Multiplayer

by NeoShadows

Life is a game. In an attempt to save a friend during the Breach, Jaune Arc died. Brought back to life with powers of a Gamer, he must now attempt to beat the game called life. He's not alone though. Every win or lose ends in a Reset, so how will he beat a game that never ends?

9. Grimm Games

It's Thursday, you all know what time it is. Because I don't! I ain't got time for a watch and shit, that's why I have a phone. Or had one. Goddamn salt water, what am I suppose to watch po-

Ahem! Ignore that, my sleep deprived mind doesn't know what it's talking about right now.

NeoShadows here, and once again, the system works! Chapter 10 isn't finished yet, like last week, I've had a lot of shit to deal with. Sadly, I couldn't even finish the DLC fo this chapter today, had to edit this chapter. So now I have to work on finishing Chapter 10, DLC #4, and start on Chapter 11. I like to say that I'm thinking about a beta from time to time, but it's only hitting me now that I REALLY should start looking for one. I need more time to finish chapters and editing takes a hell of a lot of my time up. Some people would say that I should make my chapters shorter to cut back on the work load, but I can't do that. It's not just about writing 10,000+ chapters for you all to enjoy, its about how the chapter is written. They simply come out that way and it feels wrong to upload it as a 4-5,000+ chapter. It's not done until its done, no matter how many words it has.

I've also been in a grudge match with a cold, so that's been affecting my work too.

Thank god I finished this chapter. The Trials By Fire Event is nearing a close, only 4-5 chapters left! And their going to be crazy.

Now, while I still have the energy, Review Time!

GhostHornet: Yeah, coffee is the shit. Too bad I'm only allowed one cup a day; caffeine addiction, nearly died from overdosing on Monster Energy drink a few years ago. Ann, or Anabel, is trying to buy something very expensive. It has nothing to do with family, nor her freedom. Kind of. It's not like she's being forced to work for Holt, she has her reasons. You'll just have to wait and see, or guess. Get cracking on them theories!

SonicFanFlame: I'm a man, a big, strong, tan, man! Just trust me on this, I know its hard to trust anyone on the internet. So many guys playing as girl avatars, how the fuck do I know who to flirt with!? Anyways, it's alright to ramble, I do it all the time. As always, can't answer most of the questions, just now I got some great plans in the works. Wait till Volume 3. Keep on theorizing. . . Wait, the fuck did you just say? WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT GETS ONE INCH SMALLER!?

Jdkdbddd: I plan on writing till the end of Volume 1 of this story, which won't be till November, I think. Then I'll take a break, work some more stuff out on the story as Volume 4 hits, and then upload more chapters around its end. How long will I plan on writing this story? Don't know, but I do know I have the end envisioned in my head already. I'll be around for a long while though, so don't worry about it. The pairing for this story is odd, since its a game, the pairing won't be finalized until the very end where I'll write an epilogue for each one. In dating sims, a player creates multiple save files just to reach an end with each girl. So, yeah, it is kinda a White Knight fic. It's a joke harem right now, with some romantic development thrown in every once in a while. So enjoy the wild ride for now, our favorite pairing will get the spotlight eventually.

Dragoon109: Sorry, I'd be spoiling things if I revealed anything on Ren and Pyrrha right now. But it will be brought up before the end of Volume 1. You'll have to wait till then.

Benthino: I have no idea who Ms. Punch of Death is, but I think you got it right. Maybe. Keep up the ideas, I need something to get my brain juices pumping.

Drake187: Yeah, RWE made me feel shame. . .and other things. I actually wasn't making it canon, but I just might change that seeing how everyone loved it.

Wbrendon89: I like it. I think I might just have something planned for it now. Thanks for the idea! If only I had time to write Pyrrha's scene. A wasted moment.

Wandai: That would have made the situation even more funny. Should have thought of it. As for the Mattel siblings, yeah, they're related, not married. We ain't done with the Mattel family, you can bet on that. As for Ann's inspiration, I can see why you haven't found it yet. The girl she's inspired with looks nothing like her, but then again Ann looks a lot different nowadays. Good luck figuring that out. Her character inspiration does sing, a lot. I like your idea for Ren as DLC, I might just do that in the future. But I wouldn't say he's possessive of her. And Glynda is pretty much the only sane woman on campus.

TalonbnLaAhad: Wasted potential indeed. If only I had more time to write the DLC, I might have put that in there. I get pretty swamped editing things that I sometimes rush the DLC and miss out on some quality gold. One day, Yang's kink will be fully fleshed out. Too bad, I never watched a Bond film in my life, now Austin Power on the other hand. . .I think I just came up with a new piece of DLC. Save that for later. Ann's situation is a bit tricky at the moment, her fate is undecided~! Honestly, the more you write about the Neomorph thing, the more I realize I wouldn't be able to write such a master piece. You should take a crack at this piece of crack, it would be a good read. And I like your version of Weiss, I'll think about it with another piece of DLC I have planned for the future, I really like it. And I bid you a fond farewell, hermano! Now I need to drink my tequila, can't fall asleep any other way.

Loganhunter2: The pairing isn't the main part of the fic, it's a joke harem for comedy's sake. I will be writing epilogue's with each pairing at the end of the fic, along with romantic development throughout the story. It's why we have multiple save files in dating sim games. I do love White Knight and Lancaster though. And Pyrrha's love for Jaune was a bit odd, but I still loved her.

H20 Ferrum Dominus: No offense taken. Glad you enjoyed them. Sorry about the lack of it in this chapter, haven't finished it yet. Hope you enjoy the chapter none the less.

Acerman: Eh, anything can happen. As for Ren, yeah, he does tone himself down while fighting. He's too lazy and unmotivated to go all out. For now. So much to say, so much not to spoil. Keep guessing, a new Player is right around the corner of this arc.

Killerbeats359: The Punisher is a broken move, I admit it!

I. Am tired. Along with being sick, I've been lacking in the sleep department for the last few days. Editing can take a lot of time out of your night. So, before I head to bed, let's get to reading this new chapter, it's an action packed one if I do say so myself.

---

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to RWBY. RoosterTeeth does. I'm lucky to even own this laptop after all the shit I did in the past. Wasn't the kindest man out there, now I'm a Pacifist! And it's fucking hard as shit to remain peaceful. Life angers up my fist! At least I don't have to deal with the police, or god forbid, the FBI like some of my relatives.

. . .Da fuck? Why am I sitting down in a table for two? Is that Chris Hansen, again!? We've been over this shit! It's an Anime! She'll be a year older by the end of the timeskip! You should see Nowi from Fire Emblem Awakening, she looks like a thirteen year old! . . .Yes, I did marry her in one of my playthroughs, why do you ask?

. . .Are those handcuffs? Dammit, not this shit again.

---

Chapter 9: Grimm Games.

"You think Jaune's been shanked yet?" Yang asked as the two teams ate breakfast in team RWBY's dorm. It was a good question to ask in her opinion, despite the aghast looks she received. A guy with such a fine face and high pitch scream wouldn't last long in prison. Made her wonder what he did to get locked up in the first. Guy wasn't exactly the high picture profile of a criminal.

Apparently it wasn't the best question to be asking, seeing as her partner bumped her shoulder with a disproving look in her eyes. Nora was still chained down to her bed for the time being until classes started in an hour. No need to rile her of all people up.

Ruby didn't appreciate the thought, "Yang that's very insensitive. It's bad enough that he isn't the most masculine guy out there, no need to put those kind of thoughts in our heads."

"You don't actually think someone would do such a thing to him, do you?" Pyrrha asked in worry.

Weiss waved it away as she took a bite out of her apple, "I'm sure the doofus is just fine. You said it yourself, he wasn't going to a prison, and that he was secured in some kind of personal cell. There's no doubt in my mind that only one 'shanking' Jaune would be himself." Probably from tripping on his own two feet onto his spoon or something like that. It was a wonder that they made him leader of all people.

Ren nodded his along as he fed Nora her breakfast, carefully feeding her less she bite his hand again, "She's right. Whatever reason they have for keeping Jaune, it's not enough for them to lock him up as some common criminal. And he did say that he should be back at Beacon by the time second period starts." he gave a slight glare to the orange haired valkyrie. Her teeth grazed his fingers again, couldn't she eat normally instead of wolfing down even the fork. He still needed his fingers! "Again, it's probably nothing major. Who knows? Jaune probably tossed some soda and missed the trash can near the sight of an officer that took their job too seriously. Probably took him in to try and teach him a lesson."

"That does seem like the kind of trouble Vomit Boy attracts." Yang agreed. The guy had terrible luck.

Ironic seeing as his highest stat was Luck.

"That still doesn't make sense to me." Pyrrha couldn't see the logic behind that. The police were suppose to be professionals. Why would the take in an innocent guy like Jaune? Couldn't be for something as silly as Ren had suggested. "He would have been let out by now if that was the case. Why keep him there for so long if it was a minor case?"

"Probably to scare him straight. I remember when the Patch Police had done a similar thing to me back when I was younger." Yang shrugged as she popped a berry into her mouth, "I say it's discrimination towards my kind! We blondes have been given a bad rap as of lately for reasons I don't understand."

"That most likely has to do with you." Blake deadpanned, earning her a surprised gasp from the blonde. Yang wasn't the most innocent of people out there. The girl liked to party, Hard. Wouldn't be surprised if she already made a name for herself with the law enforcement in town.

"Lies! You can't prove anything with no evidence!"

"That's what you said to the police when you wrecked that bar in town a few months ago." Ruby said flatly as she recalled the night she found her sister in Vale. If it wasn't for Ozpin pulling a few strings, Yang would have spent a few weeks in prison herself for all the trouble she caused.

