Argent was sitting on his father's lap while Nimueh was leaning on his shoulder, her eyes closed in content. The family was enjoying the feel of the wind and the beat of Skyshadow's wings when Argent looked up.

"So, are we going to Solitas now?"

"Of course not. We're not equipped for that now. We need to get warmer clothes. Even with Protective Aura, the cold of Solitas is no joke. New Mantle has a heating grid, but we'll still be flying through the cold. In fact, I'm not even sure Skyshadow could handle it," Jaune said as he scratched the back of the Nevermore's head, making it purr. "We're going to your grandparents' house where I can get an earful, probably a few punches to the face, and some warmer clothes."

"And hot cocoa," Nimueh said.

"Yes, honey. And hot cocoa. No way my mom is going to let me go to Solitas without a thermos the size of a beer keg filled with hot cocoa."

"Will it have marshmallows?"

"Ask your grandma and she most certainly will add some."

"Yahoo!"

Jaune chuckled before he got a bad feeling.

Skyshadow screeched in pain after a red laser shot through its wing. Jaune grabbed his family, jumped off, and whistled at the Nevermore. The great bird then flew away at awesome speeds, screeching as it vanished into the horizon. Jaune then grew his own wings and began to glide towards the ground.

"What was that?! What happened to Skyshadow?! Will he be alright," Argent yelled in concern and worry.

"He'll be fine. Grimm are fast healers as long as their heads haven't been cut off or they haven't been cleaved in half. Skyshadow will be just fine with some rest. As for what happened, I have no ide-"

"JAUNE," Nimueh cried.

Before Jaune could react, he was shot in the face.

He spun out of control before slamming into a tree. He then fell back first into a branch before crashing onto the ground, holding his family protectively the entire time, making sure they were safe within his wings. He parted his wings with a groan, his Aura flickering.

"DAD!"

"I'm fine. Sore, but fine," Jaune said as everyone got up, the man activating his Semblance to heal himself.

The three were now back to back, looking for whatever attacked them.

"You think it was a bandit tribe," Nimueh asked.

"Not unless they were Branwen traitors. We're still in Raven's turf. Plus, the only thing that could be strong enough to do that much damage to ME would be-"

"A New Mantle Rifle," Argent finished.

"But the range is too great, even for one of their guns." Jaune then sniffed the air. "And I don't smell any humans or Dust. That was something else."

"You're not going to say it's a Grimm, are you? There is literally no Grimm that fires red laser beams, Jaune," Nimueh said.

"None that we know of. New Grimm are still be discovered, and some are evolving. Who knows what's out here."

"Uh, dad?" He looked at his son, who was looking at something himself. "Is THAT a new Grimm," he asked as he pointed up.

Jaune and Nimueh followed their son's direction, the two looking confused.

"What the hell," Jaune asked.

"Is that... a floating red eye," Nimueh asked.

Before the family was a floating red eye about the size of a Seer. There were no tentacles, spikes, or bones on it. It was just a large, floating eye.

"Is that... a new Grimm," Argent asked.

"Not any Grimm I've ever seen," Jaune said.

The eye began to glow, Argent immediately holding up his shield, activating the Hard-Light to further expand the shield to protect his parents.

However, Jaune's instincts kicked in. He then pushed Argent and Nimueh away from him. As soon as he did, the red eye shot a crimson laser, the same that struck Skyshadow.

But it wasn't alone.

Within the darkness of the forest raced out many more laser beams that slammed into Jaune, blasting him deeper into the forest, away from his wife and son.

"JAUNE!"

"DAD!"

Nimueh was about to destroy the eye before she felt something. She looked down to see her leg was wrapped with vines. "What the- WHOAAAAHHHHH," she went after she was dragged into the forest.

"MOM!" Argent then heard the sound of fighting, his father's battle cries mixed with his mother's angered war cries. Then, unfamiliar roars were heard where they were fighting. Argent didn't know which one of his parents needed his help more. He then thought how his mother was powered by Aura, and decided she needed help more and was about to run towards her.

But he was stopped when something crashed in front of him, the boy shielding himself from the dirt and dust.

He lowered his shield when he heard the sound of stomping, the ground shaking, and the earth cracking around him. He then lowered his shield to see a shadow appear in the smoke. That shadow became bigger and bigger as it took the shape of a human. When it cleared, a hooded figure appeared, a single red orb glowing within the shadow of the hood.

"I finally found you, Argent Arc," the voice growled hatefully.

Argent recognized the voice immediately and took his stance. "You're one of those cultists we fought at the motel. . . What was your name again?"

The eye seemed to be glowing even brighter. "My name... is... RAUDAN," she roared. When she did, a laser blasted towards Argent.

"WHOA," he went as he jumped out of the way, barley avoiding the laser. "What just-"

"And I'm here for one thing, boy." He looked to see her putting on her metallic gloves. "To KILL you."

Argent stared at her, standing back up and taking his stance. "Bring it."


Jaune was buried under a smoking pile of dirt, his body completely unseen. Then, a fist shot out from the ground, followed by Jaune jumping out and shaking the dirt off of him. "What the hell just happened?!"

Jaune then heard a whirling sound, like something was charging. He looked up to see the same eyes from before. "Oh, lovely."

The eyes started blasting.

Jaune was able to avoid the lasers using his Grimm given flexibility. It looked like he was dancing past the lasers. One could say he was putting his old dancing talents to good use. 'That's an idea for my date with Nimueh. She loves to dance,' Jaune thought before he kicked one of the eyes, causing a pinball effect, the eyes bouncing off against each other.

