Jaune the Crusader - Volume 1: Psycho Prison Arc

by Takeshi1225

Jaune Arc has been expelled on account of forgery. Now what's left for him? He didn't know, until he answered a call to action which became the first step that led him down the path to becoming the hero he wanted to be, but never expected to earn. Dangers, conspiracies, trials and self-reflection. He will face this all and more as he takes his first steps towards true greatness.

Jaune the Crusader

Prologue: Where to Go Now?

Despair.

That's probably the best word to describe this feeling.

Back rested against the wall of an elevator while somber eyes that lost some of their light stared up at the ceiling of the elevator as it went downward towards the bottom floor.

Only a moment ago did the Headmaster speak those words.

"I'm sorry, Mister Arc, but in light of recent testimony and physical evidence presented against you, you are hereby expelled from Beacon, and banned from attending any other Huntsman Academy in the Four Kingdoms."

Jaune continued to stare up with a stoic expression and eyes that were dull but looked ready to water. A pink slip with a 'Notice of Expulsion' written on it which was crunched up tightly in his hand.

Beside him was an elder blonde, the Vice-Headmistress of Beacon Academy, Glynda Goodwitch.

She kept a stern glare at Jaune. Obviously as Vice-Headmistress, she did not tolerate an act of treachery such as forgery to enter a prestigious academy. She actually had the urge to kick herself for not seeing something so obvious. Despite the fairly decent grades when it came to classes that dealt with history, dust usage, Grimm Studies, and other similar classes, Jaune's academic accomplishments in sessions such as Combat Class were… extremely non-existent.

Oh well. What's done is done. However she will admit, the last way she wanted such a dirty secret to be revealed to her was from a brutish, smart aleck bully who just enjoyed tormenting the weak and getting under everyone's skin. Especially when the young man who committed the act of forgery saved the bully's life.

No form of gratitude or humility at all.

She just wished she could be rid of Cardin first before Jaune had to face his punishment.

Despite his crime, Glynda did feel a bit bad for Jaune, but she had to be firm on the matter. It didn't make the sight of what looked to be a broken young man any easier.

The ride down was just two blondes of different age in silence. Even though Glynda was used to silence, she did not like the somber aura of the scene, but it was to be expected.

While Glynda was a bit uneasy about the silence, Jaune ignored it.

He had too much on his mind, but the biggest thing of it all was 'where to go now?'

The elevator doors opened.

Glynda walked out, but she noticed Jaune didn't move at all.

"Mr. Arc, please come along." Glynda spoke up, but she received no response. "Mr. Arc!" Glynda raised her voice.

"Huh?" Jaune was knocked out of his stupor. "Oh… right." Jaune walked out of the elevator.

Jaune didn't have the guts to look at Goodwitch, so he stuck to looking towards the ground. He started to head towards the dorm. What will be his old and possibly the only dorm he'd ever had. How was he going to tell his teammates this? Sure, perhaps they already know, but… it's still going to be hard to talk about such a matter to people you've grown close with. Even if it was for a brief time.

"Where are you going?" Glynda questioned with a firm gaze.

"Uh, to the dorm to pack my things." Jaune answered, turning back.

"No. Your items have already been packed for you. You are supposed to go to the docks." Glynda informed.

"What? You mean I don't get to say goodbye to my friends?" Jaune questioned with shock.

"Mr. Arc, you should consider yourself lucky. Believe it or not, the Headmaster is going easy on you. In any other circumstance you'd already be in cuffs and handed off to the police." Glynda said with narrowed eyes, causing Jaune to gulp. "I am to instruct that upon expulsion your scroll will become permanently deactivated once leaving the premises. So if you have something to say, better use it." Glynda said with her arms crossed.

Jaune looked to the ground. He couldn't believe his luck. Or… maybe he should.

"I understand." Jaune said before heading towards the dock.

Glynda watched as the younger blonde walked away with head hanging and shoulders slumped. She had to admit, she did feel very sad for him. She shouldn't be seeing as he faked his way into Beacon, but something about him in this situation and all he'd done to get here made her think… why did he go so far knowing the consequences?

!

!

Jaune trekked over to the docks with his head hanging. His head was still buzzing with depressing thoughts. He didn't even think about using his scroll to call his friends for one final goodbye. Jaune continued to move forward towards the dock, but he wasn't really paying attention. This caused him to trip over something.

Groaning as he got back up to his feet, he looked back to find it was his luggage. He sighed as he looked down at it. A white suitcase with the golden twin crescent symbol of the Arc family.

Jaune frowned as he gave it a narrowed glare. He continued to glare at the symbol for quite some time. After a while, he growled and kicked it over with the tip of his sneaker striking the center of his family's insignia.

Jaune's nose flared several times as he continued to glare down at the symbol with some dirt now at the center. He gave a long, disappointed sigh with his head hanging. He turned and sat down on the case with a deep frown. He brushed a hand right through his golden locks and after a moment of silence, he put his face into his hands.

After a minute of self-pity, Jaune pulled his face back and looked to the ground for a moment. He blinked his eyes before he reached his hand into his pocket and took out his scroll. Staring down at it for a moment, Jaune inhaled through his nose followed by exhale through his mouth.

He chose the first number on the scroll belong to none other than his partner… ex-partner now, Pyrrha Nikos.

.

.

Meanwhile back at the dorms, Team JNPR, or unknowingly to them what is now left of the team, were sitting on their beds.

Pyrrha was playing with the red fabric tied around her waist. She was worried for Jaune. He had been in a meeting with the Headmaster for a while now. She hopes everything will turn out fine.

Jaune may have gotten into Beacon the wrong way and he started to distance himself from his friends to keep his lie alive, but he earned his right to be here! He stood up to Cardin, a very despicable person who didn't deserve to be here despite getting in the right way, presumably, saved her from a nasty incident with Rapier Wasps, and he even saved his blackmailing tormentor from an Ursa Major, willing to risk his life for him, even almost dying had she not use her semblance.

After all that, what was the outcome?

Cardin didn't like the idea of someone weaker than him actually taking down a beast he couldn't, saving his life in the process and so he ratted him out.

Now Pyrrha isn't one to wish something like 'I wish that Ursa indeed ate him', but she will be a little bit rougher the next time she faces him in Combat Class, and she will face him. Heck, she'll take on his whole team single handedly. Lord knows they deserved a good beating too for their act as accomplices.

Pyrrha looked to her side down at her scroll that was on her bed. She breathed in through her nose and sighed with a frown.

"Yeah, I know. The tension is getting to us too." Nora said, looking to her teammate while on her bed. She and her life-long friend and not-secret secret crush, Lie Ren, were with her in their dorm room, all sitting on their beds, hoping for the best for their… hopefully here to stay leader. "But maybe we're getting too worked up. I mean he saved Cardin… ew."

"It does not matter." Ren spoke up earning the attention of his two female teammates. "Even though Jaune did the noble and right thing, he still had committed a criminal act. He broke not only regulations of Beacon, but committed what is otherwise known as a disrespectful and foolish crime. I… I don't think he'll-"

Suddenly they heard the sound of something crashing from outside their door. They rushed over and went out the door, hearing a ruckus within Team RWBY's dorm room.

They quickly went in to see Yang throwing things within the dorm room.

"Stop Throwing Things! It's not solving anything!" Weiss shouted as she tried getting Yang to stop.

"I Know, But I Don't Know What Else To Do! I'm So Pissed!" Yang shouted as she then grabbed the bookshelf beside her partner, Blake's bed.

"Not the bookcase." Said Blake, who was sitting on her bed lotus style, delivering a glare to her partner.

"How are you so calm with this?!" Yang exclaimed, surprised that her partner wasn't outrage. Normally she'd understand, but after what they had found out? I mean, what the hell?! At least punch your pillow!

"Doing something illegal to achieve your goals is nothing new to me. Although I will admit, Jaune is the last person I'd ever expect to do something like this." Blake answered calmly.

"I Know! The Last Thing I Expected Was For Him To Actually Break the Law To Get In Here! I Don't Know Whether To Be Pissed At Him, At Cardin Or Both!" Yang yelled.

"Both! It's obviously both!" Weiss shouted. She then sighed as she rubbed her eyes. "I did not think much of him. He was annoying, a wannabe, and tried way too hard to get a girl's attention, especially mine, but I at least expected a bit more dignity from him. To pull this… what was he thinking?!"

"He wanted to help." Ruby spoke up, earning the others attention. She was just sitting on her bed, hugging her legs. "I'm sure Jaune came here to be like the rest of us. Trying to get stronger to help others when they're in danger." Ruby said.

"I can't believe you're siding with him!" Weiss argued.

"Yes, I'm siding with him! He's my friend!" Ruby retorted with a miffed expression.

"Yeah! That's telling her!" Nora called out, causing the team turned to see the remainder of Team JNPR. "Sorry, we heard someone breaking things and we rushed right over." Nora said.

"Sorry that you had to hear all that. About Jaune I mean." Blake apologized for her team.

"I suppose you're all very aggravated about his actions?" Ren rhetorically asked.

"Most of us apparently." Weiss said with her arms crossed as she directed a minor glare to Ruby, who just gave her a stern glare. Weiss walked over to Pyrrha and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I am so sorry that you had to be partnered with a felon, Pyrrha." Weiss said with a gentle, sympathetic tone.

"Weiss… get your hand off of me." Pyrrha said with a glare, actually scaring Weiss, who backed away, along with the rest of the group, minus Ruby.

"Did you guys get any news on Jaune yet?" Ruby asked.

"Nadda." Nora said shaking her head with a frown.

"He's no doubt expelled." Blake said, earning soft elbow from her partner.

"Ixnay on the Blunt-ay." Yang whispered.

"I'm not going to lie about the obvious. He cheated into Beacon, he got caught, and he's going to be expelled. The thing we should be hoping for is that he doesn't get incarcerated for this." Blake said with a stern glare.

"She's right." Weiss said with her arms crossed. "We shouldn't gloss over the facts. Especially when it comes to our friend."

"You mean 'our' friend. You never really considered him one." Yang said with her hands on her hips.

"You did give him the cold shoulder every time you interacted." Blake added.

"Regardless, he did commit a crime."

"So did Cardin. Last time I checked blackmail's a felony too." Nora said with her arms crossed.

"Yeah! How come he got a slap on the wrist compared to Jaune?!" Yang exclaimed with aggravation.

"Because he earned the right to be here." Weiss said, earning everyone's attention. "Believe me, I hate the guy. He disgusts me, and given his personality, he is the last person at the school who deserves to be a huntsman, but unlike Jaune he did go through the process correctly and earned the right to attend Beacon."

"But he doesn't deserve to be a huntsman. Especially when you compare him to Jaune." Ruby brought up.

"Ruby, a huntsman needs to be strong and capable of saving people. They all can't be noble." Weiss said.

"Well Jaune was both!" Ruby exclaimed with a glare. "Maybe he needed help with an Ursa Major, but he was strong enough to slice its head clean off with one strike! He took a lot of hits and still kept going all to save Cardin who was cowering on the ground the whole time!"

"Granted, but-"

"No! No buts!" Ruby shouted, interrupting Weiss. "Jaune deserves to be here. It doesn't matter if he was strong. Take away Crescent Rose and I'm no better than he is."

"Ruby, you need to be strong to be here." Yang said.

"Says who? Isn't the reason we came to this school is to become strong?"

"Yes, but you still need to be strong enough to handle a Grimm." Blake said.

"Ruby, you can't just keep defending him just because your friends." Weiss said.

"He's more than just my friend! He's a best friend! My first friend here! Yang ditched me the minute we arrived to be with her friends, you waved your dust under my nose causing me to explode and Blake just walked away without asking me if I was okay." Ruby said, causing her team to look away and feel bad about their behavior towards their leader on day one. "But Jaune… he went up to me to see if I was okay. He saw me lying on the floor, sad and alone. He may not have been strong, but he came to make me feel better. He was so kind and cared more about others. He even defended his own bully who was blackmailing him, knowing he would get him expelled if he saved his life. That's real strength… and there is no paper in the world that should say otherwise." Ruby finished with a firm expression.

The rest of her team felt bad about not just their actions on the first day, but also how they were expressing their behavior on Jaune's forgery crime.

Jaune's team, though still sad that Jaune's chances for staying at Beacon were still slim, were a bit happy thanks to Ruby's words. They were proud of the young reaper for seeing more to Jaune than meets the eye.

They all stayed in silence for a few moments, before they heard someone clearing their throat at the doorway. They all turned to see Professor Goodwitch, who looked around at the wrecked room.

"I'll deal with this later." Glynda said.

"Professor Goodwitch! Where's Jaune?! How is he doing?! Is he still a student here?!" Nora asked quickly as her heart was beating fast, along with the others, in anxiety of what the Vice-Headmistress would say. She then started to cry. "Please don't tell me we need to get a new leader~!" Nora exclaimed as she became a sobbing mess.

Ren placed his hands on her shoulders as a form of comfort.

Ruby hopped off of her bed as she gained a fearful, yet hopeful look.

"So… is he…" Ruby was afraid to finish.

