My longest chapter ever. I... didn't see this one coming.

Chapter 8: Forever Fall

As the clock drew closer to twelve, the lights in each Beacon dormitory clicked off one by one. Some were more stubborn, others turned off and back on, but as the midnight chime drew near, only a few remained lit. Team JNPR's dorm was one of those.

Nora sat on her bed, tapping her feet on the carpet. She had changed into a grey t-shirt and pink shorts dotted with lightning bolts, and the fact that she wasn't bouncing off the walls was evident of how tired she was. Ren was lying down with his eyes closed.

Pyrrha flipped through her textbook, blinking to stop her eyes from crossing. Truthfully, there was no reason for her to be doing so. Every bit of work she'd been assigned was already finished, and studying such entry-level topics wasn't doing any good. It was just a way to keep her mind off the drama. Ren was sullen, Nora had half her usual energy, and—

"Where's Jaune?" Nora finally asked. "He's been getting back late every night, and we hardly see him during the day."

"He's become scarce since he started fraternizing with Cardin," said Ren. "Quite a turnaround considering their earlier interactions."

"You're right, that is weird. I know the teachers said we should make friends with other teams, but shouldn't he be hanging out with us more? And getting more rest? He knows we have a field trip tomorrow."

Pyrrha closed her textbook with a snap. "Don't worry Nora," she said in a patronizing tone. "You should have more faith in our leader. I'm sure Jaune knows exactly what he's doing."

Jaune bolted up the stairs as fast as his sore muscles would let him. Each footfall made an audible clop that echoed through the empty hall. Not the most polite way to behave at this time of night, although courtesy was the last thing on his mind right now.

He had just spent the last two hours in the library, struggling through a triple serving of homework—Or was it dorm work?—from Professor Peach. Double because of a prank that Cardin had forced him to pull in her class that morning, and triple because Cardin had pawned his own work off on him as well.

There hadn't even been enough time for Jaune to finish his own assignment. The librarian had all but kicked him out the door, and now he had to hurry to not be locked out of his own dorm. Cardin had to come first, or there would be hell to pay. That meant three distinctly different and well-researched essays on aspects of the Forever Fall forest, typed, stapled, and given to Professor Peach before the field trip the next morning. He had managed to get Cardin's done, but the two of his own were still incomplete and with the library closed he had no way to finish them.

Jaune paused outside of the JNPR dorm. He was relieved to see light coming from under the door, but that wouldn't make the conversation with his team any easier. Already he was thinking up excuses, anticipating the questions that Pyrrha and Nora would surely ask. Nothing he could say would change their opinion of him, and that thought filled Jaune with dread. Even if he could keep Cardin's mouth shut for the remaining three years and however many weeks, he had already failed his team. Still, standing outside wouldn't change anything. He had to just muster up the courage and open the door.

His hand was just reaching for the knob when Jaune heard the sound of another door swinging open. He froze, then whirled around to see who it was. Ruby, wearing a Beowulf sleep mask and pajamas polka-dotted with roses, looked up at him wide-eyed.

"Hey, Jaune!" she said, breaking the silence. "I haven't seen you all week."

"That's not too surprising. It's, uh, been a busy one."

Ruby frowned. "I'm sure it has, but it's something more than that. I talked to Nora the other day, and she said you were avoiding them. Not only that, but you were hanging out with Cardin! That just doesn't make sense after how much of a jerk he was to you. What's actually going on?"

"I…" Jaune sputtered, searching for an excuse and not finding one. The look in Ruby's eyes showed that lies weren't going to work any more. That realization made everything come tumbling out. "I really screwed up. Cardin knows something about me, and I can't let anyone find out. He makes me do all his homework, and avoid my own team, and now Pyrrha won't even talk to me."

He let out a shuddering breath and slid his back down the wall to sit. "I'm starting to think I've made a bad decision coming here. Even if I deal with Cardin, then I've still failed as a leader. It's only been two weeks and my team already hates me."

"Nope," said Ruby, joining him on the floor. "You're not allowed to be a failure."

"Oh yeah? Well, what if I fail at being a leader? I mean, hell, I already have."

"Nope."

"Well, you're certainly making this easy for me."

"Jaune, maybe you thought you were a failure when you didn't get into Beacon. Maybe you thought you thought you were a failure when you arrived. Maybe you still think you're one right now. But that ends here. Once you stand up, you will no longer be a failure."

"I wish it worked like that."

"It has to work like that, Jaune, because it's not just your decision anymore."

"Uhh, why?"

"Because of what you just said! You're a leader now, with your own team. I am, too. And it's not fair to bring down the three other people we're in charge of because we're not strong enough." Ruby stood and began to walk back to her room. "Your team needs a good leader, Jaune, and it's not too late for that leader to be you. Goodnight!"

