Coeur Al'Aran was the beta for the original Auburn and helped me immensely during a period when we were both just getting started. Cover Art drawn by confections101 and a link to it is on my profile page. Jefardi is the one who finally kicked my butt into gear to do something about this story I had almost given up on.
Auburn
Endgame
"Jaune, I recommend you dodge to the left." Charlotte's voice echoed inside of his head, somehow coming across nonchalant despite not having anything like an actual tone to the telepathic communication.
"Could you say that with more urgency!?" Jaune barely avoided having his head removed from his shoulders, having only reacted to the previous warning at the last possible second.
"W-what?" Shirou paused mid swing, just as taken aback by Jaune's sudden outburst as everyone else appeared to be.
"...Just. Nevermind." It wasn't like he could tell them he was yelling at his imaginary friend or anything. Well, he could, but that wouldn't be entirely accurate either. It was also about the next closest thing to the truth as he could get, really.
Instead he focused on the bastard in front of him, bringing up the cleaver end of Gambol Shroud and trying to hack Shirou's arm off with it. At the very least get the Scroll and stop the whistle. It shouldn't have been a surprise, but even when he managed to catch the headmaster off-guard, Shirou was quick enough to react and block the attack.
Clang
Blade met blade and sparks flew from the connection. Blake appeared in the air up and behind Shirou, slicing down right for the back of his head. Without turning, he tilted his katana and caught that strike too.
Blake pulled on the ribbon that connected her weapon. Jaune did the same. The black cloth twirled and bent unnaturally, spiraling around Shirou's arm and snagging tight. Only to catch nothing at all, his arm no longer occupying that position.
Faster than either of them could track, Shirou had hopped back and placed several yards distance between them. It wasn't a victory per se, but Jaune grinned anyways. He hadn't been capable of making Shirou retreat at all during their previous bout so this was a definite improvement. Of course, having his partner who he actually knew how to fight with helped.
Too bad he didn't have Crocea Mors. According to Blake, Penny had it. It might have been possible for him to retreat and grab it but he didn't dare leave his team on this island with this psychopath. Besides, he still had his Aurora.
The problem there was, he didn't know how much longer he could actually use it. He'd lost enough blood at this point that even normal exertion was causing his vision to blur in and out. If he opened a wound to unleash his Semblance, it needed to be for the winning strike.
More that that… he was still frightened of it.
What if the memory he used for the Aurora made it go wild again and it did to Shirou the same thing it had to the Hydra? The guy was a bastard through and through, no one would argue that. But Jaune didn't want to kill him. He just wanted to break the scroll.
The even more terrifying thought was that it went for his team.
"You should go see Ruby and Weiss." Blake interrupted his thoughts, nodding behind them. Jaune glanced back to see his remaining two teammates still staring at him with wide-eyed disbelief. "I'll make sure the headmaster stays off your reunion. Just go."
Jaune nodded and tossed her the other end of Gambol Shroud. "Thanks, Blake." He was just going to have to trust her to know what she was doing. Taking a couple steps back, he allowed his partner to place herself between the two of them. Only once he was sure he wouldn't get stabbed in the back did he turn around. To nearly be bowled over as something hurtled into his gut like a rocket.
"Jaune!" Ruby cried as she wrapped her arms around his stomach and they spun around from the force of her tackle. He nearly tumbled backwards but just barely managed to keep his footing.
"What's up, Rubes?" He jostled her hair while attempting to ignore the fact that she about squeezing the life out of him.
"You're alive… you're actually alive." She clung to him even more tightly if that was possible and he couldn't help but smirk at her choice of words.
"Is that all anyone can say when they see me? You girls need to have a little more confidence in me." As he continued to rub her head gently he heard her give a quiet sob and his shirt began to grow damp from her tears.
"I thought you were going to leave me." Between her mumbling into his shirt and her sobs he could barely understand her. "I didn't want to lose you. Not like that. It was too much like how I lost-" Her voice trailed off, either unable or unwilling to finish that sentence.
"Hey, hey. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to stay." He attempted to pull back but she only snuggled into him even more fiercely. So much for that.
"Do you promise?" Ruby finally asked.
He smiled. "Yeah, I promise."
The clicking of heels signaled his co-leader's approach, albeit she walked with a slight wobble. Still, it was impressive she was able to walk at all after what he had just seen her own uncle put her through.
She stopped just a couple paces away and fixed him with one of the coldest glares he had ever seen her give. "You're late." Was all she said and he had to fight the urge to burst out laughing.
