RWBY: Restart
When the world was destroyed and all that he had ever known was taken from him. One man will unknowingly return to the past and prepare it for the future...just not the way he expected.
Chapter X: The Forever Forest Part II
A large hoard of Ursa Grandeur's and Mutated Beowolves roared as chaos echoed throughout the forest. The students had looks of fear plastered all over their faces as the beasts mutated forms sent horror down their spines.
The Teachers were faring better, but they too could not help but feel afraid of the many beasts that now surrounded them. One student screamed in fright as the beasts roared and charged at the students.
Students quickly beginning to panic as they tried to escape, but found it impossible with more of them quickly cutting off their escape. They batted a few away as if they were nothing but sacks full of feathers. Their aura protected them, but the force rendered them unable to fight back.
Just as one was about to claim its first kill, it was shot back by a powerful force as Glynda used her semblance to shoot the creature away. But the creature merely shook off its stupor as it roared and charged at the headmistress.
Port got in front of the teacher as he fired a shot from his weapon, blasting a chunk from the bests armour, but did little to stop it.
"Move!" he ordered, as he and Glynda rolled out of the way just as the beast struck the ground before them.
"These are no ordinary Grimm! It is as if they have been enhanced!" the beast turned its gaze to the portly man. Who gripped his axe and charged at the beast and clashed against its bony armour.
"We have to get the students out of here! I've contacted the Shuttle! They should be at the landing zone in five minutes! We just need to hold them off until it gets here!" Glynda said as she did her best to keep the monsters away.
"That is easier said than done!" Doctor Oobleck said as he used his speed to dash around the many Ursa Grander that now appeared throughout the forest. "But where did these creatures come from!?" he asked as used his thermos bat to blast another away, only for another to charge at the man.
"I don't know!? But all that matters now is getting the students out of here!" she ordered as she used her semblance to push them back if only to struggle as they pushed back against her power.
"But still, what are these Creatures? And why are they attacking us now?"
Meanwhile, more of the students began to panic as one lumbered towards them, Cardin tried to fight back but was too scared as an Ursa Grandeur stood over him, ready to plunge his claws into his chest.
Jaune quickly sprung into action and sliced the beast's arm off, before the second swing decapitated its head clean off. It's roar echoed through the forest as Jaune stood before the beasts.
"Everyone get to the ship! Those who can fight help the others! Get everyone else to the shuttle!" he ordered, "We have to get out of here!" he yelled as they nodded and made a run for the shuttle.
Jaune meanwhile mentally cursed as he stood before the large beasts.
'Shit! There's too many of them! I should have known the Grimm King would do this! I was stupid not to prepare for this!' he didn't notice one charging up behind him before a blond-haired girl socked it in the face and sent it flying into the others.
"Hey! Keep your head in the game hot stuff! These things are tough!" she said as she reloaded her weapons. "My attacks are barely putting a scratch on them!" She said as stood in front of more of them. A metal discus shot past her and slammed into another Grimm as it ricocheted off a tree and returned to Pyrrha's hand.
"This is a battle we cannot win, we must evacuate the forest immediately. Where are the others?" she asked when suddenly a wall of ice appeared before her.
The Grimm momentarily stunned as they turned to see Weiss with her sword impaled on the ground. Ren and Nora standing by her side as Ren shot at the Beowolves while Nora fired grenade after grenade at the hoard.
"We are fine, we were just helping some of the injured back to the shuttle, but where are Ruby and Blake?" she asked as the loud crack of a sniper shot past her head and hit one in the eye. She turned up as she saw Ruby in a tree branch as she reloaded her weapon.
"I'm right here! But I lost track of Blake amidst the chaos!" she said as Yang turned to her sister.
"What!" she yelled as she felt fear in her chest, "Where is she!?" she asked as she never noticed the Beowulf that snuck up behind her, only for it to scream in pain and then fall to the forest floor dead with a Katana blade in its back and the ninja-like girl on its back.
"I'm fine, but there are still injured that need to be carried out of here!" Blake said as Jaune nodded and blocked another attack from a 'Rampant Beowulf' before slicing it in half.
"We have no choice, everyone! Hold the line here! We must make sure that everyone gets out of here alive! None of them make it throough, Understood!" he ordered as his commander's voice resonated with teams RWBY and JNPR.
They all nodded as they reloaded and stood before the hoard, as Jaune pointed his sword at the large amount of Grimm and gripped the handle tight. He roared as he charged at the beast with Yang, Pyrrha and Nora by his side as all four of them blasted at the many Grimm with their weapons. Body parts and black smoke littered the air as bone claws clashed against metal.
Blake darted through the Beowolves as she slashed and sliced at their legs with Ren following beside her, as he fired rapid amounts of bullets from his guns while using his semblance to avoid their attention then striking them in the back.
Ruby pegged them in the head with each shot from her rifle, while Weiss launched sharp icicles at the packs.
Yang and Nora combining their attacks as Nora's grenades and Yang's shotgun rockets blasted against the Ursa Grandeur's thick hides.
Pyrrha floated her shield by her side in its buzz-saw mode, as the discus slashed at their throats while she thrust her spear through their hearts. Jaune then following up as the massive blade decapitated their heads from their bodies as his eyes held pure focus and anger.
The hoards roar echoing throughout the forest as the shadow of the Grimm King watched from the distance, as the symbol on its hand continued to glow brighter. Its eyes focused on Jaune as he watched the boy continue to fight his creatures, but found confusion in the way the boy fought.
It could instantly tell that the boy was holding back, not going to his full potential and just annihilating the army before him.
He had not given the hoard enough power to destroy the boy, merely enough that the large number would provide a mere challenge for the boy. But it seemed that he was far more focused on keeping the other humans safe, his 'friends' from what the Grimm King understood, and he found it to be boring.
