Whoa! I got this out quick, didn't I? Don't get used to it though; the only reason this was possible was because of the poop ton of holidays we just had. This is my April fools to you then! Surprised?

Thank you for the continued support! To show you my appreciation, here's another cover photo I drew for you muggles. It'll be taken down again a week after I've posted the next chapter so that it'll be exclusive to my readers only.

That's how special you guys are! Mmmah!

Divergence

[Atlesian Pantheon Index - Power and Munitions - Dust - Dustless (aka: Battery / Jimmy Juice / Jack)]

From the humble ion rifle to the mighty titan class walker, Atlas, none bear with pride the hallmarks of Atlesian science and ingenuity than that of Dustless.

We all know what dust is; it's that magical substance that powers our cities, bolsters our troops, and what feeds our weapons. However, only few know about the by-product of dust once a crystal's been drained of all its elemental properties.

Dust in itself ain't hard to work out; it's a rock with a certain type of energy inside that affects the elements around it a certain way. But in the end, it is what it is, a rock. So once the power's gone, predictably, what we are left with is just that.

Now that rock is Dustless.

As the name implies, Dustless is not actually dust, and by itself, it is useless to all but the desperate who would maybe use it as something to throw at Grimm. Hur-hur! BUT! It has been revealed to us that it could be so much more! More than dust itself even...

...in a way.

Enter subject, Jaune Arc. This handsome young man, bearer of the most peculiar semblance, was key to this most magnificent of discoveries.

[Sigh] I just wish that it hadn't been discovered so late...

~ • ~

"Ion hard-light technology, Dustless, Myrmidons, even our new battle-mech prototype are in these files. How?"

"Look again, James. You'll find that the Paladin in there is leagues ahead of your little prototype."

It was. By the gods, it was. General Ironwood shuddered at the thought of what sorts of monstrosities required so much firepower just to take down. "What is all this, Ozpin?"

Ozpin let out a sigh behind the fist he had against his lips. "What you have there in your console... is the future, James."

"The future?"

"Indeed. Or should I say: the possible future."

"This has to do with the man you told me about, correct?"

"Jaune Arc. Yes."

"Arc, hm... the name is known to me. His grandfather served in the great war, I believe."

"The very same."

"I'd like to meet this man, this 'Wolves' Bane' whom you claim sacrificed himself for Atlas."

Sitting up straighter in his high-backed chair, "You don't believe me?" the headmaster asked defensively, not in tone, but demeanour.

"Oh, I do. I just wish to thank him for all he has done. For one man to do so much... he's a damned hero, Ozpin. If he were one of mine, I'd give him all the medals," the general chuckled with not an ounce of humour.

"He was, and you did." Ozpin smiled almost sadly. "In fact, you were the one who gave him the title."

"What title?"

"Wolves' Bane the Thousand Slayer."

"Funny. Never thought that I'd be the person to give anyone such a pretentious epithet."

"It'd only be pretentious if it wasn't true, James."

"Oh? Well, now I really want to meet him!"

"And you will in two weeks. We've already requested the other headmasters attend, and they should be arriving ahead of their students for the Vytal Festival." The headmaster took a hearty sip of his cup-o-joe, 'Ah, sweet nectar of the gods,' and hummed contentedly. "You'll like him. Glynda says that he reminds her a lot of you when you were that age."

"Glynda said that?"

"That is before you took one of her ridding crops and shoved it so far up your ass that the hair on your temples turned white. Her words, not mine." Ozpin grinned mischievously behind the rim of his coffee cup.

"Ah," the general cringed, "she's... still upset, I take it?"

"She just misses you, James. The old you."

Ironwood's gaze fell to the side. "We all had to make changes, Ozpin. You, of all people, should know that."

The statement was a sobering one, and the headmaster would be lying if he'd said that it didn't affect him a certain way. "Do you regret following me, James?"

The general took his time answering, not unsure of his answer but hesitant all the same. In the end, he chose to be honest, "Hard to regret something you had no hand in."

"We always have a choice," the bespectacled man insisted.

Ironwood let out a mirthful chuff, genuinely amused by the sentiment. "You don't believe that, Ozpin. I know it... and more importantly, you know it. We are the cards fate deals us."

Ozpin's eyebrows dipped the slightest of margins. "You're starting to sound like Qrow but less charming."

"He's a wise man."

Ozpin knew that it wasn't defeatism that made him say such things. James was and always will be a fighter; he was just so utterly pragmatic it bordered on fatalistic. Still, it pained Ozpin to hear his fellow headmaster sound so... forgone. It pained Ozpin to see what he had turned his friend into. 'Changes—indeed.' The headmaster decided not to argue. "Make the most of what you can of those files I sent. They should help you."

