"Okay." She said, voice quiet, yet louder than the torch's crackled fire. "But for real. How'd you know?"

They've, for an amount of time Jaune guesstimated to be a dozen or so minutes, been walking through the dark.

He and his shining mass first, her and her dust-lit torch held in hand second. Walls were tight so far, and as such, Jaune figured this set up would fuck them over in the worst case scenario the least.

Scythes her size weren't the best weapons of war to use in tunnels, especially these ones. Where the ceiling is very high yet the cavern's side walls are not.

So yeah, he's got methods to his madness. Ruby isn't holding the torch just because she oughta get desensitized to violence.

He's still trying to make due on their partner pinky promise, after all, which means he's gotta help her out. Whenever he can curb his ego down the drain, and get that sugary breakfast barfed.

Thus, they're walking through the cavern. In the shadow of some Deathstalker's murder cave. A two man team that's half their weapons up and half their stabilities questionable.

Not his, of course. But-

"Hey? Jaune?"

He heard Ruby pester. It broke him from his musings, yet he still looked into the darkness her torch lit.

"Can you not friggin' ignore me? 'Cuz I dunno if you remember, but you said we're partners, and you not saying stuff is spooking the crap outta me and-"

Turning around, Jaune found her curled up to the torch, face almost in painful proximity to the damn thing.

She didn't care, however, and gave him a needy look. Her pale face illuminated by crackly orange-red flickering to and from.

It...seemed familiar. He still wasn't sure exactly what made it so. Something about those colors, the reds and stuff, that just got him thinking.

"I'm right here, Ruby. You've a torch on ya, you can see that."

"But you're just so weird." She grumbled. "Where'd you get the idea crunched up dust rounds are good for lighting torches?"

"Common sense?"

"You don't use dust! Wouldn't lighter fuel or whatever be more...y'know, common where you live?"

"You calling my culture poor?"

"Eh? No!? It just...seems kinda extra of you to know that." She scratched her cheek. "I mean, you did talk about the wife lady 'n how she nearly shot her husband, but... 'dunno if that says you'd know dust and stuff."

"...Well." He tilted his head to the side. "I'll explain ya this: dust is exclusively a weapons thing back home. If it's even a thing in the first place."

"'Was dat mean?"

"It means coal's real popular. Plus, there's an actual market for gunpowder too, as dust from bigger cities is kinda rare-"

She, in a display he's yet to really see so tender, giggled into her cupped hand.

Eyes squinted in guilty humor and pointedly away from him. Topping it off, she hunched over a bit, looking real damn smug.

"What?" He muttered, brow furrowed, suspicious. "What's so funny?-"

Hunched over, yet with her hand off her mouth, this smug brat opened her big yapper up.

"No offense, but I'm pretty sure 'rare' means your culture is kinda poor."

"Ah, your true colors show."

"'Jus saying!"

"And your 'Patch' isn't?"

"Nope! We've got like two wallymarts in town! So kinda urban kinda not. Dust-cars are everywhere 'n stuff..."

He watched her, as the moment dragged on, notice the dissection on his face.

She paused, her smug persona taking a nosedive and faded into that nervousness again. Whether from his scorn or their situation he didn't know.

"A-Anyways, ehm..."

"Uh-huh?"

"How long until we, y'know, find this thing?"

She looked nervous and uncertain.

"It's like we're walking into an endless doomsday tunnel and are gonna find out we're already dead."

"What killed us?"

"The Deathstalker? Hellllo? What's to friggin' say it doesn't actually ambush us while you're being a meanie?"

"Because, at most, a Deathstalker could only shimmy it's fat-ass through the tunnel."

He started walking again, and shooed her along, as she pitter pattered against the cold stone.

"It doesn't have much leeway here, and if it tried, it'll only succeed in killing us by squishing us."

"Which is totally possible, Jaune."

"Only with that attitude, 'Rubes.'"

She squeaked like a chew toy. He didn't see her face-as he's actually productive and looking forward-but it shocked her.

"J-Jaune!"

"I'm trying to lead us to the Deathstalker, Ruby-"

"No!"

She's at his back now, and he feels a pokey finger violating his scalp with a fury of one thousand unbeaten children.

"You can't just be all like 'oooh look at me I'm a knight' after calling me freaking Rubes!"