This was not what he wanted to see. He wanted to see the one who killed him in the future fight to his true potential and break free the shackles of this world's morality and embrace the thirst for combat that he knew existed inside him.
He focused his attention on the assembled students as the symbol glowed on his shadowy hand brighter.
The Grimm suddenly glowed as they felt an increase in power. Their master was bestowing upon them a great strength as they felt the sudden rush of energy overwhelm them. They turned this energy towards the students as they easily swatted back another group of students whose aura instantly broke while they slammed into a tree.
Port spun around in time to block the next blow that would have surely killed the boy and then tried to kill the beast. But the blade barely made a dent as the Grimm merely grinned at the man.
"Shit! They just got stronger!" Port called out as the teachers were now struggling to hold back the beasts. Glynda was struggling to hold back the telekinetic barrier that she erected to protect the students.
"We can't hold out much longer!" Oobleck called out as dashed his way through the hoard, only for a Beowulf to pounce on him and raised its jaws to devour the man had a shot from his thermos not blasted its head to smithereens. But he was wounded as he looked down at his leg that had a large gash through his calf muscle.
Jaune looked around as the world seemed to slow down, every detail and every moment seemed to be slowed to a crawl as he watched the world around him.
The hoard was becoming too much for his friend's and their auras were beginning to shatter, as they were low on ammunition.
Ren was helping a student up as he did his best to drag them back to safety, while Nora fired at another Ursa.
Weiss and Ruby were surrounded by Grimm as Weiss made spikes of ice that did little to stop the Ursa Grander as they merely brushed away the shards of ice.
Blake and Yang were back to back as blood leaked from the top of Yang's eye while Blake protected her partner to the best of her abilities.
A brief flash to the future as he watched the friends that he fought beside die before him one by one as a smiling Ruby was held in his arms before she closed her eyes and he was all alone...
"NO!" he yelled as his hand shimmered with powerful light as condensed around his fist and he slammed it into the ground. A large dome began to surge out from his hand as the large dome pushed the Grimm away from the students. The Beasts roared in anger as a massive dome sheltered the students and separated them from the Grimm.
The students and teachers could only stare in awe as the Grimm continued to bat against the dome in a vain attempt to break the barrier. Jaune looked up as he held his blade in his hand and glared at the Grimm, growling and snarling as they slammed against the dome. But Jaune merely glared back as he then turned his head to the others.
"Miss Goodwitch, Professor Port, Doctor Oobleck?" he said as they turned to the boy.
"Grab everyone else and get them to the shuttle and get back to Beacon, I can hold them off as long as I can so that you can get the others to safety. Don't worry they can't get through the barrier, it doesn't allow anyone without a soul to enter. Get out from the back while I draw them away," he said as he hefted the massive blade to his shoulder.
Instantly the teachers flinched in shock as they stared at the boy.
"What!? Mister Arc that is absurd! You can't fight this many Grimm by yourself! You're going to get yourself killed!" Glynda said before she flinched at the stone like gaze from the boy.
"Don't argue with me! You're down to your last legs and this barrier is not going to hold much longer. You have too many injuries to continue fighting and your priority is to get the others to safety! I can draw them away from you while you get everyone out of here! Don't fail in your duty!" he ordered as she was about to argue when Port grabbed her shoulder.
"Unfortunately, he is right. We are too weak right now to continue fighting and we need as much time as we can get to get the injured to the shuttle. We can pick him up from the air once everyone is safe," he said as the woman looked over to the many injured children as she cursed.
"Fine, but do not do anything reckless! Keep yourself alive as long as you can so we can pick you up!" she ordered as the boy nodded and began to walk to the edge of the barrier. But a hand grabbed his as he turned and saw Ruby staring at him in worry and shock.
"Jaune, don't go! There are too many of them! There has to be another way!" she begged as he sadly shook his head, removed her hand and patted the top of her head.
"Relax Crater Face, this won't kill me, I promise." He said as she hung her head while Yang was helped up by Blake.
"Hey Hot stuff!" she called out as the boy turned back to her. "Don't you go getting yourself killed! I'm done with you yet!" she said as the boy smirked at this.
"I have no doubt about that," he said as he then turned to Ren and Nora. "Ren, I expect you to look after them," he said as the boy nodded in respect. "And Nora..." he said as she looked at the boy.
"Break their legs" the girl nodded and held her hammer to her shoulder.
"Can do, Fearless Leader!" she said as the boy turned to see Pyrrha standing in front of him, her arms folded over her chest as she glared at the boy. He sighed as he looked at her.
"Pyrrha," he said as she instantly held up her hand to him.
"Save it Jaune, I know what you're going to say and I don't care. I am staying by your side this time and I am helping you hold off the Grimm. There are too many even for you to handle and I can at least help you hold them back," she said as she held her shield up.
"You made me leave last time, but not this time. This time I'm fighting by your side, whether you like it or not," she said as the boy stared at her.
"Actually, I was going to ask for your help. There are too many Grimm for the teachers to get the students to safety, so I need your help to draw them off until everyone is away safe. I can't do that by myself," he said as she blinked at this.
"Oh...All right then," she said as the boy turned back the hoard and then turned his head to the others.
"As soon as they attack us, make your way to the back of the barrier, it should allow you to pass through! We'll hold them off!" he said as they nodded and the pair prepared their weapons.
"Ready partner?" he asked as she nodded.
"Always," she said as they then ran out of the barrier and into the hoard of Grimm.
Jaune instantly carving his way through the Beowolves as body parts flew in the air as he made his way through the hoard. Another group tried to avenge them, only for them to be shot in the head as Pyrrha charged at them as she covered the boy.