When one was about to fire, Jaune grabbed it and used it as a sort of gun against the other eyes. He then tried to Conquer it. 'What the- Why can't I see any colors? It's not letting me Conquer it at all,' he thought.

Jaune then heard a rumbling and looked behind him. The moment he did, a Death Stalker burst out of the trees and grabbed Jaune with its claw. It tried to slam him onto the ground, but he landed on his feet, dragging through the earth before he came to a stop. The Death Stalker roared in anger as it tried to squeeze Jaune, only for his own strength to make the giant scorpion scream in agony when he cracked its claw.

In retaliation, it readied its stinger and thrusted at Jaune's head.

'I can't believe I'm doing this,' Jaune thought.

The Death Stalker's tail clashed against Jaune's own stinger, the two tails pushing against each other.

'I really, really, REALLY hate this. I look too much like-'

"Oh, don't you look lovely like that, Majesty."

Jaune looked up towards a tree to see a hooded figure with a familiar tail that made Jaune growl, already being pissed the moment he heard the voice. "Callows."


Nimueh was being dragged through the forest before she burned the vines away from her ankle, somersaulting onto her feet. "Alright. Who has the balls?"

"No one."

Nimueh looked to see a beautiful woman with crimson hair wearing what Nimueh could only call a leaf bikini walk up sensually towards her. "And you are?"

"Wodea, a Servant of Salem, here to complete her mission to kill all human and Faunus life. What should have been your mission."

"My mission? What are you talking about?"

"You're the Spirit of Destruction. You should have been used to destroy the evil that poisons this world. That evil is both humanity and Faunus kind."

"Yeah, I don't know what you've heard about me, but you're dead wrong. My power is to destroy indiscriminately, with a price, of course. For most people, that usually means their life. I destroy everything I touch, not just humanity."

"Then you are a threat to plants as well?"

"Every. Thing. I. Touch."

"Then you need to die!" Wodea raised her hands, vines shooting out of the ground and wrapping around Nimueh. Wodea smirked.

Her smiled quickly went away when the plants turned to dust after Nimueh swung her hand. She then placed her hand on her hip, looking at the red haired woman with a raised eyebrow. "That all you got?"

A rumbling was heard, followed by something bursting from behind Nimueh. She looked up when the area around her darkened, only to see the gaping mouth of a giant Venus Flytrap falling towards her.

"Hm. Slightly better." She was then devoured, the giant flytrap burrowing underground.


Argent's shield blocked Raudan's fist, pushing the boy back, leaving behind skid marks. He then jumped to the side when the massive woman tried to land on him with all her muscular strength, crushing the ground around her to the point pillars of sharpened stone stood straight up.

Argent used this opportunity to shield bash the woman in the face, and though it did connect, the woman was able to grab Argent and slam him against one of the pillars. She then violently punched him in the face before Argent moved his head and slashed the woman in the glowing red eye.

The woman screamed in agony as she threw Argent away, the boy landing on his feet. "Huh?" He looked towards the woman as she was hunched over, her hood falling to the ground. "I know I slashed at your eye, but your Aura still should have been able to protect you."

"My Aura... HIS Aura protects him. Why doesn't mine protect me?" She then stood up. "Why does he still have his Aura?! He's just as cursed as I am!"

"Wait, what?"

She then turned towards Argent in rage. "WHAT MAKES HIS CURSE SO SPECIAL!?"

"WHOA! Y-Your eye!"

Raudan dragged her hand over her Grimmified eye. "You see this?! YOU SEE MY EYE! YOU DID THIS TO ME, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! How is this MY fault?! What did I... I... I. . . Oh. . . . Oooooooh... cruuuuuud."

Raudan chuckled. It was slow at first before it became a full on mad cackle. "You remember now? YOU REMEMBER NOW?! WHEN YOU THREW ME OVER THE GRIMM WALL, MY EYE WAS INFECTED! YOU DID THIS!"

"Hey, you were the ones attacking my dad! You brought that on yourse-"

"SHUT UP! I HAVE BEEN IN CONSTANT, CONSTANT AGONY SINCE THEN! WHY?! THE HEIR IS OBVIOUSLY IN NO SUCH PAIN! WHY DOES HE NOT SUFFER?!" She put her hands over her face as she started thrashing irrationally and insanely. "WHY?! WHY?! WHY, WHY, WHY?! WHAT MAKES HIM SO SPECIAL!? WHY DO I HAVE TO SUFFER IN AGONY WITH JUST AN INFECTED EYE WHILE HIS ENTIRE BODY IS CURSED?!" Raudan then screamed like a maniac.

Her arms then fell. "Is it... because he's HER descendant? It's out of pure luck? Because he's the rightful heir? That's just bullshit." She was quiet for a bit before she began to chuckle creepily again.

"Wait, I know the true cause of my pain." She then looked at Argent with a horrifying gaze, making even him shutter. "It's my hatred... towards YOU, boy. This ache in my eye. This burning, itching, tingling in my eye. It's my endless HATRED for you, putting this curse on me. It will only end... once I KILL you!"

"Uh, can we talk about this," Argent asked as he backed up bit.

Raudan screamed so loudly that every tree around them shook violently.

"That's a 'hell no' if I ever heard one," Argent said as he took his stance.


Jaune was trying to Conquer the Death Stalker, but it wasn't working like how it was with those strange new Grimm Eyes. Jaune growled before looking up at Tyrian. "What did you DO?!"

"Can you not bend the Stalker's will, sire? Oh, no, this will not do. You are still far too weak." Jaune growled before he gave out a pained yelled from the Death Stalker tightening its hold on him. "It seems I need to bring you back to your rightful kingdom to help you grow stronger. The Heir of the Goddess needs to be much mightier than this."

