Lifeblood

I apologize for keeping you waiting for so long, and I am grateful to those who have stuck by this story.

I don't own RWBY, obviously.

Chapter 11: Into the Darkness

"I can't believe this!" Weiss raged, slapping her hands on the table, as she read a news article on her Scroll. She was immediately shushed by Blake, who was predictably nose deep in another book. Her other teammates looked up from their homework to see what was causing Weiss' anger now, more than willing to take a break.

"Alright, princess, what's got your panties in a bunch?" Yang walked around the table to look over Weiss' shoulder. "Roman Torchwick? Who did he rob this time?"

"Me, or to be more specific, my family! Torchwick raided a refinery right here in Vale!"

"So? Torchwick has been robbing the SDC for months, hasn't he?"

"If it was just him and his usual band of thugs, it would be no issue. I've had to deal with things like that before." Despite her choice to become a Huntress, Weiss had spent several years being groomed to take over her father's company. While the amount of power she held in the company was fairly minor, she still had considerable experience. "The bigger problem is who he did it with!" She clicked on the article, showing them the details.

"The White Fang?" Ruby asked.

"That's impossible." Blake joined the discussion. "The White Fang is an organization that only allows its members to be Faunus. They would never work with a human, much less someone like Torchwick."

"The reports are right here, Blake!" Weiss insisted, and started reading a section of the article. "Just a few hours ago, Roman Torchwick stormed the grounds of a Schnee Dust Company refinery, along with over two dozen men and women. The police have identified the co-conspirators as members of the White Fang, a Faunus terrorist organisati- Blake, why are you looking at me like that?"

Blake said nothing, instead choosing to go back to her homework in stony silence.

"I guess she doesn't like the White Fang?" Yang whispered awkwardly.

"Well she can join the club." Weiss turned back to the screen. "Bad enough that we had to deal with Torchwick and the White Fang separately, but now that they seem to be working together? This will be a nightmare."

"Wait! Back up a bit! Right there!" Ruby grabbed the Scroll and zoomed in on an image that came with the article. "What's that?"

"Huh? Oh, apparently a couple of Huntresses appeared to try and apprehend them, but they managed to get away."

"No, no, not that! Yang, look at them, don't you recognize them?" Ruby pulled her sister in front of the screen, nearly pushing Weiss off of her seat.

Yang scanned the screen and spotted a familiar red jacket, as well a pair of morningstars. "Wait a sec, is that..."

"Will you two back off?" Weiss nearly yelled in frustration, pushing them away. "You know these Huntresses?"

"Wel-"

Ruby's explanation was cut off by an energetic knock on their door. She swiped the door open, and a blue streak engulfed her in a near-suffocating hug. "Ohh, little red, it's been way too long!" the blur nearly squealed out, shaking Ruby (who was coincidentally turning blue as well) side-to-side, rubbing her cheek against Ruby's.

"Iris, let Ruby, breathe, will you?" Sequoia followed her inside, with Jaune trailing behind her with the rest of Team JNPR, who all had looks of bemusement on their faces.

"Hey, guys!" Jaune said excitedly. "Guess what?! My sisters are visiting!"

"Yeah, I got that." Yang deadpanned. "Iri, do you mind letting Ruby go? Blue doesn't really suit her."

"Huh? Oh, sorry Rubes!" Iris carefully set the brunette down, and letting her inhale copious amounts of much needed oxygen. Iris quickly set her sights on Ruby's sister, who began to pale. "Come here, Yang." she beckoned.

To be fair, Yang never really stood a chance, and soon found herself in a similar state to Ruby. Further antics were interrupted by the soft sound a throat being cleared. They all turned to Weiss and Blake, who were simply staring at them expectedly.

Jaune was the first to react. "Right! Introductions! Weiss, Blake, meet my older sisters, Sequoia and Iris Arc," he gestured to them in turn. "Sequoia and Iris, Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Jaune has spoken nothing but praise about his sisters." Weiss greeted while giving a little bow.

Blake's own greeting was not as formal. "Pleasure."

Sequoia smiled. "You two as well. Thank you for taking care of our troublemakers." she said, prompting indignant shouts from the so-called troublemakers.

"So..." Pyrrah prompted. "What's this about a robbery?"

"Mm! Yeah, funny story that." Iris plopped down on a chair, pulling Ruby on her lap and ignoring her protests. "Ozpin needed two Huntsmen for a mission he had lined up and we volunteered! Thought it would be a good opportunity to visit."