Still, they were right. Ruby herself didn't understand how the law worked, but nothing Jaune of all people could have done would keep him locked away for so long. This all must have been some sort of conspiracy! Maybe Jaune had discovered some kind of super secret plan to overthrow Beacon Academy and the whole of Vale! And now it was up to him to save the day all by himself!

Dammit, she wanted to be a hero too! All the blondes got all the fun.

Blake was curious to the trouble Jaune had gotten himself in too. Out of everyone in their little circle, she had the most experience dealing with the law. She wasn't ex-White Fang for nothing. Had to deal with the police in multiple towns after their tactics had become 'drastic' to say the least. Blake had never dealt with the Vale city police in her time with the Fang, but she knew all too well that they wouldn't just take someone in for no good reason. Like they all said, Jaune wasn't the type to be categorized as a criminal. She didn't want to say it, but if he was taken in then he wasn't as innocent as he appeared.

'What am I thinking? I shouldn't be thinking like that.' Jaune was a nice guy, a little awkward and dorky yes, but he wasn't a criminal like she had once been. Vale was filling with tension after the latest news that dropped onto its lap yesterday.

The Friends of Faunus, a radical group of humans that opposed the faunus and wished to humanize them for their own good. The White Fang was one thing, but now it looked like a new group of criminals had risen up in their wake. Sad thing was that they weren't a new group that had risen up over night. Years ago when the White Fang had been carrying more violent methods they had come across a small group of people that attacked them. They were easily taken care of but the initials FoF were scribbled onto their vests. Wasn't the last time they had seen such letters, through the years before she departed from the group they had encountered small numbers from the new human radicals and had even lost some of their people to them. They hadn't been killed, no, they had a more sinister punishment in mind. The limbs that made them faunus were amputated cruelly in ways that would never allow them to be reattached by even the most skilled doctors.

Adam no longer considered them one of them. She supposed that things would have ended on a crueler note, he didn't kill them or anything of the like. He simply banished them from their organization. Blake had thought that maybe the old Adam was still there, but he simply didn't care about those who had been hunted down. All he ever cared about was spreading their message to the world and wiping out humans from the face of Remnant. He was lost to the bloodshed by then.

Their was a time long ago when Blake could recall the good man Adam had once been, back in the early days of the White Fang. He smiled back then, laughed without a care and had hope for the two species to come together peacefully. Actually, when she stopped to thing about it, Adam had once been like Jaune in a way, just without the lack of confidence and awkwardness.

And one day, like a switch, he had changed. The kindness he had once had was diminished like a candle light blown out. He became crueler and spilled blood with little care, relishing in the fight and challenge of those he killed. Adam had transformed into a beast in a day. Her partner had gone down a path that she wasn't willing to follow anymore. Not at the cost of her soul.

Blake shook her head to clear herself of such thoughts. Now wasn't the time to be dwelling on the past. After all, Jaune wasn't Adam.

Finishing the last of her breakfast, Weiss went to work on gathering up everyone's dirty dishes before they went off to class for the day. Just because a friend of there's was absent didn't mean they had an excuse to be tardy. She had a perfect attendance to keep up dammit, "While it's fun talking about Jaune and his troubles of the day, we should get ready for our morning class. Pyrrha did say that the Headmaster was notified of the situation even before her, so I'm sure the teachers will understand his absence. Not to mention seeing as he is your leader, I'm sure he want's you all to be on time to class as well." she said to the NPR of JNPR like a mother to her children. Someone had to watch out for them seeing as they were leaderless. And it looked like she would have to take the burden of leading his team. Because that was just the kind of kind hearted person she was.

"I smell a takeover." Ruby whispered to Yang. Weiss had gone on about wanting to lead a team. And like a shark to bloody water she was jumping at the chance. Maybe Weiss had framed Jaune so she could takeover as leader of his team! Conspiracies were floating all around her.

"Now, you should all change and get your books ready. Your leader wouldn't wish for you all to be tardy because of him, now would he?" Weiss nodded firmly.

Pyrrha could see that, Jaune was the kind of guy to blame himself. "I suppose you're right." she sighed as she got up and went to gather her things.

"And someone untie Nora from her chains. I'm sure she's cooled off long enough not to go on a rampage throughout Vale." The copious amounts of pancakes the girl had eaten should keep her from going crazy for the moment. Not even Nora could cause mayhem and destruction on a very full stomach.

Ren didn't argue. It wasn't like he was going to lead their team. And Pyrrha was a little too shy despite being a four time Mistral tournament champion to order them around. Not to mention Nora would lead them to hell and back with a grin on her face. Sometimes Ren had to admit that making Jaune leader of their little team was for the best. Only sometimes.

"Does this mean I have to call Weiss 'Mom' now?"

"Why in the world would you call me that?" Weiss quirked an eyebrow in confusion as Nora shrugged off the beaten chains. The hell were they made of, the mantle of Remnant?

"Because Jaune's the leader of our team, and you're taking over."

"That's make no sense and does not answer my question."

Nora gasped suddenly as a thought struck her, "Does this mean Jaune's divorced Pyrrha!? The people are not going to like that one bit."

Ren shook his heat towards Weiss, "Don't, just don't. There are times that even I can't follow her path of logic and thought. It's best just to leave her in her own world instead of being dragged into it." his features became weary as he looked to his old friend shaking Pyrrha around with dramatic tears overflowing from her eyes, "Trust me on this."

The heiress chose to follow his advice. Maybe leading Jaune's team wasn't the best idea.

---

Jaune gulped nervously as he stood in front of some old rusted metal warehouse located in the lower end of the residential area of Vale. The area around here wasn't the best looking, it was run down and filled with some abandoned factories and businesses from long ago. The crime rate around this area was actually low, probably due to the few people that gathered around the lower end. It was a ghost town to the naked eye.

But the Vale city police knew otherwise. The lower end was home to many hidden illegal actives. If it wasn't for the place being a hidden hive of criminals, they would have raided the area years ago. No amount of criminals locked behind bars was worth the number of officers they would lose taking them all down at once. Better to slowly take them out then rush in.

It was here that they had discovered the next location for the UGC. Whoever was running the fights was connected to the FoF, and they were smart enough not to stay in one area for long. Their investigators on the case had come to the conclusion that they were using the abandoned buildings around the lower end, which they dubbed 'Crime Haunt' due to the haunting atmosphere and the criminal activity hidden in the shadows. No one was allowed to enter the area seeing as it was gated off from the rest of the residential area but others had found ways to sneak in. The police knew of one way in without drawing any attention to themselves by a hidden sewage drain connected to the sewers below. Using that path along with a map they had made up to navigate the tunnels below, Jaune had made his way through the damp and dark maze to the manhole leading up to an alley out of sight from anyone watching for any activity.

Chief Rola didn't want to send a hunter in training into the thick of the criminal den, but they didn't have much choice at this point. Their undercover officers would stick out like a sore thumb and the kid had connections with the girl handing out the fliers. He had earned more trust then an officer would have through months of hard work. They pretty much had little choice, Jaune was now a key part in the case and their only hope for stopping the FoF before it began spreading out as the White Fang did.

So after a quick briefing and run down of what the plan was, Jaune was sent out to begin the mission: earn the trust of the leader of the UGC and give them what information he could gather about the FoF.

'I'm beginning to have second thoughts on this.' What was he getting himself into? He was literally steps away from walking into a den of gamblers betting on people fighting to the death against Grimm and surrounded by members of an organization that preached equality by amputation. When the hell did his life begin spiraling into mess like this?

Oh, yeah, dying. Who would have thought that death would lead to his life becoming a game?

A buzz in his pockets alerted him to his scroll. Looked like he got a message.

'Welcome to the UGC! The Underground Grimm Coliseum is a special arena where fighters are pit against the creatures of Grimm for bloody sport! Advance through the challenges that await you for Lien, recognition, and even special abilities, or gamble on the progress of the fighters for Lien! Progress far enough and impress the master of the UGC, and you'll be rewarded with a seat on their organization! Items are disabled in the UGC. Now ready your fists! By the end of the day you'll be lucky to even have fingers to flip anyone off. Or have anything to fly home with.'

That wasn't reassuring in the least. What the hell was controlling The Game? Whatever it was must be a sadist at heart. None of the games he had ever played had ever sent him helpful information with such dark glee.

Sighing Jaune gazed at his surroundings. There was nothing but old, beaten, buildings and stores everywhere he turned. Trash littered the ground, rusted cars were left parked in neglect, and he could hear nothing but the sound of wind in the air. How was this place home to a hive of criminal activity? There was nothing to look out for! Scratching his head, Jaune waited on the message from Ann to arrive. She did say to wait on her signal before entering the warehouse that was addressed on the flier.

Well, seeing as he was going to wait on Ann, might as well look over his stats. If he was going to be betting on Lien and dealing with criminals, it was a good idea to prepare himself. The thought of betting on lives didn't sit well for Jaune, but he had a mission to carry out. All he needed to do is gain the trust of whoever was in charge and bring back what he could to the police. He was going to have to stomach the hell that awaited him.

'Jaune Arc, Heart of the Gamer. Lvl: 8.

4,000/4,000HP. 70/70MP.

Strength: 18(19.8)

Defense: 20(23)

Speed: 20(23)

Charisma: 15

Intelligence: 17

Dexterity: 17

Luck: 24(25.5)

Abilities:

Teres Mors.

Power Strike.

Hedge Fang.

Perks:

Knight of Victory, Lvl: 1.

