Hello once again! Welcome to a chapter I'm genuinely happy with for once. It's a tad shorter than normal so sorry for that. So it seems you guys don't mind my mildly OP Jaune which is awesome, I'll still be toning his powers down a little but on the whole I don't shan't be changing anything too dramatically. I will apologise for the longer delay between this and the last chapter, but I'm trying to slow down and put more time and effort into my fic both for my own enjoyment in writing it and for your enjoyment as readers. Finally I really want to thank you all for your support, it's been phenomenal. We've just broken 100 favourites and 20,000 views which is miles above what I hoped for when I started, so thank you all. Please enjoy.

Jaune stood on cold stone in the centre of the wide open arena lit by bright floodlights, the stands were packed to bursting and the crowds chanting his name. He raised his sword to the sky and they all went wild, the sound was phenomenal, reverberating in his chest. His red headed partner sat in the front row of the stands just behind him Cheering wildly along with the faceless people around her. The sky above the arena was black as pitch, the usual stars and shattered moon were completely absent giving it an empty look that made Jaune feel ever so small and insignificant.

He turned to face his opponent, a young faunus boy with shaggy black hair and two pointed fangs protruding over his bottom lip. His face was contorted into a feral snarl and his beady black eyes were full of malice. He seemed to be unarmed and unprotected by armour,preferring to use his natural agility.

The boy readied himself holding his arms out wide baring his claws. Jaune knew this boy would be trying to claw him to shreds at the first available opportunity. The look of hatred he exuded sent a shiver down the blonde's spine and filled him with dread.

Jaune raised his shield and settled into his usual combat stance.

'remember Jaune, slow your breathing, shoulders back. Right foot forward, not too far now. Now wait for the opportune moment.'

The faunus boy sprinted at him with surprising speed, barely leaving him with enough time to raise his shield, the faunus collided with a grunt and bounced off. He tried this tactic over and over, each time Jaune shield bashed him away earning a roar from the crowd.

The boys attitude and bearing changed suddenly, his face twisted into a smirk. Jaune eyed him suspiciously and circled him looking for an opening he could exploit when the Faunus charged him again.

Rather than running straight he jumped about from left to right, a black aura flaring around him as he split into three, they ran circles around him. Jaune struggled to keep tabs on them all, his eyes darting from one to the next frantically. All at once the clones dissipated into black clouds and drifted away.

Jaune desperately looked around trying to find hiss opponent when he caught a flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye. He turned but was too late, the boy was already past his guard. He leapt onto Jaune and clambered up the Knight's body ignoring frantic and flailing attempts to throw him off.

The blonde howled in pain as he felt the two sharp fangs sink into his shoulder, with a final heave Jaune caught hold of the faunus and threw him to the ground. In a rage he drew up Crocea Mors and brought the tip down into the boy's throat. A gurgling sound came from the young Faunus as he tried to breathe.

The spectators gasped in horror as Jaune retrieved his blade with a sickening squelch and blood sprayed from the boys throat coating the grey stone in the slick red of his life essences. The faunus' body contorted as he scrabbled at his torn jugular trying desperately to cling onto life, before he collapsed and gurgled softly on the floor amidst an ever growing pool of his blood.

Jaune turned away in guilt, unable to witness that which he had sown. The image of the boy dying on the floor, blood flowing all too freely from the tatters of what remained of his neck. He hadn't meant to kill, never kill.

The same gurgling became a twisted laughter and as Jaune watched in horror, the boy's form shifted. The crowed cheered wildly at the sight of the boy changing, and coming back for a second round. He became a solid mass of scraggly black fur and grew tall, taller that seven men stacked atop one another. Two long curved horns grew from its head and the face morphed. The fangs receded and were replaced by those of a human. The nose became elongated and slightly more bulbous. The angry black eyes shifted into emotionless blue, and the hair changed to a greying blonde. The face was familiar to Jaune, all to familiar. It was his great-grandfather Charlemagne Arc. The same hero depicted on the Beacon statue.

"You stand here carrying my sword, but you are not worthy!"

Jaune could do little more than mumble a vague response.

"SILENCE BOY! You are weak! Undeserving of the family name! Relying on the charity of others to pull you through, you dare call yourself an Arc and my kin?"

The knight felt his blood boil at his grandfather's onslaught. His words struck at Jaune's very core, the parts of himself that he himself questioned on a daily basis. In his anger his aura flared dangerously, brilliant white but tinged with crimson around the edges.

He tightened his grip on his sword in his frustration, the blade glowing red with the savage delight of battle and surrounded by white mist as though it were ablaze as he channelled aura into it. On an impulse he charged his demonic grandfather, a harsh war-cry tore from his lips as he brought his family's longsword down with all of his might.

The monster's finger shot out to meet it as he deflected it as though it were a toothpick. In a flowing motion it brought its hand back round and grasped Jaune's head in its palm. Once again Jaune Howled in pain. Charlemagne swung the Knight around in a wide motion and angled to smash his head open like a watermelon against the cold, hard blood stained floor of the arena.