"Wait a sec. The headmaster of a Huntsmen Academy needed Huntsmen and decided to bring in outside help?" asked Ruby, giving up on her attempts to get out of Iris' hold.

"Apparently, it was meant to be a teacher's job, but they're all kinda busy at the moment, so he decided to outsource the job. Anyway, the two of us were in already on our way through town and we saw a load of army trucks whizzing their way through. Next thing I know, I'm getting shot at by terrorists and Sequoia is getting her ass kicked."

"Excuse me," Sequoia interrupted her twin with a scathing glare. "I was not 'getting my ass kicked', I would have been perfectly capable of subduing that criminal."

"Whatever helps ya sleep at night. Anyway, we've been up all night with the police and the arm and Ozpin answering stupid questions and filling out forms for hours."

"You have to do paperwork?!" Nora recoiled in horror.

"Unfortunately, yes." Sequoia confirmed. "Huntsmen must submit a report after every mission. If it's the case that a Huntsman or Huntress takes action within the city limits, more forms must be filled out for review so the council can decide whether it was justified or not."

"So even after graduation, we can't escape homework..." Ruby sighed in depression.

"Can we get back on topic, please?" Blake snapped. "What were the White Fang after?"

Sequoia narrowed her eyes slightly, but answered her anyway. "Officially, we're not authorized to give information to uninvolved parties."

"I'm more interested in the unofficial side of things."

Iris stared at her. "Fine, I'm sure Ms. Schnee would tell you the whole story if we don't. Well then, unofficially, after a full inventory check, it seems the White Fang took over three hundred units of ultra-pure Dust crystals. High-grade stuff reserved for the kingdom's power supply. Can't be too sure since they blew up half the building."

Iris felt Ruby tremble on top of her. "Were... Were there people... in the...?"

Iris sighed, her twin mirroring the action, and hugged Ruby tighter. "Not going to lie, Rubes. Last count, thirty-seven employees dead, three police officers and seventeen army soldiers."

"Last count?"

"There's still people missing, and due to the explosion, some remains could not be identified." Sequoia reported the horrifying news, reverting to her normal cold tone.

Weiss broke the grave silence. "It seems there's no limit to the atrocities those animals are willing to commit." she spat out, her usual composure shattered.

"Weiss..." Jaune said in a warning tone.

"I don't to hear it Jaune. This just proves my point. You know that there were Faunus working in that facility? And it seems the White Fang had no trouble murdering them anyway. At this point, whether their Faunus or not is irrelevant, the White Fang are no better than animals, plain and simp-"

Blake abruptly rose from her place on the bed and nearly ran out of the door, and Yang could swear she saw tears in her eyes.

"What the hell..." Yang surged up to follow her, but Sequoia beat her to the punch. "Sequoia!"

"I'll talk to her."

"She's my partner!" she protested. Velvet had told her to give Blake time, but this has gone too far. She couldn't just sit here while Blake was dealing with... she didn't even know what!

"Trust me on this one, Yang. If you confront her she'll just clam up. You'll get nothing out of her."

"I'm not going to confront her!"

"Exactly. Which is why I will do it." Sequoia allowed no further argument and stalked out of the room, leaving Yang in a rage.


Blake burst through the roof door, slamming it behind her and collapsing against it. Bowing her head she fought desperately to keep the tears in. Blake had to get out of there. Every word that Weiss spoke was like a nail through her heart. She was so close to lashing out at Weiss, but that would create more problems that she was ready to deal with.

What made it worse was that Weiss was right, despite her bigoted views. It was the very reason she left the White Fang, because she saw that she was becoming the monster they viewed humans to be. She left Adam because he was no longer someone she could follow on his path of blood.

Without thinking, she reached for her ears, wrapped tightly by her black bow. It hurt her deeply, seeing how far her former friends had fallen. To associate with someone like Torchwick! She had heard nothing but vile things about that conman. He was loyal to no-one but himself, helped no-one but the highest bidder. He would betray the White Fang the moment he received a better offer.

"How long were you planning on keeping it from them?"

Blake whirled around to see Jaune's sister, Sequoia perched on the railings on the side of the roof. She quickly rubbed her eyes before glaring at her. "I'm sorry, I don't know what-"

"Save it." Sequoia leapt off the ledge with an air of elegance. "I already what you are, and of course, what you used to be."

"How did you-"

"For a terrorist, you are suprisingly inept at masking your emotions."