Iron Roses.

Not bad. Compared to what his stats were a week ago it looked like he was doing great, better then his first run through. At least he hoped. Seeing as he didn't have the ability to read the stats of those around him, Jaune had no idea how he stacked up against everyone else. If the fact that he hadn't won any matches in class were anything to go by, then he wasn't at their levels yet. But he was definitely much better then before, while he hadn't won a spar against anyone back then he was at least dragging out the fights longer by actually fighting back. Wasn't able to do that before.

As Jaune continued to look over his stats, the slight sound of something whistling through the air caught his attention. It stood out in the deathly silence that plagued the Crime Haunt. And if there was one thing he had learned since his death, it was to watch out for the things that cut through the air.

On instinct, Jaune spun the sheath of Crocea Mor in his hands before shifting it into its glorious white shield. Blocking his body from the direction of the ominous sound, Jaune's knees buckled before the impact of the bullet aimed at him. He was nearly knocked back from the force!

"Who's there!?" Jaune shouted with a grimace as his health dropped by 100 points. It was great his shield could damper the damage he received but it sucked that he still took any at all.

Several more shots were his answer as Jaune was forced to continue to block the rain of gunfire. From the firing rate and impact against his defense, it looked like he was dealing with a sniper. He bit back a shout as one of the shots grazed his right leg, opening a gash that dealt 200 points to his chipping health. If there was one thing he had learned from Ruby, it was that you should never stay in one place when fighting a sniper. That was just begging to be killed.

Jaune kept his shield up to the incoming sniper bullets as he began to run around. It was harder to hit a moving object then one standing still.

What the hell was going on? Ann said to wait on her signal to enter the UGC, she didn't say anything about some lunatic taking shots in broad daylight! Several more bullets whizzed by as he spun back, digging his feet in as a more powerful shot exploded against his shield in a plume of flames. Oh, that was just cheating! Using Dust elemental rounds was not fair!

Where were the shots being fired from? The sniper seemed to have ran out of ammo as they took a moment to reload their weapon, giving Jaune a chance to breath and try to find the sniper's location. His eyes scanned the top windows of the run down building surrounding him, looking out for signs to the enemy. A loud shot from his right alerted him to the sniper as his head swung to the direction of the incoming attack. Unfortunately for him, a bullet didn't come for him.

The sniper did.

Flying through the air a man in in a padded bulletproof vest swung their longsword in a sweeping side arc into his shield. Jaune struggled against the heavy blade only to lose the fight and be sent flying to the side of a building. He grunted in pain as his back slammed into the wall, his eyes squinting to the slightly blurring image of his sniper.

The man was dressed in a very dark blue gi like top protected by a matching bullet proof vest and baggy white and black cameo pants, dark gray armored sleeves, wooden sandals, and hood over their head. What looked like a rabbit skull themed mask hid the sniper's face along with a pair of trifocal bright red goggles hiding their eyes. The sniper's silver long sword was nearly the length of his body and had a brick like frame with three lined vents running along both sides of the blade, releasing steam as he swung his blade by his side. With a click, the pointed edge of the sword collapsed to reveal the hidden barrel. A trigger flipped from within the hilt, allowing him to aim the barrel of the blade and fire at the stunned blonde.

'Scan!' Dodging the shot, Jaune scanned his new opponent as he once again tried to evade the sniper shots.

'Cross Hare

12,000/12,000HP.'

Holy shit, that was a hell lot of HP, he even had a small overlapping blue bar over his regular health! The guy had more health then the tutorial boss! Having had enough of his bullets blocked, Cross shifted his sniper rifle into its longsword form and prepared himself to cut the boy down himself. He stopped himself though as he remembered something. Relaxing his stance for a second, Cross sheathed his sniper rifle longsword into his oak sheath by his side with an audible click. Had to follow procedure after all. He reached into his sleeve with his metal tipped gloves and took out a black token coin with an ox skull engraved on its surface and gestured it to the blonde boy.

Jaune frowned in confusion at the awaiting sniper. What, was he suppose to do something? All Ann said was to make sure no one followed him and wait for her signal. Pretty sure he wasn't the signal. If he was, then Ann had a crappy way of signaling.

"Uh, do you need something?" Jaune asked as he took the moment to regain his breath.

The damn creepy mask and goggles weren't showing him any emotions. He didn't know if the guy was rolling his eyes or nodding. Either way, Cross didn't look happy. The man pocketed the coin and swiftly drew his weapon, collapsing the point as Jaune cursed. Whatever he was suppose to do, it looked like he failed.

'WARNING! Boss incoming, Cross Hare, The Far Death! Get Ready!'

From the corner of his sight, Jaune could make the odd sight of what looked like see through data like walls create an arena around them, trapping them in a space to fight in. That was new.

'FIGHT!' Cross reared back his longsword, firing a heavy shot to send him flying towards Jaune in blurring speeds. Just as he reached him, Cross swung his blade in a roundhouse sweep. Even Jaune's shield had trouble blocking the clashing steel. His arm felt like it had snapped! Pushing Cross back, Jaune crossed blades with the sniper in a shower of sparks. If all he did was block, then he would only be prolonging his death. He was going to have to fight back if he wanted to survive.

Jumping back, Cross stabbed his longsword forward. Crocea Mors shield blocked the attack. Flipping the trigger out, the assassin fired a point blank shot. A spike of pain stabbed through Jaune's shield arm, causing him to drop his arm to regain feeling. Without his shield, he was left to dance around the weaving slashes. Nicks and tears cut into his clothing with every swing. The man was very skilled with his longsword. Jaune ducked under a chopping swipe to his head and channeled his mana into his battered sword.

"Power Strike!" Jaune charged into Cross's open guard and stabbed his sword into his chest. His own powerful strike sent Cross skidding back with an odd grunt. The boss's HP was knocked down by 500 points. Clenching his fist, Cross sheathed his longsword and aimed the bottom of its end back at his opponent. From the looks of it, the bottom was designed like a blocked iron muzzle. With insane speed, Cross vanished from sight in a swirl of dust and litter. Jaune swiveled his head back and forth to find the sniper like samurai only to wince as a weak breeze grazed his cheek. Blood ran down the cut running along his cheek to his ear as another 100 dropped from his health. The bastard could give Ruby a run for her money. He jumped back from the spot, Jaune missed the pot hole that exploded from the sniper shot. That was some quality ammo Cross held. It was strong enough to easily dig up the street. From all corners, the sniper began to fire away, concealed in the windows of the abandoned buildings. Jaune's HP kept dropping slowly as he did his best to dodge the near accurate shots.

Times like these he wished he could wield a gun like the others could. If he knew where the boss was sniping him from, he could fire his own shots right back. Instead, all he could do was avoid the attacks and wait for his shield arm to regain feeling.

Several shots fired off in quick succession leaving Jaune sweating as he began to struggle through the bullet hell. Too caught up in the rapid assault, he missed the one glowing yellow shell aimed for his chest. Jaune's whole body lite up in a beacon of sparking lightning, burning his skin as he shouted in pain. The lighting quickly died down, leaving him smoking slightly as he reared his head back, gasping in labored breaths. Cross wasn't done as he rode the wind with the recoil of his weapon to finish the blonde off.

Jaune grunted as he forced himself to raise his throbbing shield arm up to block the wide swing threatening to separate his waist from his upper body. "Think again!" Jaune rasped before smashing his fist into Cross's masked face. It was enough to send him stumbling back in surprise, leaving him wide open for attack.

"Teres Mors!" Waving off the energy morphing his ancestral sword, Jaune commanded the vine of his blade to coil around Cross's neck. With a mighty tug he flung Cross up in the air above. Time to try out his new ability. With a running start, Jaune built up momentum before jumping after Cross and tucked himself in like a ball, all while his blade coated with buzzing white energy. "Hedge Fang!" Spinning his body rapidly, the blade of Teres Mors elongated into a sharp toothed edge as it slashed into Cross's aura like a sawing disc. Stopping in midair, Jaune finished off the attack by coiling the vine around his waist and slamming the assassin down to the streets in a spin throw. Cross's body cracked the pavement below him as his HP dropped like a rock. 'CRITICAL HIT!'

'Cross Hare

10,250/12,000HP.'

Jaune grinned woozily as he landed back to the streets with five stars dancing around his head. Hedge Fang was an awesome ability he learned from Russel that allowed him to spin his body around like a hedgehog and slice enemies as if he was a saw blade. The only downside to it was the Dizzy status it created afterword. Kinda left him wide open. Steadying his feet as he tried blinking away the stars in his vision, Jaune stepped to the right as Cross jumped back on his feet to rush in with another stab of his long blade. Missing, the assassin simply swung it to the left and sent the blonde flying back. Cross reloaded his weapon quickly, loading a green pointed round into the chamber. Seeing Jaune slammed into an old rusted truck, Cross took aim and fired. The green bullet cut right through the air like butter as Jaune finally got a hold of himself to see it aimed for his forehead. He tilted his head to the left, earning himself a nasty red line cut into the side of his forehead as the bullet whizzed by. The shot took out a baseball sized chunk from the truck as it continued to fly by, puncturing holes through whatever got in its way. 'Jaune Arc, 2,955/4,000HP, 30/70MP.' Jaune grimaced as blood trailed down the side of his head. The boss already had him close to half his health at this point while Jaune's had only shrunken the blue bar on his own. If he could see levels and stats, there would be no doubt in his mind to confirm just how under leveled he currently was.