The door closed, leaving the hallway silent and empty again. Jaune took a few deep breaths to calm his heartbeat, which was still elevated from his frantic race up the stairs. He couldn't take too long, though. Who knew how long he'd have before his team turned off the lights for the night, making his impending conversation with them even more awkward.

Bzz! Bzz! Buzzed Jaune's scroll from his pocket. His slowed heartbeat jolted back to a rapid beat as he read the name on the screen. Cardin Winchester.

Jaune raised the phone to his ear. "Y… yes?" he managed to choke out.

"Hey, Jauney-boy!" boomed Cardin's voice from the speakers. "How's it going, my pal?"

Cringe. "I don't have time for this, Cardin. Just tell me what you want done."

His roaring laugh made the line crackle. "Easy, brother! Can't two friends talk for a minute? That essay better be done."

Jaune sighed. Doing Cardin's work was enough trouble without putting up with the guy himself. "Yes, Cardin, it's done."

"Great! Now, I know it's late, but I need one more little thing tonight. I've been hatching my latest plot, and boy is it a good one. Head out to the woods next to the school. Bring a jar with you, and don't bother coming back until you've filled it up with rapier wasps. And make sure those puppies have some nasty stingers!"

That was far from a little thing. Traipsing through the woods in the middle of the night was bad enough, not to mention against the rules. Minor Grimm were rumored to be found there. Rapier wasps, on the other hand, were probably the most dangerous creatures on campus, unless an Ursa happened to wander through. They were infamous for their aggressiveness and powerful sting, and could do so multiple times if provoked for some reason… such as trying to catch them in a jar. Trying to do so in the dark would be tantamount to suicide.

Almost as worrying was what Cardin would do with the bugs. Or more accurately, what he would make Jaune do with them. If he was going to get expelled, better to have it be for cheating than for a dangerous prank that sent a student to the hospital. Whatever it was, it would probably happen the next day, during the field trip.

Ruby's words came to mind. If the prank got someone from his team hurt, there would be no one to blame but himself. He would betray the trust, however misguided, that the Headmaster, Ozpin, had placed in him. Maybe, just maybe Cardin would forget about it by morning. Jaune just had to talk him out of it until then. Pleading had never worked, so he had to try something new.

With as much confidence as he could summon, Jaune said, "No, I can't get any tonight. Sorry about that."

"Say that again?"

"I… I can't get you the wasps tonight."

"Was that our deal, Jauney-boy? That you get things done when you can? Well, I can just skip down to the office and let slip the details about your admission."

"Don't!" hissed Jaune as the scroll went silent, praying that Cardin hadn't hung up. "Please, listen to me for a second." So much for being confident.

"I'm listening."

"Then… I just think it'll be better to get the wasps in the morning. They'll be, uh, fresher."

"Fine. To be honest, I could care less when you get them. As long as we have them by the time we leave for the field trip, everything will go nice and smoothly. Have fun. Bye!"

Jaune let out a huge breath as he fell to his knees in relief. The moment was cut short by the sound of footsteps from under the door of his dorm. With the sweat wiped from his brow and a quick finger-comb of his hair, Jaune walked to the door. Once again his hand hesitated on the knob. This hesitation, however, only lasted for a moment. He opened the door and slipped inside moments before the room went dark.

The roaring turbine motors drowned out the wind as the bullhead descended. Fifteen feet above the ground, the draft from the spinning blades blasted red and golden from the ground, leaving a circle of mud and twigs. A motorized door slid open on each side of the craft. Glynda waved students away from the doors, shouting at them to wait until the Bullhead landed. For once, no one listened to her. The engine was too loud and the surrounding forest too beautiful. Clumps of cherry-red trees stretched to the horizon, and their fallen leaves practically screamed of autumn.

As soon as the last students got their feet on the ground, Glynda addressed the group by saying, "Alright, students, please listen to me for a minute. As I said before, Professor Peach is sick. I will be supervising instead. Some of you may not be happy about that, but you should be glad I volunteered. Otherwise, we would have cancelled the trip and sent you all to a study hall. Wouldn't you rather be here?

"Now, Forever Fall is a breathtaking place, but don't forget about your assignment: collecting a jar of sap each and taking a page of notes on its properties. And above all, please be careful. This is a natural place. That means there is a chance you could encounter some Grimm. Do not engage if you see one, and come straight to me. Telling other students could cause a panic that would draw more Grimm to the area.

"We'll meet back here at four o'clock. I'm the only teacher here, so please, stay with your teams and out of trouble."