Instead he restrained it to an amused smile. "I missed you too, Snow Angel."
"Moron." There was no hostility in her voice despite the fact that he used her hated nickname. It might not have seemed like much, but to him she might as well have done the same as Ruby. That was how much her actions spoke. "...I think your reappearance has thrown my uncle off." She nodded back to Shiou. "I don't think I've ever seen him make that expression. Or be quiet for this long."
"That so?" Jaune finally managed to disentangle himself from the younger girl and turned himself back towards the headmaster. Weiss was right, of course. In the brief time Jaune had known him, Shirou was acting different. More cautious.
Charlotte appeared seemingly out of thin air to his side. "His caution isn't much of a surprise. By all accounts, you should be dead. Not even he could anticipate you awakening your Semblance after you fell." Jaune had to bite his tongue to keep from responding out loud. Blake and the others were already worried about him enough as it was.
He instead called out to the headmaster. "What's the matter!?" Maybe he could shake him up further? "Ready to give up now that I'm back and ready for round two?"
Of course, he should have known better than to try and get to Shirou that way. The headmaster was the king of mind games as he already displayed and Jaune was terrible at them. So almost predictably, he got results exactly the opposite of what he wanted as Shirou started chuckling, placing his free hand over his eyes.
"More and more I like you, Mister Arc." Shirou's hand slowly slid down his face and his icy blue eyes were once again exposed. Instead of just the usual hatred, they were also filled with baited anticipation. "Do you have any idea how boring it is to have a Semblance where I can literally see everything that is going to happen before you even realize it yourself?"
That actually sounded really handy. He didn't think he would mind that at all.
"I'm forced to try and goad my opponents into extreme action just to get them to fight without thinking. It's the only way to cancel out my own Semblance. The only way for me to feel even the slightest bit of adrenaline." Which also explained why Shirou was so sadistic when fighting. Not that it was excuse for picking on kids in training.
Before Jaune or anyone could respond, the ground trembled and the bulbs of light above them shook. Their shadows danced and created an eerie, if slightly nauseating, effect. "Oh what now?" Jaune couldn't help but grumble. If it wasn't one thing it was another. Just above the white roots that acted as a ceiling was a bright flash of orange. Something was going on up there, that was for sure.
"You should look behind us." Charlotte pointed and he spun just in time to see the other students pouring into the bottom floor of the canyon. Had they… been forced to retreat down here? He saw Yang and Pyrrha mixed in amongst them and even from here the pure panic was apparent.
A moment later the stalks of the thorny vines collapsed to the canyon floor and ripped the root ceiling apart. The vines were ablaze in bright orange flame and the entirety of the canyon was cast aglow from the rapidly spreading fire. Before he could even wonder what caused all this destruction a giant reptilian-head stuck its head down to the surface and soon the rest of its massive body followed.
It completely obscured the other students from sight as it stood between them and reached its full height, letting out a massive roar. It tried to spread its wings but even as wide as the canyon was it couldn't possibly extend them all the way. Screams of terror echoed just over its roar and he really hoped that they were all fleeing from that monstrosity before them.
"Oh ho!" Shirou made an amused snort. "So it finally took the bait."
"You knew about this thing?" Weiss' jaw hung open, constantly glancing back and forth between her uncle and the massive lizard Grimm.
"Knew about him? You could say he's the main event." Shirou lifted his sword and pointed at it. "That Grimm was sleeping inside the top of Mountain Glenn itself. The whistle wasn't enough to drag it out, but combined with the sheer terror of you kids seems to have finally stirred it from its slumber."
Jaune's hands balled into fists and he whirled on the headmaster. "If the whole point of this was to drag that thing out, then we're done! Isn't that right? We don't have to fight anymore and can just go kill that thing before someone really does die."
"Hmm… if things had kept going as they were I think I would, but-" But?! What possible reason was there for him to not want to go save them right this damn second? "-I've finally come up against someone that is going to be interesting to fight. Besides, this is bound to give you some added incentive."
Jaune's teeth ground together so hard he felt like they might crack. "You can't be serious…" All he had done was survive. It wasn't like was seriously much stronger than before, at least Shirou shouldn't know that. He hadn't yet had an opportunity to show off Aurora.
"Still, you might be right." Shirou then said and Jaune was stupid enough to allow those words to fill him with hope only to lose it all a sentence later. "Let's see about making this last bout our last? Winner take all." The dial on his katana switched to the white Dust canister and Weiss make a startled gasp.
