Jaune's world closed in around him. His team members filled his vision. Nora was crying over Ren's corpse while Ruby lay unconscious. Team leader Jaune Arc! He choked as some feeling clogged his throat, unable to escape it hung there. Almost suffocating him, Jaune stood trembling. Unable to move as the sight of his friends around him lay dead or dying.

Tears blurred his vision into a haze. Unable to focus around him he wiped, yet nothing cleared. A faint red glow became noticeable, as if appearing in the distance dead center of his sight. Jaune tried to look away, yet everywhere he looked was still that same red glow, penetrating the haze. He squinted to no effect, attempting to make some semblance of what he saw.

A fair maiden, with long red hair walked into focus briefly. Through the haze she stood clearly, smiling towards him. Yet a hint of sorrow betrayed the would be beautiful smile. The figure moved away slowly, Jaune pumped his legs as fast has he could. "No, no no. Don't leave me!" Yet no matter how much effort he put into catching up, the distance appeared to grow. He stretched out his sword arm, grasping for the image as it faded.

The sight of the snowy open field returned. Jaune stood solemnly with his arms at his side. Nothing had changed, Ren and Nora still lie silent and Ruby was unconscious. "Time to die pretty boy." Tisi charged with both weapons poised to strike.

This can not be it. I will protect my teammates. I will protect my friends. I am their leader, they rely on me!

A white glow shone brightly in the dark, emanating from Jaune. So bright was this light it had caste shadows on the tree line and beyond. "NO MORE." Jaune raised an unfamiliar sword towards the committed opponent. Unable to react, Tisi slammed into the point, sliding down the extremely long blue-tinted blade length. She slammed with all her momentum into the cross guard. Her light blue aura shone briefly before diminishing as she rolled off away from the sword.

Jaune looked down at his weapon briefly, it was large. In fact so large he felt like the weapon should be holding him up instead of the other way around. He didn't let his bewilderment linger for more than a moment. Without fully realizing what he was doing, he heaved the greatsword around over his head. "Get away from him!" The blade shone white briefly, before unleashing a shock wave that cut through the air as he swiped from overhead. The shimmer of light darted at unmatched speeds towards Ringo, scattering dirt into the wind as it traveled.

Ringo had only enough time to see the fire in those blue eyes before being uprooted by the attack. It sent him slamming into multiple trees, each one cracking giving way for Ringo to reach the next for several more yards.

Hallbjörn filled the night air with a bellow of might as he dashed towards Jaune. His claws came crashing down unto Jaune's raised shield. His second claw swiped in an uppercut, catching Jaune by the chin sending him backwards. "Ha, so what you got a bigger sword now. Your still a puny lit-" Suddenly the gleaming blade struck down, cutting the length of Hallbjörn from neck to torso. His aura strained to protect him from the blow. "Alright, enough of this." The giant took a battle stance, hands outwards at the ready.

Too slow, Jaune's sword cut once more. Hallbjörn attempted a counter attack as his opponent's momentum carried him to the side. His strike was certain to hit the exposed backside, yet his claws landed on the flat part of Jaune's blade.

Jaune's weapon was behind his back, protecting him with the width of the massive blade. He locked a sideways glare, eyeing Hallbjörn over his shoulder. The blue orbs shone brightly, almost lighting up. Jaune's aura was shining white, emitting pure energy of his soul constantly. With a grit of his teeth and a clench of his offhand, that same energy pulsed away. Hallbjörn buckled over, losing his ground to the attack which pushed him backwards.

Nenia gently sat the unconscious Ruby down. He walked over towards Hallbjörn who was recovering from the aura attack. "This one has a lot of aura, be on guard." Nenia suggested to his teammate. Both took fighting stances directed towards Jaune Arc. Hallbjörn roared, as he sprinted towards his downed comrade Tisi.

Jaune momentarily pondered what he was doing. Maybe they were gathering their wounded and retreating?

"You forced my hand whelp." The giant seized Tisi by the head, lifting her shoulder level.

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

Hallbjörn laughed frantically. He squeezed his clawed hand together in a fist, shattering the head of Tisi.