"I'm afraid so. Jaune Arc has officially been expelled." Glynda said, shocking everyone, causing their blood to freeze. "If any of you wish to say your farewells, then you can either go to the docking bay-" they all suddenly rushed pass her, running down the halls to get outside to see Jaune. "Or one of you could have just called him on his scroll." Goodwitch sighed whilst shaking her head.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Pyrrha had left her scroll back at the dorm which was vibrating with the caller being none other than Jaune.

.

.

Jaune was tapping his foot as he prayed to any deity that his partner or anyone from his team or Team RWBY would pick up.

"Pyrrha, please~, pick up. I need to say I'm sorry." Jaune practically begged as he had a look of desperation on his face. His heart dropped when he heard the message beep.

"We're sorry, but the person you're trying to reach cannot be with you right now. Please leave a message at the tone." The computerized voice said before uttering a beep.

Jaune's lip quivered as his eyes released some tears. He gritted his teeth as he gripped his scroll tightly with both hands.

"GODDAMN, STUPID MOTHERFUCKING, PIECE OF CUNT! CAN'T I GET ONE GODDAMN BREAK! IS THAT SO FUCKING HARD, LIFE?! IS IT?! WHAT DID I EVER DO IN A PAST LIFE TO CONDEMN ME TO A LIFE FULL OF MISERY AND NEVER-ENDING DISAPPOINTMENT! IS MY LIFE A FUCKING SHOW FOR SOME SICK TWISTED INDIVIDUALS TO LAUGH AT?! Well then~, FUCK ALL OF YOU TO HELL YOU CONTAMINATED, TOXIC SOULED ASSWIPES! HERE'S MY APPRECIATION FOR THE LAUGHS!" Jaune flipped the bird to the sky. "EAT IT! EAT ON IT AND SUCK IT, YOU STUPID, SADIST PIECES OF SCUM! I HOPE YOU ALL ARE PROUD OF YOURSELVES! GODDAMMIT!" Jaune screamed as he threw his scroll onto the ground.

Jaune sat on the ground covering his face, letting his tears stain his gloves as he sighed with disappointment. He pulled his hands away to reveal dull eyes that lost so much light to them. A far cry from the eyes of hope he had when he first arrived at Beacon. After a moment, Jaune looked to the scroll.

He still needed to leave his last message.

Jaune reached over, grabbed his now cracked scroll and placed it to his ear.

"Hey, um… I'm sorry about that. I just had… so much built up and… I just wanted to talk to you. Guess not being able to turn out to be the final straw." Jaune rubbed his eyes with his fingers. "Pyrrha I…" Jaune gulped and let out a shaken sigh. "I am so sorry about what I said. I should have just accepted your help to begin with. It's just… I felt I needed to accomplish being a hero on my own to make up for something that happened." Jaune let out some more tears. He then chuckled a bit. "I can already hear him telling me 'It's okay to ask for help every now and again. It doesn't make you any less who you are… or who you could become.' But help is what costed him everything." Jaune brushed his hand over his forehead. "But what happened… it's no excuse to how I treated you. You were my friend. You were willing to help me while everyone just left me to fend for myself… like a wounded animal. I am a wounded animal… and I turned away your offer to help me, like a scared, dumb… dumb fool who was too big for his britches. I'm so sorry for turning my back on you… I think you… I think you were the only person to ever believe in me… and even though my word now might be worth spit… nah… maybe lower than that… I just wanted to say thank you for at least holding your hand out to me."

Jaune pulled the scroll away and looked to the sky with a sigh. His cheeks stained with streaks of tears as his eyes were a bit pink. He closed them and thought about what he had to say next… before he never saw any of the people that he called his friend ever again. He brought scroll back to his ear.

"Pyrrha… I know I'm not worth it, but… can you do me a favor. Can you tell my final words to each of the people I became close with?" Jaune asked, knowing he'll never get an answer.

He pulled the scroll and took a deep breath through his nose before bringing it back to his ear.

First, he thought of Nora.

"Tell Nora that… I'm sorry I wasn't the fearless leader you said I was. I know it was just a nickname, but… it kind of felt like that's what you hoped I'd be. I'm sorry I could never live up to it. Even though you were much to deal with at times, you brought an energy that made life… a little more bearable to deal with. Never lose that. It helps out a lot more than you think… you being you. No matter what people say, or how they judge you… especially how they judge you, never lose that spark. It's strong enough to even make the nastiest of days… just a tad bit brighter. Keep shining on Valkyrie." Jaune said with a soft, sad smile as he remembered the times he spent with Nora.

Now he thought of Ren.

"Tell Ren… I know we never really talked… and I never really got to know him like I should have… but he's someone I admire so much. No matter what danger came his way, he was so calm, yet confident… even when he knew he was about to lose. Truth be told, I'm really jealous of him. He's definitely the coolest guy I met here. I wish I got to know him better… but I think I know enough. Enough to say that he's one of the most reliable men you'd ever meet. You and especially Nora are so lucky to have him. I know that… whenever you guys feel down, he'll be there to help lift you up. It's like he has an answer for everything. I know my word might not mean anything to him, but I know he'll listen to what I'll say. I was happy to be on the same team as you. I wish we spent more time together… I felt like you would have been the closest thing to a brother that I ever had. I guess you might think it's sad, but… it means something to me. Thanks for being there, keeping our hearts steady with just your words. Unexpected from a guy who barely talks." Jaune said with a humorous smile as he remembered his time with Ren. Though it wasn't as much as he'd like it to be.

Now he thought of Team RWBY.

Guess the best to start with was Yang.

"Tell Yang… hell what can I not say? Cool, tough, always cheery yet ready to unload a can of whoop-ass. I guess the best way to describe her is like if summer said: screw it! I'm already a kickass season, why not be a kickass person too? Everything just seemed so easy for her, but at the same time seeing her fight… I could see all the effort she put into being where she is now. Out of everyone, I envied her the most. She is probably the closest to what I wish I was. I guess… I look up to her. Weird thing to say, but I bet she hears it a lot. She may have had a nasty temper… but even that I admired. It just showed how much she cared. She had so much emotion that anyone could feel it. If she said 'calm down everyone. Everything's going to be fine', I feel like everyone would believe her. Her words, her actions, they resonated strength that put people at ease and enemies on their toes. If anything bad happens to her… I hope she gets right back up. If she loses a limb, I hope she keeps fighting. If she's on the verge of bleeding out, I hope she keeps kicking ass until she used up the last drop of her blood! If someone… if anyone tries anything on the people she loves… I know she won't rest until she gives them exactly what they deserve! If someone burns her hair… well, I think that goes without saying. I just hope that no matter what happens, whatever comes her way, everyone's way, even if the gates of hell itself opens up and every threat imaginable comes over for a fight… I hope… no… I know she'll be the first to fight and the last to give up! Because that's who she is. She's someone to be admired and anyone who says or thinks otherwise… well they don't know a damn thing at all. They don't know the atomic blonde that… I was lucky enough to know. Even if she doesn't care what I have to say, or is too pissed to listen, tell her… thanks for being the sun that brightened the day the only way she could: being herself, ready to start things off with a Yang! I don't care if that pun sucked… it was pretty damn good to me." Jaune thought with a cheesy smile as he thought about his time with Yang. Even the teasing seemed like good memories.

Now his mind went to the blonde's teammate, Blake.

"Tell Blake… she was unique. I didn't get to know her and that's a shame. She was hard to read, she seemed distant, anti-social… but she never left anyone behind. I somehow could tell a lot just from how she acted with her team. She was… happy to have them. I know she is happy to have them, and I'm pretty darn sure they're happy to have her. So happy that she'd never abandon them. I think she loves them way too much for that. She's not someone who easily forgets. It's funny… a lot of the times, I feel like that if I gave up on trying to be friends with anyone… I'd hide in the corner like she did when she first came to Beacon… but when Team RWBY started, she never went back to that corner. For someone like her… that takes guts. Being out of your comfort zone is a tough thing, but she took to it like a fish to water. No matter how silly her team's antics were, or how much she didn't want to be there when they acted out… she never walked away. She stood with them through thick and thin. I know she'll stick with them no matter what. Maybe she never really showed it, but… I think out of everyone, she's the one who cares about everyone the most. Maybe a little too much and that's why she'd rather stay silent and to her books… but her heart… it's so strong that she shows all that love she has through her actions. No matter what… her heart always guides her. At least… that's what I think. I think she really does want to show that love… and I hope one day… she won't have to fear showing all that love. I hope she never runs away from what's in her heart… and who she gave parts of it to. Tell her that… I hoped we could have at least gotten to know each other. Just keep those you did get to know and love close to you, and never run away from that love… because… leaving that love you left behind… hurts more than anything." Jaune said with tears rolling down his eyes as he remembered the times he saw Blake and how she was so happy, just being with her friends.

Next was… Weiss.

"Tell, um… tell Weiss… what can I say? Except… I'm sorry that you knew me. I'm sorry I bothered you the day we met… I'm sorry I tried to get your attention… I'm sorry… that I was being me in front of your eyes… no not that. I wasn't being me. I was being… what I thought would grab your attention. I never was really good with girls. I just… I just thought… I admire you so much. You're just amazing. You were cold, but you're also incredible. You're smart, graceful, and talented. Heck, I remembered stopping in front of your dorm one time and I heard you sing. It was beautiful. I thought… that I heard an angel singing. I wish I could have told you how incredible I thought you were, but… well… I didn't deserve to tell you. I didn't even deserve to talk to you. Every time I tried, I just messed things up, when… I should have told you the truth. You… you were right about me from the very start. I was… a loser. I am a loser. I'm trash! I'm despicable! I wasn't worthy of being here because I cheated! I cheated and… I just wished… I just hoped that being here would change me into someone who didn't rely on something like that. To be someone respectable, dignified, someone who has a future to be there for others and with a smile, you'd calm their souls… your smile… it didn't calm my soul… it made it burst with awe. I was never blown away as hard as when I once saw you smile. You're… a bit rough around the edges, I won't lie about that, but I know that you're going to go far! Not because you're a Schnee, but because you are Weiss Schnee! I don't know much about your family… hell I didn't know much about anything before coming here… but if your family made someone as amazing as you… then they really are worthy of respect. I… I envy that. I wish… I wish I could live up to my family name like you are. Bringing it pride and real honor! Like a true hero… like a true person worthy of respect! I know you'll go far Weiss… I know you'll be a true huntress… because you were right. You are right that someone like you is destined for greatness… while someone like me is destined to be thrown in the trash… rotting away to be forgotten by history. Pyrrha… tell Weiss that… I'm sorry that she got to know me… but that I… I don't know why, but somehow… I got lucky to know someone like her… even though I never deserved to in the first place." Jaune covered his mouth and sobbed as more tears poured as he remembered his time with Weiss. Even though she never treated him right… he was happy to have memories about her. Even if he believes he doesn't deserve it.

Now… now his mind was on Ruby. His friend… his first friend… his best friend… Ruby Rose.

Jaune let out a shaken breath as he tried to find the strength to continue. He was so close to the end.

"Tell… t-tell Ruby… Ruby, I... thank you. You were my first friend. Even if you didn't believe in me… I'm not sure if you did… thank you for thinking I was worth talking to. You could have just said 'thanks for helping me up' and walk away like any other person would have, but… you talked to me. Even though you made a joke about me vomiting on the ride here, you stuck around and talked to me. Became my friend. My first friend. You're cheery, you're optimistic, you're brave, you're strong and you are so, so kind. Along with Pyrrha, you're the kindest girl I ever met. We took jabs at each other, but never to hurt each other. We had some laughs. We never… we never felt awkward around each other. I think… I think you were the one I always felt the calmest around. Even though we're social awkward, whenever we were together… it never felt that way. It felt… natural. Like talking to you, spending time with you… everything with you was second nature to me… and I'll never have that with anyone else. I'm glad I got to have that with you. That I got to know you. You're the best friend I ever had… and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have stood up to Cardin. What you told me… how a leader couldn't afford to be a failure, for the sake of his team… it inspired me. It gave me the strength I needed… even if I was terrible at being a leader. I still think I wasn't meant to be the leader... I turned my back on my friends just to stay in a place I never belonged to be in. I'm not saying that what you told me led to all this, that was my fault from the start… but it helped me take a stand. I may have been exposed, but that moment of standing up to Cardin, doing what was right… I would never trade it. For the first time in my life… I felt the closest to what a true hero is meant to be. A person who forgets about their worries and does the right thing. Protecting someone from something they didn't deserve and standing up to a foe who seemed way out of your league… but you never cared, because no matter what happened… you did something right… and I'll carry that something with pride. Thanks to you. Ruby… you're… you're the light that guided me. You're the light of Beacon. Ozpin… Ozpin was wrong to pick me, but he was right to pick you to be the leader. Though everyone has their own strengths, yours is so much greater. You can take someone whose hit rock bottom and lift them up to places where it feels like they could touch the sky itself. That's a strength that should never be underestimated. No one should underestimate you. You should never underestimate yourself, because you are that incredible. You were the light of the fire that brought my soul the strength it needed to do what was right… the only thing I ever did right. I thank you for that. For being you. For being my friend. I could never ask for anyone better to be the first friend I made here. Ruby… I don't know if you'll take my words seriously after all this, but please… please… for everyone… not just here… but for everyone outside of Beacon, outside of Vale... please… never change. Never change who you are… because you are perfect. I know… I know with all my heart… with my very soul… that you will be the greatest huntress ever… so long as you never lose that light that burns bright within your very soul." Jaune closed his eyes as he remembered all the memories that he had made with his first friend. His best friend.

