WOOOOOO FRIGGIN HOOOOOO! WE BROKE 200 FOLLOWERS! IT IS SO AWESOME TO SEE MY STORY GROWING LIKE THIS! THANK YOU GUYS!

Also that new episode of Volume 4 was something. I won't spoil anything for those of you who have yet to see it, but I think I've probably met one of my new favorite characters. (if you don't have a first membership then you can just make a free account and watch it the day after they air for first members. It's way better than waiting a week for it to be on Youtube. Just remember to set your age for eighteen or older if you do. I've heard you can't make a free membership if you don't, though I wouldn't know personally.)

I'm glad to see y'all enjoyed the last chapter. In this chapter the breach begins, and we reach the beginning of the end of the second volume of RWBY. The White Fang and Torchwick (that stylish and possibly bisexual bastard) have blasted a hole in the middle of Vale, and Grimm are pouring out. Team RWBY is already on the scene, and team JNPR along with several others led by Jaune are coming to their aid, with more following behind them. Will it be enough to stop the black tide? Normally yes.

But with the portent of the future Jaune was granted, well...

Who knows what will happen?


Weiss stepped to the side as the Ursa's claws smashed into the ground where she had been standing just moments before. With a swift strike from Mrytenaster the heiress punctured the Grimm's throat and it collapsed. She turned to face a pack of Beowulves charging at her on all fours and pointed her rapier at them. A glowing white sigil formed in front of her, and a multitude of glowing orbs flew out of the glyph and hit the pack of Grimm. Each Beowulf was encased in ice, making them prime targets for Yang, who sprinted past Weiss and demolished the frozen pack with two strikes from Ember Cecilia.

Two bullets fired from Ruby's Crescent Rose ripped past Weiss and dropped a pair of Ursa pursuing a group of terrified civilians. The civilians escaped without even being touched by the Grimm, as had many others beforehand, but here and there Weiss could see unmoving and partially eaten corpses on the ground. Not everyone had been able to run fast enough to escape the growing number of Grimm pouring out of the breach.

A hand on her shoulder snapped Weiss out of her morbid thoughts. She turned towards Ruby. "Weiss, try not to use your dust or aura anymore than you absolutely have to. You're running low on both as it is." It was true. Of the four of them Weiss's aura reserves were the smallest, only just behind Ruby's, and she had used more of it than the others between having to take on that White Fang soldier with the chainsword and forming an ice dust barrier strong enough to protect herself, her teammates, and Zwei and Oobleck from the train's collision with the wall, followed by the detonation of a rather large bomb. Her dust reserves were dangerously low, her aura was deep in the yellow, if not just within the red, and she needed both to form and use her glyphs.

She nodded, "I'll try to." Ruby nodded and zipped off to engage another pack of Beowulves that had been unfortunate enough to catch her eye. A snarl caught Weiss's attention and she pirouetted to the side, causing the Beowulf to fly past her in a clumsy lunge that left it's throat totally open, allowing her to slit its throat with a simple flick of the wrist. Ten more charged after it, howling for her blood as they bore down on the heiress. She couldn't keep a sneer of derision for the beasts off of her face as she flitted around quick but clumsy strikes of their claws and cut throats or stabbed them in the chest. Beowulves were easily some of the weakest Grimm commonly seen. A civilian armed with a rifle who had enough courage and a steady hand could kill one fairly easily as long as they didn't allow it to get too close. More than one was another issue for a civilian, but for a trained huntress, even a first year student, small or even medium sized groups of Beowulves were little threat as long as she kept her focus. With a final jab she finished off the last of the pack and turned to face her next foes, a group of seven Ursa. Certainly more of a threat than Beowulves, especially considering her depleted dust and aura, but Ursa were slower than Beowulves. As long as she kept on the move she would be-

"Weiss! behind you!"

The heiress turned at Blake's shouted warning just as a pair of talons clamped down on her arms, and the Nevermore lifted her into the air. The Grimm was massive, at least the size of the one killed by her team during initiation, if not larger. She struggled and kicked in a vain attempt to free herself, but it was to no avail. It's grip was too strong for her to pry her arms free, and the way they were held straight out by the Nevermore's talon's made it impossible for her to angle Myrtenaster to stab it. "Let go of me!" she shouted in anger as she struggled to free her sword arm. Apparently this particular Grimm could understand human speech, that or fate had a twisted sense of humor, because as soon as she said that the Nevermore released her arms.

Allowing her to drop several hundred feet to the ground below.

Weiss barely managed to stop herself from screaming as she fell. She felt a myriad of emotions as she plummeted to earth helplessly. First and greatest was terror, which was understandable. The second was exasperation. She fought a city's worth of Grimm, battled White Fang soldiers on top of train cars filled with bombs, and this was how she was going to die? Dropped by a bird? The final emotion she felt was nostalgia, oddly enough. The last (and first) time she had been dropped by a Nevermore had been during initiation, though at the time the blonde dunce had-

Her emotional roller coaster came to a sudden halt as her downward momentum became forward momentum and an arm wrapped around her waist, pressing her against a chest that was adorned in plate and chain as she was sat firmly in the lap of her savior. She felt the soft downy feathers of a certain Gryphon pressed against her bare legs, and her mind was firmly stuck somewhere between "oh thank god I'm not falling anymore" and "oh god he's about to spout another cheesy one liner" though even she had to admit that in this particular circumstance he had earned the right to a single cheesy one liner, but only one.

