Jaune screamed as he fell down a seemingly bottomless pit. His friends weren't faring much better, as they were clearly panicking.

"Stay calm!" Glynda shouted. "Remember your training. We'll hit ground eventually."

Everyone calmed down at Glynda's words. Everyone except Jaune, who never actually completed his landing strategy. He felt as though he should panic, but he couldn't muster it. After all, he'd already died once.

He plummeted towards the ground, laughing the whole time.

He crashed into the ground, sending blood and bits of flesh flying everywhere. He was sore, but he survived.

"Thank god for aura."

He could see his friends and Glynda making a much more graceful landing. Except Glynda seemed to be falling much faster than the others. Before Jaune could move, his vision went black as something heavy landed on his head.

"Good, you've all landed safely," Glynda said. He couldn't see anything but black, but whatever was on top of him was soft, but also firm.

"Where's Jaune?" Pyrrha said.

Jaune could hear Ren trying not to laugh.

"Um, Miss Goodwitch," Nora began, "I think you're sitting on him."

Jaune heard a sharp yelp and suddenly he could see again. He crawled to his feet and took a look around.

"Any idea where we are?" he asked.

"I don't know," Pyrrha replied. "But I think I hear something, it sounds like a drum."

Jaune heard it too. It was a low, steady beating. He pulled out his scroll and called his Pixie. She appeared in a shimmer of light and flew onto his head. She wrapped herself in a tuft of his hair and sighed.

"Oh, master, it's so good to see you again."

Jaune plucked the demon out of his hair. "Later for that. I need you to look around and see if you can find anything."

Pixie flew off with a huff, disappearing into the dark. She came back looking as though she were deep in thought.

"Did you find anything?" Jaune asked.

"Hmm, you know those things humans have that are big and red and really chewy? Those things with all the blood in them?"

"You mean a heart?"

"Yeah, that. I saw a really big heart over that way."

She pointed off into the distance and motioned for the others to follow her. After some running the hunters found themselves standing in front of a massive red organ pulsing violently. It glowed bright red and sent waves of energy across the room with every beat.

"This must be the demon's heart," Glynda said. "If we destroy it, we might be able to dispel the demon entirely."

"Doesn't this seem a little too easy?" Ren asked. He aimed his gun at the giant heart and fired. In the next instant the entire dungeon shook violently as the beating grew louder and more intense. Large beams of light shot out of the heart, burning trenches in the floor. The hunters jumped to avoid the beams and saw that a large, purplish barrier had been erected around the heart.

Jaune sighed. "Of course. Well, no one said this would be easy. Taking this thing out is our top priority right now."

Glynda pulled out her scroll. "I didn't want to resort to this, but I'm afraid I'll have to use my demons."

A massive summoning circle appeared beneath her feet. A demon emerged from a pillar of light. The others felt their hearts seize when they saw it. In the back of their mind they knew that this was not meant to exist.

It was a beautiful woman wearing a black habit adorned with gold accents. She carried a long gold chain in her hands. The fetid water parted around her bare feet. For a moment she stood with her eyes closed. The students were taken in by the woman's beauty and serenity. That serenity was quickly shattered when the woman's eyes snapped open and she unleashed an ear shattering scream. The entire cavern shook from the sheer power.

"You wretched human. It is not enough that you confine me to this vessel, but you bring me to this place? I swear I will destroy you."

Jaune broke out into a sweat. "Miss Goodwitch, what is that?"

"I'll explain later. We have five minutes before she goes feral and kills us all."

XxX

Yang landed in front of a man sitting facing away from her. She knew immediately that this was the person she was looking for. The ground beneath her feet warped from the heat. Flames shot out of Yang's mouth with every breath. Her vision went red as her heart pounded harder than it ever had in her entire life. He was right there, the man she wanted to kill more than anything was right in front of her.

"Get up, Adam," Yang growled. "I want you to die on your feet."

Adam stood up and turned to face Yang. It was clear that he didn't manage to escape Beacon unscathed. The entire right side of his face was stripped of flesh, leaving only a skull. His eye was gone, along with one of his horns. The same was true of his right arm. It too had been stripped down to the bone. That didn't hinder Adam's movements at all, as he placed that skeletal hand on his sword's handle.