His mind then went to Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha… there is something else I wanted to tell you before I go. Thank you… for being my partner… thank you for being my friend… thank you… for caring about me… even though I never deserved it. I could never ask for a better partner than you. I just wish I was the partner that you deserved… but hopefully you'll find someone who is worthy of being your partner… because… because… to me… you're not a student of Beacon. You are a huntress! Everything you hope you'll become; you already are! I know you'll stick with Beacon until you graduate, but to me… you're already what a huntress should be. Strong, compassionate, selfless and seeing worth in everything you come across. Even the worthless. You don't care if it is worthless… you'll do everything in your power to protect it, because that is who you are… and I would never have it any other way. I was… I am lucky I got to know you. I know Beacon… Vale… hell even all of Remnant will be safe in your hands. If there is any doubt in you that you are, which I doubt there is, don't listen to them. Because you proved that you are someone who should never be doubted by anyone, including yourself." Jaune said with strong conviction as he thought about the memories that he had with his partner… he really wished they could have shared more.

Jaune turned his head to notice that the bullhead meant to pick him up was close to arrival.

"The bullhead's here… I guess this is goodbye… I don't think it's going to be a see you later." Jaune's lip quivered, his throat and chest tightened as he felt his heart being strangled by an invisible force. He… had to say one last thing.

"Guys… I hope for the best for you. Life… life was never good to me. Not even the moment I was born. I wasn't even meant to last a month… but somehow, I did. Somehow… I made it this far in life… and even though I'll leave as a failure… I'm leaving with something precious… something I'll never trade. My memories with you. I know you'll all be amazing. You're going to be great huntsman and huntresses… I was just wishing too much to be beside you all when that happened. Guess even that was too much to wish for. Even though I won't see you guys fulfill your dreams and living them to the fullest… I'll always be cheering you on, because… because you're my friends. Even if I'm not yours any longer, I'll always consider you all mine. Like I said… life was never good to me… it never gave me a break… but now I think it did give me one. Giving me the chance to know all of you. That's good enough for me… that's more than enough for me. I… I love you all! Thank you… for being in my life… no matter how brief it was. Thank you… for being my friends… I will never forget you. I can never forget you, even if I tried… and I wouldn't have it any other way. Goodbye you guys… thank you… for everything!" Jaune proclaimed proudly with a sad grin and tears pouring from his eyes.

Jaune pulled the scroll back and looked down at it. He pressed the end button to reveal his wallpaper… that of his friends from both his team and team RWBY.

The bullhead docked at Beacon.

It was time.

Jaune sighed with his head hanging. He grabbed his suitcase and headed towards the bullhead. Once the door opened, Jaune walked inside.

"You the ex-student?" The pilot asked.

"Yep." Jaune said as he sat down on one of the seats.

"I don't approve of what you did, but I got to say, you got guts kid." The pilot said as he closed the bullhead door and started taking off.

Jaune sighed as he leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes. As the bullhead was in the air, Jaune took out his scroll one last time, selected the picture albums and scanned through it until he found a group picture of him and his friends from both his team and Team RWBY. Jaune's eyes grew somber. He gently closed his eyes for a second, then opened them as he shed tears.

"Goodbye you guys… goodbye Beacon." Jaune said as the bullhead took off.

Unbeknownst to him, both his ex-team and Team RWBY ran to the docks, only to see they were too late.

"No!" Ruby cried out.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha started to shed tears as she and the others watched as the bullhead flew off into the distance.

.

.

After a long, silent flight or as silent as it could be as Jaune every now and again threw up in the bullhead's waste dispenser.

That air sickness he had wasn't just because he was extremely nervous when first heading to Beacon.

The bullhead finally docked into Vale.

"The Headmaster paid for your next bullhead. Just head to the other side of the city and take flight F9. It takes off in six hours. You'll have enough time getting there." The bullhead pilot said as he handed Jaune a ticket for his next flight.

"Uh, thanks." Jaune said as he got up from his seat. "Sorry you were stuck with me."

"Don't worry about it. Safe travels, kid." The pilot said with a dismissive wave.

Jaune headed off of the bullhead, now entering the city of Vale. Jaune sighed with a frown. He took out his scroll and checked the signal he had. He had none. He scanned through his contacts and picked Pyrrha, only for a red X to appear over it.

"We're sorry. This scroll is now disconnected to CCT System. Have a lovely day." A computerized voice said, making Jaune sigh before putting his scroll back into his pocket.

He walked down the streets of Vale. Everyone was minding their own business, doing their own thing while Jaune was just traveling from one point to another with a somber expression and hand in his pocket. After a while, he wound up walking in the park. He stopped and sat down on a bench with a sigh.

Jaune stayed there for some time, still with his somber expression. He sighed once more, covering his face with a hand.

"How many times have I sighed by now?" Jaune asked himself. He took his hand away from his face and looked around. Everyone was having a wonderful time. Kids playing with their friends, couples walking together, people walking their dogs, etc. Everyone was happy and he was the odd man out… again. "Guess I better head on." Jaune said as he got up, grabbed his suitcase and continued walking. "No need for a cheat like me to ruin their days." Jaune said with a frown.

Right when he was going to place his hand into his pocket again, he accidentally touched the pommel of his family's greatest treasure. He stopped and looked right down at it. He then heard an old voice come to his mind.

"This sword is more than just our family's eldest weapon. It is a symbol. A symbol of a guiding light that always is at the forefront, ready to change the tides of battle. Slaying horror and making miracles. However in the end, it is only a sword. A weapon is only as tremendous as its user. In fact, in every generation of our family, this sword always ends up in the hands of the person who deserves it the most. The one who becomes the new guiding light meant to change things, slaying horrors and making miracles. In a way, it chooses the new embodiment of those qualities… or perhaps more accurately, finds the person who has the qualities etched into their very soul. In the end it is not the weapon, but the user who is the true treasure, and I am positive that the person it will end up in the hands of one day will be you, Jaune. Crocea Mors never makes a mistake." An elderly voice spoke within Jaune's hand, making his eyes grow even sadder.

"No, grandpa… it did this time." Jaune said as he continued on with his hand in his pocket.

Jaune continued on to his destination to the other end of the city. He continued on in silence, but after some time he started to hear some noise. A very familiar noise.

They were sirens.

Jaune suddenly picked up his pace to see what the commotion was. As he hurried, he noticed a crowd of people along with several police cars and an ambulance. Seeing this he sprinted forward to get to the crowd.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Jaune asked a dark-skinned ram Faunus.

"A group of White Fang members have taken over a blood bank along with several hostages." The ram Faunus answered.

"Blood bank? Why would they do that?" Jaune questioned with shock and confusion.

"Of course a human wouldn't know. The White Fang are out there every day fighting for Faunus everywhere, risking their lives for our sake, so of course there's going to be incidents that result in blood loss." The ram Faunus explained with a hint of attitude.

"Huh… I can understand why it's important to them… but I don't get how they can be proud of something like this." Jaune said with a somber expression and shaking his head.

"A human would gladly do the same to us!" The ram Faunus argued.

"Doesn't that make it worse?" Jaune questioned, surprising the Faunus.

"Tch. Gt lost kid." The ram Faunus said, turning his back on Jaune, but as much as he didn't like to admit it the blonde's words struck a chord in him.

Jaune frowned at this. He didn't understand why people would go this far to get their way. He understood their reasons, but not their methods. If someone truly cared about what they fought for, shouldn't they fight for it the right way? He just didn't understand how someone could stoop so low as to commit an act they wouldn't even favor if it happened to them.

"Attention!" Jaune's head perked up as he heard a voice. "I'm making my demands!"

Jaune walked into the crowd, pushing pass people to see what was happening.

"Please remain calm. Do not harm the hostage." A police officer said through a megaphone.

"She won't be harmed so long as we get what we want!"

Jaune managed to make it to the front to see a tan skinned White Fang member at the door, holding a knife to a tan skinned dirty blonde human woman's neck.

"What is it that you want?" The officer using the megaphone asked.

"Simple. A large truck, big enough to carry several tanks of blood for our fellow White Fang members and injured Faunus who cannot afford blood transfusions. Also a bullhead ready to transport us all the way to Vacuo! The deadline is one hour!" The White Fang member shouted.

"Alright. We'll bring them right over."

"Oh, one more thing. There are too many in poverty there… so we want ten million lien to give to them as well. Preferably with the bullhead." The White Fang said, shocking everyone.

"Ten million in an hour?! That can't be possible!" Jaune blurted out with shock.

"Shut it, kid!" One of the cops reprimanded Jaune.

"One hour! That's it! We don't get it we'll start with this one!" The White Fang member called out before going back with the woman in his arm crying out with tears in her eyes.

Jaune bit his lip and clenched his fist.

"Hate to say it, but the blonde over there might be right. Ten million in an hour?" One of the cops said to another.

"You want to say that to the rest of the crowd. It's bad enough the White Fang is pulling this off, we don't need an angry mob." The other cop said to the other.

Jaune felt his body shake with rage and worry for those innocent people. He just wishes he could… no… no, he can't…

He needs to leave.

Jaune made his way out of the crowd. The further away the better… but it didn't help the feeling in the pit of his stomach. That feeling was growing bigger and bigger and getting heavier and heavier. So heavy that he was slowing down as he was passing by an alley. As he passed by, he noticed something. Turning his head he noticed a pair of White Fang members with mannequins in their arms.

Jaune hid around the corner and spied on them to see them unlocking the back door and sneaking inside. Once sneaking inside, the last one kicked the door closed, but it didn't close all the way, revealing a bit of a crack. Jaune's eyes widened.

An opportunity.

Jaune leaned back against the wall, thinking the situation over.

'I… I need to tell the cops!' Jaune thought as he took a step back towards the crowd, but he stopped. 'No… no there's too many people around… plus I made a spectacle back there when I spoke up. If any of them are keeping an eye on the cops, they'll know something is up if I come back and talk to one of them. I can't risk it.' Jaune bit his index finger trying to think of something. 'Wait, the guys!' Jaune thought as he took out his scroll. 'No wait, my scroll isn't connected to the system! Dammit!' Jaune smacked his forehead with the scroll. He then looked over to the crowd. 'I could ask someone in the crowd to borrow their scroll. Yeah, that might help.' Jaune thought as he started making his way over to the crowd.

"Tch. Why are we even hanging around? The police aren't going to do much good." A scaly Faunus said.

"Yeah, plus this was a long time coming. Faunus fighting back is a lovely sight compared to the usual crap." A Faunus with quills in his hair responded.

"Hey, don't say that, dick!" A brunette human man said to them.

"Mind your own business, loser." The quilled Faunus said.

"If you're not concerned with what's happening then get out of here." A blue hair woman said with a glare.

"Whatever." The quilled Faunus said as he and the scaly Faunus left the premises, walking pass Jaune.

"Stupid Faunus." The brunette man said with a frown.

'Maybe that's not such a good idea. I doubt those two might be the only ones who are okay with this hostage situation going on and from the looks of that friction… if I ask to borrow one of their scrolls and call for help, then some extremist might sell me out. Plus, now that I think about it… I doubt they'll make it in time… and I think I'm the last person they'll want to talk to right now, let alone help.' Jaune thought with a somber expression. He growled as he gently slammed his clenched hands into the sides of his head. 'Dammit! I can't think of anything! I can't do anything!' Jaune thought with gritted teeth. He brought his arms down and hung his head. 'I… just can't… no matter what…' Jaune thought with a look of disappointment.

Disappointment in himself.

Jaune turned and continued on his way to his original destination.

'I can't do anything… no matter how hard I try.' Jaune thought as he started walking by the alley where the open door was. 'I can't… I'm worthless…' Jaune passed by the alley, but he stopped for a moment and tightened his fists. 'I'm a loser...' Jaune's eyes narrowed a bit. 'I can't… I can't…' Jaune bit his lip and closed his eyes tight. 'I can't…' Jaune released his hold on his suitcase and rushed down the alley. 'I Can't Walk Away!' Jaune thought as his eyes were wide and teeth grit. 'No Matter How Hard I Try!' Jaune mentally screamed as he had a look of determination.

Jaune quietly opened the door and looked inside. The pair of Faunus were putting bags over the mannequins' heads. Their backs were facing the door, so Jaune took his opportunity and snuck inside. Jaune was crouch walking, hiding behind a desk as this was the back office. He peeked from behind the desk, looking to the pair of White Fang members. He pulled back as the determined look he had before was replaced with one of panic.

'What the hell am I doing?! Why Did I Just Run In?! I Can't Do This! I'm Going To Get Everyone Killed!' Jaune thought with fear.

"Hey!" One of the White Fang exclaimed.