"You okay Weiss?"

That wasn't a cheesy one liner, but Weiss was so busy being glad she wasn't falling to her doom that she didn't dwell too much on it. "Yeah, I'm okay." She looked up at him and saw that he wasn't even looking at her. Instead he was staring at the battlefield below. His focus was... unnerving, somehow.

"Right there," he said as he pointed his halberd at a massive pack of Beowulves charging the other girls of RWBY from behind. She almost asked him what he meant, but realized he was talking to Talon when he said, "yes, I know it'll be a rough landing, don't worry. I won't let her fall." The Gryphon shot up into the air, then darted down towards the Beowulf pack. The squire's grip around her waist tightened and she was pressed against his chest, her head in the groove of his neck. "Hold on!" he shouted over the howling wind as they flew directly at the rear of the pack at a blistering pace. "This is going to be a very rough landing!"

Her sense of self preservation overriding everything else, Weiss wrapped both arms around Jaune's neck and held onto him and the ground grew closer and closer, until finally, they hit the Beowulves.

Jaune hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said it was going to be a rough landing. If anything he had been understating. Had it not been for his arm around her waist and her arms around his neck the heiress would have been flung out of her seat in the blonde's lap as Talon shrieked in fury and trampled Beowulves underfoot, their bones crunching and snapping as he charged through the pack. The mighty war beast tore through flesh and bone with his claws and beak like it was paper, slaughtering the Grimm around him in a tornado of death as they tore through the startled pack. Though her head was buried in his neck Weiss was able to see Jaune lashing out with his halberd on both sides with one hand, stabbing, smashing and hacking away at every Grimm unlucky enough to be within range of his weapon that slipped past Talon's rampage. She leaned back and looked up at his face, and saw that it was contorted in a furious snarl the likes of which she had never seen on the normally smiling boy's face as he slaughtered the Beowulves on all sides. He unwound the arm around her waist and gripped his halberd in both hands. A Beowulf leaped into the air towards them, but was smashed aside as Jaune struck it with the hammerhead of his weapon with enough force to fling it across the open square. The return swing split another Grimm down the middle all the way to its stomach before Jaune wrenched the weapon free and rammed the spearhead into the eye of another Grimm. Weiss loosened her grip around the squire's neck so she could help, but his hand clamped down on her wrists, stopping her. "Do not let go," he ordered as he continued to fight with one hand, "I didn't save you just so you could fall off here."

She blinked at him, "uh, yeah. Okay." She tightened her grip around his neck and kept herself pressed against him as the Gryphon tore through the Beowulves like they were paper, and eventually broke through the pack. Weiss looked over Jaune's shoulder and saw that what had probably been a group of fifty Grimm had been reduced to at least half of that by the Gryphon's rampage. The war beast skidded to a halt in front of the other girls of RWBY and Weiss unwound her arms from around Jaune's neck and slid off of Talon.

"Jaune!" shouted Ruby happily, "where are the others?"

Jaune looked back towards Beacon, then up at the massive Nevermore which was coming back around. "The others are coming, but that Nevermore needs to go down before they get here." At that moment the winged Grimm swooped down and landed in front of the shattered pack with an earthshaking thud. The Nevermore cocked its head to one side and stared at them as the other Grimm flocked around it, perhaps finding some form of leader in it. The Nevermore, which Weiss realized was actually a bit larger than the one at initiation, spread its massive wings, eclipsing the sun behind it. The Grimm tossed its head back and shrieked.

Weiss's hands clamped down on her ears as the Grimm screamed into the sky. The force was enough to make her eyes water and her eardrums feel like they were rattling in her head. Windows rattled and shook in their frames, and Weiss felt her eyesight begin to blur. Eventually the scream died off, and was replaced by the howls and snarls of the slowly advancing Grimm.

Then she heard Jaune laugh.

He smirked at the Nevermore and patted Talon's neck. "Show it what we've got." He turned back to the girls of RWBY and Oobleck. "If I were you I'd keep your ears covered. If you thought that was loud, well..." he laughed again, "that was nothing compared to what's next."

Talon spread his wings and began to flap them. Even from behind the Gryphon she could feel the wind pushing against her almost like a wall, and the Grimm's advance was halted and then reversed as they tried in vain to push forward against the gale. Jaune raised his halberd and pointed it directly at the large Nevermore. "Now!"

Talon reared up on his hind legs, slammed his forepaws on the ground with enough force to break the concrete, then opened his mouth with a world rattling shriek of pure rage.

Windows shattered, The Grimm howled in pain and collapsed as their ears began to bleed, and the Nevermore stumbled back as though physically struck by the force of the war beast's fury. Talon stormed towards the Nevermore and slammed into it with enough force to shake the ground as Jaune thrust his halberd into its chest. The Grimm screamed in pain as Talon spread his wings and took to the sky, the Nevermore coming with them. Weiss and the others watched in awe as Talon and Jaune tore into the Grimm, claws, beak, and blade ripping its torso apart as the avian Grimm desperately tried to escape. Eventually it managed to break free and tried to fly away, its torso a mess of ruined skin and feathers. Unfortunately for it Gryphon and rider were not done with the monster. Jaune's halberd lashed out and severed a wing from the Grimm's body. It plummeted to earth and landed on top of many other Grimm, crushing them under its weight. Finally dead the Nevermore carcass began to fade as Jaune and Talon swooped down and landed next to team RWBY. "Hold the breach until the others arrive!" Jaune shouted at them as he leveled his halberd at the hole. The next wave of Grimm was beginning to pour out of the opening. "I'll keep the skies clear!" His Gryphon took to the skies in pursuit of a group of Nevermore that had flown out of the breach.

