Jaune fidgeted uncomfortably as he stood, peering down the path up the mountain. Roman grumbled, adjusting his hat as he twirled his cane.

"Dust, kid." Roman muttered. "Your girlfriend'll live. It's not like she got poisoned or something. Quit worrying."

"Sorry, Professor." Jaune uttered, frowning. "I just…..you know, I don't feel comfortable leaving her there. She's my partner and….I don't want to leave her side."

"Crazy kids." The cane-wielding man remarked. "Seriously, she's fought better Hunters than you. You really think she can't handle some Grimm if they get past that drunk?"

'What I'm afraid of is that prophecy.' The knight thought, shaking his head. '…she's sick, this is a fight…..Dust knows what could happen.

…..dammit, Arc. What are you worried about? Qrow's got her back. And besides….she'd never back down from a challenge. And she'd never lose to something like that. Right. Quit worrying, Jaune! She'll be fine without you for a few minutes. She was fine on the mission, she'll be fine now.'

"…I guess so." Jaune nodded slowly, sighing as he raised his shield. "Hey…..Professor."
"What?" He sounded irritated.

"….why DID you come to Beacon? Weren't you…..you know….." The knight decided not to finish the thought. Roman glared at him.

"…kid, do you know anyone who'd hire us outside of Ozpin? The only reason we even got jobs in the first place was because Cinder here was tight with him." The former criminal remarked irritably. "Nobody would take us. Because apparently the skills needed to be running a rogue operation for nearly twenty years don't count for a damn thing!"

"Rogue operation?" Jaune raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I thought you were just running an ordinary operation! Rogue from what? The government?"

"…..doesn't matter." The ex-criminal grumbled. "Just keep an eye out for those Grimm."

'….huh.' Jaune filed it away for later consideration. He shifted uncomfortably, looking around, before-

"Uh oh."
The gunshots and sounds of fighting had begun around them. Yang's yells, Nora's raucous laughing and the sounds of Blake's manly speeches were already echoing through the forest, as the sounds of clawing, snarling and growling approached the camp. Already, a teeming mass of black and white was storming towards them, canine and ursine growls dominating the pack.

Roman whistled. "Hoo boy. This is gonna suck." He twirled his staff upwards. "Kid, you ready?"
"…..no. No I'm not."

"Too bad." The ex-criminal remarked, before smashing the head of an unfortunate Ursa out of the way with Melodic Cudgel. Pulling the trigger, he unleashed a blast that threw aside some of the approaching Grimm as the explosion tore the creatures apart limb from limb. He whistled at the sight.

"Damn am I good!" He boasted proudly, keeping his hat down as he ducked to avoid the swipe of a Beowolf's claw, planting his cane into the stomach of the wolf Grimm and firing, blasting the creature apart with ease.

Meanwhile, Jaune was coping himself. His movements, practiced in the long evening sessions he had spent training with Pyrrha, were almost like clockwork. A slash to the neck, a strike with his shield, planted in the right places at the right time.

With one practiced swipe, he slashed an Ursa across the chest with the bottom of his shield while defending himself from its feral swipe, before swiftly stabbing the creature in the chin with his sword. Rolling aside to avoid another swipe from its comrade, the knight smashed his shield into the offending Grimm's face with a roar, before swiftly decapitating it while it stumbled backwards, dazed by Jaune's shield. Before the other two Grimm had fallen, the knight had already moved onto another target, Crocea Mors glimmering in the rain, as the sword soared through the air, slicing another Grimm's leg off and swiftly shunting his blade into the beast's chest, twisting to obliterate its black heart.

Suddenly, something snarled behind him. Jaune's eyes widened as he saw the faint reflection of an Ursa with its claw raised. However-

"Hey, kid, learn to watch your back! I ain't watchin' it for you!"

Before the Ursa could bring its claw down, an explosion knocked it out of Jaune's path, as Roman's cane was pointed at it. He tipped his hat, grumbling.

"Dust, kid. It's like you learned nothing from your girlfriend."

"T-thanks, Professor!" Jaune cried gratefully, before turning to slash a Grimm across the back, shoving his shield through the wound to stab it.

'Crazy kids…..' The ex-criminal muttered. 'I swear…..'

Meanwhile….

"Dammit, Miss Winter! We can' hold these varmints off much longer!" Rook uttered as he loaded another full chamber into Magpie, pressed up back to back with the lady, who was pointing her spear at the seemingly endless pack of Grimm surrounding them. Winter frowned.

"We must have faith in ourselves! These vile creatures are merely embodiments of cursed anonymity! We shall prevail!"

"Awfully optimistic." Rook chuckled, flicking his whip at another Grimm. "Ya gotta teach me how t'be like that some time."

With a yell, the cowboy flicked Mustang at a nearby Griffon, wrapping the metal coil around its neck and snapping its neck with one fierce yank. An Ursa leapt over its falling corpse, only to fall down in midair, a bullet hole right between its eyes. Indeed, the shot pierced straight through the Grimm's skull, causing a Beowolf behind it to fall down dead, the bullet piercing straight through its skull next. Rook whistled.

