Chapter 21: Not A King

Shen Long limped across the dessert in disgrace his fury was simmered by the dull throb of his wounds. Whatever poison had been injected into him had started to wear off a while ago but his regeneration was slow going. His first battle against a Grimmlord and he lost, it didn't matter what they did, saying that he was ambushed or that they had him outnumbered were just excuses, a loss is a loss.

But he'd be damned if he was going to take that loss, it's a shame those harlots didn't checked for the ashes of his corpse.

'I will burn them from the inside out for this.'

It wouldn't be long in fact, he had their scent like he did Jaune's and wouldn't you know it, they seem to be heading in the same direction. And it might just be his imagination but they seem to be heading in a specific destination. It didn't matter, for now he would rest and recuperate before showing them the power of a true fire dragon.

\

Today Jaune started off his morning in the most awkward position to date, catching Amazon apparently watching him while he slept. It was so blatant that neither of them even tried to hide that fact and Jaune had the sneaking suspicion he was the only one feeling weird by the action.

So naturally if she's not going to acknowledge it why should he?

"Um, good morning?"

'We need to talk Jaune' she said simply before leaving.

Oh-oh those are words no man wants to ever hear a woman say.

It took a while to extricate himself from Lily without disturbing her but he eventually found himself and Amazon alone. The Grimmlord had her arms folded as she silently glared at Jaune which unnerved him a little but he figured she was in thought about something and would speak her mind soon. After a minute though he opened a=his mouth to ask what was wrong and wouldn't you know it she chose that time to speak.

'I think it's time you faced the Ash King'

In Jaune's defense he didn't expect it to be good news for him in the first place but he still couldn't help but calmly point out the flaw in that plan.

"W-w-what, I'm not strong enough to beat-"

'And at the rate of your nonexistent progression, you never will be 'strong enough' to defeat him' she interrupted crisply.

"Nonexistent…"

'Jaune, you have not gotten any stronger since the time you have attained that form'

Jaune opened his mouth, closed it when Traveler spoke 'she's right Jaune'

'Traveler?'

'You never did get any stronger than you already are.'

"But with the desert lord, I was never that powerful" he argued.

'You were always that powerful, you just didn't have a reason to use your full power until that moment' Amazon answered.

'What she said and from what I can tell the only thing that's improved is your combat skills and that's just from how many times you've sparred against each other, you could just be getting used to her style'

"…unbelievable"

He took a step back and looked at his hand "then what have I been doing all this time?"

'Don't be a fool Jaune' that got his attention 'you aren't getting any more powerful but I believe you are strong enough'

"Y-you do?"

She nodded with certainty 'I admit even I did not know how powerful you were like this and even if I did I wouldn't have allowed you to face the Ash King without first refining your other skills'

"And you think I'm ready?"

'No'

"Well so much for the vote of confidence" he grumbled with a frown.

'At least on your own, I do not see you surviving this battle'

It's like squeezing blood from a stone trying to get a longstanding compliment from this woman.

'However you are not alone'

"You mean"

'Of course, you didn't actually think I would let you fight him alone did you?' she raised an eyebrow.

"Well I mean…yeah"

'Congratulations, you are wrong and even if it was the case to get you to that level of skill would take too long. Don't you have friends and family to go to?' she turned away

In all actuality, Jaune hasn't thought about going home in a while now. He's been here for so long it's almost like a second home to him, what was once so foreign became familiar and frankly nothing has really fazed him anymore.

'This is my life now' he remembered lamenting something along those lines before just not seriously but now 'its been my life for months.'

He sighed "one thing at a time"

Suddenly something tickled the back of his senses and his head swerved to the left trying to scope out the area. He saw nothing but dense forestry, still didn't stop him from reaching for his sword. His senses sharpened like a fine toothed comb running throughout the immediate area.

There was something there, it barely registered despite his concentration but it was there, scratching at the surface and he chose to acknowledge it, zero in on it. This time he did grasp the pommel of Crocea Mors, his eyes narrowed and he bent slightly ready to attack or defend at a give notice.

