I don't own RWBY. Rooster Teeth does.

He felt numb. He felt nothing. This wasn't real. This wasn't happening. Yet, he could feel her fading away. He could feel her life essence flowing through his fingers, staining his shirt and the earth below them a rich shade of crimson. A red that was deeper than the hair he had fallen in love with.

"Pyrrha?" he turned her over, seeing the hole in her chest, made from the dust katana of the bandit chieftess before him. Her breathing was becoming erratic as she struggled to take in oxygen. Her eyes were lidded, on the verge of closing shut forever and the emerald eyes that had greeted him day in and day out, his very source of comfort, were losing their light.

"Pyrrha, come on this isn't funny," Jaune said, placing his hand over her chest, attempting to put pressure on her wound to keep her from bleeding.

"J- Jau-..." she coughed up blood. Or was that part of her alveolar tissue? All she knew was that the katana had stabbed her directly in the lung. She felt like she was drowning. Drowning in her own blood. She didn't have long and none of them had any experience fixing a punctured lung, especially not one this severe. She was going to die here and she knew it.

"What a shame…"

His head whirled around so fast, he might have snapped his own neck performing the action.

"She was such a promising huntress yet she died following a man who sent her to her death. Both you and her are just pawns in his game," Raven said, attaching another dust blade to the hilt of her sword.

"Shut up," Jaune said, his eyes flickering to violet. His aura began to slowly envelop him as he bared his teeth at her. Raven ignored him, pressing on with her words.

"But in the end, pawn or not, she's just another person who fell victim to the natural law of the world. The weak die while the strong survive. That is the life of those who decided to become a huntsman. It was clear that she was never ever cut out for this profession… prioritizing another's life over her own was her first and last fatal mistake," she said, looking down at Jaune.

She knew that Pyrrha didn't have time. With each passing minute, she was growing closer to death's door and while whatever aura the girl had left staved off death, it wouldn't last forever. And she meant what she said. The girl had a future within the world of Hunters and Huntresses. She was talented, hardworking, and skilled just from a glance. But in the end, she prioritized the survival of others over her own. A flawed ideal in a world where people died young. In this world, Raven believed that one had to look after themselves and their interests. Not worry themselves with the safety of those who did nothing to contribute. Of course, she didn't know their past so she would not assume. She would merely lament the loss of such talent before it could fully bloom under the harshness of a reality that the Huntsman Academy never truly prepared them for.

"Raven." A voice caused her to turn to see Glynda flicking her riding crop, sending her flying into one of the remaining tents.

"You could've let us go," she said, "But now… you severely hurt one of my students and that I cannot forgive. I held back in respect of the past we had and the camaraderie we once shared but I cannot look past this."

Goodwitch's semblance seeped into the ground around her. The ground shook violently as she ripped out entire chunks of earth. Large pieces of what remained of the camp began to float into the air. She flicked her riding crop at Raven, creating several energy glyphs as she activated the dust inside it.

"I can no longer in good faith allow you to continue operation. My show of mercy has proven to be a fatal mistake," she said as she prepared to fire on them.

"Pyrrha?"

The heartbroken voice of the male Arc student caused her to turn some of her focus on to him. He held the body of Miss Nikos tightly. She obviously was dying as Raven so eloquently pointed out. She could see no movement, indicating that she had passed out from blood loss. At least her death would be painless as she would be unconscious.

"Pyrrha, please wake up," he said, hugging her tightly as he stared at her beautiful face, marred with blood. She looked so serene, almost as if she was just asleep. But Jaune knew better than that. He knew better than to believe such things.

No. No. Despair filled him entirely. That despair was followed by something else. Something so deep-rooted that he hadn't felt it in so long. This was stronger than the anger he felt at Team RWBY and the anger he felt for the student body. For their hypocrisy and acting like they never tormented him for his mistake. No, this was far worse. Was it wrath? Was it something else? He wanted to make this woman pay. Pay for taking away what was his. He would never go through something like this again.

A voice so unfamiliar and familiar at once echoed inside his head the longer he stared at her.

"I'm sorry…"

"Never again…" His words were muttered quietly as he was engulfed in a violet aura. His hatred and wrath had won over and now… he felt himself snap. As he felt her heartbeat fade away, he let go and the flood gates inside him burst. His mouth opened as he let out a sound that no Human or Faunus could possibly ever make in their entire life. It was a mix of the scream of an anguished man and a demonic beast. His howl shattered the silence of the woods as flocks of birds took to the skies, fleeing for their lives.

Glynda, Raven, and the others had no time to react as a thunderous shockwave blew them all off their feet. Alice summoned her aura arms to keep her from being thrown back any further, using a tree branch. She saw Ren and Nora flying towards her and formed other aura arms to catch them.

"W- What… was that from the enemy?" Ren coughed as he balanced himself on the tree branch next to Alice and Nora.

"It felt like an entire warehouse of dust exploded," Nora said, dusting herself off. "What do you think, Alice?"

She didn't respond to Nora's question, instead feeling a tugging on her own aura. Whatever just happened triggered something in her and was causing her to resonate with it. But all that could be figured out later as her eyes were wide in shock as she peered past the foliage at the devastation before her.

There was a massive crater at the center of the camp, or what was the camp. She could barely call it that anymore. From a first glance, she could only guess at the size of this. This seemed to be as large as an entire city block or possibly spanning a surface area comparable to Midtown in Vale. Alice spotted several remaining structures that got lucky when that explosion went off. She also spotted several bandits from the camp groaning in the trees, indicating that they had been thrown back by the initial shockwave as well but she could only begin to think of what happened to the rest. Were they instantly wiped out by that blast?

"Where's Jaune?" Ren asked, eyeing the devastation with slight apprehension.

Alice merely pointed at the sphere. It was the only possible place Jaune could be. She didn't need her connection to him to be able to point that out.

"What? Is he in… oh Oum no, he's not," Nora said.

"I can feel him in there," she said, assuring Nora by bringing up their twin bond.

Glynda shakily got to her feet and walked to the edge of the forest, in the direction of the camp. She spotted several unconscious bandits, most likely from the shockwave of the blast. The rest were probably dead. As she neared the edge, she came to the rim of a massive crater.

"What in Mikhael's name is this?"

"I can ask you the same thing…"

She turned around and pointed her weapon at the voice behind her. Raven looked at her, no worse for wear. A few cuts and grazes here and there from being suddenly thrown by such a force.

"What did you and Ozpin do?" she asked.

"What do you mean what did we do?" Glynda looked confused. What was with her? What did she even mean by that statement?

"What did you and the others do?"

"I don't understand what you're referring to," she said, crossing her arms.

Raven let out a frustrated sigh and turned her around, pointing at the cracking sphere.

Wait… cracking? Her eyes narrowed as her hand twitched for her sword. Without warning, the sphere shattered, sending a massive gust of wind in all directions. Raven and Glynda shielded their eyes as the wind buffeted them.

"Huh?" Raven didn't register it until she was mid-flight. She was launched. No, to be far more accurate, something had thrown her and it wasn't the wind. Her body had registered the pain of being hit.

She twisted her body in mid-air and managed to control her fall, landing on a branch. She gripped the hilt of Omen tightly as her eyes scanned her surroundings.

A twig snapped, causing her to turn rapidly in that direction. Her instincts suddenly screamed at her to move. As she did, a massive violet claw splintered the branch she was on. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the culprit.

Jaune landed on the ground, cracking it with the sheer force of how hard he had landed. His entire body was shrouded in violet and black aura. His hair was floating slightly due to the amount of raw power he was emitting. A violet crown of two horns composed of pure energy adorned his head.

"What did they do to you?" she muttered. That was not aura that the boy was using. No, he was far more than a huntsman at this point. But how? She could only guess.

Jaune took one step and appeared in front of her, kicking up a metric ton of dust and dirt at the sheer force of his leap. Her eyes widened as she barely managed to dodge his strike.

She bore witness to the raw power that Jaune now possessed as his swipe rended the canopy around them to pieces.

With an inhuman roar, Jaune swiped at her in a blind rage. She dodged once more as the trees behind her were destroyed in the blast.

She fled, leaping from branch to branch, and glanced over her shoulder. He was hot on her tail.

"RAAGGHHH!" he roared as he extended an aura arm that latched onto her leg. Her eyes widened as she was pulled towards him. His hand reached out and wrapped around her face as a pair of aura wings sprouted from his back. He took to the air, breaking past the canopy.

Raven's eyes lit up, glowing as crimson flames adorned the edges of her eyes. She grabbed his arm and channeled electricity into it, sending enough voltage to knock a trained hunter with their full aura unconscious.

But he didn't budge. Instead, his glowing pits of violet that were his eyes bore into her own as he cocked his arm back and threw her with full strength to the ground, hundreds of feet below.

Alice, Ren, and Nora slid down the crater as they ran towards where the sphere once was. Jaune wasn't there as they had just seen him take to the sky with the bandit chieftess in his grip.

"PYRRHA!" Nora grabbed her as she knelt down. "I can't feel a breath or a pulse!"

"Damnit, come on Pyrrha don't die on us!" Ren said as he began looking for something in his pouch that wasn't broken.

Nothing. Just a shattered scroll and some broken dust crystals.

"Alice?" he asked.

She said nothing as she knelt before Pyrrha and grabbed her arm.

"She's still warm but…" she shook her head.

"But I can't feel a pulse," Nora said.

"Maybe her pulse is too weak," Alice said as she began to press her hand on Pyrrha's chest.

"What are you doing?" Ren asked.

"CPR," she answered.

"We can't. Her lung collapsed from that wound. We need to prevent oxygen from escaping the lungs," Ren chastised, removing her hand.

"Don't worry." They turned around to see Goodwitch walking over to them with her scroll in hand. "I called for a medevac to our location. She'll be fine but we need to keep her alive until they get here. For now, I need you to keep oxygen from escaping her body. Nora, remove her breastplate and anything under it."

"Right-!"

The ground underneath them shook as a massive dust cloud exploded right beside them.

"Focus! Use this and dress her wound to keep air from escaping!" Glynda said as she pulled some bandages out from a bag strapped to her waste.

Ren nodded as he, Nora, and Alice continued immediate first aid.

From the cloud, Raven flipped and landed, using her sword as support. Her body was surrounded in a flickering wave of red energy. Her aura. It was shattered.

Raven's senses didn't lie to her. She knew that now. This boy certainly had that power. Her mind raced through a million thoughts when she felt his overwhelming signature envelop her and them. She looked over her shoulder and saw Goodwitch stepping in front of her students and leveling her riding crop at her. No, not her. She saw the terror rooted in her eyes. She hid it well with that apathetic facade of hers.

A gust of wind blew her hair back as she prepared to fight the Arc Boy.

"I want you to answer me one thing, Glynda," Raven said as her eyes glowed underneath her mask. If that boy was going to use that against her, then she would retaliate in kind.

"Answer what?" she asked.

"How does he have Maiden power?" she asked.

"W- What?" Glynda felt a pit form in her stomach at her words.

"Maiden power?" Alice asked.

"What did you and the others do to him?" she asked.

"What are you talking about? Jaune's not a Maiden! Only women can be maidens!" Glynda retorted, wondering what nonsense and insanity Raven was spewing. That was impossible. Men cannot be maidens. The power seemed to only pass through women.

"Don't lie! It's the only possible-!" her sentence was cut off when a violet energy arm slammed into Raven, sending her flying to the rim of the crater. She gasped for air as she felt several of her bones break upon impact. She slid down unceremoniously, gritting her teeth as she felt shards from her ribs poking into her other organs.

The others turned to hear a low demonic growl as Jaune emerged. A soft violet glow could be seen radiating from his body. A pair of draconic energy wings sprouted from his back, a pair of horns crowned around his head and Glynda now knew why Raven called Jaune a Maiden. It was their most defining feature whenever their powers were active. His eyes. The telltale sign that someone was a Maiden. Jaune's eyes were wreathed in violet flames but there was something else about them that terrified Goodwitch to her core. His sclera were pitch-black like that of the Grimm.

"Jaune?" Alice got up from her spot and approached her brother.

Jaune let out an indecipherable noise akin to that of a lion mixed with a hyena that crossbred with a crocodile. He shot past her towards Raven, the current target of his ire.

Despite his increase in speed, her years of training allowed her to narrowly dodge his attack. She was sent sliding back as Jaune's fist slammed into the ground, shattering it and sending debris everywhere.

Glynda used her semblance to block the debris, preventing some of the larger ones from falling on them.

"JAUNE!" Alice yelled, taking off towards her brother.

"Alice no!" Glynda flicked her wand and restrained her.

"NO! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO GET TO HIM! HE NEEDS ME!" she struggled against Glynda's semblance, her eyes glowing gold as she pushed through.

Glynda's eyes widened when she found herself struggling to restrain the female Arc twin.

"Her eyes are like Jaune's…," Nora gasped when she saw the eyes of her female Arc friend.

Glynda's eyes widened when she heard Nora say that. Was this girl a Maiden? Did their twin bond somehow affect Alice's powers and grant Jaune pseudo-maiden status? No, that was impossible for Alice to be a Maiden. All the maidens were accounted for. The Spring Maiden was last seen leaving Mistral, James had confirmed that they were housing the Elderly Winter Maiden, the Summer Maiden was in Haven, and the Fall Maiden was in their custody.

Golden flames wreathed Alice's eyes as a golden glow came from her body, breaking Glynda's hold on her. She closed her eyes and focused more aura into her semblance but it was all for naught. A pair of massive angelic wings burst from Alice's back as she took off towards Jaune.

"Tch!" Raven was on the complete offensive with her only viable moves being dodging and defending. Whatever magic this was, or if it even was magic at all, it made him stronger, faster, and gave him abilities like hers. Was he some sort of experiment gone wrong? But this energy she felt was surely magic. There was no mistaking it.

She formed an icicle underneath her, launching herself into the air.

Jaune roared as several spheres of black fire formed around him. The spheres shot forward, seeking her.

Raven swung her katana, sending a wave of fire at the spheres. The attacks collided in mid-air producing a wondrous burst of lights and noises as the blast of hot air washed over the area.

Alice was nearly thrown back by the ensuing wave but pressed forward. The searing hot air battered against her aura as she made her way to her brother.

Raven landed on the ground, keeping an eye out.

Where did he go…?

Her eyes widened when she turned around to see Jaune's hand swipe across her face. His hand wreathed in violet flames as she was sent flying across the crater. Her mask shattered, corroded into nothingness by the toxic energy that coated the Arc boy's hands.

She skidded to a stop, her entire body hurting from the fight. She slowly sat up, spitting blood from her mouth as her red eyes glared at the berserk student. He disappeared from his spot and reappeared above her. She rolled out of the way as his fist made contact with the ground, creating a small crater.

"You killed her…"

Her eyes narrowed. This was the first piece of intelligent speech she had heard from him since he went berserk. Her options were limited. Nay, she only had two. Fight and die or run and live. But how… was there still anyone from her tribe left. She kept her gaze on his approaching form as she sensed for any members of her tribe.

"You took her away from me," Jaune said, walking forward.

Raven unconsciously took a step back.

"I will not lose her… never again," he muttered as his entire body became enshrouded in a translucent violet haze.

"NEVER AGAIN!" he roared as he swung his arm, producing an energy wave. Raven sidestepped, ignoring the aching in her torso. The wave cut into the rim of the crater, creating a trench that stretched for several hundred feet.

"JAUNE!"

Alice landed in front of her twin, holding her arms out.

"Snap out of it! Pyrrha needs us!" she yelled.

"Step aside, Alice," he growled, his aura shroud growing bigger. Clouds began to form above them and the winds began to pick up.

"Jaune, she's not dead. She's still-"

"I saw her die! And this bitch killed her!" he yelled.

"Jaune, just stop…"

Her eyes widened when she felt her brother rush past her. She turned to see Jaune with a ball of energy in his hand, ready to slam it into Raven.

Raven's eyes widened at the sudden burst of speed. Even she had been caught off guard by it. It was so sudden in the fact that she barely caught it. As such, she was barely able to defend herself in time. Her body's instincts had overridden the rational portion of her mind that told her not to show it but she would use it.

Red flames appeared around her eyes as she raised her arms to block a hit that would most likely vaporize her. A dome of thick ice formed around her as Jaune's energy ball slammed into it.

A massive wave of energy burst from Jaune's hand as the sphere made contact with the dome. The wave slammed into the forest, destroying several dozens of meters of forest leaving a massive dugout in the world.

Alice formed a barrier around herself to prevent from being thrown by the shockwave. Glynda did the same, protecting her other two students as well as her injured one.

She lowered her barrier as she stared wide-eyed at the devastation her twin brother had just wrought. Raven was no longer there. It was if she never existed.

That blast must have vaporized her, she thought as she warily approached her brother. Jaune still had the aura wrapped around him and the winds showed no sign of letting up.

"Jaune?"

She stopped when he whirled on her. The golden flames that surrounded her eyes returned as she instinctively raised a barrier around herself. Right now, her brother was not in the right state of mind. One wrong move and he could possibly turn on her.

"Jaune, I'm going to need you to calm down," she said, slowly approaching him. "She's gone. The bandit chief is gone. Please… pull yourself together. We can still get Pyrrha the help she-"

She raised Golden Lily and blocked the energy blade that nearly sliced her in half. She gritted her teeth at the sudden strength her brother had.

"Don't make me punch you in the face," Alice growled as she pushed back, surprised at her newfound strength. The golden flames around her eyes intensified as her now golden eyes glowed brightly. With one last push, she shoved him back and continued walking towards him.

Jaune let out ragged breaths, whatever semblance of sentience he had earlier had vanished and was once again replaced by this rampaging beast. The crown of horns around his head had grown visibly longer and the wings had become larger, exhibiting tearing at the edges.

"Snap out of it! Pyrrha needs us!"

Jaune just growled at her words and prepared to attack her when her next words stopped him.

"She's still alive."

The flames around his eyes flickered and dimmed slightly.

"What?"

Alice stared at her brother long and hard.

"She's still there but she won't be for long," Alice said.

Without saying another word, Jaune ran past her towards the others.

"Wait! Even if the medevac gets here, there's no guarantee that she won't die of blood loss on the way back!" Alice said, running after him.

He didn't care. He was going to help her. He had to help her in any way he could.

"Mister Arc…" Glynda looked at him warily as he ran past her. He knelt next to Pyrrha, seeing Nora still applying pressure to her wound.

"Jaune, it looks bad," Nora said.

"Let me," Jaune said. She nodded as he placed his hand over her wound.

Come on! Come on! Come on! Jaune closed his eyes and prayed for a miracle. Anything. Something. He couldn't lose her. He wouldn't be able to stand losing her.

"No, no, no, Pyrrha don't leave me," he muttered. He felt it. She was fading.

Nora looked away as she felt Pyrrha's skin slowly losing its warmth. They were too late. Even with the first aid they administered, the wound was too severe for them and Pyrrha's heart had stopped beating.

"No, no, no! NO!" Jaune sobbed, pressing his head against her chest. Nora looked away, tears streaming from her eyes. Glynda closed her eyes and looked away. The death of a student was always painful to her. Ren consoled Nora, tears streaming from his face as well. Alice knelt next to her brother and rubbed soothing circles on his back, despite having tears stream down her eyes.

"No, I refuse to accept this," Jaune said. Violet flames surrounded his eyes as his hands began to glow.

"Jaune?" Alice looked at him then noticed his eyes and the glow on his hands.

"Come on, Pyrrha! Don't die on me!" he said. His voice was that of a man in desperation. A man that was desperate to save the woman he loved.

Jaune's eyes opened to reveal the same violet and black eyes that he had used to fight Raven. The glow in his hands seeped into Pyrrha's wounds and engulfed her entire body.

"What… the?" Glynda looked on in shock and wonder. Her scroll beeped. Taking it out, she noticed that Pyrrha's aura bar was slowly going back up.

Jaune didn't care what was happening nor did he notice. All he wanted to do was save Pyrrha. Everything else didn't matter in that moment except for saving her. Her lifeforce was rapidly fading away but he managed to grab what remained. He didn't know how he had done it. He just did.

Alice gasped as a smaller crown of horns appeared on his head, his hand glowing even brighter as Pyrrha's entire body was engulfed in a violet light. Nora and Ren slowly backed away as the light slowly turned red. Suddenly, a violet wave of energy threw Jaune and the others back as the light died down.

Alice groaned as she got up, having passed out for a few seconds due to hitting her head. She looked over to her side and saw her brother unconscious.

"Jaune?" she shook him slightly. He let out a small groan and she sighed. He was just passed out. It made sense considering what just happened. She looked back over to where Pyrrha was and got up. She walked over to it and saw small sparks of red lightning arcing off her body before fading.

"What just happened?" Nora asked, walking over with Ren.

"I…" she was just as confused as they were. What did Jaune just do? Was that part of his semblance? No, their semblance was energy projection. They could project their aura in limited ways. A ball. A sphere. An arm. Wings even. It was a costly semblance but that was it. Healing was not their semblance.

"Pyrrha's wound," Ren said, kneeling down and lifting her wrist. He felt for a pulse and was surprised to find one. "I have a pulse but… that shouldn't be possible, Pyrrha's oxygen level was too low and her brain should've died. On top of that the amount of blood she lost…"

"We'll figure it out later," Glynda said, walking over to them. "Right now, we need to get Miss Nikos and Mister Arc ready for the MedEvac."

"What about the other bandits?" Nora asked.

"They will have most likely fled by now and I don't want to risk Miss Nikos and Mister Arc's health… besides, with Raven gone, I doubt that they have anywhere to go," she said. She grimaced, remembering how when Jaune had hit Raven's ice barrier and Raven, she had been engulfed in that fiery blast. There was no way, aura or not, that she survived that.

The sound of roaring engines caught their attention as they saw a bullhead approaching their location.

"Come on," Glynda said.

Rain poured from the skies as if the heavens were weeping for something or someone. This is where he found himself, running down the burning and smoldering ruins of a village located at the foot of the mountain. The smoke, fire, and rain did not suit this idyllic landscape. This was supposed to be a place of peace, not despair.

He stopped to see a hand sticking out of the burning rubble and his heart clenched. He was not to interfere. They were not to interfere with the Cycle they had established.

This village was innocent, even in the eyes of the Gods. The people here were simple nature loving folk who basked in the light that the Gods had provided for them. This village used to be beautiful as well, surrounded and loved by nature itself. They were blessed with a plentiful harvest and bountiful rains but now, it was a shadow of its former self.

He had to look away. The carnage was so great that even he, of all beings, felt the need to vomit. The villagers were mangled beyond comprehension. Intestines, charred limbs, and even the corpses of children lay on the streets. The corpses of the adults were hung outside their houses.

He called for her name but she would not answer. His fears were growing with each passing second. No, he thought. There was no way she would die. She was too powerful for normal humans to even defeat. So then why, why did he feel a pit growing in his stomach?

He called for her name once more and got a response. A weak yell of "Here!" It was so faint that it might as well have been a whisper but he had heard it loud and clear. He took off in the direction of the sound. But what he saw upon arriving only served to shatter his spirit rather than comfort him.

He fell to his knees when he saw her. She had been tortured and mutilated to an extent that it was inhumane, even for the Grimm. Even prisoners of war and war criminals received better treatment than she did. Entire portions of her skin had been flayed. Her hair had been torn off in multiple places. Her ears had been cut off while her hands were missing their fingers. Her legs were broken and shattered with the bone sticking out. All this while she had been nailed to a cross with large rusted nails and completely naked. And her eyes, her fucking eyes. They had been incinerated if the charred flesh around her eye sockets were any indication. How long had she suffered? How long had she been calling for him to save her? The grimm that had followed him all bowed their heads in sadness, both experiencing it and feeling it radiate off him.

He fell to his knees as he read the writing that had been so crudely carved into her torso.

"For all those that have been taken away from us. Your time in the Heavens has come to an end."

"D- Don't… cry."

A weak voice caught his attention. She was alive? She was still alive! Maybe he could save her! No, he can save her. His siblings could screw the rules. He would break them this time just for her.

"Don't talk. Just stay still while I-"

"No, I'm already dead. You can't bend the rules for me, you know that," she whispered, her voice remaining loud and clear despite that fact.

"No… No, don't leave me. Lailah, please," he sobbed.

"It's okay," she said, soothing him. The mark on her chest began to fade. She said one final piece to him before exhaling her last.

Jaune opened his eyes and sat up faster than he ever had. He panted and looked around the room, seeing the familiar white walls of the Beacon Infirmary. His eyes kept roaming the room, taking note of the EKG and the various needles and tubing that had put all over his body.

He sighed.

"Jaune? Jaune, are you okay?" A worried voice next to him called out. He turned to see his twin sitting in a chair with worry in her eyes. There was a bandage wrapped around her head and a few on her face.

"Y- Yeah, I'm fine," he said.

"Are you sure? You're crying," she said, pointing to his eye.

His eyes widened as he moved to wipe them. Tears. Why was he crying? He tried to recall why but found the memory hazy and hard to decipher. All he got from his attempt was a name.

Lailah.

"So did we…?" he asked but trailed off. He vaguely remembered what happened on that mission. He looked around, searching for Pyrrha. Jaune's mind swam, trying to figure out why she wasn't here.

"Where's-?"

"Pyrrha's in the other room. She's currently under observation due to a severe injury she suffered during the mission. The, uh, bandit chief, Raven, stabbed her in the lung, causing tension pneumothorax and we lost her for a bit," Alice said.

"Wait… she's?"

"No, she's alive. Something happened during the mission that we need to talk about but not here. Professor Ozpin wants to talk to us as a team too."

He nodded, looking down at his sheets.

"Jaune, I can tell you this. When Pyrrha went down, you… lost it." She gave her brother a sideways glance as she took a sip of water.

"Lost it how?" he asked.

"Your semblance… or, can we even call what we have a semblance anymore? Anyway, you lost it and leveled the entire camp. It's not there anymore. It's just a large crater about as large as the entire Midtown of Vale," she said.

"What?" he looked at her in shock.

"And that's not all, you also killed the Bandit Chief," Alice added.

He looked back down at his bedsheets and gripped them. He did what? There was no way.

"Jaune?"

"Huh? Sorry," he shook his head and gave her a weak smile. "I'm having a hard time processing all this…"

"I'll leave you alone then. Io collect your thoughts. I'll go get us some lunch and then we can talk about it some more," Alice said, getting up.

"Yeah. Hey, can you get me a-!"

"Meat Lovers. You remember that they're serving pizza today." She shook her head and got up, remembering her brother's fondness for pizza, and walked out the door.

As soon as she left, Jaune let out a sigh and looked at his hands. His Semblance wasn't a semblance? Alice had also referred to her Semblance in a similar manner due to their semblances being exactly the same with a palette swap.

"Just what the hell is this?" he asked as his aura manifested itself around his hands.

Alright! Now that finals is over! I have more time to update now and in the near-future! I look forward to publishing more content for you guys! Some... no, a lot of you may have noticed a change in name. That's because I got into a slight naming conflict with another author who had a similar name so I decided to be the one to change. From now on, you shall refer to me as Crimcrom!

Anyway, have a nice day. If you like it and want to read more, drop a review. if not, then no.