Blake instinctively reached for Gambol Shroud, before remembering that it was currently in her locker.

"Relax, I just want to talk to you."

"Why?"

"Because you're a terrorist and you're close to my friends, so I want to know why I shouldn't have you thrown in a cell in the next instant."

She said it so coldly, in such a matter-of-fact way, that Blake couldn't help but believe that this woman would be perfectly capable of doing such a thing. She probably wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight either.

"Former terrorist." she gritted out.

"I like how you're not denying it. Truth be told, I didn't really think Ozpin would let an active member of the White Fang within a mile of this academy, I just wanted to make sure."

Blake was annoyed by this woman. "So what do you want?"

"To start with, how about an answer to my question?"

"I'll tell them when I'm ready. And when that will be is none of your business."

"Not when my brother is your partner's best friend." Sequoia retorted, before shaking her head in a manner that seemed almost condescending. "You know, Jaune already know that you're a Faunus, and Yang is pretty close."

"What?!" she nearly shouted. Jaune had never given any indication that he knew about her heritage. But as she calmed down, she realized that Jaune, and even Yang, were friends with Faunus, if their long-standing relationship with Velvet was any indication.

"Yes. Probably not the bit about being a terrorist, but I suppose that will come out sooner rather than later. Yang is reckless, but she's not stupid. I wouldn't be surprised if your little outburst was the clue that tipped her off. Fortunately for you, Ruby and Ms. Schnee remain oblivious, but I doubt that that will last long."

"Then what is the point of this conversation? As you've pointed out, they'll all figure it out sooner. I don't need to tell them anything."

"It's a matter of trust Ms. Belladonna, and trust is a two-way street. Perhaps you have no intention to harm anyone, but why should I, no," she paused. "why should they trust you with their lives, if you can't even reveal your very identity?"

"That's..."

"Don't bother justifying your actions. Or rather your inaction. Word to the wise, keeping your past a secret won't end well, for anyone. Especially for you, if you ever hope to move on from your past."

"Why do you care about my past?"

"I don't." Sequoia bluntly answers. "I really don't care much about you. I care about Jaune, who cares about Yang, who is beginning to grow close to you. A convoluted reason, but nevertheless it means that it's my problem.

I'm getting off topic. You may think that our dialogue is just a thinly-veiled threat, which it is, but it's also a chance for you."

"A chance for what?"

"For you to finally let go of those ridiculous self-delusions that you can save the White Fang from the road they have chosen to take. For you to realize that they're beyond saving, especially for one, emotionally confused teenager who hasn't got a clue on where to start."

"I won't just stand back if I see a chance to help the White Fang!"

"Then you'll be throwing yourself into an early grave. Better than you have tried and failed miserably. Surely you're smart enough to realize that?"

Seeing that Blake wasn't giving a response, Sequoia sighed. "Whatever. I had intended for this to be a wake-up call, accompanied by said thinly veiled threat, but I suppose I'll have to omit the veil entirely."

Blake suddenly felt pressure on every inch of her body. Her lungs felt as if they were about to collapse, as if the very air around her was assaulting her. She had read books where characters could project their 'killing intent' onto others and had dismissed as mere folly. After all, she had grown up with trained killers and had never felt such a thing.

But this was not just some pseudo-psychological attack. This was pure power, just waiting to be unleashed. Power that was just barely constrained by those cold blue eyes.

"If any of them loses so much as a single drop of blood because of you, directly or otherwise, I will fight tooth and nail to be the first to wrap you in chains and throw you in a cold, dark hole where you will never see the light of day again."


"Nora, please stop eating the sap." Jaune sighed as he was ignored once again. Granted, it was hard to assume any kind of authority with his nasally voice at the moment.

"How are you holding up?" Pyrrha asked him with concern in her eyes.

"My Aura took care of most of the symptoms. Just don't let me drink any more of that stuff, will ya?" Jaune thought it was a real shame that he was allergic to the red sap, because from the way Nora was gulping it down like water, they had to be pretty good.

"Don't bother trying to stop her." Ren remarked, just as Nora emptied another jar and burped loudly. "All we can do now is wait for the sugar crash."

The four of them, along with the rest of their year, were currently hiking through the famous Forever Fall forest, with the mission of collecting the highly sought-after red sap in the trees for Professor Peach. Jaune had never met Professor Peach before, and bizarrely, neither had anyone else, apparently. Everywhere he asked about the elusive professor, he was met with blank faces.