*Snap*

His response was instantaneous and Crocea Mors was in hand and aimed at whatever had managed to sneak up on him.

It just so happened to be Lylsistrata whose shocked eyes went cross eyed staring at the tip of the blade aimed between her eyes. Jaune immediately relaxed, his eyes softened as an apology was starting to form at the tip of his tongue. Unfortunately his lapse in concentration cost him and he looked back trying to find the disturbance but to no avail.

'Jaune?'

"Shh" he shushed and narrowed his eyes in concentration for a moment.

Ultimately he sighed and relaxed 'what was that?'

'I don't know but it wasn't just your imagination, something was there.'

He turned back to the smaller Grimmlord who was also looking off in the same distance with her expression adorably scrunched up in concentration.

"…Sense anything?" he ventured when she looked back at him.

'No but it's strange. I thought I did but only for a brief moment'

"I know what you mean" he assured "come on, let's go."

Meanwhile

Seafoam green eyes watched warily from the cover of the swamp as the duo left and breathed an aggravated sigh of relief before shifting gaze.

The white scaled lamia Grimmlord look towards her darker scaled counterpart with clear irritation on her humanesque visage 'Heishe!' she hissed.

The black scaled lamia tensed before hesitantly taking her eyes from the front and winced at the glare her white scaled counterpart sent her.

'What happened to you?'

'I…' she trailed off before lowering her head 'sorry sister I was…distracted' her eyes lingered on the spot where the two Grimmlords were 'he is not what I expected'

'…agreed, this Jaune is clearly more dangerous than we thought. He was able to sense us if not vaguely, we should eliminate him.'

'No!'

'What?'

'Um…I meant the Ash King would be displeased' her sister scoffed at the mention of him 'and we would have gone back on our word should we kill him.'

She looked at Heishe for a moment before answering 'there is something else isn't there?'

Heishe stiffened "I don't know what you mean"

Her twin leaned forward 'what aren't you telling me?'

After a moment under her sister's scrutinizing gaze Heishe looked her sister in the eye and said 'I want him'

Shock was conveyed on the face of the white snake-girl before it melted into mirth 'oh is that all? If you wanted him first then all you had to do was ask dear sister' she reached out to gently touch her face.

Heishe grabbed her sister's hand much to the latter's shock 'that is not what I meant Baishe, I want him alone.'

'Why?'

'He could be the one.'

Baishe snatched her hand back 'nonsense'

'He has potential'

'You are mistaken'

'I am not.'

'Yes you are!' Heishe remained silent as her seething sister continued 'we have already found the one. There could be no other!'

'Do you believe that sister?' she said with obvious sarcasm.

'What are you driveling about now?'

'If he was the one, we would all be united by now!' she said hotly red eyes smoldering 'Instead we are more divided than we have ever been while he lauds his position over the weak. He aspires for more yet is content in his mediocrity and yet' she calmed herself 'an outsider has managed to unite six Ascended, seven if we count the dragon.'

Through her sister's speech Baishe had calmed significantlyand seemed considerate as she said 'he has others as well'

'Sister we are the only ones who have followed him of our own will' her eyes narrowed 'on your recommendation.'

'It seemed right at the time' Baishe admitted sheepishly.

'So you admit to your mistake?'

Baishe bristled and hissed 'I admit to nothing and even if it were true we are already bound. We can only serve one'

At this Heishe grinned savagely 'not if he is beaten'

'Do you believe he can be beaten?'

'I believe that the fates will decide who is worthy'

'And what of your faith sister? Would you place it on the outsider?'

'Yeessss~' she hissed with a flick of her tongue.

Baishe chuckled at her sister's enthusiasm 'Humph then you will have your time with him but first' her expression turned sly 'let us ensure your meeting remains private.'

And to cap off the utterly silent conversation both sisters disappeared with nary a trace or sound.

\

'You ever get the feeling that you're being watched?'

'Yes and I agree this definitely feels like it. Splitting up had been good idea.'