Jaune was relieved to hear that last part. Last night he'd finally explained what was happening to his team. He hadn't mentioned the cheating or Cardin's blackmail specifically, but Pyrrha already knew about the former and could probably connect the dots. Whatever additional risk was incurred by sharing his plight was outweighed by the relief that he was finally being honest with them—at least in part. He'd also promised to spend as much of the field trip with them as he could.

That had been last night. This morning, on the other hand, had so far been a total drag. If Jaune had hoped that Cardin would forget about the wasps overnight, that hope was shattered by a 6:00 wake-up call that had sent him scurrying for the woods. One mostly-full jar of wasps later he had returned, still exhausted and miraculously free of stings. Facing a nest of aggressive insects didn't seem so bad, compared to facing Cardin.

"Hey, Cardin, over there!" shouted the squeaky voice of Russel. "Look, we found him!"

Sky, Dove, and Russel trotted up and seized Jaune by his wrists. Cardin followed behind slowly, the hint of a smile on his face as Jaune struggled. He spat out the twig he'd been holding between his teeth and said, "Were you running away from us?"

Jaune gulped and shook his head. "No way."

"Huh. Well, in that case, Boys—" he gestured to Sky, Dove, and Russel, "—you can release him. But you'd better not go anywhere."

Jaune was released—after one more round of punches, that is. He rubbed his arms for a second, then reached into his bag to pull out the jar of wasps. Taking great pains not to drop it, he held it out to Cardin like an offering. The boy grabbed it with no similar degree of care.

"Damn," he said, peering at the two dozen or so fat wasps inside, "you really did get them. Nice job, Jauney-boy."

Jaune nodded glumly, only thinking of what they would be used for.

"So," Cardin continued, "as much as I want to use these, we can't quite yet. Our assignment isn't done. Mind taking care of it for us?"

"You, me, Sky, Dove, and Russel. That's five jars of sap?"

"Make that six."

"What? Why's that?"

"Why? 'Cause I said so, shithead. Now grab six jars from the crate over by the Bullhead and fill 'em up. We'll be here. And don't even think about slinking off to your own team, because I'll know."

It wasn't like Jaune would have done that anyway. After going back on his promise to his team to stay with them during the field trip, he doubted they wanted to see his sorry ass, anyway. What would he tell them this time? Better not to think about it just yet.

Jaune found the jars and managed to sneak back into the forest while avoiding Glynda, Team RWBY, and of course, his own team. Six jars was a lot, but there was no shortage of trees. A single trunk could contain a dozen jars of sap. The tricky part was getting it out. Crocea Mors could carve up the bark no problem, but would struggle to get through the soft, gummy wood on the inside. The inner layers were coated with sap, but there was no practical way to extract it from the wood. At the tree's heart was a cylindrical reservoir with all the sap Jaune needed. His sword just wasn't the right tool to puncture it. You needed a drill, or at the very least a spear to get that far.

Unless that is, someone got there for you. Jaune had followed the pungent sweet smell down the hall and froze when he reached the bottom of it. A half-dozen trees had been ripped open to their centers. Chunks of bark and long splinters of wood littered the ground, and the standing parts of each tree had been scored by claws that were at least an inch thick.

Whatever was responsible for dismembering the trees had taken with it most of the sap. Fortunately, it hadn't been patient or thorough. Leftover sap had dripped down the hollowed-out trunk and settled in pools at the bottom. The amount varied per tree but came out to around two-thirds of a jar per tree. With Jaune needing six jars and having no desire to hack open more trees, he hoped two-thirds would be enough. After all, no one said the jars had to be full.

With the sticky jars packed carefully into his bag, Jaune began to sneak back to Team CRDL. Once again, he hoped nobody would notice him. The clinking glass made that almost impossible. The slower you went, the louder the jars seemed. Eventually, he abandoned stealth and began to lunge up the hill as quick as he could. He moved so carelessly that he nearly barreled into Ren as he passed the crest of the hill.

Ren stepped smoothly out of the way. Jaune came to halt. He waited for the anger, for the questions, but Ren said nothing. Of course. He just frowned and gave Jaune a sharp glance before he continued down the hill. Coming from Ren, that was derision of the highest order. Still, he had gotten lucky. If Ren was around, then Nora was probably close by.

"Ren! Rehhhhnnn!"

In fact, there was her voice right now. No time to waste. Jaune took off running again, wincing at the clamor accompanying each step. Despite saying that they weren't going to move, Cardin and his gang weren't where he'd left them. They had migrated across the clearing and atop another small hill, where they were lazily resting under the shade of a tree. Bitterness welled inside Jaune, and at the top of the hill he roughly dumped the bag of jars on Cardin. It was nothing but a petty attempt to get even, but still managed to be satisfying. That satisfaction faded as Cardin caught the bag without a hitch.