He stepped a little aways from his team to take a moment to breathe in the sweet, fresh, forest air. He really couldn't help but reminisce. He was glad that RWBY and JNPR decided to split up, else he would have been subjected to Ruby and Yang's concerns. They knew about what happened in this forest, but despite their undoubtedly good intentions, he just felt that they wouldn't be able to understand.

He wondered if Velvet felt the same melancholy he did when she came here for the first time. Probably worse, he thought.

His musing was cut off by the sound of something shattering along with a surprised yelp. Jaune whirled around. He whirled around to see his partner dripping with the thick viscous sap, with shards of broken glass in her hair. The rest of the team ran to her side and began to pick glass off of her. Luckily, the glass failed to cut into her skin due to her Aura.

"Are you alright, Pyrrha?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you."

"What happened to-" Jaune whirled around at the sound of harsh buzzing. A dark cloud seemed to writhe out of the crimson trees heading straight for them. Past the swarm of wasps, Jaune could barely make out a tall armored figure in tree-line. That bastard!

"Jaune! Those are Rapier Wasps! They're being attracted to the sap on Pyrrha. If they get too close, they'll overwhelm us!" Ren informed him.

"Got it." Jaune understood why Ren was telling him this. He placed on hand to the sheath strapped to his side, and activated his Semblance. Rosea Custos trembled, before a deluge of blood erupted from within. Swiping his hand in an arc in front of him, the blood responded and formed a shield to intercept the wasps. The wasps changed course before colliding with the red liquid, but Jaune didn't allow them to escape. He willed the blood to surround as many of the insects as he could, and crushed them inside the bloody sphere.

A few of the Rapier Wasps remained, but a few slaps from Nora and Ren easily took care of them. "Where did that come from?" Nora asked while wiping away insect guts off of her hands.

Jaune moved his blood back into his shield. "It was Winchester. He or one of his cronies threw that jar at you, Pyrrha." Jaune growled and drew Crocea Mors. "And now I'm going to return the favor." He stalked towards the tree-line, with Nora right behind him.

Behind the trees, he found nothing but several sets of footprints. "Tch, cowards. New plan. We'll deal with them later. You can break their legs then, Nora."

"Aye aye, leader!" Nora saluted.

He turned back to Ren and Pyrrha, the former using a towel to wipe as much of the sticky sap off of Pyrrha as possible. "Where'd you get the towel."

"When you've been with Nora for as long as I have, you learn that a mess involving sugar is all but inevitable." Ren said dryly. "I thought you were going to wreak vengeance."

"They probably ran off when they relized the Rapier Wasps weren't going to do much against us. We decided to take care of them later, or whenever we get back to Beacon."

"No, Jaune." Pyrrha grabbed his arm. "Please, don't start anything. They're not worth the trouble it could bri-."

"I don't want to hear it Pyrrha. You're right, they're not worth it, but you are. As leader of this team, it's my responsibility to take care of my team, even if it's someone as worthless as Winchester."

"Jaune..."

"Well said, Jaune." Ren smiled. "Now, we have more than enough sap, so I suggest we get Pyrrha to the rendezvous point before the sap begins to harden."

They started gathering the jars they had collected, or at least, the ones that NOra had not emptied. They were just about ready to leave when all of their Scrolls began to wail.

"What the hell?" Jaune took out his academy-issued Scroll which was displaying the Beacon insignia flashing brightly. Every student was given a Scroll which was hooked up to Beacon's private network. It was useful in cases like this where the professors could not communicate with all students.

"A large number of Grimm have been spotted approaching our location. All students report back to the landing site immediately. This is not a drill. All students proceed with extreme caution."

"It must be quite a lot of Grimm if they ordered an evacuation." Pyrrha said worriedly.

"Yeah, let's get going. Whatever it is, I'd rather not get caught up i-"

A mostrous roar reached their ears, followed by an explosion and several panicked, aggravated voices. Jaune only needed to glance at his team-mates before they burst into motion, sprinting towards the source of the sound.

As they neared the noises, he could make out four figures, completely surrounded by an assortment of Grimm. The Grimm themselves seemed to be normal sized, individually they would be no problem. However the sheer number of them would be too much for four first years.

Jaune leapt into the fray, Crocea Mors drawn and Rosea Custos fully extended, not needing to turn around to know that his team was right on his heels. He swung his sword towards a Creep about to leap on one of the fighters and decapitated it. The fighter whirled around, revealing blue eyes and dark blue slicked back hair.