"Understood. I'll have Pietro look at the blueprints-"

"I wasn't talking about the blueprints, James." He stared pointedly at the general.

"I'll... watch the documentaries, Oz."

"Very good. Tell me what you think next we meet. Farewell, General."

"Headmaster."

Heaving out one last sigh, Ozpin pushed the button on his desk that would cut the feed. He put aside his now empty cup and stood with the aid of his cane. Casually he walked towards the wall-high windows behind his desk and gazed at the view that was Vale. Ozpin mused, "He really does remind me of you. A man with too much on his mind."

~ • ~

Jaune Arc had only one thing on his mind: locate and extract Nora Valkyrie.

That was his objective as he raced through the streets of downtown Vale, following the directions his scroll was feeding into his ORCL.

"What's the plan, Jaune?"

And that was another thing—Ruby. He wouldn't be of much use to Nora if he was too busy worrying about Ruby at the same time. Though Jaune knew in the back of his head that the pintsized huntress was more than capable of taking care of herself, Wolves' Bane, on the other hand, had already experienced Ruby dying twice, and he swore that there wouldn't be a third. It didn't matter what the reaper was capable of; Wolf wanted her safe, and so safe was where he would keep her.

"I already told you: quick extraction. Get in, get out. Rescue Nora and that's it. But that's just me. You, on the other hand, are going straight back to Beacon and letting me handle this," the soldier restated.

"That's not a plan!" Ruby shouted exasperatedly as she ran alongside him, "That's a rough draft! That's a rough draft of a rough draft of a very dumb plan! I won't let you go in there alone!"

I won't let you go in there alone.

"ARGH!" There was no lampost to catch him this time. Jaune fell hands and knees on the cold cobblestone floor.

Ruby panicked, "Jaune!" and ran back to where the blonde knelt prone. "See? See?! How am I supposed to believe you could handle this when you're like that? Look at you! You need my help, Jaune."

He didn't know if it was the pain making him not think straight or if he was just that scared of what might happen, but Wolves' Bane snapped. Why couldn't she, just for once, follow his gods damned orders?! "I don't need your help. I don't want your help! I WANT you to GO BACK! I'm not asking anymore, Red. I am telling you as your commanding officer to return to Beacon. NOW!" He grabbed her wrist.

Wrong move.

In a feat of skill that reminded him that she was not just some girl, Ruby escaped his grasp by twisting his wrist and ducking behind him, his arm locked painfully behind his back.

~ • ~

He did it again. For the second time that day, he had shouted at her. This time, however, she would show him that Ruby Rose would not be daunted so easily. She was a huntress, gosh darn it! With only the slight shake in her voice telling of how his anger had affected her, she said with conviction, "No," and she could see the surprise in the corner of his eyes when he looked at her from over his shoulder, and was that... fear?

"W-What?" he asked, disbelief clear in his tone.

"I said 'no', Jaune! Nora's my friend too, and no one is going to stop me from helping out my friends. Not even you. So go on; throw me in detention, expel me, I don't care. I'm going whether you like it or not."

A subtle tremor shook the ground underneath their feet; they were close enough to where Nora was already that they could feel the explosions.

Worry made her act. Not sparing her professor another thought, Ruby used her semblance to dash ahead of him, the doppler effect making his protests shrink as she pulled city blocks and blocks away in a matter of seconds.

"Ruby, please! No, wait! RUBY!"

She didn't need Jaune for directions anymore; all she had to do was follow where the shaking was strongest, and not soon enough, she was at the docks. The sight that greeted her there was chaos. Tumbled freighters, fire and debris everywhere, Ruby didn't know where first to look!

Not that she could see much.

There was just so much smoke and fog that she could barely see what was going on! Even with the panoramic view the elevated pier allowed her to have over the docks, she could only spot movement. But Ruby stayed vigilant, keeping a wary eye out for pink. She was rewarded with pink explosions. "There!" Her semblance took her on a speedy path towards where she thought her hammer-wielding friend was.

"Ruby?! Ruby, over here!"

Ruby spotted Nora huddled inside a nook betwixt freights. Gunfire on all sides pinned her down and Nora could do little to reply against the unrelenting onslaught. "I see you! Hold on; I'm coming over there!"

"No, wait!-"

Ruby petal-blurred to her before she could finish her warning.

"Awww, man! Now we're both pinned!"

Panting, her back leaning against the cool metal wall, Ruby blinked. "I... did not think of that."

"Well, nothing we can do about it now." Nora took a quick peek around the corner of their hiding spot only to quickly lean her neck back again when the sound of bullets pinged against the metal where her eye was a fraction of a second ago. The grenadier hissed at the near-miss. "Look, the guy that's really kicking our butts out there and keeping us trapped in here is the one with the bazooka. I think I saw him standing on one of the cranes over that side. Do you think you could take'em out with that pea-shooter of yours?"