Again, Cross flew in with his longsword's recoil, his blade raised high above him to cleave him in two. Jaune blocked the falling long blade, only to shout as he felt a powerful pressure cut right through his body. The truck behind him groaned, suddenly exploding in cloud of black heated smoke as it was cut cleanly in half by some unseen force. Three red glinting dots pierced through the smoking veil engulfing the two. The metal blocking Cross's blade slide out from underneath him in the commotion. The boy must be hiding in the smokescreen created by the trucks explosion.

Jaune stumbled out of the toxic cloud while trying to suppress his coughing fit. Just great, that last attack nearly took out a thousand of his health! Willing his Gamer Inventory up with his scroll, Jaune snatched a can of Everybody Loves Grape Soda from its box slot and drowned in a seconds. It wouldn't heal much, but his MP would recover more then enough. If it dropped all the way to zero, then a red bar would take its place and slowly fill his Mana back up, leaving him Manaless. And he was going to need all the MP he could dish out in this boss fight.

The firing shot of Cross's weapon set Jaune on edge as he found himself shielding his face from the parting cloud of smoke rushing by him. He held in his breath, reaching for his shield to block whatever may jump out of the heated cloud. Through the haze of smoke, Cross appeared out of thin air rearing his long sword back right in front of him. Jaune wasn't giving him the chance to attack as he swung his short sword into the side of his head. The swing kicked Cross off his feet, but before he fell back to the ground he flipped in mid air and fired off a shot to send him high up. He then used the momentum and force of his next shot to send him spinning madly back like a top towards Jaune in a round swing of his longsword. No way was he blocking against that! Jaune jumped back from the spot hoping to miss the deadly bladed top. It was for nothing seeing as Cross kept firing his weapon to keep him spinning on the ground as he followed after him. The two danced around another in game of cat and mouse, Cross's sawing blade coming ever closer to slicing him into fine Jaune chops.

Sweat drenched Jaune's hood as he sucked in a breath, the slicing blade missing it's chance to gut him like a pig by a hair. He had to think of something to escape this psycho's attack or it wouldn't be long till Cross cornered him. What did he have on him that could stop a spinning human disk of blades? Going to have to improvise and hope for the best. "Teres Blade: Coil!" Using whatever leg strength he had, Jaune jumped high above the passing bladed top, launching the vine of his elegant dark red blade to Cross's blurring head. He grinned feeling the vine tighten around the assassin's neck, hook, line, and sinker! "Come here!" Always wanted to say that!

With a mighty heave, Jaune threw Cross high in the air within his air space before releasing his dizzy form and raising his sword high above his head, "Power Strike!"Jaune dropped his Teres Mor like a thundering hammer into Cross, cutting right through his padded vest and even cracking two of his lenses as he sent him crashing back down. "One more time! Power Strike!" Falling after the boss, Jaune swung another Mana fueled slash into Cross's guard before he could regain his footing.

Even in his daze, Cross had enough of a clear mind to block the attack with his sheath. The ringing clang filled the air between them.

Jaune was panting as he locked his short sword with Cross's sheath. How much longer could he keep this up? A quick look at his HP told him that if this kept up, he wouldn't make it back to Beacon in this life.

Cross had enough of the games as he swept the blonde's feet from under him. With a shout, Jaune fell back. He flinched as his head hit the pavement. That was going to bruise horribly. Propping his elbows up to jump back up, the blonde knight was kept down by a butting jab from Cross's heavy sheath. The sound of a familiar click was his only warning to what would follow next if he didn't act fast. "Teres Blade: Uproot!"

Several glowing white spines pierced the ground below Cross's feet, stabbing right through his body as he aimed his sniper barrel of his longsword at Jaune's forehead. The multiple vines meant nothing to the assassin, shrugging them off without any signs of pain. The sniper barrel lite up with green glow.

Life may have been a game, but even Jaune wasn't sure his powers could save him from a point blank headshot from a sniper rifle.

'I regret so much. I only wished I had won over Snow Angel's heart. And finished X-ray and Vav.' Sadly there was no escaping this one, that last attack had drained him of all his MP.

But just before Cross could splattered Jaune's brains onto the pavement with a simple pull of the trigger, two green sneakers planted themselves against the sniper's damaged mask. The twin kicks sent him flying away from his target with an odd grunt, cracking the weathered wall he slammed into.

'Congratulations! You've survived against Cross Hare! +1,900EXP! You're level has risen by 1! You've learned Hyper Blade! You've learned Air Slash!'

You mean he wasn't suppose to win!? If Jaune could form a coherent thought, he would be cursing the damn game for leading him on. And here he thought he was suppose to win! At least he leveled up and unlocked some new abilities. Who saved his bacon this time?

Flipping onto her feet, Ann glared sent a frigid glare to the silent assassin that would put a certain heiress to shame. She sent a discreet peek to the injured blonde behind her. The dried blood sticking to his hair and splattered on his outfit only served to drop her glare further.

"Didn't I tell you that I was expecting someone, Cross?" Ann questioned as she tapped her foot with a scowl.

"Failure to represent FoF Marker leads to immediate elimination." Cross answered in an emotionless metalic voice. He cracked his neck loudly, flexing his fingers as his one good lens dulled and switched to a calm green hue, "Master had informed me of a suspicions stranger near the vicinity and commanded me to test the boy for any potential if he failed to present a Marker. He was never in danger, if he survived."

"The many cuts and gashes littering my body beg to differ." Jaune pointed out as he struggled to get up.

Cross simply shook his head as his lens shrunk, "Targets in my sight never escape. If master ordered you dead, then all I would need is one bullet. Just like the rest."

"And then you would have to answer to me." Ann growled as she helped Jaune up. From the looks of it, his aura was working on healing his wounds. The gash on the side of his head was slowly fading by the second. Must have a large aura pool on him to heal so quickly, "And what's this about Holt testing him? I told the boss that I had someone heading this way for the UGC. He even allowed him to enter Crime Haunt. Why would he test him out, and with you no less?" The assassin was just like Naragami, didn't know how to hold back. Made her wonder if he was still human.

"I follow master's orders to the letter. I do not answer to you."

"Is that so?" Ann grinned cruelly as she cracked her knuckles, "Then how about I make you listen? I ain't his right hand for nothing, deadman."

"My orders were to test the boy, if he failed then he would be unworthy of breathing any longer. I have yet to come to a final conclusion on his skills. Step aside, Anabel." Cross droned, drawing his longsword out slowly, its metal rasping hauntingly, "Master will understand if I must incapacitate you for meddling in his orders any further."

Jaune grit his teeth as he found the familiar end of the deadly blade aimed to him again. His HP hadn't regenerated enough to go another round with the assassin. He'd be lucky to keep blocking a few more swings with his shield arm bruised as it was. Wouldn't be surprised if it was sprained now that his adrenaline was leaving him.

The two teens prepared themselves to fight back against the menacing sniper as Cross reloaded his weapons ammo, several shells clattering to the ground.

"Now, now, what's all this then?"

The shadows all around the three bent to the middle of the space between them, pooling into a large shadow. A deep chuckle filled the air as a Holt slowly emerged from the dark pool. He grinned widely as he stepped out, calling off the webs of darkness sticking to his body, "Stand down, Crossy. The boy's more then proven himself he can stand up to even you, even if you were holding back."

Cross stiffly nodded, collapsing his longsword before swiftly sheathing it, "Understood."

"And Ann, what did I tell you about fighting with family? It's unlady like to threaten others with such a savage grin on your pretty face."

"Fuck off!" As if she had forgotten who ordered the emotionless killer to mess Jaune up. She narrowed her eyes at her employer as she supported the blonde hanging off her shoulders, "Didn't I tell you not to attack him? I thought you trusted me enough not to try and kill the guy I owe."

"But I had to, my little orphan Ann!" Holt pouted dramatically, "It's not everyday that you bring a boy home. I just wanted to make sure you hadn't made a mistake is all. After all, he's lucky to even step foot here without a Marker on him." he smiled with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"He's not a rat if that's what you're thinking. Guy's too much of an airhead for an act like that." Ann scoffed as she knocked her knuckles against the empty blonde hair, "And aren't you the one that taught me to always repay a favor? Blondie payed for my meal, spending a whole ton on me in one night, the least I could do is help him make triple what he spent. Not to mention he's shown potential holding out against Cross for as long as he did." And here she thought he was nothing more then a pretty face. Kid had skill, who would have thought?

Walking to the two teens, Holt inspected the dirty, dried blood, face of his fellow blonde, "You're right, the kid does hold some potential on him. And I could always use another fellow blonde around the place. Tell me, kid," Holt stood back as he grinned widely, "What do you think about the faunus?"

Was Jaune suppose to act racist now that he had Ann's boss's attention? They were a hate group after all, made sense that the man would want to hear how lousy and disgusting the faunus were. The thought of saying the same horrible things that people like Cardin said all the time made Jaune sick to his stomach. He wasn't like them, he didn't see faunus as animals. A simple set of animals ears or horn, or whatever, shouldn't be reason for such hate and animosity.

"They're misunderstood. I think it's sad how people treat them, like they're some sort of disease." he scowled, earning him a wider grin from the dirty blonde.

Well, well, what do you know? The kid wasn't some racist like the rest of them. And he seemed to be a hunter, just like Cardin. "And don't you think that those poor faunus deserve a chance at living a normal life, just like the rest of us?"

"Well, yeah." Jaune nodded as he steadied himself on his own two feet.

Holt chuckled to himself as he rubbed the stubble of his chin, "Pretty simple words there. Do you think it's as easy as that?"

"No, it probably isn't. But we have to at least try."