Team RWBY and Oobleck, plus one corgi, rushed to the breach and engaged the Grimm spilling out. Ruby's scythe tore a gap into the black furred mass that Yang rushed into and started firing off her gauntlets off in all directions, widening the gap until Blake and Weiss entered the hole and struck down Beowulves and Ursa on all sides. Weiss ducked under the swing of an Ursa and thrust her rapier up under its jaw, then withdrew it and cut open the throat of a Beowulf as she stepped back. A snarl alerted her to the presence of another Grimm, and she ducked just in time to avoid being struck by the claws of another Ursa. She rounded on the beast and drew Mrytenaster back...

And lowered it as the crack of a rifle filled the air and the Ursa fell to the ground, dead. The heiress looked up to the sky and saw five Bullheads coming in for a landing. Pyrrha fired off two more shots from Milo and waved at the Heiress. "Hello again!" Weiss smiled and waved back as the Bullheads lowered to the point that the huntsmen within could jump out.

Teams of huntsmen in training, along with a couple of full fledged huntsmen, jumped out of the Bullheads and rushed to close with the Grimm still pouring from the breach. Weiss heard a piercing shriek split the air and felt the ground quake as Talon and Jaune collided with the opposite end of the Grimm. The sounds of engines filled the air as more and more Bullheads brought more huntsmen and students in to fight the Grimm. She heard gun fire roar as Atlesian fighters engaged Nevermore alongside Jaune, who had taken to the air again. Atlesian mechs and soldiers poured out of troop carriers and spread out through the city to hunt down any Grimm who had left the square.

As she struck down three Creeps and an Ursa Weiss couldn't help but smile. They were going to win this.


Jaune grinned as he cut the head from an Ursa Major and slammed the hammerhead into a Boarbatusk with enough force to knock it onto its side, allowing Talon to disembowel it with his claws even as the Gryphon grabbed a Taijitu in his beak and crushed its skull in his jaws.

They were going to win this. The Grimm were slowly but steadily being pushed back to the breach with little to no casualties on their side. What could have been a massacre had been contained before the Grimm could spread to the point they were out of control. "Jaune!"

The squire turned to the voice of his mentor. Nathaniel and Glynda were fighting side by side, her aura manipulation taking down whole groups of Grimm of all kinds while Nathaniel killed anything that slipped past her. With two swings that were so fast they seemed like little more than blurs to Jaune the knight cut down two Ursa Major, then closed with a Deathstalker and cracked open its carapace with two strikes from the hammerhead of his own halberd, then rammed the spearhead into gap he'd smashed open in the Grimm's carapace, killing it. The knight wrenched the weapon free and stepped back to Glynda. "We're winning this Jaune!" he shouted, and the squire knew that underneath his helmet he was smiling.

Jaune laughed, "that seems to be a popular opinion!" And it was a true one. The Huntsmen, soldiers, and mechs had driven the Grimm to the very edge of the breach. No more were coming out of the hole in the ground, and the few left standing were all that were left in the whole city. Jaune smiled at his friends and teammates, who were at the back of of the veritable army and resting along with the rest of the first years. He walked Talon over to them and hopped out of the saddle as the last of the Grimm were cut down. "Are you guys okay? No one's hurt?"

Pyrrha smiled, "we're fine Jaune. No one's hurt."

He looked at the girls of RWBY. "You four were here the longest. You're sure you're all okay?"

To everyone's surprise, especially his own, it was Weiss who answered. "We're fine Jaune. Tired, and sweaty, but fine." She looked away from him, a slight pink tinge on her cheeks. " I suppose I should thank you for catching me."

Immediately countless flirty responses flew through his mind at breakneck pace, each one better than the last. Jaune opened his mouth, then bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood to shut himself up before he said something that would ruin what was quite honestly the first real moment between the two of them.

Swallowing his pride, a little bit of blood, and more than a bit of jealousy for a certain bluenette, Jaune smiled. "Anytime Weiss. That's what friends are for."

Her eyes widened in surprise, and Jaune knew she had been expecting another one liner. He shrugged and looked away, scratching the back of his head. For a few moments there was awkward silence between the two of them, but with a certain ginger nearby such things were guaranteed not to last long. She leaped onto his back and clung to him tightly like she was a sloth hanging on a tree. "That was fun! Think there will be anymore Grimm to squish Jauney?"

Immediately the dream he'd had returned to the fore of his mind. He saw the scimitar coming down on top of his friends, his friends' hands reaching out to him imploringly, Weiss's voice screaming his name in terror.

"JAUNE!"

"If it comes, I'll kill it. I won't let it take anyone from me. Not my teammates, not Weiss, not the other girls of team Ruby. Not anyone."

"Jaune? Jaune!"

