A/N: Full disclosure, writing this chapter was the creative equivalent of passing a kidney stone. Just wouldn't come out.

"He's right. It's… all the death you've caused to get here. You feed on it, and you grow stronger. You're like Malachor… it's in you, it's what you are now. You must have noticed as you've fought across all these planets, killing hundreds - only to become more and more powerful. Why do you think that was?" Jedi Master Zez-Kai Ell to the Jedi Exile Meetra Surik.

Chapter 15: Gnawing

Professor Glynda Goodwitch sighed as she rode the elevator to the top of Ozpin's tower. Even a few floors away she could hear the argument between Qrow, James, and Winter Schnee. It wasn't long after her talk with Jaune that she heard of the incident between Qrow and Ms. Schnee at the airdock, and she was less than pleased with it. This was very much the last thing she needed right now.

"You've been out of contact for weeks! You can't just go dark like that in the field!" She heard James's voice yell out.

"I'm not one of your special operatives, Jimmy!" Qrow snapped back.

"General." Winter Schnee hissed at him.

"Enough!" Glynda roared out as the elevator doors opened, all four heads in the room snapping to her. "Tell me, are we here to discuss the safety and freedom of our kingdoms, or are we here to bicker and argue like immature school children!?"

Glynda was not having any of this right now. Despite already being a fully graduated specialist, the much younger Winter Schnee immediately snapped to attention at the verbal berating, military training kicking to keep her from going against such an authority figure. Qrow and Ironwood recoiled at the venomous anger that was behind Glynda's words, and wisely chose to cool their own tempers lest they attract her ire. Even Ozpin seemed to be taken aback by the amount of emotion his normally cool and collected second in command was exhibiting.

James was the first to respond, coughing into his fist to try and clear the air. "Perhaps we were getting off topic. Qrow, what do you have to report?"

"Before that…" Qrow drawled out, but lacking the previous spite, "Is this a conversation we want to have with all those present?"

Winter raised her brows in surprise, but before she could retort Ironwood cut. "Schnee, unfortunately this is above your paygrade. Return to the ship. We'll discuss the incident there."

Winter looked as if she wanted to say something, and even looked to Qrow, who surprisingly gave her a sympathetic shrug. "Yes sir." She saluted, turned about face, and headed for the elevator, giving Glynda a small nod as she did.

"So, what have you found Qrow?" James asked as Winter exited the room.

"That infiltrator you had? The one from the dance? They're the one responsible for Autumn's condition." Qrow took a solemn drink from his flask.

"What?" Glynda gasped. "You're sure?"

Qrow nodded his head. "Yeah. I read the report on the incident. All of the abilities showcased by your little infiltrator match what the woman who attacked Amber was capable of." Qrow then took another step into Ironwood's face. "They are here and you flaunting around your army is exactly the opposite of how we should have responded! We operate in the shadows to keep the world safe from threats they don't know about. And your army isn't exactly what I would call discreet!"

"I am here with my army because discreet wasn't working! We were discreet and we still lost Amber. We were discreet and they still infiltrated the CCT. We were discreet and the Breach still occurred! Damn it Qrow, do you think I do this out of some kind of misguided chauvinism? I am doing this because I think this is the best way to protect the people!" Ironwood's voice

"Gentlemen!" Glynda snapped, cutting both men off. "Stay. On. Topic." She hissed out before turning to face Qrow. "What about the other task you were assigned?"

"Other task?" Ironwood asked.

Ozpin cast a quick glance at Glynda, surprised that she was the one to broach the topic of Jaune in front of Ironwood, but responded nonetheless. "Following the Breach, concerns were raised about one of our students, a freshman named Jaune Arc displaying abilities that some would consider... unnatural."

"You mean magic." Ironwood's eyes went wide.

"Possibly. And it was because of that possibility, we asked Qrow to see what he could uncover about Jaune's past."

Qrow shrugged. "And unfortunately, I found bupkis. He's had about as normal a childhood as anyone. Had some overbearing parents, but there's little chance he ever possibly met up with Her." Qrow took another swig from his flask. "Only thing strange I found was that there was a one week period where Jaune Arc ran away from home, right before he joined Beacon. According to both his records, and those I interviewed in Ansel, before Beacon he had no aura, no semblance, and especially no magic. Hell, the kid never even went to combat school, just his local public one. But from what I hear, he was one of the stronger candidates during this year's initiation."