Jaune swung his blade as the large metal reverberated with each strike, crushing and hacking any Grimm to pieces.
Pyrrha following up as she threw her shield, blades fully deployed and sliced the Grimm to pieces. The shield bouncing off a tree and back into hands as she sliced a Grimm in half.
Jaune blasted his way with his shotgun as a Beowulf was decimated from the waist up, as he spun around and used his sword as a shield to block an Ursa that slammed its claws into the metal. Only for a javelin to pieces its eye and then sliced in half by a large blade.
Jaune and Pyrrha stood back to back as they met with the enraged hoard, all while the Grimm King could watch from a distance as what could only be described as a sickening smile grew on its face.
"This is our chance!" Glynda said as she and the other students helped them to the back of the barrier.
They instantly passed through the barrier as all the Grimm were now focused on the pair out front. Port helping Oobleck as he carried the thin man, while others helped carry their classmates. Teams RWBY and JNPR hanging back as they made sure that everyone was out safely.
"Okay, let's go!" Glynda said as the last of the students were out of the barrier and they ran to the landing zone. She looked back at the pair as the Grimm surrounded them, but held no fear as she glared at the large hoard.
"Don't die you two," she muttered as she then helped the others to safety.
Jaune mindlessly swung his blade as he crushed the head of an Ursa with pure strength. Its head exploding into smoke as he stood in the middle of the hoard.
'...This feeling...'
The beast charged and he swung his blade, bisecting a full-grown Beowulf Rampant in half. He spun around and slammed his blade into the shoulder of an Ursa Grander and injecting a vast amount of fire into its being.
'The rush of battle...the stench of death...and the unbearing sensation of being overwhelmed...It's just like before...back in the old timeline...'
He spun around as sliced two more Beowolves in half, its body falling in two as thick black smoke poured out of its wounds. He spun and blocked another attack, while shooting it in the head with his shotgun.
'I should be hating this, I should be disgusted and afraid for everyone's safety...but...'
He aimed his shotgun and blasted the head off a Beowulf as bits and pieces of the Beowulf were scattered to the wind.
'Why do I...'
He raised the blade as he smashed it down on the head of an Ursa Grander as it exploded in a show of dust.
'Why do I feel so alive!'
A dark grin grew on his face as he pointed his blade at the remaining hoard. He felt his heart quicken and his blood pulsing with excitement as he felt the adrenaline rushing throughout his body. He sprung towards the hoard as his blade cut more of the Grimm to pieces.
Body parts flying in the as fire from previous attacks illuminated the battlefield in an orange glow and cast him in a terrifying glow, that reflected off his blade.
The Grimm King grinned as he watched the carnage and devastation the young man was unleashing on his creations.
His eyes and the symbol on his hand glowed brighter as he felt all the rage and anger that resonated from within the boy.
Pyrrha turned to Jaune as she noticed the dark grin that was on his face and instantly felt afraid. She had seen that look on his face, one that she had never wished to see again.
He was becoming absorbed in the battle and was starting to lose his surrounding as he mindlessly fought the Grimm. It was something he had often done in the future to block out all outside noises and focus purely on the battle.
It was the only way for him to survive in a world overrun by Grimm as she called it his 'Berserker Rage' as he was using it to mindlessly destroy the Grimm. And while it did seem to make him stronger, it also made him more reckless and unaware of any injury that he would receive and that would often cost him later.
She needed to get him focused again.
"Jaune!" she called out as the boy suddenly snapped out of his haze and turned to the girl who blocked another attack and slashed its throat. "Don't lose yourself! Stay focused! We need to make sure the others get to the Shuttle safely!" Jaune blinked and nodded as he continued to fight.
"Right! Thanks, Pyrrha!" he said as he blocked a strike and carved another in half.
The Grimm King scoffed at this as he watched the boy no longer mindlessly attacking his creature. But still, he took joy in the sight of his enemy fighting the hoard and easily decimate them. He then raised his hand again as he sent one last power up before he sunk back into the ground.
Meanwhile, with the rest of the Class
The others were limping and moving as fast as they could to the landing zone as multiple students and even a teacher hobbled towards the landing zone. Glynda looked over at the many injured students as she cursed at her inability to keep them safe.
She still couldn't figure out where all this Grimm had come from?
One moment it was just one Ursa, something someone of her calibre should have been able to handle easily. But then it suddenly changed, transforming into something she had never seen before.
None of their attacks seemed to even phase them, despite how much she used her semblance.
Yet they just kept coming and coming that she for a moment thought that they would not make it out alive. But then that boy Jaune Arc summoned a powerful barrier she had never seen before and protected them, then offered himself to hold the large hoard back while she and the others got to safety.
Even his partner, Pyrrha Nikos, volunteered to stay with him and hold back the hoard.
She knew that it was the only option they had left, and she had seen the boy fight that mysterious creature before with frightening prowess. But still, to be saved by a student far younger than herself was a blow to her pride. But he was right, her duty was to the students she could save.
She looked out as Teams RWBY and JNPR, those that remained, as they helped those that could not back to the shuttle.
"There it is! Everyone onto the shuttle, now!" she commanded as they all began to pile onto the ship.
But on the way one of the students fell to his knees as he had no more strength to move. Weiss went over to help him when suddenly a stray Beowulf emerged from the shadows and pounced at the pair.
Weiss immediately pushed the teen out of the way as it landed on her and went for her head. She managed to place her blade in its jaws, but did little to stop the beast from attacking her.
"Weiss!" Ruby yelled as she tried to shoot the beast off, but had run out of ammo and was too far away to help her.
Weiss could only look up in fear as the beast continued to gnaw and bite on her blade trying to get to her, drool rolling off its jaws as some landed on her face. Suddenly a black blur kicked the best back as the best shock off the stupor and face a girl with black hair and wearing a black bow.
