With my greatest weakness- I'll defeat your greatest strength

by TerrelHayden

"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward."

13. V1 C-12 The Art of Hunters Part-1

Keep an eye out for the time in every part, so to not confuse.

[Part-1]

7th June, Monday- RX21, 21:00

Jaune looked mortified and on him was a decision- either he stays for the tournament and his friends have to leave, or his friends stay and he has to leave.

No matter how hard he tries, he cannot be selfish. Just for his own mistakes, Jaune cannot sacrifice the rest of them who were here for the tournament. Even if somewhere in his heart, he does not want any harm to come to them, he- in all good faith cannot be selfish. He will have to explain Ozpin.

Yes, that's what he'll do, he'll qui-

"Alright, blondie, better win."

Even before Jaune could voice his opinion, Jaune was halted by the voice.

Coco Adel. His senior. Who, had a smirk on her face, it looked as if she was cooking mischief?

"What?" Jaune was bewildered,

"Heard me right blondie, you better win- I'm more of a fashion kind of woman if you didn't know, so better keep up Beacon's name."

"What she said."

"Yeah, you can do it!"

"Yes."

Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi chimed in with smiles on their face, not just them, the remains of CRDL also had smirks from them, Sky continued, "I respect my team a lot, and more than that, I care for them. Regardless of what others say about you- You, Jaune Arc saved Cardin, saved my friend. Saved the people who tormented you, so, better win buddy."

"Guys?! Listen to yourself, it's 8 to 1, and Team CFVY have won their matches, even if it was against CRDL,", Russel interrupted, "Yeah, but Team CRDL lost theirs."

Jaune shook his head, "But still, it's 4 to 1- I cannot be selfish and- "

"Jaune Arc." It's was Coco; however, her voice was much stricter, something that Jaune hasn't heard yet or rather has never heard.

"Listen, loath as it may be, you were the only one who kept up with Karna and someone who has seen his skills first hand, anyone among the eight of us were incapable of doing anything, and yet you made him bleed- you defended Cardin where we were stuck with fear. Sometimes a General has to sacrifice soldiers. After all, he knows his worth is more than theirs because in the future he would have to lead the others- he has the vision. And right now, Jaune Arc you are worth more than us and no matter how hard you try to deny it, even you don't want us to participate, right?"

Jaune looked the other way, "Somewhere in my heart, yes, I don't. I will rather be the one- because you guys saw what he did, right? To him, humans and Fauns are not living beings- they are nothing more than insects and…", Jaune rubbed his left arm as the memory of arrival at Camelot became fresh once again, "I know firsthand what kind of monster, he is."

"Then we'll leave it to you. Even if that bugs me a little, I am the senior and I feel like I'm am the one who is left behind." Coco placed a hand on his shoulder, "But if there is something we can do for you, do not hesitate to call us."

Jaune smiled.

"Also give me your master's number, I'm sure he would like a young nubile girl like myself. He could Lance me a lot."

"COCO!"

CRDL and CFVY laughed, a pun that rivaled Yang's, huh? He knew his answer and with supportive guys like these, things get easier.

"Thank you," Cardin spoke, with a low voice,

"There is nothing to be thankful for," Jaune waved, "I, did what was right."

"You did it to someone, who was your bully."

"Emphasis on 'was', I believe in second chances Cardin, I believe in people, I believe in their ability to change. Just like you did- and let's not paint me in a good way Cardin, I'm a fraud." Jaune whispered the last part to Cardin.

"Yet more deserving than me to have a position at Beacon."

"…."

"Listen, what you did today- means a lot to me. It was stupid of me to even remotely think that I could find closure to what happened to my family. I was about to die a stupid death and not a heroic one, if I would have faced mum and little bother like that- they would have been disappointed in me. That I, threw away my life, not for the people I swore to defend, but for selfish reasons- I would have failed as a man to keep an oath. Thank you, Jaune Arc- to at the least, for teaching me, what it's meant to be a huntsman and more than that, what it's meant to be a human. Remember, 'A Winchester always pays his debts, if you ever get in any form of trouble, even if it's political, do not worry, the Winchester family would have your back."

Jaune honestly was touched by positivity- perhaps it was indeed lucky that he had friends like these. CRDL and CFVY started to depart, however, Fox stood behind- the blind one spoke, "Cardin may have spoken it as a joke, but Jaune you do have something in you that attracts others."

"Yeah? I don't think so. What I attract are nothing more than problems."

"That's what you think, yet you are the one surrounded by the strong huntsman, Team RWBY and NPR, the princess of Camelot, the princess of Wales, the prince of Egypt, the Tyrant himself, the specialist and the Wild Beast. Jaune, I don't know what it is, but from the first moment I have met you- there was a certain force about you."

Jaune, totally lost and confused muttered, "Force?"

"There is just something about you, that- it makes me want to trust you, your words and your belief- I cannot put my finger on it, but for best allusion, maybe trusting you is equivalent to gazing at the starry sky, an unknown faith- that regardless what happens, everything would be fine."

Jaune wanted to say something back, he really did, but Fox waved him off as he walked away, before going, Fox did give one last piece of advice, "My uncle used to have this philosophy, even I didn't understand it first, I used to think it was due to my inability to use my eyes was the reason he used to cheer me up, but now seeing you, perhaps I get it, 'Make your greatest weakness, your greatest strength.'"

"Make your greatest weakness, your greatest strength?" Jaune recited back.

"I'll leave it at that, good luck in your future actions Jaune, I wish you success."

Jaune stared at his friend's retreating figure, they would leave for Vale, tomorrow, and in September, Beacon would reopen for the new semester. They would be third year and Jaune and his team and fellow classmates would be in the second year. Time really has passed.

Yet for all of that, Fox's advice was living rent-free in his mind- Make your greatest weakness, your greatest strength.

What exactly did he mean by that?

"Did you make your decision Jaune Arc?", he broke out of his stupor when Jaune heard the King speak- looking directly at his eyes, Gabriel Pendragon, the King of Camelot- he gave his answer.

"Yes. I will continue in the tournament, in place of my friends and I will take on any and more additional punishment Camelot, provides me with."

There was something that Jaune couldn't see, was that a satisfied smile that the king had? He wasn't sure, but it appeared as though, the decision made the king happy? That can't be, he must have been hallucinating.

"Very well then. Sherlock, continue with the remaining bouts, it's done and over here."

Something told Jaune, that the night is still young.

---

The bouts were over, before leaving Artoria asked him, to visit her in the castle garden, which is open to the public? Still, she did ask him and he wouldn't keep a lady waiting.

Before leaving, Team KAAT, whose team leader was Karna smirked, "You made a wise decision, call me selfish but my decision during our bout would've been for naught if you decided to leave. Now? I can't wait for us to clash once again."

The guy beside Karna, who was shirtless and displayed his shredded body, with chocolate color skin- had bloodthirsty eyes, it appeared as if he was willing to take on Jaune right here, right now. Touka, on the other hand, had an apologetic expression, and Arjuna…it appeared that he had a blank face, however to Jaune, something told him that he was annoyed.

Team KAAT was leaving, with all that hustling and rumbling, Jaune saw something drop from Arjuna's pocket- it was a pendant?

It was gold plated, but what was unique was its shape, a shape and design that Jaune had never seen before, the outer circle was that of a winged dragon holding the sides with its claws, then the next one was a cat? Or a large cat? A panther with, six legs? A feline with sex legs whose jaw was biting the dragon. The inner figure was a human head with no nose? Yeah, a male head with no nose and a body of a beast? Finally, the center part was the weirdest one, a woman screaming who had hair, that wasn't hair- instead, there were snakes, protruding through her skull. However, the most, to put it in words unique about the design, even though the entire design was unique in itself, as each of these creatures' eyes was colored silver.

This was an ominous design, who the hell made this?

Its contents were, Jaune shouldn't look, but it was an image of a woman- a woman having silver eyes like Arjuna and for some reason, like Ruby as well, fair complexion, and graduating black-into-red hair, she had shoulder-length hair tied back in a half-up/half-down style and wore a hooded cloak which is white outside and red underneath, huh, once again, kind of like Ruby. Under that cloak is a similar outfit to her Ruby's but mostly black: a high-neck décolletage blouse with studded wristbands on the arms, a black and white overbust corset, a skirt with white tulle underneath, gray leggings, and knee-high boots with red soles.

For some reason, this woman appeared to look like a mature version of Ruby.

"Hey, Arjuna!", Jaune wasn't sure if he should refer to him by his first name and honestly, Jaune had actually forgotten his last name, to his surprise, he thought Arjuna would've ignored him, but he did turn and eyes widen when he stared at the pendant.

Arjuna checked his pockets and dashed towards Jaune snatching it away. Jaune wanted to say, rude, but to see him holding that in such a manner, he deduced that the pendant must have meant a lot to him.