"I see no problem here. Neither in the darkness ahead of us."

Jaune mused to himself, despite the continuous poking, with a thin smile.

"'Least for our merry band now. And ya know, I'd probably find the Deathstalker sooner if you'd stop being such a-"

Suddenly, that dainty finger bobbed back with a vengeance, it's owner kicking it up into high gear.

"Poke." She said, keeping it up. "Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke-poke. Poke-poke-poke-poke-poke-poke-"

"Rubes-"

She gasped.

"Don't say that! It's weird!"

"Why?" He grumbled, as more cavern walls illuminated under Ruby's torch. "We're partners now, like you so graciously figured to tell me, so why not call you that?"

"Because Yang does and she's a problem child! Dad said so!"

"...You're my problem child at this rate-"

The hand that poked him, after finally having enough, promptly thumped itself on him. Doing or hurting nothing of him, really, but his fraying mental tranquility.

"Don't say that too! It's weirder!"

"Why?"

"Because only dad says that. A-And it's really weird...'cuz you and him both have blonde hair and blue eyes and you also told me to breathe and-"

All of a sudden, in her air headed delusions, she realized her mistake and slammed a hand over her mouth. Cheeks redder than her hairline and looking ready to explode any second now.

"Uh?" He frowned, watching her sputter against herself, eyes like deers in headlights. "Ruby?"

She did a neat little mini-scream. Muffled, yet, very panicked.

"What'd you mean by-"

"Don't." Through sheer embarrassment, he'd guess, she cried out. Her voice was a dull hum from her hands, but those eyes were glaring their displeasure. "Don't you say a freaking word. Not a one!"

"Okay, but-"

The torch, after her chicken claw of a hand slammed it against him, was in his hold now. His partner looked anything but happy, and more than that, she's indignant.

"Nope. You say nuthin." She grumbled, pulling that hoodie over herself, slinking away a bit. "If I can't people, then I can't you. You're even worse than normal people, honestly..."

Before he could comment on whatever the fuck this was, she's on the move again, shuffling ahead of him. Her booties clanking against the cold stone and red cloak fluttering. If not slightly so.

He paused-for a second-at that, saw her going into the darkness, frowned, then sighed and caught up.

Even so, she made sure to stay several feet ahead of him, looking like an oversized traffic cone.

Good grief. He said to himself, watching that foolish shuffle go on in her social anxiety. How the hell's she not a blonde, anyway?

Questions for a saner-and less preoccupied-Jaune, he supposed.

/-/

Roughly ten minutes more, and he's gotta say, the tunnel's lengthened out considerably.

So much, that Ruby got her baby out, nice and comfortable. Could also be 'cuz she's curled up into it like a red gremlin, but Jaune's feeling charitable here.

If it's able to not ding against the ceiling-or side walls-then by God it's fine enough to swing around.

It's why he let her, and by virtue of that, found himself leading their march into darkness. Torch of crackly light in one gauntlet, and Yellow Death in the other.

"Jaune?"

"Uh-huh?"

"When's the Grimm showing up?"

In her funk, Ruby hadn't a care for even looking at him, as she said this. Pale faced-more so than usual-and grumpily hunched over her unsheathed baby.

Jaune hummed. She went on.

"I bet it's been like an hour that, y'know, we've walked here." She motorboated her lips. "How much longer? And why'd the Deathstalker hide from stuff instead of doing more murder-death-kill?"

"It's probably ancient."

"Ok. And?"

"And, I'm not sure if your Signal Academy told you this, but the older the Grimm the harder they are to kill."

"Oh yeah, they said that-"

"But did they go into details about the intelligence some old ones develop?"

She thought about that for a moment.

"...I, eh, don't think so? All I remember is them saying 'when they live longer they kill longer and better' or some crap. They said Deathstalkers are just like big scorpions of murder and bad things."

"Did they, or were you just not paying attention?"

"Eh...maybe both."

He snorted, she groaned.

"They really didn't do much for us besides textbooks. And yeah, we did spars and stuff but like...ehm, not much?"

"Is that right?"

"Yeah." She sighed. We spared and sometimes went out to kill Beowolves or whatever, but that's it. Everything else was textbook and I really don't like textbook."

"Huh..."

He muttered, playing that idea 'round his head.