Jaune slashed wildly at the beast's arm in a desperate attempt to break free of its grasp but to no avail. His eyes widened as he flew ever faster towards the ground, bracing himself for impact he spared one last thought for his team and partner and silently apologised. His head connected.

Jaune bolted upright in bed with a shout, breathing heavily and coated in sweat. His hands were trembling and tears streamed down his cheeks. It took him a few moments to calm himself before his hands flew to his shoulder searching for any signs of the faunus boy's bite. He gave a relaxed sigh when he found none.

'It was just a dream, a horrific dream...'

He felt a pair of soft and slender hands gently grasp his shoulders and begin to massage them soothingly, followed by a familiar voice in his ear.

"J-Jaune? Are you alright?"

Turning towards its source he found the familiar calming emerald eyes of his partner and girlfriend Pyrrha. Her eyes held the same concern that her voice had only moments before.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. J-just a bad dream is all."

His voice trembled in a way she had never heard it do before. Yet perhaps more disconcerting for her was the genuine look of horror and abject fear in his eyes. She drew him into her arms and lightly kissed him on his cheek.

The two of them sat together in companionable silence, the shattered moon had nearly completed its trip across the sky when the two of them finally resettled into sleep. Jaune hadn't been sleeping well since their Vytal qualifier match, no matter how hard he tried to ignore the thought he had the lingering feeling he would only let his partner down. Both he and Pyrrha had stepped their training up a notch at his request but he never felt anywhere near good enough.

It was these thoughts that plagued him, preventing him from gaining any real rest each night. He lay awake whilst his thoughts battled it out. He had tried to slow his breathing and empty his mind but it had little effect, his concentration would break and all of his fears would come rushing back to meet him.

Even if he did sleep, his thoughts would manifest themselves into deformed and demonic versions of his closest friends and family to cast aspersions on him. Though he never truly gave up, his force of will was severely diminished. He knew he would have to win the tournament to prove his own doubts wrong.

Jaune found the tournament's build-up to be nigh on unbearable. His longer days training with Pyrrha were followed only by his sleepless nights. He found himself utterly exhausted and falling asleep in his lectures, falling behind on classwork.

It was lunch when things finally reached tipping point. Halfway through his meal Jaune felt his eyes fall heavy, accepting the warm embrace of sleep he closed them only to wake with a start a moment later as his face slammed into the solid wooden surface of the table.

Pyrrha had leapt forward in an attempt to save him from injury but had been too late. There was a resounding crack followed by a low groan as his nose connected and broke. He groggily sat back up, blood pouring down his face. In his exhaustive state he couldn't summon the energy to draw forth his aura to fix the damage.

Next he knew he was dragged away from the table and down the hallways by the Spartan. Without the strength to resist, leaving him to simply stagger along behind her. She dragged him back to the residential block and into their dorm room, from there into the small attached bathroom where she sat him on the toilet lid and retrieved their room's first aid kit.

With a stern expression she blocked his nose with two tufts of cotton wool and cleaned his face of blood. She placed a hand on his shoulders and through the use of her own, activated his aura. With the sound of crunching bone and cartilage his nose straightened out, his aura kicking in to heal him.

Satisfied he was fixed up she dragged him back towards his bed and half threw, half laid him onto it. When he sluggishly tried to regain his feet she simply pushed him back again.

"Jaune you are exhausted. You're not sleeping, you barely eat. So for the rest of today you're going to sleep, rest and recuperate. This is non-negotiable, clear?"

"What about lessons? We can't afford to fall any further behind." he said weakly.

"Ren has it covered. He says we can make use of his notes when you're up to it."

Jaune was astounded at how well organised this all was. He knew that his team had noticed a deterioration in his state but he hadn't noticed just how bad it had been. Seeing the look of determination on his partner's face he figured he had better make the best of a bad situation and so he closed his eyes, and found a comfortable spot.

He tossed and turned trying and re-trying to find a comfortable position and to quieten his mind but found it impossible. His head had become a raging battleground for his thoughts as his confidence and paranoia fought for control behind his eyes.

A sudden sensation on his head shattered the image before him, the swirling tempest of his thoughts calming. The sensation moved back slowly but surely, opening his eyes he saw Pyrrha's smiling face. She was running her hand through his hair.

Though she didn't know it Pyrrha was matching exactly what his Mom had done whenever he couldn't sleep. There was something oddly therapeutic about his partner's hands running through his hair that granted him a sense of inner peace and calm he had been lacking. His Mom had the same kind of affect, although she was somewhat more rough going about it than the Champion.

Jaune drifted back to consciousness with a wide yawn to the smell of fresh pancakes and a constrictive feeling on his chest. In the background he could hear the sound of pans clattering in their kitchenette and Nora chatting annimatedly. He slowly cracked open his eyes to find a mass of red hair resting on his chest, he looked adoringly at her, gently twirling a few strands of her voluminous hair in between his fingers. He was still tired to an extent, although nowhere near as much as he had been before his nap. He reached into his pocked and retrieved his scroll, it read five thirty.

Before long Nora came bounding out of their team's kitchenette with two plates piled high with pancakes, one for each of the sleepers. Pyrrha's were topped with fresh strawberries, the Champion's favourite of all the fruits, and drizzled with cream. Just how she liked. Jaune's were topped with his own favourite of bananas and lightly dusted with cinnamon.

