass was the evidence.

"How recent," Jay bent down to touch the dried blood, rubbing it between his hands. "It looks like the blood's dried up, and for a while now."

"I'd give it a day, maybe two or three," Qrow answered. "Hard to tell though. This could've easily been disturbed in that time frame."

"Grimm concentration has to have been thinned out." Jay crossed his arms. "If the target's around here and is still here."

"Not necessarily," Qrow rose, "Remember, Jay not all people think the Grimm are evil. You forget your semblance."

"But I can't control Grimm," Jay reminded his father.

Qrow regarded him. "But you can befriend them, and that's arguably just as good as enslaving."

"Is there a point?" Jay didn't like where this was going. Qrow might have a reason for bringing him here.

"Not yet," Qrow spoke. "What we're doing here might be for nothing. I don't know. It's a longshot, but one that might just be worth it."

"What longshot?"

Qrow motioned for Jay to continue to follow alongside him. Their walk through the woods continued as the huntsman began to elaborate on his words.

"You remember what I told you about the four seasonal maidens?"

Jay's brow furrowed. "What about it? It's a story, a legend, nothing to it."

"It's a true story," Qrow stated.

The two of them stood eying each other. Jay looked into Qrow's eyes to see if the man was playing some trick or lying in any way. He was always good at telling if people were truthful or not. What he saw was nothing but a truth.

And his dad was a very skeptical person indeed. Nothing short of proof in his face would convince him something outlandish in nature was real. So if he said that the four maidens did exist, then they were undoubtedly real.

Surprise to Jay?

Strangely enough, not really. His dad dealt with some really crazy things as a huntsman. What's another crazy thing to add to the pile?

"So let me get this straight," Jay sighed. "There are four women in this world, who can wield, what, magic?"

"Something like that," Qrow nodded.

"And I suppose this fairy tale has to do with finding one of them right now?"

"In a way," Qrow continued. "The Fall Maiden was recently killed, and her powers were taken. We're here to see if we can take them back."

Jay for the first time in the entire conversation actually lit up in more than interest, but mild anxiousness.

"We," Jay asked incredulously, "Didn't you say once that the maidens have unimaginable power, or something along those lines?"

Qrow seemed annoyed. "Yes, they have a lot of power, but even maidens can be killed, as I've just said."

"So are we going for a kill," Jay hesitantly inquired.

"We may have to, Jay. Better the power go to someone else than to who has it now."

"Dad-"

Qrow stopped walking to face his son. The boy shut his mouth, expecting a scolding. It wouldn't be the first time, and it wouldn't be the last if their relationship said anything.

"Kid, I don't like doing this any more than you do, but sometimes, we gotta get our hands dirty, because if we don't then who will?" Qrow asked the question, but Jay already knew the answer.

"Nobody else." His answer was barely audible.

The wind rustled around them. Both of them stood at odds with one another. Four years of intensified discipline and training still hadn't completely beaten out the naivety of Jay. He still fretted about crossing moral lines, questioned if there were any alternatives. Sometimes his attempts at finding a less violent solution came off as desperate.

Qrow remained unmoved. "Jay, you must always be prepared to kill as a huntsman. Grimm are just one problem in the world. People are the other problem."

"Can't we just get them to change?" Jay was searching for something to say, anything but what Qrow wanted him to say. "Why must it always be like this?"

"Some minds won't change," the huntsman intoned. "Some people won't change, and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you can be a huntsman."

…

The sound of a Grimm instantly destroyed any more conversation as both of them readied for battle. From the sounds of it, an Ursa was coming their way, and maybe a few Beowolves to add to it. Jay was more than capable of taking down Beowolves and Qrow could take out Ursa no sweat.

Jay held his fists into a ready stance. Because he had no weapon to use, he had to be more adept in hand-to-hand combat. He wished that Uncle Taiyang could teach him unarmed combat. He was good at that. Maybe Yang or Ruby would learn a bit from him.