"Understandable. 'Guess I'll be the bringer of old wisdom on this one, and tell ya some stuff about Deathstalkers. Or old Grimm in general..."

He heard no complaints, so he readily cleared his throat, face puzzled in memory.

"I wouldn't say that Grimm-on an individual level-have consciousness. Rather, they'd likely have their own sorta...biological programming shits. Ones making them better killers relative to their experience and duration of being. So, for example; the demon that we're fighting..."

He ran his blade across the wall, getting the juices ah' flowin', by way of metal stimulus.

"It's older. Maybe a century? Enough to easily kill two people with Auras and return back into hiding. Likely so others would come on by and let themselves be sneak attacked by the fucker."

"Oh, like us?"

"More like you if anything. I know what I'm doing. You'll use your speed to distract it while The Yellow Death cut's the fucker's other legs off."

"...Ugh. Whatever-"

"Anyways."

He mused, already hearing the disbelief and grumpiness coming from her.

"Things like Deathstalkers have a base...uh, range of attributes that let them destroy us. Hence, they develop a semi-consciousness based on their contempt and hatred for humanity."

"Faunus too!"

"Ah, yes indeed, Ruby. How very progressive of you." He hummed. "Diverse representation must come in all forms."

"I-I'm just saying!" She winged. "Everybody suffers 'cuz of the Grimm."

"And you'd rather Faunus involved in the slaughter than not?"

"N-No. No! T-That's not what I-I...-"

The embarrassment she felt must've melted away, though, after hearing his chuckles. He knew this by her grumbling tone, which she had, like the little sister she was.

"...Meanie. Stupid knighty meanie making me sound stupid."

"You sure it isn't just you?" He had to ask. "'Not even joking here, I'm actually curious if today's activities fried your brain-"

"You fry my gosh-darn brain!" She cried, shamelessly, her scythe tinkering against something tough. "With all your talk-ing 'n kill-ing 'n big-words 'n-"

And then, in abruptness, Jaune found his light no longer showing the walls.

"Hold on a second here."

He held a hand out for her, blocking her path, as their actual path before them wasn't a path, but an open...something. Darkness, from at least the floor level, stretching sight-to-sight in totality.

They're a brief circulator of clarity in a sea of inky black nothingness, and yet, that's not what paused him most.

No...what bubbled the Aura beneath his flesh, and his soul itself, was that light up above.

Brightness not of fire, but of the actual summer sun, cascading down onto their place in ever so faint droves. Illuminating things. And though it couldn't showcase the entirety of everything, it showed something worthwhile.

As from under that light crawled a being, of red-lined black and white, from the very fucking ceiling on top them.

The Deathstalker was here, glowing its presence clear inside the dark. It's armored legs click-clacking towards them, and from here, Jaune heard those mandibles.

They chittered oh so fucking curious, almost happy, and he saw dozens of red hate-orbs do much the same.

Like one thousand grains of sand left shaking in a large vase, over a bloody lamb dripping from slaughter. Only louder and obnoxious.

It had no remorse-neither humanity-in it's insectoid fuck of a body.

His blood boiled every single second he starred. For both it's malevolence, and for the innocents it's killed, Annie and Cobalt included.

Ruby noticed their enemy too, her breath reaching a fever pitch, and weapon twirled to place.

She's nervous and flighty at the best of times, but it seems when push comes to shove, she'll fight Grimm.

"H-Huh." She mumbled, calm, yet uncertain. "There it is. There it be..."

Jaune watched that Deathstalker, reaching them, and quietly, he slid into proper stance.

His blade extended towards it, while from his side the neck-up, that torch burned bright. Wary eyes watching this beast-bigger than any Beowulf or Ursa-take it's sweet time.

It's red-lined white and black color scheme shifted about that ceiling. Almost focused as much on gloating as readying itself for their battle.

"Remember what I told you earlier."

He said, calm and tempered.

"I'll get personal with it, while you buy me time and attack for attention. But be careful, you don't have any armor, and it's not too stupid looking."

Ruby, from his side, must've understood that. As she nodded and swallowed her unease down.

Slipping a kinda decent battle calm over herself, and sliding into her own stance too. That scythe loaded up with dust rounds and mecha-shifted into a sniper rifle. All in five seconds flat.

