DISCLAIMER: I own nothing related to RWBY
"Honey!" A man's voice yells, snapping his wife out from her shock.
"Take her and run! Go now!"
The man grips his spear tightly as a pack of Beowolves form a semicircle around the family. The woman releases a sob of despair and lifts their child into her arms, then runs in the opposite direction. The man lets out an exhausted yet relieved smile, then turns back towards the Grimm before him with a resolute expression.
"Mommy? What about daddy?"
The child curiously asks her mother, who is running frantically through the streets and alleyways. A ghostly howl echoes through the air amidst the chaos. As the woman exits an alleyway, her foot catches on a piece of rubble, twisting her ankle as she falls. She twists herself mid-fall onto her back, rather than on her daughter. Whimpering in pain, the woman pushes her child away.
"Run! Save yourself and run. Do not look back!"
"What? No! Mommy!" The little girls bawls and falls onto her knees, gripping and tugging at her mother's clothes.
The mother's frantic pleas turn to whimpers as half a dozen Beowolves converge upon them. Their maws are bloodied red with ribbons of flesh hanging from their teeth. A glint of metal hanging on one of the Beowolf's teeth catches the woman's attention, and her eyes widen in horror.
The Beowolves surround the woman and child with their tongues hanging out in anticipation. They circle in slowly, savoring their fear. The little girl screams in horror, crying out for her mother and father repeatedly, while the mother's teeth chatter, knowing both of them were as good as dead. In a last ditch effort of desperation, the woman grabs her daughter and places her underneath her body, in the hopes that doing so would somehow spare her from the Grimm.
Unable to wait any longer, the Beowolves jump and lunge at the two humans, snarling and snapping their teeth. The woman closes her eyes as the inhuman sounds get closer, then... nothing. The snarling. The snapping. The sounds are suddenly gone. She slowly squints her eyes open and gasps at the Beowolves laying on the ground, dismembered and dead. Floating before them is a man in torn clothes. A flash of light seems to enter him before he turns to face the woman and child.
Jaune glances to the side and gestures with a hand, picking up the ring that had been lodged onto one of the beast's teeth. Gently, he levitates it through the air to the woman, who gingerly grabs it and hugs it close to her chest. Her shoulders heave as the reality of her husband's death hits her.
Jaune sighs and looks down at the woman and child with pity.
"There is a shelter further down the street, and you will not encounter any Grimm on the way there. I am sorry for your loss."
Like an eagle, he soars straight up into the night sky, leaving the woman and child behind. Tightly clutching the ring in her hand, the woman grabs her daughter's hand and limps onto her feet. Gritting her teeth from the pain, she slowly makes her way towards the direction that man had pointed out. The time to grieve will come later. Right now, she must ensure the survival of their child.
"Mommy? Was that an angel?" The child innocently asks.
The woman bites her lip and forces out a smile for her daughter.
"Yes it was, honey."
'Even the AK-200s are attacking the city. James Ironwood... what happened here?'
As Jaune soars above the streets of Vale, Crocea Mors lashes out around him, striking down both Grimm and AK-200s in his path. A twinge of irritation in the back of his mind makes him frown.
'There it is again...'
A sudden explosion causes him to stop, and Jaune tilts his head up at a massive Atlesian ship sinking from the sky.
'If that lands in the middle of the streets, the casualties will be devastating.'
Kicking off the air, Jaune soars up to the side of the falling ship. He quickly looks around and finds the park in the center of the city. Verifying that it is empty with his divine sense, Jaune takes a deep breath and clenches his fist. Tightening his muscles to maximum strength, Jaune strikes the hull of the ship with his fist, twisting the metal at the point of impact. The aircraft tilts to the side, now falling directly towards the empty park.
He swerves through the air to the underside of the ship and places both palms against the ship, and pushes out in an attempt to soften the impact of the landing. He grunts from the effort he exerts, and the ship's descent slows down considerably.