Blake held her blade in front of her as she stood in front of Weiss, the girl determined to protect the other as Weiss could only look up at the girl in shock.
Blake then charged as the beast swiped at the girl, who for a moment appeared to be bisected before she faded into shadows, she then reappeared behind the beast and slashed at its back.
It roared in pain and quickly swiped at the girl, who was shocked that her attack didn't instantly kill the beast, striking her across the face as she tumbled across the ground.
The Beowulf roared as it ran towards the girl as it prepared to devour the girl, only to meet with a hammer in the face as Nora slammed Magnhild into the creature and blasted it off into the distance.
"And Don't come back!" she yelled as she grinned while Ren kneeled to her.
"You okay, Blake?" he asked as the girl had her head hung but still nodded.
"I'm fine, thanks to you, Nora," she said but then noticed that she and the others were staring at her, Weiss especially staring in shock as she found it even more confusing.
"What?" she asked as Ruby pointed at her head.
"Blake?" she said as fear suddenly surged through her chest as she immediately shot up to her head and felt the lack of cloth and the familiar feeling of fur on the top of her head.
"You're a Faunus?" she said as Blake could only stare back in horror.
The Pilot in the cockpit was checking over the flight controls before she noticed some of her equipment started to act up. "What in the?" she said as her co-pilot turned to her.
"What is it?" he asked as she tapped the screen.
"I don't know, but I'm getting some serious electrical interference on the controls? What the heck is going here?" she asked as looked at the controls.
Earlier – Jaune and Pyrrha
Jaune struggled to hold back an Ursa as its large paws pushed against Retribution's Shield Mode.
"They got stronger!" Jaune said as his attacks weren't having as much effect, he noticed the brands on their chests started glowing brighter and their forms becoming more bulged. He held back another Ursa before sent a pulse through Retribution and then sliced off its arm as it screamed in pain.
"We need to step it up. So, if you've got any other hidden abilities! Now's the time to use them!" he said as Pyrrha looked to all the Grimm and then to the ground as she smirked.
"As a matter of fact, I do," she said as she sheathed her weapon and placed her hands on the ground. "I need you to hold them off for a little while longer," she said as Jaune nodded.
"Okay, I'll use a bit more of my aura...whatever you have, better be good?" he said as she smirked.
"You're not the only one with new skills Jaune," she said as she focused her semblance into the ground beneath her feet.
He nodded and stood in front of his opponents and twisted the handle of Retribution.
Gears began to shift and turn in the blade as the whole blade shifted down to the handle while poking out the long rectangular blade of Crocea Revival. The Edges of Crocea Revival then retracted as the blade moved to the side turning into a handle of a War Hammer.
Retribution Mode IV – Valkyrie's Hammer
Jaune heft the hammer up as lighting surged from the dust chamber and coated the head of the hammer in lighting dust. An Ursa Grander roared as it charged at the boy, while Jaune only smirked as the beast ran towards him and he swung the hammer straight into its face.
The sound of bones breaking and teeth flying out of its mouth resonated on the battlefield before it was blasted away and slammed into several over Ursa's. He then swung the hammer left and right as several Beowolves were sent flying back, while Jaune raised his hammer and smashed it into the head of an Ursa Grander, reducing it into a pulpy mess.
Meanwhile, Pyrrha was focusing on her semblance, as she focused on the ground as she searched for what she needed.
Ever since she came back, Pyrrha had been constantly wondering what she could do to change her fate when she would eventually face Cinder again. The last time she fought her, she was defeated and lost her life to her without the woman breaking so much as a sweat.
She realised that she had relied too much on her semblance's abilities to manipulate her opponent's weapons, and proved to be useless against a person who didn't use conventional weapons, mostly due to her life as a duellist in tournaments. Not to mention she was completely defenceless when Cinder destroyed her weapons and shot her right in the chest.
So, this time around she decided to explore and experiment with her semblances true potential. She wanted to create a method of fighting her opponents where she would never be unarmed again.
She experimented, pushed the limits of her semblance and discovered a new way to use her polarity.
She smirked as she found what she was looking for and slowly brought her arms up as electricity surged from her arms and into the ground. Tiny black particles began to rise from the earth as the black dust swarmed around the Grimm, while Jaune only looked up in awe at the dust that swarmed around them.
He managed to grab hold of some of the dust as he noticed tiny fragments of metal and iron in the black sand.
"Metal? ...Oh, that is clever" Jaune said as the dust then swarmed towards Pyrrha as she held out her arms and it swarmed around her palms forming large circles of iron sand.
She smirked as she thrust her hand forward and controlled the iron dust to surge towards the Grimm.
Instantly the Grimm were hacked to pieces as the dust formed circular blades that vibrated with the same cutting power as a chainsaw and decapitated the Grimm into chunks.
Pyrrha manipulated the dust as they formed large sword like shapes and speared several Ursa she forced them to spike, creating a tree of iron sand in their corpses.
Several Beowolves charged up behind as she willed the sand behind her, creating a wall of dense sand that easily blocked the attack, then surged as several spikes pierced the Grimm.
She willed the sand in her hands as they formed a blade and shield out of the Duat as they both vibrated like all her other constructs. A stray leaf fell on the blade as it was easily split in two. She charged as she sliced and diced any Grimm that stood in her way, as her chainsaw-like blade sliced and diced any that stood in her way.
Jaune standing by her side as they stood amongst the last remains of the hoard.
'It took me two years to reach this level of control. I could never have done this in the original timeline, not with the aura levels I had back then. But with my new levels, I can easily control this new ability, because this time...' she thought as she turned her head to the boy as he stood behind her, defending her from the beasts.
'I have to protect him, no matter what,' she thought as they turned to each other and roared as they battled the Grimm.