Staring at the pendent, Arjuna asked, "Did you…see what was inside?"

Jaune, scratching his head awkwardly replied, "It just opened, I'm sorry, I did not mean to pry."

Releasing his breath, for some reason that he was holding in Arjuna replied, "No, never mind, it was my fault, to begin with, I should have taken care of this in a better manner, thank you, Jaune Arc."

Jaune waved, "It matters not if you…don't mind me asking, is she, the woman, your mother?"

Arjuna looked away, what appeared to be perhaps shame and embarrassment, "She is, is there a problem?"

"Haha…no, it's just, she looks a lot like my friend, Ruby Rose, that's why."

For some reason, Arjuna looked perplexed and shocked, "Ruby…Rose?"

"Yeah, do you…know her or something?"

"No…no, nothing, it's just…no, I thought I knew the name, but it appears, I don't. Thank you for helping him here, Jaune Arc."

"Oh, no worries…shit! I have to meet Artoria, take care, Arjuna."

He saw Jaune Arc, running off to the distance, opposite side of the coliseum.

Looking at the pendant, at the picture, Arjuna muttered to himself, "You left me, you left dad, then you start another family? Were we not worth your time? Were we that bad? Was I a burden? A scum that shouldn't have been born? A bastard that was no more than a mistake? Then, why did you have me? Why did you leave me? Why did dad kill himself when he read your letter? You have given me enough hell, Summer Rose. Now, that I know that you have a daughter- I will make sure her life would be hell."

Arjuna closing the pendent stared at the starry sky, he could hear Touka calling him, "Tch. I hate Karna, his charity is rubbing off me. No. I will not fall that low, your daughter has nothing to do with this, I will find you myself, Summer Rose. I will get answers. Even if it means killing you."

Yet, Arjuna couldn't trust his own words.

---

Woof. Would you look at that?

Camelot was indeed a beautiful city and for some reason, it was even more beautiful at night. It was lively as if there was 'Hope in the Dark', heh, he liked that.

This is the Out Garden, the very entrance of Buckingham Palace- while the Palace was located further inside and guarded, the pathway to it was a beautiful garden, the flowers, even though their beauty couldn't match the ones near the tower, they were pretty.

There she was.

…Wait…

---

Artoria Pendragon didn't mind waiting, but she was getting a little agitated- perhaps Jaune wouldn't come? Did she sound a little pushy? Maybe? But she didn't know exactly why she wanted to spend time with him…okay, maybe his cooking also plays a great part…and also his humanity.

People perhaps would see her father as a cruel king, a king who put Jaune in a jeopardized situation, where he had to choose, even if his intention were for the good. Her father- wanted to judge Jaune in that situation, what would he do? How far was Jaune willing to go? And even if Gabriel Pendragon put on a blank face, Artoria knew, he was satisfied with Jaune's course of action- it showed that he is willing to take responsibility, even willing to face Tyrant.

It's tough love, but that's what helps people grow.

Where was Jaune, she felt someone beside her, was he here?

"Jaune?" Artoria turned- shocked as she saw Jaune swinging his sword at her- however,

CLANK!

It didn't hit her, instead, it hit something behind her- no someone, behind her.

"Che. The princess has a bodyguard?"

The man in front of them is a pale man with gold eyes and a brown ponytail braided to resemble a scorpion's tail. He wears a white sleeveless jacket with leather belts strapped to it, along with white pants. His jacket is left open, exposing his bare chest, which is crisscrossed with prominent scars. His arms are covered with cream-colored bandages and leather vambraces. He also wears leather boots covering his entire shin with knee guards. He also had a scorpion tail with a metallic stringer, protruding through where his spine ended. On each earlobe is a silver, ring-shaped earring, and near the top of his left ear is another matching earring. His weapons are, a set of dual wrist blades resembling scorpion's pincers. These attach to his vambraces and are equipped with light-caliber automatic firearms.

Artoria knew this guy, Tyrian Callows, the Faunus assassin. His skills are just as dangerous as she heard them be, she didn't have sensing skills like Pitou, Sherlock, or even Lancelot…not even remotely close to her father.

She did not sense any form of bloodlust; this man enjoys what he does to the point that Artoria didn't sense him at all it was luck on her side that Jaune arrived just in time.

"Artoria, you alright?" Jaune asked, preparing his sword and taking an irregular stance, [Rhongomyniad]- Artoria's lace summoned she took on her stance as well.

"I owe you one Jaune," she gave her genuine thanks, "So, you know who he is?"

"He's a renowned assassin, Tyrian Callows, from what report was provided, it was stated he had died in a Grimm attack. What are your intentions, assassin?"

Tyrian, gave the most sinister smile possible that sent chills down Jaune's spine, something about this guy was different, it was as if this man has one and only habit and emotion.

Evil.

It was as if looking at a scorpion preparing to fight, sinister gaze Tyrian spoke, he spoke in a jolly fashion and yet it was filled with malice, "I have been given the task by my goddess and for that to complete, I must kill you Artoria Pendragon and since you have a boy toy with you, he needs to go as well."

Jaune skimmed around, this place was full of people, even nearby areas.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Jaune and Artoria looked behind- the explosion was near the entrance of Camelot.

"Aha! Looks like backup is here as well, I did seem to miss the good doctor's call, but whatever I am sure he can do what it needs to be done…in the meantime, please, princess die quickly so that, I can fulfill my goddess's quest!"

Aura flowed, Tyrian lunched, however, even before Artoria could attack- the one who intercepted the attack was Jaune- skating behind, he deflected Tyrian's attack, even though his hands hurt, Jaune prepared himself-

"Jaune! What the hell are you doing?!" Artoria screeched, yet she froze a little when Jaune glared at her, "I can survive here, I survived against Karna…these people, the people of Camelot would only listen to their ruler and not me, please, help them evacuate…I promise I will not die, help others."

"OH~ no!" Tyrian once again lunged, he wanted to wipe off Jaune and attack Artoria directly, however, Jaune bent low and kicked Tyrian right at the shins making him lose balance and taking enough time to-

DON!

Punch right in his face, with a concentrated aura.

Tyrian, on the other hand, appeared annoyed, he wasn't bleeding nor did he have any damage, however, his sinister gaze fell on Jaune, and the shivers returned.

[All the guests that arrived at Camelot are to return to their respective reserves. All the citizens of Camelot are to return to their households. Camelot is under attack, but fret not, nothing would occur, your King- would make sure of that!]

Through the speakers, the glass dust screens, Gabriel Pendragon's enraged voice boomed!

"Artoria, do your part! I will not die!"

"We'll see about that, boy."

Artoria bit her lip, "You better keep your word."

"I'm an Arc," Jaune smirked, "I always keep my word."

Tyrian's eyes glowed purple, his voice with malice as he gazed at Jaune Arc with hate, "You will die, boy!"

What did Fox say about weakness and strength? For all this time, Jaune Arc was weak and he had to face the strong ones, if that was the case and that would always be then-

Lifting his sword Jaune spoke with unknown confidence,

"With my greatest weakness, I'll defeat your greatest strength!"

[Part-2]

7th June, Monday- RX21, 22:00

The bouts were over, it would have been done earlier if it wasn't for the stunt Jaune Arc pulled. Seriously, Cinder Fall was baffled when he saved Cardin Winchester, wasn't that guy a bully? A racist? Wasn't that the information she had on him? Then who was the person on the battlefield?

He wasn't the bully or the racist Cardin Winchester she heard of, he was different, he was a man who was there to take responsibility- saved by the very person who he used to bully.

What was going on in Beacon?

No more than that- she didn't feel very much secure either. Cinder opted out of her next bout, decided not to fight, and would tomorrow take the task set for her.

She just couldn't forget the humiliation and defeat that came to her. With Adam, Cinder fought- tooth and nail and the Faunus didn't underestimate her either, he gave it all as well. She failed there.

However, in her bout against the Tyrant? She wasn't humbled oh, no- it was worse, much worse as if someone pissed on her face and reminded her that she is no better than the insects that wither on the ground.

Cinder shivered, as she gently touched her chest.

---

You cannot win this.

---

"Was that a moan perhaps? Tch. Who gave you the huntress title? When you knew, you would have to face it, you should have just quit, do you like humiliation that much? Or are you perchance trying to please me? If so, you should have visited me in my chambers, but then again, I wouldn't touch anyone in the same state, as you are. You seem to have a face of a killer queen, but in reality, you are nothing more than a damned slave under my feet."

---

"Someone as incomplete as you could never touch me, let alone try to defeat me."

---

"You are nothing, nothing more than a leech, a weak little parasite under my foot. Do a favor, quit your pathetic existence."