Jaune was going back to the others when he picked up something, it was faint yet familiar with what he had sensed earlier and for some reason it beckoned him. He didn't know what it was but it seemed insignificant enough to warrant an investigation. No, that's not entirely true, the main reason why he split away from Wolf and Lylsistrata was because he wanted a moment to himself.

After this they were going to confront the Ash King, naturally Jaune was afraid and with good reason. Like Cardin before him the Ash King represented something of a wall in his path, no to compare them would be an insult…to the Ash King. Cardin was like those portable fences used to cage toddlers and the Ash King would be like a siege wall with automatic turrets.

He kept telling himself that it should work out because he wasn't alone, he had a band of friends whose powers were nothing to scoff at but more than that it took a lot more for him (and Traveler) to convince himself that he was on their level. He wasn't that lovable idiot stuck in a tree, he wasn't that clumsy awkward guy struggling to catch up, he wasn't the weakest link, they were counting on him now.

Somehow it didn't make him feel any better, they were going against an army, an army allegedly larger than the one they'd fought against the first time. He dreaded the thought, the guy was powerful enough but that acid mist ability he has is going to be another problem. Even if his Aura can protect against it unlike the seemingly limitless Grimm power he would be severely limited.

"Ugh"

'You moping around can't be too good for your health, especially since we're supposed to fight this guy. Come on Jaune at least try to look on the bright side of things.'

'Like what?'

'You might be able to get back your shield since the guy has a thing for collecting human relics.'

…Oh, somehow Jaune completely forgot about the shield, too many things have been preoccupying his mind.

'Yeah, there's still that. If I defeat the Ash King then I can finally go home. It's like…it's like the final boss of a video game.'

'Exactly! Well not exactly but you have the right idea at least. Just think positive thoughts Jaune'

'Yeah uh, what was I doing again?' he looked around 'I don't recognize this part of the swamp' the scenery had become noticeably darker as tall trees partially blocked the sun, not only that but these trees had on edible fruit.

Jaune could eat, he didn't really need to before on account of the hole in his chest and his apparent ability to survive solely on his own energy. But as of healing himself and regaining his partial humanity he could eat again. He learned something about the Grimm during the first time he saw the fruits, it doesn't matter what type Grimmlord it is, fruits aren't on the menu.

Jaune found that out when Lily spat an apple out after one bite. It didn't stop Jaune from eating it though, which he shouldn't have done in hindsight, see because while he's part human he's mostly Grimm so he ended up puking in the bushes for five minutes. Apparently tasting the things are just fine but actually swallowing the stuff is still a whole other story.

On the bright side if he ever made it out of this then he'll have a legitimate reason not to eat his veggies.

He withdrew Crocea Mors and whirled around but nothing was there, the forest was eerily quiet still, not as single sound was heard through his sensitive hears yet

"I know you're out there" he said looking around "show yourself" he felt a slight spike and looked in a general direction with narrowed eyes as his grip on Crocea Mors tightened.

'You are more perceptive than most.'

The voice was feminine but that's about all he could get since it seemed that her voice echoed all around him.

Time for some questions "who are you?"

'I was hoping to be your friend'

"Friends usually don't hide in the shadows and stalk people"

'They also don't brandish weapons at the first sign of them.'

Touché but "most things that stalk me nowadays tend to try and kill me"

'Hmm~ then how about a compromise, I come out of hiding but only after you sheathe your sword'

Jaune hesitated but eventually he sheathed his sword, it was hardly the only weapon he had anyways "alright it's done, where are you?"

'Behind you' the reply came close, too close, like over the shoulder kind of close.

Jaune leapt away as he turned one hand going for Crocea Mors the other with a Grimmbullet at the tip of his fingers. He was met with giggling for all the trouble he went through and it at least caused Jaune to stop since when things usually get the drop on him they strike not laugh in his face about it.

So upon calming down he regarded the new arrival and with all the time he stayed here Jaune was still caught off guard by the uh…lady before him. She was obviously a Grimmlord, her green eyes and ability to communicate says that much. She had the body of a woman with obsidian skin and scales. At that point Jaune's eyes were inexplicably drawn upwards to where the rest of her body was coiled around a thick branch letting her suspend along a tree.