"Split," Qrow ordered. "You know what to do."

Two two of them separated from each other. Qrow brandished his blade, taking casual swings at the Ursa as it tried to swipe him. It was a big one, an Ursa major, but Qrow didn't once falter in his movements nor his thoughts. It didn't take long to expose the Ursa's extremely slow attacks to climb onto its back and impale it through the neck, then flicking the head off.

Jay had taken to taking down the Beowolves. The second he closed in on the first one, the moment his hands grabbed its head, this time his right eye shifted from its natural blue color to the empty red of a Grimm. The Beowolves instantly stopped their aggressive behaviors towards him. This allowed him to use his aura to augment his strength enough to decapitate the head. The Grimm remained unable to attack him as he touched each of them and took them down.

The second wave of Grimm in the form of a single King Taijitu, which hissed in a challenge. Qrow motioned for Jay to get back to his side.

"Plan?" Jay looked to Qrow.

"Comet," Qrow simply said.

"Fun," the boy grinned slightly.

Qrow flicked the control and allowed his scythe to show itself. The huntsman moved forward while the huntsman in training moved backwards. When they were a considerable distance from each other. Jay began to run forward again, gaining more speed as used aura to enhance his speed. The King Taijitu moved forward intent on tearing its foes to bits and then scattering the remains far and wide.

The moment before Jay reached Qrow, the man held the scythe in a way that allowed Jay to grab the very edge of the deadly blade with his hands. Qrow then began to spin the scythe in a single circle, gaining even more momentum to add to Jay. Five seconds later, Jay released himself from the spinning whirlwind and straight for the black head of the Grimm.

His momentum was so much that heat gathered around him. Even with a reinforced head, the head was still no match for the speed and Jay forced a hard aura shield in front of him, and obliterated the head as he smashed into it.

The second head didn't have time to comprehend what had happened as Qrow leaped into the air, bringing down his scythe onto the Grimm.

The body instantly began to disintegrate at the efforts made. Not even bothering to watch the dust fly away, Qrow jogged up to Jay.

"Still alive, kid?"

"Aside from some minor burns, I'm fine."

The shadow of a Nevermore flew over them. Both of their head snapped up in that instant. No time for a break it would seem.

"Does Grimm control come with the maiden powers?" Jay clenched his fists. "It's like these Grimm already knew we were here and were ordered to attack."

"Not a maiden power," Qrow shook his head, "But the woman's own power. Whether natural or not, I can't be sure."

Both of them rolled out of the way of feathers accurately aimed through even the thick foliage of the forest. Jay saw another on his tail. He gathered a concentrated amount of aura into his fist. He stood his ground as the feather sliced its way towards him. At the last moment, he pulled his fist and allowed the aura to make contact with the tip of the black projectile. It fell into dust.

"Jay! Come on!"

Qrow was already turning tail to run out of the forest. They both needed to get into a more open area to open themselves up for attack. It would also mean the Nevermore could attack them more easily, but there wasn't a choice, unless they wanted to waste more time.

The thing that Qrow hated more than anything else.

Jay felt his muscles burn a bit as they ran through the forest, every so often getting by obstacles and also avoiding feather fire.

Then they came upon a hillside clearing, more than enough space for a Nevermore to land and attack if it so desire. With this one, it wasn't certain to say. Qrow was nowhere near his limit in fighting, but Jay was drained a bit. He was still on his feet, but couldn't keep up as long as his father.

The blond took a ragged breath. "Now what?"

"Stay here," Qrow mumbled. "Wait for the signal."

Jay didn't need any more to tell him what Qrow had in mind, but now was the time to step back and give the pro some space.

Qrow charged this time without Jay following him. The boy watched as the two opponents grappled with each other. It wouldn't be too difficult to clip the Nevermore, and Jay expected it to be done very quickly.