"—four, five, and six," he counted. "Good work, Jauney-boy. The other teams are still on their first jar."

Russel darted up from the far side of the hill, evidently back from another reconnaissance mission.

"Hey, Cardin! She's back."

"Who's back?" asked Jaune.

Cardin rose from his sprawled out position. "I don't know," he said, in a voice that made it clear he did. "Why don't we go and see?"

Jaune peered down into the forest and swore. There was only one person they could be talking about. Pyrrha was collecting sap from a hole she had poked in a tree at the base of the hill. She was busy and far enough away to be oblivious to the five people watching her.

"That stuck-up bitch," Cardin whined. "She's always showing off, always telling me off in class."

"She is a bitch," piped up Sky, "but man, what would you pay for a roll with that?"

Blood rushed to Jaune's head as he realized what they were talking about. He wanted to speak, but his voice would do nothing but catch.

Cardin scoffed. "I wouldn't pay her one red cent. She doesn't deserve it. But I do see where you're coming from."

"Guys!" Jaune finally managed to say. "D-Don't talk about her like that. I mean it."

"What, you think it's going to hurt her feelings? She'll never know unless you tell her."

"Just because she can't hear you doesn't mean it's right."

"Just because it isn't right doesn't mean that I care. Jaune, why don't you drop the act? That girl doesn't give a rat's ass about you."

"No thanks to you, Cardin."

"Keep on believing, you little sap," he teased. "It's not important to me. After all, I just want my revenge."

"On her?"

There was no answer. Instead, he passed Jaune one of the jars.

"So, I bet you're wondering: 'Why did my buddy, Cardin, tell me to get six jars of sap, when there's only five of us? And what are those wasps for?' Well, I'll tell you. Rapier wasps aren't just known for being aggressive. They also looove sweets. Sap included. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"Maybe?" Jaune lied.

Cardin pointed down the hill at Pyrrha, who was still gathering from the tree. "Hit her with the sap and the wasps. Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch."

And there it was. A kill or be killed situation. Or, more accurately, kill and be killed anyway. Jaune would either burn his last bridges with Pyrrha and his team or be expelled and burn them anyway. No matter how strictly he adhered to Cardin's demands, the boy would run his mouth anyway for the hell of it, as soon as he got bored. When all roads led to disaster, why not pick the one that came with some bittersweet payback?

"No," said Jaune, adjusting his sweaty grip on the jar.

"You know, my friend, that's the second time in twelve hours you've told me that. I'm starting to think you've forgotten our—"

"I said, no!" hissed Jaune, as he swung his trembling arm up and over.

Pyrrha watched as Nora stumbled back over to her, with Ren close behind. She rolled her eyes at the purple stain around Nora's mouth.

"Nora, you're not supposed to drink the sap," she said.

"You took mine as well," Ren added.

Nora was hyperactive enough on her own that all coffee, tea, and soda couldn't be left out in the dorm; hey had to be locked up. After inhaling two jars of pure sap, she was halfway between a manic fit and a stupor. Her eyes would droop, only to pop to the top of her sockets along with a burst of giggling. Ren looked entirely unconcerned.

"She's done this before," he said. "It's nothing to worry about."

Pyrrha looked at the jar in Ren's hand, which was all but empty. She asked, "I'm guessing you need more sap? There's plenty left in my tree. Here, give me Nora's jar and we can fill both of them. She's had more than enough to drink already."

Nora burped. It was a loud, slurpy belch, which fortunately was not accompanied by emesis. But something… something was off about the sound. It was impossibly loud and deep, and it seemed to come from the surrounding forest rather than Nora herself. It was after the girl's mouth closed and the sound continued that Pyrrha realized what it was.

"Did you hear that?" she asked as the forest went silent.

Ren looked at Nora. "I should hope I heard it."

Pyrrha shook her head. "There was another sound. A deeper one, coming from the forest. It belonged to a Grimm, a big one."

"Which one?"

"I'm not sure. From what it sounded like, I think it was an—"

"Ursa!" shouted a voice. "That's a big Ursa!"

From the woods came running a boy with a mohawk of faded green hair showing blond at the roots. His hair and clothes were honeycombed with twigs, and somehow he'd lost a shoe. As he drew closer, Pyrrha identified him as Russel, one of Cardin's accomplices. Ugh. Even the thought of Cardin was painful. He was clearly responsible for Jaune's self-imposed isolation. From what Jaune had said the previous night, Cardin had some dirt on him. Ren and Nora were completely in the dark, but Pyrrha knew about Jaune's cheating. It wouldn't be a stretch for Cardin to have found out about it, and used that information as leverage.