"Well hi there Jauney you ol' sleepy head!" Nora grinned at him.

Jaune lightly shook his partner awake and laughed at the small damp patch on his t-shirt where her head had been moments before. She blushed feverishly and drew a hand across her mouth, effectively removing all signs of the drool train that had been running down her chin.

"Thank you Nora, and thanks Ren!" there came a faint confirmation from the kitchen.

Without further ado both J and P dug into their pancakes. Jaune felt somewhat rejuvenated after his nap, his brain not feeling quite as mushy as it had before, although he knew he would likely need another good sleep that night.

Once they had finished their food and tidied away their dishes (Ren insisted that he didn't mind cooking for his team provided they clear away their own plates.) Jaune turned to his partner and kissed her lightly upon the lips, they tasted of strawberries and cream bringing back memories of the summer.

"W-what was that for?" She asked, surprised.

"For looking out for me, as always. I needed that nap and you made it happen. If it weren't for you I'd have run myself into the ground."

She nodded modestly, her cheeks flaring up a little as she did.

"It wasn't just me, it was Ren and Nora too."

Jaune returned his attention to his teammates.

"Thank you both." his cerulean eyes held every ounce of sincerity and gratitude he could muster.

"Jauney, relax! That's what teammates are for!" Nora replied exuberantly.

Evening rolled around quickly for Jaune and his team, with it being Thursday the team spent their evening together in their dorm room for 'Thursday Team Time'. It had become something of a tradition since their formation that every Thursday evening team Juniper would spend some time together as a team, provided that they weren't off on an assignment. It gave them a chance to kick back and relax, as well as developing their bonds. For Jaune and Pyrrha it meant a night off from training and for Nora and Ren it marked an end to their frantic dashes to finish homework, at least for a day.

Jaune and Pyrrha made their way into the kitchenette and retrieved several bottles of Duster Pepper and bags of varying snacks which they set out on their shared desk. They brought out their collapsible table and chairs as well as a pack of cards and set about their quiet evening in...well about as quiet as can be with the hyperactive Valkyrie.

They soon settled into a tense game of 'go fish'. Jaune and Pyrrha watched with some amusement as Nora and Ren stared each other down. It always devolved into this when they played competitive games against one another.

Despite that there was something greater at stake, the last of the doughnuts. It was jam filled, Nora's favourite, and the winner of the next hand won it. So for Nora it was a live or die moment. Ren was down to his last card whilst Nora had three.

"Got any threes?"

Nora asked in a slow and suspicious voice. Her blue eyes never left Ren's pink ones. Ren paused pensively before he shrugged and leaned in. With a smug grin on his face he replied.

"Go fish."

She drew a card from the stack.

"Any fours" Ren continued.

Nora's eyes grew wide as she looked down at her own hand, before dejectedly handing over a four. His face in its usual passive state Ren set down his two cards to reveal a pair of fours.

"And I have won Nora."

With a chuckle he retrieved his prize and with a smile broke it in half handing one half to the Valkyrie. She gave a cheer and snatched it up, gobbling it down at a speed even Ruby would struggle to beat.

Jaune checked his scroll, it was eleven thirty. Seeing the time overcame the effects that the copious amounts of sugar had had on his body and he yawned wide. He stood and made his way off to the bathroom retrieving his rabbit onesie on the way. Once his teeth were brushed and he was in the familiar cosy confines of his blue pyjamas he shuffled over and climbed into bed, shuffling as far over to one side as its confines would allow.

Pyrrha shut off the dorm's lights on her way out of the bathroom. Moments later Jaune felt her familiar form climb in next to him with the sound of rustling sheets. She took her usual place besides him, her head on his chest and her slim body wrapped up in his arms.

He kissed her upon the lips, tasting the fresh mint of her toothpaste. He felt her smile and deepen their kiss, her tongue against his own and playfully wrestling for dominance. Jaune wasn't one to be defeated however and began a clumsy counter attack which was quickly disarmed by his partner.

He pulled away and heard her giggle. Opening his eyes he found himself staring straight into hers. They seemed to reflect the pale light the moon was giving out, highlighting their emerald tone and making them all the more alluring. The Knight felt as though he could look into them forever, tracing their every detail.

The champion lay her head back on his chest, watching its steady rise and fall.

"Goodnight Jaune, sleep well" she whispered.

"Goodnight Pyrrha, I love you." He ran a hand through her flowing red hair as he spoke, brushing stray strands out of her face.

Giving into his fatigue, Jaune embraced the warm arms of sleep and drifted without disturbance into the seas of his subconscious.

There it was, hope you enjoyed that.

I'll most likely be cutting back on updates to just one a week as I look to start writing another based on the poll results. Please do review, it helps me improve and provide what it is that you, the reader, wants. Please follow and favourite to help build TheFlagshipArkos crew.

POLL UPDATE:

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I'll be closing the poll in just 24 hours, so now truly is your last chance to cast your votes. let the games begin.

I'll see you all again in the next chapter.