"You want mighty?" Jaune's eyes shot open in anger before he pulled the giant scorpion's claws apart. "I'LL SHOW YOU MIGHTY!"

Jaune tore the Death Stalker's claw perfectly in two, the Grimm crying out in pain and agony. It was about to retaliate before Jane stabbed its own claws into its eyes. Jaune then heel dropped the claws deeper into the Death Stalker's body, the creature screeching in pain before it fell, beginning to fading away.

Jaune watched it vanish before he heard clapping, looking up at the tree towards Tyrian. "Very well done, my liege. Perfectly brutal and vicious. A bit more of that and you'll be the spitting image of the Goddess."

Jaune glared at him, thinking on his words and how uncomfortably true they were. He then looked down at the fading body of the Death Stalker. 'Why couldn't I even TRY to Conquer it?'

He looked back at Tyrian. "Callows, what did you do?"

"Hm? And what do you mean by that?"

"This Death Stalker. It was different. You did something to it, didn't you?"

Tyrian chuckled creepily. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't; but you don't have time to worry about that right now, my prince."

"What?" Jaune then heard the sound of trees crashing and glared behind him. Moments later, another Death Stalker burst from the trees, roaring in a challenging manner. Jaune glared at the creature as he turned towards it, cracking his neck and knuckles to prepare to kill this Grimm as well.

Tyrian looked on with a smile, only to be interrupted by his own cough. He then coughed up what looked like blood at first, until one realized how black it was. Tyrian snickered with an "Oh, my," before rubbing it off onto the tree, wanting to continue watching Jaune... ignoring the sizzling and burning of the tree the black liquid he coughed up was causing.


Wodea giggled at the sight of the giant hole before new plants grew over it. "THAT was the Spirit of Destruction? I expected more."

Her eyes widened when an explosion occurred behind her. She looked in horror to see Nimueh float out of the burning hole, holding the head of the giant flytrap. "That so? Is this better," she asked as she swung the head around before tossing it to Wodea's feet.

Wodea looked at the dead plant in horror before looking at the burning earth beneath the still floating Nimueh. "My... babies."

"Huh," Nimueh went with a raised eyebrow.

"You're killing my babies," Wodea mumbled.

"Uuuuh, what?"

"YOU'RE KILLING MY BABIES," Wodea roared as she held up her arms, Nimueh seeing they were covered in Green Dust shards. Wodea then slammed her hands onto the ground.

The forest around Nimueh went wild, trees shaking like they were caught in an earthquake. Then, leaves and branches flew towards Nimueh all at once in all directions. "Huh. That's honestly not bad," Nimueh said while boredly raising her eyebrow, but still slightly impressed before she was engulfed by the foliage.


Argent was jumping around, avoiding Raudan's enraged, berserk punches. He didn't want to try to block them, since the first one he tried to block sent him flying deeper into the forest and farther from his parents. If that wasn't enough, the punch took a lot of his Aura to endure. He looked at his scroll inside of Crocea Mors to see that he was just shy above the red area, his Aura beginning to recharge but slowly. He couldn't afford another hit.

He was in his defensive stance, watching Raudan stomp towards him. He was looking around the area to see if there was anything he could do or use until he saw it. The tree Raudan was about to pass. Argent took a deep breath. If he succeeded, it would be a pretty cool story. If he failed, he'd be another red stain on the wall.

Argent took a deep breath and swung his sword in Raudan's vicinity with enough force to create a wind blade. Raudan swatted the wind-based attack away... which was what Argent was hoping for.

He charged at the woman. She looked ready to fight him until something hits her face. A simple rock.

She shook her head and searched for Argent.

"TIMBER," Argent called.

Raudan glared at him before he ran off. She then saw it was getting darker and looked up. She saw a giant tree falling towards her. She roared in anger before it fell on her.

"Hey, I did warn you, Argent said with a shrug.


Jaune kicked the Death Stalker in the face, stunning it. He then jumped, grabbed its tail, and jabbed its own stinger into its head, much like how he had Nora kill the very first Death Stalker his Team ever fought.

Jaune then glanced back with a glare and jumped out of the way of another Death Stalker's sting. He then grabbed the monster and used his incredible strength to swing the beast around before slamming it onto another Death Stalker. When Jaune landed, he saw he was surrounded by them.

"What the hell? Death Stalkers aren't pack hunters." He then looked up towards Tyrian. "What the hell did you do, Callows?! HOW the hell did you do this?!"

Tyrian laughed. "Some things need to stay a secret for them to remain fun, my liege."

Jaune growled. "Not this one."

A Death Stalker tried to pinch Jaune, only for the hero to grab the claw shut. He then slammed it overhead, causing the ground to rumble to where the Grimm were stumbling. Jaune then spun around and tossed the massive Grimm at Tyrian.

Tyrian laughed as he leapt over the screaming Scorpion Grimm as it vanished into the night sky. Before he could even begin to descend, Jaune appeared beside him, eyes glowing bright red. Jaune then slashed at Tyrian, the lunatic barely bending back in time to avoid the attack, but his robe wasn't as lucky.

Jaune and Tyrian had their backs turned towards each other when they landed. Jaune was about to attack when he felt something. A substance on his hand. He looked at it to see black liquid on his hand. He rubbed his fingers together, his eyes widening when he recognized what it was. "This is-"

Tyrian's soft laughter caught Jaune's attention. "Have you figured it out, my liege?"

Jaune looked at Tyrian in horror, his back still turned. "Tyrian... what have you done?!"

Tyrian chuckled before he began to laugh. His laugh then turned insane and maniacal as he turned towards the next Ruler of Grimm.