It dug into the cold stone, like the beast up above, and he in turn bubbled his white-hot Aura. Crackling it's lighting-like influence on top his armor and even into his blade-

But their enemy chose this an opportune time of attack, as it detached itself from the ceiling.

Jaune, pretty prepared now, sent himself on kilter. Using his Aura as a mobility booster and kicking off that rock from the grieves up.

It worked. Those ginormous pinchers tried bearing down on them, yet Jaune stood strong. His blade caught a pincer by the teeth, sliding both him and the beast across the cold stone.

Several dozen feet later, his legs almost gave out and dug into the rock, like his opponent's. But as this wasn't the case, he acted against it, and batted it's bulbous armorment away.

In quicktime after that, and under the power of his torchlight, Jaune glanced at the beast.

Seeing its middle leg on the left missing, as well as its left side on top looking really unprotected. Bone spikes and plating sometimes cracked or even peeled off.

Cobalt was right. He and Annie did a number on it. Their efforts weren't and will not go in vain tonight.

So while it-dazed and winding up-prepared for another pincer volley, Jaune empowered himself.

Aura coming forth, flooding his grieves up, and instead of using them to meet the enemy, he had it put him on top of the enemy.

Which he did. Crazy and insane though that'd be to others, Jaune knew what he was doing, and would avenge those who've fallen.

So he not only landed on his enemy's boney face, but he went one step ahead, and landed with a stab.

Right into one of a dozen red hate-orbs, hilting his blade half-way.

The beast hated this, and made that rage apparent, as it wobbled in place. Yet meanwhile Jaune made use of the situation.

Shifting his blade right, left, east, west-

Angering it so much that, in an enraged misery, it brought forth that sickly yellow stinger hiding at it's back.

The appendage bared down onto him, fast as a demon oughta let it. Intending to inject and stab this pesky human dead. Just like the rest.

Well, Jaune wasn't having that, and thus took his blade out. Rolling across that boney head in the nick of time.

From the corner of his eye, as he stood himself up again, Jaune saw it bounce off.

Useless against its owner's own armored plates. And like such, it pulled back, searching for him, to rip and tear into flesh.

Plans and methodologies of attack, from his years fighting this shit, came to mind. He knew getting lost in them wasn't gonna help, though, and rushed towards the unprotected side.

To get it hitting itself again, he had to rely on what's unknown, like fluid strategy. It's unknown whether this thing could recognize that or not but it ain't gonna hurt him to try.

Well, not anymore then he's hurting himself already-

Speaking of, like the ancient bastard it was, the Deathstalker moved.

More accurate than that, it flipped his center of fucking gravity. By merely deciding their floor-bound battle wasn't fun, as demons would, and hopped back on the ceiling.

Crawling around and up and down and anywhere that'll get him off. Its many eyes likely focused on his sole demis, it's pincers clicking in tune to it.

Coming up, clenching forth, then readying themselves for targeting the human on it.

Luckily for it, then, that Jaune's blade didn't stab so good into it's hide this time. Thus he-and his stuff, torch included-startled hurtling down towards the stone floor. His latter item dropped off into the abyss-

Which the Deathstalker, seeing his midair plight, chose to attack him during. It's stinger rounded on him, weirdly so, sinceJaune had to squint at it's trajectory from the upside down.

It wasn't a problem, since Jaune unsheathed his shield in time, and blocked the stabbing. Consequence to this, however, is his body now hurtling towards solid ground like a ping pong ball.

Ruby's screams of worry and upset rung true in his ears.

Yet nothing but her anxiety that was. He, thinking quick, turned his shield over and skid across the stone. A golden shooty bullet of screechy metal.

It worked either way. Jaune came back to somewhat shaky feet without damage to armor or Aura-

Yet nearly received both, thanks to the Deathstalker launching itself from the ceiling again. So quickly done, that Jaune hadn't anything else he could do but turtle down the blows.

Those damn pinchers kamikaze-ing into him, like tree trunks, except tougher. Refined in their pain and suffering-

It almost blew him off his feet, and it pushed him back, but Jaune remained steadfast. Digging into the crackling rock below, while his shield stayed in a tight hold. Continuing this until the beast's advance lost some steam.

When it did, he tried pushing back-

Only to grunt his extortion when its stinger came down for its intended volley.