---

The voice still echoed in her mind, it plagued her heart and soul. He called her a leech…in a way, no matter how much she wanted to deny it, she was a leech, she stole someone else's power- however, power is power, regardless of the way it's attained.

She believed that. She did…or does she now?

More than that- than the man called her, Cinder incomplete. Was he referring to the power of the maiden? No…it can't be possible, he wouldn't know…

Then why was it that it bothered her so much, the word bothered her so much?

She was broken by that man, he didn't treat her like a person, that's generous- Gilgamesh doesn't treat anyone like a person. However, to be humiliated to such a degree-

"You, okay?"

Cinder broke out of stupor as she glared at Mereoleona, who was walking with her…with Mercury and Emerald behind.

She wanted to blame this girl so bad, she wanted to state that everything was her fault, everything was Mereoleona's fault- the moment she visited her, everything went to hell- she feels this glitter feeling in her gut, she can't even eat proper dishes because Mereoleona is like every chance she gets- 'Yeah, Cinder let's ask Jaune to cook for us! Our looks would surely persuade him.' He's a good guy, isn't, he?'

Every single time with her, it was all about her…Cinder wanted to scream that and yet she couldn't. She had done no progress with the mission whatsoever because she was living like a normal girl…

Normal, she didn't plan anything during her stay here…she was actually spending time with Mereoleona, Mercury, and Emerald…they were joking around, having fun, making Mercury the butt of their joke…so much so, that Cinder forgot she was given a task.

A task should she fail, would cost her life. Yet, the more she wanted to hate the time spent, the more she remembered how to smile, not fake ones, not the ones she showed her enemies.

Just a smile that girl makes…

Cinder blinked as she stared at the starry sky instead of Mereoleona, somewhere, deep in her heart, she wanted to…she really did…

"Cinder Fall. Emerald Sustrai, Mercury Black. Halt, we have questions for you all."

She could not have happiness.

Turning around, she saw two people. Merlin, who was the Summer Maiden and her target, with her puffing smoke through his pipe, Sherlock.

Even if it appeared causal, Cinder prepared for something worse…no, she knew something was worse…why?

Shit!

She could sense that Merlin is the Summer Maiden, then vice versa was also possible, these guys would know that the Fall Maiden, was Amber and not Cinder…

This is bad.

"Is something the matter, Miss Merlin and Mr. Holmes?" Mereoleona narrowed her eyes.

Sherlock looked directly at her and then to Merlin, "I am quite soft on children, Miss Vermillion here takes things by heart and emotion, Merlin, you know the drill."

"Aye, boss!"

Merlin's eyes glowed, for some reason, Mereoleona took a battle stance but Merlin waved her off, "Don't worry, my semblance does not do any form of damage."

Tick!

Merlin tapped her staff on the ground and-

Swoosh~

Mereoleona disappeared, instead in her place, who stood was Sigurd Sonne, the Atlas's specialist.

Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury's eyes widen as they took a battle stance, however, Sherlock blew them off, "Please children, let's not get this bloody, Miss Vermillion is an emotional person, she wouldn't have sought for reason instantly, she is a good person, but emotional. So, let's have a discussion shall, we? If it's clean, we'll let you go, with a proper apology and compensation. Would you cooperate?"

Stiffen, Cinder just nodded her head, she wanted a plan, she needed to get a plan…if time consumption is what is needed, then she would play the game…

"Which academy do you hail from?"

"Haven Academy, Mistral."

"Interesting, before that?"

"Sanctum Academy."

Cinder gripped her fingers, loath as much as it be, Nikola Watts is a smart man, he planned out the perfect response Cinder should provide should she ever fall in a situation like this, at first Cinder thought this wasn't needed, well, looks like she was proven wrong. Watts made sure that she had perfect responses ready.

"Hmm. What's the name of your combat teacher, at Sanctum Academy?"

"Hermes Olympus."

Sherlock nodded, "When did you clear Agoge then?"

Huh?

"What?"

Agoge…What's that? Watts never told her anything about this?!

"Agoge, you know? The entrance you have to give before entering Haven Academy, what was your number, and what year?"

"Are you trying to make a fool of ourselves?"

Cinder snapped back; it was Mercury who spoke.

"Agoge was banned even before the first war, it turned children into human-hating soldiers, was used to drill discipline and solitary to make a war child. The process was banned and considered illegal by Mayor Hera Olympus herself. I would ask again, are you making fool of us?"

Cinder was never more relieved to have Mercury as her friend…no, underling, definitely underling.

However, Sherlock was smart, if anything that was a question to trap them, had she answered in any wrong fashion, she would have sold herself, however, if Merlin knows then, why aren't they taking the direct route? Why did they specifically bring, Sigurd Sonne, the specialist from Atlas…

Atlas.

Right…

"You already know, who I work for and what I am doing here, don't you?" Cinder asked in a low voice.

Sherlock, closed his eyes, "Young Specialist?"

Sigurd nodded, "While on the surface and even beyond, the transcripts for Haven Academy seemed clear and even had the stamp of Headmaster Lionheart, which is his stamp that cannot be replicated, would give anyone no doubt that you three are students and you did not have any fourth one as there were no other initiates- the transcripts for Sanctum were blatantly false…under investigators from Atlas visited the academy and there were no, official records for the names Cinder Fall, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black. From Atlas Intelligence Department, has rescanned and tried to connect the cordial claims made in the transcripts. None were made, they were expertly crafted, however, the stamp was real, which leads us to believe that Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart, is also involved in this falsified fiasco."

Sigurd spoke in a cold tone while using projection from his scroll, to show the proof and details.

Cinder was caught in a trap, from the side of her eyes she signaled Emerald to use her semblance.

However, to her shock, she turned in a different direction, ignoring Cinder altogether.

If that was the case then!

SWOOSH!

Flames surrounded her as she did a jump and used the escape route, like jets of fire ejected through her feet, propelling, giving her the power of flight!

Sigurd was about to depart- catch Cinder when, Merlin held him off, with a look which purred, 'She's my prey, I'm the hunter here', she jumped through the buildings, chasing Cinder.

"Young Specialist, return and talk to your friend, show her the video, it still may not convince her, but it would be a start. As for these two, I'll take care of them, they are under Camelot rules and regulations, after all, however, we do thank Atlas for their steady and quick help in the record."

Sigurd glanced towards Emerald and Mercury, without saying anything, anymore he simply left.

"Foo," Huffing Sherlock spoke, "So, betrayed at the last moment, well, you guys did that first anyway…even though the boy, Mercury was saving her first, how about, let's have a conversation?"

Emerald looked at Mercury, who nodded, basically telling her to go with the flow.

This was their chance.

"Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai, right?"

Both Mercury and Emerald were confused, they nodded anyway, the man knew their names already.

Puffing again, Sherlock looked up, "Is it fate? Black & Sustrai…or…?"

---

Cinder just needed to get out, she can do it, once out of the range- she'll

Ring~ Ring~ Ring~

Her scroll!

Taking out, she didn't even see the name, "Hello?!"

"Cinder? Are you being chased? You sound desperate?"

Never in her life, she would have thought that the voice of Nikola Watts would bring her relief.

"Quick summary, Camelot knows why I am here, Mercury and Emerald backstabbed me and I think the Summer Maiden is chasing me!"

The few seconds felt like a lifetime for Cinder,

"Well, expect the plans to fall out the rails, bad guys can't win these days, can they? Keep your scroll at least within 10 meters of yourself, I will get you out, just fight for a little while."

The call disconnected, fight for a little while, huh? Sadly, the track isn't well kept by Cinder.

"My, my, leaving already, won't you let the citizens of Camelot show a little bit of appreciation, we can show wonderous hospitality, you know?"

Cinder looked at her side, carefully placing her scroll away. The Summer Maiden, Merlin, she saw her semblance first hand, it replaced Mereoleona's place with Sigurd, does she have something to do with location-based semblance?

As if, Merlin could hear her thoughts, she made a cute wink, "My semblance, little girl? Thinking about that? Ah~ children these days, once they know about semblance, they just don't want to improve anything anymore. It's [Chronography], complete control over the geography of Remnant, but you don't need to worry about that~ nor do you have to worry about me using my Maiden powers, because honestly, they are quite overrated, however, do expect, to be put down like the dog you are~"

Merlin spoke with a smile; she was cheerful and yet…and yet…

It was hard for Cinder to breathe- the woman in front of her…is…

Merlin's face turned into a smile, a smile from ear to ear…

The smile of a monster.