"Arc?" Sky Lark said in a voice that perfectly displayed his disbelief.

"Shut up and keep fighting." Jaune growled. He turned away from him, giving his attention to the beasts surrounding them. There are at least thirty of them, and there are still more incoming. he thought gravely. "Nora!"

"On it!" Nora ran straight towards the largest Grimm, running right in front of them and firing grenades into their faces. Picking up the idea, Cardin swung his mace while activating the fire Dust inside, and manged to join up with Nora. Enraged, the Grimm followed them on their path of carnage, allowing the rest of them to launch their counterattack.

Jaune stabbed a charging Ursa in the back, right before turning on his heel and decapitating it. Using its dissolving corpse as a spring board, he leapt at another Ursa, batting away its arm with his shield and plunging Crocea into its neck. A Beowolf pounced with its clawed hand outstretched. Jaune quickly raised his shield and managed to stand his ground. The Beowolf was about to strike with its other arm, but a curved dagger spun through the air and embedded itself in the Grimm's head.

Jaune had no time to thank Russel because he was forced to duck underneath a Creep flying through the air, courtesy of Nora's hammer. Jaune spotted Ren and Pyrrha shooting at an Ursa Major. With a single thought, half a pint of blood flowed into his hand and extended into a sharp whip, slicing clean through its leg, and Pyrrha and Ren quickly finished it off. Jaune did not retract the blood whip, but instead continued to swing it around, keeping an eye on his comrades so he doesn't cut them by mistake.

The battle continued for several more minutes, and Jaune was beginning to feel the strain of fighting so hard, and there were still plenty of Grimm around. Where the hell are they all coming from! If this keeps up we'll be completely overwhelmed. Looks like I got no choice. "Everyone, full retreat! Back to the Bullhead sites!"

"What!" Cardin yelled. "No way. You guys can wuss out if you want, we'll take care of these bastards."

"Cardin, you stay here and you'll be overrun in minutes!" Pyrrha protested. "We'll have a better chance of making it back if we all go together."

"Not to mention we don't know how many are on their way." Dove added, trying to convince his leader.

Cardin seemed horribly conflicted for a while. "Fine." he relented through gritted teeth. "Let's go. But one question; how the hell are we gonna break through the encirclement?!"

Cardin raised a good point. Their destination was currently blocked by snarling Grimm. Any attempt to escape in any direction would provoke an attack from everywhere else. They needed an attack that would kill a massive number of Grimm in one shot while simultaneously disorienting the rest of them. Fortunately, he knew two people who could do just that.

"Alright, everyone. When I give the signal, cover your ears, then charge straight to the Bullheads." he ordered, before turning to Ren and Nora. "Okay, you two. Time for a little shock and awe."

Both of them smiled, with Nora's grin almost terrifyingly feral. She shifted Magnhild to its compact form, its chamber swivelling to a special type of ammunition. current flowed from her arms into the hammer, before she raised it and fired a single shot. The solitary grenade flew into the Grimm, where an Ursa attempted to bat it away.

It was a fatal mistake.

The grenade erupted in a cascade of blinding blue lightning, striking everything within twent feet. Some were completely ripped apart from the electricity. Moreover, the high voltage lightning jumped from one Grimm to another, increasing the damage radius even further.

"NOW!" Everyone clapped their ears and charged through the path created by Nora, except for one pink-eyed ninja.

With seemingly tremendous effort, Ren brought his hands together. A split second later an almighty roar burst forth from his closed hands.

Shock and awe. When Jaune first learned of Ren's Semblance, this was his first thought. Somehow, the dynamic fit perfectly with the two close friends. Lightning was devastating, an undeniable force of nature considered to be the work of gods for milennia. However, it was not alone. It had a partner, which was unseen, unfelt and unknown.

Until the very moment lightning strikes.

A deafening shockwave buffeted the Grimm, causing them to scream and recoil from the invisible assault on their ears. Their own ears ringing, the eight Huntsmen sprinted through the still-sparking path leaving the Grimm dazed and confused.

Their relief was short-lived when the Grimm bellowed as one, signalling their inevitable arrival. They didn't stop running. nor did they dare slow down. Occasionally, one of them would gain extra ground and fire several rounds behind them, but aside from that they trained their eyes straight ahead.