Jaune was horrified to see Tyrian's death white skin, insane red eyes, and viciously sharp teeth. However, he looked sickly compared to Jaune. For example, Jaune didn't have violent cracks near his eyes. The cracks on Tyrian's face looked even worse than Salem's. What made him even more nightmare inducing was the Waters of Grimm leaking out of his eyes and mouth like tears and saliva respectively.

Jaune took a step back in horror and disgust. "By the gods. What did you do to yourself?"

"Isn't it magnificent? Now I'm just. Like. You."

Jaune growled. "No. You're nothing like me. You're an even greater abomination."

Tyrian then coughed violently, covering his mouth as he did so, vomiting more Grimm Pool Water through his hand. He then laughed. "Yes. You're right. I'm not like you. The Grimm accepted you. It recognizes you as their next leader. It recognizes the blood of the goddess flowing through you." Jaune hated every word Tyrian was saying.

"But... it's killing me. Poisoning me. Making me suffer. Every second is now agonizing, searing, grueling pain. It absolutely rejects me as a leader... but sees me as a soldier. I can hear them, my liege. They are telling me... to ACCELERATE YOUR ASCENSION! BECOME OUR KING ALREADY, MY LIEGE! BECOME THE NEW GOD OF THIS WORLD!" With one last cackle, Tyrian lunged at Jaune, followed by more Death Stalkers roaring at the upcoming battle.

Jaune growled, extending his claws, and readying himself with the fight against the deranged lunatic.


Wodea sighed in contentment when she saw her plants wrapping around Nimueh. "Yes, my babies. Feed on her and grow stronger so that even the mighty Vale Knight will fall to us."

"Oh, please." Wodea's eyes widened. She then shielded her eyes when a flash occurred. When she was able to see again, she was horrified.

Nimueh was floating... in the middle of burning plants. "You couldn't hope to beat my Jaune, let alone me."

"M-My babies. YOU MURDERED MY BABIES!"

Nimueh groaned. "Would you shut up about that already?" Nimueh then vanished.

Wodea then gagged, vomiting up saliva after Nimueh buried her fist into her gut.

"It's getting really annoying." Nimueh then chopped Wodea's neck.

The cult member's eyes rolled back as her Aura shattered, the red-haired beauty falling to the ground, unconscious.

Nimueh looked down at the cultist before looking at her hand. 'Damn, starting to become see through,' she thought as her arm was slowly becoming transparent. 'I need Aura. I've got maybe an hour before I'm a sword again.' She then closed her eyes to concentrate. 'Arie's closer. Still, should I go after my baby or go after my man,' she thought, wondering which would need her help more.

Nimueh's eyes then widened when a laser shot past her, causing an explosion behind her. She then heard an ungodly roar of rage coming from the direction of the beam.

The direction Argent was in.

"Question answered," she said out loud before running towards the origin of the beam.


Argent walked away with his hands behind his head. "Wonder if mom and dad won their fights yet?"

He stopped when he heard the groaning of wood. "Uh-oh."

He looked back in time to fall to the ground, the massive tree flying past his face, the bark of the tree biting the tip of his nose. He then heard an enraged roar and the sound of a beam, rolling away in time to avoid the deadly laser.

He looked up to see the path of burning destruction before jumping to his feet and looking towards his opponent.

Raudan stomped towards him, each step of hers an earthquake, the woman seething with rage, face hidden in shadow, her Grimm Eye glowing like a beacon. "Did you... Really think... That was enough... TO BEAT ME," she roared.

"Uh... wishful thinking?"

Raudan roared as she slammed her massive fists onto the ground, making the ground shatter. Various spikes and pillars of earth shot up from her monstrous strength. One even sent Argent into the air like it was a springboard.

He flailed around in the air before he took out Crocea Mors and activated the Hard Dust, gliding around before looking down. "Whuh-oh."

Raudan looked like she was charging something, Aura burning around her before she looked up and unleashed a massive beam from her eye with a roar.

Argent's face turned red from the light of the beam before he quickly flipped around and held Crocea in front of him, barely blocking the laser in time. He could feel his shield heating up like metal in a furnace. He gave a roar of exertion before he was somehow able to roll out of the way of the beam.

When he was able to open his eyes, they widened in absolute shock. "HOLY CRAAAAAAAP," he went as he was falling... and watching the beam race towards the very heavens themselves. He could swear that the beam would have taken out one of the chunks of the moon if it was out. The fact that it was even brighter than the morning sun was proof enough for him.


Ruby was cleaning Crescent Rose when Weiss walked in, drying her hair. "Did Yang prepare the coffee yet?"

"No. Silber did," Ruby said. "As well as make me a cup of hot cocoa," she said as she took a sip out of the mug.

"You really should get into the habit of drinking coffee, mother. It's a bit childish to drink cocoa at your age, don't you think," Silber said as she drank her coffee.

"Ozpin drank cocoa," Ruby pouted.

Weiss giggled before accepting the cup from her daughter and elegantly took a sip of the drink. "Well brewed as always, my dear."

"Of course. Am I not a Schnee," Silber asked with a prideful smile.

Weiss smiled at her daughter. "So, who decided to make breakfast?"

"Blake. Yang wanted to do it, but Verde convinced her to do a morning workout instead," Ruby said.

"Thank the gods for Verde," the three said in unison before laughing at the family joke.

Ruby then sighed sadly before going back to working on Crescent Rose.

Weiss heard the melancholy in her wife's sigh and smiled sadly at her. She then walked up and gently placed her hands on the silver eyed beauty's shoulder. "We'll find them, Rosebush. I swear we will."