Jaune gritted his teeth, eyes wide open to the scene. "You monster! How could you do that to your teammate!" His white aura pulsated, dancing around him as if reacting to the scene.

"Relax, she is expendable." A chuckle escaped from his throat. Blood from Tisi seemed to be flowing up the giant's arm. Wrapping itself around his body up his shoulder. The liquid appeared to have a life of it's own as it flowed around the massive arm. "Even in death, her semblance is a nasty one!" He tossed aside Tisi's corpse, unintentionally towards a small black bird.

Nenia drew his eyebrows together, he pushed up his glasses as he peered around the open field. When had all these birds got here? Surely they were here to pick apart the fresh corpses. No, not yet how could they. They wouldn't wait this close to the battlefield for their next meal, not this close. Nenia widened his search, the entire field had small black birds staring them down. They shifted, hopping up and down, never adverting their red eyes from the combatants. "Hallbjörn wait." His command never reached Hallbjörn's ears.

Hallbjörn dashed towards Jaune, black birds parted ways as the giant trampled to his prey. His arm was outstretched, blood tendrils squirmed in excitement. Jaune prepared to guard the attack, yet his focus fell to an unmoving bird in front of him.

"You die now!" Hallbjörn roared as he closed distance. Jaune's shield was raised to block the surely devastating blow. Slowly he lowered his shield as no strike came. To his surprise the giant lay to his left side, on his right a massive arm lay dismembered. The blood tendrils clung tightly, appearing to be reaching out for Jaune. In the center stood a familiar sight of a red cloak flapping in the breeze.

A giant scythe was positioned over his back. He reached into a side pack, producing a handful of red dust. "That would have been bad if it touched you." He ignited the dust, passing it over the severed arm with the attached tendrils. The arm was consumed by flames, Jaune could of sworn he could hear a faint cry as the red tendrils faded from the chard limb. "You did a good job here Jaune."

"Dammit Qrow! We could of used your help hours ago!" Jaune cried out.

Qrow was not oblivious to the fact he had casualties on his team. "I would have been here sooner." He paused, clearly skipping over certain details. "Ren is still breathing, don't worry. They will be fine." Qrow flipped his scythe over, blade facing upward. He brought some distance between him and Jaune, while facing Nenia. "Alright old friend. It's done, you lost here. Now leave." The birds throughout the battlefield hopped around, sensing the excitement.


"A flare?" Glynda Goodwitch announced to her team. They were following the trail Ruby's team was expected to take.

"That's where we are headed." Port commented while passing his fingers over his mustache.

Oobleck analyzed the possibilities. It could be a trap, or could be the only other known team to be in this area, Ruby's. Either way, whomever is this deep into Grimm territory must need help or is in danger. He concluded a somewhat obvious answer. "I do think its Ruby's team. I recommend all haste."

A gruff chuckle escaped Peter. "Looks like Tai doesn't want to sit around and chat about it, hmm?" He trotted off after the sprinting Taiyang, with company in pursuit.


The combatants stared each other down in the open field. Crows around them danced, hopping between feet keeping their gaze steady on the fight that was soon to develop. The shattered moon loomed overhead, casting light upon the field giving the snow a small glowing effect. Jaune stood at the ready, feeling fatigue of his newly donned weapon, he rested it over his shoulder. At a moment's notice he would be ready to block, dodge and counter any attack. With Ringo noticeably unconscious in the wreckage of trees, he was confident with Qrow at his side versus one more enemy. This battle may not be fair, but real battle wasn't. His newly arrived partner in battle was also surveying the surroundings and analyzing his foe. Nenia was not idle either. His gaze took in the entire battlefield, taking count and marking locations of crows mentally. He periodically returned focus to his foes before moving his eyes back to the surroundings.

Jaune shifted his weight eagerly. "Calm down, listen carefully." Qrow attempted to ease the tension that was betrayed from Jaune's body language. He continued in hushed tone, concealing his conversation from Nenia. "Don't think because it is two on one this battle will be easy."