Merlin swung her staff, to which Cinder narrowly dodged-

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The land cracked as the nearby tree turned into nothing but a splinter. That wasn't her semblance, she did that with her aura…

"Ah~ It's fun when you realize that…just simply, how amazing, the aura is? I feel saddened those young hunters and huntress die young, do you know why? All because they give too much thought to [Semblance], how to improve it, how to control it even better, they think that they are gods, but in reality, they are nothing more than fools. They master running, without even knowing when to walk or stop and as such, they stumble and- "

Merlin intentionally swung her staff harder and faster, enough to break Cinder's arm that she used to block since she was too slow to dodge- she was grateful that her arms were Grimm, but that didn't mean-

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Flung around right at the center of the park, the empty park that was closed.

"-fall…"

Merlin smiled, with a mischievous glint she stared at Cinder, "Ah, so your arms are Grimm, aren't they, no wonder you can't concentrate aura in your arms, Grimm physiology is very, different to Human's…you know? Such sloppy work by Salem."

Cinder froze…she should have been shocked, but she wasn't, these people did know of Salem's existence.

"A Grimm's body is meant to eat aura, it cannot handle aura, no wonder you are so imbalanced…"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Cinder and Merlin turned; the explosion was near the entrance of Camelot!

Cinder let a small smile come in, her rescue was here, all she needed to do, was survive!

"Huh? Your backup? Too bad…"

Cinder snapped her neck, towards Merlin who had a bored expression…

[All the guests that arrived at Camelot are to return to their respective reserves. All the citizens of Camelot are to return back to their households. Camelot is under attack, but fret not, nothing would occur, your King- would make sure of that!]

The King of Camelot, Gabriel Pendragon's voice boomed through the speakers.

"You people really think you could attack Camelot, and get away…you are in for a rude awakening…"

Cinder didn't bother, she believed that if Nikola Watts was here, regardless of how she hated the guy- he gets the job done.

She dashed towards Merlin, using the powers of Fall Maiden, and adding her semblance to it, she created two hot glass swords, she swung hard and fast-

Merlin sidestepped; however, Cinder didn't stop her assault- she cut up and then down, she twisted her body and used swords as a drill to bisect Merlin, who simply stopped her attack at the end of the staff.

"Tch." Cinder clicked her teeth, letting go of glass swords she let the Grimm's arms manifest fully, "Guh!"

This is what she hated- an infested crab-like structure appeared in her chest, her arms- that looked humane, where now, pitch black with, red veins, and bone claws- all with the sole purpose to absorb the powers of the Maiden.

However, as Merlin said, this came with a price, she couldn't properly use aura nor she could use her semblance, however…she could absorb the powers of the Maiden, and complete her task-

Who needs stupid friends! Who needs allies! She was alone…she was always alone…

Merlin on the other hand smirked, "Disappointing, really~"

Cinder launched herself at Merlin who blocked her- Merlin's eyes…not her entire eye, but the sclarea was pitch black, as she gave Cinder the sadistic smile.

Click!

The best Cinder did was grip Merlin's staff…

"You someone who isn't even Grimm or human, a disbalanced body and an incomplete soul…"

Incomplete…

DON!

Cinder was thrown off, smashing into the trees, her scroll falling off…her somewhat aura cushioned her fall…but…

---

"Someone as incomplete as you could never touch me, let alone try to defeat me."

---

"You are nothing, nothing more than a leech, a weak little parasite under my foot. Do a favor, quit your pathetic existence."

---

"Heh…heh…hahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" maniacal laughter radiated through Cinder as she finally realized what it meant by…what he meant by incomplete.

Was it fate…that her scroll played the song…?

"She keeps her Moet et Chandon

In her pretty cabinet"

The Grimm on her chest burnt as it exploded soon after, the Grimm's arms fell off, Merlin couldn't see, Cinder's face, and yet she could feel the smile.

""Let them eat cake", she says

Just like Marie Antoinette"

"I was stupid, so, so stupid all this time, I thought…I was incomplete because I failed to achieve the complete powers of the Fall maiden…but no…."

"A built-in remedy

For Khrushchev and Kennedy"

"JHAHAHAHAHAHAHA….it was I that was defective, I…have been thinking too low of myself, too ignorant…I forgot who I was…I just had to remind myself once again…what exactly I wanted to be…Maiden powers? Grimm armory? Fuck that!"

Slowly but surely, Merlin could see- a figure emerging behind Cinder, this was…Cinder's semblance? Her semblance…evolving?

"At anytime an invitation

You can't decline"

The figure was muscular, with light skin color.

"Caviar and cigarettes"

Its crown is flat, while two sharp, triangular shapes resembling cat ears stand on both sides of the top of its head. Its eyes comprise cat-like vertical pupils in front of its generally light-colored sclera. It has no nose, and its thin-lipped mouth is perpetually closed. It wears dark, studded, leather-like forearm-length gloves, mirrored in style by a garter belt-like band at its waist and ankle-height footwear. Its thumbs are additionally bandaged in white.

"Well versed in etiquette"

On its index finger's middle phalanx, there is a small red button similar to those found on stereotypical detonators. Four short spikes line the top of its back. Its shoulders, the back of its hands, belt buckle, a plate hanging in front of its crotch, both sides of its ankles, and the top of its feet all bear the emblem of a skull with ears resembling its own, in varying sizes and external decoration.

"Extraordinarily nice"

The figure was clear. A Stand-in based semblance, Cinder Fall…at the heat of battle losing her Grimm's arms, improved herself and made herself strong.

So was Cinder's face- with glee, a look that she found herself to be-

"She's a Killer Queen"

Click!

"Gunpowder, gelatin

Dynamite with a laser beam"

Merlin heard a click, looking down at her staff, it appeared as if there was a tiny...timer?

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Guaranteed to blow your mind"

[Part-3]

7th June, Monday- RX21, 22:30

{Buckingham Palace Entrance Gardens}

Jaune took an irregular stance…this feeling, he knows he won't win- however if he could just delay, delay enough for Artoria to arrive…

He wanted help, didn't he?

For all the brave words he screamed, for all the standing up, he did…Jaune Arc was terrified.

For all the things that occurred back at the coliseum, Karna held back and let Jaune show his skills or develop ones.

However, here?

Tyrian's eyes glowed purple, the manic grin ever-present. A full-blown veteran huntsman- who will not hold back.

SWOOSH~

What? Tyrian had disappeared from his place- no, just like Karna, he appeared right before him, and just in the last second-

DON!

SLOSH!

The blunt side of the blade took the force, it ratted Jaune, for someone who didn't pack big muscles, he did pack a mean punch- a reminder that appearance can be deceiving. However, that wasn't what bothered Jaune, what bothered was, even if the attack didn't connect, Jaune felt something…it was as if…

"Your aura was chipped away?"

Tyrian completed Jaune as he still held his maniacal grin, "My semblance is passive, but it does it work… [Aura Break]- as long as my attacks do damage, it will chip away, 5% of aura…."

Tyrian closed the distance once again and his glaring purple eyes drilled inside Jaune's, "Those who live by the aura, will die by my hand!"

DON!

SLOSH!

Jaune tried to dodge at the last moment, however, Tyrian's attack still hit him as such- his aura chipped away- however, something was wrong…he knew the feeling of 5 % aura disappearing, he remembered it- however, just now, it wasn't five…more like 8%...was Tyrian lying?

No…something was wrong, in a battle why would Tyrian openly say what does his semblance do? Why would he put himself at risk? Even if Jaune couldn't be a proper opponent…this doesn't mean that one should reveal their cards in between battles, no one during the tournament- stated what does their semblance do, then why was Tyrian doing so in the first place?

No, he had to concentrate here- who was this guy? Why was he attacking Camelot? His target was Artoria, the princess of Camelot, an assassin? Terrorist? Was the explosion his doing? Did he have an accomplice?

Honestly, crime-fighting and capturing peeps, is more of something Team RWBY would do, Jaune and Team JNPR? Were more of a side character…

Whatever, Jaune needed to survive this- against this man, who has no qualms about killing.

Concentrating aura on his sword, Jaune dashed, a step back, and Jaune sliced, however Tyrian- mad glee ever-present dodged the attack.

SLICE!

SLOSH!

Once again, Jaune couldn't dodge in time, his aura depleted and he took damage, as his cheeks bled, Jaune who was about to recover- before-

Tyrian grabbed Jaune's head and brought it down right on his left knee-

DON!

SLOSH!

Senses in disarray, Jaune looked up and tried to concentrate his aura, but-

SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH!

Even with an immense aura pool, Jaune could feel it draining- as if the pool of water was drying very, fast…very, very fast- and the problem was, he could not concentrate on healing- because he focused on offense.

Concentrating aura on his blade once again, Jaune dashed- slash which was dodged, taking the momentum in action, Jaune front flipped and used his legs to bash Tyrian's head- but he was countered.

Tyrian took hold of his attacking leg, Jaune forcefully twisted his leg and attacked with the other but Tyrian caught that too.