Pyrrha's hands on his face snapped him out of his trance. It wasn't until that moment that he realized that Nora had released him, his lips were peeled back in a furious snarl, or that his fist was clenched tightly around Brillant Mors and his entire body was shaking with rage. "Jaune!" his partner shouted in panic, "what's wrong?"

Talon's beak bumped against his back. "Calm yourself Jaune. They don't know what you've seen. They don't understand your rage."

He took deep shuddering breaths, forcing his heart beat to slow down and the snarl to drop off of his face. His grip loosened and he leaned against Talon's flank. "I'm fine," he said as he ran a hand through his hair, "I'm alright. Just a bit... tired." "That thing hasn't come yet. Does that mean it won't today?"

"Is the dread still building up within you?"

It wasn't, not anymore. But what did that mean? Was it gone, or had it just built up to a point where it could no longer grow?

"That didn't look like tired Jaune," Ren said. He stepped forward in a very un-Ren like display and grabbed Jaune's chin, forcing the squire to look him in the eye. "What's really wrong?"

Jaune laughed and pulled his head away, "guys, really. I'm fine, okay? Just tired." He smiled at them all. "What do you say we all go back to Beacon and rest?" He nodded to team RWBY. "You guys can tell us all about your mission with-"

Then he felt it.

It was overwhelming, all consuming. It weighed on his consciousness like a physical force.

It was pure darkness.

He turned towards the breach just as the beast exited it.

A black blur shot out of the breach and into the sky. black leathery wings expanded from its back, shaking the air around the monster as it hovered above the stunned people below. It was at least three times as tall as Jaune, with cloven hooves for feet, and a black scimitar gripped in one hand. Red eyes burned with blood lust and hate in equal measure, its lips were pealed back in a bloodcurdling smile, jagged and razor sharp fangs put on display. White bone plates covered its arms, chest, torso, and legs, with horns jutting from its head. The Grimm laughed, a rumbling sound that shook the earth, and raised its weapon above its head.

"Champion," it hissed, its sibilant voice filling the entire city, "come face me, if you dare. I am darkness incarnate, created to slay you and lay the path for the era of Grimm. I am the Dark Champion, born to slaughter and raze."

"W-what is that?" whispered Blake.

"I- I don't..." Pyrrha stammered in shock. She turned to Jaune. "Jaune, what... what is that?"

He didn't respond. He couldn't. His eyes were focused solely on the beast, apparently called the Dark Champion. Even as he processed the sight with his eyes the nightmare was dominating his thoughts once more.

It was Ruby's words that brought him back to reality. "Come on! We have to kill it!"

Before Jaune even fully realized what he was doing he had grabbed Ruby by the hood and yanked her back roughly as she stepped forward. "No," he snarled at her, at all of them. His face was contorted in a furious snarl again, and he had a death grip on Brillant Mors. "Don't you dare go anywhere near that thing, none of you, understand? You stay as far away from it as possible!"

"J-Jaune," Pyrrha stammered as she reached a hand out to him, then pulled it back reluctantly. "I-I don't understand. We don't understand. What's wrong? Why don't you want us to go near it?"

He couldn't tell them, not right now. All he could do was make sure they stayed away from it. "Promise me. All of you promise to me right now that you aren't going to go anywhere near that thing."

"Jaune," whimpered Nora. There were actual tears in her eyes. He knew she didn't understand why he was being like this, and the fact that he was making tears come to her eyes almost broke Jaune's heart, but his desire to keep them safe outweighed all else. "Please, we promise not to go anywhere near it, but please. Tell us what's wrong."

"I..." he took a shaky breath and ran his hands through his hair. "Just... don't go anywhere near it. I'll explain everything to all of you later, I swear, but right now you need to go group up with the other huntsmen. It'll be safest with them."

"What about you?" asked a suspicious Pyrrha.

"I'm going to-"

"go with your team, and let me handle this." Nathaniel placed his hand on Jaune shoulder. "Jaune, you are not strong enough to kill that thing. You know you're not."

Jaune grabbed Nathaniel and pulled him closer. "That's the thing from my dream," he whispered. "I have to. I can't let it get to the others."

"Which is why you need to let me handle this. Jaune... whatever that thing is, it's like no other Grimm I've ever seen. This... thing is weak only to the Light. I can feel that, and I know you can too, if you focus on it."

It was true, Jaune realized. When he focused on the creature hovering above the square, he could feel the power of the shadow radiating off of it. Whatever the Dark Champion was, normal weapons would not harm it much. "Your command over the Light isn't strong enough yet," Nathaniel said. "Give me Talon. With his help I can kill this thing."

"He's right," Talon said, "he and I together have a much better chance at killing it than you and I Jaune."

For a few seconds Jaune stood there silently, then he nodded and stepped back. "You're right. Talon's all yours. Just kill that thing before it can hurt anyone."

Nathaniel hauled himself up into the saddle, and Talon spread his wings and took to the skies. He hovered there before the Dark Champion, and Nathaniel leveled his halberd at the Grimm. The entirety of the weapon began to glow with white holy light, as though it were a star come down to earth. "Beast! You are not worthy to face the Champion of Vaya! I am Nathaniel, Gryphon Knight of the Order, and I will face you!"