"That was in fact the case." Glynda nodded her head. "In terms of pure combat ability as well as the destructive capability of his semblance, Jaune was in fact flagged as a contender for his year's top student."

"One does not become a soldier or warrior of worth over the period of a single week." James murmured, concerned. "We should not ignore this. This Jaune character sounds far too suspicious. If there's the slightest chance that he's connected to Salem, we should bring him in for questioning."

"Except, I do not believe that Jaune is connected to Salem." Glynda cut James off once more as she looked at Ozpin. "I have just spoken with Jaune. And he has become… different." A flash of sadness crossed her face before her countenance hardened once more. "His personality has shifted in comparison to the start of the year. He has become aggressive, confrontational. As if his personality is being overwritten, or merged with something new at the same time as getting these new abilities."

The eyes of all three men in the room widened in recognition of what Glynda was alluding to.

"You think he's like Oz?" Qrow whispered out.

"When I asked for an explanation of his powers, he said and I quote, 'I'm possessed by the spirit of an ancient, magic warlord that got turned into a grimm.' While his intent may have been to throw me off with an obviously ridiculous statement, his change in personality, access to new abilities, and potential usage of magic? It all makes too much sense."

As they pondered this, James turned to the headmaster and asked, "What do you think Ozpin? You would be the most knowledgeable on this subject."

Ozpin was silent for a beat as he thought this over. "In all honesty, I do not know. But it wouldn't surprise me if Jaune was telling the truth."

"Really?" Qrow asked, bewildered. "You think there's someone else out there like you? And they got turned to a grimm? And you don't think they'd be on her side?"

"As far as I know, Salem does not have the capabilities to gift such abilities. And if she did, why would she bother taking the time to hunt down the Maidens if she could bequeath equivalent power herself? No, I have a feeling Jaune is something else. And while I have never heard of a fairy tale of a man becoming a grimm, it would not surprise me if such a thing existed." Ozpin silently wondered if the Two Brothers were involved in this, as this is almost sounding like a combination of both his and Salem's backstories.

"Regardless, we should take him in." Ironwood pushed. "If he is not allied with Salem, then he will make a powerful ally in our fight against her."

"I don't believe Jaune would respond well to such pressure. Any attempt to force him will end in violence. And I have seen some of what he is capable of, James, we do not want to start that fight without good reason. Not unless you are ready to willingly consign dozens of your men to death." Glynda shook her head. "He has become fiercely independent, believing only in his team and himself."

"Speaking of his team…" Qrow drawled out. "I know that we're in need of a new host of Autumn. And I know that we were decided on the Nikos girl, considering the fact that she's by far the best fighter in Beacon right now. But do we really want to risk it if Arc is a spy or a nega-Ozpin or something."

"A nega-Ozpin? Really?" Glynda raised a brow at her colleague.

Qrow shrugged. "If the shoe fits…"

"Regardless, out of everyone, I still believe Miss Nikos would be the best candidate for the Fall Maiden." Ozpin spoke to everyone's surprise. "If Mr. Arc's power truly is magical in nature, then we will need someone with magic in return to counter him. But Glynda, from what you've said, it seems unlikely that two would ever come to blows, correct? From what I understand, the two have become extremely close, more so than most partners tend to."

Glynda brought her hand to her chin in contemplation. "Hmm. Yes, from what I've seen Jaune is viciously protective of his partner. His actions in class and during the Breach would suggest so. I don't believe that there is anyone who would fight so hard to protect Miss Nikos as Jaune would. And I don't believe that there would be anything left of anyone who attempts to harm her."

James was the first to connect the dots and understand Ozpin's idea. "So instead of coercing him directly, by making Miss Nikos a Maiden, you would enlist his help by forcing his hand in order to protect his partner." Ironwood nodded his head. "Rather underhanded for my taste, but it makes sense. And it's discrete, as you so obviously value." He said as he cast a sideways glance at Qrow.

Qrow surprisingly decided to ignore the clumsy jab at him. "And like you said, if the worst does happen, I'd rather have a magical invincible girl on our side to take him down than a non-magic one."