Pyrrha was surprised to see Team RWBY cresting the hill toward them. Ruby was leading the group and arrived at the bottom of the hill just as Russel did.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked. "What was that sound? Is everyone O.K.?"

"There's a big Ursa out there!" repeated Russel. "I… I think it got Cardin! He needs—hurk!" His babbling was cut short as Yang grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Is anyone else there?" she asked as she shook him. "And where is it?"

"It's in the woods, right where I ran from. Maybe two minutes away. Dove and Sky ran the other way. Cardin's still there! Oh, and that other kid."

Jaune, Pyrrha thought.

Ruby reached for her scythe.

Seeing the uneasy glances the others gave her, she said, "I know Glynda told us not to engage, but we can't let anyone get hurt. We'll only fight if someone's in trouble."

"I'll go," said Pyrrha.

Nora had chosen the worst time to collapse. Evidently, she had tired herself out giggling. Ren caught her as her knees buckled and lowered her slowly to the ground, where she began to snore. A quick shake confirmed that she wouldn't be waking up in a hurry.

Pyrrha made a snap decision.

"Two people come with me," she said, "while the others get Nora out of here."

Ruby nodded and said, "Weiss and I can go. Russel, you can—Oh, he left. Blake and Yang, you two help out Ren."

Yang didn't look too happy about being assigned carrying duty, but she went with it anyway. Blake followed her silently, while Pyrrha, Ruby, and Weiss took off deeper into the woods.

Jaune didn't know whether to be relieved or scared out of his mind. Just a few minutes earlier he'd been dragged bodily through the mud. He'd been kicked and beaten by Cardin and his team. A few scrapes and a black eye was as bad as his injuries got. At least he had an aura nowadays to protect from the worst of it. Now he had escaped that fate, but was facing the very real possibility of being eaten by an Ursa. An Ursa Major, to be exact, judging from the spines crowning its back.

It was after the sap, of course, that Jaune had not-so-accidentally thrown at Cardin, covering his shirt and armor in sticky goo. For the Ursa, the combination of human-scent and sap-scent was irresistible. It chased him with laser focus, smashing through trees that the boy had managed to squeeze between.

As tempting as it was to dismiss the attack as a fitting punishment, Jaune knew deep down that he couldn't just leave Cardin to be killed. Having thrown the sap, he felt partially responsible. From where he was—crouched under a log—he was safe, but if Cardin ended up as an appetizer, Jaune would be the main course. He had to either run away or help. And running away would make him no better than Cardin's cronies, who were nowhere to be found. So much for loyalty to their leader.

Of all the reasons to take action, that last one seemed the most appealing. Forced or not, Jaune wanted to prove he gave more of a rat's ass about Cardin's life than his team did. If that didn't knock some sense into the bully, nothing ever would. That, and he regretted being the only one who hadn't landed a single attack on a Grimm during initiation. Whether anyone cared about that detail didn't matter to Jaune. He had something to prove.

"Shit!" Cardin yelled as a claw whistled over his head. He was running out of trees to hide behind and walked with a limp.

In a graceful leap at odds with its three-ton weight, the Ursa leapt straight over Cardin and quickly turned, cutting off his path to the next clump of trees. It swiped again, a blow that Cardin attempted to block with his mace. The heavy claw simply had too much momentum and all but forced the weapon from his hand.

The sight of Cardin being disarmed was enough to spur Jaune into moving. During their last fight his shield had been nothing but something to hide behind—this time it would do some good. He ran in front of the stunned Cardin and held up the transformed sheath of Crocea Mors, trying not to flinch as the enormous clawed forearm of the Grimm swept towards him.

Jaune braced himself for pain or a strong impact, but there was none. Only a bright flash of light as the Ursa recoiled, as if it had struck an invisible wall.

Jaune will be alright, Pyrrha repeated to herself as she scanned the trees. He's going to be alright. Everyone will be.

"You asked for two of us, Pyrrha," said Weiss. "What's this plan of yours?"

She pursed her lips. "No plan, I'm afraid. I just felt it was the right number of people."

"I've got a plan!" added Ruby. "We, uh, find it and take it down. After making sure all the students aren't hurt, that is."

The three of them followed the sound of roars and trunks crashing to the ground until they reached a stump-littered clearing. Well, at least now it was a clearing. Jaune crouched facing a gigantic Ursa with his shield up and over Cardin, who was struggling to crawl away on an injured ankle. Pyrrha flinched as the creature swung its arm at the comparatively tiny shield She expected the white-and-gold heater to be batted away by the swing, but it was the Ursa that was sent flying instead, accompanied by a flash that was blinding even in the sun.