Despite his efforts, the military ship crashes into a heap, decimating a large portion of the park grounds and flinging tons of grass and dirt through the air. Jaune stands in the air above the ship and quickly scans the ship for any survivors. His eyebrow quirks up as he finds something peculiar.
'Roman Torchwick? Hmm... if I leave him, he will burn to death.'
Jaune releases a sigh and dives down into the burning debris. He scoops up the criminal with an arm and flies out onto the streets next to the park. With an unconscious Roman slung over his shoulder, he contemplates on what to do next. His eyes glance towards a certain direction.
'I suppose that will do.'
'Roman!'
Neo frantically depresses Hush's button repeatedly,but to no avail. The gusting winds are far too strong. Quickly growing desperate, Neo draws the blade from Hush and tears a hole into a section of her parasol, sending her spiraling down to the ground. Her mismatched eyes grow frantic and wild at the site of the ship Roman was on crashing in the distance. She lands on her feet and immediately begins to sprint towards the crash site as fast as her legs could carry her.
The air grows warm as she nears the burning wreckage. Her eyes dart back and forth, looking for any signs of her foster father's whereabouts.
'Roman, where are you?!'
She turns a corner of a street, and finally finds him. Bloodied, unconscious, and slung over the shoulder of an unknown man. Neo extends the blade out of Hush and rapidly approaches the man's rear, and lets out a silent scream as she stabs at his neck.
'Let him go!'
Without turning his head or reacting in any noticeable way, a finger shoots up and bats the blade away, like one would flick away at an insect.
Jaune turns his head and stares down at his attacker with a mildly annoyed expression.
'This shorty. Her immediate reaction is to attack?'
"Look, girl. If you want to save your boss, I would suggest you stop."
Neo pauses in her tracks, but continues to glare at Jaune. He gestures at the unconscious thief with his head.
"He is currently out of Aura, bleeding, and burnt. If you desire his survival, he'll need medical attention as soon as possible. I can make that possible, so it's in your best interest to cooperate with me. Do you understand?"
After a moment, Neo gives a slight nod.
"The medical facilities in the city are overcrowded and barely functional due to the Grimm outbreak. However, the ones in Beacon are designed to operate even during severe emergencies like this. Luckily for you and Roman here, I'm about to head to Beacon right now."
Again, Neo gives a nod, showing that she understands the situation. Not once has her eyes left Roman on Jaune's shoulder. With still wary eyes, she imitates checking a watch and points at Beacon Tower in the distance.
Jaune nods with an amused smile.
"Indeed, Beacon is quite far if you went by foot."
He suddenly disappears, and Neo's eyes widen in panic when she feels an arm wrap around her torso.
'When did he-'
Her thoughts are interrupted upon feeling gusts of cold air hitting her face, and realizing that she was now soaring through the air, hundreds of feet above the ground.
'What?!'
She feels herself get slung over Jaune's shoulder, and his voice sounds out in her ears.
"Don't struggle. It would be a shame if you were dropped."
As he soars through the sky, Crocea Mors materializes in midair and eviscerates the Griffons and Nevermores in Jaune's path. Within split seconds, dozens of Griffons and Nevermores surrounding them explode into fountains of black ichor as they are turned to mincemeat. Watching this from Jaune's shoulder, Neo fails to suppress a shudder as she realizes that had this man desired to do so, she would have ended up just like those Grimm he casually eradicated.
Several minutes later, Jaune lands on a rooftop at Beacon Academy and lays Torchwick down on the floor. Neo jumps off Jaune's shoulder and rushes to Roman's side, looking over the extent of his injuries. Jaune closes his eyes and covers the entirety of Beacon with his divine sense.
Absolute chaos.
Despite the professors and professional Huntsmen doing their best, the sheer number of Grimm and White Fang attacking the school are wreaking havoc and mayhem across the Academy grounds. Jaune unwraps the scabbard from his back and holds it out for Neo.
"Go down the rooftop exit. Once you reach a hallway, make a right and go straight down. You'll find a blonde woman with glasses and a riding crop. Tell her that Jaune Arc is back and he requires your companion to receive emergency medical attention. Show her this as proof."