Even with his limited experience with Grimm of this class, Jay knew that something was instantly wrong when it became clear that it was taking too long. Qrow was now grappling with the bird-like Grimm as they fought in the sky.

"It should always be easy," Jay spoke.

"Then you are a fool to believe victory so easy."

Jay's head swerved and he readied himself for combat. What he saw made him pause in confusion. The voice he heard was clearly that of a woman. She had charcoal-black hair, amber eyes that looked like miniature suns, a blood-red dress with that Jay guessed was dust-lined. She stood much taller than he did.

She didn't look to be that old. Qrow was certainly the older one. She was beautiful, almost impossibly so. Jay had been honed by natural skill and his semblance and always managed to detect flaws in even the best of beauty. This was unnaturally perfect. Her looks had to another attempt to throw him off. His mind struggled to stop himself from looking too much at her.

But that wasn't what caught her attention. What did catch his attention was the clear power that radiated from her. It was so alien, so unlike anything Jay had ever sensed through aura. Even with his semblance, he could pick up something distinct, unknowable.

A woman with alien powers.

The Fall Maiden.

Jay narrowed his eyes. "You've got the fall maiden powers."

"Observant," she smirked viciously, "But it won't matter when you're dead."

Her eyes glowed with red-hot deadly intent. Jay's body went into overdrive as he dodged her first fireball. The heat hurt him even though it failed to strike him directly; the heat, so much of it radiated off.

She wanted to kill him? Why did she want to kill him? What possible threat could a twelve-year-old boy have against her?

Questions later, attack now.

Jay moved forward to try and grapple with her, and she traded physical blows and retaliated with her own moveset. She was fast, strong, and experienced. He clearly wasn't on the same league let alone level.

The burns he'd already sustained in the fight against the King Taijitu were only further brought to pain as he exposed himself to dangerous temperatures. Jay felt himself swept off his feet by a strong fist to his midsection. He then felt something hard against his face. He fell to the grass, coughing.

He rose and saw blood dripping to the ground from somewhere on his face. Determined to get up and fight, he found himself on all four again, his chest burning. Despite his wounds, he wasn't given even a moment to recover. He could only manage to raise his head as he felt himself being slammed again.

Get up, Jay yelled at himself, Can't go down like a wimp. Die with pride.

"It's amusing watching you try so hard to make your father impressed," her grin turned to an expression of hatred. "It's also pathetic that you adhere to the ways of a drunk fool."

Against his will, Jay's head was brought to look her in the eye by the woman's hand. Her grip wasn't gentle at all. The pain was slowly becoming so much it was a numbing sensation. He was probably losing blood more than he realized.

"Nothing to say, boy," she taunted. "I understand. Your guardian, he's gotten you into things that too far above you."

Jay glared as best he could. He was afraid and he didn't try to hide this fact, but just because he was afraid didn't mean that he couldn't be defiant in the face of death.

It was also then that his semblance began to work as her hand continued to hold his head up. His left eye this time turned to the same deadly amber color as her own. This seemed to only make her more pleased and she didn't once relinquish her hold on him.

Jay's felt his mind flood with so many thing at once. Pain, misery, death, cruelty, suffering, torture. This woman, Cinder Fall was her name. She was the cause of so much evil, unlike anything he'd ever seen before in anyone.

Jay screamed and forcefully rejected Cinder's soul from his own. Too much, so much more than he could withstand. His physical pain was all but forgotten as he collapsed to the ground, still trying to comprehend that moment of connection. He didn't even care to see Cinder ready a fireball, ready to kill him.

Her hands held the energy, and she narrowed her eyes at him, firing the energy at him. Jay still did nothing to stop her.

But he did know he was going to die.

He closed his eyes, and still somehow finding the strength in himself to raise his aura. It was a fruitless action, but he still did it.

Only the fireball never struck him, but instead an explosion that hurled the boy several meters. He tumbled along the grass, gritting in pain at each obstacle that jabbed his wounds. His mental pain forgotten for a moment, he finally found the encouragement to rise.