Hit after hit after hit after hit, chitters and squeals of rage while it worked its malevolence.

He kept blocking the beast's attack, each time it went, and squinted at those evil eyes as they looked back. He saw the dulled out orb and laughed-

And, more so than that, he blinked at a stray dust round pinging off it's head. This paused the beast, flipping it and Jaune around, to Ruby's big ol' baby.

The sniper rifle already loaded in another round of fiery justice, just for their buggy pal.

From within their heady darkness, Jaune saw her grimace, her pearly whites showing.

"Eat fire dust!"

The beast didn't perceive the challenge, yet it understood the second fire dust round. More than prior, honestly, as the round actually managed to hit an eye.

Needless to say...the Deathstalker locked in on her, scuttling off for some good ol' fashion murder. Jaune wasn't a fan of this, though, and while the beast's rage went on he Aura hopped again.

Landing on it's less boney side of things. Unseen, as the Deathstalker began chasing a reddish blur through the darkness. It's pincers raised and the stinger extended.

Well, it's not too hard.

He thought, scrambling himself solid against the bone plating.

'Reckon this guy's what, one hundred-two hundred years old? If it'd have any big brains it would've stayed in the dark for longer...

It matters little though, as Jaune caught sight and range of a side-leg. In particular, the unarmored joint connecting leg and body.

Something usually protected and monitored by a violent stinger. Which, thanks to Ruby's zippiness, he could-with ease-bypass and punish it for.

How? Well...

Jaune took a breath, focusing on both the exposed limb, and his Aura crackling upon him. Using that power, that influence, to cover his blade in its glory bright white.

In doing so, he revealed the cave around them, insignificant as that was. But even better he had the energy needed to make a difference.

So he raised The Yellow Death high, unbeknownst to the lard-ass under him, and hit.

Metallic steel, covered in white-lighting, crashed down onto a thick tree-log sized leg. Digging deep into it's hard flesh, right between it's Grimm-esc bones underneath.

Jaune could tell, too. His blade usually cuts one-fourth deep on it's first leg strike, but here? It's a little bit more than halfway, and seriously, he ain't fucking complaining.

No sir, he's roaring instead, as the adrenaline peaked. The damage, the screams of Grimm agony, his blade searing it all away like the demonic shit-being it truly was.

So strong was this boost, that he hit again, stumbling himself back in the process yet hitting again-

Triumphantly, with the aid of his innate rage and Ruby's blurry self moving through the dark, Jaune watched that leg fall.

Slamming against the cold stone like a meaty yard-tree under a woodsman axe. Quick work, satisfying, and oh so glorious to see.

And he did, also heard, as his enemy writhed in place. Losing the attention spent on Ruby to instead curl into itself. Moving its stupid fucking stub around like a deluded war victim.

Jaune liked that look, and liked the fact his enemy itself wobbled in it's movement from here on. Not too much, sure, but he's got a ton of leg joints to fuck over, so now he-

But the beast figured out their little shtick it seems, as it stopped gunning for Ruby, and now for him. Shaking intensely-almost enough to knock him off-and bringing that pincer down again.

He wasn't ready this time. While he gunned for proper placement onto it, he felt himself stabbed in the shoulder. Flickering his Aura somewhat and actually sending his pauldron fuck-all into the dark.

But he hadn't time to mourn the fine craftsmanship here, so he rolled with the blow, and raised his shield. Turtling down again, while those murderous stabs kept on 'ah coming. In the threes to fours to fives-

"Ruby!"

He hissed, like the beast, while it attempted to mesh him against its bone plating. Hatefulness abound.

"Get over here! Get a leg!"

She definitely heard his call, turning her rosey-literally, holy shit-ball of speed his way. Catapulting herself into the air, and while he tanked another stab, landed it onto the beast.

Stumbling while doing so, but she did it, mechashifting her weapon into scythe form once again. Yet hesitation was there, and from the corner of his eyes under his shield, he saw her frowning.

"How?!" She squealed, and did so louder, as another stab came yet again onto him. "You really think my baby will c-"

"Yes!" He wheezed, feeling his fucking chest armor caving in, even though it hadn't actual contact. "Just cut it!"

She sputtered something vaguely 'positive' to that, and in a flash, her reddish self moved. Right towards the nearest leg on the less boney side.