Having no other choice, Jaune grit his teeth, dropped his sword, and twisted his body at a speed that ripped the skin that Tyrian held on to- pain! it felt really painful- however, he got Tyrian, he caught him off guard with this action and-

SLICE!

Jaune sliced through Tyrian's chest- it put a scratch, Jaune could see, Tyrian took damage because his aura healed him- but he didn't bleed.

Wait.

How did he heal? Wasn't it difficult to control healing and combat at the same time? Then how did Tyrian, who was engaged in combat, heal himself quickly.

On the other hand, Tyrian chuckled, "You don't know the functions of aura, do you?"

"What?"

Staring at the confused Jaune, Tyrian balled, "Hahahahahaha! This is great! Why did you come to fight here? You don't even know the basics of combat, at first, I thought you were trying to catch me off guard, by not having too much aura covering your sword…I realize it now, it's not that you didn't cover your sword with aura, it's that you can't! hahahahahah…. hilarious, simply hilarious!"

What? What did he mean by that? Till now…he covered his sword with aura, didn't he? He even concentrated aura on different parts of the body…it didn't happen?

Looking back, Jaune realized something, only after a multitude of attacks did, he did damage to Karna, to which he simply bled from the nose, nothing more in reality- there was no noticeable damage done.

The same act was reoccurring, no matter what, Jaune isn't able to perform a sufficient amount of damage when he has an aura- he just had to concentrate on it, right? Then, what was going wrong? What exactly, did he do wrong?

Why was he failing?

Why does this only happen to him?

"Ahahaha…just why did a failure, like you come here? For what reason, is someone who does not know even how to control aura and knows the abilities of aura. I don't blame you…this generation, of children, is just dumb, gets offended easily, cries easily, breaks easily- sometimes I wonder if it's the Grimm or the generation at fault, but…hey if it makes you feel any better…Jaune, right? Children these days simply want to show off semblance, they think with achieving use of abilities they are invincible, that they are better than the common folks, in reality, they are nothing more than common fodder, children who don't know how rules work, how the system works, do you what happens to those who play God, Jaune? They die! They simply perish, do you see their name? Do you see them achieving anything? You saw how many participated, right? How many do you think are capable? How many are actually able to fight? In the end, it all comes down to one thing and one thing, boy- just how strong your will, would be! Let me demonstrate, what an actual veteran does~"

Tyrian's words, were more than just a mad man rambling. Even in the malice, for some reason, to Jaune, it appeared that he was making some sense, what exactly that was-he did not know. But the itching feeling in his mind told him that there was more to it.

Right before Jaune could even process, what Tyrian meant by that, by his small speech-

OoooOooOOOOOOOOOooooMmmmmmmmmMHhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

CHILLS!

What…?

What was going on…?

Jaune felt it right through his core, to his soul- a beast, a monster, glaring upon him. He was small, so small- towering him was a scorpion, whose stringer was ready to pincer him- this aura- this sensation…he could feel it. Rushing, overbearing, overpowering…a very similar feeling, a feeling of malice.

Jaune fell on his ass- as tried to breathe as hard as possible, he was sweating, the aura was low- too low, what now? Few more hits and his aura would shatter. He would fail.

Fail.

All over his surrounding, it was Tyrian's aura, it was as if the entire garden was covered with it, covered in a mist of malice with a single target, Jaune Arc.

"Ah~ I don't blame you, you don't know how to counter aura techniques, maybe now, in the afterlife, think before jumping, thinking before playing hero, you'll fall, you'll fail."

Fail.

The bubbling sensation, the heat under the skin, under the aura.

Tyrian towered to the fallen Jaune Arc, "Don't worry, I'll swing it and remove that head of yours, it would be painless~"

Swoosh!

Gathering his bearing for the last time, fear in the soul, Jaune did what he did against the Grimm during the discovery of his fighting technique and the way he would prefer to fight. Using the environment.

Then, do it once again!

In the last moment, when Tyrian began to monologue (The man speaks too much, he likes the sound of his own voice, perhaps?) Jaune dug deep in the garden's wet mud and splashed it right at his face- was its destruction of public property? Yes. Will he do it again? If it saves his life, then yes. The king hates him enough as it is, a little damage to the garden wouldn't matter much.

Well, as long as survival matters then!

DON!

Jaune used, and tried to muster the remaining amount of his strength and kicked Tyrian directly at his…...nuts? No, crotch…. kicked him, directly at his crotch.

"Guh!"

Okay, this was stupid- films and anime were a lie, kicking in the nuts barely did anything, Tyrian just made grunting noise, nothing more- did that do no damage whatsoever? Is his aura protection that good?

Tyrian grunted as he glared towards a very, very low on aura Jaune Arc, "This isn't a bar fight boy, have some class."

The irony is that the mad man tells us to have the class. What now? Wait, for Artoria? Sure, he would have done that, but the question is, can he survive for that long?!

"Sister Artoria?! Big sister Artoria! Where are you?!"

"Aiden, wait! You shouldn't be outside!"

Wait, what?!

Jaune and Tyrian's eyes both darted towards a boy and the woman following him- wait, Jaune knew that woman, she was sitting beside the King- Venelana Pendragon, The Queen of Camelot. Who was the boy then? The boy had brown hair and green eyes just like Artoria. His hair wasn't blonde- however, he appeared very similar to Artoria.

Is he her younger brother?

Tyrian on the other hand looked uncomfortable, something was wrong- however, the Queen isn't fighting nor she is fighting- so, to Jaune, it was safe to assume that she can't fight and the little boy was somewhere around 9 to 10 years of age.

There were no guards, with the queen, it was stupid and irresponsible- and against an assassin no less. No time!

Even with a low aura, even if he didn't know how, he would properly control aura, he had to fight…just a little longer- he used Tyrian's distraction once again, who appeared a little uncomfortable with the Queen 's appearance.

DON!

Jaune landed a punch, right towards his chin- however, he didn't stop there, he-

SLICE!

Tyrian's aura was still strong as it tanked Jaune's attack- however, Jaune forced himself to double kick Tyrian right at his gut, skidding him a little back.

Breathing heavily, Jaune stood in front of Queen and the little boy.

"Queen…huff…Little boy…huff, please, evacuate, Artoria is helping others, please, leave!"

Queen looked baffled, more so was the little boy, "Big sister Artoria is here? Where is she? There was an explosion outside!"

"Leave! Now!"

Jaune dashed- Tyrian, on the other hand, had enough, enough toying- his plan is already failing.

SLICE! SLOSH! SLICE! SLOSH!

Cutting right through Jaune's chest, his aura crackled, he spat blood- breathing heavily, Jaune cannot tank the next attack.

"This will, kill you!"

Something clicked, Jaune for whatever reason, realized whatever next attack Tyrian would do, would cause massive damage!

The Queen and the little boy, still haven't left- he sprinted towards them, even though the pain was prevalent he ran and pushed the duo, Queen and the boy, where shoved near the bench which flipped by their weight.

Good, now- Jaune turned, he had dropped his sword, Tyrian was right in front of him, putting his arm forward, he spoke out-

"[Aura Zone: Aura Break]"

---

Last of the people left, the garden and the surrounding area. Artoria turned, and she did not stop moving, Tyrian was a dangerous man- a ruthless man, she could tell from the aura he had.

His aura was nothing but malice, a man that would never change, and Jaune was stuck with him.

Dammit!

Putting two fingers and concentrating aura within them, Artoria whistled and within seconds, her steed arrived. A special breed of stallion, a Dun Stallion, his name?

"Llamrei!"

The stallion was muscular and was silver in color, with deep ocean green eyes, it rode.

Artoria jumped, "It's urgent boy, don't hold back!", The horse, rose, neighed and it did what his master wished him to.

Dammit, her mind was still a bit disarray.

Why did she let him talk his way, even if his conversation made sense, there could have been a different way? She had a bad feeling, she really did!

Lo and behold. Arriving she saw, her stepmother, the current Queen of Camelot, and her little step-brother, Aiden, but why were they here?! Are they stupid?! And why weren't the guards with her?

Then, she saw, Jaune- his aura crackling, weak, bleeding and yet he sprinted and pushed the Queen and the little boy, towards the bench that flipped due to their weight.

Tyrian was in front of Jaune now, the face of malice clear as day, bringing his hands forward-

"[Aura Zone: Aura Break]"

SHYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

It was a screeching sound, Tyrian's aura crackled a little- however, the lad broke, the nearby area broke- pushing through the garden slamming right at the tree.

She saw Jaune Arc. His clothes were toned, skin ripped, it looked as if his muscles were turned inside out arm broken and shattered aura. He was spasming, coughing blood- broken bones, body from that attack.

The Queen didn't mean anything to Jaune. Her little brother didn't mean anything to Jaune. Even the attack itself didn't have anything to do with Jaune, her selfish desire to spend a little time with him is what got him into this.