This… couldn't be good.
The whole sword began to glow bright white and he raised it high above his head before swinging at the ground right in front of his feet. Jaune wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting to happen but it certainly wasn't the pillar being ripped apart as blades of white light split from the point of impact. Auburn was so stupefied by what was happening that they didn't react until it was too late and the parts of earth they were standing on began to splinter apart and collapse beneath their very feet.
"You might want to do something in the next few seconds." Charlotte pointed out not so helpfully. He was really jealous of how nonchalant she got to say lines like that since she was already dead.
Too bad there wasn't exactly anything he could do as they all entered free fall. He didn't even get the chance to turn around before he once again began tumbling back to the hole he'd only just escaped from.
Fortunately, he didn't have to do anything as Weiss had him covered. A huge white Glyph that was easily the size of the surface of the pillar they had been fighting on appeared beneath them and he crashed right into it with an audible smack. Everyone else, of course, landed nimbly on their feet.
"We need a strategy, now!" Weiss snapped. She was almost definitely running low on Aura as it was and maintaining a glyph this large was guaranteed to drain that Aura pretty quick.
But how did Shirou manage to avoid falling? Jaune turned his attention above them to see he had created a small ledge of ice that clung to the wall. He stood on it and stared right back down at them. He really did intend for this to be the final stand.
"Jaune, what do we do?" Blake asked and only after did he realize all three of them were looking at him. They were waiting for his orders. In spite of everything, they were pinning their hopes all on him. He couldn't let his team down now.
Too bad he didn't have the slightest idea what to do. How could they possibly pull this off? It wasn't possible even if they had all the time in the world. Shirou was too far above them in skill. There was no way they could break… his… scroll.
That was it!
"I think I got it." Jaune reached into his back pocket and got to his feet. Without saying anything more he tossed his broken device to Blake. She caught it easily and all three of them looked at damaged technology. He hoped they would get it without him having to say anything. With Shirou's vision, he could probably just as easily lipread their strategy and they needed every edge they could get.
Blake's eyes widened first and the other two seemed to understand not even a second later.
"This… might work." Weiss gave her nod of approval. Looked like that was it then. This plan was officially a go.
"You guys get me the opening I need. I'll finish it." He touched the scar on his arm, feeling the blood coursing in his veins beneath it. What little he had left.
Ruby nor Weiss knew about his Aurora yet. To them it looked like he didn't even have a weapon. That didn't stop either of them from leaping into action without question. They understood as well as he did that the less said the better. Right now they just had to trust one another. So it was a good thing they did.
Weiss waved Myrtenaster in front of her and a series of Glyphs appeared above them at varying angles that they could use to propel themselves right at her uncle. Blake, Ruby, and Weiss all immediately jumped to one of them but Jaune hesitated for just a split second. He was never really good with heights and Weiss' Glyphs were about to propel him airborne with nothing but darkness beneath him if he missed or messed up.
Then again, what was he worried about? He had already survived that drop once. Still, better not test his luck and fall again. It wasn't likely he would survive it a second time. The sheer woozy feeling he got from lack of blood was a testament to that.
"You going?" Charlotte tilted her head, giving him an almost knowing smile. He bet she used to be afraid of heights too when she was alive. Must be nice being dead not having to worry about such mortal trivialities.
"Yeah, yeah." With a resigned sigh he jumped towards the nearest Glyph and felt his feet lock into it as the gear designs began to spin.
The Glyph ejected him off and sent him flying towards one several whole yards up. He barely managed to land on that one before it also locked him into place. A moment later and he was sent airborne again and flew over the top of Shirou and landed on a Glyph that was completely vertical.
This one too locked him in place or he would've slid right off it. His stomach lurched as he stared directly down into the darkness below. Weiss landed on one next to him and began pumping power into the one he was on.
Just to his left the Dragon let out another deafening roar as it sprayed fire from its open mouth. Hopefully no one had been caught by that blast. How many injured were there now? Had someone died yet? He felt sick just thinking someone had met their end to that thing.
No matter what they definitely had to end this now.
"You're only going to have one shot at this so you better make it count." Charlotte appeared out of nowhere on the same glyph he was on, somehow sitting on top of it.
"I still don't even know what memory to use." Which he needed to figure out about thirty seconds ago. There simply wasn't enough time.