"Get up," Jay grumbled, "Get. Up."

Jay was unsteady, and he was hurt, and what aura he did have left was spent now healing his wounds. His head scanned around him.

Where it appeared that he and Cinder stood was now a crater of black. Where was she? She couldn't possibly be hurt just like that.

And nearby, there was Qrow, sprawled out on the ground.

"DAD!"

Jay sprinted faster than he had ever done in his life. No amount of impairments would stop him. Once he was by Qrow's side, he fell to his knees.

His entire attire was torn and shredded. Moreover, it appears that the blast had done severe damage.

"Dad," Jay began to feel tears, "Get up. Come on, we gotta go!"

"Jay," Qrow managed, "I'm so sorry."

Jay's head shook frantically "No, you're fine. I can give you aura. I-"

"Aura gone," Qrow managed. "Can't go on."

"No," Jay pleaded, "Please, you can't. D-don't leave me like this!"

The emotional turmoil was so powerful it could be touched in the air. Jay's right eye turned red as he made contact with Qrow.

"Jay," Qrow's words were weak, but Jay didn't speak over him. "Take...Ebon Reach. Use it well."

"B-but I can't wield a scythe."

"Yes...you...can. You can...do anything. Semblance."

Jay clasped his hands onto Qrow's left hand. "W-why? I-I'm n-not w-worth it. I-I'm-"

"You," Qrow wheezed, "Always...come...first."

Jay's eyes widened. The words, they were the best words to hear and the worst words to hear now. It was truly a hopeless situation, and yet through the connection, the blond boy could find something to hold onto.

"I love you dad," he whispered. "So much."

"Forever and always kid," Qrow smiled a genuine smile, his last one. "That won't change."

"Never?"

"Never."

Qrow closed his eyes, took in a few breaths, then ceased to move entirely. Jay clamped his hands into fists, his head bowing down.

His father, the person he trusted the most in his life, was dead.

Gone.

Qrow was gone.

Forever.

He wasn't coming back.

"How touching!"

Jay looked up to see Cinder who had returned it seemed to finish the job. She looked like she had sustained injuries surprisingly. It appeared that Qrow had done more damage than he'd seen.

Jay opened his eyes again, but the red from one of his eyes hadn't faded at all. He eyed Ebon Reach out of the corner of his eye.

"You," he seethed.

"What will you do now, Jay Branwen?" Cinder stood there, elegant and threatening.

Jay found himself running on automatic as he dashed forward, taking Cinder by surprise; his attack actually managed to stun her, but he chose not to continue attacking, instead reaching closing the distance and grabbing Ebon Reach in his hands.

He wouldn't be able to last long in a fight seeing as his injuries were catching up to him. He could see the faintest of black along his sightline.

The few times that he had wielded Ebon Reach were not experiences that he was proud of. For one thing, the weapon was too big for him to wield properly. For another thing, it weighed a lot more than he was use to carrying. For yet another thing, it wasn't his weapon, at least not moments ago. He was far from a scythe master.

Yet somehow right now, he felt just fine using it, like he'd been doing it his entire life.

Jay switched to shotgun mode and began blasting away, to which Cinder held a hand to block his bullets.

"You're on your last limb," Cinder observed, "It would be so much easier for you to just give up. You're already dead."

"I won't die afraid," Jay cried.

Cinder was slightly impressed. "Then you will die braver than most."

Instead of throwing fireballs at him, she unleashed a single torrent of flame, endless, and it looked like she had the energy to sustain it indefinitely. Jay could evade for maybe a few moments before he was caught in its effect. His right leg became burnt badly, and he fell to the ground again.

His aura was in the red now. Any more, and he'd be dead.

Well, it was a good run while it lasted.

He wouldn't even live to know his own death as he was consumed by unconsciousness. The last thing he heard was the sound of another explosion.