For a few moments the Dark Champion stared at Nathaniel in silence, then began to laugh. It was a sound that sent ice through the veins of everyone near, like the hiss of a snake combined with the whispering of a mad man. "Face me?" It licked its lips. "Very well. I've never feasted upon the blood of a knight of the Order. When I'm through with you and the turkey I'll find the boy, and feast on him too." The Dark Champion raised its scimitar into the air, and tossed its head back with a blood curdling scream.

Howls, snarls, and hisses answered the Dark Champion's call as Grimm began pouring out of the breach once more. Distracted by the sight of the Dark Champion, those closest to the breach were pounced upon by the Grimm before they even realized what was happening. Within seconds the Grimm had pushed back the unprepared soldiers and huntsmen until they threatened to break through and begin spilling into the city once more. "Come on!" Jaune shouted to his fellow first years as he rushed to close with the Grimm. He ducked under the claws of a Beowulf and sank the spearhead of Brillant Mors into its chest before wrenching it free and beheading the beast. He stepped to the side as an Ursa's claws grazed his spaulders and cracked its skull open with the hammerhead of his weapon, then turned and impaled a Creep on the end of his halberd. He lifted the dying beast up into the air and slammed it down on top of another unfortunate Creep. He pulled his weapon free and turned to slam the pommel into the howling maw of a charging Beowulf, stunning the Grimm and knocking it to the ground. A swift strike from Brillant Mors ended the beast, and for the moment the area around him was clear. He looked around for his friends and teammates. They were all taking apart the Grimm with ease, as was everyone else, however the sheer amount of Grimm pouring out of the breach threatened to overwhelm the defenders with simple force of numbers. The Atlesian air units wouldn't be able to help as they were dealing with dozens of flocks of Nevermores, and Talon and Nathaniel were battling the Dark Champion. That battle at least seemed to be going in favor of the Gryphon Knight and the war beast. The monster was powerful, but slow compared to the agility of Talon as the Gryphon nimbly avoided the Dark's Champion's scimitar with graceful ease as Nathaniel repaid its attempts at hitting them with strikes of his own. Black blood oozed to the ground below as the monster hissed in pain and anger, its body riddled with gashes carved by the knight's halberd.

A snarl grabbed Jaune's attention as he turned to face his new foe. A quick swing severed the Beowulf's arm at the elbow, and was quickly followed by a thrust of the spearhead into the throat. He stepped past the fading corpse and shouted to grab the attention of an Ursa tearing its way through a squad of mechs. The beast turned, roared a challenge, and charged at him on all fours. Jaune roared back and charged towards the Grimm, his halberd leveled at it. The two slammed into each other, the spearhead sinking into the flesh of the Ursa as the beast tried to push Jaune back, but Jaune's strength proved to be greater as he drove the Ursa back step by step until he wrenched the weapon free, raised it over his head, and brought it down on the Ursa's skull, bisecting it. A set of claws dragged across the mail covering Jaune's back. The squire turned and stomped his foot down on the Beowulf's knee with enough force to shatter it. The monster howled and collapsed as its leg gave out. Jaune crushed its neck under his boot as he stepped over it and engaged three more Beowulves. His first swing shattered the skull of the one, the return cutting through the torso of another, but the final monster, an Alpha, slipped into his guard and leapt on top of him, driving him to the ground. Jaune released Brillant Mors as he fell and grabbed its jaws in his hands as the beast snapped at him and pushed its maw closer and closer to his neck.

The squire pushed back and slipped his hands into its mouth, grabbing the top and bottom parts of its jaw, and began to pry them apart. The Beowulf Alpha tried to close its mouth against the force of Jaune's arms prying it open, but as the squire rolled them over and knelt on top of the Grimm it quickly became evident who the stronger of the two was. As he pulled its jaw further and further apart the Grimm began to panic, its claws scrabbling on his chain mail and against his face as it attempted to force him to back off, but Jaune ignored the pain of the claws scraping over his face and continued to pull, until finally the monster's jaw was had gone as far back as it could naturally. With a final mighty push he wrenched both ends of the jaw beyond their breaking point with a crack, and the beast fell limp.

Jaune pushed himself to his feet and grabbed Brillant Mors off of the ground and looked around for enemies, but the area around him was clear again. He took the short moment to get a quick stock of the battle. On the ground and on the air it was still much the same as it had been before. Both sides were evenly matched, but as he turned his attention to the battle of Nathaniel and Talon against the Dark Champion... He grinned. The beast was on the ground on the edge of the square. It was down on both knees breathing heavily as black blood poured poured out of countless gashes cut into its skin by the glowing weapon of Nathaniel. It tried to push itself to its feet, but collapsed back down to its knees. A shriek pierced the sky as Talon looped around and dived towards the Grimm. Nathaniel couched his glowing halberd and leveled it at the vulnerable foe as Gryphon and rider shot forwards like a comet. Jaune raised his halberd and shouted in victory as the distance between the Gryphon Knight and the Grimm closed at breakneck speed.

Jaune's cry of victory ended in a strangled gasp as the Dark Champion suddenly leapt to its feet and smashed its scimitar into Talon and Nathaniel.

Gryphon and rider were slammed into the ground with enough force to shatter the concrete. Nathaniel somehow managed to remain in the saddle and retain his grip on his weapon as Talon stumbled to his feet and tried to limp away-

As the Dark Champion slammed his scimitar into both of them once more, then kicked them into a building, brick and mortar shattering like glass as they went through the wall. The wounds on the Grimm healed as the monster hissed in satisfaction and began to walk towards the building Talon and Nathaniel were in.