'His name is Jaune. That sounds... familiar?'
Neo promptly grabs hold of the scabbard with both hands. She gives Roman a final look before sprinting down the rooftop stairway exit.
Jaune cracks his neck and conjures Crocea Mors into his hand, then kicks off the ground, soaring straight up into the sky. The Academy grounds will have to wait. Without a doubt, there will be some stranded in Amity that would be useful as reinforcements back on the ground. As he soars up, Crocea Mors strikes out in a beam of silver, mincing countless numbers of aerial Grimm.
*** A bullhead above Beacon ***
With the bullhead doors open, Adam stares down at the chaos below. Scowling at the unpleasant memory of that woman, he turns around and commands.
"Prioritize our own survival!"
'For now we'll do as you demand, but I swear you'll pay for this.'
"... Release the Grimm!" He grits out.
Jaune soars past Amity Colosseum to stop above it in order to scan the area. With a brief scan, he finds hundreds of dead civilians, students, and Huntsmen/Huntresses strewn about.
'The ones fighting on the Colosseum stage are the only ones still alive...'
Jaune sighs in pity as he recognizes several of the dead students, notably several members of Team BRNZ and NDGO. Their eyes are open and glazed over with terror and pain etched onto their faces.
He rapidly descends towards a Nevermore striking at a group of students who are clearly exhausted and depleted of Aura.
The students frantically kick and crawl backwards away from the Nevermore snapping at their feet, as if taunting and savoring their desperation. The sound of a sickly crunch fills the air as the Nevermore's head drops while the rest of its body remains upright. The students look through the settling dust, finding Jaune Arc standing on the decapitated head of the Nevermore.
"Holy crap!"
"Is that... Jaune Arc?"
"Where did he come from?"
"He just kind of dropped from the sky."
Murmurs of awe and confusion sound out from the students Jaune had just saved. With a tap of his foot, Jaune's sword intent saturates the air. The sheer amount of pressure cause the Grimm to instinctively freeze in their tracks.
Oobleck and Port run up to the scene with additional students in tow that they had been defending.
"Is that you, Jaune?" Port's disheveled mustache rises in surprise.
Jaune nods, then asks, "Professor Port. Doctor Oobleck. Can you give me a brief explanation of what is happening?"
Oobleck steps forward to reply.
"The broadcast link was hijacked after an incident had occurred during a singles match. It was between Penny Polendina and..."
He hesitates for a moment.
"Pyrrha Nikos."
Jaune notes the dismembered robotic body in the corner of the arena stage.
He asks with concern, "What of my team, RWBY, and CFVY?"
"They were among the first batch of students who managed to make it back down. However, the increasing number of aerial Grimm have ended up stranding us up here. Quite frankly, things were not looking good for us."
Oobleck tiredly glances at the bodies and blood amongst the stands.
"We're going to the transport docks. It's time you all prepare to depart from here."
"Didn't you just hear Oobleck?" Port questions. "There are too many Grimm in the air!"
Jaune begins to walk towards the Colosseum exit.
"They shouldn't be a problem."
Jaune casually waves his hand, and a sound best described as combination of wind and grinding metal fills the air. The Grimm that were frozen this entire time are torn apart by an unseen force. The only indication that Jaune had done something is a flash of silver light entering his hand.
Oobleck, Port, and the students collectively drop their mouths at the sight.
"So are you coming or not?"
Jaune ignores their reactions and continues to make his way towards the transport docks.
As the only remaining professional Huntsmen, Oobleck and Port quickly shake off any questions they may have and focus on the main task at hand: get these students off Amity.
"Come now students! We must make haste!"
Despite their confused mutters, the students follow the lead of the two professors and Jaune, sprinting towards the transport docks and ships. When they arrive, the students quickly pile into a vacant ship.
"Jaune, aren't you getting in?" Oobleck questions while watching Jaune watch to the edge of the platform.