Ruby frowned at having her baby called a pea-shooter. 'Pffft! Yeah, right. If fifty-cals were peas!' But Ruby knew that this was no time to argue semantics "How far is he?"

Nora shrugged and then, using her thumb and index finger, calculated the distance between them and where she last saw the guy with the rocket launcher. "Abouuuuut... this far."

Her fingers measured about two inches.

Eyes switching between the grenadier's face and her two fingers, Ruby looked understandably perplexed and wondering if she was being serious. As the seconds ticked past, however, and Nora still hadn't taken her hand down from holding up her highly questionable estimates of geometrical distance, Ruby figured that she was indeed being very serious.

"Right," was all that she could say to that, honestly. "I'll see what I can do." Ruby moved into position, her and Nora switching places. Although, just as she was about to take a peek for herself, the sniper hesitated. "I-I've never actually shot at someone before, at least, not outside of training. Does he even have his aura unlocked? I mean, what if I accidentally ki- you know." Ruby couldn't even say the scary word.

Ruby was no coward; faced with Grimm, she wouldn't even hesitate. But to shoot a person, someone who thought and felt just as she did, it just did not compute to her. Huntresses were supposed to fight Grimm, not people!

"Oh, he has it unlocked, alright, and so does his friends."

"All of them?! H-How can you be sure?" Ruby asked, shocked.

"I'm sure 'cuz no matter how many times I've hit'em, they just keep getting back up! So, yeah, there's that."

Ruby was still unsure, and she realized the reason why was because this wasn't like with Torchwick's goons way back when. If it were a melee, she could've at least held herself back, but, no; this was straight-up shooting someone—with a high-calibre sniper rifle designed to one-shot Grimm, no less! It wasn't like she could tell her Crescent Rose how hard to hit; he has no self-control!

'A warning shot then. Just a tiny nick on... on the shoulder. That shouldn't hurt too much... right?'

Mind made up, Ruby placed her foot on the opposite freighter to steady herself against the one she had against her shoulder blades. Dextrously, she raised her hips to slide Crescent Rose out from where she kept him on the small of her back then preceded to unfold the majestic beast into his sniper form. She had to do it holding him upright because of how little space there was, but she managed.

She peeked, just a quick head movement of out and then back in. It was all she needed to spot her target as her sniper instincts payed forward their due diligence. '500 meters. I can do this.' Three quick breaths and one long, she slowed her heart rate until all that was in her went calm.

Her grip tightened around her baby, and with mechanical ease, Ruby leaned her body out, drew a bead on her target, lined her crosshairs just right, and pulled the trigger. Ruby was already behind cover by the time any of the bad guys could return fire.

Half a second, that's how fast she was.

And accurate too! The guy almost fell over and everything when she totally lasered him in the shoulder.

Almost.

'Looks like Nora was right; got aura and everything.' What's more, the man didn't even try to find cover despite his position having already been compromised. He just stood there with his bazooka at the ready. 'Well, that's good news for me,' Ruby thought before doing the same thing again, but this time, aiming for centre mass.

There were no "almosts" with Ruby that time when the man toppled off the crane with only a stack of wooden crates to break his fall. Mr overconfident made a loud crash. "Hah! Got'teem!"

"You go, girl! Now scooch and let Magnhild do his thing!"

"Nora, no!" Ruby stopped her before she could rush out. She may not have agreed with Jaune when he told her to stay out of it, but she did agree about not staying before things got too hairy. "Jaune said to get you out of here. That's the most important thing. We don't need to fight them."

"Uh, yeah we do," Nora flatly refuted before flopping in the complete opposite direction of demeanour and became hysterical, "They're stealing dust! They're the reason why ammo costs so much! The reason why our poor babies are starving, Ruby!"

For a second, Ruby actually looked stricken, her eyes impulsively looking over her precious Crescent Rose and making sure he was okay. But before she could worry too much, she was able to snap herself out of it. Now was not the time. "Y-You may be right, but we still don't have to fight them. The police could handle it; this is not our job."

"Not our job? But didn't you do something like this already? Isn't it how you got into Beacon in the first place?"

"This is different!"

"Different how?" Nora crossed her arms, Magnhild tucked in the crook of her elbow while an eyebrow challenged Ruby to correct her.

"They all have aura, Nora. These guys are no joke!"

"All the more reason to stop them then!" Nora threw her hands up. "You honestly think the boys in blue could handle these guys? They'd be toothpaste in two shakes and a spit!" She made another move to get past her but Ruby quickly zipped in front of the bombardier, blocking her path. "Ruby?!"