After a while, Jaune finally gained sight of the Bullheads, and it did not look good. Some of the Bullheads were already taking off, or in the process of taking off. Students were fighting to the teeth to keep the Grimm at bay, and some were carrying wounded comrades to the Bullheads. Professor Goodwitch was directing the students, while flicking her riding crop at any Grimm that was overlooked.

"Professor!"

"Team JNPR and CRDL, you're late. Have you encountered any other teams on your way here?"

"What? No! Are there still people out there?"

"Several teams, yes. Team RWBY being one of them. I have already attempted to make contact with them through their Scrolls but have received no reply. I can only presume that they are in a combat situation or..."

She didn't have to finish. They are in no condition to answer.

"Well, we have to go look for them!" Pyrrha was the one who voiced his concerns.

"Impossible. We can't risk losing anyone else out there should they return on their own. For now, our best chance is to hold the line here to ensure that the Bullheads take off safely. You will stay here and reinforce the defences."

"But-"

"I gave you an order, Mr. Arc." Professor Goodwitch's voice became harder than stone. It wasn't the tone she used to berate a tardy student. It was the voice of a woman who had fought, and survived countless battles, who had commanded platoons of Huntsmen, who had stood defiant in the face of death for far too many times.

"...Understood." Jaune turned to his team, and saw that Cardin was doing the same with his own team. "You heard her. Hold the perimeter and reinforce the weak spots. If anyone gets injured, pull back immediately. you got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

Team JNPR burst into action, fanning out to different sections where they were needed. Jaune didn't waste any time, leaping into the front lines, cutting apart any Grimm who came too close and assisting other students who were in trouble. He heard a distressed shout, and saw a student lying on his back, his stomach bleeding profusely, and his legs bent at an unnatural angle, with a Deathstalker looming over him, its tail poised to strike.

Jaune pushed his muscles to their absolute limits, skidding to a stop in front of the Deathstalker. Rosea Custos was raised high, the blood hardened as much as possible to block the gold-tipped tail. The impact rattled his bones, but he managed to stand his ground. He then willed his blood to burst out of the shield and wrap around the tail to lock it in place. In his peripheral vision, he could see Dove hauling away the injured student.

The brief distraction, however, stopped him from seeing his opponent jab its armored pincer towards his torso. Jaune didn't have time to dodge, so instead he slammed Crocea Mors down on the pincer, stopping it in its tracks and trapping the blade inside the claw. With a burst of strength, he pushed the sword forward, carving through the pincer in a horrifing metallic screech, leaving only the bottom half of the claw attached to Deathstalker's arm.

Jaune suddenly felt a sensation of weightlessness, and realized that his left arm was still attached to the Deathstalker's tail. Before he could react he was lifted upwards, his body spinning through the air. The Deathstalker lifted its remaining arm-

Which was sliced off in a burst of rose petals. A white runic glyph appeared underneath him, slowing his fall and allowing him to right himself and land on his feet. He turned to back to the Deathstalker, only to see a fiery blonde land a savage uppercat which flipped it on its back, just in time for two black blades to bury themselves in in its stomach.

"Team RWBY, reporting for duty!"

After that, the evacuation proceeded rather smoothly. With all of their strongest fighters having returned, they were able to provide an insurmountable defence. Ruby's Semblance allowed her to assist any more incoming teams. Thankfully the remaining teams reached them safely and any injuries they had were not permanent or life-threatening.

There was only a few Bullheads left. JNPR, RWBY and CRDL were among the ones who were still fighting, with Professor Goodwitch staying behind to keep the Grimm away. Of course they had protested this, but she informed them that she was capable of using her Semblance to escape once their Bullhead was safely out of range.

Jaune and Yang were guarding a Bullhead in the middle of take-off when the sound of ripping metal drew their attention behind them. An Ursa had burst from the ground, its clawed fist punching straight up, tearing straight into the underside of the Bullhead.

The hatch of the Bullhead opened and the students, along with the pilots inside ran out. The last to exit grabbed his shoulders. "We all have to get out of here! That Grimm punctured the main fuel line and the liquefied Dust is spilling everwhere. It's gonna blow!"

The two blondes looked around. There were other Bullheads not ten meters away. If it exploded here, the blast wouldn't just destroy the Bullhead, but render a great number of the others inoperable. The two only needed to share glance to understand. Professor Goodwitch was too busy controlling the Grimm on the perimeter. The Bullheads weren't ready to take-off. They needed to stop this themselves. But they needed somebody to help.