Ruby smiled at her wife. "Thanks, Snow Angel. Still, I wish we had at least a clu-"

Before Ruby could finish that thought, a loud explosion and a bright red light occurred. The family looked towards window to see the bright, huge laser outside their motel window, Ruby jumping to her feet.

Blake appeared in their doorway. "Did you three see that?!"

"Less, talk! We need to go! We need to go, NOW," Ruby yelled as she prepared Crescent Rose. She didn't even wait before running out of the room.

Fortunately for Weiss, she's a quick change. She was already dressed and had Myrtenaster on her hip as she and her daughter ran after her wife.

When they were outside, Yang had already started the car, Verde hanging out the window. "COME ON! YOU KNOW HOW THOSE THREE ARE! THEY COULD BE GONE BY NOW FOR ALL WE KNOW," Verde called.

"NOT ON MY DAMN WATCH," Ruby said as she activated her Semblance. She got into the shotgun seat before anyone else reached the car. Blake jumped through the open window into the back seat while Weiss summoned a Queen Lancer for her and Silber to ride, the mother and daughter already flying off.

"DRIVE, DRIVE, DRIVE," Ruby went to her sister.

Yang didn't hesitate to put the pedal to the metal, her car tires screeching before they sped off, hoping to find the Arcs before it was too late.


Jaune's fist clashed with Tyrian's blades. Jaune tried to stab him with his Death Stalker tail, but Tyrian was able to easily deflect it with his own tail before performing a backflip kick that made Jaune stumble back. Since it was a strike to the chin, Jaune was dazed a bit, shaking his head to get his senses back in order.

He was then smashed into the ground by a Death Stalker behind him, its massive claws feeling like wrecking balls to the hero. The giant Grimm then stabbed its stinger into the hole, thinking it would finish Jaune off. However, it didn't feel any impact. It then tried to take its stinger out of the ground, only to feel it was stuck. It tried forcing its tail out, only to feel a tug.

Then, it was being pulled into the hole, the scorpion now trying to desperately crawl away, crying in fear. Tyrian watched and laughed in fascination as the great Grimm was pulled into the now larger hole. He winced with a chuckle when he heard a crunch and the sound of a screaming Grimm. Then, black smoke began to float out of the hole.

Moments passed, Tyrian snickering before he began to cough violently, spitting out his now black blood before smiling at the hole, his white teeth dripping with his black blood.

Then, Jaune spun into the sky, looking like a tornado before he extended his wings, flying in front of the now risen sun.

Tyrian looked up... crying. 'Glorious. The rise of the new king. Oh, my beloved goddess. Your legacy lives on,' Tyrian thought.

Jaune then flapped his wings, sending quills at Tyrian. Tyrian didn't even try to dodge. Instead, he stood up and held out his arms, standing like a sacrifice. However, the quills missed him, only cutting his cheek due to his lowered Aura, but killed the Death Stalkers behind him.

Tyrian shivered in ecstacy. 'Such power. Such precision. And he actually WANTED to kill.' He looked down to see a quill in front of him. If he was still squatting, it would have pierced through his skull. 'Had I not stood, the king would have killed me. Glorious,' he cried. "So close, but not enough. You need MORE young king! FIGHT ME TO THE DEATH," Tyrian cackled.

NO

Tyrian's eyes widened. 'This voice.'

NOW IS NOT THE TIME. HE ISN'T READY, AND NEITHER ARE YOU

'Who ARE you?'

GOD

'What?'

YOU'VE BEEN PRAISING THE WRONG BEINGS THIS ENTIRE TIME, BUT I WILL LOOK OVER YOUR BLASPHEMY DUE TO HOW INTERESTING YOU ARE. YOU HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO LIVE, BUT IF YOU CONTINUE TO FIGHT MY VESSEL, YOU WILL FORFEIT THAT PRIVILAGE. RETURN TO WHENCE YOU CAME, AND I WILL GIVE THE POWER TO CHALLENGE MY HEIR AND MAKE HIM EVEN GREATER.

Tyrian looked at Jaune. 'Make the king greater?' Tyrian chuckled. 'Magnificent. He can become greater.'

"CALLOWS," Jaune roared as he dived towards him.

LET ME GIVE YOU A SMALL TOKEN OF WHAT IS TO COME

Tyrian's eyes then widened as he felt a serge of power and knowledge flow into his insane mind. He snickered before he laughed as Jaune got closer. When Jaune was close enough, Tyrian belched a purple smoke in Jaune's face.

Jaune was barely able to put up his wings to defend himself, but enough smoke hit him for the hero to slam into the ground, bounce across the dirt, roll roughly, before slamming into a tree. Jaune was coughing violently, dark bags under his eyes as he got onto his hands and knees. He then vomited violently, the bags disappearing as quickly as they appeared.

He looked to see a black liquid in front of him, obviously the bile he threw up. It was melting the ground before vanishing into the dirt. 'Grimm never were susceptible to poison,' Jaune thought.

He then looked up and saw that Tyrian was long gone. "Since when the hell was he able to do that?"

Jaune then heard a blast and looked behind him to see the massive laser.

"HOLY CRAAAAAP!"

"ARIE!" Jaune didn't waste any time in running in the direction of his son's scream.


Argent was free falling towards Raudan. The muscular cultist reeled back her arm, her Aura basically flaring. She then threw her punch at Argent.

The boy just barely slammed his shield against her fist in time, his Semblance at full power, the two clashing to the point where the impact caused shock waves.


As Weiss was flying towards the area, still miles off, the shock wave caused her Queen Lancer to lose control of its wings, flailing around in the air.

"SILBER, JUMP!" She and Silber jumped off right before the summon slammed into a tree.

"BRACE YOURSELVES," Yang yelled as she tried to regain control of her car, only to slam into a tree.