"Just use one that focuses on what you want. It's simple as that." What he wanted, huh? The only thing he wanted was to break that scroll. Could he use the memory of his breaking? No, he was unconscious when he fell so there was no memory there.
Would the one work of his and Shirou's first battle? He didn't see why not. The whole thing had been him single-mindedly trying to slash at the scroll with Crocea Mors. With nothing better to go off of, he chose that moment and focused in on that.
The whole scene reconstructed in his mind. This one was easier than the beach where the Chimera died. That one had happened almost two weeks ago whereas this one wasn't even hours before. He restored the pillar and placed himself, Shirou, and an uninjured Penny atop of it.
The weight of Crocea Mors felt good in his hand. It was a familiar weight, one he didn't appreciate until now. The fear of charging Shirou's sword and its still unknown abilities was palpable. Jaune charged him anyways, swinging his sword at the scroll, just as determined then as he was now to break it.
The Northern lights glowed above him in the memory, taking the place of the fluorescent bulbs that hung from the vines. The Aurora didn't belong there yet somehow felt natural. Like it was always there and he just never noticed until now.
The scar on his arm throbbed and ached. He could feel the wound tear open and blood dribbled out in a steady stream. He really did only have one shot at this. If he used Aurora for more than one strike he would bleed out. Now that he'd tapped into the power it was do or die.
He opened his eyes back to reality just as Blake begun her attack. This was it. If they made a single blunder or Shirou noticed what they were up to and it was all over.
The headmaster only had a small ledge of ice that he could move on so his options were pretty much limited to blocking their attacks and then countering. Knowing him, that was how he preferred it. He intended this to be the final move just as much as they did.
Blake attacked him from directly above and swung the now connected Gambol Shroud right towards the middle of his head. Shirou swung his katana up to meet her, the blade still glowing bright white.
A white energy slash phased through Gambol Shroud and flew right at her. She left behind a clone without even a full second to spare and flipped backwards. Just as she began to tumble beneath him she chucked Jaune's broken scroll up. He appeared not to notice the action as her ribbon also wrapped around his right wrist and yanked him forward, exposing his own scroll.
Ruby took her cue and vanished from her Glyph with nothing but floating rose petals to suggest she had ever been there. A second later and she appeared right in front of the ice ledge. His katana was held just above his scroll protectively but Ruby didn't even aim for it. Instead Crescent Rose swung and chopped Jaune's scroll in half, sending both pieces flying in front of Shirou's vision.
As the broken pieces flew past him, time seemed to crawl to a halt. His eyes widened and ever present smirk dropped. His sight danced between his right wrist where his scroll was and then back to the halved device. Crescent Rose continued to spin and caught his katana, deflecting it to the side. Blake gave another yank of her ribbon and his right arm was pulled further away from the sword's protection.
He was completely exposed and the truth of what happened hadn't settled in.
Jaune gave a bestial bellow. His legs tensed against the Glyph. The gears inscribed on it were spinning so intensely he could hear them humming. He kicked off and the whole world became a blur as he moved at faster than what should have been physically possible. He couldn't possibly change his trajectory now.
If he missed, they lost.
And if they lost, they were dead.
Then he just wouldn't miss.
Aurora poured from his scar. This time the energy didn't come out like ribbons but trailed along his forearm in a criss-crossing pattern that ended at his palm. From his palm came the handle of a sword. Then the Aurora took the very shape of Crocea Mors. Aside from being red, purple, and green, it was a perfect replica. Right down to the weight.
His arm holding the sword was completely outstretched in front of him and just as his vision began to come back into focus he felt it graze against something. Sparks flew beneath him and his eyes locked with Shirou's. They were alight with anger and the katana flew at Jaune's neck.
Oh shit! He couldn't dodge like this! He was about to get his head chopped off and there was nothing he could do about it. Just as he fully processed that thought he felt something grab the cuff around the back of his shirt.
Shirou's sword swung down and hit nothing but air as he vanished and reappeared on the canyon floor. He and whoever had saved him rolled for a couple yards before skidding to a stop. Only then did he let out a loud groan. His head ached from the whiplash that violent stop and go had just given him.
"Sorry…" Ruby grumbled from just next to him, evidently just as sore as he was. So it had been her that saved his life. "Did you get it?" She asked as they both began to sit up.
He shook his head. "I don't know."
"Charlotte?" He switched to mental communication, calling to his predecessor. She crouched down behind him, peering over at his face from above. Only by biting his tongue did he keep from giving a startled yelp.