The reddish zooming ended with her manifestation. Glowing mid-air, and scythe raised high above-

And by the Holy Oum on High, she fucking did it. In one fell swoop, whether powered by Semblance panic or hidden sharpness, her blade pierced and severed a leg.

This time, missing three legs on one side, the beast's wobbling was very apparent. It's kinda drunk in its movements now, and it even tipped over, missing its next spearing.

He laughed from his rutt, Ruby squeaked while squirming for a spot, and the Deathstalker?

It screamed. Shaking not only those upon it, but the goddamn area around, in a shockwave of outrage.

They didn't get any respite either, as it already shifted itself down in a coil, and sprung itself up.

Ruby and him were now latched onto its big jump towards the ceiling. She, by the edge of her baby, and he by half-swording himself in-between bone plates.

Jaune himself had better visibly than before. By virtue of preparedness and stunned placement.

He used that to watch their ascent to possible destruction, and blinked, when seeing it.

The ceiling...wasn't doing so hot. Though he didn't note this earlier, he could see a flurry of bright-white cracks forming.

Or, so he's accurate, lining dozens of meters across the ceiling. Making a very not okay sound while it's at it, too-

Then they landed, and dangled, as their enemy put its all into said ceiling with cracks upon it.

Pincers and legs digging into stone and cracking it ever more. While that stinger curled itself with all the other murder appendages. Creating a loud 'splint' of a reverberation into their dark atmosphere-

"JAUNE!"

He heard, and saw the panicked face of, Ruby. Whose currently dangling by her lower mid scythe handle. Like him, as he's grasping his sword by the hilt and somewhat dully flopping around.

Yet their enemy still chittered and raged, shifting itself so that they'd fall off and maybe die. Or, so it can bulrush their dazed forms from the ceiling once more and also maybe kill them.

"HOW-"

She tried yelling again, yet failed, since their ride moved. Slipping her steadily off the scythe handle a tad bit. Her hands scrambled for purchase in result. A squeaky yelp on her tongue and panicky confusion within her eyes.

When she did finally center herself, like a small dog, she hollered to him again. A few dicimbles lower, only somewhat muffled by their enemy's shiftiness.

"How the heck we gonna do this?!" She groaned, as their ride shook like a dog. "W-We can't keep up forever! You're hurt-"

Jaune didn't focus on her mouth during this, and actually, he looked at nothing but the ceiling. Those cracks weren't mere entryways of light to pour into their battlefield anymore…

They're enlightening them.

Ruby didn't per se notice it yet, as in her worry, the light silhouetting their enemy's form was inconsequential. Written off to be mere trick of her eye or some other shit.

But Jaune?

He could see the potential, so he took a deep breath, and collected his Aura. Gauntlets tight on The Yellow Death.

"Ruby!?"

She squealed something vague yet receptive.

"Close your eyes!" He hissed, the power bursting forth, his teeth grit. "Do it! Now!"

And, from the corner of his eyes, she did.

It was at that moment Jaune released an overpowered Aura flash. Blinding them all to infinite whiteness, no-one more so than their enemy.

Jaune heard the hisses, the cries, the screeching fury-

Yet when it ended, and things started to dull, he also saw those legs and stinger loosen grip.

This technique worked. In mere seconds post-flash, the Deathstalker's warbling self didn't stay solid. Hurtling them all hurtling to their ground.

Not only them, either, but a huge swath of heavy ceiling material too.

Rocks, dirt, grass, and all of it bringing light to their potential underground burial.

He saw the dingy cave for what it was now: somewhat cramped, full of spiky rocks, and hey look his torch's still burning-

But he focused on their free fall, plus his screaming partner, and kept himself steady.

Until the beast hit the floor, skidded across the stone, hit them against its mass, and hunched over. Likely on it's literal last legs now, overwhelmed with shiny stimuli and damage to it's boneplating.

However, he and Ruby-as battered and damaged their Aura's are-couldn't rejoice quite yet. No, as in wake of their roof's collapse, stuff was still falling.

To specify that, a very heavy looking rock, heading straight to where they were on top the fucker's head. Jaune saw this oddity a few flashing seconds early, and thinking fast, he kicked his fractured Aura into high gear.

Sheathing his sword and turning to his partner.