"No! Jaune said to keep you safe, and I will keep you safe!" Placing her hands on her shoulders, Ruby leaned forward on her arms to bodily dissuade Nora from going.

"Jaune? If Jaune cares so much then why isn't he here?!"

"BECAUSE he was too busy stopping me! BECAUSE he was worried about me the same way he's worried about you!" she shouted to get her point across, and it made Nora blink in both shock and surprise at the normally shy huntress. "He is coming, Nora, and he'd be mad enough as it is with the stunt I just pulled, but if you got hurt..." Ruby let words hang, and thankfully, it seemed to be having an effect on the impulsive Valkyrie.

"He's... worried about me? You really think so?" Nora asked meekly.

Ruby smiled. "I know so. Rushed in as soon as the call ended."

It took all of a second for the conflict behind her eyes to disappear. "Okay. Okay, let's get out of here."

"Great! Right, so here's the-"

"—ARGH!"

A man in a Grimm mask holding up an automatic sprayed ammunition from the other side of the narrow corridor making their auras glow as bullets pinged against it.

While they were arguing, it looked like their friends got a bit antsy and thought to flank. The huntresses had no choice but to flee the safety of their nook, and as soon as they were out in the open, the barrage began anew.

The choice of whether they would have to fight was taken out of their hands.

~ • ~

"Aaaaand still no Jaune or Ruby," Yang said as she and the girls entered the arcade. She saw a crowd gathered around her favourite game there and so went, thinking to ask, "Hey, you guys see two dorks hanging out around here?"

The guy she was talking to looked around him as if saying "could you be more specific" seeing as that everybody in the arcade could pass for that criteria.

"Right, uh. Girl with a red cape, and a tall blonde guy about yea high," Yang clarified using a hand to visually aid how much taller Jaune was than her.

Recognition lit the guy's face up, and Yang was feeling hopeful. "Oh! You mean the Caped Wonder and the ANNIHILATOR."

Yang and Weiss exchanged weird looks before addressing the man again. It was Weiss who spoke while looking very unsure of the individual standing before her. "Yes... well, can you tell us where the Caped Wonder and this..." she rose a cautious brow at the man, "...Annihilator had gone?"

"Dunno. Ran out of here as soon as they beat the game and named the new high score." The man shrugged. "They didn't even take their pizza."

"Pizza?" Yang was instantly invested. "What pizza?"

"This pizza-EY!"

Yang quickly snatched the extra-large box out of his hands as soon as he held it up. "I'm her sister; it's cool," she justified while opening the lid and taking out an extra-large slice. "Pineapple! Sweeheeeeet." [Munch munch.] She then preceded to speak with her mouth full, the action never failing to erk Weiss to no end. Mmm, perks! "You said something about beating the high score? Huntsman mode?"

The guy who she just realised was staff glowered at her—probably for eating the pizza that was hers by proxy—before answering. "Yeah, that's right."

"Pffft, yeah right. No one could possibly beat my high score," Yang boasted confidently.

The guy replied only with a smug grin and moved to the side. "See for yourselves."

"JxR?" Pyrrha didn't get it.

Blake did, and she could not help but coo, eyes curving in delight at the cuteness of it all. "Awwwww, tsk, that's so sweet."

Weiss refused to acknowledge the admittedly sweet gesture.

Yang was in denial, but not at the gesture, no; at the number she was forced to look at. The pizza she held up to her mouth fell back inside the box. "Two mil-" she coughed, "Two million?! That's got to be a mistake, a glitch! No, they cheated somehow; I just know it!"

"No, I can assure you that it's completely legitimate. All S's across the board. No civilians lost. Untouchable."

"I demand a recount!" Yang demanded even though her demand made not a lick of sense.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to leave; this establishment has a strict 'no sore losers' policy."

The man sounded way too pleased.

Yang bristled, "Oh, yeah? Well, let's see how you do without my patronage, so nyeh!" but that was all she could do as she stomped out like a boss. "C'mon guys. That game's for babies anyway."

Pyrrha placed her hand on Yang's shoulder once they were out on the street again. "Yang, are you alright? she asked the blonde who was mumbling to herself.

"First my sister, now my high score?! Does this guy's thievery know no end?!"

The ground rumbled.

"Did you feel that?" Weiss stopped walking.

"The shaking? I believe that's Yang's unbridled rage at all things Jaune," Blake supplied.

"No. No. I could have sworn that I- There!"

Pyrrha and Yang stopped walking as well.

"You're right. What could it be?" the champion asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it."

They all looked down the road where they could just barely make out the smoke rising above the rooftops.