The group in the car struggled to get out of the car due to the still persistent wave, the wind pressure not letting them open the doors. When it was gone, everyone immediately got out.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT," Yang yelled.

"Powerful," Blake said.

"Something immense caused that," Verde said.

"Only two powerful forces clashing could cause something like that," Weiss said as she walked up towards the group.

"What could possibly be powerful enough to cause a shockwave like that," Silber asked.

The women then all had the same thought. "Argent," they yelled in unison.

"Yang, is the car able to move," Ruby asked.

"No good," Yang said as she assessed the damage. "Got some pretty bad leaks here and there, and the fact I can see my engine isn't a good sign at all. And I can't exactly use duct tape to fix this, either."

"Damnit!" Ruby then got an idea. "Weiss, can you summon enough-"

Weiss already stabbed her rapier into the ground, creating four Beowolves. Ruby got on one. Weiss and Silber shared one. Blake and Verde got on the third one. Yang jumped onto the final one.

Before Ruby could say anything, the group noticed it was getting darker around them. Ruby looked up. "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!"

As soon she yelled that, the Beowolves jumped out of the way of a boulder that would have crushed all of them. They stared at it in shock before Ruby gritted her teeth in rage.

"LET'S RIDE," she yelled as she spurred her Beowolf, the summoned beast roaring as it ran, followed by the rest of the group.

'What are you up against, kid,' Yang thought.

'A ten-year-old shouldn't have to fight this hard,' Blake thought.

'We have to reach him in time,' Weiss thought.

'Hold on, Arie. Mom's on her way,' Ruby thought.


Argent's shield clashed with Raudan's fist. He then redirected her attack, making the huge woman stumble. He then made her trip by sweep kicking her legs. As she was falling, he slammed his sword into her stomach, making her gag before she was sent spinning towards a tree.

Raudan was able to land on her feet and grab the tree. With a guttural roar, she ripped the tree out of ground and swung it at Argent. However, Argent held up his shield and fortified himself using his Semblance. The tree broke into splinters when it hit him.

Argent didn't waste any time and charged at his enemy. He then jumped, preparing a downward overhead slash aimed right at Raudan's head.

Unfortunately, Raudan shot him in the chest with her eye. As soon as he fell on his back, Raudan slammed what was left of the tree on top of Argent. She continuously did so until her tree completely broke. She looked down at the groaning child, the boy hissing in pain as his Aura began to spark, just moments away from shattering.

Eyes red with rage, Raudan raised her huge fists, ready to slam them onto the boy's chest. As soon as she swung her fists downward, she received a kick to the face. If it weren't for her Aura, her jaw would at best be dislocated. At worst, half of her skull would have been dust. She bounced and rolled across the dirt before coming to a halt, groaning as she got back up on her feet, her Aura sparking. She then looked up to see her assailant, and the fool who got in the way of her revenge.

Before Raudan was a pissed off Nimueh. "Leave my kid the hell alone, you bitch," she roared.

Raudan growled as she got back on her feet. "YOU THINK I'M AFRAID OF YOU, RELIC?!"

"You should be."

Raudan's eyes widened when she heard the voice behind her. However, she didn't have enough time to turn around and look. Instead, she felt her head grabbed, then was slammed face first into the dirt before being flung into a tree. That's when her Aura finally shattered, her Berserker Rage now gone, feeling the full brunt of pain as she coughed in pain from the impact. She then looked up, panting from pain and exhaustion.

Before her was a furious Jaune. "You just hurt my kid and pissed off his mother. Prepare to die," he said as his eyes sharpened.

Raudan was panting from exhaustion. She was so close to killing Argent, yet two hits from his parents did an incredible amount of damage to her. Her goal was so close yet so far. Still, she did not relent. She struggled back to her feet, panting. "No. I won't die. And I won't lose," she panted.

"Oh, you're going to die," Nimueh said as she cracked her knuckles. "No one hurts any of my babies and lives to talk about it."

Raudan growled. "Like I said. I'm not AFRAID OF YOU, SPIRIT!" She was about to fire another laser at the family.

STOP

Her eyes widened.

ENOUGH. YOU'RE TOO WEAK TO FACE THEM. RETURN TO WHENCE YOU CAME AND ALLOW ME TO MAKE YOU GREATER.

'Wha- Who? Who is this?!'

GOD. YOUR REAL GOD.

'What are you talking about?! AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M TOO WEAK?! I CAN TAKE THEM!'

NO. YOU CAN'T.

'SCREW YOU!'

I SAID RETURN

Before Raudan could argue more with the voice, she was grabbed from behind by a Sphynx. "HEY! PUT ME DOWN! LET GO OF ME! I HAVE TO KILL HIM! NOOOOOOO!"

"WHO SAID I'M LETTING YOU GET-" Jaune began.

NO

Jaune then yelled out in agony, holding his head as he screamed, falling to his knees.

"JAUNE," Nimueh yelled in worry as she ran to him.

NOT YET, BOY. NOT YET.

"D-Damn you," Jaune went as he looked up, watching the still screaming Raudan being flown away, leaning into Nimueh's aiding touch. "Damn you..." He glared towards the sky. "GOD OF DARKNESS!"

Nimueh helped Jaune to his feet, the man putting his arm over his lover, Jaune still a bit wobbly as Nimueh led him to their son. When they got to him, they saw the boy looking up at them with half-lidded eyes. "Yo."

Jaune chuckled. "You seem to be alright."

"Meh. Kinda sore, though."

Jaune got off of his wife, knelt down, and used his Semblance on his son. As soon as Argent jumped back to his feet, Jaune's Aura shattered.