"No need," Jaune shakes his head. "I'll be clearing the Grimm on my way down to the school grounds."
"On your way down?"
Jaune ignores their question and peers down the ledge.
"The situation grows worse by the second. The school will need all the help it can get."
He turns to face the incredulous expressions of Port and Oobleck.
"Don't take too long to follow, or the Grimm will repopulate the airspace."
Before they could say a word, Jaune disappears as he drops.
As he dives through the night sky, Jaune scans his surroundings.
'CFVY... and they're engaging with the White Fang.'
He diverts his flight path towards their direction.
At the moment, Coco, Velvet, Fox, and Yatsuhashi are fighting with three dozen White Fang combatants. Individually, the White Fang are greatly outclassed by CFVY, but their numbers are starting to wear them down. In Jaune's eyes, there is a much more glaring problem.
'The White Fang do not hesitate to go for killing blows. However, CFVY are not capitalizing on the White Fang combatants' openings due to fear of accidentally killing them.'
Jaune frowns.
'Being soft in war will only get you killed.'
He sighs to himself.
'In the end, they are still children, despite what they think of themselves.'
Velvet narrowly dodges a blow from a combatant's weapon, but fails to dodge subsequent attacks from the surrounding attackers. With a cry, Velvet is knocked back and her Aura flickers, indicating its depletion. Breathing from exhaustion, she fails to react to a gun shot, grazing her thigh.
"Velvet!" Coco screams. She rushes towards her teammate and kicks the offending White Fang militants away from them with her heels.
"Coco!" Yatsuhashi yells out. "They have reinforcements!"
'Shit!' Coco grits her teeth as she helps Velvet onto her feet.
The four members of CFVY back up and form a four-way formation.
"What do we do?" Fox asks, out of breath.
Coco tightly grabs Giaduja, which is currently out of ammo.
"The civilians have yet to fully evacuate, and Velvet's injured."
She grits her teeth.
"There's no choice, we'll have to-"
Her command is interrupted the sudden appearance of a newcomer standing between CFVY and the group of White Fang.
"J-Jaune?!" Coco exclaims.
The other three members of CFVY express similar sounds of surprise. Jaune had suddenly appeared in front of them with torn and burnt clothes. His back faces them as Jaune confronts the White Fang, who have paused in their tracks, warily glaring at this man who'd suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Jaune holds his hand out to his side and summons Crocea Mors. The air instantly grows heavy, and Jaune coldly warns the White Fang standing before him.
"I will only say this once. Those who choose to retreat will live, and those who do not will die"
He laces the final word with bloodlust. CFVY and the majority of the White Fang can not help but shudder.
One of the more arrogant members scoff and mockingly says, "He's bluffing! These cowards don't have the guts to kill anything that isn't Grimm!"
He raises his weapon and charges at Jaune.
A brief metallic sound cuts through the air, and all fall silent. The White Fang militant who'd disregarded Jaune's warning splits into two parts, a red line going from his shoulder to opposing hip. As the two halves separate, his blood and entrails trail out behind him and spill onto the ground. The two halves of the body fall onto the ground with a sickening squelch.
Yatsuhashi's face turns green at the gruesome death. Velvet averts her eyes, while Coco and Fox are stuck in place, staring in shock at how casually Jaune had slain the man.
"Just like that? He killed him? No hesitation?" Coco whispers to no one in particular.
"K-Kill him!"
Enraged by their brethren's death, the majority of the White Fang draw their weapons and charge at Jaune.
'What a pity...'
Jaune steels his heart, and takes a steady step forward towards the oncoming group.
Velvet's eyes widen in horror, recognizing what Jaune is about to.
"Jaune, wait!" She cries as Jaune disappears from sight.
Jaune appears like a ghost in the middle of the charging group and swings his surrounding area with a horizontal cut. As a result, the dozens of Faunus around him get cleanly bisected at their waists. Their top halves fall to the ground wondering what had just happened. Just as quickly as he'd appeared, he disappears.
"Where did he- GAAAH!"
"Get him!"