"Try, huh?" The kid wasn't bad a fighter, if he was molded right then he would be a great asset. Not to mention Ann herself had put some trust in him if she hadn't placed a Marker on him. What could it hurt? More men meant more man power. If they were going to go through with Phase two of their plan, then the more the merrier.

Patting the dirtied blonde on the head, Holt turned back to his trusty little assistant with a look of acknowledgment, "Kid can stay. I've a missing slot in the next match anyways, one of the guys found out he was a rat and 'kindly escorted' him out before any real damage could be done. The White Fang are starting to pick up our scent." he curtly nodded back to Cross, "Send a message to Naragami. I'm sure he'll be happy to 'play' with some of our old friends again." The ninja was tired of running their recruits into the dirt anyways. He was better off picking the little nest of the White Fang that hide in the city.

"Understood, master!" Cross saluted before vanishing into thin air.

Jaune couldn't believe his eyes as he watched the man disappear from sight with pure speed. Guess he wasn't kidding when he said he could have killed him if he wanted to. Scary.

Wait, did the shaggy haired guy say something about a missing slot? What was that about?

A heavy hand smacked his sore back, bringing him closer into Holt's chest as he lead him into the warehouse with Ann in the rear. Did the guy ever stop grinning?

"Seeing as you've proven yourself in a fight, how about making some extra Lien. . .what's your name?"

"Jaune." Didn't want to give out his full name just in case things went downhill.

"Jaune, huh? Artsy, I like it! Now how about doing old buddy Holt a favor? It would mean a lot to me."

Well he was trying to earn the guy's favor. What could go wrong with one little favor?

---

'I hate my dirty stinking mouth.'

After being lead into the warehouse and into some secret lift elevator hidden by some false floor panels beneath a large crate that slid back with a secret series of knocks, Jaune was introduced to the UGC, an underground cavern beneath Vale. Well, a series of caverns. The many networks of caves were apparently connected to the old underground railway system that lead into Mountain Glenn. They had somehow managed to build their own bases below, scattered all over the city. With so many hideaways at their disposal, the FoF were able to hide away from the local law enforcement easily. They were in their main base today, gathered around for another UGC match held only here. Another method to keep the cops off of them was holding each of the games in random locations everyday, to keep them from ever pinpointing their locations.

And it just so happened that today's match was missing a fighter, mostly due to said fighter's brains spilling out the back of their bloody skull, and Jaune had agreed to fill in. Yay him.

Jaune frowned from within one of the backrooms of the illegal coliseum. His regular clothing had been replaced with a white shirt and brown peasant vest. They let him keep his pants seeing as they weren't armored, but had also taken Crocea Mors and lent him a large hunter's knife in its place.

The rules were simple, fight to the death. No armor was allowed and no special weapons were permitted. Each round had you going up against a Grimm, fighting it till one was killed. The further ahead you went along, the more challenging the games become. Only five rounds were allowed for each fighter a day until the end of the week where Holt pit them against a very powerful Grimm he himself had caught, allowing you to fight it with your original attire and weapons. Lien was awarded for each round won, though it didn't matter if you couldn't make it to the fifth round seeing as a deadman had no use for Lien.

Pretty sure even the White Fang didn't do crap like this. The hell were they thinking caging live Grimm? Professor Port even said that Grimm couldn't survive long in captivity. He also said they they were drawn to negativity and many researchers believed Grimm could be sustained by dark emotions. Keeping them underground in a cesspool of criminal activity might explain how they could survive. Jaune shivered, the kind of destruction the monsters could do if they were let out in the city. It would be like the Breach all over again.

A sigh left his lips as he turned the large knife over in his hands. Going undercover was proving to be a pain in the ass. As if he wasn't a bad enough fighter with his fists. Should have taken Yang's offer of teaching him hand to hand. Would really come in handy right about now.

'Why must I pay for being the nice guy? All I wanted to do was pay for a pretty girl's food, how the fuck does that earn me a cage match against a Grimm!? Everyday I'm starting to sympathize with Ren and that's not a good thing! I don't wanna end up like him and have to follow after some bubbly girl obsessed with sloths, addicted to flapjacks, and wields a grenade launching hammer!'

No time to whine about his life now. He had a mission to do, and that involved fighting for the sick gambling pleasure of a bunch of drunks and members to a group of limb cutters. How inspiring.

Three knocks rapped against the door to the room, "Hurry your ass up! The match is about to start, Blondie!"

Must be Ann. He really wished she would use his name, he was more then a mop of blonde hair! "I'm coming, I'm coming. Can't a guy get some privacy around here?" he grumbled as he reached for the door handle.

Opening the door, Ann's bored green eyes greeted him as she stood by crossing her arms over her chest, "Sorry, but this ain't a powder room to get dolled up in. You're about to fight against Grimm for sport and entertainment, it really doesn't matter how you do your hair when its caked in blood."

"I wouldn't have to worry about it if I had known I was going to be fighting a monster without my weapons or armor on hand." he glared as he shut the door behind him. The two walked the dimly lite halls leading to the arena as cheering and hollering bounced off the crudely welded walls. If he had known before hand he would have better prepared himself. How little it may have been.

Ann chose to shrug at his comment, looking away to the side, "You're the one who agreed to the boss's favor without getting any details about it. You should know better."

"What sane man asks a favor like this!? I don't even know if the Lien is worth it, if I survive."

"You'll survive, Blondie." Ann nodded firmly as they stopped in front of a gated entrance. The light of the coliseum carved into the ground peeked through the holes of the gate, the voices of the spectators growing louder. "Not everyone can keep up with Cross like you did, must would have either run away or die trying. For a lanky idiot you're not that bad. Just treat this like any other fight. You're a huntsman, right? Isn't this your job? The only difference is that your death will be witnessed by hundreds if you fail. No pressure."

"You're a ray of sunshine, you know that?" Jaune deadpanned only to receive a hard punch to his stomach, "My spleen!"

"Don't call me 'Sunshine'!" she growled in anger as she rubbed her knuckles. The guy must have been hiding rocks under his shirt.

"Pretty sure I didn't." Jaune groaned, "I compared you to one-Stop aiming for the spleen!"

Pulling back her aching fist, Ann huffed. Smart ass.

"I said I'd pay you back with interest. Once you've collected your winnings, you don't have to stick around anymore." she said as she turned her eyes to the earthly ceiling above her. Ann's visible eye narrowed, "As long as you keep quiet about all this, then I'm sure I can talk the boss into leaving you alone. An inspiring hunter like yourself doesn't need to be hanging around low life's like us."

Ann may be considered a criminal for all the things she had done to stay alive, but she wasn't below dragging some idiot into the underworld of crime along with her. Jaune wasn't a bad guy, annoying as hell and touched in the head, but he wasn't like the rest of them. He had potential, even Holt had seen it. A bright future awaited him if he stuck to his path in Beacon. He could live a normal life, raise a normal family, and never have to worry about supporting them with his work as a great hunter.

Unlike her. Nothing awaited her if their plans went to shit. She would be locked up, or worse. The dumb blonde didn't have to take the heat for associating with people like her. And besides, it wasn't like she would be sticking around the FoF for long. Once she gathered all the Lien she needed for her dream, she would escape this hell hole and make a life for herself. Away from all the pressures that followed this damned society.

'You really aren't such a bad person, are you?' Jaune grit his teeth as he stared at the back of the blue haired girl. Why did someone like her have to hang around people filled with so much negativity? Lien wasn't worth losing your soul like this. There had to be some way to get her to see reason, to leave all this mess behind before the police had everything they needed to take them all down.

But she still didn't see him as a friend, just a dept to be repaid. He was just another problem that she believed she could repay and never have to deal with again. It was too much to bear.

The grip on his hunter knife tightened as his blue eyes steeled themselves. That was fine, if she didn't see him as a friend, it wouldn't stop him from reaching out a hand to her. He could see it in her eyes, the grain of hesitation. Ann wasn't too late to save from this dark world she walked into, and he would do whatever it takes to drag her out of there.

Jaune was her friend, and that's just the kind of things friends do.

Patting Ann's shoulder, Jaune awaited the gates to open up as he stood ready for whatever monster he had to face.

"Don't worry, I won't be leaving anytime soon." he grinned cheekily.

Ann scoffed as she looked away. It was his career's funeral. Who was she to stop him?

So why did she suddenly have the urge to smile?

---

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the UGC, The Underground Grimm Coliseum of Slaughter! I'm your kind host, Holt Delmos! And do I have a show for you!" From above a floating platform, Holt boisterously announced to the hundreds of people seated in the coliseum below.

The coliseum was carved out of the stone and dirt of the large cavern, the arena centered in the middle designed after the arena's found in fighting tournaments above ground. Several large Dust crystals connected by rods created a bubble force field trapping the fighters within and preventing the spectators from the harm of the Grimm. A large hologram screen floated above the arena right behind Holt as he held a mic in his hand.

Cheering and screaming filled the air in response to Holt's announcement, making the shaggy dirty blonde sigh in content. Gotta love the atmosphere of the place, "Today's match, we have a newcomer to the scenes, an aspiring hunter in the making, Jaune!" he chanted, gesturing to the large gate lifting up on the far left of the field below.

Jaune stepped out of the entrance, eyes straining at the bright light bombarding his vision. The place was packed with people leaning out their seats for the fight to come. Most of them looked like heavy gamblers, shouting bets on his life, while the others simply sat back for the carnage to take place with malice grins. It was a wonder the Grimm surrounding Vale didn't storm the place with all the ill emotions flowing from below. They must have guards protecting the arena's from the subterranean Grimm at all hours. Jaune's blue eyes narrowed at Holt's laughing form above the arena. There was no doubt in his mind that Holt was masterminding everything here, even the FoF. A guy as charismatic as him seemed to be capable of drawing in a crowd.