"Sorry." Charlotte shrugged and smiled not so guiltily. "You moved faster than I anticipated. Weiss' glyph was incredible. If you got his scroll, I didn't see it."
"Why am I not surprised?" He was starting to notice a lot of similarities between this girl and himself. It was no wonder they both had the same Semblance.
Blake and Weiss landed next to them a moment later. It didn't look like they knew if he had succeeded or not either. They were still tensed for battle. And it was a good thing too, because Shirou landed in front of them all not a moment after.
He had squinted his eyes back closed, so Jaune couldn't look into this angry blue irises any longer. What's more, the sleeves of his coat were rolled down, obstructing the scroll. Had he got it or hadn't he?
Some part of him held out hope still. Shirou had sheathed his katana, so that meant he had no intention of fighting them, right? Apparently not.
The usual smirk was gone from his face, replaced now by a disgruntled frown and he took a threatening step forward, his intent clear. He was determined to fight and it looked like he was coming right for Jaune.
His team didn't hesitate. Blake and Weiss jumped into action first, being the two still standing. Gambol Shroud came down in a powerful slash. Myternaster jabbed from below so fast it was little more than a blur.
Neither weapon got close.
Shirou moved with impossible reflexes, or rather, he was already countering before they had even started. His left hand caught Myrtenaster by the dial, turning the weapon to intercept Gambol Shroud.
Clang
The two weapons sparked off one another. Both girls tensed, muscles jarring from the unexpected contact. It was only for a moment, but in a battle that was all it took and Shirou didn't waste the opportunity. He twirled within Weiss' guard, sweeping a foot behind her ankle.
With a yelp, the Heiress spun two-hundred-seventy degrees and fell to her butt, rapier clattering to the side and outside her reach.
In the same motion, Shirou's elbow lashed out and caught Blake in the ribs. Her Aura still hadn't recovered from the Hydra fight and there was nothing to cushion the cruel blow. Spittle flew from her lips and a long string of drool rolled down her chin, their black-haired teammate collapsing to her knees. Her yellow eyes glazed over, looking to swing in and out of consciousness.
Jaune attempted to rise, only partially getting to his feet before the whole world blurred out of focus and spun on its axis. Oh shit! He thought he might throw up, the familiar nauseating feeling of motion sickness taking over.
There was nothing more he could do. He had simply lost too much blood and even just standing was almost impossible. That didn't mean he could just do nothing while Shriou thrashed his team either. So he tried again.
Ruby was quicker. She scrambled up and shoved him back onto his butt as she took a defensive stance in front of him. "I won't let you hurt him!" She twirled Crescent Rose as if to ward him off.
"Cute sentiment." Shirou said with a sarcastic bite. He was always, sarcastic, but this was different. Before, his words usually carried a blemish of cheer, so even while he was being facetious, there was never any malicious intent. This was devoid of anything like that, his nasally tone now gruff and nasty. He walked forward, unperturbed by the glimmering scythe, long white coat billowing behind him with each powerful stride.
Jaune tried to stand again, unwilling to allow their youngest teammate to fight this monster on her own. It was a mistake. Once again, his vision went out and he could only make out rough outlines of what was happening in front of him.
The red blur shifted and Ruby shouted. The white outline didn't make any noise, not even a grunt. Then the Red just fell over, Crescent Rose making a racket as the metal weapon clattered against the stone floor. "Ruby!" Jaune thought he might have shouted, but his voice came out hoarse and breathless. It was then he realized how hard he was panting, just struggling to take in enough oxygen to remain conscious.
Thud
Thud
Shirou's white boots seemed to echo with every step he took, the noise bouncing around inside his head as the terrifying, unstoppable, presence came to a stop just in front of him.
He had to move. He had to move. He had to move. He had to freaking move! Didn't his body get it? If he didn't move he was going to die.
Jaune screamed at his legs to do something. They couldn't possibly fail him now, not after all this bullshit. Had he really, truly failed at breaking that scroll? Had everything he done this whole night been for freaking nothing?
A shadow loomed over head.
His eyes jerked up, refocusing in on the pale hand that reached forward, fingers extended. Then what little oxygen his lungs were capable of sucking in was cut off. A strong, iron grip clenched around his throat and Jaune was lifted to his feet by a power not of his own.
Struggled choking grunts escaped his lips, the noises not anything in the realm of being recognizable as human. His vision returned when he was eye-level with Shirou's slanted gaze. To be that tall, Jaune knew his legs must have been dangling off the ground but he couldn't even tell.