~ • ~

Ruby was, once again, thankful that Blake made her wear pants that day because when one of Nora's grenades strayed and accidentally hit a freighter full of fire dust the resulting explosion tossed her one-hundred and ten-pound butt like a salad. If she'd been wearing her skirt, well, then everybody would have gotten a good look at what sort of underwear Blake made her wear as well.

"Urgh... wedgie." Ears still ringing, Ruby groaned as she picked herself up off the floor and adjusted her underwear through her pants, "uncomfortable."

Her pained mutterings were accompanied by another, "Wha' happen'?"

"Nora!" Ruby limped until her aura kicked in and she was able to run towards her friend who was on her back. "Are you okay?"

"I've been- Ah... I've been better," Nora replied as she clutched her battered elbow with her left hand while her right was just barely holding on to Magnhild. "Not one of my brightest moments. I'm sorry, Ruby."

This was bad; Nora's aura was already low enough that her injuries were taking longer to heal. Her reserves were no better. Checking her scroll, Ruby whimpered when she saw that they were already scraping the bottom of the yellow barrel. A few more hits and they'd be... not alive.

Ruby helped Nora stand. They had to get out of there before- "Oh, no."

The dust settled to reveal what she had feared. Men in Grimm masks surrounded them on all sides with guns trained on their barely-auraed bodies. Who were these guys? Why were they so strong? Not huntsman level strong, but no pushovers either. And with how many they were, they were more than a match for the two huntresses in training.

"R-Ruby..."

The tiny reaper faced her friend and found fear in the other girl's eyes.

"...you're sure Jaune is coming?"

Ruby was distracted from her reply when she heard guns cocking all around her. Their backs pressing together as the huntresses were corralled into a corner, Ruby realized that whatever comfort she had been about to give to Nora didn't matter. Because where Nora was scared...

Ruby was terrified.

Death via fusillade, what a way to go. Was this it then? Only fifteen years and she was already facing her end at the end of a gun barrel? Ruby clenched her eyes shut; she didn't want to see it coming. "I'm sorry, Yang..."

Then a thunderous cacophony of rifle fire filled Ruby's ears, and her teeth clenched at the pain she expected to blossom at any moment in every part of her body.

But it never came.

A shaken Ruby opened her eyes to a sight that both relieved and, quite honestly, frightened her. Because there, in between her and a hail of bullets, stood Jaune, sword at the ready and shield raised to defend. What was so scary about that, you may ask? Well, pardon her Gaul, but though she was glad to see him, her professor looked pissed.

Royally so.

And with the way he was staring her down while his head ducked behind his aegis, Ruby made no mistake exactly who at.

"Nora, are you alright?"

Ruby noticed how he did not ask her if she was okay as well.

"A little banged up but still standing, or uh- limping, I guess," Nora assured her leader. "Thank you for coming to help, Jaune."

The hard look Jaune wore on his face broke for just a moment as he smiled kindly at his ginger teammate. But only for a moment. His scowl affixed itself again when he faced forward. "Here's the plan: I'll distract them while you two run."

"Jaune, you can't-" Baleful blue eyes burned against her own with a suddenness befitting an Atlesian snowstorm. Ruby withdrew inside her cloak when a glance was all it took to cut her protests short. It was clear that Jaune would not take no for an answer this time.

"—You. run. Do I make myself clear, Ms Rose?" he ground out the words.

Ruby had never seen Jaune so angry, and for a moment, she was paralyzed before finally finding the squeak that was her voice needed to respond, "Y-Yes, sir."

"Outstanding," his reply was sarcastic but his tone was anything but; he was all business now. They could not be lax. "I'll be fine. Now. Ready on my mark."

Ruby and Nora tensed, unused to the pace Jaune set for and expected of them.

...

...

...

"Mark."

~ • ~

Jaune had to become the bigger target, and what bigger target was there than the one who leapt blindly into the fray?

"Ruby, come on! My leg's busted; I'm going to need your help getting out of here."

"B-B-But Jaune-"

"—Will be fine. He said so himself... and we trust him, right"

A pause.

"Right. Okay, but I'm coming back as soon as you're safe though."

"Double standaaaaards."

As he rushed the opposition, the hard-light forcefield his shield generated to protect the others collapsed. An inconsequential tactical decision seeing as that, by that time, all guns were locked on and firing at him. It should be safe enough for Ruby and Nora to retreat. Now, his job was to keep the White Fang occupied.

'White Fang...' he thought as he crashed into their collective, a hodgepodge of peoples billeting the fanatic and the misled. He remembered this fight in one of Ruby's stories. She, Penny, Sun, and Blake against Torchwick and the White Fang. This was the Battle at the Docks, team RWBY's maiden voyage into what had yet to be the ocean of conspiracies that Ruby herself had unravelled back in his timeline. This was the place team RWBY truly formed.