"You have got to be kidding me?" Jaune kept his eyes trained on the foe in front of him, attempting to pick apart his attire for combat usefulness. He was unable to see how Nenia fought with Ruby, a major problem not knowing his opponent's combat style. It appeared that he never used the giant cross on his back, assuming he is using an unarmed combat style would be costly mistake Jaune knew. Dust, or Semblance fighter could be a possibility. Yet he did not show anything that could project Dust outwards, maybe it was embedded into his clothing?

"Now listen." Qrow silently continued. "He is a medium ranged fighter, but under no circumstance do you ever drop your guard at any range." He cast a quick glance towards Jaune, making certain that he understood before continuing. "His Semblance allows him to solidify and move Aura."

"Wha- what?" Jaune said, louder than intended.

"Quiet," Qrow said quickly. "He most likely won't give us much time to plan. We need to just delay for a while longer. If you do get locked in combat, you must keep pressure. It is important for us to use as much of his Aura as possible, and quickly."

"So he can solidify his Aura? Or any Aura? And delay for what?" Jaune questioned quickly.

"All I know, is stay focused. If you lose concentration, your Aura no matter how vast, could be gone in an instant." Qrow shifted his back foot more solidly, readying for motion.

Jaune let himself gulp heavily, preparing himself for the fight to come.

"Have you formulated an attack strategy yet?" Nenia said calmly. "I suppose I should take the offensive. Every moment we waste is stacking the deck in your favor." Nenia stepped forward, motioning his hands towards the pair opposite of him. A faint glow of what appeared to be Aura swirled on the ground in between Jaune and Qrow.

Every crow on the field took flight, cawing wildly while gaining air. "Dodge NOW!" Qrow launched himself diagonally, tucking and rolling while bringing his scythe around his body. Jaune followed suit, rolling to the left away from the Aura. Suddenly an eruption of pure black spikes originated from the whirl of Aura, endangering the positions once held by the pair. Jaune turned to face the origin, he shifted his weapon to guard his front. The blade was struck by a black pointed rod protruding from the ground. The force sent him tumbling backwards, yet he regained his balance quick enough to face Nenia once more.

Qrow sprang upright, dashing forward towards Nenia. His opponent raised his hand into the air in quick succession. Each gesture was accompanied by a cluster of black spikes, originating close to Nenia. They began small and but grew in size as row and row of the spikes erupted from the ground to challenge Qrow's advance.

Each wave, before making contact at the last moment was nimbly evaded by Qrow. Within striking distance, Qrow unleashed a flurry of attacks. Swiping multiple times, each missing their mark with a slight back step from Nenia. The final attack came from overhead. Qrow extended his grip on his weapon to ensure that extra distance needed to strike from any dodge attempt.

His shaft was met with an eruption of solidified Aura, stopping the weapon mid swing. Nenia only having to move his head to the side to prevent the scythe point from striking it's mark. Nenia placed his palm outwards towards the wall of darkness. He struck the object, which produced an array of spikes from the other end towards Qrow.

Too quick was the scythe wielder. Black plumes engulf his body, turning him into a crow in an instant. His flight was short and lightning fast, just overhead of Nenia before reforming into his bipedal form mid-air. Without hesitation, Qrow swung his scythe in a sideways arc. Qrow squeezed the trigger once the barrels shifted to direct thrust to the rear of the swing.. The shaft landed heavy on Nenia's flank. The shotgun barrels shifted once more, facing to the back end and away from the blade tip at a slight diagonal. Qrow squeezed the trigger once more to finish the reaping motion. The blasts provided massive amounts of force, hammering into anything caught in between the blade and shaft. Qrow landed gracefully, crouching with his scythe outstretched in his left hand to the side.

Jaune watched in awe, this man before him clearly trained Ruby. He recalled the events on Patch where Ruby flawlessly executed Grimm in the same precise manner. A sigh of relief escaped his tense body, with Qrow at his side his team surely will be able to walk away from this battle.

Qrow remained crouched, ready to move. The cloaked figure he had just attacked stood unmoving. Black plume trails danced in the wind as they fell to the floor, dissipating. Nenia slowly turned around, pushing up his glasses slightly. His face was conveying nothing to betray his emotions, yet Jaune knew Nenia felt in control of the fight.