Weakly, Jaune's arms came up and his hands gripped the sleeve of Shirou's right arm, the same arm holding him up and was squeezing the life from his already failing body. It wasn't anything like a final act of defiance. Rather, it was more just like his body doing the only thing it knew how any more.
Black closed in from all sides, swallowing his consciousness with a terrible, unstoppable approach. His grip weakened even more than it already was and as his hands began to fall they pulled back on the white sleeve. The cuff of the jacket rolled back and exposed Shirou's broken scroll.
Broken scroll.
It took Jaune's oxygen deprived brain several attempts to work the significance of that out.
Finally, it clicked and his lidded eyes widened, gaping mouth forming a condescending smirk. "I won." He didn't actually get to say this, only able to mouth the words. It was enough and with a terribly unsportsmanlike grunt, Shirou released his hold on Jaune's throat and the leader of Auburn collapsed back to his butt.
The black tendrils around the edge of his vision receded and he took in air like it was going out of style. Feeling even began to return to his legs in the form of a numb tingling sensation. It didn't bother him what form the feeling came back in, just glad to feel anything at all.
Shirou gave another grunt, as if to say he was more important than anything Jaune had going on and folded both arms in front of himself. "Yes, yes, yes. You broke my scroll. Do you want a medal?" He practically spat and turned to look at the wall.
"I don't want a medal…" Jaune spoke as quickly as his returning breath would allow. Which wasn't very. "...I want you to go put an end to this like you promised." There was a loud roar behind him followed by a crash. The Grimm Dragon was still wreaking havoc and as much as he hated to admit it, Shirou was the only one that could stop it.
The headmaster snorted. "I don't recall saying I would kill all the remaining Grimm just because you broke my scroll. I simply won't have the means to call anymore."
"Uncle!" Weiss snapped dryly. She had already gotten off her butt and was helping a still wobbly Blake to her feet. Ruby was back up, leaning on Crescent Rose like a crutch. "Quit pouting like a sore loser and clean up your mess!"
"..." Shirou turned to regard his niece for a couple seconds before lifting his nose to the air like a cat rejecting its food. "...No! If you want it done, figure it out yourselves."
How did he expect them to do that?! In case he hadn't noticed, none of them were exactly in any kind of fighting condition. If Jaune so much as tried to stand in the next immediate couple seconds he might really pass out. Blake was still running on zero Aura and the fact she had been capable of fighting at all after the Hydra practically tore her to shreds was a miracle.
The whole side of Weiss' face was bruised from when he'd slammed her on the ground and he wouldn't be surprised if she had a concussion. Not to mention her Aura must have been gone too after using so many glyphs. Ruby... it didn't even look like she had the strength left to pick up Crescent Rose, let alone swing that giant garden tool in an effort to kill a freaking dragon. Unless she had some mystical Grimm-slaying superpowers he didn't know about, he would say she wasn't going to contribute much.
He didn't know about how everyone else was doing, but he would be willing to bet the odds weren't exactly in their favor. They would have killed it already if that was a possibility. As it stood, they must all have been far too exhausted from the constant combat already to actually put up any kind of a real fight. Which was why the Grimm Dragon was advancing, possibly having already killed someone in its march of destruction.
And if Jaune was smart enough to know all this, than Shirou undoubtably knew it too.
"Uncle..." Weiss growled. "Kill. that. Dragon. Now!"
"...Fine!" Shirou threw his hands in the air after she had ordered him like one would a child. "I'll do it already. Geez..."
Jaune, Blake and Ruby all raised an eyebrow at the unusual display. Was he really that upset that he had lost? Jaune had never pegged him as the type of person that would throw a tantrum like a little brat when he didn't get his way. Now that he considered it, maybe it wasn't all that surprising, after all.
Shirou stalked past him, grumbling unintelligibly beneath his breath the whole way.
Jaune turned his head to follow him with his eyes and he caught Charlotte watching him with the same expression, eyebrows quirked and mouth half-agape like she was both simultaneously disgusted and enthralled. They both locked blue eyes with one another and shrugged.
Whatever, at least he was helping now.
This game was finally almost over.
Sun didn't know how much longer they could keep this up before someone finally died.
He and his team stayed behind to fend off the Grimm Dragon while Pyrrha and and the others attempted to drag everyone off. The redhead had been against it at first but her partner wouldn't let her near the monstrous Grimm. It was all the better, seeing as how exhausted she was. She had been fighting the longest and hardest of all of them.