Beacon Shuttle
The Shuttle began to take off as it moved towards the last two survivors that were currently holding off the Grimm. At first, the pilot was against the idea, saying that it was too dangerous and that they should get out of here. But one glare from Glynda put any arguments to rest as they piloted the shuttle towards Jaune and Pyrrha.
Glynda stood at the side hatch as she and Port looked out over the forest, "Keep an eye out for them, I doubt they can last much longer from those things!" she called out against the wind as the portly man nodded.
"What were those things anyway!? I have never seen anything like them in all my life!" he asked as the woman shook her head.
"I have no idea, but I have no doubt Ozpin will need to hear this!" she said as she continued to search the forest.
Meanwhile, the cabin was silent as many of the students were nursing their wounds and were trying to grasp the knowledge of what just happened. Luckily no one was killed, but many were injured and would need more medical attention.
However, things were different for RWBY and JNPR as they were still reeling in the knowledge that Blake was a Faunus. Blake sat in complete silence as Ruby, Yang, Ren and Nora stared at the girl, while Weiss was sitting away from the girl as she seemed to be refusing to look at her.
Blake, on the other hand, was feeling ashamed of allowing her secret to b revealed so easily.
She was afraid of something like this happening, her secret being exposed and people treating her differently - if Weiss's actions were anything to go by. WHich meant she would probably either transfer herself or her out of team RWBY and that something she didn't want to happen.
"So...You're a Faunus?" Ryby said as Blake nodded. "That's cool, they're really cute too," she said as she didn't know what to say.
"Yes Ruby, I am a Faunus, have been since I was born." She said as looked down at her hands.
"Well, that would explain why you like tuna so much?" Yang said as she crossed her arms and thought all about Blake's strange feline like behaviours. Her getting spooked by the vacuum cleaner, her obsession with Tuna and why she didn't seem to partially like dogs.
"But why keep it a secret?" she asked, "Aren't we partners?" she asked as Blake gestured to Weiss as she sat alone at the back of the Shuttle
"I'm a Faunus and my teammate is the daughter of the most despised company amongst the Faunus community, who also has an ongoing grudge against anyone of Faunus birth. I figured it was best I don't tell anyone who I really was, least I am to receive a particularly similar treatment," she said as Ruby nodded.
"Oh...right..." Yang said as she suddenly felt stupid saying that.
"Blake, you have to know that none of us would treat you differently," Ruby said as she placed her hands on hers. "We're friends, besties for life and all that. We would never let anything like race change how we feel about you," she said as Yang nodded.
"Yeah, besides, you and I are partners after all. No matter what, I'm always going to have your back," she said as she grinned at the girl who then turned her attention to Ren and Nora.
"I personally don't care what you are, you're a friend and that's all the matters," Ren said nonchalantly as Blake nodded in respect.
"Yeah! And I think your ears look really cute, too!" Nora said as she stared at the cat ears on the top of her head. The small twitches made Blake blushed at the statement.
"Thank you, all of you...but I think it's not going to be the same with Weiss," she said as they all turned to Weiss as she didn't even register anyone as she sat back from them.
Suddenly the ship rocked as the shuttle landed. Instantly Ren and Nora rushed to the shuttle exit, while Ruby, Yang and Blake stay behind as they looked at Weiss, then followed the pair out the shuttle. Weiss looking back before following behind them.
No one could have possibly predicted what they would come across as Glynda, Port, Nora, Ren and Team RWBY stepped out of the shuttle. They knew they would come across a battlefield, dead Grimm here, large structural damage to the forest and two either exhausted or dead teens.
What they never expected was to come across not a battlefield, but a graveyard of Grimm as nearly a hundred Beowolves and Ursa were slowly dissipating in the wind. The ground was torn asunder, the trees were either splintered or sliced in half and even a Grimm or two was impaled on the branches.
It was an utter massacre.
"By the Gods...they're all dead...There has to be a hundred Grimm here? Did Mister Arc and Miss Nikos do all of this?" Port asked as Team RWBY and NR were looking for their friends.
"What kind of students are they?" Glynda asked as she too looked over the carnage the two had unleashed on the Grimm.
Ruby was desperately searching through the smoke as she tried to find her friends. Suddenly something caught her eye as smoke slowly drifted from the centre of the massacre. Her heart then soared as she saw both Jaune and Pyrrha, sitting in the middle of the battlefield, back to back as they rested from the battle.
"Guys! Everyone! They're over here!" she called out as Jaune and Pyrrha turned to see the rushing people.
"Hey Crater Face," Jaune said weakly even as he bled from his forehead. "Told you they wouldn't kill me," he said as he grinned at Ruby, but then flinched as she pouted and had small tears in her eyes.
"Y-You stupid jerks! How could you make us worry like that, you-you..." she couldn't finish her sentence as she quickly lunged at the pair and grasped them in a big hug.
"I was so worried about you,"
Jaune and Pyrrha looked to each other and then smiled as Pyrrha patted her head. "We're fine Ruby, everything's alright now," she said as Jaune nodded.
"Holy shizz...you guys really went to town on them..." Yang said as she looked over the damage, then blinked as she noticed the black matter sword next to Pyrrha. "What the heck is that?" she asked as Pyrrha held up the sword then released it back into sand.
"Nothing to worry about, it's just part of my semblance," she said as Ruby would have gone weapons freak, but was too busy hugging her friends. "Holy shizz, is that a hammer!?" Yang said as Jaune chuckled and switched Retribution back to its sword form.
"Mister Arc, Miss Nikos," Glynda said as she walked towards the students, "I'm glad to see that you are okay, but when we get back to Beacon, we need to have a serious talk about what happened here," she said as they nodded and were helped up by their friends.