"What was that?" Ruby asked. "That wasn't Jaune's semblance, was it?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "I don't believe it was."

"Excuse me," said Weiss, "but are we just going to stand here? That was a very nice block and all, but still…"

Pyrrha looked at the Grimm that was just getting back to its feet, then at Jaune. He still hadn't noticed them. "Just wait here for now. Trust me."

The Ursa was getting back up, and Cardin was still crawling away. Jaune continued to stare at his shield, seemingly confused by the light that had been emitted from it. At the last second, he remembered the Ursa and raised it with a yelp. The beast's claw jabbed forward straight into the shield. This time there was no light or explosion. Sharp claws raked across the metal, chipping the paint before wrapping around the shield's rim. With Jaune's only source of protection pinned in place, the Ursa readied its other arm.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help him?" asked Weiss, with growing concern on her face.

Pyrrha nodded, although she didn't do so with complete confidence. She pointed one hand in the direction of Jaune and furrowed her brow. Almost immediately the metal began to wriggle and warp, twisting itself out of the Ursa's clawed grip. The shield slipped free and Jaune stumbled back, leaving the other claw to whistle through empty air. She let out a deep breath.

Weiss looked from Pyrrha's outstretched arm to the slightly deformed shield in Jaune's hands.

"What did you do—" she asked. "You know what, never mind."

Having taken a few hits and lived to tell the tale, Jaune's initial hesitation had faded. Instead of waiting for the Ursa to close the distance, he went on the attack, taking out his sword. To a creature so large it was looked more like a dagger—maybe even a toothpick.

The Grimm lowered its head in preparation for a charge or bite. It lumbered forward, still wary of the explosion that had struck it earlier. Its unarmored neck hung low and within striking distance. Jaune leaped up and swung his sword, like he was suspicious of how easy it all seemed.

Sure enough, the movement was a feint. The Ursa reared its head back, leaving Jaune's attack far out of reach. Its right arm swept across in a lightning-fast strike. He managed to raise his shield to his hip, but from the sidelines Pyrrha could see that it wouldn't be high enough. The strike would tear right through his shoulder, and in all likelihood his aura couldn't do a thing to stop it.

Images of a bloodied and dying boy flashed before Pyrrha's eyes. She willed them to stop, then raised her arm again and concentrated.

Immediately, Jaune's shield swung up to protect his neck and shoulder, bringing his arm with it. His sword, on its way down and well short of its target, came to life in his hand and leaped for the beast's throat with more force than he could have ever mustered. It passed through fur, skin, muscle, bone, and connective tissue. There was no slicing or puncturing. The metal simply forced its way through the Ursa's stubby hide with the sheer force that was behind it. Putrid smoke billowed from the stump as its head fell to the ground. Its right claw, carried forward by momentum, deflected harmlessly off Jaune's shield. It knocked him out of the air, but left him unharmed. In less than five seconds, a potentially deadly situation had turned into a victory.

Pyrrha hastily dropped her arm as Ruby and Weiss turned on her.

"Did you do that?" asked Ruby. "That was amazing."

Weiss was colder in her inquiry.

"I know you did something," she said. "Explain yourself."

"I guess you could say it's my semblance. Just like your glyphs or Ruby's speed. Mine is polarity. It gives me a limited degree of telepathic control over magnetic substances."

Weiss nodded.

"And you used that to influence the fight. Is that something you always do?"

Pyrrha looked pained. Obviously, saving a life was more important than a personal secret, but the fact remained that Weiss had cut to something she preferred not to talk about. She took a glance behind her to make sure no one else was in earshot.

"I guess I can trust the two of you. Normally I apply my semblance with a degree of… subtlety that I lacked just now. But yes, manipulation of enemy weapons and armor, as well as my own, is a strategy I frequently use to my advantage."

"That's clever of you. Why didn't I read about it in any of your tournament bios?"

"Because I'm not compelled to reveal my semblance in them, or anywhere else. If people knew about the tactic, they would take countermeasures. That's why I use them as little as possible, especially on my opponents. My reign as the 'invincible girl' would be over in days. That's also why I want both of you to promise to never share what I just told you with anyone."

Ruby raised her hand in a salute that would have looked mock, if not for the serious expression on her face.

"I swear I won't."

Weiss was more reluctant.

"I promise not to tell anyone, but I can't promise that I won't make use of this information if the two of us ever fought each other."

"I couldn't expect you to. Hard to ignore a power you already know about, after all."

"Hey," said Ruby, "shouldn't we tell Jaune what happened?"