If it wasn't for her, Jaune wouldn't be harmed in the first place…

---

"It's okay, I did it for you, if I am not going to do it, then who would protect you, it is the duty of the big brother to look after their younger ones, isn't it? If it was to protect you, I regret nothing."

---

No.

Not again, not like this!

"Llamrei!"

With the speed of the wind, the Dun Stallion jumped and entered the fray, Tyrian who was once again caught off guard received a great kick from the horse itself, however, Llamrei didn't stop there, he made his way towards Jaune.

Artoria climbing down, looked at him sadly, "I should have arrived earlier, I am so…so, sorry Jaune." Picking him, Artoria gently placed him on Llamrei's back and strapped him.

"Please boy, by no means stop, he's still breathing, make it to Pitou…she must be in Lancelot's house."

Jaune's voice ragged out, "Don't…get…attacked…his…semblance…aura destroy…"

"Jaune! Stop speaking, it's my fault, I..I…"

Even if it was a silent voice, broken and tired, she could hear it clearly, Jaune saying, "I…regret…nothing…"

-!

Patting at her steed back, Llamrei neighed, before it dashed away. Artoria's eyes were shadowed, her expression couldn't be seen.

"Big sister, Artoria!" the little boy dashed towards Artoria and hugged her, on the other hand, she did not give any certain response, expression hidden, she looked at her step-mother, she simply asked one question, while keeping an eye on Tyrian.

"Why are you outside?"

"Aiden was afraid, we heard the explosion, he knew you like to stroll near the garden this time, so we came here to check on you."

"Why aren't the guards here?"

"Someone, knocked them out I don't know who…and you do know your father's ability does not work, inside the palace- mother and son isn't much of a fighter, are they?"

"Stay here."

Without saying anything anymore, her lance [Rhongomyniad] shone in her hands, "Who sent you here assassin?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Actually, you know what? I don't, I'll just make you submit and Pitou could get the information out of you- whether you would be willing or not."

"Ahahaha…really? Make me submit? Then why didn't you do it earlier? Why let your bodyguard get injured? Or was he your boy-toy? Stress relief? Hahahahaha…ah, I thought that boy was a failure, but makes sense- you are a failed princess, caring for someone who would never have anything to do with you~ ah~ killing you will be fun~"

Tyrian prepared for the attack, he launched himself, he was sure he could overpower the princess who had yet to show any expression.

Tyrian's frontal assault, was met by nothing but, Artoria's body- turning into light and disappearing, causing Tyrian to halt a little, but reappeared right beside him and with the lance, he struck his side piercing him-

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"AAaaaHHHHHHaa!" Tyrian could feel the burn through his skin to his aura, not like fire- something pure, something holy burnt him, looking up finally, he could see the princess's expression.

Glowing green eyes through the face as she glared thousands of deaths upon him.

"I'll be your judge, your jury, and your executioner."

[Part-4]

7th June, Monday- RX21, 22:10

{Outskirts of Camelot}

The VTOL was hovering, two figures near a holographic table.

Nikola Watts and Hazel Reinhart.

"Okay," Nikola started, clicking on the screen, a three-dimensional holographic image of Camelot appeared, "It took me time but I did get into the online servers and got the updated version of the map. Anything regarding Buckingham Palace was still not in the archives."

"From what I know, they are in the palace where exactly, I can't help you with."

"I don't blame you, it's not like we can get every information, but this is what we get closest to the proper map. Now," Nikola zoomed in the entrance.

"Camelot isn't that big, it is more akin to a large city, where everything can travel within. Of all of the kingdoms, Camelot is the smallest one, now, the entire place is covered with blocked walls, if broken or even hacked through, will send signals. We can go from behind the back, the opposite end of Camelot, but we'll waste too much time. Now, Camelot is divided into four sections or the proper term would be five. The Central Part, which is Buckingham Palace, is the eastern part where the coliseum is held. The western part is where CAI industries are placed. The northern part, where the gates do not have signals has large open space, outskirts, and the only place from where Grimm could enter, but can't. Finally, the southern complex, where the market, living space, schools are placed and well, I am sorry to say, we need to enter through the southern place and through the main gates- I can disable the security for max thirty minutes, we need to complete the task within then."

The larger man in the room nodded, Hazel, looked at Nikola signaling him to continue, "Since our task is to get Cinder back, we'll need more. Here, take a look at this."

Walking towards a mechanical cell, that had a large tank behind it, Nikola turned it on.

"Hazel, you know about [Restrictions], right?"

Hazel nodded, "Yes, I do, [Restrictions] is a force full condition placed upon the [Semblance], which in turn makes the [Semblance] stronger, a great example by Tyrian would be, putting yourself at risk by telling your opponents what your [Semblance] makes it easier for them to come up with a counter, but in return, your [Semblance] now can do almost as twice the amount of damage."

"Indeed, so I placed a restriction on my body for my [Semblance] to work, I will never get physically strong Hazel, any average huntsman or even huntsman in-training can beat me quite easily. However, regardless of what occurs, I can use my [Semblance], [Worthless] to its fullest. My body would be damaged and in order to escape, my body would be put at high risk, as such- I want you to place me inside this tube when we return."

"Honestly, I have never seen your ability at the action."

"Yeah, I don't want to use it, but hey? Got a job to do, now, you will be the tank Hazel, I apologize, but you need to be the center of attention and you need to bring it down."

Hazel nodded.

"Now, I have to call Tyrian and see what's his status."

Tyrian wasn't picking up, clicking his tongue, Nikola clicked his screen, the good thing is, Tyrian still had his disposable scroll, was it on silent? Tyrian's location was slowly, he was making his way towards the Central Camelot, the Buckingham Palace- Nikola's gut feeling told him that Tyrian is going to do something stupid, he won't be able to assassinate Artoria Pendragon, the Princess of Camelot and after hearing it from Hazel, Tyrian is strong, yes, but he will die.

Okay, now double time, he needed to save Tyrian as well, he had way too much information on his head to be let him die. According to Hazel, the Faunus named Pitou- Nikola too heard about her when he was in Atlas, the Faunus ability to heal almost anyone, as long as the person is not dead.

Great ability in the medical field, but the information was never made public- because, let's be real, humans when realize that someone had the ability to cure any and all body problems and save someone who is near deathbed. People would great crazy, they would do everything in their power to achieve that, even if it meant war. As such, Pitou never treated civilians, because she would be nothing more than an object. That's understandable. Humans are shit, their own feelings matter, not others, as long as their goal is achieved- they are satisfied and fuck the others.

No wonder there are kingdoms and continents, humans can never unite, regardless of how much they preach unity, standing up against sexism, against racism…it all boils down to human desire. As long as the desire exists, humans and Faunus will exploit each other, even their own.

And Nikola Watts was one of them. He was not a saint and he will never be one. He by no means wants any part in the saving of Cinder and Tyrian, but the situation calls upon it. His goals align with what is needed and hate as he may be, he needs to shed blood and tears if he, Nikola Watts has to do to achieve his goals.

Even if he has to listen to a Grimm woman, who thinks she deserves to be the Queen of the world, where her real intention is getting blurred every day, and the woman has already left whatever humanity she had, behind.

Speaking of crazy women, the real target which needed saving, was Cinder.

Nikola called her.

Ring~ Ring~ Ring~

"Hello?!"

Nikola blinked; Cinder sounded desperate as if she was running from someone.

"Cinder? Are you being chased? You sound desperate?"

He could sense her relief? Cinder was relieved to hear him, something worse must have happened.

"Quick summary, Camelot knows why I am here, Mercury and Emerald backstabbed me and I think the Summer Maiden is chasing me!"

Okay, so that is a valid reason, really valid and shit! He needs to save two, of the things he does.

"Well, expect the plans to fall out the rails, bad guys can't win these days, can they? Keep your scroll at least within 10 meters of yourself, I will get you out, just fight for a little while."

He disconnected the call, while he did say Cinder to fight, his track record isn't exactly what you would expect from a maiden. But then again, who knew Cinder would fail this bad.

What Nikola blamed himself as he should have foreseen Mercury and Emerald's betrayal, the moment Mercury didn't wear the outfit he provided, Mercury must have realized that it was bugged, instead of destroying which would have sent signals to Nikola, he didn't wear it at all. He by no means can take out both of them since they would be under Camelot's protection- shit!

If they take immunity from Camelot this means they would spill the secrets, or whatever Cinder had told them. Now, they don't know Salem's castle's location since both of them didn't visit- but they do know about Salem and they did have the conversation.

Their betrayal would also mean that they would speak against Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart, the Mistral Academy's head and a coward lion whose will broke as he submitted to Salem. The pivot was him, because of him, the information had been passed around, every single information that occurred within the academies and Ozpin's inner circle…Mercury and Emerald knew about that.