For all the good it had done them.
Their injured had nearly doubled when those vines had collapsed all around them and they were pretty much restricted to a single narrow path to try and escape. Towering flames guaranteed they couldn't search for another route without getting cooked alive. Fortunately, the others had managed to put some distance between themselves and the Dragon now but that wasn't going to last long if Sun and his team bit it.
Which he really didn't see how this could end any other way. There was no way for them to do any serious damage to the damn thing. Scarlet and Neptune still had dust rounds available but neither of their ammunition so much as stunned the giant creature. Sun and Sage could only attack physically, Sun having run out of ammo and using his staff, Sage only having his giant claymore. Which was about as effective as the Dust was. In other words, not at all. The four of them were pretty quickly sent scampering, resorting to doing anything and everything to get in even a cheap shot.
"Damn this sucks." Sun landed in a heap. He had only just dodged a claw of the Grimm when it stomped down for the wind pressure alone to send him flying. By some miracle he hadn't gotten tossed into any flames or that would have been it then and there. His Aura was tanked so that wouldn't protect him anymore tonight.
"I'm never going to complain about water again." Neptune coughed and wheezed, stumbling through the smoke and nearly tripping over his leader. The normally stylish teen was covered in soot and dirt, his goggles pulled down just to see anymore.
"I don't think you're ever going to have anything to complain about ever again." Scarlet plopped down next to Sun, simply sitting with his legs crossed as if he had given up. Which didn't sound like a bad idea.
"Gah!" Sage bounced off the ground a couple yards ahead and skid to a stop just short of them. He attempted to push himself up but only got to his hands and knees when the Grimm Dragon stepped down behind him and in front of the rest of them. The whole Canyon tremored and Sage was sent collapsing face-first back into the dirt.
Sun would've fallen down too if he wasn't already sitting. Three pairs of eyes looked up into the red emptiness of the Dragon's glowing orbs. Yep, it was official. They were screwed. He really thought they might make it after Jaune came back from the dead too.
The Dragon's maw opened wide and it unleashed a bellowing roar. The wind pressure alone was nearly strong enough to send the team flying through the air. Smaller vines went whipping by and the flames contorted and danced.
In the midst of all this, was a flash of white.
The Dragon's roar stopped short. It continued to stare down at them, mouth wide and open as if it was still trying to roar and eyes fierce as ever. But there was a certain unnatural tint to it now. Like it was merely frozen in that position.
Then it happened. The head… just fell off. Right like that. One second it was attached to its neck, the next it was tumbling and rolling through the air. With a loud and wet smack it hit the floor and blood scattered in every conceivable direction.
If Sun thought the shock wave from the head hitting the ground was powerful, that was nothing compared to when the body followed. He thought for sure the walls of the canyon would crack and rocks would rain down on them any minute from the subsequent earthquake. Fortunately for them all, nothing like that happened.
They had survived.
And the Grimm Dragon was dead.
Just like that and someone had killed it.
"Honestly. You kids have so much to learn." There was no chance to relax, the headmaster's voice causing Sun to go more rigid than before. It was like the whole world was just trying to play one big prank on him. He survived against that Dragon only to now have to face him? A man who must have killed Jaune and the others just to get past.
"Next time just aim for the neck." Shirou Schnee practically sighed as he appeared from the smoke and flames. "Anything will die if you just cut off its head off." He wasn't injured at all and he wore the same cocky grin as always. "Anyways, now that I've taught you a valuable lesson in Grimm slaying, I say we just let bygones be bygones. Sound good?"
The roar of the flames around them was the only sound to be heard for several seconds as Sun and his team came to terms with what had just happened. First and most importantly, they had survived. Second and almost equally as crucial, the man that was behind this whole predicament was directly in front of them.
"...You bastard!" Sun forgot all about his previous battle fatigue and everything that happened in front of him just a moment ago. The only thing he saw or cared about was beating the ass of the guy responsible. It didn't matter how scary or unstoppable this guy was.
He was on his feet before he knew it and stalking forward with a single goal in mind. Somewhere in the back of his subconscious he realized his whole team had taken to striding along right next to him, even Sage who had been on the verge of passing out.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Only to all stop short when Jaune came sprinting around Shirou Schnee's back, hands waving frantically.