(X)(X)(X)(X)

Jay awoke.

But there wasn't a dreamscape nor any indication of any sort of divine or hellish place. It was just a hospital bed.

Jay jerked awake, throwing the sheets off of himself. He looked down at himself. He had been changed out of his old attire and into a simple hoodie and jeans. He felt no pain of any kind physically.

What happened?

Qrow…

"Do not cry," a voice commanded.

Jay's eyes went to the place where the voice came from. He wasn't surprised to hear the voice because for one thing, he had seen her before, knew who she was.

"Hello Raven," he mumbled.

Jay didn't really like Aunty Raven much, because firstly thing, she wasn't around to even see him or her daughter Yang for that matter. Secondly, he didn't like her as a person. She was so different than everyone else, so distant, so cold.

"Why'd you bring me here," Jay demanded, "Why not just let me die? When did you care about me?"

"I don't," she answered, "But there are people who do care about you. Qrow wouldn't want you to go down with him. He made his choice."

"That's it," he growled, "That's all you have to say to your brother's death? He made his choice!?"

Raven wasn't moved. "Qrow's gone, and no amount of crying and mourning will bring him back."

Jay gritted his teeth. Clearly she wasn't here to talk about Qrow. "What the hell is going on? Why am I here?"

"Someone wants to talk to you," Raven lowered her head to the floor.

Before he could demand a more specific answer, he looked to the door and saw someone enter. He was an old man with grey-white hair. He was tall, somewhere around Qrow's height, and fit-looking. He wore a pair of antique glasses. There was a cane in his hands, but judging by the way he walked, it wasn't meant to support him.

"Jay Branwen," the man spoke. "You…"

Who is this? What does he want with me?

"...have Qrow's eye color," the man finished.

Jay adopted a curious and confused face. "What?"

The man chose not to explain his words, simply placing a glass of warm milk before him. He looked to the old man, detecting no malice intent. So he down the drink, careful not to make a milk mustache.

"How...do you know my dad?"

"Because we worked together quite often. I'm surprised that Qrow has not talked much about me to you. I am Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy."

"The school for huntsman and huntresses," Jay finished. "The place where dad graduated and became a huntsman."

"Correct," Ozpin replied, "I've been watching you for some time, and I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, but with Qrow's death, I need your help."

"What can I possibly help you with? I'm a kid with barely enough training to get by."

"You have much more than you realize," Ozpin argued, "If Raven's report is correct, you appeared to have wielded Ebon Reach without having any true prior training in its use."

"It was just instinct," Jay shrugged, "What's there to say?"

"It wasn't instinct, Jay." Ozpin smiled just slightly. "It was your semblance."

"What do you want with me, Ozpin?"

Ozpin remained impassive at Jay's demand, and that only served for fuel the boy's impatience at the situation. Why couldn't this conversation be just a bit more simple? He didn't doubt that this man knew a great deal and was quite powerful and skilled, but not everyone could be like him.

"Qrow was part of a few who had the skills and abilities to do certain missions." Ozpin took a long sip from his mug of coffee. "I'm sure you've been wondering for a long time why he didn't bring you along."

"I have," Jay sighed. "I don't understand what this had to do with that."

"Because you're that person who needs to do those missions now. With Qrow dead, someone will have to take his place, and you are the person."

The blond had a look of absolute disbelief. How in the hell did Ozpin expect him to take on Qrow's mission alone without any sort of assistance? It was suicide and a waste.

"I don't have my father's skills. I told you, I'm just a kid."

"You have more than you realize, Jay," Ozpin said. "You just need to believe in yourself, because I believe in you."

That caught the boy by surprise. This man, whom he'd known for less than five minutes, trusted him? How could he trust him just like that? Just how much did he know of Jay? How much had Qrow talked about him?

HIs eyes flickered to Raven, and she didn't indicate she was invested in the conversation, simply waiting for it to be over. No help would come from her, and Jay expected as much from the woman.