'A snake lady, I don't know why I'm surprised anymore'

'You're telling me, at least you're not staring at her chest…goddamn it Jaune.'

'Why the heck did you bring it up?'

The Grimmlord moved curling her body around the tree before ducking her head from behind the tree in an almost shy manner but Jaune wasn't fooled for a minute. He kept his guard up as the rest of her body moved to the ground with her.

It was a little weird to watch all things considered.

His gaze shifted from her eight foot long tail to her eyes which bore into his with open curiosity "who are you?"

She squinted and tilted her head, green tresses of her hair shifting with her movement before seemingly coming to a decision 'I am Heishe' she pointed at him, her fingernail was long and sharp 'what are you?'

"I'm Jaune, your turn."

She shook her head 'I know who you are. I asked what you are' Jaune pursed his lips but remained silent so after a moment she continued 'you don't want to say or you don't know.'

"What's it to you?"

She gave a casual shrug as she moved from behind the trees 'oh no reason, it's just that I was sent by The Ash King to drag you to him.'

Ignoring the casual way in which she admitted to working for The Ash King, Jaune was on high alert as he regarded the Grimmlord. His hand had already drawn Crocea Mors halfway

Heishe smirked at his reaction 'obviously I will no longer do such a thing' she spread her arms 'since I revealed myself to you.'

'More like I caught on to you' he thought but said

"I don't know that" his eyes narrowed "for all I know you could just be distracting me" his eyes shifted to behind the side as he looked over his shoulders "while your friend attacks me from behind" he positioned himself with sword drawn while reaching out with his senses.

'Sister' Heishe growled much to Jaune's surprise.

'I apologize' a second voice came from nearby and Jaune finally saw a second white skin/scaled snake girl appeared 'it seemed I had been hasty in dismissing him.'

Jaune really didn't like how she smiled at him and he backed away further keeping the other one, Heishe, in his peripheral.

'Sister, you are frightening him' she chided.

Jaune was more weary than frightened and maybe he was a little creeped out but then who wouldn't be when you're boxed in by two snake women who can apparently hide their presence. Even while standing before him he couldn't really feel their presence.

'They must be shielding themselves from the others.'

'Nonsense' the white scaled one spoke 'he is simply weary of us sister, but he need not be we are not your enemy Jaune.'

His eyes narrowed, didn't her sister just tell him they were sent to kidnap him?

"Prove it"

'Very well' her long tail shifted to bring into view Lily's unconscious body.

Jaune's eyes flashed quite literally "Lily!"

'Shh, keep your voice down' she spoke.

'What are you doing!?' Heishe hissed, her eyes flickering from the now furious hybrid to her sister.

'I am showing him that I could have easily killed this creature' she brought Lily's body in front of her as her claws reached for her neck before she relaxed 'but I chose not to in good faith'

"Put. Her. Down." He snarled and both sisters suppressed a shudder.

Heishe then spoke 'sister, do as he says, put down the child'

The situation was slowly deteriorating Heishe didn't want to fight, she wanted him on their side why can't she see this!?

Her sister didn't waver, if anything her gaze hardened 'this is no mere child sister. This is Blackheart'

Jaune heard Heishe took a sharp intake and saw her glaring at the unconscious Grimmlord "her name is Lylsistrata and she hasn't done anything to you so put her down" he warned again.

'I can contest to that, she has done much to us, however I am more curious as to how she is no longer tainted and her…form' she paused 'is this your doing?'

"It is, I purified her"

'Impossible' he heard Heishe gasped behind him.

'How' her sister demanded.

Jaune simply allowed Aura to seep into its blade and glow white. The results were interesting both of them stepped or rather slithered back in abject awe at his display.

He heard the white scaled snake woman mutter the phrase 'Et per lumen eius et facti sunt pura, vitiatas inficit' then she scowled 'she knew! She knew all along and kept it from us!'