"J-Jaune… you're alive. Holy shit." Twice now he thought the kid had been killed and twice now he had been proven wrong. He was one tenacious bastard, that was for sure. And Sun couldn't be happier. They'd only shared a few sentences with one another but Jaune had literally saved his life against that Deathstalker and then gave them all hope when most had given up.
"Yes, yes, Mister Arc escaped with his life, we're all very surprised, but can we focus on that later? I need to borrow someone's Scroll. Mine has unfortunately been destroyed." Just like that, Shirou killed the moment as he asked possibly the most disturbing question Sun had ever heard.
"You must be joking." Sage practically spit, hefting his claymore up and glowering. Sun agreed with the sentiment, bringing his own weapon back to a ready position.
"Oh for crying out loud, we don't have time for this!" Weiss appeared next, followed closely by Blake and Ruby. The Heiress stomped up to Sun and snagged the device from his hip before the faunus could react.
"W-what're you doing?" Why was she taking his Scroll in particular?
"Only the leader's Scrolls are working." Blake answered as if she had read his mind. "Jaune broke his too so yours is going to have to do."
"Are you on guys on his side!?" Neptune stepped forward as if to take the scroll back but Weiss only rolled her eyes at them and handed the device to her Uncle before he could do anything definitive.
"Everyone just calm down! The game is over!" Jaune held his hands up, still trying to somehow maintain the peace for God knew what reason.
"How can you of all people defend him?" Scarlet gestured to the blond and his injuries. They weren't few either. He did not paint a pretty picture with a welt on his head, scar on his arm, hole in his shirt, and blood covering one pant leg completely. "Have you seen what he's done to you? You look like you died three different times!"
"To be fair, I've nearly died every encounter I've had since I started training to become a Huntsmen. I'm starting to think it's an occupational hazard." Jaune paused long enough to chuckle at his own joke. No one joined him. "Look, I'm not saying this test wasn't cruel and unusual but right now we need him to call us a flight back to Lambent. In case no one else has noticed, we're kind of trapped down here right now. You guys can file all the complaints you want when we get back."
Reluctantly - very reluctantly - Sun decided to listen to reason and took a step back, stance going lax and shoulders sagging. He was tired and wanted to go home. If working with this bastard was the solution to that, then he would do his best not to strangle him.
"Help is officially on the way. You can all thank me now." Shirou gave a deep bow before tossing the scroll back to Weiss. Sun's eye twitched and he had to repeat to himself to stand down and just let it slide an additional three times before he really felt like he was able to believe it.
"Ren and Nora?" Ruby asked, suddenly next to him. The last she had seen either of them she had dumped them with him and Neptune to be patched up.
That was right. The others didn't know everything was over yet. "They're both fine. Everyone is alive, at least, they all were last we knew." Sun turned to his partner. "Neptune, take her to the others and let them know it's over and that we're going home."
"Got'cha." Neptune and Ruby took off and after only several yards disappeared into the smoke and flames. Even with the Dragon gone, most of its body already disintegrated, the results of its rampage didn't let up one bit. Sun really hoped the ship could get them in all this.
"While we wait for our ship to arrive, does anyone want to play a game? I think I got a deck of cards somewhere." Shirou talked nonchalantly as he patted around his coat in search of those cards.
Everyone left glared at him so maliciously, it actually looked like they might jump him again, truce or whatever it was keeping them back be damned. "He's joking! I'm sure he's joking!" Everyone not Jaune, anyways, who immediately got in between them and Shirou again.
"No, I seriously think I have a deck of cards somewhere." Jaune's head and arms fell as Shirou continued to make matters worse.
"I'm trying to prevent a mutiny here." He whispered at him through grit teeth.
"Oh you're no fun."
"You've had plenty of fun today at our expense already!"
Sun didn't care anymore. He wanted to wring the headmaster's neck but it was too much effort. He also wanted to know why Jaune was so adamantly defending him but doubted he would understand the answer even if he told him. So he was done.
They had all survived... and right now that was all that really mattered.
Chapter End
AN: So the final battle against Shirou was a little shorter than the original.
To make up for that, I did extend the part after they broke the scroll. Coeur had originally suggested in the first version that I draw out the reveal and play on the doubts of whether or not they broke the scroll a little longer, but I didn't have a good idea for how to properly do that at the time. I'm actually kind of proud with the way it turned out now that I've finally listened to his advice, just years later.
All in all, this was the most rewritten chapter yet and that feels right that it should be just before the end.
Next time is the epilogue.