"I can't see hi- URRGH!"
"He's a demon!"
"Mercy! Pleas-" *SPLURT*
CFVY watches on in utter shock as the scene before them erupts into a chaotic storm of limbs and blood. Jaune weaves through his enemies, cutting them down without mercy, just as he'd warned. An invisible storm rages through the dozens of Faunus who'd decided to press their attack, hacking through their limbs and bones, completely disregarding whatever Aura they had protecting them.
'Male? Female? Human? Faunus? They are all the same, and their lives were forfeit the moment they made their decision.'
It is only a few short seconds since he'd started, and the last of the panicked screams turn silent. Standing in the middle of the sea of corpses is Jaune, illuminated against the broken moon in the background. Despite the pools of blood, limbs, and organs surrounding him, not a single speck of his carnage can be seen on his body or sword, painting a permanent haunting image in the minds of all those who'd witnessed his slaughter.
"Murderer..."
"Psycho..."
"Demon!"
Various whispers sound out from the remaining White Fang who had not attacked. Several of them are vomiting from fear, the gory scene before them, or both. One of the militants finally gathers her nerves and scrambles away, and like a domino effect, the remaining few claw and scratch as they clamber over each other to escape from this monster.
For the first time since he'd arrived, Jaune turns his head towards CFVY, who stare back with wide eyes. They are shocked by his calm expression, as if nothing had happened. It's like they never even knew Jaune, and this man in front of them now is a complete stranger.
Jaune dismisses Crocea Mors and sighs, ignoring the slight twinge in his heart upon seeing their expressions.
"Coco, Fox, Yatsuhashi, ...Velvet."
Velvet suppresses a shudder and looks directly into Jaune's eyes.
"Was... Was killing them necessary?"
She does her best to ignore the dismembered body parts laying around Jaune.
Jaune closes his eyes.
"If I did not intervene, you four would have been overrun. Those White Fang were not showing any intention of letting any of you live." He pauses. "Perhaps Velvet was an exception..."
"But this."
Coco gestures to the carnage around him.
"This was excessive! You didn't have to do such a-"
"Coco," Jaune's deep voice cuts in. "This is war. Not a mission or training, but war. I took no pleasure in taking their lives, but believe me when I say this. Right now, it will either be you"
He glances down at the corpses around him.
"or them."
"B-but isn't that just like..." Velvet starts, but pauses, unable to finish the sentence. She sadly looks down at the ground.
"Like the White Fang?" Jaune sighs. "Perhaps... In the beginning their violent acts were a form of self defense. It's a sentiment that I can appreciate."
CFY stares at Jaune in shock, that he'd express support for the violent actions of the White Fang, while Velvet's expression is conflicted.
"Right now, our job is to defend the Academy from the enemy, through any means necessary." Jaune calmly says to them. "So you have a choice. Continue to stand there, or take action and protect."
'What is your resolve?' Jaune mentally asks. 'This is their tribulation, and I will not interfere with whatever choice they make.'
Coco averts her eyes from Jaune.
"Come on..." She mutters. "There are civilians that can still use our help. Let's go."
Velvet shoots Jaune a final complicated look of mixed emotions, as she limps away with the help of Yatsuhashi and Coco. As Jaune watches them leave the scene, he lets out a tired sigh and looks around him with pity, but no regret.
A beastly high pitched shriek thunders through the sky from the South. At the same time, a sudden surge of energy catches Jaune's attention and he turns his head sharply towards Beacon Tower. The constant tingling in the back of his mind suddenly erupts, causing Jaune to gasp in pain and grasp his head. The world around him slows to a halt, and his vision fills with white.
Adam flicks the blood off Wilt before sheathing it back into Blush. He looks up towards a shattered window of the dining hall he's in.
"Blake."
Gasping upon being discovered, Blake clenches her hands into fists as she steps into view.
"Adam... Why are you doing this? Why are you here? Why are the White Fang here?" Her voice's volume rising with every additional question.
The bull Faunus shifts his feet so that he's facing Blake directly, though he makes no moves towards her.