Jaune did the only thing he could think to do: He ran towards the beast to protect his mentor and Gryphon. He shoved his way through the battling Huntsmen, cutting down any Grimm that got in his way, until he finally broke free of the melee and sprinted towards the Dark Champion. It stopped walking and turned to face him as he drew nearer. It stared at him with eyes the color of blood, then laughed and raised its arms. "There you are Champion! No longer will you hide behind others eh? You will come and face your death like a man?"

Jaune skidded to a halt just outside of the reach of its weapons. He raised his halberd at the monster. "I won't let you hurt anyone else." He wished he could keep the quavering out of his voice.

The Dark Champion laughed and bared its crooked fangs in a chilling smile. "So you think you can defeat me? She has told me of you, little light. You are weak and untrained, a rabbit trying to face a bear." The Grimm lowered his scimitar. The ground cracked where the tip touched it. "Show me your power, so called Champion," the beast mocked, "show me the Light of Vaya's greatest warrior. Your mentor's Light could do naught but amuse me. Is yours any greater?"

Jaune focused and tried to draw out the Light. He poured his heart and soul into it, pleading for the strength to win this battle, but all he could manage was a dim glow on his weapons and armor.

"How disappointing," chortled the monstrosity, "but not unexpected. She told me you would be of little sport." It raised its scimitar over its head. "But even little sport is still more thrilling than nothing. Shall we play little light?"


"Should we intervene ma'am?" asked Emerald as they watched Jaune rush to help his mentor.

Cinder smiled. She had been unable to get a chance to kill the squire, but it seemed that it no longer mattered. The Dark Champion of Salem would make short work of the boy, and would ensure victory against the huntsmen, who were slowly but surely losing heart thanks to the seemingly endless waves of Grimm pouring out of the breach and loss of Nathaniel and the Gryphon. When they fell she would be free to search Beacon at her leisure for the Fall Maiden, and claim the power that was her by rights.

"No," said Cinder, "let the beast handle the boy. After all, we have to hang back and ensure that the evil Roman Torchwick doesn't escape in the confusion, don't we?"

the aforementioned criminal huffed and rolled his eyes, but didn't respond. He had been 'captured' by the three of them as part of their contingency plan. The breach had happened several days too early, but Cinder was not the kind of person who wouldn't have a back up plan. That just happened to be a plan that required Roman to be in lock up aboard of one the many large Atlas capitol ships currently engaging the Grimm.

However she had never accounted for the appearance of the Dark Champion. She had thought that Salem would hold such a valuable and powerful tool back until she truly needed it, but she must have been more desperate for the Champion's demise than Cinder had initially thought if she had sent him at the head of a horde of Grimm. The fall back plan for the Vytal festival might very well be unnecessary, but just in case she would keep Roman alive for now. After all if the huntsmen were defeated she could always kill him then, when she knew she wouldn't need the thief's services any longer.


Jaune rolled to the side as the scimitar cut through the air and impacted where he had been seconds before. He pushed himself to his feet, and then scrambled backwards as he just barely avoided another swing.

To say he was outmatched was a gross understatement. The Dark Champion was far stronger and faster than he was. It was just toying with him. "This is the best you can do?" it laughed, "pathetic does not even begin to describe your attempts at battling me. This isn't even entertaining." Its lips curled in a sneer. "I'm done playing with you."

It happened so quickly that Jaune didn't even realize what had happened until it was far too late. The Dark Champion swung its scimitar far too fast for Jaune to dodge, and the weapon collided with his midsection. The impact split the rings of his hauberk and he was launched through air, skidding to a halt on the other side of the square.

He gasped for air as he tried to push himself to his feet, but when he tried to roll over he clutched his stomach and shouted in pain. "My ribs are broken," he dimly realized, "all of them. The force of the blow went through my aura" That didn't matter. He had to get up. He had to fight.

Again he tried to get to his feet, and again he collapsed as he felt broken ribs scrape against one another and his organs. He gritted his teeth in pain and forced himself to his knees, then gagged and hacked out blood when he felt a shard of bone pierce an organ. He collapsed again, helplessly watching as the Dark Champion stalked towards him. It stopped before and stared at the broken body before him with sadistic glee.

"I see into your thoughts little light. You feel fear, but not for yourself..." it cocked its head to side as it stared at him in interest, "intriguing... never before have I faced a foe who did not fear for themselves. Instead you fear..." it grinned savagely, "for those you love." It raised the scimitar over its head. Jaune glared at the monster, knowing his doom was before him. He couldn't meet it on his feet, but he could at least look death in the eye.

The scimitar came screaming down towards him...

and slammed into the earth mere inches to the side, missing him entirely. The Dark Champion laughed and pulled the massive blade free. "I will not kill you yet, oh no. I will make you watch as I take all those you love from you." It turned away from him and stalked towards the huntsmen battling the Grimm still pouring out of the breach, its scimitar dragging across the ground.

"Starting with your Angel."


Weiss heard Pyrrha scream Jaune's name and turned towards the champion. She and the other three members of JNPR were struggling against a group of huntsmen trying to keep them from running to him. The heiress followed her gaze, and she saw him.