"Whoa! Was that a good idea, dad?"

"I'll be fine," Jaune said as he stood up. He stumbled a bit, but Nimueh caught him and helped him back up. "My head feels like it's about to explode and I'm absolutely exhausted, but I'll live. Your old man is incredibly stubborn, you know."

"Don't I know," Argent and Nimueh said in unison, causing the family to laugh.

Jaune hissed in pain after a few chuckles. "Damnit."

"Maybe we should rest, dad."

"We will. We should be able to reach your grandparents' place in a few hours on Skyshadow. After we got some much deserve rest, we're headed to New Mantle. Your Aunt Winter's Science Division might be the only place in all of Remnant that can cure your old man. At the very least, help me control these powers a bit more."

"Before or after they turn you into a lab rat," Nimueh asked with half-lidded eyes.

"Hopefully neither. New Mantle does owe me quite a bit."

"Not to mention your past relationship with the good general," Nimueh mumbled.

"Relationship," Argent asked.

"Not important right now, kiddo," Jaune said with a quickly raised hand. "Point is, we get home, get some rest, some warm clothes, and fly over to the most advanced kingdom in the world and hope their scientists can help me with this." Jaune was about to whistle when he hesitated.

"Something wrong," Nimueh asked.

"For some reason, I don't think it's a good idea to call Skyshadow right now."

Nimueh looked up and saw a few Manticores flying around. "What a coincidence. I don't think it's a good idea either."

"So, how are we going to get to grandma and grandpa's?"

"Easy." Jaune cupped his mouth and howled.

Moments later, two Beowolves appeared.

"Alright! Shadow Pack!"

"Any reason you only called two, dear?" Jaune gently grabbed and held up Nimueh's hand to the light, showing how transparent she was now. "Point taken."

"Hm? Hey, dad, do these Beowolves look... different to you?"

"Huh? What do you-" Jaune then noticed what Argent meant. He walked over and knelt down to the beasts, rubbing their hind legs. "They're way more muscular than regular Beowolves. Like they were designed for running, even more so than an Alpha."

Nimueh noticed her son and husband were right. "First we hear how a Beowolf you Conquered defeated an Ursa, now we're seeing Beowolves that look like they were bred for running?"

"Skyshadow is also way bigger than most Nevermores, right," Argent asked.

"Are the Grimm... really evolving," Jaune asked. "Or... is it something else?" He and Nimueh then looked up towards the sky.

"Questions for New Mantle," Nimueh asked.

"Questions for New Mantle," Jaune said as he jumped one of the Beowolve's back. He then held out his hand. Nimueh reverted back into a sword, falling into Jaune's hand. He then sheathed her. "Ready, Arie?"

The boy was already on his Beowolf's back, scratching the back of its ear, the Grimm's eyes closed in content. "Ready."

Jaune nodded before he made a quick whistle. As soon as he did, the Beowolves took off like bullets. They were so fast, it surprised even Jaune, while exciting Argent to the point of the boy screaming, "YAAAAAHOOOO!"


About ten minutes or so later, Team RWBY made it to the area.

"Whoa," Verde went.

"It's like a war happened here," Silber said.

"Guys," Blake called from a distance. "There's a lot of burn marks over here!"

"Forget that! There's a bottomless pit over here," Yang called.

"Well, judging from the burn damage, we can safely say that Jaune and Argent were definitely here," Weiss said.

"But where are they now," Ruby asked.

"Verde, your Semblance is great for tracking. Any clues to be seen," Silber asked.

Verde closed her eyes before opening them, her previously yellow eyes now green. "I see... traces of Argent's Aura."

"Just Argent's," Blake asked as she rode up to her daughter.

"My guess is that Uncle's Aura shattered. I can see quite a bit of it scattered everywhere. That only happens when your Aura's been broken."

"Jaune? JAUNE'S Aura's been shattered," Yang asked.

"What kind of monster were they fighting," Weiss asked.

"Well, I do see another shattered Aura over there," Verde pointed. "But I don't recognize the color at all. Whoever it is, we've never met them before."

"Well, what about by the burns," Blake pointed.

Verde's keen far sight allowed her to see the area Blake meant. "It's a green color. Ivy green. Not pine green or emerald green like Uncle Oscar's or Aunt Emerald's."

"What about the pit," Yang asked.

Verde looked. "It looks... like a dark purple."

"Dark purple," Ruby asked. "Her eyes then widened in horror. "TYRIAN!"

"CALLOWS WAS HERE," Yang yelled.

"Verde, where does Argent's Aura lead," Weiss asked in worry.

Verde looked. "In that direction," she pointed.

The group followed her finger.

"Wait... isn't that where we JUST came from," Blake asked.

"You mean where we ran into you by accident, babe," Yang asked.

"Yes, and where... where HIS grandparents are."

The group looked at each other.

"You gotta be kidding me," Yang went.

"Full circle," Silber went.

"So... we did all this... for nothing," Blake asked.

Ruby groaned loudly as she fell onto her summoned Beowolf. "I'm going to kill him."

"Leave some for me, baby sis."

"And me, Rosebush."

"I'm not even angry. Let's just get this over with. I seriously need a nice cup of tea after this," Blake groaned.

"Agreed," Verde went.

With that, the group spurred their summons, riding onwards towards the Arc Grandparent Household.


The Beowolves rushed past villages, sped down roads, and even jumped past ravines at such speeds that they looked like blurs. It felt like it was only a matter of minutes before the father and son reached Ansel, the powerful creatures skidding to a halt when they reached Jaune's parents' house.