Without Qrow, he had to make a choice that would most definitely change his life forever. Was he even ready for something like this? Did he have the capacity to do what Qrow did for a living? Could he even amount to to anything like his father?

Just then he noticed something he hadn't seen before. A nearby window was reflecting the room they were in, and when Jay saw himself in the reflection, there was something there that shouldn't be there.

His right eye was red like Qrow's eyes. And he wasn't in contact with anyone. He was sitting on the bed.

Qrow's last words echoed in his mind.

You can...do anything.

In that moment, he knew what to do. Qrow had never stopped believing in him, and he took the blast for his own son. What good would that do to just throw away everything that could make him better?

"What do you want me to do," Jay asked. "How soon do we begin?"

"Right now," Ozpin typed on his scroll, "You are to go back to Taiyang Xiao Long and Summer Rose. I have informed them of Qrow's fate."

"Then our business is finished," Raven stepped in. "Jay. With me."

Jay got out of bed, careful not to overexert himself. Raven brandished her weapon and opened a portal. Jay looked to Ozpin.

"Your first assignment will be sent to your scroll. I will add further instructions so you can make your messages invisible."

"Understood," Jay nodded. "Thank you, Professor Ozpin."

"Do not thank me, Jay. Honor Qrow."

"Which I will also do."

(X)(X)(X)(X)

Yang and Ruby were playing a game right now. It involved imaginary Grimm and them being huntresses. This was the closest thing to the real thing they were going to get.

They both wanted to be huntresses. One day, they would be. Their parents had agreed to it and the two of them were now going to take full advantage of it.

If only Jay were here. They missed him so much, and his next letter wasn't due for at least four more months.

Yang's momentary lapse allowed Ruby to take her by surprise. Yang tried to grapple with Ruby, but found the little girl so much faster.

The two of them faced each other, a determined look on each others' faces.

Then a sound filled their ears.

The two of them turned to the source.

"JAY!"

Both of them were instantly upon him, and crushing him in the grip of death. Silence passed for some time, and the two sisters broke away to look at him.

He looked...empty.

"Jay-Jay," Ruby asked. "What's wrong?"

"Ruby," he whispered. "I-"

The three of them were interrupted as the door to the house opened and Summer and Taiyang came bounding out. They were upon Jay.

"Jay," Summer grabbed him. "I'm so sorry."

A tear fell down his face. "I won't...cry."

"It's okay to cry, Jay."

Yang and Ruby looked to each other in confusion. What was happening? Why was Jay so upset? Why did their parents know this?

Their eyes then rested on what he held in his hands.

It was Ebon Reach, Uncle Qrow's weapon.

"I want my father," Jay sobbed. "I want my father."

The two sisters then clicked what was going on, and in that moment, they too felt sorrow as well. Without another word, they reached out to re-embrace Jay. Taiyang joined them.

Jay's left eye swirled with the color of blue, silver, and lilac.

His right eye was split into his sapphire-blue and Qrow's blood-red.

My god, this was a long chapter. I didn't expect it to be this long, but I'm sure none of you are complaining about it.

So yeah, that just happened. Some serious...shit hit the fan. Theses events are the type of things that will shape Jay/Jaune later in the story, but as you can see, he refuses to be broken. He still wants to do right.

I know you all have questions about Qrow, and they will be answered next chapter.

For those of you who don't know, I've put a poll on my profile for a future story idea. I want to put characters from the MCU into a team. If that's something you'd like to see, go to my profile page and vote for you favorite Marvel hero.

And finally, I want to hear what people thought about this chapter. Good, bad, awesome, meh, leave your thoughts in a review. Apologies for any potential errors I've made.

Anyone catch the Star Wars line reference?

Thanks to everyone so far who's taken an interest in this story. I will continue to deliver quality chapters as best I can. I hope you guys enjoyed reading, and remember, everything we do impacts someone else's life.

Peace!