'Sister!' Heishe snapped and her twin realized with that she had been unintentionally coiling her tail tighter around the girl.

She exhaled 'forgive me' she gently lowered the girl at his feet much to his confusion but he checked up on her anyway.

The two sisters stood side by side as he exhaled and regarded them "who are you and what do you want?"

Heishe went to speak but her sister cut her off 'It does not matter who we are but what we want' she answered.

Heishe did something akin to an eye roll as she answered 'she is my sister Baishe' ignoring the irritated look she continued 'and what we want of you is no small task.'

'We want for you to kill the Ash King'

Jaune looked between them and unbelievably he let out a chuckle "I guess it was always going to come to that huh? Lately it just seems that fate wants to hammer it home I'm the one who is supposed to beat him" he sheathed his sword and kneeled down to pick up Lily.

Both sisters shared a look, Baishe gave her sister a questioning glance but Heishe shrugged before approaching the conflicted Halfling who was transfixed by lily's sleeping visage.

'What ails you Jaune' the black scaled snake woman questioned from directly beside him, her hand on his shoulder.

Jaune stiffened at the contact but he released the tension with a sigh "you're not the only ones who want me to kill the King. Heh I think Amazon said the exact same words you did" he looked Baishe in the eye "why is that?"

Baishe remained silent and her sister began to steadily message his shoulder, she leaned in closer 'does it really matter?'

Despite how good he admittedly felt right now Jaune looked over his shoulder directly at her "considering it's my life on the line, yes it matters. Why don't you two team up and do it?"

Baishe scoffed 'even if we possessed such power, it won't be any good if it is us'

'It must be you Jaune' Heishe whispered in his ear.

Jaune felt an oddly pleasant shiver ran down his spine and he whirled around to face the mildly surprised Grimmlord "why does it have to be me?"

Heishe saw her sister shake her head and bit her lip before looking the boy in the eyes but just as she went to speak another voice broke the silence.

'Because it is law.'

All three of them jumped and looked upward to see Amazon on a branch a hand resting on her knee and one leg dangling. She did not look pleased although her gaze was in the distance, not them.

"Uh how long have you been up there?"

Amazon spared him a glance 'ever since dark scales started to seduce you'

'…what?'

With the same blank look Jaune's eyes came down until they met the eyes of Heishe whom he realized was in his personal space. His eyes traveled further down to where she still had her hands on his shoulder. He looked even further down and saw that her long tail had made a loose circle around them.

When did that happen?

Heishe reluctantly removed her hands and slithered away to stand beside her sister who was glaring at the Grimmlord by the tree 'I should kill you for keeping him from us.'

A blink later and Amazon was beside Baishe with an energy lance at her throat 'I should say the same, for threatening my sister' her voice was low, dark and full of malice.

Baishe hissed and Heishe looked ready to intervene but all action came to a stop by Jaune who had laid Lily by a tree to rest "would you three knock it off already!" he tossed them an irritated glare "I just want some answers, no more of this cryptic bullshit! I thought I was going to beat the King because it was the only way out of here and maybe there's a chance he would have something of mines but you three are talking about something more than that. You (Amazon) told me that you would help me fight him, was that a lie? I seem to think so" he continued "since we never made any plans of attack or battle strategy, it was always me training, me getting stronger and me beating him, why?" he looked to the twins "why does it have to me, I want a straight answer dammit!"

'Jaune you should calm down.'

Jaune pointed a finger at the dark scale snake Grimmlord "you stay right where I can see you" his finger went back to Amazon "you start talking."

'Very well, before that I want to ask you, how do humans see us as a species?'

"As a species…"

'She's talking about Grimm in general Jaune. How do people see the Grimm?'

"They see would see you guys as the greatest threat to them. Grimm are nothing but mindless beasts that kill any human and Faunus on sight."

'What is this Grimm you speak of?' Heishe questioned.

"Creatures of Grimm, that's the technical name but we just call you guys Grimm for short."

Baishe snorted 'well you are wrong, we are not these 'mindless beasts' you call Grimm'

"I know."