Glynda remained back to observe the battlefield as she felt a strange presence watching over them, but decided not to inquire as they had to get the others back to Beacon.
There was going to be a lot of paperwork and Ozpin needed to know what happened.
Two Hours Later – Beacon Medical Facility
Of the twenty-five students that participated in the field trip, only seven of them had been injured. Ten had small cuts and bruises while five were seriously injured and required further medical procedures that the school could not provide and were thus shipped to the hospital in Vale. Two of them, however, was treated for a rapidly depleted aura, with small cuts and abrasions on their bodies.
It was honestly the best outcome to the worst situation that Ozpin could have hoped for as he read over the medical charts.
"Thank you, Miss Gale, be sure update me on any further progress." The woman nodded and left the man as he turned to the three teachers in front of him. "Now, explain to me again. What happened in the Forever Falls Forest? How did this happen?" he asked as Glynda spoke up.
"During the field trip, Cardin Winchester, his team and Jaune Arc separated themselves from the group and appeared to have gone deep into the woods. At the time, there was no Grimm so there was no need to worry. However, when I arrived it seemed Mister Arc and Mister Winchester had an argument. Before I could question the nature of the argument, an Ursa stumbled out of the woods. Before Port, Oobleck or I could engage it, it suddenly began to transform and change right before our eyes. I have honestly never seen anything like it," she said as Port then spoke.
"After which Glynda, Oobleck and I engaged the beast, only for more to emerge from the forest. I have never seen that many Grimm in one place other than invading a village. But we checked the forest prior to getting there, there should not have been that many Grimm in the area," he said as he shook his head.
"How did such a large force a mass overnight? It makes no sense?" he said as Ozpin nodded.
"Were it not for the bravery of Mister Arc and Miss Nikos, we surely would have perished today," he said as they all agreed.
"...Thought it was strange. Right before the Ursa transformed, Mister Arc warned us to get away from it, almost as if he knew that creature was going to transform before it actually happened?" they all shared a strange glance as they recalled the event.
"But that's impossible, how could Mister Arc know that Grimm was going to transform before it happened? It doesn't make sense?" Glynda said as Ozpin placed a hand on his chin in thought.
"Maybe...from your descriptions of the creature, this not the first time he has fought such a beast," he said as they turned to him.
"Before I accepted him into this Academy his father, Roland Arc, told me of an incident that happened nine years ago. Apparently, Mister Arc faced one of the creatures you described and killed it when he was only eight years, even when his own father could not defeat it. It was also the day his aura was awakened," he said as the others stared in awe.
"Mister Arc killed one of those things when he was eight? But that's impossible, Roland was one of the strongest leaders at Beacon Academy and his team was almost on par with team STRQ. How could a child possibly have beaten a monster like that?" Ozpin shrugged his shoulders.
"It's possible to argue that Roland had lost his edge after retiring, raising a family can do that. But he has returned to training and claims his son had more aura awakened that day than anyone he had ever met in his life...more than even himself," he said as all the teachers turned to the door leading to the student's room in the Ward.
"What kind of students do we have?" Oobleck asked as no one knew the answer to that.
Meanwhile in Jaune and Pyrrha's room after everyone was patched up, after they briefed the teachers about what happened, to which they still refused to tell them the truth about the creatures. Jaune and Pyrrha sat in silence as they had been briefed on what had happened after they stayed behind.
A Grimm attacked a student, Weiss tried to defend him, nearly got killed by a Grimm had Blake not saved her, nearly got killed by the same Grimm and accidentally revealed to the whole class that she was a Faunus. So now history was once again changed for Jaune as events that he had tried to keep intact had been violently altered.
At this point, he didn't know what would happen next.
"So... Blake is a Faunus?" he said as they all nodded. "Makes sense actually, would explain all the Tuna she ate and why her bow twitched every time a bird flew by?" he said as the girl blushed.
"So, you're okay with it?" Ruby asked as the boy nodded.
"You guys already know my stance on the Faunus, I don't really care for her species and I can pretty much tell Pyrrha feels the same way?" he said as she nodded. "So, yeah, I'm okay with her. But I'm more concerned with Weiss," they all turned to her as she stood away from them.
"You going to thank Blake for saving your life? Or are you just going to be an ice queen and ignore her completely because she is a Faunus?" he asked as Pyrrha slapped his shoulder.
"Jaune!"
"What!? Someone needed to say it," he said as Blake shook her head.
"It's fine Jaune, I kind of expected this kind of reaction and I understand. I'll ask Ozpin to transfer me to another team-"
"No you won't," Weiss finally said as they all turned to her. She sighed as she looked to the group.
"I'm not going to pretend this isn't affecting me. I've made my stance on the Faunus and the White Fang quite clear in the past..." she said as they nodded. "But that was mostly because of how the Faun- I mean the White Fang have targeted my families company since my father took over, so most of my prejudice stems from his rather...aggressive reaction to their attacks on us," she said as she rubbed her arm uncomfortably.
"And for a time, I believed him, and shared his view on what he believed the Faunus truly are..." she said as Jaune and Pyrrha were worried about what she would say.
"Look...I'm really confused about how I feel about all this. My father always said that the Faunus cared about only about themselves and would willing kill a human if it furthered their goals. But, after what happened today and Blake saving my life, then discovering her secret...I'm starting to believe that maybe he was wrong about the Faunus as a people," she said as they were slightly stunned at this.
"Blake willingly saved my life, when it would have been easier to just leave me to die. The fact that she saved me, showed that...I really am ignorant of the world. So..." she took a huge breath and turned to the girl.
"I'm sorry about what I said about Faunus and I hope you can forgive me," she said as they all blinked at this, certainly not expecting that.