'…well well, what're the odds?'

Winter closed her eyes, funnelling her concentration and Aura into her surroundings, as her Semblance worked its magic, heating the water around her. The rain around her turned to steam, as the Grimm sniffed around, losing sight of the lady within her engineered mist.

The thuds of Grimm heads fell to the ground as Frauenmantel spun over her head, its silver head shimmering in the fog. As the Grimm snarled and hissed, scratching around to search for Winter, she swiftly slashed through the steam, using her cover to dodge their strikes.

However, with that steam came issues, as Rook's own sight was also taken from him. The cowboy looked around hurriedly.

"Dammit! I can't see a darn thing!" He cried, before- "Gah!"

A Griffon had grabbed him by the arms, smashing him into a nearby tree. The cowboy slid down against the bark, groaning as his Aura cushioned the blow.

"Ugh….." He rubbed his eyes, shaking his head before the Griffon returned to strike once more, picking him up and smashing him against the ground repeatedly, each time draining his Aura until it flickered out in a grey flash.

It dropped Rook on the damp ground, letting the battered boy lie, as he groaned, his weapons smashed from his grasp.

"….awww dammit." He grunted, trying to pull himself to his feet. "…..come on…..not my Aura….."

The Griffon advanced towards him, tilting its head, as if curious at how Rook could even move after being thrashed. It paused for the briefest of moments.

Then it dove in for the kill.

'Oh no oh no oh no not now dammit please no…..

I'm sorry, Ma…..'

Rook closed his eyes as the winged Grimm dived in to finish him off before-

"You will not kill my friend!"

With an uncharacteristically fierce yell, Winter drove Frauenmantel through the Griffon's head, pinning it to the ground as she landed between it and Rook, a furious expression twisting her peaceful and calm face. Gone was the usual tranquil, slightly laid-back smile that graced Winter's face.

It had been replaced by the fierce coldness and tranquil fury her name embodied. Her normally motherly, soulful eyes seemed like cold, icy blades peering into one's very mind, her mouth curled in a growl that seemed out-of-place on her.

She twisted the spear and yanked as hard as she could, wrenching the Griffon's head off with a berserker roar, before smashing the dead Grimm's fading corpse away with the shaft.

The lady gripped her spear tightly, glaring down at the other Grimm as she offered Rook a hand up.

"Come on, Mister Rook. I won't let you die on me so easily." She declared. "As I said, you are important to me and it would be unforgivable."

"…..y-yeah." The cowboy blinked, clearly shocked by the sheer anger that the lady had shown just now, before taking the hand tightly and pulling himself to his feet, collecting his revolver and whip. "T-thanks. I s-suppose I owe ya one now, don't I?"
"Think nothing of it, Mister Rook. I…..simply would not forgive myself if…..s-something happened to you." The lady admitted, shaking her head. "But….enough about that.

These Grimm shall pay for daring to harm you."

"How many of these things are there?!" Jaune cried exasperatedly. "There are so many!"
"We've just got to hold out until they fall back! There's not that many!" Roman yelled over the din of the roaring and hissing. He slammed his foot into another Grimm, cursing under his breath.

"Why can't Grimm ever be something like a small kitten?! It's always a bear or a giant bird!" He grumbled.

Jaune shook his head as he wrenched his blade from a fallen Grimm.

'I hope the others are fine…they can't be having a fun time of it either.' The knight reflected. 'There's just so many….'

Indeed, the Grimm pack seemed almost endless.

And then a Nevermore swooped in.

The raven Grimm raked its claws across Jaune's armor, knocking the boy down with a loud, piercing scream. He rolled away to avoid the Grimm's follow-up attack as it pecked at him, attempting to devour him. The knight frantically threw up his shield, attempting to keep the beak of the Grimm away from him.

"Dammit!" Jaune cried desperately. "Not like this! I won't let this be my end!"

With a loud yell, he slammed his foot into the Nevermore's torso, pushing it off of himself. The knight pulled himself to his feet, before leaping onto the raven Grimm's head and planting Crocea Mors into its skull with a sickening crunch, causing the Grimm to emit a death screech before bowing its head allowing Jaune to slide off of it, breathing heavily.

"Dammit…..I won't just die like that. For her sake, I won't!" He growled defiantly, raising his shield before he realised just how many Grimm there were.

There were ten Nevermores circling over their heads.

And they were all swooping at him.

Jaune went pale.

'Oh no.'

He closed his eyes, putting his shield up in vain to avoid the inevitable onslaught before-

"HAH!"
A loud burst sounded in front of him, as the Nevermores dispersed, forced away from their assault as Roman's cane smoked. He stood between the knight and the Grimm, whirling his cane.

"Kid, get out of here. Let me handle this." The ex-criminal uttered. "You're not ready for this."