This was supposed to be their fight, not his, and especially not Nora's.

His breath caught as the revelation of what was happening right there and then threatened to pierce his mind with a frightening clarity. 'It's happening.'

Divergence.

The divergence was happening just as Ozpin warned him it would.

Dread, all-encompassing in measure and debilitating in its uncertainty, had the general's entire being clutched within its grasp. It made the air feel thick in his lungs and his limbs weigh twice as heavy; heavy with the knowledge that, for all his power, for all his training, for all his foresight, the great Wolves' Bane d'Arc did not know what would happen in the next few minutes.

And that terrified him more than anything else.

He had to end this quick. If there were no threats then he had nothing to fear. Jaune drew his blade with every intention of levelling the docks in its entirety until there was nothing left of it but the broken remains of those who sought to do his family harm. He struck...

...with his shield.

'What?' Wolf was stunned by his own action. What just happened? He tried again but, again, Akoúo̱ defied him when his arm swung it instead of Briar. 'Wh-What's going on?!' The soldier began to panic.

Why here? Why now? Why was his body betraying him this way?

Wolf resheathed Crocea into Akoúo̱ but did not mecha-shift her into a claymore. Instead, Jaune used her as one would use a bat. He did not understand why he was handicapping himself like this, but his body simply would not listen to reason. Trying again for the second time, Wolves' Bane forced his hand to grab his scabbard. He forced his arm to draw his blade, and though he felt resistance there, the general would not be denied his weapon. He pulled and pulled again until the force that kept him from fighting to his utmost wore thin.

The moment he was about the unleash Briar Rose from her prison, however, something—not exactly a word, more of a thought—thundered against the forefront of his consciousness. It did not speak, but the urge to stop what he was doing numbed his fingers. Wolf affixed Crocea back onto his arm and out came his shield. He ran past the White Fang all the way to the other side of the docks, placing his back against the sea and effectively boxing himself in. It made no sense!

"Honorable Faunus of the White Fang, please listen to me..." And now he was trying to reason with them?! Why? Why on Remnant was he talking when he should be fighting?

'For Blake,' the voiceless impressed upon his mind, and finally, Wolve's Bane understood what it was—or better said: who it was—that held him back.

It was himself. It was Jaune, the boy who shared his memories and still believed that there was a better way. The fool.

'I owe it to her to, at least, try diplomacy. I don't have to kill them. I don't want to.'

To Wolf's horror, he found himself sympathizing. For Blake then, he would do this one thing. That even when a veritable wall of bullets rattled against his aegis, he would talk, instead of fight. But... if that failed, then there would be nothing that could stop him from protecting Ruby.

Nothing.

Jaune had no reply to that.

"...stop this! You do your cause an injustice by following the thief, Roman Torchwick," Jaune addressed them all by trying to appeal to their misplaced hatred towards humans, but they still did not let up the assault. "Do not dishonour your mission by letting yourselves be misled! Torchwick seeks only to use you to accomplish his own ends! Please, for the sake of the Faunus that fights beside you, lay down your arms and live. Fight... and I can not guarantee any of you would see tomorrow. Choose."

Jaune held no hope that they'd hear him over the din of gunfire—much less, heed his words—but by some dust-blessed miracle, the downpour of ammunition trickled to a stop. Jaune risked peeking over his shield to see if the White Fang were actually listening to his warning, but it was not so. The only reason that they stopped at all was to reload.

With an eerie synchronicity, the White Fang discarded their spent mags and chambered fresh clips. At the same time, they raised their weapons against him.

Jaune's voice turned to gravel as Wolves' Bane took back full control. A deals a deal, after all, and now the Wolf would carve out what he was owed from their petty little hides. "You chose..."

Briar Rose bloomed into a blade as tall as Jaune.

"...poorly."

Eyes flickering this way and that, Wolf analyzed with practised ease the enemy's formations, plotting out optimum vectors of engagement even before the first trigger could be pulled. It was at this moment as his eyes scanned over the Fang that he noticed movement behind them. Debris from under one of the cranes began to shift, and out from the broken pile of crates emerged yet another acolyte of the cause. Jaune saw him look around, but instead of finding him, his eyes and his rocket launcher were drawn to another.

The general followed his line of sight and felt the cold chill of apprehension run up and down his spine when he saw just what—no—who the trooper was now aiming at. His eyes widening in panic, a whisper escaped his lips "...No."

Nora's arm slung over her shoulder, both hobbling towards safety, Ruby didn't even realize that she was in danger.

'No no no!'