'What she means Jaune is that the creatures you encountered in the human world are not the same as us or even the lesser Severos that roam these lands.'

Well Jaune already knew that, he figured that the Grimm naturally evolved without interruption.

'They are artificial' she continued 'a poor attempt to replicate us by a mad woman playing at being god' Amazon sneered.

"What?"

'You said you wanted the truth' she spoke 'I will tell you. These lands weren't always wild lands and we, the so-called Grimmlords weren't so few, though they remained scattered across the lands within different tribes. That all changed with the rise of our King, a single Ascended whose power eclipsed all others. He would use his power to unite the scattered tribe and create a single Kingdom under his leadership' she paused for a moment before adding 'it was glorious.'

Jaune was frozen for a moment, his mind trying to comprehend the words coming out of her mouth. Traveler managed to voice the sum of his thoughts though with five simple words.

'…wow didn't see that coming.'

Who the hell could have seen that coming!? An ancient Kingdom of Grimm? What the hell!?

Baishe decided to enter the conversation 'many tried to oppose us, the humans, the Beastmen and' her expression twisted in distaste 'especially the ones with Silver Eyes.'

'They all failed though' Heishe imputed 'we solidified ourselves as the strongest and would've went on to conquer rather than defend if not for our king.'

'Instead of wasting his time on what he called 'meaningless bloodshed' he wanted to secure his Kingdom, make it into a stronghold never to be toppled' Amazon frowned 'though with his reluctance to wage war some found his decision to be an act of cowardice. They conspired to overthrow him through underhanded means but the truth was revealed and a civil war started. It forever ravaged a part of the Kingdoms making it treacherous even for us.'

'It more than destroy the lands' Baishe hissed 'the war killed us, the ongoing battle was used by our enemies to strike and it reduced us to a fraction of our numbers."

'Our king remained strong though, he weathered the storm and through his power we were once again victorious but even he was not infallible.' Heishe said sadly.

'None of us would have ever thought she would betray him.'

Jaune swallowed "who?"

'The Traitorous Queen' Amazon growled with a flare of her eyes

Baishe shared her temperament 'not only did her actions contribute to the destruction of our Kingdom but to our near extinction. She had the gall to try and assert her authority in the aftermath' she smiled cruelly 'we all saw through her though, none of us would ever follow someone like her.'

'I made sure to personally hunt and kill any who did' Amazon added vindictively.

'We banded together and managed to drive her away' Heishe continued 'we were led by the current King.'

"Wait, you mean he wasn't always like this"

'Oh he was always like that' Amazon assured 'though he is powerful, he does not have certain other qualities of a ruler' she sighed

"Then why support him as king?"

Amazon looked to the snake twins 'I didn't'

Heishe gave her sister a look and Baishe sighed 'he was the lesser of two evils. He was powerful enough to be unopposed and ambitious enough to want more.'

'Must have been dark times if that guy was the best option.'

Jaune agreed but something very alarming dawned to him "s-so you were saying that you drove the Queen away?"

'Yes we did though she remains a thorn in our side' she gestured towards the distance 'no doubt you have seen said plague in the form of those creatures bearing her mark'

He nodded though something in that statement crossed his mind "her mark?"

She touched her own mask 'the red emblem implanted upon all of us as a sign of fealty to their leader.'

'The King's mark is similar yet distinct from hers' Amazon piped up and Baishe scoffed.

"I wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

But it apparently did serve one in this case as Amazon shook her head lightly 'of course you wouldn't.'

"Hey looking at red marks on a Grimm's face is the last thing on my mind when I meet them okay" for obvious reasons "anyway, you still haven't told me what all this has to do with me"

'I think you've already figured it out. As much as you seem to try and prove contrary, you are not an idiot Jaune.'

"…I was hoping this would be one of the times where my dumb imagination got me thinking the world revolves around me."

Like sneaking off into a school for Huntsmen without training or a speck of knowledge related to the subject and thinking he'd become one of the best by the time he left anyway.