"Huh? But I can-"

"Kid, that's an order from your teacher. Get out." He snapped, patting Melodic Cudgel. "You're going to get yourself hurt."

'…..you're right.' He closed his eyes, the defiance just as soon dissipating. '…..I can't even…..I've got to fall back and get help.

I'm just….I'm just useless.'

"I-I'll get help, sir!" The knight promised, running back as Roman faced down the horde of Grimm.

An audacious smirk grew on his face as the shadow beasts stared at him with crimson eyes, hungry hisses and growls issuing from their mouths.

"To think this is how I'd go out, defending a kid from a bunch of Grimm." He adjusted his hat, closing his eyes and laughing. "Ain't that just ironic.

If only the other me could see me now. This is exactly like one of those fairy tales.

I always hated those."

He sighed, before extending his hand towards the Grimm, gesturing them to come at him with two fingers.

"Bring it, ladies. There's enough Torchwick here for everyone."

Meanwhile…..

A berserk cry of anguish, injury and fury tore itself from Ruby's throat as she slashed through the horde of Grimm attacking Weiss. Crescent Rose tore through the shadowy creatures as a hot knife through butter, the recoil propelling her scythe's momentum.

Her face was warped into one of dogged determination. She had but one aim: to get to Weiss.

These Grimm were in her way.

They would not be for much longer.

As the last Grimm fell over, the reaper saw Weiss, lying on the ground where she had been a moment before. She rushed to her in a burst of rose petals.

"Weiss! Please, please, no, be okay, please….." She uttered hurriedly as she clutched her partner in her arms.

Weiss' Aura had been entirely depleted, as could be told from the various scratches and bites on her. Her clothes were torn, with blood seeping through her many wounds, as her pale skin and ivory hair were marred with red stains. Tears ran down the heiress' cheeks, clearing through the blood, as she realised she was being held.

"R-Ruby….." She weakly uttered. "I…..thank you."
"Weiss, you'll be fine. Please, don't do this."

"I-I'm so stupid…..I-I can't believe I was so stupid…" The heiress continued. "I should've…..I-I should've kept an eye out….."
"Y-you're okay, Weiss! Please!"

"…..I-I'm sorry, Ruby." Weiss looked up at her, smiling weakly. "I love you. Remember that, j-just in case we…..w-we don't get out of this alive….

You're an idiot….a-and I love you. Y-you had better….remember….that…."

She released a sigh before falling limp, her eyes closing as she slipped into unconsciousness in Ruby's arms.

'No.'

"Weiss."

'No.'

"Weiss. P-please….w-wake up."

'NO!'

At that moment, it didn't matter if Weiss was dead or not.

At that moment, nothing else mattered.

Her partner was hurt. Her lover, her friend, her Weiss. She was possibly dead.

Ruby sniffed, breathing heavily as tears streamed down her cheeks, clutching her wounded partner in her arms. She sobbed, hugging Weiss to her.

'Weiss…..I…..I….'

She clutched the heiress in her arms, shutting her eyes. The reaper trembled as the Grimm approached her, snarling and growling hungrily, sobs wracking her body.

Then Ruby's eyes opened, revealing nothing but pure whiteness. The Grimm stared, a new emotion filling their brains apart from hate and twisted amusement; fear.

Then they backed away. Even in their mindless hate and hunger, in their omnicidal nature, they knew that the power that had been awakened was not something they could ever hope to match. They had seen power like this before. Power that could destroy them in a single glance.

Not that fleeing would do them any good at this point.

Ruby let out one more choked sob. Then her emotion got the best of her.

"WEISS!"

And all was consumed in light.

…..

Jaune ran towards the camp, Ruby's scream echoing in his ears. He shuddered to think of what was happening to the heiress and the reaper right now.

'T-this is going so wrong….how can it be going so wrong?!' He thought to himself. '…..t-this can't be happening….right?'

The knight hoped that everyone was okay.

He hoped Ruby and Weiss were okay, that Yang and Blake were unhurt, that Nora and Ren had already won without a scratch-

But most of all, he hoped that Pyrrha was safe.

'…..of course I have to hope, don't I? I can't even defend myself from a bunch of Grimm…..how am I supposed to defend her?' He thought, closing his eyes and sighing. The knight looked around for Qrow, but the seasoned Hunter was gone, perhaps fighting Grimm nearby.

Jaune shook his head. "Dammit, Qrow….I'll check on Pyrrha first. She'll be fine. She has to be."

The knight ran towards team JNPR's tent. He ran around it. He ran in front of it.

And the knight was greeted with the sight of three men; one short man, unconscious on the ground, one masked man with a large gun, and one stag Faunus with a red blade in his hand.

And Pyrrha was kneeling before the stag Faunus, her weapons having clattered to the ground, covered in mud.

Jaune was frozen with fear, with horror.

'No. Please, no.' The knight pleaded vainly. 'Not in this world. No.'

And the stag Faunus thrust his blade straight into Pyrrha's chest.

To be continued…..