'Oh shit.' Jaune thought as he froze up.

"You idiot! You were supposed to close that door!" The White Fang member, the taller of the two, shouted at the shorter one.

"I did." The shorter one said.

"Properly! You kicked it, didn't you? Kicks aren't always a guarantee for closing doors. What if someone had walked right in? If we didn't have the cops' attention up front right now-"

"Okay, okay, I'll shut it!" The shorter one said with his hands up defensively. He turned and walked towards the door, grumbling. "You try closing a door when you have your arms covered with mannequins." He grumbled as he closed the door. "So we're just going to kill the humans once we get the truck?" The shorter Faunus asked.

"Nah. We're going to take them with us as insurance. These mannequins will buy us enough time along with that bomb." The taller one said.

'BOMB?!' Jaune mentally screamed as his eyes widened immensely.

"All the way to Vacuo? Seriously? Sounds like a hassle." The shorter Faunus said as he walked back to help finish up with the mannequins.

"No worries my brother, Vacuo and Vale are separated by a vast amount of sea. Once we're over Grimm infested waters, we dump them into the ocean. Simple as that. Like Adam said, we got to show our fangs all the way to the end. Never show weakness. We let any of those humans live after today and we'll be considered weak… and our people are tired of being weak." The taller Faunus said as they resumed getting the mannequins ready.

Behind the desk, Jaune tightened his fist as all the panic he had had before was now replaced with rage. His expression had a fierce gaze and tightly gritted teeth.

'Those… those cowards! Spineless! They're monsters!' Jaune thought with burning rage. His heart beating at a strong rhythm and heated up with a new fire. 'You guys are supposed to be heroes to your people… symbols for a bright tomorrow… but you guys are a joke! A cruel joke! No one should look up to you!' Jaune closed his eyes and frowned. 'I cheated my way to Beacon… I dishonored my family…' Jaune placed his hand on the pommel of his sword. 'I took something that didn't belong to me.' His eyes suddenly snapped open as he gained a look of determination. 'But even a good-for-nothing like me knows that you guys aren't worth a damn.'

"Alright. All set up. Now we just need to wait it out." The taller one said as he and the shorter Faunus started heading deeper into the blood bank.

"Where's the bomb anyway?" The shorter one asked.

"We put it in the manager's office. Once we get the truck, we start the timer." The taller one said as the two headed out the door, entering another area of the blood back.

Jaune peeked his head out. He looked towards the mannequins. The tools that were meant to trick the police and buy time. Jaune could hear the screams of the people within his head as he thought about the innocents being used and tossed in the ocean to be eaten by the Grimm.

Jaune's brow furrowed, and his fists tightened.

'I'm not strong like my friends… but I'm the only one here. I have to give it my all… somehow.' Jaune thought as he mustered up enough courage to move.

Jaune walked over towards the door and cracked it open. He saw he was behind a desk with a window. After looking side to side to see no one nearby, he sneaked in and peeked through the window to see the main lobby where all the hostages were grouped together in the center with a pair of White Fang members aiming their rifles at them. Some of those hostages were nurses and a doctor, with the rest being civilians. Two of them were kids. More of the White Fang were keeping every nook and cranny of the area with weapons in their hands.

'Okay. So… how do I make that 'somehow' happen.' Jaune thought to himself as he sank back to the ground. 'Come on, Jaune. Think.' Jaune tapped his chin in thought. 'Wait a minute… I can't use my scroll to contact anybody… but the security officer must have something. I can contact someone from the outside!' Jaune thought with a victorious grin and fist pump.

He started sneaking around the area he was in. From what it looks like, he was in the section of the bank tellers. Or whatever those people who do the same thing are called within blood banks. The security office had to be nearby. Jaune snuck around until he found what he was looking for. Seeing the security office, he grinned with relief as he snuck inside.

Looking inside, he found the large computer that had screens connected to all the security cameras, and computer terminals. He snuck in, only to hear moaning, making him turn to see a security guard, sitting against the wall with his side bleeding.

Jaune was about to make his way over to help, only to remember his objective, and that he might not be able to help as intended. Especially not with the situation they're all stuck in. The blonde made his way over towards the computer terminals and looked for one to communicate with.

When looking around, he found a scroll on the side of the computerized desk. He grabbed it and opened it up, only to find it was locked with a password.

"Dammit." Jaune cursed in a low tone. He turned towards the bleeding security guard. He made his way over and knelt in front of him. Looking down towards the wound, seeing the guard was trying to apply pressure to it. He grimaced, wishing he could do something to take away the pain. Jaune gently placed a hand on the guard and gently shook him, never noticing that his hand had flashed yellow. "Hey. Hey buddy, I need you to wake up. Please." Jaune pleaded with the guard to wake up.

The security guard moaned as he slowly cracked open his eyes to see a blonde young man kneeling in front of him.

"Who the hell are you?" The security guard asked.

"I'm just a guy who wants to help. I need your password." Jaune said, extending the scroll to the guard.

"Why?" The security guard asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I need it to call someone who could help."

"Let the police handle this, kid. You're in way over your head. You're gonna get people killed." The security guard berated Jaune.

"They're all going to be killed if we don't do something. I ran in here when I noticed a pair of these White Fang guys carrying mannequins. They plan on using them to fool the police into thinking the hostages are still here. They're going to take everyone with them and dump them into Grimm infested waters when they get out of Vale. We need to call help now." Jaune explained, shocking the security guard.

"G-Give it here." The security guard urged as he managed to lift up his hand, taking the scroll and putting in his password. "Here."

"Thanks." Jaune grabbed the scroll, then took out his own.

"Wait, you have your own? Why not use that?"

"It doesn't work. Not anymore. Now it's pretty much a phone book." Jaune answered as he looked through his numbers. "Dammit. Why didn't I ask Headmaster Ozpin or Professor Goodwitch for their numbers? Stupid Jaune!" Jaune berated himself in a hush tone. He decided to work with what he's got and go with one of the numbers in his phone. One he trusted the most as of late. 'Please. Please let this work. Please let her not be mad at me.' Jaune prayed as he dialed the number into the guard's scroll.

.

.

Ruby was sitting on her bed, drowning her sorrow in cookies. Her team decided to vent their own frustrations in their own ways.

Weiss by studying, Blake by reading, and Yang by punching.

The poor reaper remained in her room, trying to find solace in cookies.

But they were just making her sadder!

'Jaune… you're making my cookies taste bitter.' Ruby thought as she cried. She suddenly heard her ring tone, 'This Will Be The Day', making her head perk up. She took it out of her combat skirt, somehow, and checked to find an unknown number. She raised an eyebrow at this, but decided to pick it up, nonetheless. "Hello?" Ruby answered as she put a cookie in her mouth.

"Ruby?"

Ruby's eyes widened in shock at hearing the familiar voice with her cookie falling from her mouth.

"J… Jaune?"

"Ruby, listen. I know you might be mad at me, well, maybe not might, but if you could just forget that anger for just a few moments-"

"Jaune!" Ruby cheered the blonde's name as she leaped up, only to bump her head. "Ow. Top bunk." Ruby reminded herself as she leaped off her hanging bed. "Jaune, I am so glad to hear from you again!" Ruby said with pure joy as she got teary eyed.

"You are?" Jaune asked incredulously.

"Of course I am! You're my best friend!" Ruby exclaimed. She couldn't see it, but her words struck a chord with Jaune. The young knight shed tears of joy and started sobbing on the other line. "Jaune… are you okay?" Ruby asked, worried for the boy.

"Yeah. I mean… you don't know how happy I feel… just hearing you say that." Jaune said, causing Ruby to smile with teary eyes and a tint of pink across her cheeks. "Ruby… I need your help."

"Don't worry, Jaune! I'm making a case for you as we speak! We'll get the headmaster to welcome you back!" Ruby declared with pride and determination.

"No, Ruby, that's not the help I'm looking for." Jaune said, surprising the petite student.

"Wha-? But… but I want you back." Ruby said with a saddened expression.

"And I want to be back… but that's not what's important right now. I need you to deliver a message to Headmaster Ozpin. Can you please do this for me?" Jaune pleaded.

After a moment, Ruby nodded.

"Yes. Of course."

"Okay, listen. I don't have much time. On my way out of Vale, I came across this robbery at a blood bank by the White Fang. I managed to sneak in and discovered that they're planning to use mannequins as decoys to take the hostages they have with them. If we don't get the word out of their plan, they're going to take them out of Vale and dump them into Grimm infested waters!" Jaune explained, causing Ruby to silently gasp and cover her mouth in shock.

Ruby couldn't believe what she had just heard. She couldn't believe such a thing could happen. She knew there were bank robberies. She knew of the usage of hostages. Hell, of course she knew everything that was said.

It was just then lengths that left her speechless.

She knew how the White Fang felt and why they do what they do. She knew how angry they were… but to go this far. To take innocent people and do such a terrible thing to them. Not out of a sense of justice… just out of hatred and a desire to cause people pain and suffering.

She felt ready to vomit.

Ruby knew things weren't like a fairytale… but she never expected it to be this bad. For such atrocities to possible from people who were feeling pain and wanted to share it.

"Ruby? Ruby, are you there?" Jaune asked, earning a nod in response. "Ruby, you know I can't see you nodding through your scroll right now, I need you to talk to me." Jaune said, somehow knowing by feeling that his friend gave one.

"Y-Yes, Jaune." Ruby managed to utter.

"Listen, I know this is a lot to dump on you right now… but I have no one else to turn to. I mean, maybe Pyrrha and my team… but you're the one I thought of first. I trust you… probably more than anyone." Jaune confessed. "You helped me at my lowest… I just need your help one more time. Please." Jaune pleaded in a soft, somber tone.

She could feel the sensation of desperation, sadness, prayerful and trust in his tone.

She couldn't help but nod again.

"Of course, Jaune. I'll always be there for you." Ruby said.

.

.

Jaune's lip quivered after hearing those words. He never thought he would be so lucky. He was prepared to be ostracized, ridiculed and scorned; all rightfully so for his cheating. Instead, he was met with genuine joy at the sound of his voice, care for his safety, understanding for his case, and trust in his word.

That day, Ruby had just given Jaune everything. And he will never forget it.

"Thank you, Ruby." Jaune thanked his friend.

His best friend. His greatest friend. The friend that he will never replace and will fight to hell and back to never lose.

"Psst. Kid. I hear movement." The security guard said, alerting Jaune.

"Ruby, I got to go. I'm trusting you with this." Jaune said through the scroll.

"Jaune, wait!"

"Bye."

"Please, don't-"

He hung up and hid underneath the security desk.

.

.

"Jaune? Jaune!" Ruby looked at her scroll in fear for the blonde's life. She went to her contacts to find the recent number. Once she did, she selected it and called back.

.

.

Two members of the White Fang walked into the security office. They made their way over towards the computer desk.

"Move." One member said to the other, who did so, as he then took aim and fired at the computer system along with the monitors.

"What are you?! Crazy?!" The other member, who was female, shouted at the male one.

"He did say disable it. Figured this would be quicker." The male White Fang said as he made his way out of the room.

"Ugh. Men." The female said as she followed after him, closing the door behind her.

After a moment, the security guard, who was pretending to be unconscious, looked towards the computer terminal to see it all wrecked. His entire station was a mess.

"Dammit." The guard cursed with a frown. "Hey, kid… you still alive?" The guard asked.

Jaune suddenly fell out face first from his hiding space, which was right under where the male White Fang member shot at, giving a thumbs up in response. Jaune got up on hands and knees and turned his head to the no destroyed terminal.

'Please hurry, Ruby.' Jaune mentally begged.

"I hope your call was worth it." The security guard same.

"I do too." Jaune said with a frown. 'No… it was worth it.' Jaune mentally added as he gained a steadfast expression.

.

.

"We're sorry, but the number you have dialed is no longer connected. Please try again later." A computerized voice said through Ruby's scroll.

"No~!" Ruby cried out with despair as she then tapped the scroll against her forehead. "No, no. Jaune… please be okay." Ruby pleaded for her friend's safety. She then gasped, remembering what he trusted her with. "I have to go tell Professor Ozpin!" Ruby rushed out the door and travelled through the halls using her semblance.

Weiss and Blake were coming back from the library, when they noticed a blur of rose petals bulleting past them in the halls.

"Ruby?" Weiss spoke her leader's name as she and Blake were surprised to see her rushing away.

.

.

Jaune looked around at the security guard station, seeing it all riddled with bullet holes. Not a spec of tech left working. He sighed as he walked away and rested against the wall right next to the security guard.

"Now what?" The guard asked.

"I don't know." Jaune admitted.

"Kid… there's a good chance your friend might not deliver the message in time. People's lives are in danger. Something has to be done."

"I know… but what can I do? I suck with a sword, and I can only hide behind a shield for so long." Jaune said with frustration.

"Do you know how to use a gun?" The security guard asked.

Jaune's eyes widened at this idea.

"I… have used a few before." Jaune answered.

"Are you any good?"

"I've hit a deer in the heart from thirty yards away with a rifle." Jaune answered, remembering his old hunting trips.