"Then we've come to an accord." Ozpin declared. "Following their next match, we will bring Miss Nikos here, and seek to make her our guardian. And with luck, Jaune will become her guardian in turn."

Jaune's nose twitched as the smell of ash and ozone struck him, causing him to immediately wake up. Following their victory over team BRNZ and his subsequent talk with Glynda, Jaune returned to his dorm to rest along with his team. So for him to smell the stench of fire and lightning meant only one thing. As Jaune opened his eyes, his suspicions were confirmed as he found himself on the same ruined planet his last vision of the dreadlocked man had placed him. He was on Malachor.

Picking himself of the cold granite beneath him, Jaune looked around to get his bearings. He was in some kind of valley of shadows and death, surrounded by the corpses of both airships and soldiers. A green misama drifted slightly above the ground, further obscuring his vision. That's when Jaune sensed it. A disturbance. A series of pin pricks on the back of his neck warning him of danger.

Jaune turned his head, facing one of the ruined carcasses of a massive hammerhead Republic airship. In the wreck, out of a gaping wound carved out of its side, Jaune saw a figure emerge. It was a tall male figure, shrouded in a long, black cloak that faded into the shadows. His face was obscured by his hood, but Jaune didn't need to see it in order to identify him. The anger, the hate, the hunger, Jaune could sense it all. Despite lacking the bone grimm mask Jaune had come to identify him with, Jaune knew that this was the dreadlocked figure of his dreams, the man who taught him to embrace his emotions and power.

It did not shock Jaune that the dreadlocked figure had survived the "death" that Jaune had seen previously. But he was not the being of raw terror and hunger that Jaune saw during the Breach. Instead he seemed… lesser, emaciated and weak, as if he were barely clinging to life. As was the norm with these visions, the figure did not seem to take notice of Jaune as he left his ramshackle home.

The figure hobbled forward, unsteady and ready to keel over at any moment. He ignored Jaune as he walked passed, making his way further into the valley. Jaune watched as the figure approached one of the corpses on the ground. No… Jaune realized that was not a corpse, but the still living body of a Republic Soldier, skeletal and pale, but still alive. The soldier barely reacted when the cloaked figure approached him, and he made nothing more than a groan as the figure extended his hand towards him.

Out of the cloaked figure's fingers, black and red lightning shot out, crashing into the soldier. Jaune watched as the soldier shriveled more and more, becoming nothing more than a desecrated corpse as the cloaked figure drained all of the lifeforce out of him. As he continued to drain, Jaune watched as the cloaked figure physically became stronger. He stood up taller, became more stable, and Jaune could even sense that he had more of a metaphysical presence than he had before. And this had also confirmed one other thing for Jaune. That he could drain other people, not just grimm, and it would strengthen him all the same.

As Jaune pondered the consequences of learning this, a new voice spoke out behind him and the cloaked figure.

"It is such a curious thing, isn't it? To have such power, but to be chained by it." It was the voice of a woman, crackly and old, backed with condescension.

Immediately both Jaune and the cloaked figure turned. The cloaked figure had no weapons to speak of, but had both of his hands raised, ready to strike out if necessary. That's when Jaune saw the speaker. It was an old woman, as he surmised, wearing simple black robes. She had deep set wrinkles engraved in a face that was framed by wispy white hair. What stuck out the most to Jaune were her eyes, glazed over milky white, no doubt resulting in blindness, but alive and aware nonetheless. However, despite her apparent fragility, Jaune knew this woman was dangerous. Despite only being here for a few minutes, even Jaune knew that only the strong and deadly could survive on this graveyard world. This woman held power.

Beside her was a man, or what was left of one. Between a stance that just dripped confidence, and his well built physique, Jaune could tell the man was a mighty warrior. But that's now what stuck out to Jaune. What stuck out was the fact that every inch of the man's body was covered with scars, cracks, and decomposing flesh. He looked more like a corpse than a living thing, and Jaune had no idea how he wasn't currently screaming in agony as he radiated pain.

"Who… are… you?" The cloaked man asked, every word he wheezed out a struggle.

"I… am the one who heard your call." The old woman spoke out once more. "Heard the echo of what has happened here. And I am here to help you."

The cloaked figure tilted his head incredulously. "Help..." he rasped out. "What… help… could… you… give me?"