"So this is where you ran," he sighs.
"At least from here I can try to make a real difference," Blake retorts.
Adam scoffs.
"And you think you weren't making a difference while you were with us? Do you seriously believe that the crimes of these humans can be solved by working for them?"
Blake flinches at those words. Those questions Adam posed are the very ones she had been asking herself everyday since she'd become a student at Beacon. During her time here, she'd found friends within the so-called humans that she'd been conditioned to hate nearly all her life. Ruby, a shining light of optimism and purity. Yang, a fiery companion that you can always count on to watch your back. Even Weiss, who despite being a Schnee, is capable of showing great kindness, in her own unique way.
Blake steels her eyes and straightens her back.
"I don't know if I can, but my time here in Beacon has taught me many things the White Fang never could. The way the White Fang spreads their message now hinges on fear and hatred. So tell me, Adam. Can we truly protect what's important to us if all our actions do is nothing but spur fear?"
"Pretty words, but that's all they are." Adam growls. "The White Fang of the past has tried precisely what you're spouting, and it failed! Violence will finally teach the humans that the Faunus are not ones to be pushed around like animals. Our actions bring results!"
"Blake!"
Yang's voice calls out as she runs up to her teammate.
"Why'd you suddenly run off? We have to meet back up with Ruby and Weiss!"
Adam's eyes narrow dangerously behind his mask.
Facing Adam, Blake reaches up and unties her bow, revealing her cat ears to the world.
"Adam, I'm going to continue fighting for the Faunus, my own way, with the help of my friends and family."
Adam clenches a fist and replies with a low voice.
"Like father, like daughter. You've forgotten all about what they've done to us? The pain? Deaths? They deserve the same!"
"Hey buddy, I don't know who you are, but you seriously need to back off."
Yang steps in front of Blake and engages Ember Celica.
Adam chuckles bitterly and tilts his sheathed weapon forward into drawing position.
"Who is this woman? Is this one of those friends you abandoned us for?"
He grasps Wilt with his other hand and charges forward.
"I said to back off!" Yang cocks an arm back and punches out, firing a shotgun shell.
Adam suddenly accelerates, dodging the projectile and catching Yang off guard. He promptly knees her in the stomach, then kicks her away.
"My business is with her, not you, human."
He quickly draws Wilt and strikes at Blake's weapon, sending sparks through the air. Adam's other arm follows through with a punch to Blake's torso, only to end up hitting her shadow clone. He flicks his blade upwards, blocking a downward strike from Blake's aerial attack. As a response to her surprise attack being blocked, Blake immediately creates some distance between them using her Semblance.
"That always was one of your favorite combinations. Just who do you think taught you how to fight?"
Adam smirks, standing upright with his weapon sheathed. He presses a trigger, shooting Wilt out from Blush towards Blake. His hair glows blood red as his Semblance activates, and he charges after the weapon he'd launched.
Blake blocks Wilt with Gambol shroud and tracks the trajectory in which she'd deflected it, fully expecting Adam to grab it in midair as he always does. Her eyes widen in shock as she feels the heavy impact of Adam punching her in the stomach with the small amount of energy he'd built up in their previous clash. Blake flies backwards and hits a supporting pillar in the dining hall, breaking her Aura. She falls to the ground coughing and gasping, unable to move from the lack of breath.
By this point, Yang had picked herself up and witnessed Blake being flung through the air by whoever this White Fang member is. Her eyes turn red and hair ignites as her Semblance activates from sheer desperation.
"Blake!" She screams, and charges at Adam with caution thrown to the wind.
Adam internally scoffs and sheathes Wilt before getting into position. Blake's eyes widen through her tear filled eyes.
"No... Yang! Don't!" She croaks out between gasps.
With a ringing sound, Adam blocks Yang's strike with his blade, fully absorbing the momentum and strength put behind it, before sheathing his weapon. Glowing an intense blood red, Adam redraws Wilt at lightning speed, cutting through Yang's right arm, Aura and all.