"Not bad." The security guard said, impressed with the blonde's skill. "There's a safety deposit box underneath the desk over there. The passcode for it is 6-5-2013. Inside is the keys to the gun locker over there. Suit up." The security guard informed.

Jaune's eyes widened again as he looked from the guard, towards the desk, to the nearby locker with the padlock.

"I… I've never shot at people before. Except during paintball games." Jaune said, feeling a little nervous.

"First time for everything." The guard said, noticing Jaune still being unsure over the idea. "Look, kid… you made it this far, and right now, you're the only one we can all depend on. You have to step up… for everyone's sake." The security guard said, trying to inspire Jaune.

Jaune was still pretty nervous, but after a moment of thought, he said screw it and nodded. He still didn't like the idea of what he had to do, but he had to do something. There wasn't any real guarantee that the word would get out to the police in time, so he had to do something. Right now, he's the last and only line of defense.

… Gods, he feels so fucked.

Jaune walked over towards the desk and looked for the safety deposit box underneath it. once taking it out he put in the passcode and unlocked it. Taking out the key, Jaune looked towards the gun locker and took a deep breath before marching his way over. Using the key, he opened up the locker and saw all the firearms within raging from pistols, to rifles, to shotguns. It was packed with heat.

"Well… here we go." Jaune said, putting on a steely look of determination, yet showing signs of worry on his face.

.

.

Ruby quickly sped her way towards the tower where Ozpin's office was. Making it inside, she stopped at the elevator and quickly pressed the button that led to Ozpin's office. She was fidgeting in place, waiting for the elevator to get to her. She was just so dang worried for Jaune.

Right now, he was in danger. In a blood bank filled with the White Fang. Armed with weapons… to blow holes in him!

"Come on, come on, come on!" Ruby repeatedly smashed her finger against the button until the elevator doors opened. "Finally!" Ruby shouted as she ran right in and pressed for the top button. She fidgeted again for a second or two, before anxiety got the best of her again. "Come on, come on, come on!" Ruby repeatedly pushed the button again as the elevator doors closed.

The elevator ride felt like it was taking forever, and it was much worse considering she was thinking about Jaune and what kind of danger he was in right now.

When she reached the top, she bulleted right through when the doors opened for her.

Ozpin and Glynda were in a discussion when Ruby came speeding in with her semblance, stopping in front of the headmaster's desk.

"Professor Ozpin, I need your help! It's urgent!" Ruby implored with the urgency and fear in her voice being palpable.

"What is it, Miss Rose?" Ozpin asked.

"It's Jaune!"

"Miss Rose, please. You have to understand that we have rules that need to be taken seriously." Glynda interjected. "Honestly, Mr. Arc was lucky we didn't bring him into the cops."

"No, that's not it! Jaune just called me and there's trouble with the White Fang!" Ruby quickly said, surprising the teachers.

"How? His scroll should be turned off." Glynda wondered with skepticism.

"He was using someone else's scroll. He told me that he snuck into a blood bank that the White Fang are holding up and they plan to trick the police with mannequins!" Ruby said, now confusing the pair of instructors.

"Mannequins? How so?" Ozpin questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"He said that they're planning to use the mannequins to trick the police into thinking they're the hostages! They're going to take the real ones with them so they can escape Vale! And when they do… they're going to throw them into Grimm infested waters!" Ruby explained with a look of fear and anguish, shocking Glynda and Ozpin once again.

"These are serious accusations. Are you sure he wasn't lying?" Glynda asked, still a bit skeptical.

"Jaune wouldn't lie!" Ruby exclaimed, actually glaring at Glynda. "I mean, sure he lied his way into Beacon, but he had to have a reason. That doesn't mean he would lie when lives are on the line! Jaune isn't like that! He's honest where it counts!" Ruby argued, causing Glynda and Ozpin to look to one another. "Please… you have to believe me! I… I don't want Jaune to die. I don't want anyone to die. Please!" Ruby was now begging with tears in her eyes.

Ozpin blinked his eyes. He pressed a few buttons on his desk as a holographic monitor appeared and started ringing. Ozpin was making a call to the police chief.

"This is the Chief of Police."

"Hello, Graham. This is Ozpin. There's something that I need to be sure of, if you don't mind me asking." Ozpin said through the monitor.

"Okay, shoot." The chief responded.

"At this moment, is there a robbery at a blood bank with the White Fang holding hostages?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know? The local news hasn't arrived on the scene to make it live yet." The chief answered with surprise.

This caused Ozpin and Glynda to frown, now worried that what Ruby just told them might be true.

"I believe we might have a problem."

.

.

Jaune had several straps tied to him with several guns attached to them. He now held a pair of M1911-style semi-automatic pistols, a pair of Colt Anaconda 44 magnums strapped to his side with UZI 99mm right beside them, and strapped to his back were a Winchester Model 1887 shotgun, a Mossberg 930 Tactical shotgun, and ISSC MK22 .22 LR Rimfire Rifle. He even had a stun gun strapped onto the back of his belt over his right buttocks.

"Okay… I think I'm ready." Jaune said, facing the down security guard.

"More than enough… although… maybe you'd like this as well." The security guard brought up a taser, extending it towards Jaune.

"I already have a stun gun." Jaune said, turning around to show it strapped to his belt.

"This is for in case someone manages to get in close. Now take it."

"But… won't you need it?" Jaune asked, worried for the guard's safety.

"Kid. I can't do anything right now. Hell, I'm surprised that I'm awake right now. Other than that… I can't do anything to protect the people inside. That role is now left to you." The guard explained.

Jaune frowned as he walked over. He knelt, staring at the taser for a moment, before grabbing it.

"I could leave with one of-"

"You need all the firepower you got for this. Just be careful out there. It's not just your life you're fighting for now." The guard said, earning a nod from Jaune.

"Hang in there, okay?" Jaune said, placing a hand on the guard's shoulder.

"I'll try." The security guard said. "By the way… I never got your name."

"Jaune. My name is Jaune Arc." Jaune introduced himself.

"Thank you… Jaune." The security guard said, earning a soft smile from the Arc. "Oh and uh, just in case, you might want to bring those silencers." The guard suggested, nodding his head towards the add-ons for his guns.

"Thanks. That'll help." Jaune said as he walked over and took the pair of silencers. He then turned and headed for the door. He stopped in front of it and took a deep inhale through his nose, then exhaled out his mouth. "Wish me luck." Jaune said, turning to the guard with a smile, only to him with his head hanging and eyes closed.

Jaune faced him with a look of shock. He took a step forward with his hand out, but stopped as he remembered the ones who need him now. With a saddened expression, Jaune turned back towards the door. He carefully opened it up and managed to catch a glimpse of a few hostages in the center. His eyes fell on a mother holding her scared son tightly in her arms.

It was this sight that gave Jaune the determination he needed to sneak back out and handle the situation.

.

.

Outside, the police had managed to get the large truck that the White Fang had demanded.

"Truck is ready, Captain." An officer said to his superior.

"And the lien?"

"Going as smooth as you'd expect." The officer answered, earning a worried groan from the captain.

The captain heard his scroll ringing and immediately picked it up.

"Captain Stills here." The captain answered. "What? Are you serious?! How did you find this out?"

"Sir?" The officer looked at the captain, wondering what was going on.

"The headmaster? How did he find this out?" The captain asked. "There's someone… understood. We'll try to get a handle on the situation, sir." The captain said as he hung up. "We have a huge problem." The captain said as he grabbed the megaphone. "Attention, White Fang. We have the truck you demanded." The captain said over the megaphone.

"Go check it out." A tall, muscular White Fang member said to another from inside the blood bank.

The White Fang member walked over towards the entrance and checked through the doors that the truck was out there.

"It's here, sir." The male White Fang member said as he turned towards the one who addressed him, his superior.

The White Fang member who was leading the group was tall with a muscular build, had tattoos on his arms with scars all throughout the appendages and dark grey fur along his shoulders. He wore something similar to the usual attire for men of a white vest, sleeveless hooded shirt, black fingerless gloves that stopped halfway up his forearms, black pants and boots, but his pants were baggier than the rest, his boots were black and steel toed and his gloves had steel attached to the back of them with studs along the knuckles. He also had a black sternum strap with a pair of scimitars attached to the back, a hand cannon attached to the right hip of his belt and his mask covered his entire face with a pair of long fangs like a sabretooth, and red marking painted all over it.

"Tell them to bring it around back." The leader of the group ordered.

"We want that thing parked around back." The White Fang member ordered towards the police.

"First, we want to see all the hostages. We want to know that they're all safe and sound." The captain ordered through the megaphone.

"They are!" The WF member shouted out.

"Then show them. Bring them over towards the door." The captain responded.

"Why?"

"We just want to make sure every single one is accounted for. No tricks. I swear." The captain said.

"Sir?" The WF member turned towards his superior who walked over towards the doors.

The leader looked through the cracks to notice some police were keeping attention near the alleyways that led to the back entrances of the blood bank.

"They know what we're planning." The leader said, shocking his fellow members.

"What? How?" The WF member beside him questioned.

"The security guard!" Another male member exclaimed as he ran towards the security room with a female member following after him.

Jaune peeked his head from behind a desk, looking to see the pair of White Fang members ran back to the room he was just in. He took this little distraction they were having to count how many hostages there were.

'Okay. Nine in total. Two doctors, four nurses, one man, one woman, and two children: one boy, one girl.' Jaune listed each off when he noticed the boy in the woman's arms looking paler than the others and trying to catch his breath. 'Oh no… that kid… I think he's anemic!' Jaune thought of with concern as he pulled his head back. 'I've got to get them out of here, especially the kid. This stress isn't good for him. Okay, think Jaune. You can't just go out there, guns blazing. Both because I doubt that I'm that good, and the hostages will be in danger. I got to get them away from these guys and put them into a safer location. The question is, how am I going to get those White Fang guys away from them. There's fifteen of them, and I'm just one guy. I need more space. Some place where I can roam and hide.' Jaune thought to himself, when a thought came to mind. 'They store blood here. With so many different types and people coming in that they have to document, it's all got to be stored in a large room. At least, I hope it'll be large.'

"Sir!" The male White Fang member came back with his female companion, catching Jaune's attention. "We checked. The guard is still knocked out. Somehow still breathing, but out of commission."

"Then it wasn't him?" The leader questioned, facing the two.

"No, but that's not the problem." The male WF said.

"We found this underneath the desk of the computer system." The female WF said as she handed the leader the scroll. "We believe it is the security guard's."

"So, he made the call and tossed it under?" The leader questioned.

"I don't think that's what happened. When we were in there, we noticed the weapon's locker was open with several firearms missing. However, there were none on the guard, and the locker was closed when we went there to cut off communications." The female WF informed, causing the leader to crush the scroll in hand.

"Someone else is here." The leader stated, shocking the others.

"Someone snuck in?" A male WF member questioned with shock.

"Who? A cop?" Another asked as he readied his rifle.

"I doubt it. A cop wouldn't have left evidence of their intrusion like this. It's just sloppy." The leader deduced. "We got ourselves a hero. A wannabe."

"Oh, then that'll be easy." The WF readying his rifle said with relief.

"Don't underestimate anyone or you'll end up dead." The leader said, making the WF member gulp.

"But how did he manage to sneak in here? And how did he find out about our plan with the hostages?" The male White Fang member near the door questioned, causing a pair of male WF members to flinch and glance to the other.

"Anything you guys can guess?" A female White Fang member 'asked' upon noticing their sudden behavior.

The leader made his way towards the two, making them cower a bit.

"Spill." The leader ordered.

"Well, uh… t-there might be a chance that, um… well…"

"This idiot didn't properly close the door when he was hauling the mannequins inside." The other member said, causing the first to flinch.

"Dude!" The first shouted at his colleague.

"Mannequins?" One of the nurses questioned, only to be shushed by one of the doctors.

"You didn't close the door?" The leader questioned in a menacing tone as he walked over.

"I-I was carrying the mannequins in with both arms. A-All I could do in that moment was kick it closed!" The WF member, the shorter of the two, tried to explain himself.

"I told him it wouldn't work." The taller WF member said.

"Dude, shut up! You're not helping!" The shorter one shouted.

"You're the one who didn't help any of us." The leader said in a threatening tone, stopping before the now shivering short member. "When you were back there… you spilt the whole plan, didn't you?" The leader asked rhetorically as he already knew the answer.

"I-It was just a brief moment when it was open. I-I didn't know anyone was in there listening to us." The shorter WF member said, only to be grabbed by the neck, harshly.

"Thanks to you and your blabbermouth, that person managed to get the word out about our plan for the hostages. Now all we got are a bunch of crappy mannequins that'll be used to fill up space!" The leader raised the White Fang member into the air, holding his throat tightly in a vice grip. "You had one job! Collect mannequins from across the street to be used as decoys for us to take the hostages with us!"

"Oh my God." A doctor said, covering their mouth.

"Mommy… I'm scared." The anemic boy said weakly to his mother.