"Weiss!" Yang called out. "Need help here!"

Weiss arrived without her usual grace and poise. That coupled with the sheen of sweat on her forehead was a sure sign of her exhaustion. "What do you need?"

"Ice," Jaune answered. "preferably enough to cool down this Bullhead."

"Sorry, but I've depleted my stores of Ice Dust. I've only been using my glyphs for a while now."

"Well, that's fantastic." Yang groaned. "Now what? We're running out of time!"

"If we can't stop the explosion, we can try to move it further away." Weiss suggested. "And I think I can help with that."

"I'll keep the Grimm off your backs." said Jaune. "Just hurry up before the fire reaches the fuel tanks."

Yang positioned herself underneath one of the Bullheads wings, and grasped the point where the wing met the engine. At the same time, Weiss summoned a large glyph underneath the Bullhead, its pale blue light casting an eerie glow on the Huntresses. The glyph was similar to her motion glyphs, but this one was designed to deliver one short but powerful burst of kinetic energy, and she could modify it to be released in a certain direction.

Their movements synchronized, Weiss released the power in the glyph, just as Yang heaved the wing upwards. Their combined strength allowed Yang to fling the Bullhead like a frisbee right into the forest, and coincidentally, a group of Ursai, three dozen strong.

Jaune allowed himself a moment to watch the carnage. The Bullhead collided the pack. Some were crushed underneath its weight, others were hit by the wings and sent flying. A few Grimm foolishly tried to climb over it once it had stopped, but that soon proved to be a mistake. The flames finally reached the fuel tank. The resulting explosion killed the Grimm, either by flame or by jagged shards of metal.

Jaune took the opportunity to kill the Ursa who had burst out of the earth where the Bullhead used to be. Where the hell did this Grimm come from? He got his answer very soon.

The ground began to shake lightly, and Jaune thought it was the Bullhead crashing at first. Then it happened again, only much stronger, almost making them stumble. A crack appeared underneath the Bullhead, slowly snaking its way across the ground, until it grew big enough to swallow the aircraft. The Huntsmen in training could only watch as their means of escape was engulfed by flames and buried in a newly made chasm. But that was the least of their concerns.

From the fissure, black creatures rose, like water from a fountain. They came by the dozens, in a variety of species, some of which Jaune had only ever seen in his Grimm Studies textbooks. To make things even worse, the earth continued to rumble and smaller crevices appeared which spawned more Grimm.

Professor Goodwitch took command in seconds. "Schnee! Contact the Bullheads and tell them to turn around immediately! All of you contain the Grimm coming out of the ground, I'll continue keeping out the Grimm in the exterior."

They carried out the orders with as much vigor as they could muster up in their near-exhausted states. There seemed to be no end to them. They continued to climb, or slither out of the earth. The earth was still splitting, hampering their movements and giving rise to more enemies. It was like trying to plug up a dam, which was crumbling by the second; a futile endeavor, so all they can do is delay the flood for their escape.

But they could only fight for so long. Ruby lost her footing on the uneven ground, tumbling into the dirt. A Beowolf slashed at her, unable to do too much damage because of her Aura, but still managing to send her skidding across the ground, straight towards an open crevice.

"Ruby!" Jaune didn't stop to think, his reaction was instantaneous. His feet pounded the ground, leaving small craters behind him from the mere force of his steps. He dove forwards just as Ruby's body disappeared into the chasm. His right hand darted out and grabbed Ruby's hand. Turning around, his left hand extended upwards, three spears of blood digging into the rocks to stop their fall. But it didn't stop Jaune and Ruby from crashing painfully against the side of the fissure.

Jaune peered down and saw more Grimm approaching. Ruby spotted them too. She shifted her weapon to its rifle form and shot them down with impeccable precision despite her precarious position, swaying from Jaune's hand. Jaune looked up and saw Blake and Ren leaning over the edge. Seeing that both of Jaune's arms were occupied, Blake threw down Gambol Shroud and it struck the centre of Jaune's shield. Grabbing the ribbon, Ren and Blake began to pull them up, and Jaune assisted using his blood rope.

Their rescue was interrupted, though, by another quake, which was by far the most violent of all the ones they had experienced. Ren and Blake valiantly tried to keep their hold, but it was no use, as the very earth they stood on crumbled beneath them.

They were falling. The earth in which Jaune had stabbed his blood was breaking away. Looking around Jaune could see light piercing through the soil. The Grimm were falling with them, still growling and filled with the singular desire to slaughter them. Jaune wondered if they even knew that they were going to die when they landed.