All he had to do was to survive the gauntlet themed matches and gain his favor. If he trusted him enough, then their would be no need to place a Marker on him. Leaving him to safely relay whatever intel he gained back to the Vale police force. Shouldn't be too hard.

'I have feeling it's going to be a long day today.'

"Seeing as he's new to our little games, how about we start him off with some foreplay! Let's send him the grunt of the Grimm world, a Beowolf!"

Amidst the cheers and jeers, the sound of mechanisms lifting a battered cage could be heard. From the middle of the dirt arena, the cage holding the Beowolf emerged to the awaiting spectators. It growled in irritation from the light overhead, swiping madly at its containment cell.

The amount of bone spine on the dark wolf was enough to tell Jaune he wasn't fighting anything as major like the Alpha. That was assuring at least.

Jaune steadied his breathing as he readied the large hunter's knife. Glynda did say he should practice wielding a short sword, the knife was as close to any practice as he was going to get. Time to see if he was capable enough to fight Grimm without Crocea Mors by his side.

Holt whistled loudly at the sight below him, "Look here, folks! Our boy seems to be ready to begin the games! Let's not keep him waiting any longer! Let the first match of today's UGC, BEGIN!"

'Round 1: Lone Menace(1x Beowolf). Items and Spells have been disabled. Good luck!'

The metal cage fell apart with the loud sound of a buzzer, unleashing the howling bone platted wolf from its prison. It craned its neck, snarling at all the human voices in the air before its ears perked up the close sound of a beating heart nearby. It wasted no time charging at its only prey within arm reach.

Dodging the wide sweep of claws to his chest, Jaune slashed at the bone mask as he scanned the HP of the Grimm, 'Beowolf, 900/1,200HP.' Sweet! That one attack knocked off 300 points. Even without Crocea Mors, he was still able to deal more then enough damage against a simple Grimm.

The Beowolf snarled angrily before swiping its claws in an uppercut slash, earning itself a retaliating swing from the large knife in the blonde's hand. It jumped back from the attack, pouncing back and forth around its prey. Jaune dodged the snarling slashes, picking it off with his knife as it passed by. Slowly he was cutting down its HP, dropping it to the red.

Jumping back from the blade nearly grazing its nose, the Beowolf howled madly before jumping high up for a descending swipe.

Perfect shot for his new Ability, "Air Slash!" his hunting knife gleaming with a bright light, Jaune cut the air aimed for the Grimm, flinging a condensed arcing blade of physical energy. The blade split the Beowolf in half, a whimper escaping its jaws as its remains fell to the ground.

'Winner!' +500EXP!

The crowd roared with approval as both halves of the monster returned to oblivion. Holt nodded his head with a disinterested look, "Not bad, you are a hunter in training after all. I expect no less from a man my little Ann has recommended. So, why don't we turn things up a notch!" Snapping his fingers, two more cages sprang up from the ground, flying high into the air as another lone steel box stood in the center, "No rest for the victors! Round 2, coming at ya!"

Jaune grit his teeth. Holt didn't seem to be the type to play fair. He gripped his knife tightly as the two descending cages rattled, threatening to burst as the earthbound cage bucked wildly.

'Round 2: By Air, Death! By Land, More Death!(2x Nevermore, 1xBoarbatusk)'

Breaking their steel confines, two twin feathered Nevermore's screeched loudly as the spinning form of a Boarbatusk bashed out of its own prison, its sight set on the scowling blonde. It tore apart a trail of dust in its pursuit, twisting in and turning in its rotation. Dodging the tusked pig was made even harder with the flying forms of the two Nevermore's firing pins around his form. The birds weren't bigger then the one he had fought in the Initiation Tutorial, but they were big enough to pick up small dogs for dinner. One of the feathered tips dug into his right arm as he struggled by the passing sawing tusks. The pain made him stumble, allowing another three sharp tipped quills to pin him.

The Boarbatusk saw a chance. Turning mid spin, it barreled into the blonde boy, ready to mow him down. Jaune sucked in the pained breath as he blocked the rushing attack with his knife, the large blade doing its best to stop the spinning bone tusks threatening to tear into him.

How do you go from one simple Beowolf to two Nevermore's and a Boarbatusk!? This game was rigged from the start. Peeking over his shoulders, Jaune could make out the smug smirk on Holt's lips as he watched the fight below on his platform above. A large screen floated behind the man, showing off his Aura and number of the round including the Grimm fighting him. When had they synced his scroll to their screens? The knowing glint in the shaggy blonde's eyes seemed to tell all.

Holt didn't trust him, it explained why he had taken his scroll along with his armor and weapon. Thank god he didn't have anything on his scroll that would lead them back to his connection to the Vale Police. Throwing back the Boarbatusk, Jaune fired another Air Slash at the circling dark ravens picking off his HP. The slicing blade clipped one of the Nevermore's wings, sending it falling down in a spin. Rolling to the side of another spin charge, Jaune ran after the descending bird, rearing his knife back for a heavy swing.

"Power Strike!" +200EXP! Shaking off the smoking blood, Jaune readied himself for the second Nevermore dive bombing after him. He spun the handle of the knife in a reverse grip, digging the blade into the passing flying monster, tearing through its side and killing it off in one slash. It's death cawed was drowned under the snorting squeal of frustration from the pigged beast stampeding in an angered charge. Jaune jumped over it, landing behind it as it crashed into the far end of the arena. In its dizzy state, it was left with no way to defend itself as Jaune ran to its stumbling form. He dropped onto the ground, skidding under its belly to kick it up in the air. No special move was needed as he flipped the blade to point above his head, letting physics to do the rest of his work for him.

Red drops of blood splattered over him as the dark pig was skewered onto the blade of his knife. If he wasn't trying to show weakness in front of a coliseum full of gamblers, drinkers, and hate minded people, he would have cringed at the brutal display. It was actually pretty nifty that Grimm blood faded away along with its remains. No need to worry about stains.

'Wait, I'm wearing borrowed clothes. What do I care if this shit stains?' Jaune blinked as he tossed the decomposed Grimm off to the side.

Holt still wasn't impressed at with the display. He yawned into his hand as the uproar of approval of the people deafened the the victory bell. Wasn't anything he hadn't already seen. Time to up the ante.

"That was fine, I guess. You hunter's don't seem to know how to hold back. Then again, fighting Grimm is what you're being trained for. So, how about we continue to raise the stakes, huh?" he grinned widely as he whipped out his scroll from his jacket. Swiping through the options on the screen, he was happy to find what he was looking for. "Now, let's get this party going with a bang! I paid good Lien for this little freak. Let's see how it fares against a real hunter!"

An odd large green cubicle cage slowly raised from below the arena with a silhouette of a human sized growling Grimm snapping from inside. An odd neon glow lite up from within before the front of the cage fell, revealing the strange Creeper slinking out on its two feet. Large neon green spikes poked out from its back, its green mask lighting like a beacon.

'Round 3: Creepy Danger(1xMutated Creeper),'

The hell was he looking at? Jaune went on edge as the odd Creeper burrowed into the ground. It was a subterranean Grimm, it could dig under the ground to pop out like a groundhog for a punishing assault of claws and snapping jaws. Had to be careful, his senses were going crazy at its odd design. Did not want to know what that thing was capable of.

The ground underneath trembled, signaling Jaune to jump back to miss the snapping glowing jaws flying out of the hole. The Creeper snarled, shaking off the dirt as it moved for a charge. Jaune tensed as he readied his knife, 'Creeper(M), 200/200HP.' Didn't have much health on it, better to take it out before it did anything surprising.

The smirk on Holt's face turned into an open mouth grin of white teeth. He was hoping for that.

Like a spark meeting oil, the blade of Jaune's hunter knife dug into the glowing bone mask of the odd Grimm, creating a detonating explosion that engulfed the blonde knight in a large plume of neon flames. The force of the blast sent Jaune slamming back into the far end of the coliseum in a flaming fireball. The blonde spat a wad of blood, panting heavily as his HUD displayed the major hit his HP had taken. 700 points flew away from the surprised detonating Grimm. A normal person without their Aura unlocked would have been a splattered mess of burning remains, never before had he been thankful for Pyrrha unlocking it for him.

Jaune fell to his knee's as he tried to shake away the ringing in his ears. What the hell kind of Grimm was that!? One of his eyes shut in pain as he aimed a glare to the wolfish grin on the shaggy announcer as the crowd roared in enjoyment. Professor Port had never said anything about Grimm capable of exploding like some bomb. It was like some dust explosion.

No EXP was rewarded with the Grimm's death as the victory bell sung. Guess there was no reward in a suicide bomb.

"Now that, was an explosive show!" Holt laughed boisterously, watching closely as Jaune slowly raised himself back up on his struggling feet. Had to give Ann the benefit of the doubt, he was pretty sure the blonde kid would have gone down after that one. That crazy doctor, Merlot, was right about the mutated Grimm. It was worth every Lien. Too bad it was short lived, "But we can't stop now that things are getting good. I'll tell you what though, kid." Holt smiled widely as the screen behind him flickered to Round 4. Somehow, the smile wasn't reassuring in the least, "How about we just skip Round 4, and get to the real show stopper, HUH!?" with a wild flash of teeth, Holt slammed his finger down onto his screen, replacing the fourth round with a battered and torn black numeral five.

The crowd approved with a thundering applause. So far, the rookie was doing well. And the carnage was alright, but they wanted more! They had thousands of Lien on his death. The final round ought to finish him off in his beaten and bloody state.