"Zip it!" The leader of the gang shouted, aiming his hand cannon at the scared hostages, making them flinch with the mother holding her son tightly in her arms. "Now… they're useless to us." The leader clicked his hand cannon, causing the chamber to turn, frightening the hostages. "Except for luring this 'hero' out. You on the other hand..." The leader brought the hand cannon up and pressed the barrel of the gun right where his jugular was. "I don't see any use for." He said, shocking the rest of the White Fang.

"Sir, wait!" The taller WF member shouted out with his hand raised.

All of a sudden, they heard glass breaking causing them to turn with their guns ready.

"What was that?" One of the WF members questioned, now feeling jumpy.

"Glass breakage." The leader said as he threw the WF member he held off to the side. "You. What's in that direction?" The leader questioned a doctor, aiming his hand cannon at him.

"T-That way leads to the storage room. W-where we keep all the vials." The doctor answered.

"Is it spacious?" The leader asked.

"Y-Yes."

"Hmm. Perfect for him to move around. So he wants a shootout, eh?" The leader said as he faced the direction of the storage room. "Ten of you go on ahead. Finish this guy." The leader said, earning nods as ten of the members made their way towards the storage room. "You four are staying with me." The leader said as he then looked towards the White Fang member her tossed a second ago. "Guess I found a new use for you." The leader said.

The White Fang member he threw held his throat, panting with fear as he was sweating bullets. His mask was cracked, revealing one of his green eyes, which reflected pure fear.

.

.

The ten White Fang members went into the storage room, which was massive with many, many aisles scattered throughout with vials of blood being held within them.

They kept their crosshairs up, looking around to find the source of the noise, and possibly their unwelcome guest.

One male member noticed a broken vial on the ground. Walking over towards the broken vial, he knelt over it.

"One broken vial." The WF member said as he stood up and faced the rest. "Scatter and look for this guy." The WF member said.

Everyone did as they were told and started scanning around the aisles. The members separated and went down each aisle, trying to find the intruder. They were keeping their eyes and ears open for anything.

They were all pretty thinned out from one another, a good distance which provided their target ample time to strike.

A female member was making her way down an aisle, keeping focus on trying to find the target. Whoever they were. Unbeknownst to her, one vial was being pushed out. Her ears caught this sound, and once she heard the glass breakage she turned and fired upon noticing someone passing by the corner. She nailed the person, but unfortunately for her it was another White Fang member, a male.

The male WF member fell against the ground, moaning in pain as he held his torso from being shot.

"Oh my God, Eli!" She ran over, kneeling to console him. "I am so sorry." She apologized, only to suddenly be shot in the back and electrocuted into unconsciousness.

Jaune had used the stun gun on her, then quickly ran over, taking out his shotgun, the Mossberg 930 Tactical, and hit the male member with the bud of the gun, knocking him out. Jaune let out a sigh of relief.

"Whoa… I actually did that." Jaune whispered before quickly recomposing himself and hurried back into the aisle, but another male White Fang to notice him.

"Hey!" The WF member ran after Jaune. He aimed his rifle down where the blonde ran down, only to see he was gone. He quickly ran down the aisle, heading to the other side. He turned and noticed movement far down. He ran down and noticed a shadow by one aisle. He slowed his pace as he got closer, stalking his way near the shadow. One by the aisle, he quickly faced the target with his gun ready, only to see it was a coat rack. "What?" He was confused, only to then be shot in the side.

Jaune was actually in the next aisle ready with his Mossberg 930 Tactical.

"Three down. Holy shit… I took down three White Fang." Jaune said, surprised by his own progress.

"There!"

Jaune quickly ran back down the aisle as the rest of the White Fang hurried after him. Three ran down an aisle and started firing through the shelves, breaking vials and splattering blood with their bullets, trying to nail Jaune.

The blonde slid onto his side and fired through one of the lower shelves, managing to nail one in the leg, causing them to fall to the floor.

"Ah! Son of a bitch got me in my kneecaps!" The down member shouted as he held his knee.

Jaune quickly got to his feet and hurried down the aisle. When he made it to the end, another member arrived and fired at him. Jaune took out one of his M1911's and fired at him, forcing him to pull back for cover. Jaune did the same but kept his head peaking out. He remembered what he learned from his experience with firearms in the past and took a deep breath. He readied his M1911 and focused on his target and when they would pop out. He took in their height and calculated where to shoot. He remained patient.

When the White Fang member popped out with their rifle ready, Jaune moved out. The WF managed to pop out a few shots, but Jaune made sure to stand sideways as he fired, managing to land a bullet into the barrel, causing an explosion from it and the bullet just fired colliding.

"AH!" The White Fang fell to the ground as his rifle burst, injuring his hands in the process.

Jaune quickly ran away, looking for a new hiding spot. The third member ran out and fired at Jaune, only managing to nick him in shoulder armor, but the blonde managed to run into a new room, avoiding more bullets.

"Dammit!" The WF member cursed with irritation. He noticed his comrade down with his hands charred and trembling. "What the hell happened? Did one of your dust rounds go off or something?" He asked, kneeling beside his comrade.

"That bastard!" The downed WF member cursed as his hands hurt like hell from stinging and burning pain.

"What happened?!" The four other members hurried over, shocked to find five of their own members down.

"Human bastard took down five of our own members! Three knocked out, two critically injured." The only other uninjured member informed.

"He did all this in like a minute?" The only other female of the group, a dark green haired rabbit Faunus said in shock of how her comrades were taken down so quickly and efficiently.

"Who is he? Special Ops?" Another member asked.

"No. He's just some kid." The first member said.

"You two go after him." One member, taller than the others, said to the first and third member.

"He went down this way." The first one said as he and the other member hurried towards the door Jaune ran through.

"We're dealing with a human child?" The only other male of the now group of three questioned, still in shock.

"Got to be a huntsman, or a fourth year from Beacon." The tallest of the three deduced.

"Are you sure?" The female WF asked.

"He has to be! If he isn't…, can you imagine damage to the White Fang's reputation if we had our asses handed to us by a random brat with a gun? If he's anything lesser, we'll have to live with this injustice forever!" The tallest member said, gritting his teeth in fear and frustration.

The other two gulped, not sure what was more worrisome. The guy fighting them or if he manages to beat them all.

.

.

The two White Fang members entered the room Jaune had run into. It looked to be another storage room, but this one for documentation. There were file cabinets, desks, and more aisles, this time holding folders. There was also a large window overhead where the ceiling was.

They walked carefully down the room, keeping an eye out for the target.

"The kid is blonde, tall and wearing armor that only covered his shoulders, biceps, chest and back. He's packing some heat. Two shotguns, a rifle, a pair of semi-automatics, handguns, a magnum, and I believe a stun gun." The member who shot at Jaune earlier informed the other.

"Damn. Isn't that enough?" The second member rhetorically asked. They suddenly noticed one of the shelves tipped over, hitting another and falling to the floor. "There!" The second WF shouted, rushing over.

"Wait!" The first member called out as he hurried after him.

The first member stopped and readied his rifle, only to find no signs of him.

"Dammit."

"You idiot, he was baiting you!" The first member reprimanded the other.

Jaune suddenly from an aisle behind them and fired with his M1911s, nailing the second WF in the back of his knees.

"AH!" The struck WF member fell onto his hands and knees.

"Fucker!" The first one shouted as he turned and fired, but Jaune managed to duck into another aisle in time. "Tch!" The still standing WF was pissed. Instead of chasing the blonde, he stood by his ally and looked around for the human.

"Goddamn that guy." The second WF said as he felt pain throughout his knees.

Jaune took out his rifle and fired upward. Bullets hit the window overhead, breaking it and causing glass to fall over the White Fang members.

"Fuck!" The first WF said as he ducked, covering his comrade with his body as glass fell atop of them.

"Holy shit, this kid is crazy!" The downed member shouted out.

Jaune took this opportunity to run past them, firing at them with his UZIs.

The first member tried retaliating, but Jaune managed to riddle him, causing him pain as the blonde ran by and entered a new room.

"AH~! I'm Gonna Kill This Kid!" The member who was hit all over with bullets shouted as he fell over on his hands and knees, slamming his fist down.

"Thank the Gods for aura. We'd all be dead by now. Still hurts like hell though." The second one said, groaning in pain as he held his knees.

"I'm gonna go on ahead. You hang back here." The first member said.

"Fuck that, I'm pissed! I want this kid dead!" The second one said as he fought to stand up. The sounds of rummaging around, things falling over, followed by gunshots everywhere was heard from where Jaune ran towards. "What the hell's going on over there?"

"We can't underestimate him. This kid is good. I've never seen a better shot before in my life, and he's a wily one. He isn't running in guns blazing. He uses his head pretty damn well." The first member said.

"Are you complimenting the enemy?!"

"I'm telling you not to just run in there or your ass is grass!" The first member shouted. "Move carefully." He said as he and his comrade got to their feet and followed after the blonde.

They carefully opened the door and found that it was an office. What was likely once an orderly office now was messy with filing cabinets scatters with some on their sides and some still standing up, desks flipped over, glass on the floor with half of the lights in the room being off from being shot at, and a foldable room divider nearby.

"What a mess." The second WF member commented.

"What a plan." The first one noticed the blonde human's strategy, between creating cover with the cabinets and desks, the damaged lights to obscure vision and glass on the floor to alert him of their steps. "This kid is a smart one. Tread lightly." He warned.

The two carefully trekked forward. The first one tried to step around the glass the best he could, but his teammate wasn't as careful.

Jaune was currently hiding behind a desk he turned over with his M1911s ready. In front of him was a mirror. He saw his reflection, but more importantly, he could see the reflection of the White Fang members. Luckily, from the angle he and the two Faunus were at, he was able to use it to notice them while they couldn't see him. He heard the glass crunching beneath footwear, making Jaune look to the mirror to see the White Fang members walking in front of his hiding spot. Noticing a nearby coffee mug, he grabbed it, silently apologized to whoever the owner may be and tossed it over to the side.

The two WF members heard the glass breakage making them quickly aim their guns there, only to see a broken mug.

Once getting them in place and determining their position and the math, Jaune stood up from his hiding spot.

"There!" The second White Fang member shouted as he and his comrade pulled their triggers, only for Jaune to immediately fire bullets into the barrels, causing the guns to explode from having bullets on both ends colliding and ignite.

The two fell onto the floor with their hands all charred and damaged. Their minds now disorientated thanks to the result of the small explosions.

Jaune quickly hurried to find a new hiding spot within the room.

Some time later, the three other members arrived at the room, only to see their comrades on the floor, out of commission with their hands charred and rifles damaged from the inside.

"The hell?!" The sole female member said in shock as the tallest of the three walked over to the defeated members.

"Look at this mess." The shorter of the two males said as he looked around the room. He walked over to the side of the tall one and looked down to their fallen comrades. "They look the same as Mickey. Hands all messed up. What happened?" He wondered.

The taller one examined the weapons they had, noticing they had exploded from the inside out with the barrels of the firearms suffering the most.

"I… think the guys shot right into the barrel of the guns." The taller one deduced.

"What?!" The female of the group questioned with shock and a growing sense of fear.

"That's what I'm guessing from the clues right here. I know it sounds fantastic, something out of an action movie, but the evidence points to it. Doesn't help that we also use dust ammo." The taller of the three said, frowning at the skills this intruder possessed.

"M-Maybe we should go back." The female said, now getting scared.

"And piss off Gree? You know how angry he'll be if we come back and tell him what happened." The shorter of the two males said.

"He'll understand. It would be better than staying here." The Faunus girl replied, earning looks from the other two.

"Have you met him before today?"

"Alex, just start scanning the room. See if he's still in here." The taller of the two males ordered the other.

"Fine." Alex said as he started looking around with his rifle raised and ready to fire.

"Look, Aria, Alex is right. Gree isn't the most understanding type. Adam is more empathetic and patient than he is, and he's a stubborn bull." The taller member said to the female, Aria, as he stood up straight.

"M-Michael… maybe we've gone too far here. All we needed was blood, but with the hostages. What we're planning to do… I… I don't think-"

"Listen to me. You have to keep an opinion like that to yourself. You're not allowed to have a conscience like that. Not anymore. Not with the crowd you're running with now." Michael said, causing Aria to hang her head in shame and fear. "We'll get through this. We're doing good for Faunus. Remember that." Michael said, gently placing his hand on Aria's shoulder.

Alex carefully walked around the room, making sure to check all the hiding spots. His next spot was the foldable room divider. As he carefully walked over, he checked behind it, only to be hit with a shot from the stun gun.

Michael and Aria heard Alex's body hit the ground, making them turn to see Jaune coming out of his hiding spot with his ISSC MK22 .22 LR Rimfire Rifle out and ready. Michael quickly pushed Aria out of the way and tried to fire at the blonde, only to be bombarded by bullets all throughout his body. Jaune stopped and hid away again, allowing Michael to fall onto a knee.

Aria had fired at the divider he was hiding behind, but Jaune ran out and ducked cover behind a file cabinet.

"Michael!" Aria turned to the only other conscious White Fang member.

"Aria, go!" Michael ordered.

Aria was so scared that she ran out of the room without a second thought. Her instincts were screaming out a fight or flight response, and she took the flight. Her own comrades were taken down so quickly and efficiently that she was in fear of being next. Running out of the room, she left Michael behind to face the human.