"WHOO! THAT WAS AWESOME," Argent went before unceremoniously falling off his Beowolf, the beast looking down at him with a whine. It then licked his face, making him laugh as he got up and scratched the Grimm's chin to make it stop. "I think these guys are faster than even your hovercycle, dad."

Jaune shivered, feeling three pairs of eyes on him. "You just pissed off a ridiculously hot general, a cute scientist, and a mad scientist all at once, kiddo."

"Hm," he went as he innocently tilted his head in confusion.

Jaune then noticed something and sighed. "You may be my kid, but there are times when you look way too much like your mom."

"My mom? As in Aunt Ruby? What do you mean?"

"You have the same hairstyle as her now."

"I do?" Argent then reached up and grabbed, feeling his hair. "Oh. I guess I do. Wind blown," he snickered. "Do I really look like her?"

"Honestly, you only inherited my hair color and my gender. Your face and eyes might as well be cloned off from Ruby."

"Wait a minute... Aunt Ruby is seriously pretty."


Ruby jolted as she was riding her Beowolf. "Why do I feel really happy right now?"


"Is THAT why people keep saying I'm cute?!"

"I guess."

"Oh, come on! I'm a guy! I should be cool or handsome! I don't wanna be cute."

"Arie, you're ten. Kids are allowed to be cute."

"Still, though," he pouted.

Jaune chuckled at his son's antics before looking at the Beowolves. He then whistled, the Beowolves jumping up and running away.

"Aw. Couldn't we have kept them?"

"I can summon them whenever I want or need them. Besides, I just told them to go get some well deserved rest."

"You did that with just a quick whistle?"

"You'd be surprised what your old man can do now. Now, ready to see you dad get lectured by your grandparents?"

"Shishishi. Always."

"You seem way to excited to see me get my head bitten off, Argent Arc," Jaune said with a raised eyebrow.

"Shishishi."

"You realize that you're probably in trouble for sneaking off with your father, though, right?"

"Ah."

"And now you realize it." Argent then began to sweat nervously.

Jaune chuckled before he walked up to the door. He was just about to ring the doorbell.

Before he could push the button, the door swung open.

Jaune smiled nervously. "Hi, mom."

Cereza pouted before grabbed Jaune and Argent by the ear, dragging the two inside as they were both going "ow, ow, ow," before slamming the door.

"WHERE HAVE YOU TWO BEEN," she roared loud enough to make the house jump.


After a long and excruciating lecture from the matriarch, followed by another lecture by the patriarch, the family was sitting at the table. Jaune had more than enough time for his Aura to recharge, meaning he was able to recharge Nimueh, the beauty sitting at the table to make it a three generation family gathering.

"You three must have had an adventure," Aurum said as he sipped his coffee.

"Oh, it was something, alright," Nimueh said as she sipped her coffee as well.

"Well, dangers aside, did you enjoy yourself, Argent," Cereza asked her grandson.

"OF COURSE! I HAVE TO BE THE LUCKIEST KID IN THE WORLD! Seriously, who else can say they got to ride a Nevermore AND a Beowolf in the same day WITHOUT being worried about being torn apart by them!?" Cereza laughed nervously, still not liking the idea of her precious grandson near such dangerous monsters.

"I even got to punch some bandits in the face!"

Cereza and Aurum choked a bit on their coffee, while Jaune crushed the apple he was about to bite into applesauce.

"Meeting the Branwen Tribe was the best part of going to Anima. I mean, I got to meet my older brother," he said excitedly.

"You're what," the grandparents said in unison.

"Huh? My ol... Ah. . . I... wasn't supposed to say that... was I," he asked nervously.

The grandparents stared at their precious grandson before snapping towards Jaune. "Care to explain," they said in monotonous unison.

Jaune sighed. "Arie, if you were mad at your dad, there were better ways to tell me so."

"Sorry," he whimpered.

"Oh, Jauuuuneeeeey," his parents went.

Jaune sighed. "Screw it. I'm dead anyway."


Team RWBY reached the Arc household, Ruby immediately getting off and stomping towards the house. "Jaune Salem Arc, I swear, I will shoot you with EVERY single Dust Bullet I have on me before sticking my boot so far up your-"

"Ruby, calm down," Weiss said as she grabbed her wife's arm. "You're being too lenient. He needs to be punished MUCH more severely."

"Yeah! Like getting a punch to the face for every second he kept Argent away from us," Yang said as she punched her palm.

"Alright, let's decide how angry we are at Jaune AFTER we get inside," Blake went.

"Agreed. We won't get anything done out here," Verde said.

"And I'm sure his parents are still lecturing him," Silber said.

"Oh, then he's getting it easy so far. Still, I just wish he'd do something stupid to dig his grave even more to make it more fun for me," Yang said.

"WHAT!? RAVEN BRANWEN IS OUR DAUGHTER-IN-LAW," Aurum and Cereza yelled loudly enough to make the house jump twice as high as before.

The girls were frozen in place.

"No, no, no! She's just Sparrow's mother. Argent's half-brother."

"SHE'S STILL THE MOTHER OF OUR OLDEST GRANDCHILD! OUR THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD GRANDCHILD!"

They then lost their color.

Ruby's jaw fell to the ground, the girl still as a statue. "O-o-o-o-o-o-o-l-d-e-s-t?"

"Uncle Jaune... and my grandma," Verde went.

"I have no words," Weiss whispered.

"W-w-w-w-with a-a-a-a-a-a b-b-b-b-b-bandit," Silber stuttered out.

Blake was stunned before she looked over to her wife, who was as still as a statue like her sister. "Yang?"

Yang then fell on her back, not reacting at all, as if she really were a fallen statue, mouth wide open, and eyes rolled to the back of her head.

"YAAAANG," Blake yelled out dramatically.