He was laying on the ground, coughing up blood as that thing stalked towards him. It said something to him and raised its scimitar over its head, then swung it down towards Jaune.

"NO!" shrieked a voice in terror. Weiss realized it was hers.

The scimitar came down, but it didn't hit Jaune. It impacted just inches to the side of him, and the monster pulled it free and turned away from Jaune and began to walk towards the huntsmen. Immediately every huntsman not battling the Grimm began to fire on the monster as it approached them. Weiss gathered up the last of her aura and dust and formed the strongest glyph she could. The sigil glowed as it spun in the air, and a torrent of razor sharp icicles flew out of the sigil towards the Grimm. The icicles shattered harmlessly on impact, not even slowing the monster's steady advance. Weiss stumbled as her vision blurred and just managed to stop herself from collapsing. That had been everything she had left, and it hadn't even slowed it down, just like everything else being thrown at it. Bullets, grenades, rockets, even a few arrows, did nothing to stop the advance of the beast as it grew inevitably closer to them.

It was not until the monster reached the edge of the huntsmen that Weiss realized it was looking directly at her. It roared and charged through the huntsmen as they scrambled to get out of its path lest they be trampled. It was headed directly for her.

Weiss turned to run but didn't take more than a few steps before she felt a large fist close around her midsection and lift her up. With her arms pinned to her side she struggled and kicked, but its grip was like iron. It held her high over its head as flocks of Nevermore swooped down on top of the other huntsmen. Beset from the ground and now by the air too her friends were unable to stop the massive Grimm as it walked away with her still in its grip. It laughed and lowered her until she was even with its face. "Look," it chortled, "here comes your knight in shining armor to save you."


Pain and rage.

That was all Jaune could feel as he forced his body to keep moving forward. He stopped and clutched his stomach in agony as he hacked up blood, then forced himself to keep going. His gaze never left the Dark Champion, who held Weiss in its free hand. He lowered his arm and held her out to him mockingly. "Come get your Angel Champion! She is here waiting for you!"

Jaune's lips peeled back in a snarl, blood stained teeth put on display as he limped forward with one hand reaching out to her. She stretched a hand out to him, tears in her eyes. "Jaune," she sobbed, "please stop, you're killing yourself!"

He couldn't respond. His entire existence was dedicated to getting to her, to keeping her safe. To keeping them all safe. His fingers grazed hers, and the Dark champion pulled her back from him. "JAUNE!" She screamed.

Just like in the dream. Just before she died.

He wouldn't let that happen.

He pulled Brillant Mors back and swung it towards the hand gripping Weiss with the intention of cutting her free, but the black scimitar intercepted his weapon and Brillant Mors was wrenched out of his hand and flung across the square with a simple flick of the Dark Champion's wrist. Something tackled Jaune to the ground, and two Beowulves grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to his knees, his arms held out as one tilted his head and forced him to stare at the Dark Champion.

"Weakling," it hissed. It's grip on Weiss tightened, and she screamed in pain.

"Sto-" his body was wracked with coughs as more blood left his mouth, "Stop!"

It laughed and tightened its grip on the heiress. Her screams tapered off, and she started gasping desperately as the air was forced out of her body. Jaune struggled against the grip of the Beowulves, but they pushed him back down.

Tears came to Jaune's eyes as Weiss's breathing became ragged, and her eyes slowly drooped closed. "STOP!" he roared helplessly.

Her eyes closed, her head lolled to the side as her breathing stopped altogether, and something inside of Jaune broke.

He roared in abject agony as light burst forth from him and incinerated the Beowulves holding him down. The pain was gone, replaced by grief. He reached his hand out and Brillant Mors answered his unspoken command, flying across the square and into his hand. The ancient weapon glowed like a star in his grasp, then light was replaced with holy flames as white fire coated his weapon. He sprinted towards the stunned Dark champion and swung his flaming halberd at the arm gripping Weiss's limp body. The blade cut through black skin and white bone like it was paper, and the Grimm screeched in agony and released her.

Jaune dropped Brillant Mors and caught her still form as the Dark Champion stumbled away and clutched its arm. Jaune didn't care about the monster, or that he could hurt it. All he cared about was the girl in his arms. He dropped to his knees and laid her on the ground. She wasn't breathing. "Please," he sobbed, tears dripping down onto her pale face, "please no." Some part of his consciousness reminded him that he needed to apply CPR, and Jaune started doing chest compressions, counting them off out loud. "One, two, three. Please don't leave me. One, two, three. Oh god please," he sobbed, "one, two, three..."

He did this until he reached thirty in his head, then tilted her head to clear her air ways, pinched her nose closed, and pressed his lips against hers, pushing air into her system. After one second he broke away and looked down to see if her chest rose. It did. Hope blossoming in his chest Jaune pressed his lips against hers again and pushed air into her system, then went back to chest compressions to repeat the cycle.

He did this once more, then she groaned and coughed as she began breathing on her own. She turned her head to him and slowly opened her eyes. "J-Jaune?"

His whole body shook with sobs of relief as he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, pressing her head into his neck. "Thank god," he sobbed as he rocked her back and forth in his arms, "I-I thought you were dead. I couldn't- I can't, lose you. Any of you."

She was silent for a moment, then she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you Jaune."