Michael let out a pained growl as he fought to get back to his feet, scanning around with his rifle.

"Your friend is right, you know." Jaune said, causing Michael to turn, only for Jaune to shoot his rifle out of his hands with his Winchester Model 1887. "This has gone too far. Especially with the hostages. Let's just stop this." Jaune reasoned.

"Stop this?" Michael questioned incredulously.

"Just set them free, and turn yourselves in. No more people have to get hurt." Jaune pleaded.

"People? We aren't considered people. No one considers us people… We Are Faunus!" Michael shouted as he pulled out a handgun, but Jaune unleashed the five remaining rounds from his Winchester, striking Michael all over and sending him to the ground with his aura fizzling out.

"You're people to me." Jaune said with a somber frown as he reloaded his Winchester with a famous spin cock.

.

.

Aria ran back out towards where the blood vials were stored, she quickly hid behind an aisle and sat against it, causing some of them to fall over and break upon the ground. She started hyperventilating a bit out of fear. She held her rifle close to her chest as she panted out of fear. Her eyes looked down towards the broken vials, seeing the blood on the ground, causing her more distress.

"Please see me through this… please, see me through this…" She whispered with her eyes closed.

"Aria." Someone addressed her, causing her to yelp in fear and aim her gun at the side, only to see it was another male member of the White Fang.

"What the hell happened around here?" The WF member asked, shocked by the sight of five defeated White Fang members.

"He took them all out! In just the past five minutes or whatever he took down everyone! A-And I think… I think he just took down Michael." Aria said as she then pressed her head against her fist. "Oh God… Michael. Forgive me. Why did I run?" Aria berated herself, feeling immense shame for her cowardice.

Her fellow White Fang member looked at her with pity. Whoever this guy was, he was good. So good that he was scaring their new recruit.

"Go back to the others and report what happened. I'll handle this." The WF member said.

"No, Carlos, don't. He's too good. Please, don't go!" Aria begged.

"Someone has to." Carlos said as he readied his rifle. "Now go on. I'll buy you time." Carlos said as he walked away with his rifle.

Aria reached her hand out, but he was already gone. She panted in fear as she held her own rifle. She slapped her face a bit, trying to get herself out of her frightened state. After a moment of recollection, she managed to get back to her feet and hurried her way back to the main room of the blood bank. As she neared the door, she heard gunfire, causing her to freeze. When there was no more heard, she sobbed a bit out of fear as she ran out the door.

Aria made it to where the remaining members of her faction were, still surrounding the hostages.

"What are you doing back here?" The tall, muscular Faunus / the leader questioned with a sense of irksomeness in his voice.

"They… they…"

"Spit it out." He ordered, clearly not in the mood for this.

"They… they've all been defeated. He took them all down." Aria informed, clearly still scared.

"What?!" One of the other White Fang members exclaimed.

"That fast!? Who is this guy?!" Another questioned with a shout.

"I don't know… maybe we should cut our losses." Aria said, only to be given a backhand by the leader of the group.

"Either he dies, or we go down. We're not surrendering. Talk like that again, and I'll kill you." The leader threatened, scaring the poor bunny Faunus even more.

"Gree… maybe you should ease up on her. She's new." One of the members said.

"Shut up." Gree said, clearly not caring. "You. Go lock up the back doors to this place." He ordered one of the members, who gave a salute and hurried off. "The rest of you with me. We'll handle this little shit." He ordered before looking down at Aria. "You are staying here and watching the hostages. Don't screw up."

Gree and the other two headed out, leaving poor Aria alone with the hostages.

The poor girl was still panting in fear as she got to her feet. She brought her rifle up and looked around, almost frantically. She was so scared to be alone right now. She was in fear that she was going to be attacked next. She had a gut feeling she was next. Sweat ran down her masked face. She lightly bopped the side of her head, trying to beat away the fear, but it wasn't working.

"Please don't let him be here… please… please don't let him be here." Aria muttered in apprehension.

"She's freaking out." The only male civilian noted.

"So?" A doctor asked.

"There's only one of her. If we all work together-"

"Shut up!" Aria shouted as she pointed her firearm at the hostages, causing them all to cower in fear. "You… you even try anything… and I'll fill you full of led!" Aria shouted, clearly paranoid with her finger on the trigger, trembling.

"You don't mean that." A voice spoke, causing Aria to look to see the blonde human who had taken down ten of her brothers in arms. Out of fear, she aimed her rifle at him, ready to shoot. "Wait. I only came here to talk." Jaune said with his hand up.

"Talk is cheap!" Aria uttered, ready to fire, only to flinch when Jaune aimed his magnum at her. She was struck with fear that she wasn't able to pull the trigger.

"Is it?" Jaune asked.

The hostages looked between the two who were now in a standoff.

"W-What are you doing? Shoot her!" The male civilian said out of desperation.

"I only came to talk to her." Jaune replied.

"Why me?" Aria asked, narrowing her hidden eyes in suspicion.

"Because you're different from the others. You don't think this is right." Jaune answered, surprising Aria.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about." Aria retorted, trying to put up a brave front.

"I heard what you said earlier. You this all this is too far. You don't want these hostages to die." Jaune said surprising Aria.

"It… it doesn't matter. They… they need to!"

"You don't believe that. I can hear it in your tone." Jaune said, as a second later he started to carefully move forward.

"Stay back!" Aria ordered as she started moving backwards away from Jaune. "I mean it!" Aria shouted with her finger squeezing the trigger a smidge.

Jaune stopped right beside the hostages.

"Please… just hear me out." Jaune pleaded.

"Why should I listen?!" Aria questioned.

"Because I want this to end without anymore violence too. I just want these people to be safe. That's all." Jaune said with a softened yet desperate expression.

"Typical human… wanting nothing more than his own people to be safe. Giving no cares to the Faunus." Aria said, trying to show irritation but still giving off fear.

"If that were true, then why didn't I pull the trigger earlier? Why am I not doing it now? You saw what I did earlier with these firearms. If you really believe that were true, then why didn't I shoot you when your back was turned?" Jaune reasoned, causing Aria's bravado to start chipping away. "I just want to talk." Jaune stated.

He then knelt and placed the magnum upon the ground, followed by unstrapping himself, shocking everyone as he let the weapons fall onto the floor. He placed the weapons that were attached to his belt onto the floor before carefully standing up with his hands raised.

"W… why?" Aria asked, surprised and confused by the sudden action.

"I want to talk. No more violence. No more fighting. Just two people talking. That's it." Jaune answered, keeping his hands raised. "You know this is wrong. I heard it in your tone earlier."

"I-I never said that! This… this is what's needed!" Aria tried to convince the blonde, but also herself.

"You don't believe that either."

"Shut up! I swear I will pull the trigger!" Aria shouted, aiming her crosshairs onto Jaune.

"Please… let them go." Jaune pleaded.

"I… I can't!" Aria argued.

"Yes, you can. You have the power to make this right." Jaune reasoned.

"Make this right? Make this right?! You humans never made things right! Always pushing us around! Belittling us! Calling us animals! Dumb beasts! Messing with a girl just because she has extra ears… I'm tired of it!" Aria aimed right at Jaune's forehead. "This… this is what's needed. It's what's best… for the Faunus!"

"Is it really?" Jaune asked.

"Yes! I don't want us to be afraid anymore." Aria said, her voice cracking a bit, reflecting her inner turmoil.

"But what about them?" Jaune gestured to the hostages. "They're afraid too. How is scaring them any better? How does this make you guys better when you're doing something similar?"

"Don't toy with me!" Aria shouted.

"They're scared. They don't want to die. They want to live. Is that any different from you guys?"

"Stop messing with me!" Aria demanded as tears started rolling down her eyes. "They… they deserve this… it's… it's what's needed… these… these beasts!" Aria said with her voice cracking in anger, fear and sadness.

"Look at them. Really look at them. Their expressions. It's all right there. Do you really see a difference?" Jaune asked, practically begging for the bunny Faunus to open her eyes.

Aria panted a bit out of anguish. Her shaking eyes darted from Jaune to the hostages, then back to Jaune. She suddenly stopped panting as her eyes looked back to the hostages. She finally saw it. The fear. The desperation. The hopelessness.

All those feelings the Faunus had felt… it was right there on these humans' faces.

They cowered in fear, huddled together, silently praying for salvation.

There was no hatred within any of them. Just pure fear.

She saw the mother hug her sickly child, silently praying for things to turn out alright.

The poor anemic boy coughed up a bit.

Aria stared at the mother and child, seeing the mother shed tears while her son held onto her for dear life. In a flash, she saw a little Faunus girl, a bunny like her but with a lighter shade of green hair.

Aria's eyes widened upon seeing this. She looked down at her rifle, seeing it aimed at the hostages. The people. The friends. The family. She… was aiming to end their lives. Aiming to take away everything from them.

Leaving pain… and fear.

Aria lost all strength in her body. She lowered her rifle, surprising the hostages, as she hung her head.

Jaune sighed with relief. It looks like he managed to appeal to the bunny Faunus.

They all suddenly heard a gun being cocked, making them all turn to see one of the male White Fang members had returned, aiming his crosshairs at Jaune.

"You're a disgrace, Aria." He said, disappointed in his sister in arms.

"Jacob, no!" Aria begged with her hand out.

"Oh crap." Jaune said with a frown.

Jacob was suddenly hit in the back by a pair of wires as electricity coursed throughout his body. He fell to the floor, surprising everybody, as they all looked up to see the security guard back onto his feet with a stun gun in one hand and holding his injured side in the other.

"I got to hand it to you kid… you got some real balls there." The security guard said with a relieved and impressed smirk.

"Oh, thank the Gods." Jaune said with relief as the hostages were happy to see that they might now be saved.

Aria stared at her defeated comrade. She sighed as she gazed downward towards the floor.

"Just go." Aria said, surprising the others. "Just… leave." She said, shocking the rest.

Jaune walked over and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch.

"Thank you." Jaune thanked the bunny girl, surprising her, as she then brushed his hand off.

"All of you just go. Every back door is locked, so you're on your own with that." Aria said, turning away from the humans.

"W… what about you?" The anemic boy asked. "That large man… he'll hurt you." He pointed out, remembering what he had just did to Aria and earlier when he was ready to kill another member.

"He'll keep hurting others." Jaune said with a frown. "If it's so easy for him to hurt his own people, then he's got no limits to where he'll take his actions."

"So what of it?" Aria questioned with a dull tone and frown.

"I…" Jaune looked down with an unsure look, but then next second gained a determined look as he grabbed his Mossberg 930 Tactical shotgun from the ground. "I'm going to bring him in." Jaune said, and though hesitant, his determination was clear as he cocked the gun.

"You're serious?" Aria questioned in disbelief.

"Look, from the little I've seen, this guy doesn't care who he hurts be it human or Faunus. I… I just can't sleep at night knowing a guy like that might walk away when I could have done something to stop him." Jaune said.

"Heh. Sounding like a real hero right now, kid." The security guard said.

"I'm… I'm no hero." Jaune said, looking down with a shameful frown, before looking up, regaining a look of resolve. "I'm just a guy who wants to help."

The security guard couldn't help but smile as the hostages looked to Jaune in surprise and awe.

Aria was in the same boat as the hostages. Her expression was unseen for the moment, until she decided to lip up her mask, revealing her jade green eyes that stared at Jaune in surprise and awe.

This human… he was clearly different.

"The rest of you go hide out. I'll handle the rest." Jaune said.

"Jaune, right?" The security guard asked, earning a nod from the blonde. "I'll take care of the people." He offered. "See that window right above us." He gestured to a long set of windows higher up. "Those are for the second floor. It's where meetings are held. The stairs leading up to it are over there." He gestured towards the door on their left. "I'll hide the people up there while you finish things down here." The guard said.

"Thanks. That'll give me less to worry about." Jaune said with an appreciative nod. "All of you, go with him. He'll keep you safe." Jaune said to the hostages.

"Please, be careful." The mother of the anemic boy begged, wishing Jaune luck.

"Let's move." The security guard said as he started leading the now liberated group towards the stairs.

"You should go with them." Jaune said to Aria.

"What? No, why would I? They don't even trust me." Aria argued.

"You proved to them that you're not like the rest. I'm sure they'd rather have you on their side. Besides, it's like that friend of yours said before. This Gree guy or whatever is bad news. He's not afraid to hurt you over losing the hostages. You should get out of here before he comes back." Jaune reasoned.

Aria looked towards the ground. She knew he was right. Gree would definitely hurt her for this… but for some reason… she didn't care. She didn't care what would happen to her. She… she didn't want to run away. She did enough of that today.

"No. I'm staying." Aria said with a new, strong expression.

"Seriously?" Jaune asked, shocked by this.

"I have nothing to be afraid about. Not him… not what I just did. You just hide out, I'll… I'll buy you some time to get ready." Aria said, shocking Jaune more as she put her mask back on.

"Are… are you sure about this?" Jaune asked.

"More sure than when I joined up with the White Fang." Aria said.

Jaune stared at her for a bit, before nodding understandingly. He quickly grabbed the strap and the rest of his weapons and hurried off to find cover.