"But this still doesn't change my feelings of the White Fang, there's still too much blood to forgive their actions...but I'm willing to understand what it's like to be a Faunus if you would?" she asked as Blake looked at the girl in shock before hanging her head.
"Thank you, Weiss...but there's something you should know about me," she said as Jaune flinched slightly knowing what she would say. "You see I used to be part of the White Fang and-"
"Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah! I don't want to hear it. I'm just getting over the knowledge you're a Faunus, let's not complicate this any further, okay? Besides you just said you 'used' to be part of the White Fang, correct?" she said as she nodded. "Then that's all I need to know," she said as she turned away, all the while the others were smiling at her.
Jaune and Pyrrha sighing in relief as they were glad that was over.
"Well~ Now that that's out of the way..." Ruby said as she spun around and faced Jaune and pointed a finger straight at him. "Why didn't you tell me your sword could also become a hammer!?"
"That's what you're focused about!?" he said as she stood right in front of his face.
"Don't change the subject, Jaune! What else can your sword do! Tell me!" she said as Nora nodded her head in agreement.
"Yeah!" she said as Jaune folded his arms.
"I told you, that's a secret," he said as she then puffed her cheeks and started pounding her small fists on his chest.
"Tell me!" she screamed as she barraged the boy with her tiny fists. Weiss placing her face in her palm as sighed, while Yang and Nora could only laugh at the sight. Even Pyrrha, Ren and Blake only chuckled at the interaction.
"Ruby! Stop! I'm still injured!" he begged as she ignored him.
"Never!" she said as she continued to pound her harmless fists on him. Jaune needed a distraction and he found one.
"Pyrrha can make weapons out of Iron Sand with her semblance!" he said as Pyrrha snapped her head to him.
"Jaune!" she said as Ruby the snapped her head to her, eyes wide with stars as she then sped over to Pyrrha's bed and proceeded to do the exact same thing.
"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" she repeated as Pyrrha chuckled nervously at the younger girl's intense focus, while also glaring at Jaune with a huge case of stink eye. Said boy only chuckled as he knew he was going to pay for it later.
But totally worth it.
He then took the chance to look at the scene as all his friends were laughing and joking about Ruby's obsession with Weapons. It made him glad that they survived they ambush in the forest, but it also made him realise that he could no longer just follow the timeline anymore, not with the Grimm King actively targeting him.
Today was too close, and it nearly cost him his friends. But he still couldn't tell Ozpin, he knew now that he couldn't just wait for the enemy to attack.
It was time he went on the offensive.
'If the Grimm King wants to interfere with the timeline...then it's time I did too,' he thought as he then raised himself out of bed.
"All right everyone, listen up!" he said as they all turned to him.
"Today was, for lack of a better word, chaotic. We got caught with our pants down and it nearly got us killed. That cannot happen again. I think it would be best, if all of us started training together, bonded better as a team and build up our strength. We still don't know where those creatures came from, but I doubt they are going to be the last," he said as he felt a wave of nostalgia as if he was directing troops again.
"So, I propose, that starting next week, Teams RWBY and JNPR start acting like one team. We form a new team together that will help each other out and fight the monsters that no one can. We eight can be best and strongest team in all of Remnant," he declared as turned to Ruby.
"If it would be all right with my fellow leader?" he asked as Ruby blinked then smiled.
"You bet, Jaune! We'll be the best team in the world!" she declared as she got a roar of approval from Nora and Yang,
"Yeah! We'll be unbeatable!" Yang said while Nora smashed an expensive piece of equipment in her excitement.
While a more controlled response from Weiss, Pyrrha, Ren and Blake as they supported the idea. Pyrrha smiling as she saw him stand up as a true leader, the leader she knew he could be and the leader he was in the time that never existed.
"And on that note, Pyrrha?" Jaune said as he then turned to Pyrrha. "Would you like to go on a date with me next Saturday?"
Absolute silence drowned the medical ward as all seven faces stared at the boy as he still stood tall in front of them with a huge shit eating grin on his face. No one moved, no one breath and no one made a sound as they registered what he just said...
"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" they all screamed at once, while Pyrrha sported a huge blush on her face, all the while Jaune continued to smile knowing things will turn out differently this time.
Forever Falls Forest
The bodies of the Ursa Grandeur and Beowolves lay amongst the forest floor as their bodies still decayed, despite being killed a mere three hours ago. It turned out that those blessed by the Grimm King lasted long in death as they were flooded with his power.
A shadow slowly emerged from the ground as the shadow looked out amongst the massive bodies that littered the floor. It grinned as it raised its hand as the symbol glowed on its hand.
The bodies rapidly disintegrated as they swarmed to the shadow, his eyes glowing brightly from the shadow as the Grimm King grinned in delight.
His body began to change as black bones slowly began to take shape as hands, feet and soon a skull slowly formed on the being. Red eyes slowly formed in the skulls eyes as small amounts of red muscle began to grow and take shape on the skeleton before it stopped as a partially formed skeletal being stood in the centre of the forest.
It looked down at its partially formed hands as the symbol burned brightly on the back of his hand. It grinned as a dark shadow like cloak shrouded the being as he turned in the direction of Beacon.
"...J... Jaune...Arc..." it rubbed its throat and waggled its newly formed tongue before he grins a terrifying grin being more terrifying, being mostly skeletal.
"S-s...sooooonn... sooooon..." he whispered as he then disappeared into a cloud of shadow and dust. The world never knowing the evil that would be unleashed.
Omake: Pyrrha v Yang: Dawn of Shipping - suggested by Kratos1989
Three weeks ago, at the Beacon Training Arena, Cardin was thrown out of the ring for the sixth time as he went up against Jaune. The boy would show no tactic, charge in head first and get his ass handed to him. "Gods, now I know why Cardin found this amusing," he said as he sheathed his sword to his back.