Yang grimaced at Adam's form. "You look like shit."

Adam let out a dry chuckle. "You've seen better days yourself. It appears that you've fully thrown away your humanity. That's for the best, the constrains of the human form only hold us back."

"Spare me," Yang spat, "neither of us were ever human to begin with."

Yang raised her hands above her head. Her hands were wreathed in white hot flames. She fired a jet of fire at Adam. Adam drew his sword in a flash and sucked the flames into the blade. The blade glowed from the heat, the fire causing his remaining skin to bubble and crack. When the flames subsided Yang was gone. From above, Yang struck downward. Adam blocked again, the impact creating a crater around him. Yang unleashed a flurry of wild but powerful strikes. Each one was strong enough to kill. Adam frowned slightly at the enraged expression on Yang's face. The last time she had gotten overconfident, but this time she had given into her rage. She was nothing more than a beast now.

Yang screamed louder with every punch. Burning bile spilled from her mouth. Her entire body was burning, her skin glowing white. She couldn't take being this close to Adam and not being able to kill him. Nothing else mattered at this point.

"Why won't you die?" Yang screamed, throwing a massive ball of fire at Adam.

Adam's body glowed red. He slashed through the flames and rushed forward.

"It's time to end this."

Yang's eyes widened as Adam closed in on her. He was even faster than last time. There would be no time to avoid his next attack. There was nothing she could do. She wanted to kick herself. Even now she was making the same old mistakes.

The sword flashed out of its sheath. With speed far beyond her comprehension it sliced through the air and into Yang.

Time seemed to slow down. Even the blindingly fast blade moved in slow motion. Time slowed long enough for Adam to see the smile breaking across Yang's face. The instant the blade touched Yang's skin, there was a strange sound, and Adam felt his own sword slicing through his body. He was cut in two at the waist, and his arms and legs were severed as well. He fell to the ground in pieces. With the last of his strength, he looked up and saw Yang doubled over with laughter.

"You dumbass!" she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "Did you really think I'd fall for the same attack twice? What happened, you lose half your brain along with your face?"

Yang picked up Adam's torso. She held him close to her face and grinned. "How's it feel to be on the receiving end?"

Adam spat in Yang's face. "Even if you kill me, the will of the White Fang will live on."

Yang smirked. "Adam, there isn't gonna be a White Fang after today. You're all gonna die."

Yang thrust a clawed hand into Adam's body and pulled out his heart. She contemplated it for a moment before crushing it in her hand. The flesh fell away, revealing a glowing gem.

"So this is one of the artifacts. That's weird, you should have two of them. Oh well, more killing to be done later."

She placed the gem in her mouth and swallowed it. Instantly she felt a surge of power throughout her body. She let out a low whistle.

"If this is how much stronger I get after one of these, what happens when I get all four?"

"Aw man, looks like I missed all the fun."

Yang turned and saw someone walking towards her. It occurred to Yang that she hadn't seen this person in a long time, though they didn't look all that different. They still had that same disgusting grin on their face.

"What are you doing here, Cardin?" Yang asked.

"I wanted to kill someone. I was hoping to get the boss, but you got to him first." His eyes pored over Yang's body. "Man, you got hot."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Thanks."

"So what are you gonna do after this?"

Yang shrugged. "I was thinking about taking over the world."

Cardin grinned. "Cool. How about I join you?"

Yang turned and walked away. "Do whatever you want, just don't slow me down. If you're weak, you'll die."

"That suits me down to the ground," Cardin replied.

The ground began to shake as the walls dissolved into light. Looking up, they could see the sky.
"Now for the fun part," Yang said.

XxX

Sun and his demon were in perfect sync. They dodged and weaved through the waves of ice, both of them moving like they could see into the other's mind. Seiten Taisei punched at the ground and unleashed a massive wall of fire. Loki raised a hand and extinguished it in an instant.

"Now, where is that human?" he said.