"Wait!" Aria called out, stopping Jaune. "You, uh… mind hitting me in the back of my head for a second?" Aria asked, earning a surprised expression from Jaune.

.

.

Gree and the two other remaining White Fang members returned from the back rooms. After seeing all their defeated allies, Gree became increasingly more aggravated. He couldn't believe a mere human did all this so quickly. Whoever he was, he was going to make him pay ten-fold!

When they got back to the center of the room, they were shocked to find that all the hostages were gone, and Aria was knocked out along with Jacob.

This only further increased Gree's growing anger as he made his way over to Aria's downed body.

"Get up!" Gree ordered as he kicked Aria in the side, hard.

Aria flinched upon contact, now waking up and holding onto her side.

"Aria, what the hell happened?!" The shorter male of the trio asked as he walked over.

"That guy… he got me when I wasn't looking." Aria answered as she looked towards Jacob. "Looks like he got Jacob too."

"Fucking losers. All of you." Gree said as he grabbed Aria by the bunny ears and lifted her up by them, causing her to scream.

"AAAH!"

"Gree! Chill, man! You're really hurting her!" The shorter male exclaimed, appalled and worried by his superior's behavior.

"Zip it! I've had it up to here with you lot! I'm sick of your failures in this one job!" Gree shouted as he pulled on Aria's ears some more.

"My ears!" Aria cried out, grabbing onto Gree's wrist. "Let go! Please!"

"Shut up!" Gree shouted as he took out his hand cannon and pressed the barrel against the side of Aria's face.

Jaune was witnessing the whole thing, hiding behind a bank teller station. It made his stomach churn as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He was too afraid to do something when he saw Cardin pulling on Velvet's own bunny ears. No way in hell was he going to let this slide.

"Hey, asshole! Quit it!" Jaune shouted out, alerting the others.

Gree aimed his hand cannon towards where he heard the boy's voice. He released Aria's ears and walked over towards the source of the voice. He looked behind through the window but spotted nothing.

"At least we know that he's here." Gree said as he made his way back towards the others.

"How the hell is what you're doing helping anybody?" Jaune's voice was heard again as the other two male WF member readied their rifles. "You're collecting blood, but you're ready to spill more of it? How dumb."

"What would you know? This is all about a struggle to survive!" Gree argued.

"I'm sorry things have gotten so rough, but this kind of crap… it's inexcusable. Tricking the cops so you can take a bunch of hostages with you? A bunch of scared people you were ready to throw into the ocean to feed them to Grimm?! How is any of that noble?! How does that make you better than the people you're fighting against? Against everything that you hate?!" Jaune retorted, causing the two other males to lower their weapons a bit as his words struck a chord in them.

"It's not about being better! It's about getting even!" Gree exclaimed.

"Oh, right, like that's any better. You hate being pushed around so you push others back and feed them to Grimm. Like that's something to be proud of!" Jaune shouted.

"Find him." Gree ordered the others to do so, earning nods from the only other males while Aria stood still with a trouble look.

"Do you actually expect the people you're fighting for to be proud of you for that? Do you really expect them to praise you for murdering innocent civilians? Two of them being children! You're expecting your names to be sung to the high heavens for that?!"

"Uh, sir… he's really getting in our heads right now." The shorter of the men said now feeling a bit anxious.

"Hail the conquering heroes. We sing thy praise of robbing much needed blood and robbing others lives! Hooray for thee who fed an anemic child to a shark Grimm! You are truly the best!" Jaune said in a sarcastically praising tone.

"Hey, shut the fuck up, man! That's not how this goes!" The taller of the two WF underlings said, with unease detected in his tone.

"Oh, I think that's exactly how this goes. You already made the plan. Take the blood, trick the cops, take the hostages and dump them into the water as if they're chum. You pretty much got it all figured out. So, how is any of what I'm saying not accurate? Are you really expecting to be praised? Are you expecting people to thank you like this? Do you really believe that all the Faunus will thank you… that the people you know… the people you care about, who love you, will look to you the same way again? Will they look to you as heroes… or murderers?"

This caused the others' eyes to widen, except Gree, who narrowed his eyes.

"Shut the fuck up!" The taller WF member shouted as he fired his rifle all around, forcing the others to duck.

"Dude, Simon! Are you trying to put holes in us?! Hell, the cops probably think you just killed the hostages right now!" The shorter of the male WF shouted at his comrade.

"Dude, screw this kid. He's messing with us!" Simon said, feeling the willies and frustration as he looked around for the human.

"… No… he's not." Aria said, catching the other three's attention. "He's telling the truth." She said with a saddened expression.

"A-Aria?" The shorter WF member looked at her in surprise.

Aria then took off her mask and dropped it to the floor.

"I… I-I don't want to do this anymore." Aria confessed, shocking the others.

Gree looked towards her for a moment before he started marching over.

"Gree, wait!" The shorter White Fang member hurried over, only to be pushed away by the taller, more buff Faunus.

Gree stopped in front of Aria, looking down upon her as she kept her gaze downward to the ground.

"What… did you just say?" Gree questioned, clearly not happy with what he heard.

"… I don't want to do this anymore!" Aria said again as she looked up at Gree. "I don't. I don't want to hurt anymore people! I hated how my sister was treated, but that doesn't give me the right to treat others how they treated her! I don't want to hurt people! I don't want to scare them anymore! I don't want kids to get involved in this! I just want the bad things to go away! I… I don't want them to be part of my life. I don't want to be a part of them." Aria admitted, looking downward again.

"You'd rather turn your back on your brothers and sisters… just because you don't want to do what they did to us?" Gree 'questioned'.

"I'm not turning my back on any of them… I just don't want them to see me as something worse. I want my sister to see me… as my sister." Aria said looking back up at Gree. "I wanted to do something for her… I didn't want to do something to her." Aria said as she thought about her baby sister. "I think… I think Adam is wro-"

Suddenly Gree stabbed her right through the stomach with one of his scimitars, shocking the other two White Fang members, and Jaune who saw the whole thing.

Aria stared down at her now impaled stomach with widened eyes and a look of horror.

"No…" Gree dug his blade in deeper. "You just made the wrong choice."

Aria looked up to him with tears running down her eyes, as he then pulled out his scimitar, allowing her to fall to the floor.

"NO~!" Jaune screamed out, popping out from behind a desk as he took out his ISSC MK22 .22 LR Rimfire Rifle and unleashed hell upon Gree.

Gree quickly turned with both scimitars ready and started blocking all the gunfire as he ran over towards Jaune.

"Found You!" Gree shouted as he leaped and brought down both his blades, but Jaune was quick enough to hurry away and hide once more. Gree pulled his scimitars back and skulked around for the boy. "Come on out, human."

"How… How Could You Do That?! She Was Your Friend!" Jaune screamed out as Gree ran over towards where his voice was and destroyed another desk, but Jaune had managed to hide away again.

"She was no friend. She was a soldier. Expendable." Gree admitted.

"Expendable? Is that what you saw her as? Is that how you see everyone!? The other members? The hostages?!" Jaune called out.

"We're all expendable in the end. Humans are expendable for their weakness, unable to see value in us and still thinking they're more than just meat shields. Faunus are expendable as none of them live a truly good life and their deaths only matter for the right cause. Anything less would be a waste! Just like her." Gree pointed one of his scimitars to Aria's down and bleeding body. "Everyone is meant to be used until they are no longer needed. Everyone is just meant to die anyway, having no say in how or when. Life dictates that another can take yours if they feel like it when they are done with you. Why act like any of it matters when it really doesn't?"

"It does matter. You just chose to forget about that to make things easier for yourself." Jaune said, making Gree narrow his hidden eyes.

"The easier it is… the better off it is for you." Gree said.

"No." Jaune rose up from his hiding spot with his Mossberg ready. "It just makes you sad." Jaune said with a frown as he fired at Gree.

Gree tried blocking the spread shot, but it was so strong that it pushed his arm away with his shoulder being hit. He growled as he watched Jaune run back into the blood storage room. He took after the boy in a rage, determined to cut him to ribbons.

The two other White Fang members stared at Aria's body in horror.

"Aria…" The shorter of the two walked over with shaking legs as he then fell over, now on his knees next to her. He took off his mask, revealing sienna brown hair in a spiked-up crew cut, smoky brown eyes and a pair of nubs coming off his forehead. He carefully took the green-haired bunny girl into his arms, holding her as her head was limp and blood was leaking from her stomach wound. "No, no, no… no, no, no, please, no… don't… no…" He said with teary eyes. He gently pressed his fingers against her throat, feeling a small pulse. "A pulse… a pulse! She can still make it!"

"How? We don't have semblances that can heal or medical supplies." Simon said.

"We're at a blood bank! We can stitch her up and give her new-"

"Mikey… you know it's not going to work. This is too severe." Simon said, causing Mikey to grit his teeth.

"She has a little sister man… we got to do something!" Mikey shouted as he stared at Aria's face as it was growing paler.

"We can't do anything for her." Simon said with a somber tone.

Mikey bit his lip and hung his head. The next moment, an idea came to mind. Realization hit him as he turned his head towards the door.

"We can't… but they might." Mikey said as he then got to his feet, carrying Aria in his arms bridal style as he stared marching towards the door.

"Hold up! You're not thinking-"

"They can fix her! I'm sure there's an ambulance on standby. I-I just need to bring her over and they might be able to save her." Mikey reasoned as he made his way closer towards the door.

"You're not thinking straight here man. This could-"

"This could lead me to what? Being locked up?! Yeah! I'm aware of that! You don't think that I am?!" Mikey shouted at Simon.

"Why are you still doing this then? Aria wrote her name in the sand, man, and she paid for it. Just let her go. We can still get out of this." Simon tried to reason with him.

"No we can't! Dammit, Simon! Open up your eyes! It's over! Everyone got their asses kicked! The hostages are gone! Aria is bleeding to death! And the only ally we have left is a cynical asshole who isn't afraid to do the same to us! It's over, man! There's only two ways this is going to go down! In prison or in a body bag." Mikey looked down at Aria's pale complexion. "I… I'd rather rot away… giving her another chance… so her little sister won't be sad… than live or die with the regret that I didn't do something to save her. That's… that's the kind of people… we're supposed to be." Mikey said with tears in his eyes. "That's… who I want to be."

With those last words, Mikey resumed his way towards the door.

Simon watched as his only real comrade left had abandoned him in the hopes of saving a dying girl.

Mikey walked out of the entranceway, now out in the open as all eyes were on him.

"Freeze!" The captain ordered as he and the police aimed their weapons at him.

"Don't shoot! Please! She's dying…" Mikey pleaded as he made his way down the steps of the blood bank. "I surrender. I… I give up. Just please… please, save her. Please." Mikey fell to his knees, hanging his head as the tears fell. "Please… just save her. I… I don't want… I don't want her to die…" Mikey begged as his spirit was now broken.

Everyone was in shock at the scene before them as the police looked towards one another.

The captain nodded for his officers to move in and then gestured for the nearby medics to go in and help the bleeding Faunus girl.

The officers kept their guns on Mikey as the medics hurried over and took Aria in, taking her away on a stretcher.

"She's lost a lot of blood. We have to close up the wound and perform a blood transfusion." One of the medics said, as they carefully took Aria away to be treated.

"You have the right to remain silent." One of the officers said as they cuffed Mikey.

Mikey watched as Aria was taken away to be treated. He hung his head in shame as all he could do now was pray that she would be saved in time… that a little girl out there would not lose her sister this day.

Simon had watched the whole scene unfold from inside. He was in shock at what his only ally had done. He gritted his teeth in anger and frustration. He let out a roar as he fired his remaining rounds all over the place. Riddling the room with bullets until no more were left in the magazine, yet he still continued pressing the trigger. He then threw his emptied rifle onto the floor. Walking over towards the nearby wall, he sat down against it, hanging his head with his hands over it, now crying as realization came crashing down upon him.

It was over. They had lost.

.

.

Gree was carefully walking through the aisles, keeping an eye out for Jaune, with both of his scimitars ready. He scanned through the shelves, looking past the vials of blood to find any source of another person being there.

He was out for blood. That human's blood to be specific. And he was determined to get it.

He careful walked down the aisle as he focused on his senses. He was actually sniffing for the human. He could smell all the blood, which wasn't new to him. He was focusing to find what wasn't blood, and he found it.

Sweat.

Gree sent a slash through a shelf, destroying vials of blood and managing to strike his target on the other side.

Jaune managed to block the attack with his rifle, but the attack sent him to the ground with his rifle now cut clean in half.

"Dammit!" Jaune cursed as he released both halves.

He heard cocking making him instinctively roll to the side in time to avoid being shot by Gree's hand cannon. Jaune pulled out his semi-automatics and ran down the next aisle, firing at Gree, who quickly was blocking the bullets with his scimitars.

Gree then kicked the shelf over, causing it to fall forward, creating a domino effect on the rest of the shelves in front of it.

Jaune managed to get out of them before he was crushed. He readied his UZIs, but Gree slashed them out of his hands. Jaune stumbled back as Gree came down with a slash. