Changes made to previous Chapters:
-Meta Knight's Boss Description has been fixed.
-The chapter "Dreamy Dungeon Crawling" has been split into multiple chapters.
Chapter 8 - Before the Nightmare
Jaune wandered across the green brick walls of Beacon Academy, his feet causing the snow to crunch, watching the printing presses spew out hundreds, possibly thousands of newspaper articles a second. They flew in the air, traveling and criss-crossing every which way, but always leading to a tree in the center of the campus. They spiraled upwards, reaching a golden light at the very top.
"Jaune? Jaune~? We are you~? We only want to help!" A sickly sweet voice called out from behind. Jaune cussed and ran away, reaching one the mouse holes scattered throughout the green school and ducking inside. He watched fearful as a bronze and golden stomped closer closer towards him.
"You can't hide forever, Jaune! How can you be a hero without my help?" The voice asked again. Jaune bit his lip to prevent himself from making a retort.
"I don't need help…!" Jaune whispered. "My grandpa didn't need help. My father didn't need help. They were heroes, and I w-wanna be a hero too!" He was a bit louder this time. Jaune realized this, and scurried away, traveling through the tunnel system that he created to escape from his tormentor.
But even then, his hole wasn't as safe as it used to be. He caught a glowing red light in the distance, and ducked under the claws of a beowulf. It leapt back, swiping its claws and scratching Jaune's chin.
"G-get away!" Jaune shouted, pressing a button on his wristwatch. "Crocea Mors will be here soon! And I'll beat you! I'll beat all of you!" The beowulf looked unimpressed. Slowly, it lumbered towards Jaune, each step seemingly moving slower and slower.
Jaune fell down on his butt and started scampering away. His back hit a cold metal wall.
He looked behind the beowulf, and saw multiple red eyes coming from the black abyss. Ursai, Sir Kibbles, Death Stalkers, Beetleys, and various other grimm started marching towards. As they approached, the wall caved in, and a giant mech landed behind him. As it did, the grimm launched themselves forward, eager to rend Jaune to pieces before he could defend himself.
The boy screamed and jumped up, reaching for the seat of his suit of armor. Until he realized that it didn't open.
He was face to face with a large, feminine robot with disembodied hands and feet, wielding a short sword in one hand and a large buzzsaw in the other.
"This is the part where. You. Lose!" She said in a masculine voice.
"Students. As you can see, Mr Arc's aura has dropped into the red, below 15%. In a tournament format, this indicates that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and the official may call the match," Glynda explained.
In the past few weeks, Jaune's appearance had only gotten worse. His hair was longer and more unkempt, the bags under his eyes were extremely dark and large, and his bloodshot eyes were even harder to keep open. He's been sleeping with his eyes open lately, and waking up each time with a high-pitched scream.
The blonde professor gave Jaune a concerned look. "Mr Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your aura will help you decide whether to attack or take more defensive options. We wouldn't want you to be burnt to a crisp by a Hot Head, now would we?"
"Hmph, speak for yourself," Cardin muttered, hoisting his mace over his shoulder and walking off the arena.
"Remember everyone! The Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long until students from the other Kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep training. Those who choose to participate will represent all of Vale."
Glynda grabbed her riding crop and smacked it against Jaune's shoulder, who had begun to sleep halfway through her speech.
Now Playing… The Light Realm - Prologue
RWBY and JNPR were eating in the mess hall, only half of them listening intently to Nora's story about striking it rich after killing a pack of Ursai and selling their skin. Ren interrupted every other sentence, explaining how it was just a dream Nora was having for weeks.
Pyrrha looked at Jaune with concern, her lips curling downwards into a frown after seeing him fall asleep and face planted on his food.
"Jaune? Jaune, wake up!" Pyrrha shook his shoulder roughly, startling the blonde and releasing another high-pitched shriek from his mouth.
"Huh?! What?! How?!"