And the fake transcripts would solidify testimony against Leonardo, he would be marked with attacking Camelot, which could be seen as Mistral trying to invade the Kingdom. A very big mess would be created and Salem's access to Mistral would be closed off- and if Camelot prepared to retaliate, a neutral kingdom- things will go south very fast. They still haven't opened the vault under Mistral, the Spring Maiden, any information on her is missing- the Summer Maiden is within grasp but they can' extract her, and neither the vault under Camelot.

Nikola's project would take time and according to Hazel, he has been training three warriors- would have been better if he had brought them here. Maybe an extensive plan could have been made, but the likely chances are that they would have still lost. Even if Hazel is strong and he belongs to that group of people, the unique ones- assuming the King too didn't stop his training if he can maintain his skills, then the King and Hazel might just be equal…who knows?

Safe to say, this is a loss. And, it will only turn worse if the sides aren't fixed and the loose ends aren't closed- and Nikola's peers wonder why is he getting grey hairs, with allies like these, death is much near.

Alright, the map of Camelot transferred over to Nikola's scroll, he packed a bag- a metallic bag and hovered VTOL downward, right above the beach. Two mechanical bikes ejected- two hovercrafts. Setting his scroll, on the hovercraft, Nikola, pointed Hazel to get on…and he realized, the hovercraft might be too small for a big man like him.

"I'll just run."

"Wait, what?"

What Nikola saw, was an eight feet man, eight feet buffed muscular man, running and running so fast that even Nikola was having a hard time keeping up with, who mind you, was driving one of the fastest hovercrafts. The man is on one.

---

The entrance came up and Hazel did not stop, his mere aura presence and him not stopping and running through the gate, he knocked out the guards.

Near the outpost, Nikola uploaded the virus, thirty minutes, they only have thirty minutes before it is disabled and the security torrents are enabled and the Central department of Camelot knows they are being invaded. Now, to draw attention to Hazel, the best place would be Central east, the tournament is over, the King does not have many guards, in reality, Camelot is the only kingdom that does not have any form of an army- it does not desire conquest, however, in the past whoever attacked Camelot have always lost.

Well, time to put that theory to the test.

Taking a few high explosives out of the bag, Nikola tossed them towards Hazel, "Light the fireworks."

Hazel nodded and dashed once again- now, the explosion goes in three…two…one…

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

There it is, Nikola still had to wait for a little, after all, he can't just jump in he had to take safe spots and help out both, Tyrian and Cinder.

[All the guests that arrived at Camelot are to return to their respective reserves. All the citizens of Camelot are to return back to their households. Camelot is under attack, but fret not, nothing would occur, your King- would make sure of that!]

All right so the king has issued the command, this means the entire focus would soon be on Hazel.

The plan was difficult to execute, mostly because of the King, Gabriel Pendragon's [Semblance], [Luxiem]- the ability to control light, but the worst part is the ability currently in use. [Aura Zone: Light of Camelot].

According to Hazel, as long as the King remains inside Camelot, he can sense anyone's aura and attack anywhere within Camelot- it would have been a failure of the mission if the king was able to do it freely, however, there is one thing that makes the ability easy to break. Nikola deduced that such an outplay of strength is impossible unless there are certain restrictions, if that would be the case then assuming- he needs focus, aura, and strength to maintain this ability that he has- Nikola cannot remove strength and aura, however, what he can remove would be King's focus.

Hazel had agreed that as such, he would become the distraction, needed- one thing was for sure, Hazel had aura…dense aura and ocean of it, he fought for ten days straight without food and water, just to improve his skill, even if it was against Grimm, Hazel is the strongest person Nikola has seen and from what he could deduce, stronger than the Grimm Queen herself, then why he follows her? He doesn't know.

Slapping himself Nikola steeled himself, it was time, looking at the scroll, two dots blinked- two different locations. One was near Buckingham Palace the other was near the entrance of the northern part- a garden.

One was near the central area and the other was near the northern, oh well. Revving up the hovercraft, he made the decision- quickly save Tyrian and then Cinder and make sure in time reach Hazel.

Hovering above the buildings, Nikola Watts raced towards his objective.

---

Tyrian Callows fell, as he was low…very low on the aura, it wasn't that Artoria Pendragon was physically strong, she was just above average huntsman, physically Tyrian could overpower her, but that's where the problem lies, in a battle- physical attribute is a part of combat, not everything has to be muscles- Artoria was the best example for it.

Tyrian Callows, a veteran huntsman, a mastered assassin- has been nearly brought to submission. Artoria Pendragon knew how to properly use aura techniques and her [Semblance] and she did it so well that she might as well be one of the strongest warriors.

Also, maybe Tyrian beat up her friend a little too much and she is exacting vengeance…also why is the Queen here, didn't she issue him to kill her very own daughter? Or is she here to help him out? It would be a good time for her to interfere because Tyrian did a stupid mistake.

He used his aura zone ability on that boy, what occurs in activating that ability requires certain conditions, the first one should be his opponent's aura must be low, less than at least 25%, then sacrificing his own 30% aura he could instantly kill, maim or even destroy the body- also it's an area of effect attack, so anyone near the target would face the damage. Somehow, maybe it was pure instincts that Jaune Arc, pushed away from the Queen and the kid so that they won't face the damage…and the worse thing was, he didn't even kill the kid! He was alive somehow after taking the attack- something was going on with that brat and because of him, he failed the first assassination attempt, then failed to kill the boy. Now? Tyrian was nearly brought to submission and it would seem that the boy, Jaune told her what his [Semblance] does and not himself…but, that kind of restriction when placed on [Semblance], for example telling your enemies what your [Semblance]'s does- puts you under risk, yes but that also increase the damage of the said [Semblance] two fords. The problem is, when to put that risk, now someone as fast or faster than Tyrian, he wouldn't tell them, because it would be useless and they have speed on their side.

And Artoria Pendragon was damn fast, so much so that it appeared that she was nothing but light- it didn't help that such fast attacks were giving Tyrian epilepsy and he doesn't even know what epilepsy means.

"Tyrian…JUMP!"

Totally out of instinct Tyrian jumped and right under him, came in a hovercraft and the driver is well known, it's Nikola Watts.

Nikola Watts doesn't ask in what condition Tyrian was in, instead simply asks, "Does here [Semblance] have to do something to do with light?"

Tyrian was a bit baffled that he didn't even ask if he was fine or not, but simply went on with the objective, man of commitment, "She does, problematic, isn't it…can you beat her?"

"I can't…however, Artoria Pendragon- your [Semblance]…is now, [Worthless]!" The moment Nikola said that he bled through his nose and his eyes turned red.

What? Did Nikola fail?

However, Tyrian could see the shock in Artoria's face, she put her hand in front and it appeared like she was attacking, but in reality, she wasn't being able to do anything…

Does that mean, Tyrian can kill her?

"Don't, only her [Semblance] has disabled, not her aura or skills and you are low on it, we are running off…" Nikola whispered and threw a grenade towards the Queen and the boy, for Artoria to be forced to defend them rather than to chase…however, Tyrian saw it- from beside and behind the shadow of the queen- a figure emerged-

It is sparsely clothed in black, with a mask covering its face to the bottom of where its nose would be, in a piece that rises above its head by half its height in a row of peaks, like a crown. Its attire is based on Camelot's image of an executioner. Its light skin is marked by horizontal stripes of roughly an inch's height, with "GΔCT" repeatedly written on every other stripe. Its irises are also unique, appearing as if they are melting.

Tyrian remembered that figure, he remembered- some weird ability stopping him inside the palace.

It would seem that everyone else noticed the figure quite late.

The little boy screamed, "Big sister Artoria, he's the one," pointing towards the new figure that dashed towards Tyrian and Nikola, "He knocked out the guards!"

Artoria could have done something, but she was far too focused on removing the grenades because Nikola threw even more at her.

The hovercraft revved up it was about to depart when, the figure finally reached near Tyrian, this figure wasn't a human…a stand-in, based [Semblance]…was it, Queen's?

Nikola revved and they were about to leave, when the figure just tapped, a simple tap on Tyrian's parietal side of the head, it looked as if his head split…but it didn't instead, it looked as if his head tore, and from there a white disk? A white disk fell as the figure held onto it.

The figure smirked and ran towards a different side; however, Nikola didn't stop instead revved up to full, leaving the royal trio behind.

---

"Tyrian, what was that?"

"Hm, what was what?"

"That stand-in [Semblance], that attacked you and took something out…are you okay?"

"Good doctor, are you nuts? Who attacked me? I was only fighting the princess, are you hallucinating or something?"