"What I can give you is knowledge. And knowledge is power." The elderly woman began to approach, ignoring the cloaked figure's defensive posture. "Tell me, do you know what is happening to you? Why you hunger so?"

Both Jaune and the cloaked figure recoiled at the words. This woman… she knew what he was. What his hunger was. He needed the answer.

"What… is happening… to me?" The cloaked figure asked the question in Jaune's heart.

"What is happening to you is the will of the Force." The woman stated plainly.

"THE FORCE!?" The cloaked figure roared, anger overriding the pain he was feeling. "Why!? I… gave everything up for the Force! What…" the figure fell forward coughing. "What… what is it doing to me?"

Despite the obvious pain the cloaked figure was in, neither the old woman nor the scarred man moved to aid him. Jaune even saw the slightest hint of smirk on the scarred man's face.

The old woman remained impassive as she responded. "The battle on this world resulted in far more than the deaths of the many thousands that now orbit it. The war the Mandalorians wrought has corrupted this place, a corruption borne of the Dark Side of the Force, a corruption that has suffused your very being."

Jaune could see the cloaked man shaking on the ground. "But... that means…"

"Yes." The woman confirmed with no comfort in her voice. "You are a wound in the Force. A void in that celestial parasite that controls all of what occurs. That controls all of us." The woman sneered. "Through you is the death of all things connected to the Force, leeching the very life from those you kill, taking their connection to the Force and adding it to you own, albeit temporarily."

"Can… you help me control it? Can you… heal me?" the cloaked figure wheezed.

"Heal you?" The woman scoffed. "I cannot and would not provide such comfort. What I can provide is knowledge, teachings in the old ways to appease your hunger, hone it into a fine blade. But it will be up to you to your own strength of will to see whether you will control your power, or if it will control you."

"You wish… to make me an apprentice? Into… a Sith?" The cloaked figure spat out the last word.

"That…" the old woman snapped at him. "Is a mere label that limits what you can potentially become. I see much within you, of what you can possibly accomplish, should you shed the archaic preconceptions the Jedi have indoctrinated you with."

The cloaked figure thought for a moment, conflicted on all aspects. But then he looked at his hands, rotted and decayed, then felt his throat, failing and eroded. He knew the hunger was consuming him as much as he consumed others. If he did not act, if he did not learn how to control it, the power would destroy him.

"I… accept… my Master." The cloaked figure bowed his head. "I pledge myself… to your teachings."

"Good." The old woman said tersely. "I am Traya, and this is your fellow apprentice, Sion. We shall need a name to call you as well."

"My… name is…" the cloaked figure rasped before Traya cut him off.

"No. Who you were is irrelevant. That person died on Malachor, another unknown casualty in a war that killed millions. Henceforth, you shall be Darth… Nihilus."

"Thank you… Master." the newly named Darth Nihilus bowed once more.

"Rise." Traya commanded and Nihilus did so. "Come. I have begun the construction of an… academy of sorts upon this graveyard world. There we shall begin your teachings."

As the triumvirate left, Jaune sought to follow, to learn of these abilities as well, but soon found himself surrounded by darkness, caught in the muck of shadows, unable to follow. The shadows then spread, overtaking Jaune's entire body, till he saw nothing but black.

When Jaune awoke, he found himself on his bed, sweating profusely. Quickly turning his head, he looked and saw that the rest of his team was asleep. Jaune then laid back down, and reached underneath his pillow, where he kept the Mask of Darth Nihilus.

Jaune knew what he had to do. He had to feed.

"And with that, Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos of team JNPR claim victory over Teera and Seera Sun of team TWSN (Twin Suns)!" Professor Oobleck cheered as the Arkos duo stood over the twin fighters from Haven.

It was the next day, and the Amity Festival continued as planned. After their overwhelming victory in the first round, team JNPR moved onto the doubles round where they fought against team TWSN of Haven.

Teera and Seera Sun were a beautiful pair of squid faunus from Mistral, clad in skin tight leathers, wielding a pair of dual scimitars and pistols respectively. While the femme fatale team would prove troublesome to most teams, neither of the would-be huntresses could stand against the power of Jaune and skill of Pyrrha. With their opponents defeated and their place in the finals secured, the Arkos duo left the arena and made their way to the locker room.