Wolves Bane was not human, not in that moment, not when she was in danger. No, Wolf was a blur, haste made flesh. Pumping as much aura into his legs, it only took the span of a breath for him to close the gap that was the entire dock; a breath between him and the rocketeer; a breath to keep him from firing on his partner.

And it only took a breath to change "just in time" to "far too late".

Wolves' Bane chambered his greatsword against his shoulder, ready to run the man through from stem to stern, and just when it mattered most... Jaune faltered. 'No!' A breath...

...that was all it took.

[Click. FWOOSH!]

"NO!"

~ Atlesian Pantheon Index ~

As I was saying: the general is a very special huntsman with the ability to imbue and bestow his aura upon other aura users. Not the flashiest of semblances, but the applications, could you even imagine? To be able to share aura, that, already, is something amazing in and of itself, and then Jaune showed us that it was even more amazing than we first realized.

It was during an unsanctioned operation that the discovery was made. Our boys were holding out against the Grimm on the northern frontier when Jaune felt something amiss. I won't bore you with the details, but if you want to know what I'm talking about, I'm sure that there are logs about it in the Pantheon.

Anyway, Jaune suspected that the Grimm were pulling a fast one on us and that we were only holding out against a diversionary force. Nobody believed him, so only he and his second in command ended up going to the place where he believed an infiltration group would attempts a pincer manoeuver.

Needless to say that he was correct.

So now there they were at the breach, two hunters in T1 battle armour against thousands of Grimm. Even now I shudder at the thought of what it must have been like to stand there in the middle of it all.

The battle was long. Jaune and Ruby had to hold out or our main forces would have been surrounded and overrun. Communications were down meaning no chance to signal for help. That's when the general ordered his XO to run and return with aid while he held the Grimm at bay.

One man against a tide of endless Grimm...

Again, I won't bore you with the details. By the time Ruby came back with reinforcements, in all honesty, we were surprised to see his Myrmidon still standing. Fighting. Holding on.

What's wrong with this picture?

Well, let me tell you. The electricity dust used to run his mech should have long been depleted.

Now, are you getting what I'm trying to say? Do you see?

Jaune, in his last-ditch effort to stay the Grimm, began feeding his aura into the empty dust cells of his Myrmidon. It. was. sen-sational!

To use aura as a power source is not a new concept. Scientists have been trying for years to figure out how to do just that. We have built weapons and machines that would supposedly replicate what Jaune did that day way before Jaune even did it! But the experiments were never conclusive.

There was just no way of transferring aura from one person to another without killing the host.

What we didn't realise, and what Jaune taught us, is that our machines were missing one fundamental key to the process.

Emotion.

~ • ~

[Lub-dub.]

It was like watching a disaster happen in slow motion. Jaune saw everything from the way Ruby turned, to the way her eyes grew. Jaune even saw when the realization hit her that there was no dodging the rocket without leaving Nora for dead. He saw the acceptance in her eyes when she used her own body to shield her friend.

[Lub-dub.]

Then the rocket exploded, and just like that... she was gone.

[Lub-dub.]

Time resumed its natural flow, but the soldier of a time long forgotten remained frozen.

[Lub-dub.]

Jaune was cold.

He didn't even notice when he had fallen to his knees, staring unblinkingly at the smouldering wreck that was once the woman he had loved, lost, found, and then lost all over again.

[Lub-dub.]

Anger. Fury. Denial. Sorrow. Despair.

Emotions waged war within the general's heart, and the grip he had lost in the moment returned with the creaking of leather. Briar groaned underneath her master's touch.

Then... nothing, a void now seeming to occupy the space inside his chest.

[Lub-dub.]

Like rain dousing an inferno, Jaune was left with nothing in its wake. Only the coldness remained. Empty.

[Lub-dub.]

Slowly he became aware.

Just as how one would slowly raise the volume of a radio, the first of his senses to return was his hearing. Sound slowly began to trickle into his subconscious. He could hear gunfire.

Second, came touch. He could feel bullets pelting the skin of his back. Only then did he notice his aura flaring all around him. The pain was muted like pinpricks when you slept on your leg wrong. It didn't hurt but it was there.

Finally, came sight...

But what Jaune saw was not reality.

The docks began to change right before his very eyes.

[Lub-dub.]

Snow replaced pavement. Morning's fog became a blizzard's whiteout. Even the warmth of summer was chased away by winter cold.

Once again, the general found himself in his last fleeting campaign for Atlas, the Battle at the Breach, his greatest failure.

And all around him, Jaune no longer saw men wearing white masks. What he saw was the ivory of bone set against the ebony of Grimm. Jaune no longer saw lives that he should spare, no.

They were now no more than a conglomerate of soft spots and weaknesses.

Not men.

But targets.

[Lub-dub.]

Standing up, Wolves Bane pried open the grip Jaune had over his body—not that there was much left of it. He was just as numb as he was at that point. Good.

This was his fault, after all.

He did this.

He killed Ruby.

Jaune let out a shuddering breath when the thought finally finished sinking in.

That he had killed his best friend.

Ruby was gone... because he hesitated.

[Lub-dub.]

Suddenly, Wolf's coldness made perfect sense to Jaune.

The cold made things clear.

The cold knew no mercy.

The cold was impartial.

Cold was precision.

Cold was calculation.

Cold was deadly.

Cold was death.

[Lub-dub.]

Jaune was cold... So very cold...

[Lub...]

But he would make them colder still.

[...dub]

White light bathed the evil in the dark as Briar Rose's blade of Dustless ignited ivory unto retribution.

~ • ~

"Over here, guys. I think we're getting close!"

"Yang, are you sure we should even be here? Shouldn't we let the authorities handle this?"

"We're huntresses; we are the authorities."

"Huntresses in training," Pyrrha helpfully reminded.

"Ah, details-schneetails."

"Hey!"

Eventually turning the corner, four young women stood stock still at what they saw.

"What... the..." Blake breathed out in horror.

Becoming more alert, it was Pyrrha who spotted something over in the distance. "I think I see someone over there. Is that-"

"—RUBY!" rang loud Yang's anguished cry.

~ Atlesian Pantheon Index ~

Thank dust that Dustless don't need them pesky emotions to charge, and with enough time, we were finally able to develop a matrix that allowed hunters to safely store their aura inside the empty dust crystals. This means that each huntsman could build up a veritable stockpile of aura when not in combat! Think of it as a, uh, blood bank of sorts. Amazing really. This discovery alone forever revolutionized how hunters did combat.

Not saying that the technology is perfect. It isn't. The process in which aura transfers from huntsman to machine then from machine to crystal, is slower. Also in this way, aura becomes diluted and less potent; meaning that Dustless will always empty out faster than dust does.

One last drawback is that huntsmen can't reabsorb the aura they've put inside the crystals. Remember emotion? That's why we use Dustless to power our weapons, armour, and mechs instead. Maybe in the future, if we still had time, we'd find a way, but right now, to even try would spell only death.

So, in conclusion, the immense power to give remains exclusively with our esteemed general. However, he did give us the chance and immense honour of at least knowing what it's like.

Appropriate, if you asked me...

~ • ~

Ruby had never used her semblance on another person before and the experience had left her drained. Safe, but drained. Maybe a little scorched here and there, but hey, who else was fast enough to outrun an explosion? Ruby was pretty proud of herself. Or, at least, she would have been if she were conscious.

Jaune did not know this. Jaune did not see this.

Once he'd dealt with every last one of the White Fang, all he saw was the shadow of a memory of a broken woman whose burns reached deep into her bones.

All he saw was Ruby dead on the concrete floor.

"This- This is a joke, right? Right?! Jaune what is going on over there?! My HUD's telling me that Ruby- She-… It's got to be a mistake, Jaune!"

A mistake...

"What the hell happened?! Is Ruby okay?! he heard Yang yell, inside his head or out of it, he didn't know, but he replied just the same.

"She's fine..." he whispered the same answer years before, while aura began to seep out from his ORCL like a fine mist.

"...I'll make sure of it."

~ Atlesian Pantheon Index ~

...because if emotions are what bind the souls of people together, then I'll tell you right now that I have never met a man that's loved as fiercely as the Arc boy has, especially, when it came to a certain young Rose.

—Dr Pietro Polendina

Aaaaanywho, how's about that chapter huh? I bet you guys are just brimming with questions and protests like: #WhiteFangOP! #DustlessTheWhat?! #NotCanon... #WhereMyWhiteKnightAt?!

Not to mention I cheated. Yeah, yeah, I know. I promised you all a fight scene, and this is what you get? "Treachery!" I hear the guy in the back shout, and all I could do is wallow in my shame.

I've never written a fight scene before so I was very hesitant. I was afraid of falling into the trap called "The Wall of Text" many a fight scene I have ever read always seem to fall prey to. If my readers glossed over parts that I have written because of wordiness, well, that'd be the worst because instead of entertain I simply wasted our time. And I don't want that. Instead here is a fight scene that is admittedly short, describing less the fight and more the emotion of a fight.

But chill, guys. I got this.

The real reason why I wanted to do the fight this way was because I didn't want to reveal just how strong Jaune is yet, especially with Ruby unconscious. C'mon, we all know the "Jaw Drop" scene, and we love it. The last thing I want to do is botch that up because I was impatient.

So what did you think? Did you love it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments.

TTFN!