Pyrrha looked at Jaune, who had gotten to his feet and was now surveying the disintegrating corpse of the Ursa. Throughout the whole fight, he'd remained oblivious to their presence and interference. To tell him now would shatter any confidence he'd gained, make him believe again that he was useless without the help of others. Someday, after he'd come a long way, she would tell him.

"You know what," she said, "let's let Jaune have the glory today. I think he's earned it."

Weiss cleared her throat.

"One last thing, Pyrrha. That flash of light. I don't suppose that was you as well? Or was it Jaune's semblance?"

She shook her head.

"It's not me, and it's not his semblance. At least, I don't think it is. I've only seen that twice before, and both of those people had semblances that were unrelated. It's a sign of enormous aura reserves. Not all of them go into shielding or show up on your scroll, so you wouldn't usually know about them. But sometimes they can bubble up like that and… Well, you saw what happened."

"So, what does it mean?"

Pyrrha smiled and began to walk away.

"It means Jaune's got a lot of potential. He just hasn't found it for himself yet."

As the last vestiges of spike, fur, and claw turned to dust, Jaune acknowledged the possibility that he'd been hallucinating. Not the whole Ursa, of course. That was real enough. But from the moment he'd faced it head-on everything had seemed so unreal. The explosion of light that had somehow knocked a Grimm the size of a garbage truck off its feet. The shield—his solid metal shield—twisting and bending itself out of a vice-like grip. And of course, his sword. Apparently, it had invisible rocket boosters attached to it, because there was no other way it could have moved like it did. That was a question for his dad.

Jokes aside, a hallucination wasn't out of the question. Say he really hadn't blocked all of those attacks. If he'd been knocked unconscious, killing the Ursa might have been his imagination. But if so, who had killed it? Did that mean he'd imagined everything? Had the beating he'd endured at the hands of Cardin's gang turned him raving mad? It didn't seem like it. After all, his surroundings painted a sensible picture. There were fallen trees, crushed bushes, stumps, and… Cardin?

Cardin had his back up against a stump and both hands on an ankle that was clearly very tender. Relief showed on his face when he saw Jaune walking towards him. To Jaune, seeing that expression directed at him from his least favorite person was so foreign, so different from the usual that he nearly laughed out loud. But he didn't. Instead, he reached down and offered the boy his hand, who took it gingerly before standing up on his right leg only.

Jaune was taking a gamble. Appeasement and kindness had never worked with Cardin before, and it wasn't like a broken ankle was going to radically change that. Still, this kind of situation didn't come around very often, and it was an opportunity to see how accurate his own memory of the fight really was.

"Did the Ursa do that?" Jaune asked, hoping he didn't sound like a crazy person.

Cardin let out a pained laugh.

"Not even, man. I tripped over a log and here I am. I'd be hamburger meat if you haven't stepped and killed that thing. I was so fucked—I didn't expect anyone to do anything, least of all you."

"I was up it the air whether you deserved help at all, Cardin. You owe me one. Maybe even two or three."

At those words, Cardin pushed Jaune away and began to hobble in the direction they'd come from, following the line of downed trees.

"I don't owe you shit, Jaune. Oh sure, I'm grateful. And I respect you a bit more. I'll find someone new to pick on if it makes you happy. But if you expect me to swear to 'change my nature' or some bullshit, I won't. I can't."

Rage boiled over, dissolving any empathy or hope of redemption Jaune had felt. He shoved Cardin. Hard. Instinctively, the bully's left foot dropped back to catch his fall, but it couldn't support his weight. He fell to the ground in a flurry of curses.

"The fuck was that for?"

The feeling of power Jaune had over his tormentor was liberating. For once, he didn't need to play games or make pathetic bargains.

"You see, this is what you did to me. What you did to my friends every single day. You beat on us, you hurt us, and you abused your position of strength. Look at you now."

"Look man, I'm sorry."

"I know you aren't sorry. To be honest, I don't give a damn. Want to show you're sorry? Don't ever mess with me or my friends again. Stay the hell away from us, actually."

"Jauney, Jauney, Jauney. Aren't you forgetting the information I have?"

"No, I'm not. I've saved every call we've had and every text you've sent me in the last two weeks. Together, they paint a pretty convincing picture of blackmail. That's a crime just a serious as cheating—probably a lot more. I was scared to tell anyone before because I knew I would be kicked out, too. But I don't care anymore. It's worth it if I get someone like you out of this school for good. I'm guessing you don't want that, right?"

"N-No."

"Good. Let's make a new deal, a fair one. You will stop bullying other students. Sky, Dove, and Russel will follow your lead. It's what they always do, anyway. In return, I'll help you out of the forest and neither of us will try to expel each other."