Despite the overwhelming victory however, neither the champion nor the knight seemed to be in high spirits. Jaune's brows were creased in frustration and anger. He was hungry, the desire to feed and drain magnified by combat. It would've been easy, so easy to simply drain one of those leather clad whores of their life force. But even as his desperation increased, he knew that trying to drain his opponents in front of an entire audience of thousands while on live broadcast was most likely a bad idea.

Meanwhile Pyrrha couldn't take any joy in the victory as well. Not only could she sense Jaune's discontent and frustration, but his actions during the battle were a cause for concern. Jaune was brutal in his decimation of the twin faunus, far more vicious than was necessary and Pyrrha's worry was reaching its limit. She's been trying to help Jaune, to get him to open up, but how could she help someone who so adamantly doesn't want it?

As she thought on this, Pyrrha jumped a bit as Jaune slammed his locker closed, putting his weapon away. Pyrrha stared at her partner's face from the side, his skin pale, eyes circled by dark bags. No, she had to do something, regardless of what Jaune wanted, his foolish pride be damned.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha meekly began, "are you ok?"

Jaune's head snapped to the redhead, eyes boring into her. Pyrrha almost jumped back at the suddenness of the movement, but she shoved any reaction down.

"I'm fine." Jaune growled out before turning around and making his way for the exit.

No! Pyrrha was not just going to let him walk away again!

Striding forward with a scowl of her own, Pyrrha caught to up Jaune and forcefully grabbed his shoulder. "Jaune! I know something is wrong. I am not blind!" She snapped back at her partner before adopting a softer tone. "It's not a sign of weakness to need help! It's human to need help from others!"

Jaune felt his scowl start to evolve into a full blown snarl. First Glynda, now Pyrrha! Who were these people to think that they knew better than him! What gave them the right to try and control what he does with his powers!? Fools, all of them! Jaune felt himself instinctively begin to reach out with the Force. He should just go into her mind and tear out her memories again. It would make things so much easier.

But before Jaune could do anything of the sort, he caught sight of his partner's eyes. Emerald green orbs drilled into him, naked in their desire to help him. The same emerald eyes that had helped him every step of the way during his time at Beacon. The eyes of the partner who had always watched his back. The eyes of the woman for whom he would destroy the world for. And he wanted to tear apart her mind like it was nothing? What was wrong with him?

For the briefest moment, Jaune felt his anger ebb. A crack formed in the facade of rage and anger that had driven him forward. And from behind the anger, the hate, and the fear, Jaune could feel something, something he hadn't felt in weeks, sorrow. Sorrow and regret.

"I…" Jaune stammered out the certainty he once had now fading. "I'm just… tired, Pyr."

"Tired?" Pyrrha asked, careful not to show her excitement that Jaune was finally opening up. "Of what?"

Jaune let himself stagger back, leaning against a locker. "I'm just... tired of everything. All of this is too much. I feel like, there's just so much going on around me, pulling me and controlling me. These memories, these powers, it's like I've lost control of my own life, and I don't know what's going on anymore." Jaune let himself slide down the locker until he found himself sitting on the ground.

Pyrrha wasted no time to sit down beside him, but was unsure of what to say. Instead she silently put one arm around him in a comforting hug.

"I know his name now." He began after a beat of silence.

"Of the man from your memories?"

Jaune nodded. "Yeah. His name is Nihilus."

"Hmm." Pyrrha mulled the name over for a second. "Nihilus. Nihil. Means nothingness. Seems fitting, I guess."

"Yeah." Jaune let out a small chuckle before the smile fell away from his face.

"And the memories. You've been having more of them?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, but it's not just memories. It's emotions, feelings. At least I think they are. It used to be when I was in danger, or when I would get angry, I would feel my emotions amplify, and that would make me stronger. Now though, fear, anger, hate…" hunger, but he couldn't bring himself to say that part. "I feel them all the time, and I don't know if it's my own emotions or his. If it's my personality or his."

"Is he always there?"

Jaune nodded. "I think so. Most of the time he's not presenting himself, but I know he's watching, listening. Waiting in the back of my mind, whispering to me when I need it."

"I'm… I'm sorry." Pyrrha didn't know what to say in response to that utterly terrifying statement. "But Jaune, that's why you need to let us help you. If he's really… taking you over… we need to stop it. Stop him." Pyrrha's mind absently wandered to a memory of a certain book that Blake had read about a man with two souls, each fighting for control.