"Well done today Mister Arc, another victory," Glynda said as the boy nodded, while Cardin mumbled on his way out of the ring.
"Now, the Next match will be Pyrrha Nikos versus...Yang Xiao Long," she said as the two students walked out onto the field. Jaune high-fiving his partner as he walked out, while Yang managed to slap him on the butt, causing him to jump slightly and stare at the girl who winked at him.
Something that irked Pyrrha slightly.
"The Match will now begin," Glynda said as she raised her arm. "Start!" she said as the buzzer rang out and the pair charged at each other.
Yang's fist instantly clashed Pyrrha's shield as the metal rang out in the arena. Yang and Pyrrha grinned at each other. They then spirited as Pyrrha and Yang clashed against each other, Pyrrha's sword clashing against Yang's explosions as both fought against each other in this heated duel.
"Whoa, they are really going at it," Ruby said as she watched her sister fight Pyrrha.
"Yeah, they're amazing," Jaune said as he leant against the railing.
"Though I can only guess why?" Ren said as they all looked at Jaune, who groaned at their reaction.
Back in the ring, Pyrrha and Yang were still going at it, as Pyrrha had finally managed to calm down, as she found enjoyment in fighting against Yang. Of course, she had to hold back but still enjoyed the match.
"You're really good Yang," Pyrrha said as Yang nodded in return.
"You're not so bad yourself P-Money," Yang said as Pyrrha smiled at her old nickname from a long time ago.
"You two are doing great!" Jaune called out as Pyrrha looked up and smiled at the boy, but then flinched in anger as saw Yang waving back to him in a flirtatious manner.
She glared at this as she gripped her weapons tighter. She knew she shouldn't get so jealous of Yang's flirt's, as she knew that was just part of who Yang was. But she just couldn't stand to see how easy it was that she could do it to Jaune when she could never do it in the old timeline.
'I needed to reign my emotions in, Yang is a dear friend and someone who was one of the first to support my feelings for Jaune. A little flirting shouldn't bother me...'
Yang turned back to Jaune as she winked at the boy, sending a little heart floating to the boy, who managed to dodge out of the way. A blood vessel instantly formed on her head as she gripped so tight the metal strained.
'She is going down!' Red aura flared around the girl as Yang flinched at what she could have sworn was a demon mask appearing behind the girl. But then grinned as she raised her fists up.
"Okay P-Money, let's get this over with-" she stopped as a spear shot past her head and snipped a small strand of hair from her head.
The arena was drowned in silence as Jaune, Ruby, Ren, Weiss and Blake gaped in shock as the small strand of hair floated on the ground and made an almost audible thud.
Yang remained still as her hair shrouded her eyes as she stared at the small strand of hair on the floor. Her fist tightened as her hair started to glow.
Before her aura exploded into a pillar of fire as she roared in anger and charged at the girl. Who roared in anger too and charged at each other as they collided in a show of fire and metal.
The other could only cower slightly as loud explosions and gunshots littered the arena, little could be done to stop them as they cowered from the sounds of loud explosions. They could have also sworn to hear a cat shriek in amongst the entire chaos.
"...Woman are scary..." Jaune said he cowered with the others.
"Yes, they are," Ren said as the girls continued to fight in the centre of the ring.
The two did reconcile after the match, with Pyrrha apologising for cutting Yang's hair and Yang apologising for egging her one like that. After which they were reprimanded by Miss Glynda and forced to help repair the arena afterwards.
And Scene, well here is Chapter X of Restart. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, I wanted to release it as quickly as I could so that you could all have a conclusion to the fight in the Forever Forest. For Pyrrha's new ability I drew inspiration from everyone's favourite tsundere Mikoto Misaka and her ability to use electromagnetism to manipulate iron in sand.
I figure Pyrrha could do it too if she had been given the chance, to use a similar ability. Proof being in the food fight where she manipulated the cans to swarm, similarly to Misaka in her small battle with Touma on Magical Index.
So, I figure, why not have a similar ability. Reason being that, like Jaune, she has larger aura reserves and nine years of new training to hone and master her skills. Plus, I feel like it kind of fits for her semblance. And to answer your question, yes, Jaune's weapons has modes based off his friends. A form of 'Retribution' for all that suffered under Salem's treachery.
Also, I wanted to twist things up with Blake and Weiss, revealing her heritage a bit earlier and seeing what it would do.
Hopefully, I worked it out all right? But now, The Grimm King is slowly rising, becoming something more as each Grimm falls to Jaune's blade. And Jaune asking Pyrrha on a Date? Whatever could be the reason?
Find out next time in Chapter XI: A Trip to the Docks
Retribution States:
Mode I – Standard mode: The Standard mode of Retribution is a large heavy sword that uses its weight to increase the strength of its blows. The dust mechanism, based off Mytrenaster, allows Retribution to be covered in any combination of dust provided by the cartridges. The unique Titanium Steel alloy makes the blade near indestructible.
Mode II – Shield Guard: Based of Crocea Mor's Sheath/Shield, the blade expands to become a large shield capable of covering the body from various harm. The combination of Earth Dust, Aura and the Titanium Steel Alloy grant a higher defence.
Mode III – Crocea Revival: Similar in design to Crocea Mor's, Retribution houses a secondary blade within the sword as a sheath which can be ejected in tight situations. When Drawn the sword is revealed to be much thinner then Mode I, as well as having Crocea Mors embedded in the blade. The added sword allows the user to channel Aura and Dust through the blade flawlessly and adds more speed as well as cutting power.
Mode IV – Valkyries Hammer: The sword transforms into a war hammer, utilising the Lightning dust that grants an increase in power and Electric damage. Based off Magnhild of Nora Valkyrie.