The lights went off in the coliseum, leaving the only light source coming off the red screen above. Made Jaune wish for an ability that could allow him to see in the dark, like a faunus could. Anything that hid in the dark was never a good thing.

"Now, you'll all have to forgive me for our final opponent. It's not exactly a Grimm, but I've been meaning to test out the little bugger after my buddy Naragami snatched in from a broken down train cart. It's not in the best of conditions, but it should be more then enough for a good time."

Odd red lines light up in the middle of the coliseum over the bulky body of some unknown being. The sound of whirring mechanics and gears entered Jaune's ears as he called out his inventory for the last of his recovery soda. Dammit, forgot about items being disabled. 'Probably wouldn't do much for my crappy health, but the added MP would have been a life saver. I'll just have to use my abilities carefully. I mean, what's the worst Holt can bring out?'

'Final Round! Black: From Shadows, Reborn! (1xAtlesian Spider) WARNING! Boss Incoming, Atlesian Spider, The Stalking Knightmare! Get Ready!'

Not another Boss!

With the lights lifting up the darkness, Jaune was able to finally see the new boss staring straight ahead at him. The mech like robot stood on four pincer like legs, its entire frame colored black with red glowing lines running along its body. Jaune could make out six bulky cannons on its frame, four attached to its hands, and two mounted on its shoulders. It's bulky narrowed head twitched lightly, sparks flying off parts of its body, specifically around its midsection where it seemed to be weld together as best it could.

'Atlesian Spider, 8,000/8,000HP.'

Jaune bit back a shout as he jumped from the side, missing having a laser cannon beam melting a hole into his chest. 'Jaune Arc, 3,105/4,200HP' Several more scorching volleys fired after Jaune as he ran around the coliseum to avoid the attacks. Dust clouds blew up around him as every miss punched craters into the ground.

How was he going to fight a cannon wielding robot with a knife? Another salvo shot after him, nearly tripping on his own two feet as he could feel the glow of the plasma come ever closer. His mind whirred as he tried to think of a way to defend, no time to dodge, the array of shots would engulf with his Speed Stat failing to get him out in time. There had to be something, what did a video game character do when they were forced to fight back some magical shot or energy?

A thought struck Jaune as he suddenly grinned. Intelligence was pretty nifty when he stopped to actually think. Maybe studying late at night wasn't a waste. His knife hand was clad in magical energy as he prepared to met the salvos head on. Time to put his little theory to the test.

"Power Strike! Power Strike! Power Strike! Power Strike!" Madly swinging his knife at the balls of energy, Jaune was able to strike back the blue salvos back to the Atlesian Spider. Each shot hit their marks as the boss's HP began to fall.

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief as the mech's body was clouded by smoke. And who said you couldn't learn anything from playing video games?

Twin beams of blue fired in reverse from the smoke cloud, blowing it away as the spider mech rode on the force of its shoulder cannons. It raised its right cannon barrel, slamming into the blocking blonde with enough force to kick up a small gale. There was no fighting the blow as Jaune was sent flying off his feet. He grit his teeth. Didn't see that coming from such a bulky body. Two balls of energy the size of his body followed after him as he slammed back into the edge of the battleground. They went up in plume of smoke mixed with blue sparks upon impact, shrouding his body from sight.

The Atlesian Spider stalked to its prey, raising its front leg high in the air. It dropped the pincer like appendage into the smoke ruthlessly only to hit nothing. The force of the drop cleared the veil, revealing the missing knight.

Rolling to far side of the wall, Jaune huffed as a bead of sweat fell down his chin. The nonstop fighting was taking a toll on him. It didn't matter if his body was that of a video game character, this was still real life. His body could still feel the exhaustion of all the energy he had spent the entire day fighting.

Turning its head to the right, the Atlesian Spider simply aimed its shoulder cannon to Jaune's direction. A brief light flashed from its barrel before firing a bladed beam of energy to cut down its prey. Weaving his body to the left, Jaune ran alongside the slicing beam with his knife held in reverse. Didn't have much MP left after the barrage of Power Strikes earlier, he needed time to recover what he spent. Better make this next attack count. Dodging another blast, Jaune leaped high in the air to meet the crudely melded upper body of the mech. The Atlesian Spider punched its barrel at the airborne boy only for Jaune to flip over it, landing a slashing strike to its arm. And with all his strength he planted both his glowing feet into its frame, "Power Strike!" A resounding boom broke out from the heavy clad double kick managing to send the large mech skidding back on its hind legs. The last of Jaune's MP drained to zero, leaving behind a crimson red bar blinking rapidly as it slowly filled the bar back up. For the mean time, he was simply going to have to dodge the rest of the shots till he was filled back up.

All six barrels gleamed with a twinkle of azure energy before rapidly firing off large salvos at its locked on target. Nothing to do but run and dodge. 'Let's see if my Speed's high enough for that ability attached with Ruby's Perk.'

Twinkling lights danced in the air as Jaune's body blurred from sight, leaving them to be scattered by the large plasma ball passing through. He grinned in excitement as his body phased all around the spider mech, confusing its systems as it tried to shot him down. More craters littered the arena with every missed fire.

When this was all over, Jaune was going to pull Ruby into a massive bear hug for her awesome ability!

Seeing another blast aimed for him, he willed his body to phase by the attack. His eye's widened in alarm noticing his ability failed to activate, leaving him wide open for the shot. He braced himself with openly gritting teeth as he took it head on. The blast lowered a good 500 points as he hissed from the burns created. Patches of his vest and pants were scorched, showing off the angry pink burns on his skin.

Halfway full, the red bar was drawing ever closer to filling back up. Just needed a little more time to kill. Looked like the ability Gale Speed didn't last long, another bar displayed by his portrait on his HUD, colored pink with red roses decorated along it as it filled up at a snails pace. Seemed about right, the best abilities always came with a catch. He couldn't abuse Gale Speed whenever he wanted or he would be left open for another cannon shot.

Rocketing off on its shoulder cannons, the spider mech came flying in with a wide swing of its barrel. Jaune docked under, spinning on his feet to slash at its body. Unfortunately, he failed to realize he wasn't wielding Crocea Mors, the hunting knife while large still failed to reach its mark with its length. The Atlesian Spider kicked its feet into Jaune's chest, sporting a critical hit as Jaune was sent rolling far on his side.

"What's this!? Has our fighter finally been kicked down for good? He doesn't seem to be looking too hot, folks!" Holt chuckled to the jeering audience. In all honesty, he was pretty sure that the mech would have fallen apart by now. Naragami did say that it was in complete shambles while he was haunting for leads concerning the White Fang. He found a shipment of broken down Schnee train carts by Forever Fall and discovered a whole shitload of Atlesian Knights in diced shambles. It was a good thing the ninja had taken that robotics class after all, the guy actually had a gift in dealing with fixing pieces of junks to working order.

Another cloud of dirt and smoke rose up as the battle below continued. The kid was actually good. At first glance, he seemed scrawny and air-headed. But he was proving to be so much more. Should not have doubted his little Ann. And here he thought she had fallen for his boy pretty face. The girl may be rough around the edges, but she was still a girl. How they grow so fast.

If this 'Jaune' kid made it out alive, he was sure to put the effort in luring him to his organization. Shouldn't be too hard seeing as he was brought in by Ann. He could use that to his advantage. Having more hunter's like Cardin would be a big benefit to his cause. Made him wish his little protege was here right now. Too bad, Cardin had to attend classes today, it would be suspicious if he continued to skip class while his men caused trouble in Vale. Wouldn't be long now, he had planned for his initiation at the end of the week to welcome Cardin in to their cause as an active member, but that would have to wait till next week. Too many White Fang spies to deal with. It was a wonder the Vale police didn't send any rats into the mix.

A stray ball of energy smashed into the forcefield around the coliseum, drawing even more applause from the crowd. Hadn't seen them this fired up since the first time he set these games up. This was going to draw in some more supporters and members without a doubt.

Another volley followed after Jaune as he struggled to keep up. He was just about ready to collapse from exhaustion. It was surprising that he was even able to stand after all the attacks that hit him. Once this was all over, he was going to get to work on training his powers and skills. Pretty sure his Luck was the only thing to keep him breathing at this point.

The Atlesian Spider had enough of the little game they were playing. Cocking all six of its cannons, it began to shift its body around to create a larger barrel from the combined pieces attached to its damaged chest. A deadly hum filled the air as its barrels gathered energy, glowing with erratic sparks around its body. Its fixed frame shook, struggling to contain all the power in its crudely welded state.

'That doesn't look like something I'll survive. As if having six cannons wasn't crazy enough, I can't believe it can create a bigger one! That's just overkilling it, or me.' Just a bit more. Jaune's MP was only a few seconds away from filling all the way up. Then he could work on finishing things. The HP on the Atlesian Spider was down to half of what it originally started with. He just needed a few more hard hits and try for a critical, and that would be it.

Finished charging its shot, the Atlesian Spider surprised everyone watching as its lower body stretched its metal limbs apart, digging itself deep into the ground. The upper body then spun on its midsection like a top, firing away the deadly beam of energy from its large cannon. The action created a wide ring that spun against the walls of the coliseum, digging a trench in its walls. Jaune didn't even need to think of what to do as he dropped to his stomach, missing the scorching beam by a hair.

It continued its laser spin for a good minute, putting strain on the forcefield generators preventing it from hurting the audience. Eventually its attack died down, parting its cannons as smoke leaked from its joints and static jumped around its damaged frame.