"But that's the thing Pyr. I don't know if I want to stop." Jaune felt himself shrink as he sensed Pyrrha's shock and dismay at what he said. "He's the one that pushed me to embrace my darkness, but I don't need him to tell me anymore to do it. Like I said, the emotions give me power. And channeling all of that...darkness, it changed me. It's more than just power, it's like… can you imagine what it would be like if tomorrow, you lost your aura? How… impotent it would make you feel? Not using anger is like losing my aura. It makes me feel... incomplete."

While Pyrrha didn't want to admit it, she could actually see where Jaune was coming from. Aura had given her so many blessings, and despite all of the drawbacks of becoming a champion, she couldn't imagine a life without the superhuman strength and agility that aura gave her. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to just be normal again.

When she didn't respond, Jaune continued. "But I should be able to control it. I should be stronger than this, better than this. I am not the same weakling who vomited on the bullhead. I want to be able to resist, but at the same time I don't."

"Jaune I've watched you grow ever since the start of the year. I know just how strong you are, and I am proud of how far you've come." Pyrrha wrapped her arms around her partner even tighter. "But you don't have to be stronger. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone. You're strong enough already. And together, we can stop him."

Jaune felt himself curl up at Pyrrha's words. Almost desperately, Jaune's arms wrapped around his partner as well, clinging to the warmth of her embrace. "Please Pyrrha…" Jaune begged. "Please don't leave me."

"I won't." She whispered to him. "I promise you, I won't leave and I will do whatever it takes to protect you."

Jaune and Pyrrha didn't know how long they stayed there on locker room floor, the only noise was the muffled cheers of a far away crowd. It was the most peaceful scene Jaune had for many days, that is until the noise of a scroll message broke the calm.

Pyrrha's head, which had been resting upon Jaune's shoulder immediately snapped up, slightly red with embarrassment. "Oh, sorry. I thought I had left it on silent." Pyrrha opened up her scroll and began to read through the message. Whatever the content of the message was however, it seemed to put Pyrrha on edge.

"Everything alright?" Jaune asked.

"It's the headmaster." Pyrrha mumbled out. "He's saying he wishes to speak with me in his office." Pyrrha couldn't help but wonder why. Did it have to do with Jaune, or was she in trouble for something else?

Jaune sensed Prryha's internal conflict and said, "You don't have to see him if you don't want to."

Pyrrha thought on this for a few minutes before ultimately saying. "No, I don't think the headmaster would try to contact me unless it was important." She then turned to Jaune. "But I think we made good progress here Jaune. I know this must be hard for you, but as long as you're willing to change, willing to get help, we can get through this." Pyrrha then placed her hand on top of Jaune's.

"Thanks Pyr." He said, his voice carrying traces of sad indignation as he squeezed Pyrrha's hand.

Pyrrha felt a flash of heat go through her face as Jaune gripped her hand. The small, insidious part of her mind told her that this was the perfect opportunity to just pull him in for a kiss. Or at the very least tell him how she felt. A sense of connection, longing, and protectiveness for him that she believed were feelings of love. The words were on the tip of her tongue, desperate to be let loose. But in the end, any type of confession died before it could leave her mouth. Jaune was too vulnerable right now, too confused. It wouldn't be fair of her to make his life even more complicated by throwing teenage romance into it as well.

And so, with feelings buried, Pyrrha stood and dusted herself off. "Well, I suppose I should be off to see the headmaster." She then turned to her partner who stood as well. "Jaune, while I'm gone I don't want you to hide away and brood in our dorm."

"What? I don't brood." Jaune denied, but the look Pyrrha gave him in return was so flat that he had to avert his vision. "Ok, fine. I guess I could… go to the fairgrounds, or something."

Pyrrha smiled. "Good… good." She then gave him another tight hug. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Just… try to enjoy yourself, for me?"

Jaune forced himself to give a weak smile in return. "Yeah, I'll try. Don't worry about me. You go find out what the headmaster needs."

With that, the Arkos duo split up. True to his word, Jaune began to make his way to Beacon's fairgrounds. Local shopkeeps from all across Vale had set up temporary stalls along Beacon's campus for selling to both the visiting students as well as all of the tourists here to watch the tournament. It was no secret that the Vytal Festival was an economic boost for the hosting kingdom in addition to being a celebration meant to bring the kingdoms together.