Yang momentarily screams in shock and pain before landing behind Adam, unconscious.
"Yang!" Blake cries in horror.
Adam nonchalantly flicks the blood away and turns to approach Yang.
'This is what you've replaced us with? How disappointing and insulting...'
He raises his blade into the air in reverse grip, and holds it above Yang's body.
"Adam, stop! Please!" Blake cries out, desperately trying to crawl towards them.
As he's about to bring the sword down for the finishing blow, his eyes suddenly widen in alarm, then jumps away, barely avoiding a long red blade swinging through the space he was just occupying.
A masked woman stands protectively in front of Yang, her long blade drawn and directed straight at Adam.
'Raven Branwen... What is she doing here?' Adam tenses.
His Scroll suddenly begins to ring. Slowly backing away, he lets the call through, while never taking his eyes off from Raven.
"Sir! We have an emergency! Heavy casualties!"
"What?" Adam is taken aback, then demands with a commandeering voice.
"How, and how many?!"
"I-it was a single man, no... a demon! We a-are not sure how many..."
"How is that possible?!"
Adam's mind begins to race.
"It's at least a... platoon's worth"
"A platoo-" Adam's voice gets caught in his throat.
'That's at least 60 troops! By a single person?!'
Nearly crushing the Scroll in his hand, Adam gnashes his teeth. Shooting a final glare towards Blake, and a wary one at Raven, he turns on his heels and sprints out of the dining hall.
Raven smoothly sheathes her weapon, then looks around before picking up Blake's untied bow. Without a word, Raven briskly walks over to Yang and gets down on a knee. With almost hesitating hands, she reaches down and gently bandages Yang's arm to stem the bleeding. Upon finishing, she stands up and summons a portal. Before stepping through, she looks down at her hands, soaked in Yang's blood, then clenches them tightly before walking through her portal and disappearing.
'Who was that?' Blake wonders as she crawls towards Yang, inch by inch. As she nears and gets a closer look of her friend's missing arm, immense guilt weighs down upon her heart. Her feline eyes well up with tears as she blankly stares at the stump.
"Yang!" A panicked gruff voice calls out from the dining hall's entrance.
"... believe in destiny?..."
Gasps of agony, then silence. Death.
Flame. The hollow sound of a headdress as it lands on the ground. The taste of ash fills the air.
...
A blonde knight wailing in grief while on his knees. Hugging a shield, broken spear, and Scroll.
Despair... Loss... Pain...
"... just as we'd practiced..."
"... I'm just happy to be a part of your life."
"... always be here for you..."
Love... Heartache...
DO YOU BELIEVE IN DESTINY?
Jaune watches the vision in horror. He reaches out for Pyrrha, only to grasp a handful of ash. His heart begins to bleed as the pale dead face of Ying Yue overlaps with Pyrrha's as she takes her last breath of life. A long forgotten, unbridled rage and grief wells up inside Jaune.
'Do I believe in destiny?'
'Yes.'
'AND I WILL SHATTER IT'
The world around Jaune resumes, and with tears of blood streaming down from his bloodshot eyes, he pushes his dantian to the point of breaking and blasts off into flight.
'You won't make it.'
Something in Jaune's mind screams at him that his current action is futile.
'I refuse to accept this!'
Roaring with rage, Jaune slams his chest with a palm and spits out a mouthful of blood essence. Burning it without hesitation, he gains a brief burst of speed far beyond his current limits.
'It's still not enough. Her life is forfeit.'
'Then take it all! As much as is needed!'
Jaune slams his chest repeatedly, continuously burning his blood essence.
Cinder strolls forward to stand in front of Pyrrha. Staring down at her collapsed form with an arrow piercing through her ankle.
"It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours."
Cinder kneels down, lifts Pyrrha's chin and smiles.
"But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you could never have imagined."
Pulling herself away from Cinder's hand, Pyrrha's stares back defiantly.
"Do you believe in destiny?"
Cinder's eyes narrow and she frowns.
"Yes."