Ruby, as she moaned against the boney armor plates, didn't see him coming 'till last second. Her own Aura flickery and weak. Those beady eyes looked ready to shout questions-

He bypassed it, though, grabbing her and her clutched baby. Right on time too: as while Jaune rolled them over onto the stone, a thuddy boom went off, as their enemy's head was in.

First by one boulder sized rock. Then another, and another, until half the ceiling caved down onto it in violent glory. Their unstable world filled of rumbles and cracks and splintering impacts.

And when it finished, Jaune squinted, seeing those faint wisps of darkness clouding out.

The Death stalker dissipated into nothingness. Like it oughta do, and like all fuckers of its ilk will always do.

Jaune smiled at the beautiful carnage. Happy and resolute, with his partner limp in his arms, as the dust settled around them.

"...Damn." He whistled. "Another fucker bites the dust, eh?"

In reply, he heard his partner groaning. So he looked her over-

She's not conscious anymore. Her heart beat, yet she herself wasn't there. Beady eyes now closed and mouth carelessly left to dangle. Sweat and exertion practically rolling off her.

Left rolling to the floor was her scythe, and Jaune frowned, as the sunlight bore onto them.

"Hey. Anyone ever tell you how, uh, malnourished ya look?"

She didn't respond, literally snoozing now, even in the awkward position her back's in. It drew a sigh from his lips, but he hadn't much else to complain about, so he stood up.

Looking over their scenery. Those wispy summer clouds once again reigning above them. Jaune knew their day wasn't done, far from it, but in the solitude of whatever the fuck this could've been...

He enjoyed it's peacefulness. Nodding to himself, hands on his waist and mind not on the many bruises dotting along his body. Including an achy shoulder, a wheezy chest, and he's very sure a finger or two might've broke.

It's fine either way. His Aura was at...roughly sixty percent power. The carelessness when attacking that Deathstalker hadn't a small price to pay for.

And even now, he felt his Aura flicker still, before regaining its usual luster and bubbling away.

It drew him from his musings, and he grumbled to himself, rubbing at his stomach.

Alright. I've gotta get us out of here, then.

Of this, he glanced at her weapon, while it laid silent against the grey stone.

Now...how's it work?

Frowning, Jaune nabbed the damn thing, inspecting it's handle. Up, down, all around, yet he couldn't find himself giving enough fucks to solving it.

So he held it over his pauldron-less shoulder, and scooped his partner onto the other one.

Which he did, letting her sleepy head thunk against his back, keeping the girl steady with a grip on her waist. That red cloak-for convenience sake-splurged over her pale face.

With his charge secure, and resting, he took a tired breath. Marching on from whence they came and deciding to hold her baby down a bit.

"And here we go." He grumbled, the sound as loud as his chafing chains and thumping partner. "Off to get ourselves some relics..."

So they left that ruined cave, and it's ruined ceiling, on careless grieves. He didn't even pick up his torch.

Already got one around his neck, so why bother?

/-/

Oddly, Cobalt and Annie's legs were gone.

The pools of blood and gore they once littered were still there, yeah, but it's like they poofed into nothing. Not a speck of them remained, not their clothes or weapons or fucking anything.

Disconcerting for a moment, but Jaune thought about it, and realized the drones saw them die. Which is an entirely different oddity Jaune oughta leave unheard for now.

But...it seems like Ozpin's a man of his word, at the very least.

In lieu of this, he mumbled a tiny pray to himself, and kept on 'ah walking. Dragging his partner's baby against greenery soil, while its owner caught some more z's.

Which continued into the forest.

/-/

Roughly fifty minutes later, and Jaune's gotta say, he's getting tired.

Ruby's size was pretty much a nuisance. Especially in it's 'extended' mode, and she herself wasn't the most fun weight lifting challenge around.

Not that she's anything considerably heavy, no. It's just...un-fun, to have this girl's ass inches away, liable to toot out a stinker without warning.

The very idea disgusted him in ways unknown to modern man.

And bothered him so much, that he ignored nature, too focused on staring at that fuckin' combat skirt.

Contemplating how much trouble he'd get into if anyone saw him chucking the girl away, when-

Oh hey, a clearing.

Jaune started, though, as this seemed a little more than just a clearing.