"What? How could he take that attack!" Jaune yelled out in surprise as the man moved to face the pair once more.

Qrow drew his eyebrows together, focusing on his opponent. "So you solidified your Aura to move my weapon around your body?" Qrow feigned stupidity, attempting to bait out the real answer. He felt like his strike hit true, yet something was off. He would of clung onto and moved Nenia with him if he just blocked the attack with his solidified Aura. It didn't make any sense that he would just pass right through, without splitting his body in half.

"I won't humor you with an answer, I have just enough time. To claim those eyes and the key." Nenia darted his eyes towards the downed Ruby quickly, before returning to focus on the combatants. "Let's not waste any more time here Qrow. I don't need to kill you, if you just hand over what we need."

A perfect time to stall for help. Qrow didn't let this prospect of conversation go unchecked. "You know very well, if any of these fall into the wrong hands. It would spell disaster for humanity."

"And my cause is so unjust compared to yours?" Nenia dashed forward, reaching melee distance. He moved his hands as if to strike with them, yet the real attack follow moments behind. Streaks of black Aura emanated from the wake of each hand movement.

Qrow shifted his weapon to it's sword from during the first series of dodges. The following attacks were met soundly with his blade. Each strike against the metal of Qrow's weapon were accompanied by clangs and metallic scrapes. "My cause has the most favorable outcome for us all! Not just a specific Kingdom!"

"Is that what Ozpin told you, 'protectors of the world'?" It was Nenia's turn to evade sword strikes from Qrow. The pair interlocked in a dance to the death. "What makes you think the other Kingdom's are willing to accept whatever Ozpin has in store? Why does Ozpin know what is best for us all? His insolence is unforgivable!"

Qrow faltered momentarily. Nenia seized the opening. A thrust from his palm produced a ball of black Aura. On contact with Qrow's exposed chest, it erupted. Both combatants were hurled away, although Qrow was unable to maintain an upright posture.

Jaune yelled as he dashed to the aid of his comrade. He slammed his shield into a walled defense of Nenia's while side stepping an uppercut. He heaved the massive weapon off his shoulder in a downward strike. It landed solidly on the ground, springing rocks and dirt into the air. He quickly drug his weapon over the ground, tracking his moving target. The next blow landed with a metal clank. To Jaune's surprise his weapon was blocked by the cross on Nenia's back. Jaune lost his footing as a leg swept under him, following in it's wake was streaks of darkness. Unable to regain proper poise he rolled as the streaks passed into his body, sending him backwards.

Before Jaune could react a heavy golden object slammed into his head, forcing it into the ground where he lay. His Aura held strong, protecting him from the otherwise skull crushing attack. As quickly as the attack came, Nenia jumped backwards wielding the ornate crucifix in his hand via an attached sash. "It's time to end this." He slammed the cross downward, letting it rest on it's own.

Jaune and Qrow regained their combat stances. Preparing themselves for any attack to come. "Qrow, what's this?"

Qrow wiped wet snow and dirt from his mouth. "No clue, he never had a cross when I knew him."

Jaune looked back towards Nenia who had his the palms of his hands together. His dark gray Aura shone brightly as parts of it solidified into black. His long pony tail flapped near horizontal off his back, as if a strong gust of wind was constantly playing on his entire body. The cross attracted the solidifying Aura. Gears and mechanisms turned and were brought to life. Moments later, the front of the cross burst open.

The wind seemed to die down as Nenia created distance from his cross. Out from the open mechanism came forth a dark shackled arm. It strained as it grasped onto the cross, attempting to remain upright. A face leaned out from the upper part of the crucifix. The upper half of the creature's face was white and eyeless, akin to a bleach white skull. The lower half it's black jaw gaped, hanging off center.

Qrow lowered his weapon slightly to get a better view. "Nenia, how the hell do you have that." He said slowly, his disbelief apparent in his tone.

"You little protectors of the world aren't the only ones with their dark secrets, Qrow."