She steps back to form an obsidian bow and arrow, and pulls back. Cinder releases the arrow and Pyrrha closes her eyes, accepting her fate.
A sudden gust of wind causes her eyes to reopen. Her expression changes from acceptance to shock.
"... Jaune?" Pyrrha whispers in disbelief. Tears threaten to escape her eyes as she stares at Jaune's back.
Jaune doesn't respond and crushes the obsidian arrow in his hand.
Pyrrha quickly grows alarmed and gasps as she takes in his appearance. Ghostly white complexion, and bloody tattered clothes.
'What happened to you? What is happening?'
An enormous Wyvern Grimm swoops down from the sky with a shriek and lands on the side of the broken tower. As it hangs on the edge, it growls at Jaune.
Jaune casts a cold glance at the Grimm and points a finger at it.
"Trash."
Crocea Mors materializes and cuts through the air in a line of silver. By instinct, the ancient Grimm swerves its body to the side, but fails to completely dodge the attack. As a result, nearly a quarter of one of its wings gets chopped off. Screeching in pain, the Wyvern kicks off the Tower and takes off into the air, fleeing to the South and wobbling due to imbalance.
Jaune swallows the blood that had surged up his throat, and frowns due to failing to dispatch that Grimm. He turns his eyes towards the woman who would have undoubtedly killed Pyrrha, had he not arrived in time.
'Ash black hair and amber eyes... It's you. I should have aimed to kill you that night.'
The one in question, Cinder Fall, fails to hide the shock in her eyes. That Grimm he'd driven off was thousands of years old. One that had been placed in Mountain Glenn in preparation for this day. And he'd injured and made it flee with a single strike?!
She resists the urge to step back upon seeing Jaune's cold, disregarding eyes. Feigning confidence, she brings a hand up and brushes her bangs to the side.
"Jaune Arc. I'm curious, just how did you suddenly appear up here?"
She silently gathers power within herself while trying to buy time with small talk.
Disregarding the fact she'd even spoken, Jaune immediately points a finger at her. Recalling what had happened to the Wyvern, Cinder's eyes ignite with the Fall Maiden's powers and she conjures a dense magic barrier around her. The barrier shudders and a small crack forms on its surface as the sword hits it. A small stream of blood escapes the corner of Jaune's mouth. Noticing this, Cinder smirks with confidence and outstretches a hand, firing a pillar of scorching flame.
Shuddering and taking a deep breath, Jaune grabs Crocea Mors and swings its flat side against the flames, dispersing it with Black Tortoise qi. As Cinder's attack fizzles out, the faint image of a massive turtle and snake lingers in the air for a moment, before it hisses once and dissipates.
'What was that?!' Cinder's eyes widen.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha exclaims in horror when he coughs up a large mouthful of blood.
'Chance!'
Cinder viciously grins and prepares to fire an even stronger blast of flames.
But before she could initiate her attack, Jaune takes a deep breath and points his finger once more towards Cinder.
She reacts instantly and conjures up a barrier even stronger than her first.
'I've already seen that attack, and this barrier is even stronger. Stop struggling and just die-'
*Thump*
Cinder's thoughts are interrupted, her confidence slowly changes to shock. Her eyes trail down from her shoulder down to the ground, where her left arm now lays, completely severed from her body. After several moments, the pain finally registers in her brain and the energy surrounding her eyes fizzle out. She grasps her bleeding stump with her right arm and begins to shriek in agony.
"M-My arm! My arm!"
Jaune struggles to bring his arm up for a finishing blow, but his body refuses to budge and his vision rapidly blurs.
'I missed... That blow was meant to cleave her in half, but that barrier deviated my strike's path despite the tiny hint of White Tiger essence I was able to muster.'
He vomits out even more blood and staggers backwards, losing his balance and collapsing onto the floor. As his vision fades to black, all he can hear are the desperate screams of Pyrrha and another screaming out his name. A brief flash of white enters the corner of his eyes as he loses consciousness.
'Ruby?...'