Nikola blinked- he wanted to slap this guy hard, did that thing take away Tyrian's brain or something, but that's simply impossible you can't take away something that just simply doesn't exist.

Not now, there is still one more target to take out.

"Tyrian…your aura zone attack, it also stuns the target for a good few seconds, right?"

"Well, it does put them in a daze, for a few seconds, yes, but why?"

"Tyrian, can you perform your zone attack?"

"What?"

---

Cinder fell to her knees, she sucked in air as hard as she could- her aura was down to below red, she could feel life-sucking away…also didn't help that she was armless…like she had no arms. Her [Stand-in semblance] removed the Grimm parts in her, giving her full proper access to her powers.

Powers, in realizing what she, Cinder Fall needed, her [Semblance] upgraded.

Yes, she doesn't need some fucking Grimm…some dumb girl's maiden powers, fuck all of those. Cinder Fall will do it herself. She won't be a fucking prisoner anymore.

She's a killer queen. She'll be free.

But every good run must end, regardless of her upgrade…Merlin didn't even use her maiden powers…and the problem was, that Cinder's maiden powers were getting weaker as well. She can feel it exists, but she can't seem to call all of it, no the correct term would be half of its power, but it…feel like…the maiden power is burning away, like an almost burnt-out candle flickering its last flames, yet the molten wax remains as a proof that the candle did exist.

Something was going on with the powers, she does not know what that is. There was no time though- it was the end of the line.

"You did good," Merlin spoke, her palms were red due to the sudden explosion and the destruction of her staff, but that didn't matter, she still brought Cinder to submission, "You really did good, you improved mid-battle and that is a very, very rare trait. Sadly, I have to put you down, you had a good run, I'm sure you will be missed."

Ring~ Ring~ Ring~

Both Merlin and snapped their head towards Cinder's ringing scroll and that was a mistake-

Merlin realized a split second later, she focused her aura and turned around only to find a hovercraft right above her-

"Tyrian! NOW!"

"[Aura Zone: Aura Break]"

Tyrian's aura shattered- but it took nearly Merlin's 15% aura away, and put her in a stunned state, just for a few seconds- a few seconds enough for Tyrian to kick her off- Nikola to throw a satchel explosive right towards Merlin's belly.

Hovercraft crashed near Cinder's scroll effectively breaking it, that was Nikola's plan, he didn't want absolutely anyone to trace anything- the scroll Emerald and Mercury had, wasn't the one he provided them, that's why it's safe.

"Look at you, all broken."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Jeez!"

"Sit you, dimwits!"

With Nikola's screech, Tyrian picked up Cinder- who was surprised to see the girl losing her arms, well, whatever the hell happened was Cinder that incompetent.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The satchel charge exploded, Tyrian, even though his aura shattered, it was being refilled, picked up Cinder and got on the hovercraft that moved- fast…very fast.

"I always knew you were a failure Cinder, didn't realize this much."

"Did you do any better?"

"Are you talking back to me?!"

"Yes, you didn't do anything, you were probably masturbating to the thought of Salem stepping on you and proving your love…which mid you, she never will…"

"WHAT?! You take that back, at least I did something, what did you do? You even lost your arms!"

"I was fighting…I don't think you know what that is, if you shaking your baby dick in a corner, like a little bitch!"

"I should just drop you here you dumb little bitch!"

"Try it sting dick, even with fucking no arm, I'll perform better than you ever will…minute man…"

"Minute man? Minute man?! Oaky then…failed bitch, what's your success rate?"

"Better than yours!"

"Yeah! Dumb bitch thinks she did something, how delusional must you be?!"

"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!"

""…""

"Both you…I mean both of you…did not do anything. Cinder, you failed to get the maiden's powers, you failed to infiltrate Beacon and you failed to send information regarding Summer Maiden and failed to check the background of your subordinates you eventually betrayed you…and you Tyrian, you aren't any better, you jeopardized the mission by contacting the damned queen, you fought the princess and lost, you failed to achieve any objective. You were sent here to aid Cinder not fucking race to see who does the job better and look what happen! You are no better than Cinder…so both of you, dumb fuck…JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP FOR A DAMNED MINUTE AND LET ME DO THE FUCKING THINKING YOU NEANDERTHAL KNOBS!"

""…""

"Ahem…I apologize, that was very unbecoming of me, as a doctor and a scientist and a gentleman, it seems that my behavior has slipped, do forgive me…you dumb twats."

""….""

[Part-5]

7th June, Monday- RX21, 22:20

{Near the Coliseum}

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The bomb exploded as Hazel stared at the King, people running around and multiple guards making sure that they are returning to the safe place, suffice to say people were scared- seeing an eight feet tall big man, whose shirt was too tight for his body- a very, very muscular body and to top it all off the man just detonated a bomb in a public area, without remorse.

Hazel looked around, it appeared as though he appeared nostalgic…the breeze, the sky, everything…

[All the guests that arrived at Camelot are to return to their respective reserves. All the citizens of Camelot are to return back to their households. Camelot is under attack, but fret not, nothing would occur, your King- would make sure of that!]

Hazel looked up his attire changed, a vambrace that looked as if they were made of iron covered his fists and that's all the weapon he needed.

Staring at him was the King of Camelot, Gabriel Pendragon- his long golden hair flowed, he stood proud in his full body covered in golden armor, with a royal blue cape. The armor didn't make a single bit of noise as it moved, walked, and was finally stopped by its user.

Gabriel Pendragon stared at the larger man, Hazel Reinhart.

"Hazel."

"Gabriel."

"You could have just walked in, we could have a conversation, for old times' sake."

"I could, then again…I would have done that if I wasn't a wanted man."

Gabriel didn't reply; however, he was joined by two others. A purple-haired man and a white-haired man.

"Master Lancelot, Bedivere…long time no see. Why are there only two of you? Where are the rest? Oh, wait…they all died."

The white-haired man, who looked more towards the feminine side, who wore simple ragged armor- held on to his rapier as he readied himself- with a glare that didn't suit his gentle face.

"Hazel…" Lancelot muttered, perhaps a little sadness undertone to it, however, before he could speak, Gabriel Pendragon raised his hand- as to stop him to continue any further.

"Hazel Reinhart, why are you here? Is it possible that you are here to retrieve the false maiden? So, it is true…you work for Salem?"

"Who do I work for? What do I do? I don't think that's any of your business, Gabriel."

The king closed his eyes, perhaps contemplating something- a heavy heart that doesn't want to perform, yet with determined eyes- they glared at Hazel.

"Hazel Reinhart, your actions against Camelot are seen as terrorism as the King of Camelot, you shall be put down like the mad dog you are."

Hazel chuckled as he cracked his knuckles, "I would like to see you all try."

---

Author's Notes: -

Well, Jaune got praised by someone who held back, but fought against someone who has no qualms about killing anyone, so the result is as expected. The next chapter will explore more as to why Jaune lost, what exactly is Nikola Watt's [Semblance] and King and Artoria…even Hazel's and Merlin's [Semblance].

I enjoyed writing Nikola Watts and realized that yes, I wana right a story where the brain is used at it's fullest as well, just like in a JOJO fight, use brains and not braws. Watts MVP.

Perhaps you guys might have noticed, this story had parallels, Jaune got his defeated but Cinder improved- progression, and what's going on with the maiden powers? Next chapter. Also next chapter would discuss the situation with Mercury and Emerald.

Now, I did show a little what I will be doing with aura and semblance in my world and how they will be upgraded. I think too much time is spent on semblance and maiden powers and not enough on the aura and it's uses. As such, I will focus on that- and why it is important.

If you guys are familiar with the game Dota 2, then you guys must have realized that I have changed Tyrian's original [Semblance] to a new one and his abilities are based on the hero Anti-Mage (Not the blink ability or spell counter ability).

Data Book

Note: - the strength of semblance does not equate to skills or ability to use. these are general parameters of semblance, it's not the description of their ability. The description of their ability will be explained in the story and once again will be provided at the end of the volume.

Remained, that power does not equivalent to victory, these are just the parameters of their semblance.

Tyrian Callows

Semblance- Aura Break

Weapon- The Queen's Servants- a set of dual wrist blades resembling scorpion's pincers. These attach to his vambraces, and are equipped with light-caliber automatic firearms.

Destructive Power- D

Speed- EX++

Range- F

Persistence- EX+

Precision- EX+

Development Potential- Nil

Cinder Fall

Semblance- Killer Queen

A Stand-in (Stand) based semblance- (The [Semblance] was upgraded in battle)

Weapon- None

Destructive Power- A+

Speed- A

Range- A

Persistence- EX

Precision- EX

Development Potential- A

Read, if you find mistakes, errors, or something that does not make sense in the plot, please review it. I will take any constructive criticism if it means to improve the quality of the fic.