Howls cut through his relief. He turned to see a pack of Beowulves rushing towards him and Weiss. He released his grip on her and grabbed Brillant Mors, the weapon once again wreathed in holy fire. He stood before her and leveled his flaming weapon at his foes...

then lowered it as they were cut down by gun fire and a familiar mace. Team CRDL smashed apart the pack and skidded to a halt before him. "Jaune!" shouted Cardin with joy, which was something the squire never thought would happen. "You're okay! We tried to come help, but we could't get through the Grimm in-" a hand on his mouth stopped him.

"You want to help?" Jaune asked. The ginger nodded. "Then get Weiss somewhere safe until she recovers." He dropped Brillant Mors and knelt next to Weiss. He took one of her hands in his and looped the other around her waist, helping her up. Cardin stepped forward and took her from him. "Keep her safe, you hear me? Don't let anything get through to her."

"What are you going to do?" asked Cardin.

Jaune held his hand out and Brillant Mors leapt into it, once more coming alive with white fire. The squire's armor gleamed with inner light, as though it had been forged from millions of stars. He turned towards the Dark Champion, who was hissing in pain as he clutched his smoking arm, and leveled his halberd at the monster. "I'm going to rip that thing apart."

"But you're hurt," said Weiss weakly as she tried to stand on her own, to no avail.

"I'm fine," he lied. In truth he could still feel his shattered ribs scraping against one another and his organs, but the raw fury in his heart and power coursing through his body drowned the pain. "Keep her safe Cardin."

He stalked towards the Dark Champion, rage burning in his heart, and he roared at it. "FACE ME!"

The Dark Champion hissed and raised its scimitar, but Jaune could see disbelief in its blood red eyes. "How?" it snarled, "you should not be this strong. She said you were weak, easy prey. How can a novice like you summon such power?"

Jaune's answer was to charge forward at full speed with his halberd lowered. The Grimm howled and charged towards Jaune, its massive footfalls shaking the earth.

Light and dark clashed in the center of the square.

Jaune side stepped the scimitar and jammed the flaming spearhead of Brillant Mors into the Dark Champion's leg, then wrenched it free and let the beast stumble back and howled in agony at this new smoking wound. The Grimm swung its scimitar at Jaune. The Champion raised his halberd and took the blow on the haft of his weapon. The ground beneath him cracked with the force of the impact, but Jaune wasn't even budged. The Dark Champion reeled back as his blow rebounded and stumbled, its wounded leg unable to support its whole weight. Jaune stepped inside of the monster's guard and slammed the hammerhead into the knee of its other leg with a crack, and the beast collapsed to one knee even as it swung its black blade at him in desperation. Jaune turned and swung Brillant Mors down, axe blade first. The fiery weapon split skin and bone with ease, cutting halfway through the arm. Another swing severed it entirely.

The Dark Champion shrieked and fell to its knees as the severed arm faded into nothing, then reached forward in desperation to grab its fallen weapon with its remaining hand. Jaune let it place its hand over the hilt, then slammed his boot down on its wrist, and began to push down. The beast screamed as bones creaked and grinded as Jaune increased the pressure, until finally it broke with an all too satisfying snap.

The Dark Champion whimpered as it cradled its broken wrist to its chest. Jaune pressed the flat of his spearhead against its legs, searing the skin with holy fire. The Grimm scrambled backwards away from him in desperation as Jaune advanced towards it, his face contorted in a furious snarl. "You made one fatal mistake." He drove Brillant Mors into the leg of the monster, then through the leg and into the concrete, pinning the monster in place as it shrieked. He walked up the torso of the beast and grabbed it by one of its horns. He tilted the head back and forced it to look him in the eye. Its crimson eyes were filled with fear of the vengeful warrior of Light before it.

Now the monster was helpless, and Jaune held the power.

"YOU WENT AFTER MY FRIENDS," he roared, "YOU TARGETED SOMEONE I LOVE," he drew his other hand back and curled it into a fist, "YOU MADE ME WATCH WHILE YOU SQUEEZED THE LIFE OUT OF MY ANGEL," his voice dropped to a hissing whisper, blue eyes glowing with fury, "and for that, I'm going to make you hurt."

His curled fist was wreathed in flame and he drove it forward into the eye of the beast. He flared his power, and the fire spread over the Dark Champion's body as it screamed in agony, the flames consuming it millimeter by agonizing millimeter.

Soon the beast's screams fell silent and it died, its body thoroughly immolated. Jaune released its charred head and wrenched his halberd free as the body began to fade. The glow faded to nothing, the fire dissipated, and Jaune felt his power leave his body. He turned to the breach and saw that the huntsmen had dealt with the Grimm. That or they had fled when they realized the Dark Champion had died. The crowd of huntsmen, students, and soldiers were all staring at him in awe, but Jaune didn't care. He scanned the crowd and saw all of his friends. Tired, a bit bruised, but alive and mostly unharmed. He saw Weiss safe and sound standing next to Ruby, with Team CRDL close behind her. On the other side of the square Nathaniel and Talon limped out of the building they had been knocked into. Glynda had an arm around the knight's midsection and was helping him walk.

They were safe. A content sigh slipped past his lips as Brillant Mors slipped out of a nerveless grip and fell to the floor even as he himself fell.

As he fell darkness enveloped his sight, but he couldn't help but smile, secure in the knowledge that the ones he loved were safe from harm.

That was all that mattered.