His question was answered by Sun burying his fist into Loki's back. Energy rippled through Loki's body as he was sent flying. While Loki was in the air, Seiten Taisei descended upon him and unleashed a barrage of hundreds of punches in the blink of an eye. Loki fell to the ground in a battered heap. His bones were broken and his body was missing large chunks of flesh. Even so, he stood up, his injuries healing in seconds.

Loki adjusted his hair. "Not bad. Do that a few hundred more times and you might be able to kill me."

Seiten Taisei stroked his beard and grimaced. "The trickster is more skilled than he appears. I tried to crush his head dozens of times, but he avoided it every time."

Sun looked down at the block of ice that encased his fist. Simply getting close to Loki was dangerous. But it didn't matter any more. As long as he killed Roman, he'd sacrifice as much of his body as it took. For a brief instant, his eyes went to Ruby, who he hoped was faring better. He didn't want to admit it, but Loki was far stronger than him. Taking Roman out was their best shot at victory.

Ruby felt a strange sense of calm while fighting Roman. For so long she had been fighting monsters that a human was positively quaint.

Still, she couldn't afford to get lost in sentimentality. She didn't know how long Sun could last against Loki. This fight needed to end fast. If only Roman would oblige. He was still just as ferocious a fighter as Ruby remembered, but she was stronger now, faster, sharper.

The battle made the room shake. Ruby rocketed from all angles, but Roman stopped her cold every time. He saw the blur of red petals speeding toward him and batted it aside with his cane. Ruby skidded along the ground, jumping up before a bullet exploded at her feet. She closed the distance and slashed at Roman's feet. He stomped on the scythe's blade and thrust his cane at Ruby's head. Ruby bent back and saw the cane sail above her face. A smile broke out onto her face. A part of her wished that she could fight like this forever.

But all things had to end eventually, and this fight was one of them.

Ruby had spent days wondering about what Glynda had told her. Her eyes were like an encyclopedia of spells. Ever since that night at Beacon, Ruby had found it easier and easier to access her powers. It was then that she understood what was holding her back. The sharp pain she felt before was the immense flood of raw information entering her mind. But now, she was able to parse it. She could use all of her abilities at will.

She felt the power coursing through her body, making her stronger, faster. This magic was just like what the demons used. For a human like Roman, it was more than enough.

Ruby let go of her scythe and rushed forward. She stood toe to toe with Roman with her fist cocked back.

Everything stopped. Ruby locked eyes with Roman. The two of them knew what was going to happen next. They took in the sight of each other, savoring every moment. Roman grinned with what looked like pride. Ruby smiled back.

"Goodbye, Roman."

This moment lasted no more than a second. Ruby thrust her fist through Roman's chest. Her thin arm pierced his body. Ruby pulled her arm out and watched as the blood spilled from Roman's mouth.

"Not bad, kid," he said. He fell over and died shortly after.

The ice that coated the walls dissolved. Loki's body scattered like dust. His laughter echoed through the room.

"Well done, human. I certainly had my fill. I hope we meet again."

Sun fell to the ground. "Man, that sucked. Thanks for the save, Ruby."

He looked over at Ruby, still staring at her blood slick hand. Whatever was going through her mind was for her and her alone.

Ruby looked down at Roman's body and saw that a gem had fallen out of his pocket. That was strange. If he had one of the artifacts then he shouldn't have gone down so easily. Perhaps he didn't know how to use it. Either way, it didn't matter now.

Ruby picked up the gem and winced as it burned her skin. She watched it sink into her hand, disappearing into her body. It felt like a piece of her that was missing had just come back.

"One down," she said. If she was right, Adam had the other one, and if that was true, then Yang had to have it by now. That was a hurdle she'd have to get over eventually.

The entire dungeon shook violently. The walls began to fall to pieces.

"What's going on?" Sun said.

"It's over," Ruby replied.

The battle was over, but the true nightmare had only just begun.


AN: hey, sorry this took so long. you'd think being placed under lockdown would give me more time to write, but you know how it goes. I hope to get the next chapter done faster, but if not I'll chip away at it when I can. The next chapter is one I've been dying to get to, and I can't wait to show you.

If you liked this chapter feel free to leave a comment. Or even if you didn't. I appreciate all feedback. Until next time.