A giant Nevermore was here. But it's struggling hard, covered in colorful opponents zipping on its squawking body.

It couldn't even move off the ground, simply stuck there, as some crazy bitch with a warhammer came down onto it's head.

Yet that's not all, because those colorful people were very familiar.

On it's pinned left wing, he saw that Blake girl swinging to its head, while Pyrrha mechashifted her gun into a spear.

Launching it into the poor murder bird's cracked eye, causing it to convulse in upset.

On its other wing, he found Yang roaring her excitement. Gauntlets blazing and beating into hardened feathers.

A few feet away from that, was a ravenette boy with pistol thingies, shooting loose feathers coming at him. They stayed on that wing, and more so the latter, did they purposefully destroy the feathers.

Away from all this mayhem, Weiss casted a thingy. Which he thinks is the reason Blake's movements just tripled in their speed.

The Belladonna jumped from the head after stabbing it's other eye. Much faster than the second time, thanks to a dark platform under her feet. Directly in time with Weiss doing something.

Jaune, confused yet very happy, wanted to shout out his hype for them-

But, in a flash of the eye, Pyrrha's spear came down onto the beast again, which made it wail uproar and rage. Right before tipping them all over in its death. disappearing into nothingness.

Quietly, he watched these colorful comrades fumble on the floor. Looking not at all worse for wear given their teamwork, and some even cheered the excitement.

Yang included, she put her fists up, shouting to the heavens-

Yet during that joy, those violet eyes caught wind of him. Ignoring everything else, even as the others looked on in confusion, while she decidedly hauled ass.

Jaune waited for her. Letting her come upon him, face of confusion and concern. All for Ruby of course.

"Ruby!"

Like he said, of-

Yang sputtered to a stop before him, her breath heaving, her eyes searching. She stumbled herself closer, and without his permission, she scooped up his charge.

Falling to her knees with her sister in her arms, running a hand through her hair, among other sister stuff.

Others-Pyrrha and hammer girl in particular-came rushing down too. Frowns of concern on their faces, as they hovered over Ruby, observing her.

"Deathstalker." He muttered, turning their heads to him. "We killed it after it killed two others. She's fine. Maybe tired if anything."

Yang glared at him for the longest time, then tended to her sister again, grumbling aloud. The hammer girl leaning in.

"Whatever. Give her baby back."

He did, gently laying it near the sister's little rutt. When he finished up, Pyrrha's small smile greeted him. He nodded back.

"'How's it been?"

"Ah, well..." she looked away, and he followed, seeing a weird shrine-like stone culmination. "I found this place along with Blake. Everyone was here before us, though..."

"Who's 'everyone else'?"

She hummed to herself, and from Yang's side, the hammer girl pipped up. Grinning brightly.

"I'm Nora!" She said. "Me and Rennie saw Yang here! Oh, and Weiss-cream! They weren't super happy together!"

"Still aren't." Yang grumbled, brushing some stray locks of Ruby's, eyes squinted. "We kinda camped out 'till everyone else showed up, but by then, that birdie came on by."

"Huh. So you're teamed up with the Schnee?"

"...Yeah. Why?"

Just for that, she turned her suspicion at him, and he shrugged.

"I'm only curious. Anyways, there any relics 'round here?-"

"Yes." A voice, belonging to the pistol guy, as said man walked close, calm and quiet. "You and your partner may collect one. There's a handful left to ch-"

"Cool. Thanks."

He muttered, ignoring their looks, as he marched onwards. Past secretly staring Blake and towards that shrine place. Giving Weiss's conflicted glare nary a second thought either.

Today's been long. Real damn long, and he didn't get to carry his Brother away from danger.

So honestly? He'll go get his and Ruby's relics, think about all the stuff he's gotta say later, and fully enjoy being alive.

And he did just that. Without a smile, but what can ya do these days, eh?

Not much, he'd figure.


Okie dookie. New chapter. Still not sure if I'm writing too much but oh well.

Notes:

*If you die, you're disqualified. Thus some 'interference'. You could thank Glynda for that.

*Jaune has some neat Aura tricks.

*Ruby's scythe is pretty sharp, especially when she uses her Aura.

*Will go into some detail about Annie later.

Anyways, my brain hurtie. Im gonna go overview my shit. Read it in the meantime though.