'You are right, this world does not revolve around you' Baishe commented 'however what happens next depends on your decision.'

Jaune laughed a bitter laugh as he regarded her with wry amusement 'there is no decision' but at the same time he didn't want the title or the responsibility of ruling an entire species.

For gods sakes he just wanted to go home! How hard is this really!?

"Is there a chance I could like- y'know pass on being the king thing?" Apparently that was the wrong thing to say as the snake twins looked rather offended "not that there is anything wrong with that" he added hastily

'There are few who meet the requirements necessary to lead us. Many would kill to be in your position."

"I understand what you're saying but I…I can't be your King."

Not even going into qualifications, how is he supposed to be King of the Grimm or rather Grimmlord when he's trying to become human and go home?

'It doesn't matter' Amazon said tightly gaining odd looks from Jaune.

'How can you say that?' Heishe whispered.

'Whether he wants to lead us or not, it doesn't matter. Either way he will have to face the King' she gave the sisters a look, conveying some hidden message Jaune couldn't possibly fathom.

He chalked it up to a girl thing rather than a Grimm thing.

Baishe grit her teeth 'you are right, it doesn't matter' she gave him a hard look 'as far as I know you have two choices, fight or die because the King will not stop until you are dead at his feet.'

"Yeah what else is new?" he said with a depreciating smile "at this point facing certain death is par for the course."

She nodded 'as you say, we are leaving Heishe' and without a second glance or perceivable sound she was gone.

Her sister lingered giving Jaune an almost helpless look 'good luck' a blink later and she was also gone.

There was a lingering silence as the two stood in the forest "do you really believe I could've been King?"

'It doesn't matter' Amazon scooped up Lily in her arms and walked away leaving Jaune to ponder his decision.

'…hey Traveller, I made the right choice right?'

'You want my opinion?'

'I know I'm going to regret asking but-sure go ahead.'

'Okay, the way I see it, you had a choice between the right thing to do and the smart thing to do, you knew you were out of your depth so you chose the smart thing. There's nothing wrong with saying no Jaune."

'Then why do I feel so awful?'

'Probably because you're still trying to be a hero- stop, you're not a hero and I think it's stupid that's the reason why all of this started anyway.'

Jaune recoiled almost involuntarily, not a hero? Where the heck did that come from?

Oh now he remembered, the whole reason why he started on this journey, not the Grimm thing but way back when at Beacon. The concept of a hero had always appealed to him, the righteous untainted warriors of virtue, strong in their conviction and power acting as a guiding light to the downtrodden.

It all sounds very flowery and Jaune knew he wasn't close to being any of those descriptions but he would like to think he was well on his way to that path.

If he's not a hero "then what do you think I am?"

'A good man, a loyal friend, a doting brother, a powerful warrior, a survivor, a Hunter'

Jaune chuckled a little "but not a King?"

The mirth was clear in the disembodied voice 'not a King…it still doesn't mean that you won't kick his ass right?'

This time Jaune laughed "like you even had to ask."

Jaune retreated, he was about go fight a battle he would more than likely die fighting with morbid optimism and miles away under the scorching dessert, the temperature reached a boiling point as the sleeping dragon awoken.

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes: Today is my birthday and while I have been out of touch since I have a life I haven't completely forgotten about this story or this fandom. Yes I know Vol 5 came out yesterday. No I haven't watched it yet and at this point in time I don't feel vol 5 will have any sway over this story.

Why you ask?

Well, the die has been cast, this story has reached its twilight for where I want it to go and where it could go afterwards is going to result in a whole other story. But for that story to begin this one has to end.

That's right, I am ending this story!

No its not rushed and no I haven't ran out of steam, it's just the natural way forward. I've got about two chapters to go and one of them is the Epic Final Battle next chapter and the intense foreboding epilogue.

Since I am swamped with work from my job and school you won't be seeing this story updated for months, then again even if I wasn't busy I want to take my time here, this will officially be my first completed story and that is an accomplishment for someone who gave up on two very promising ones already.

Sorry there wasn't any action here leave your reviews on what you think.