But Jaune was not interested in the celebrations and general merriment that went on around him. As he approached the fair, Jaune felt something lurch within him. The hunger, the pain returned once more. Quickly, he realized that coming here was a mistake.

While he was with Pyrrha in the locker room, the hunger he had been feeling was soothed, sedated. It was as if her very presence alone helped assuage the void within him. But here, alone within a crowd of strangers that numbered in the hundreds, the voracious hunger returned with a vengeance.

Jaune bit his lip hard to try and focus on anything but the hunger, tasting blood as he did. Pushing himself through the crowd, Jaune trudged forward till he found a spot where he could seclude himself, a tall tree whose leaves had turned a dull red as they fell to the whims of autumn. His body wracked with pain, Jaune steadied himself along the tree as he slowly sat down alongside it.

As his butt hit the ground, Jaune took in a deep breath to try and calm himself. He closed his eyes, and threw his hood over his head to try and block out everyone and everything around him. He focused inward and attempted to meditate, but it was to no avail. Even within the sanctity of his inner mind, the hunger was overwhelming, overpowering. Amongst such a terrifying, omnipresent force, what hope could Jaune have to try and fight against it? What was the point of even trying?

Withdrawing from his internal self and returning to the physical world, Jaune watched in annoyance as the various students and visitors walked by him. Just one. If he could drain just one of them, he could possibly sate his hunger. His eyes darted from teenager to teenager, till his gaze fell upon the familiar sight of a brown-coated bunny-eared faunus. Jaune watched as Velvet, the upperclassman he had helped earlier in the year walk the grounds alone, trepidatiously exploring the stalls as she avoided the looks of Atlas students.

Jaune idly wondered how easy it would be for him to corner Velvet. He could probably call out to her, get her to follow him somewhere secluded, then drain her of everything she has. While the two of them haven't had much interaction since the cafeteria incident, she seems to have some implicit form of trust in Jaune since he both talked down and beat down Cardin. As the basic framework of his ambush began to appear in his mind, his vision flashed back to the sorrowful face of Pyrrha back in the locker room. Jaune shook his head, angrily clearing the thoughts of attacking Velvet out of it. Velvet was a friend, and he wouldn't hurt her. He refused.

But… but why should that matter if she's his friend or not? She can sate his hunger. Or perhaps, he could find someone that was universally hated to feed on. He doubted that anyone would really miss Cardin if he led him to a dark alley and ripped his soul from his body.

"Hey Jaune, everything going alright?" A new voice called out to his side, snapping him out of his inner monologue. "You're looking kinda broody."

Jaune turned to the voice and saw Ruby, hands behind her back and eyebrow raised at Jaune's current brooding.

"I'm fine." He sighed. "And I don't brood."

"Really?" she incredulously asked as she took a seat beside him. "Because you look like Zwei after that one time he accidentally ate grapes. No offense"

"Heh, you know you're probably right about that." Jaune snorted, laughing off the comparison, before sighing once more as his smile fell off his face.

"Is this about your powers again?"

Jaune hesitated for a moment, before relenting and said, "Yeah, yeah it is." Jaune ran his hand through his unkempt hair. "I'm stronger than I have ever been. But it's coming at a cost. I know it is. I feel like I'm losing myself."

Ruby frowned. "Well, I can't exactly give any advice on mysterious powers, but if you're really struggling you don't have to do it alone." She put one hand on his shoulder. "Me, your team, my team." she paused to think, before adding on, "Maybe not my team. But regardless we're all here to help you out. So you don't need to be hiding around the fairgrounds alone like some creepy stalker."

The pure, unadulterated innocence and wholesomeness that radiated off of Ruby almost blinded Jaune. Even though he wasn't feeling particularly happy, he forced a smile to his face and said, "Thanks Ruby." he wrapped his arms around her in a hug before he felt the urge to say, "And regardless of what happens from now on, I'm glad you're the first friend I made here."

Ruby returned the hug with a tight embrace as she berated him. "Jaune you really need to stop saying dark stuff like that. You know how bad your luck is."

A/N, 10/27/20: We're in the endgame now.