"Are… you okay, Jaune?" His partner asked cautiously.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, definitely…! W-why do you aaaaassssss…" Jaune yawned, his body falling downwards.
"Jaune, you're literally falling asleep on your mashed potatoes. That is not okay!" Ruby spoke. Jaune's half-lidded eyes looked around the table, slightly wincing under the concerned looks from everybody else, especially Pyrrha's.
"Guys, I'm fine! Seriously, look!" He pointed to himself and tried a smile, only to let out a loud yawn instead.
"Jaune, you've been having trouble sleeping since the first day of school, and I think those nightmares you keep having are getting worse! Plus, Cardin is always picking on you!" Pyrrha nearly shouted.
"What? Cardin Winchester? He just likes to… *YAWN…* to mess around! Practical jokes…"
"He's a bully," Ruby bluntly stated. "He's knocked your textbooks down, gotten you stuck in the doorway with your shield, and he stuffed you in a locker and sent you straight to Dyna Blade's nest!" Whether subconsciously or knowingly, everybody at the table shivered. Meta Knight's class is hell on Remnant when Dyna Blade gets mad. And, oh boy was she mad that day.
"Jaune, if you ever need help, you can just ask," Pyrrha added softly.
"Oo, oo! We'll break his legs!" Nora said with far too much enthusiasm. Ren gently put a hand on her shoulder and lowered her back to the seat.
"Guys, it's fine. Besides, Cardin's a jerk to everyone, not just me!" Jaune said, ignoring the deadpanned look he got from everyone.
"You know that doesn't even make it remotely better, right?" Yang asked, crossing her arms under her chest.
The bell rang, signifying that their lunch break had ended. Ruby slapped Jaune in the back of the head, in order to make sure he was awake for another few minutes.
Hours later, Jaune stumbled out of Oobleck's history class, barely keeping his eyes open. Gods, he feels like shit. It's like he's pushing a boulder up a hill just trying to keep his eyes open. Oobleck making him write an essay because Cardin decided to mess with him is definitely not going to help.
As he walked out of the room, Cardin shoved Jaune to the floor, the blonde using that as an excuse to go to try and get some shut-eye before somebody inevitably interrupted him a few seconds later.
"You know, I really will break his legs," Pyrrha says, pulling Jaune to his feet. He's still snoring, so Pyrrha, muttering a small "Sorry," slaps Jaune across the face, hard. He holds in a noise for about two seconds, until letting it out with a large "OOOWWWWW! Pyrrha, what the heck was thaaaa…" Jaune shakes himself awake. "Yeah, okay. I get it now," he yawns.
"I have an idea!" Pyrrha suddenly grabs his wrist and runs, dragging a half-asleep blonde with her. She leads him to the roof of the dorms, walking closer to the edge with Jaune's hand in hers.
"Pyrrha. I have chronic insomnia, not depression," Jaune snarks, making the redhead go pale.
"What? No. NO! What made you think… Ugh…" She groans, pulling Jaune away from the edge. "Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in the combat classes, well actually all of them, and that you're having some trouble staying awake. So, I thought it would be okay if we trained up here, just the two of us." Jaune frowned. "The exercise will help you stay awake for a bit longer, and we'll also be able to improve your technique!"
…
"...What? …You, think I need help?" Jaune asked. Pyrrha frowned. It sort of sounded like he was… offended?
"Jaune, I didn't mean to insult you. It's just that… everybody needs a little push from time to time. I didn't start off as the Champion of Mistral from day one! I lost a lot of my earlier matches. And besides, you made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what you–"
"I don't belong here!" Jaune suddenly shouted, killing the words in Pyrrha's mouth. His breathing got heavier and heavier. For some reason, she could black veins appearing on his neck, but she assumed that was just a trick of the light. "I wasn't accepted into a Beacon! I cheated! I cheated my way in here! I bought some forged transcripts and used them to get in!"
"...What? Jaune, why…?"
"'Cause this is what I am supposed to be. My dad, my grandpa, they were huntsmen! The best of the best, all of them! They were heroes! I wanted– No, I need to be one too! Whenever I sparred against my family, they'd just… I was never good enough… I don't want to be the damsel in distress. I'm sick of being the loveable idiot who's stuck in the tree's while his friends are out there fighting for their lives! I want to be the hero! I need to be the hero!" The black veins had started appearing all over his body, beneath his clothing, making his skin grow paler by the second.
Pyrrha tried placing a supportive shoulder, but Jaune pushed it away the second she got too close.
"Leave. Me. Alone." Jaune seethed. Pyrrha frowned, but did as he asked. She didn't dare try hiding the anger in her eyes as she gave him one final look, and closed the door behind her.
Just before he could follow behind her, something was thrown into his face. Jaune recoiled and fell on his ass, rubbing his nose in pain.
"Who in the…" Jaune didn't finish. He saw Meta Knight, yellow eyes boring into his soul as Crocea Mors lay in front of him.
"What's going–"
"Pick up the sword. Now." Meta Knight ordered. Jaune flinched at his voice.
In his mind, something told him that things weren't as they seemed. The mask had a crack on the left side, almost like a scar, and his body appeared to be black instead of dark blue. His wings were also tattered near the edges.
Jaune did as he commanded, picking up the sword and unsheathed it.
Now Playing… Meta Knight Battle (Kirby Super Star Ultra)
Suddenly, the masked warrior disappeared, and Jaune felt a sharp pain coming from his left shoulder. Jaune was launched forwards, his face slamming into a glowing wall of light that had suddenly appeared in front of the door. He was trapped. Struggling to his feet, Jaune watched fearfully as Meta Knight drew a grayed-out Galaxia with six tines rather than four, and pointed it at him.
The Lone Swordsman
Meta Knight?
Meta Knight wasted no time in attacking again, weaving under Jaune's swing and roughly grabbing his shoulder. He twisted, and Jaune heard a sharp crack coming from his shoulder, and pain. So much pain. Jaune's shoulder was broken, now twisted at an odd angle.
The masked warrior grabbed Jaune's face and slammed him into the ground, creating an imprint in the shape of the blonde's head. Groaning, Jaune yelped as Meta Knight grabbed his leg and slammed him back down again and again and again. Jaune's aura tanked most of the blows, but he can still feel dull pain growing wherever he was hit.
Jaune rose to his feet and tried another attack, only for Meta Knight to parry it effortlessly. The masked warrior scoffed, and stabbed his blade forward into the knight's chest. Jaune hacked out blood as the blade pierced through his aura, shattering it instantly and cutting through his flesh.
Galaxia was pulled out, blood gushing from Jaune's wound, and the hilt of the blade was slammed against his face, breaking his nose and knocking a few teeth free.
"How pathetic. This is the will of a 'hero?'" Meta Knight taunted, lifting Jaune up by his hair. "A protector of the people. That's what you want to be?" He raised his sword and stabbed it through Jaune's arm. He screamed, flailing his other arm wildly to try and pull it out. "You're a pathetic brat. An urchin more entitled than the Schnee family," The masked warrior stated, twisting the sword in the wound, making it go deeper inside.
With a shout, Jaune raised his arm and punched the masked warrior in the face. While he wasn't launched away, it did disorient him enough for Jaune to push him away and yank the sword out of his arm. But as he grabbed the hilt Galaxia, Jaune felt an intense electrical shock flowing through his body. He spewed blood from his mouth as he tossed the sword away, bouncing off the wall of light and back into Meta Knight's hands.
The eyes hiding behind the mask turned blood red.
Meta Knight disappeared and Jaune panicked, putting up his shield and quickly spinning around in order to try and block the attack coming his way. What he didn't anticipate however, were the numerous sword beams coming his way from all angles. He managed to block a few with his shield, but rest exploded against him, searing his clothes and skin and sending blood flying everywhere.
The next Jaune felt was being carried into the air. Somehow, Meta Knight had created a tornado on the school's balcony. A tornado on the schools fucking balcony. Once the wind had dissipated, Jaune dropped to the ground like rock, landing on the floor on his head. The cracking sound echoed sharply in the otherwise silent night.
Meta Knight Battle - Fade Out
"How pathetic." The next thing Jaune felt was Galaxia.
The blade had nearly disappeared, all except for the hilt and guard, hiding inside Jaune's chest, and coming out of his back.
"Do everyone a favor, and leave this school of your own volition. At least then you will still have your honor intact," Meta Knight sneered, yanking the blade free. "Pray to whatever god you desire, and pray dearly that you never come face to face with me ever again." He wiped the red off of Galaxia and his mask and flew away, leaving Jaune soaking in a puddle of his own blood.
Jaune would've screamed, the pain he felt was incomprehensible. The most he could do is groan and curl up into a ball as the red liquid became darker and darker, eventually turning into an ugly shade of black.
Opening his eyes, Jaune found himself floating in a black space, devoid of any light or matter. He twisted his body awkwardly trying to find something, anything, in this void.
"Uhh… Ren? Nora?" Jaune shouted, cupping his hands so that his voice would travel farther. Not that it mattered, as he could barely hear his own voice, even after shouting as loudly as he could.
"Pyrrha?! Look, I'm sorry! For everything! Anybody?! Can anybody hear me?!"
Something did hear him.
In front of Jaune, a gigantic blood red eye opened. It looked around for a moment, until its gaze reached the blonde leader. Dark Matter stared, its pupil continuously growing smaller and smaller as it glared at Jaune.
Suddenly, Dark Matter closed its eye. And it was replaced by a terrifyingly wide grin.
Jaune tried shouting when Dark Matter's tentacles flew towards him, stabbing into his arms and chest. One wrapped itself around his stomach and squeezed hard. He felt like his guts were coming out of his mouth from the pressure.
"Help…! HELP! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! PYRRHAAAA!" The last tentacle wrapped around Jaune's mouth and nose, suffocating him in pure negative energy. Despite the tentacle snapping his neck, he was still conscious when Dark Matter opened its mouth and consumed him whole, trapped for eternity in a world of his own dreams.
"GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!" Nora cheered, waking up Pyrrha and Ren from their sleep. They waited for a few seconds. The ginger's expression quickly became confused as she looked around the room. "Hey, Ren? Jaune hasn't complained about me waking the entire team up with my obnoxiously loud voice yet!" She pouted.
"That is strange…" Ren muttered, looking at Jaune's bed. "It looks like he hasn't even slept. Pyrrha, you said you talked to him last night. How exactly did it go?"
Pyrrha opened her mouth to respond, but closed it after a few seconds. "He's… dealing with a lot. That's the best I can put it," She answered in a whisper, awkwardly rubbing her arm.
"I imagine he told you a few things he'd rather keep quiet?"
"Yeah…"
"It's okay. You don't have to tell us. Jaune will be able to, in his own time," Ren said, getting up from his bed. "He'll come to us eventually. I'm sure of it," He offered with a smile.
"...If you say so," Pyrrha muttered with a resigned sigh. Nora and Ren looked at each, and then gave their teammate a strange look.
"Hey, you know what'll make you feel better? A taste of Ren's pancakes! I would kill for a plate!" Nora loudly declared, wrapping an arm around his neck. Despite her smile, something told Pyrrha that Nora was being dead serious. But honestly, she could use some good tasting food to get yesterday's event with Jaune out of her mind, if only for a moment.
About an hour later, Team NPR, dressed and well fed, walked outside their dorm room, only to fall to the ground unceremoniously.
"Ow… Ren, somebody turned off the lights…!" Nora muttered, rubbing her forehead gingerly.
Ren hoisted her up to her feet, and shook her head slightly to get rid of the stars in her eyes. Pyrrha lifted herself up, dusting off her skirt and shirt. As she looked down, she found three Biosparks, the ninja warriors that were part of the Meta-Knights. They were piled on top of one another, stars rotating above their dazed heads and eyes swirling in circles.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Pyrrha said instantly, realizing that the Biosparks probably crashed into them when they were leaving their dorm.
"Naw, don't worry 'bout it mate," The ninja said with a British accent, oddly. "It was us who weren't paying attention." The Biospark on the left suddenly paused for a few moments. He squinted his eyes and started walking around them in circles, confusing the humans.
"Hey, these guys are the jupiter guys, right?" Another Biosparks asked, the one on the left.
"I thought it was juniper?" The Biospark on the right stated.
"No no no," The British Biospark interrupted, "These are the J-N-P-R guys!" He said proudly, placing his hands behind his body after individually pronouncing each of the letters.
"Um, actually, It's spelled J-N-P-R but pronounced juniper," Pyrrha politely corrected. The diminutive ninjas looked at her for a brief moment, before looking at each other and then to Pyrrha again.
"Why? And for that matter, why are teams named after colors?" The Right Biospark asked.
"That doesn't matter! What does matter is that we need you blokes to follow us!" The British Biospark said, spinning on his heel and walking down the hall. The other Biosparks nodded and followed him as Ren, Pyrrha and Nora awkwardly shuffled behind them.
"What's going on? Is there going to be a party? Are we going to be surprised?! Ren, is it your birthday today?!
"Nope! It's nobody's birthday day today, unfortunately. But, there is definitely a surprise. Granted, not a very good one, but a surprise nonetheless." The British Biospark shrugged. "Come on! We have an infirmary to quickly walk too!"
"The nurse's office? What're we going there for?" Nora asked, running up beside Pyrrha. Flamberge was quiet for the rest of the walk, passing by the balcony on their way. For some reason, the Biosparks just stayed silent.
It was kind of eerie.
As they walked, the group eventually passed a balcony. Pyrrha glanced at the doorway, and was confused to see the balcony closed off. The door was blocked off by police tape that was only two feet off the ground. Next to it, there was a Waddle Dee with a police hat and badge sitting on a beach chair, while a Kibble Blade stood next to him with its arms crossed.
"Excuse me, but what happened on the balcony?" Ren asked. Oddly, the Biosparks didn't answer. They just continued walking in front of them, leading them to infirmary as the pit in each of JNPR's members grew bigger and bigger.
"Boss, we brought 'em!" The Right Biospark said, knocking on the door. Nothing was said, but the door cracked open slightly.
And then it opened completely.
Now Playing… Mephiles' Whisper (Sonic the Hedgehog 2006)
"JAUNE!" Nora cried, her mouth wide open in shock as she, Ren, and Pyrrha looked at their leader's unconscious body.
Whether Jaune had been injured or not was unknown, as his body had no cuts or burns anywhere on his body. Though he was hooked up to an IV drip, the liquid was a clear red with a large M written on a piece of tap that was stuck to the bag. However, that was the only thing that was normal about him.
In addition to his pale, nearly marble white skin, his veins were clearly visible. Black, vine-like growths zigzagged all over his skin.
Nora screamed as an eye opened in the middle of his chest, silently gazing at the newcomers. Two more eyes appeared, one on his right shoulder and the other on his left leg. Unlike the one on his chest, these two darted every few seconds, looking at something else.
"What the fuck…" Ren swore, drawing the attention of blood red eyes. They stared at him for a few more seconds, until they decided he wasn't important enough to pay attention anymore and looked away.
"What in the world is that?" Pyrrha muttered, trying her best to keep her emotions under control.
"From what we can tell, Jaune is currently under the control of Dark Matter, a parasitic demon that haunts our stretch of the cosmos from time to time," Meta Knight explained, scaring the three humans from his sudden appearance. He was standing on the window sill, standing on the opposite side of the room as the shadows covered half of his face.