Through the dirt and rotting tree roots, Jaune could see his comrades, desperately trying to use their weapons, their Semblances, and all of their skill to bring themselves up to the surface. If they were surrounded by rock, it might have worked. But the earth around them was soft, and loose, and they could not get proper traction. Not to mention that there was just so much of it, one couldn't avoid hitting against it.

Jaune pulled Ruby closer to him. Was he screaming? Maybe it was Ruby. It could have been somebody else entirely. Whoever it was, he wished they would stop, it was distracting. It was already getting hard to breathe since every time he opened his mouth, dirt flew inside. Not to mention the rising panic he felt, from him and Ruby. He looked up, and saw the sky bathed in a purple light. He quickly deduced that it was Professor Goodwitch. She won't make it. There's way too many of us. She can't even see all of us.

"We have to slow down our fall!" he yelled to Ruby over the winds. He knew it was futile to try and get up. But maybe they can survive the fall.

"I'm way ahead of ya!" Ruby unloaded her magazine, immediately replacing it with another marked with a black cross. She started firing downwards, the dark energy of the Gravity Dust jolting upwards slightly with each shot. Normally, the Gravity Dust would be enough to slow Ruby's fall to the point where it was negligible, but the added weight of Jaune meant that she could only slow the acceleration.

The light was getting thin now. Jaune could barely see ten feet in front of him. He had no idea how long they had been falling, how long they had left to fall, and Ruby only had so many Gravity bullets.

He tightened his grip on Crocea Mors, his last resort. He focused his mind to his blade, pushing his thoughts with as much conviction he could raise. You promised me power! Whatever the hell you are, it's time you delivered!

Within moments, the sword responded. It glowed with a haunting red light, giving the two of them back their sight, Like a wild dog released from its chains, the blade bombarded its wielder with its desire, its rage, its bloodlust and most importantly to Jaune, its sheer raw power. His instincts began to scream at him, telling him what he needed to do.

"Ruby..." His blue eyes met her silver ones, "Do you trust me?"

Ruby didn't even hesitate. "Of course."

"Then curl up." Jaune sliced a long gash on his thigh, ignoring Ruby's yelp of surprise and horror. The warm, blood gushed out, joining with the blood in his shield. The viscous fluid swarmed over their bodies, which were curled to take up the least amount of space. Soon the blood had wrapped them in a shell. This cocoon, reinforced by Jaune's Aura, was capable of absorbing massive amounts of shock.

Jaune felt the impact, having positioned himself on the bottom to protect Ruby. The force was jarring even with the protection, and he felt his bones creak in protest, his muscles scream in agony. He broke his control over the blood, letting it fall on him and Ruby.

He could see her face, stained with his blood, bathed in the fading glow of Crocea Mors. Or was it fading? Maybe it was just his vision going blurry. Maybe both. He looked into her silver eyes, which were filed with worry, as she called to him, her voice just a faint echo in his mind. Because his mind was screaming something else. One last thoguht before his consciousness slipped away. Something his mind whispered to him when he gazed into those beautiful silver eyes.

She needs to die...


I'm sorry, okay? A month of waiting and I deliver this shitty excuse for cliffhanger. Though they weren't really left hanging, were they? Exams are a bitch. It's a piss poor excuse, I know. But it's all I got.

Now enough grovelling, a few points about the chapter.

First up, Blake. I realize at the moment, I'm making her out to be an idealistic and naive girl, and at this point in the story, she kind of is. She still doesn't trust her teammates yet and still retains some loyalty towards the White Fang. To me, it would make sense that, to Blake at least, trying to save them would be the greater good.

Secondly, Cardin. He's a prick. Period. The only character we see from him thus far is the generic bully. I want to develop him more than that. For better or for worse though, that remains to be seen.

Thirdly, Ren's Semblance. It may seem a bit too loud for his style, but just think about it and you'll see how it would fit him.

Lastly, this concerns the story itself, a subject that has been asked about several times already and I feel I need to address. Pairings: I have no fucking clue. You gotta understand, interpersonal relationships aren't my strong suit, not by a very long shot. I can only develop these characters emotions in whatever I feel they would react to the situations I put them in. So in other words, wait and see.

Have you finished this chapter? Have you already read the previous ones? Then why the hell have you stuck this long? Tell me in the box below, please!