"That doesn't sound very fair to me. I'm the one that has to do a ton of extra shit."

"Too bad. It's fairer than the one you gave me. Unless—" he pointed at Cardin's left leg, "—you'd rather crawl back to the Bullhead."

Cardin took one look at his ankle and scowled.

"This pain must be making me weak. I guess we have a deal."

The message from Jaune had said to meet on the roof. Pyrrha knew it was no coincidence that he'd asked to talk to her here, the same place she had two weeks earlier. She felt optimistic about the meeting. He had been in much higher spirits since they returned from the field trip, but there was still the possibility that he had seen her interfering with his fight—or at least suspected she had. If so, all she could do was stress the importance of teamwork. Jaune would never become a strong leader if he insisted on never receiving help.

Pyrrha's optimism was bolstered by the nervous smile Jaune gave her as she stepped out onto the roof. The sky was clear and the moon was full and bright, signifying an end to the conflict that had divided their team. O.K., maybe that was taking optimism too far.

"Hey, Pyrrha."

"Hello, Jaune. No Cardin tonight? I thought the two of you were best buds."

Jaune's smile turned to a thin line.

"Not tonight, and not ever. It was never my choice, really, to hang out with him. Although, in the end, it really was. I just had to stand up to him."

"And you did?"

"I did. Way too late, of course. I'm surprised you still want to talk to me."

"Late is better than never, Jaune. I've always been available to talk, you just never asked. I was hoping you would."

"Huh."

"So, what's on your mind?"

Pyrrha listened as Jaune recounted what had transpired in the forest. She kept a straight face as he described facing the Ursa, which wasn't difficult as he seemed to be paying little attention to her reactions. He just wanted to let it all out. She bit her lip to keep a wry smile off her face as he described the way his sword and shield had moved with a mind of their own.

What had happened afterward was new to her: facing Cardin and forcing him to change. It was at this point that Jaune explained the blackmail that Pyrrha had suspected but never confirmed for herself. The situation they'd worked out wasn't ideal, but it gave Jaune a degree of protection. The hard evidence he'd collected was far more damning than a vague claim of cheating made by a loudmouthed school bully.

"That's all I've got," said Jaune. "Maybe now you understand why I acted like I did."

"I do. You did the best you could given the circumstances, you learned a valuable lesson, and you killed a Grimm by yourself, just like you wanted."

"About that…"

Uh oh.

"What?"

"It's probably nothing. I know it sounds silly, but that white flash I was talking about… that wasn't you, was it?"

Pyrrha was relieved.

"Nope. The way you described it, that doesn't sound like any power I have. But I have seen an ability like that before. It's the sign of a strong aura, something I already knew you had. With practice, you can learn to control it."

"Good to know."

They stood in silence for a few seconds, but not an awkward one. As Pyrrha mentally crossed off the problems she now knew to be resolved, she remembered what she still needed to ask.

"Jaune, maybe it's obvious, but does all of this mean you're going to come back?"

"What?"

"You seem like you've been under the impression that Ren, Nora, and I all hate you. Nothing could be further from the truth. We just want our leader back, and with Cardin taken care of I see no other reason why you can't."

"It's not just Cardin. After what happened, I barely feel qualified to be on Team JNPR—let alone lead it."

"Don't worry about it."

"That? That's what you're going to tell me?"

Pyrrha walked back to the door, pausing with her hand on the knob.

"That's right. Instead of worrying about how you'll lead tomorrow, why don't you come back to the dorm with all of us? Ren made pancakes."

He laughed.

"You know what, that does sound pretty good. And I'm sorry I didn't want your help earlier. I had all this macho stuff in my head about learning on my own. Is your offer still on the table?"

She smiled with her back turned.

"Be careful what you wish for, Jaune. I won't be going easy on you."

Is this two months of work right here? To put it plainly, no. I'm working on other things, a mixture of work and other writing projects.

I also have an announcement. A Rose Not So Sweet will be going on a planned hiatus after I finish Volume 1, which I plan to finish by "Summer" (my amount of free time will dictate exactly when that is). This project doesn't give me a ton of creative freedom, something I'm craving a lot. That being said, I certainly pushed the limits of that this chapter. Not quite to the level of the old chapter 2, but I made a ton of changes and additions without adding entire new scenes. The end to the Jaune Arc Arc (pun not intended) never felt great. One Grimm kill and Cardin drops the whole thing? This "counter-blackmail" idea seems more sensible, but I'll leave the judgement up to you. Feel free to tell me if you hated it.

I made a few other changes, like moving Jaune's "aura burst" from the bullies' beating (which I mostly glossed over) to the Grimm fight. It felt more natural.

I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for sticking with me.

—Flok