Jaskier stood on the edge of the cliff that overlooked the path that the Nilfgaardians were taking, snow packed around him to hide him from view. He could see and sense the others near him, their forms vibrating from the cold and Jaskier would feel bad if he didn't know they had their own signs to protect them from the chill.

Hoofbeats echoed loudly to Jaskier drawing his attention to the south, eyes catching the dust in the air from the rapidly approaching army. There was more than reported, much more nearly a hundred and Jaskier wasn't sure that the four of them were able to go up against all of that without grievous wounds or death. Yet, he did not move or let the doubt of all their abilities to form in his mind as he saw his target.

Goodbye to my enemies, to my enemies
They try to beat me but I won't surrender
Fear won't be the death of me, d-d-d-death of me
I won't go quietly into the night

His hand shook, rattling the small silver bells to signal the others to light the bombs, his other hand already forming Igni and braced himself. A series of loud pops of the bombs exploding was heard followed by the sound of rocks cracking till it became a roar of sound as the snow began to avalanche. A pleased rumble escaped his lips as the front of the army got swallowed by the snow, though that was only a quarter of the troops that could not avoid it.

My pain is a memory, a m-m-memory
Pouring over like the stormy weather
Won't get the best of me, best of me
I won't go quietly into the light

"Now or never." He growled, teeth pulling at the cork stopper and downing the potion.

Jaskier gagged as the liquid burnt all the way down, he could feel his blood burning within his veins with each sluggish beat of his heart. The ache in his bones and body tripled as it grew, preparing for what was about to come and then settling into the familiar numbness. It was the haze that settled over his mind that he hated, it tinted his vision red and made it sharper… it bubbled up in him like a hurricane until he could withstand it no more.

The valley paused briefly as a loud ear-shattering roar cracked over the top of the dying troops, orders and the settling of the mountain.

Eyes turned to where the sound came from, trying to spot the monster that caused it as they all rallied around the White Flame. No beast flew over the mountain range, no wyvern or dragon they were expecting but one lone figure seemed to fly off the mountain with force, glinting silver in the sunlight.

Fear struck as the figure dropped down to the ground in a solid boom, landing in a crouch that sent the earth flying up around him. The soldiers close to it backed away, nearly stumbling over their fellow man at what they saw. It was no man for no man could survive that fall and stay unharmed, nor would their skin ripple with red and black veins.

Burning gold eyes snapped open and pierced down to their very souls, red-black rapidly swallowing the white of the beasts' eyes till there was nothing but that colour to be seen.

"WITCHER!" One man screamed as he watched the beast stand, the silver swords, claws and Medallion glinting in the light.

A savage smile pulled at Jaskier's lips revealing elongated teeth, he gave them a heartbeat longer to gather themselves before he charged forward, claws slashing out and cutting through soft flesh. Screams rent the air as he laughed, his mind focusing on all the soft weak points of armour, the taste of blood on his tongue as he used his teeth to rip out throats when his claws were occupied.

Vaguely he was aware of the Vipers circling around him, surprised when he saw a flash of familiar Bear Armour further down. Arrows pierced him, swords striking true, but it was like a dull recognition. Skin knitted back together for the shallow cuts, skin melding around the shafts of the arrows as Rage did its job quickly and in the back of his mind Jaskier knew the pain to remove them will be agonizing.

A glint of gold and black more brilliant and ornate than those around him stood out as Jaskier threw one of the vials on his satchel, acid spraying in a burst causing the few men around it to scream and give him room to traverse.

His boot crunches down viciously on an arm that was reaching for a sword, he growls a warning as he passed the soldier, moving on like always. He pulls his claws back and draws his swords as the soldiers surrounding the White Flame seemed to find their courage.

Silver meets steel with a flurry of sparks, the steel snapping with the force Jaskier put behind his swing while he turns to block another. Left foot connects with a kneecap breaking it back and spinning to kick another attacker while pulling the second man over his shoulder and bodily tossing him into three others.

Jaskier… please answer us! Eskel's voice rings out in panic distracting him enough that the soldier he was facing slashes him in the thigh, sending him to his knee but he didn't slow, didn't stop. Don't let it be true!

What's going on?

Eskel?

What the fuck did you find out?

The voices grew loud in his mind, their panic and confusion clouding over the rage and causing him to falter. A roar escaped his lips as he felt a sword dig deep into his side, another biting into the meat of his palm as he stopped the blade from striking his neck.

Jaskier, please… Eskel begged, his voice breaking. Please be alive, please… let the rumours in Oxenfurt be untrue.

A canopy of noise followed the voices of the Witchers he gave his mark to echoing loudly, all panicking. Each one screaming his name down the pendant that it pierced the rage and dulled it, fuck no, that can't happen not here, not now. He took another blade to the body as he left his right open to grab the pendant.

Alive… he growled low, unable to hide that side effect of Rage even in his mind. Ves…

I'm here cub… I'm here… Vesemir replied silencing all the voices at once.

Gron appeared out of the fog that came from the left, the air thick with it indicating one of the Vipers released their own bomb of some kind. His mentor's voice was twisted in his own fury, eyes black with Cat. It took him several beats of a witcher's heart to dispatch the soldiers that Jaskier was trying to hold back while communicating.

"Are you good, Cub?" Gron asked through gritted teeth, the sound like thunder.

Swallowing Jaskier nodded, taking the hand that was held out for him and hoisting him up. His mentor's eyes widened as he took in Julien, the wounds, the arrows and the way bones in his chest seemed to creak with each breath. His hand twitched to the vials at his belt to offer Swallow, but he knew that it wouldn't help, would make it worse.

In a blink Julien moved, hands gripping his mentor and spun, taking the sword that was meant for him through the back and out of his stomach. A guttural growl escaped both bears, swords relieving the body of its head in a blink.

Yet, Gron didn't notice the bottle of Rage he brought with him if he needed it was taken in the scuffle till he turned to Julien and saw him down it with a resigned grimace.

"NO!" He snarled hand going for the vial of White Honey only to find himself hoisted and tossed towards one of the others, his eyes closing briefly as he realised that Julien didn't wish to be saved. Determination set in as he landed, then he will do all he could to make it easier for his Cub.

The second dose of Rage was a mistake, he knew it. Why hurtle your fate along faster? Letho's question from the other day had him laughing, the sound causing the air to thicken with the bitter rotting stench of fear.

His fingers twitched in Vorg around him, his hand shakily reached for the pendant as his eyes tracked the White Flame battling Serrit and one of his brothers. He had to concentrate hard over the rage that ate away at his mind and made his body thrum with the need to move but he had to… he had to reply to the others. His brothers.

Vesemir's name on his mind. I'm sorry… I... tell…

Cub, where are you? Vesemir's voice was concerned and gruff, something he had seen long ago directed at the kids and it didn't belong directed at him.

Ciri safe? He managed to get out with gritted teeth as he began to move once more, fingers forming Quen and Aard instead of blades or claws.

Yes Cub, now where are you? Eskel will come, we will come. The voice was more urgent now.

A gruff laugh escaped his lips as he pushed vague images of war down the bond. He couldn't allow them here, not when the second dose of rage was starting to blind him even to those familiar, he was rapidly sinking back into instinct, and no one was safe from him. He could vaguely understand the words being spouted at him from all around and in his mind, but he couldn't answer, not when the last clear thought he had was recognizing the face of the White Flame.

His hand dropped and finally, he let the Rage do what it wanted him to do. Hunt.

X

Vesemir jerked as the scent of fear and panic hit him like a punch to the gut. It was a scent he had not smelt so strongly from his boys since the trials. Lambert was pacing and muttering to himself, hand wrapped tight around the pendant, panic clear on his face.

Aiden and Coën were no better.

"What's happened?" He asked with masked panic of his own.

"Eskel and Geralt went to Oxenfurt, Jaskier is dead." Aiden choked out hands clenching and unclenching as his eyes shifted nervously around. Lambert rushed to his side and held him close as he saw the spark of something dark in the eye of his lover. "He can't be!"

Alive… roared down the bond stilling all that heard it, surprise on the faces of the three before him but it caused Vesemir to stiffen, he knew that voice. Ves…

I'm here cub… I'm here… Vesemir replied silencing all the voices at once, ignoring the disbelieved looks aimed at him.

It took a beat or two for the reply to come and from the looks on the other three, only Vesemir heard it. I'm sorry… I... tell…

Cub, where are you? Vesemir demanded straightening and hurried towards the stillroom where Triss was. Aiden, Lambert and Coën followed behind him demanding to know what was happening, what was going on, but Vesemir couldn't reply to them, had to listen for the guttural voice.

Ciri safe?

"Fuck," He snarled out loud as he began to move faster, basically flying over to the cabinet in the corner that held their stockpile of Potions and rummaged till he found the Superior White Honey. If Julien had downed a dose of that blasted Rage Potion the Bears favoured, then this was the only thing that will negate it. "Someone tell Eskel to be ready."

Yes Cub, now where are you? Eskel will come, we will come. He stressed as he began to gather supplies, all the while ignoring the questions behind him. Gagging when images coated in a Rage Haze were pushed at him, he could taste the blood and feel the agony of the Potion in his own body.

One thing he saw before the silence was Nilfgaards crest glinting in the sun.

Ragged breaths escaped him as he gripped the table with white knuckles, pushing through the haze with all his might. He had always been curious about what the potion would feel like, all Witchers that weren't Bears desired to know but with the warning from those of the school, none dared to consume the potion, not after the Viper.

"Triss, a portal to Eskel and Geralt, they need to be here now." He gritted out to the sorceress who nodded at him with wide eyes, hands raising. "Someone get them."

Coën nodded and stepped through the portal, he didn't have the negative effects like the others and soon they were back. Lambert and Aiden pushed the large table away to fit the two horses in the still room. Geralt and Eskel looked haggard, Ciri hiding behind Geralt while the woman who took her moved towards Triss.

"Julien is alive," Vesemir replied wearily. "Though, I don't know how true that will be for much longer. He wouldn't tell me where he was, but I saw that he was in the middle of a battle with Nilfgaard."

Geralt jerked forward, a keen escaping his lips. "He's not a fighter, why…"

Vesemir and Aiden looked at one another at that and then in surprise as they realised that they knew the truth.

"Wolf," Vesemir started unsure of how to inform him.

Yennefer sighed softly as she saw the eldest Witcher hesitate, she already lost Jaskier's trust the moment she took Ciri… she might as well continue. "Because he's a Witcher."

"What!" Several voices rang out, those that knew him.

It was only after several denials that Yen silenced them, her eyes never leaving Geralt's as he stood frozen in shock. "I found him in Oxenfurt as you know, he was being tortured by Fire Fuck. Though when I walked in to help, I saw him cast a Witcher sign and then saw his face."

"How…" Geralt started, the words clawing their way out his throat. "How did we not know."

"Because of his curse." Yen replied and saw when Geralt finally connected the dots. "It's killing him Geralt, the longer he wears his Medallion."

Her voice was soft, but it seemed to echo the room loudly, striking true to those that come to call the bard brother. But the words seemed to strike at Geralt more, his face contorting in a way that Eskel hadn't seen since the trials.

"We need to find him," Geralt rasped after several moments, eyes flickering to each of them. "Please, we need… I need to find him."

X

Jaskier snarled viciously as he was blocked from his prey once again, flying back as the horse kicked him. He felt his arm break from the landing, yet it didn't deter him more as he used the momentum to flip and push forward. Aard flew from his fingers powerfully and sent the rider back viciously.

His reaction times were slowing, even with Rage in his system, a true testament that his injuries were severe but he would not, could not, stop till the White Flame was dead. A scream of rage escaped his lips as he was delayed once more, snarling and viciously clawing at the soldiers in his path. His left arm was useless, but his right was still serviceable.

Suddenly Letho, Auckes and Serrit were in front of him, their hands forming a sign he didn't know just as a resounding boom echoed before them a torrent of icy wind swirled around them. North Wind… his mind supplied as when the frost cleared it revealed frozen soldiers.

Letho stepped aside, eyes burning with fire. "Go."

A feral snarl escaped his lips as he charged forwards, the frozen statues of the soldiers crumbling to pieces as he collided with them, but he cared not, not when his prey was so close.

Silver sword met steel as the White Flame spun to block the oncoming blow. Jaskier staggered back in horror as he got a good look at the face, a face he was familiar with but was told died long ago. Duny, Ciri's father. "You fucking flaccid cock."

The words were ripped from him in a rumbling snarl, forced out strong enough that he could taste blood.

"My, I thought it was the Wolf who was disrupting my men in their search for Cirilla but it was you all along Bard. Perhaps I should have listened to that pathetic druid when he tried to tell us." The White Flame sneered back, grunting when he deflected the swipe with ease.

"Why!"

"Because she will bear my child as prophesied and bring about the pure age of Nilfgaard." Duny spat, eyes widening as he saw the Bard-now-Witcher seem to radiate heat as he snarled viciously, the snow melting around him and he had a moment to dodge as the sword sliced at him.

Jaskier was relentless, fury boiling over and finally, all sense of recognition fled him. There was nothing but the hunt, the desire for blood and his prey's screams. His prey will feel every inch of suffering he could dish out, his mind a repeat of Kill. Protect. Kill.

All the Bear Witchers froze as the air rippled with a snarl, their eyes snapping to the middle of the battle where they could see Julien, his frame twice the size as it should be, the red-black veins pulsing under his ashen skin in a way that shouldn't. As one they moved towards their Brother, each preparing for what was to come when he finally completed his hunt.

Gron snagged one of the Vipers as he passed, one that he knew of and didn't question. He had seen all three stand before his Cub and protect him. "Be prepared, when Julien finishes, he will not recognise us. He's too far gone in his rage; we will have to work it out of him."

"Fuck, we'll be ready, he asked me to call a woman, Levana," Letho replied as he, Auckes and Serrit tossed back Thunderbolt and blizzard. There was no other way the three of them would be able to face Julien like this, his reflexes way too fast but with Thunderbolt and Blizzard, they'll be able to dodge easy enough and strike hard.

Jaskier calculated, even like this he was too injured and what should have been an easy fight was taking too long. There was only one option left and he took it, he let his guard slip and surged forward, the sword of the White Flame slicing through his chest, so very close to his heart. A grin pulled at the fuckers face, though it slowly slipped into one of disbelief and pain as he looked down to see Julien's claw dug into his chest, with a twist of the Bear's wrist the heart beat no more.

Numbness began to sink in as he watched the life fade from Duny's eyes, his claw ripping out viciously and with a squelch, the body dropping to the muddy ground. A shaky hand reached up to the hilt of the Nilfgaardian sword buried in his chest, a ragged gasp forming as he tried to yank the sword out but was unable to.

Black of unconsciousness and the red haze of rage battled within his mind. He could feel several Axii's barraging his mind, vaguely aware of a portal opening around him and being walked through. Green eyes peered at him with fear as another set of hands ripped the sword from his chest.

He was distantly aware of voices around him, the sound like a hive of bees. He struggled under the Axii, his rage still burning thick in his veins. Magic raced over him, tried to heal all the wounds he had but it wasn't working, wouldn't till the rage settled some.

Fuck… Voleth Meir has Ciri…

Where is Aiden?

He's gone to find the others…

Tolbert is dead, Everard was barely alive, any deeper and he would have bled out.

Merigold and that bitch sorceress are trying to make an extraction potion.

What the fuck kind of Basilisks are they?

They were the only clear words Jaskier could understand, and it sent his heart racing as he got images with the words, Kaer Morhen in utter chaos. Basilisks twice the size they should be attacking them all.

The witchers groaned as one as Julien snapped through their Axii, one of them shoving his arm in the path of his grip at the Sorceress who was trying to heal him, taking his strength.

"Julek, let me heal you please." Lev tried once more, her hands pressing over the wound near his heart. "Please."

"No," Julien replied, his eyes deepening in colour. "Portal. Kaer Morhen. Now."

"No Julek, you can't go," Levana whispered unable to speak louder, she could hear what was happening, her mind locking onto his mind the moment they pulled him through the portal. It was agony but she needed to know if he would break their control.

Black eyes peered back at her, "Now Lev."

She could see all he saw, felt all he felt and as much as she wanted to keep him here and safe, she knew what would happen if she denied him. He was already categorizing his exits, marking the others as enemies. He knew she was but the others, no recognition.

A sob tore at her throat as she sought in her minds eye where the pendants of his were, a scream tearing from her throat as she broke through the barriers of the keep and pulled them all through.

X

The Witchers in Kaer Morhen fought hard to keep the basilisks busy while Geralt tried to get through to Ciri. Two of their brothers fell under their beak and claws, many of them injured. Eskel had Coën under Quen as he tried to hold in his guts from a vicious claw swipe.

They were losing.

Well, they were, till a portal ripped open in the middle of the battle bringing forth a sight they couldn't believe. Several Bear Witchers and Vipers appeared in a black mist, but it was Jaskier who stunned them all. His frame hulking, heaving with ragged breaths as he steadied himself. Arrows stuck out of his back broken, left arm held awkwardly up like it was broken but still being used. His eyes glowed like fire, teeth bared as he charged forward, body twisting and his claws striking true.

The Vipers took one of the Basilisks, their forms dodging and striking like their namesakes. Blades sizzled the flesh of the creature as Letho wrapped his arms around the bulging neck and twisted, bringing it down for Auckes, Serrit and a Witcher he didn't know took its head.

Everything was chaos, Geralt being tossed back by a hulking white basilisk out the doors followed by Julien who had a moment of clarity as his eyes locked with Geralt's as he struggled under the beast. Grief and an emotion Geralt couldn't place reflected back at him before resolve melted it away, he only had a moment to scream Jaskier's name as he tackled the beast over the ramparts.

Geralt spun, his chest burning from the acid and the force he screamed as he watched Jaskier and the beast fall, neither got up once they hit the ground. No, please no…

"JASKIER!"

Author Note: Wooo boy…. Uh so this is a thing… sorry?