With a bell like ding, Jaune's MP was fully restored. Now was his only chance to finish it off before its systems went back online. There was still one last ability he needed to try out.

"Hyper Blade!" With incredible speed, Jaune phased through the Atlesian Spider in after image blurs, slashing at its exposed weak spots with his glowing knife. Back and forth he passed its body, dwindling its health further with every strike. The spider mech could do nothings as it struggled to regain control of its functions.

Slashing at its right arm, Jaune ended his bladed blitz by chopping off one of its cannons. He skid back on his feet from the Atlesian Spider, the sounds of its gears running smoothly and the glitching lights steadying telling him that it was back to fighting condition.

Dammit! The mech's health was at 700HP. He just needed one more heavy hit to end it all. Just like Gale Speed, Hyper Blade couldn't be spammed, it needed to charge. Speaking of which, the Atlesian Spider retaliated with several firing salvos, forcing him to activate Gale Speed. He evaded the bullet hell of cannons, phasing by as he tried to think of an attack to end it all. Hyper Blade used up 50MP, that was more then half of what he had. He was more the sure that he wouldn't be able to avoid its salvos much longer, he was beginning to breath heavily as it were.

Power Strike dealt two hundred damage, but he couldn't risk getting hit with another cannon shot again. If only he could combine Air Slash with it, the he could fire away from a good distance.

Iron Roses's ability died down, leaving him jumping to the left from another salvo. Well, now was as good as any to see if he could combine abilities.

"Power Strike+Air Slash!" Calling out the combined combination of abilities, Jaune was thrilled to see the result of his idea fly from his knife in the form of a whistling crescent blade of arcing energy. The arc spun in the air before landing. It flew by the mech's body, evaporating into the air harmlessly. For a second Jaune worried if his attack worked, cursing as he found what remained of its cannons charging at him.

Ready to fire another barrage, the Atlesian Spider ceased its aiming as a gleaming thin white line shined on its body.

'Critical Hit!'

With a mechanical whine, the Atlesian Spider fell apart as its body was cleaved in a horizontal slash. Smoke bellowed from its sparking body before exploding in a bellowing cloud of flames. The explosion blew past Jaune, engulfing him in the hot sulfur veil.

'Congratulations! Atlesian Spider, The Stalking Knightmare, defeated! +4,500EXP! You've created a new Ability! Crescent Blade, Discovered!'

Jaune cleared away the smoke with a wave of his knife, falling back on his backside with a loud sigh. He didn't care for the roaring sea of cheers and applause, the tossed cards of Lien, or the victory bell as Holt announced him as the winner. He was just glad it was over with. Too bad he hadn't leveled up, his EXP was a few hundred points away from reaching Lvl 10.

First thing he was going to do after his aura healed his wounds and he debriefed with Officer Church, is head back to Beacon and take a nice long relaxing shower. Then eat a shit load of whatever they were serving at the cafeteria.

Holt couldn't stop grinning as he loudly clapped his hands. Now, THAT was a fight! Never judge a book by its cover. Jaune would make a great asset to the FoF as frontal soldier. They weren't ready for battle yet, but if his troops had a trained hunter fighting alongside them, then they would have some inspiration. Oum knows that Naragami, Ann, or even Cross weren't chuck full of it. Made him wonder if Jaune knew Cardin, the kid could use someone his age to hang with. Ann was two years older then them and kept to herself. Still confused him how Jaune had caught her interest.

Raising the platform to the coliseum floor, Holt stepped off as he made his way to the heavily panting blonde boy. He whistled at the battered and wounded state Jaune was left in, boy could tank a hit.

"I was wrong about you, Jaune. And here I thought you would have lost in the first round. Way to prove me wrong." Holt chuckled softly, gesturing his open hand to his fellow blonde. He smirked at the weak suspicious glare aimed back at him in return, "Don't worry, your little gauntlet trial is over with. You've proved your worth. And I'll take Ann's word, you can be trusted. Welcome to the Friends of Faunus, Jaune Arc."

Alright, so it looked like he won over the leader's trust. He had a feeling that Holt was the one behind everything, the man had a certain air around him. Well, better not keep him waiting. Taking Holt's hand, Jaune was taken by surprise as the shadows underneath them spiraled around them in a cocoon. There was nothing to do as they swallowed them up in the darkness.

What now!?

---

Lunch had ended and class was over with for the day. And Yang was feeling pretty great right about now. The life of a hunter was exciting, but she could do without the boring classes. Not to mention dealing with Professor Antheia on the subject of her favorite student's absence wasn't fun. The orange haired woman was obsessed with the dorky blonde, how could no one else see that? Pretty sure she had seen a body pillow designed after Jaune's wrestling outfit hidden in her desk. Made her wonder how she got it. Nora was really pushing for that wrestling event in the auditorium, maybe she should think about her offer of playing along. Lien was Lien, what could go wrong?

If only she knew.

Yang's thoughts soon turned back to Jaune, wondering what he had gotten himself into. Now she was starting to worry. It was past five now and he hadn't returned to Beacon. The messages Pyrrha had been sending him were going unanswered. Jaune usually messaged back soon after, but they hadn't heard word from him since his scroll call to his team last night. What was going on?

Jaune wasn't exactly her best friend, if anything he was a friend by extension. He was nice guy despite being an awkward dork and seemed fun to hang around. There was something about him that drew in trouble in the most hilarious way. As of late she was even beginning to enjoy the time their two teams spent together, times were fun when they all hung out. Not having him around was actually a bummer. It had barely been a day.

They weren't the best of friends, but she still saw him as a good one. And she was just as worried about him as everyone else was, even Weiss despite how much she denied it.

The sun was beginning to set over the horizon as Yang walked around the courtyard of the school. It was time to head back to the dorms, still had to finish Port's homework. 'I'm sure Vomit Boy's fine. The guy probably got lost in Vale, seems like something he would do.'

Turning back to the school, Yang was ready to head back when the sound of running footsteps stopped her. She recognized that familiar wheeze behind her anywhere.

"Jaune?" Yang blinked in surprise suddenly finding the blonde knight panting as he leaned on his knees. The guy looked a little disheveled and dirty, their was even dried spots of blood on him. The hell had he been doing? 'Don't tell me he actually got shank?'

"Sup, Yang?" Jaune greeted with a tired grin.

After being teleported in the shadows of Holt's semblance, Jaune had been dropped into a lounge like area to rest before he left the criminal nest. Once he was all settled in, Holt had given him the next locations of the matches for the week to come, said to stop by whenever so he could get better acquainted with his organization. A quick stop by the police station and a debriefing later, and he was finally free to head home to Beacon. What a day it had been. Went up a level and learned a few new abilities, so he supposed all the trouble had been worth it.

Even got a cool hunting knife out of it. But the little adventure made him think about how pathetic he was without Crocea Mors, he had barely gotten by with his new knife. What if they made him fight without any weapon at all? There was no way he would survive five straight rounds against Grimm like that. If he was going to beat The Game, he was going to have to expand his field of skills. And Yang did offer to teach him to fight with his fists.

Calming his breathing, Jaune stood straight up, looking to Yang with a determination. Yang may be rough and a bit of a loose cannon, but if there was anyone who could teach him hand to hand, it had to be her.

"Where you been, Jaune?" Yang asked as she cocked her hip. And what was with that look in his eye?

"Just dealing with a case of mistaken identity." Had to come up with a lie, and if there was one thing he was good at, it was lying. Even a lousy one, "Anyway, I got a question to ask you."

Yang shrugged, "Sure, go ahead. Anything I can do for you?"

"Yeah, do you remember when you said you could help me learn hand to hand?"

For a moment Yang was confused at what he was asking before a slow grin made its way to her face. No way! Was he asking what she thinks he was asking?

"Can you teach me?"

Yang was a proud huntresses, she would not squeal in excitement!

"Fuck yeah! Let's get started!"

There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, she didn't really believe him about the mistaken identity, though she wouldn't completely disregard it with his crappy luck, but all that was thrown into the closet as she grabbed his collar and dragged his tired body to the training rooms. She was fired up now!

'What did I get myself into?' Jaune inwardly sighed as he kissed his hot shower and meal goodbye. Should have asked her in the morning.

---

Abilities, Skills, and Perks List:

Air Slash[4AP]: An airborne blade of condensed physical strength that deals an amplified 10% in damage based on the Player's Strength. MP Cost: 10MP.

Hyper Blade[5AP]: Based on the Player's Speed stat, the Player rushes in a high speed raid of attacks, landing in multiple hits on the target. Also buffs a 10% in Evasion during the activation of the Ability. MP Cost: 20MP.

Crescent Blade[5AP]: An evolved version of Air Slash. The Player fires a whistling crescent blade of energy at their target with a 20% Critical Hit Ratio. MP Cost: 15MP.

---

Bed. Time. And once again, I don't have time for a shower. That's a bad habit I need to work on, as if I don't already feel dirty with some of the things I write.

Again, sorry about not finishing the DLC today. It's only 1,500+ words right now, I'll be sure to finish it later after I'm done with Chapter 10 which is almost done. I hope all the action in todays chapter will be enough for now. We got a whole lot more coming. The next chapter isn't action packed, but its reveals a lot and even a shocking secret about the FoF. I'll have the next piece of DLC up with it, that I can promise you.

I need sleep. So if you got any questions, don't be afraid to ask. While I'm busying writing chapters for this story, I've actually been brainstorming some short fics when Multiplayer is on a break. I'll be telling ya'll about it at the end of Volume 1, so look forward to that.

Read and Review, it's common courtesy.

NeoShadows fading in and out.