Pyrrha's head flared suddenly. She tried hiding her wince as parts of Kirby's memories came flooding into the forefront of her mind. Though they were not from her consciousness, she recalled the time when a massive black mass appeared over Pop Star, shattering the rings that orbited the star-shaped planet. She recalled King Dedede's stomach opening wide, revealing a sharp set of jagged, serrated teeth. She recalled the giant sphere gouging out its own eye, creating a shower of deep red blood in a last ditch attempt to end the planet.
The angel with six-wings, its eye spilling a single red tear as it floated in the center of a black and red gaseous void.
"Dark Matter…?" Nora parroted, walking to get a closer look at Jaune's unconscious body.
The eyes suddenly locked in on her, and an animalistic, monstrous screech erupted from Jaune's throat. Suddenly, the blonde's mouth opened wide, accompanied by the sound of bones snapping and flesh tearing. Cuts that bled a thick black liquid appeared all over Jaune's mouth and chest, causing his stomach to burst open violently. Instead of a mess of blood and gore, there was only a pitch black void with a red eye and tendrils coming from the center.
Pyrrha, Nora, and even Ren screamed in terror as Dark Matter lunged towards them, letting out a haunting roar as it did so. But before it could reach them, a wall of light appeared suddenly, and it ran headfirst into it. Dark Matter screeched in pain as the magic wall let out a shockwave of energy, transforming the abomination back into a comatose Jaune, he fell back into his mattress.
"Holy… what the fuck… WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO JAUNE!" Nora demanded, tears welling in her eyes as she glared at the knight.
"He's possessed by Dark Matter. Didn't you just hear the boss?" The Left Biospark nonchalantly answered. Meta Knight also seemed completely unfazed by what had just transpired.
"Possessed? Possessed!? How are you so calm about this? Why haven't you fucking helped him yet?!" Nora shouted angrily. The negative emotions flaring from her body had caused the red eyes to stare at her.
"Because as he is right now, we are unable to do much of anything right now," Meta Knight answered. "Normally, we would simply have to defeat Jaune while he is under Dark Matter's control. However, doing so in a public space would lead to catastrophic damages and casualties. Despite its appearance, Dark Matter is not something that should be taken lightly."
Despite its appearance? Pyrrha thought to herself. It transformed Jaune into something that could be in a gory horror movie!
"And we can't move him either, because then that… thing would make Jaune go berserk and try to escape, wouldn't it?" Ren asked, getting a nod from Right Biospark.
"For now, this is all we can do. We have to wait until Mr. Hyness wakes up, so that he can use one of his spells to transport Jaune far away so that we can properly beat Dark Matter out of him," Right Biospark said.
As all this was happening, Pyrrha just stared, horrified by her teammate's unconscious and corrupted body.
"This is my fault, isn't it?" She asked softly. "Dark Matter is your dimension's version of the grimm. It can sense negative emotions and feed on them, so when I talked to Jaune and he started shouting, all of that emotion must have attracted… that," She said, pointing a finger at one of the eyes.
"Enough of that," Meta Knight said sternly, causing Pyrrha to flinch. "Nobody is at fault here. Saying that something is your fault because of factors outside of your control is unbecoming of a warrior such as yourself."
"But sir, I was the one who made Jaune feel those negative emotions in the first place. I tried to offer my aid to him, but he suddenly became very angry and started shouting–"
"He started shouting at you?" Meta Knight interrupted. Pyrrha nodded slowly, confused as he placed a hand under the split on his mask.
"Well, that doesn't really sound like the Jaune kid," Right Biospark commented. "Sure, he's dense and a bit of a goof, but he never struck me as the kinda guy who'd fly off the handle from a conversation. Heck, his family doesn't even have a history of anger issues or insomnia!"
"Wait, repeat that last part again…" Meta Knight asked.
"Umm… no history with anger issues or insomnia?" Meta Knight was silent for a few moments, his eye color changing yellow to green for a few moments until suddenly flashing to white shortly after.
"Pyrrha, you're his partner, correct? How long has Jaune had sleeping issues?" Pyrrha blinked.
"A few days after the initiation. Why?" It shocked all of the humans when they heard Meta Knight swear under his breath. An actual, genuine curse.
"Contact Zan Partizanne on the Halberd," Meta Knight ordered British Biospark. "If we have any magicians on standby, tell them to come here. Try to get into contact with Kirby as well. He should be South-East Anima investigating the distress signal," The knight told Left and Right Biospark.
"Yes, Boss!" The Biosparks saluted. British Biospark grabbed a smoke bomb from his hammerpsace and tossed it to the ground, the three ninja's having disappeared.
"As for you three," Meta Knight started, "get your weapons, stock up on ammo, and get any other supplies you might need. You have thirty minutes." With that, Meta Knight flicked his cape and disappeared as well, leaving the humans alone with the corrupted body of their leader.
"What…?" Pyrrha breathed. "Jaune's outburst and insomnia… that's all it took to be able to turn this whole situation on its head?" The eyes on Jaune's body glanced at her, causing the champion to flinch.
"Who cares!" Nora suddenly cried out, having gone completely silent after seeing Jaune's demonic state. "We might not know everything, but we do know that they figured out some way to fix this, to fix Jaune!"
"But, how are we going to do that?" Ren questioned. "I assume there's going to be some fighting involved, but Meta Knight just said that fighting Dark Matter here is two risky."
"I don't know! I'm going to be honest, I don't know what the hell Meta Knight or the ninja's or what anybody can do! But you know what I do know? Compared to Remnant, Dream Land is really fucking weird, in a good way! Meta Knight can shoot lasers out of his sword, teleport, turn his cape into wings, and make a tornado just by stabbing the ground! If just one guy can do all of that, then there's gotta be somebody, anybody, who can help us beat the shit out of Dark Matter!" Nora then turned to Jaune and started walking closer to him, triggering Dark Matter's berserk state.
"Nora, wait!" Ren shouted, but the happy-go-lucky bomber ignored him. Unlike before, she didn't flinch when Jaune's body tore itself apart, and narrowed her eyes as the ravaged mass of broken flesh lunged at her.
"You hear that, you piece of shit! We are getting Jaune's body back, and we are going to beat the crap out of you to do it!" Nora reared her fist back and her hand started sparking, letting out pink streams of electricity as her eyes started glowing as well.
"BET ON THAT!"
Mephiles' Whisper - End
Nora's electrified fist phased through the barrier and slammed against Dark Matter's cheek, sending it flying to the other side of the barrier, snapping the IV drip and shattering the mattress into pieces. Jaune's body reformed, with all three of Dark Matter's eyes glaring hatefully at Nora.
"C'mon! If Meta Knight thinks we can fix Jaune, then I trust him!" Nora said, running out of the infirmary and towards their dorm room.
"Do you really think that we can save him?" Pyrrha asked in a soft voice, turning her green eyes to Ren's.
"I don't know," Ren answered honestly. "But, if we can help in some way, then we should take it." Pyrrha's frown turned into a smile, and the two of them nodded at each other. As fast as they could, they ran down the hall to get their supplies.
Now Playing… Cabbage Cavern (Area 3) - Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
Halfway across the planet, Kirby and the Warp Star were flying over the sea. One of the computers on the Halberd started making loud sounds, and then the crew started saying that one of Kirby's friends was in trouble. And since he now has access to the Warp Star again, he would go on ahead and see what all the fuss was about, while reinforcements would arrive in some of Beacon's airships.
Kirby lowered the Warp Star, letting the flying object skim the water as he approached land, effortlessly weaving in and out of the tree. He managed to snag an apple hanging from one of the lower branches and ate it whole. Afterward, the Warp Star began slowing down until it came to a halt in a clearing. Kirby jumped off his friend and waved goodbye as it flew into the sky.
Once he was on the ground, he had no idea what to do. He figured he was in the general area of where the funny noises came from, but without anything to double check where he was, he might as well have been inside the haystack.
So, Kirby did what he does best: pick a random direction and start walking.
He tried asking the local wildlife if they'd seen any of his friends, or perhaps any aliens like the ones in the news. But then Kirby realized that the wildlife weren't as smart as the ones back home. The spider he was talking just stared blankly at him, until it turned around and scuttered away. Kirby turned sad when that happened.
And so, Kirby continued walking, trying his part to start up polite conversations with birds, snakes, and even stickbugs. They didn't reply back.
Cabbage Cavern - Cut Off
Until a few minutes, when Kirby heard an explosion coming from the south-east section of the forest. As quickly as he could move, Kirby started running towards the sound. He began hearing the sounds of battle. Human's grunting, gunshots cracking against the air, whirring machinery, and the cries of various animals.
As he ran, Kirby saw a member of the Beast Pack, a Jabhog fly away and crash against the trunk of a tree and letting out a pained grunt. The sky darkened, and he saw a few humans chasing after him. Kirby easily disarmed them with a single kick and sent them flying away with another.
Once they were dealt with, Kirby took out a Maxim Tomato and fed it to the injured hedgehog, healing any wounds that it may have had in an instant, and politely asked the Jabhog to explain what was happening.
The prickly creature stated that one of the portals had caused them to land a few miles north of here. They continued traveling for a few weeks, stopping at nearby villages to stock up on supplies until they met a group of bad humans that liked to steal from others and hurt people, because they had the "survival of the fittest" mentality, going after small villages that could not defend themselves.
Kirby nodded and asked the Jabhog if he could continue fighting. It nodded, but it can't do much since the humans were a lot faster compared to most of the Beast Pack. Kirby informed the Jabhog that reinforcements were coming soon, and he should tell the rest of his friends so that they can book it once help came. The Jabhog nodded in confirmation, and lifted itself up and ran back into the forest, with Kirby telling it to be careful.
Now Playing… All Things Must Die (RWBY)
Something buzzed in Kirby's mind, and he jumped to the side, avoiding a slice from a red sword. The blade was swung once more, and Kirby clapped his hands together to stop it. He then wrenched it away from the owner's hand, and tried to slam the hilt into her gut. However, he felt a wave of ice slam into his forehead, knocking him away.
Kirby tumbled to the ground but quickly picked himself up. His cosmic blue eyes made contact with a mask-wearing woman wearing black and red outfit with jet black hair that looked really familiar. Interestingly, Kirby could sense magic coming from this woman, which according to Ozpin, should be impossible.
The woman grabbed the red katana and placed it back in her sheath. She lowered herself to her knees and grabbed the hilt of the blade, ready to strike.
Kirby, meanwhile, just tilted his head in confusion and muttered, "Poyo?"
Maiden of Blooming Flowers
Raven Branwen
Somebody tried to break into the Beacon Vault last night. They discovered this a few minutes after Jaune was found.
What scared Ozpin was how close the infiltrator was to breaking the seal.
Opponent: The Mirrored Swordsman - Dark Meta Knight
A dark copy of the chivalrous Meta Knight, born from the Dimensional Mirror and Dark Mind's fearsome magic. After Kirby destroyed Dark Mind at the end of his journey in the Mirror World, he sealed Dark Meta Knight in the Mirror, never to be seen again. However, the dark knight's anger and vengeance leaked out into the real world, corrupting the Dimensional Mirror and the Mirror World itself. After he freed himself, this corrupted knight vowed to become the strongest warrior in order to extend the Mirror World's influence beyond its glass borders. Unfortunately for Remnant, that means going after the most powerful Relics on the planet…
Next Chapter…
It's a Dreamy, Dreamy World!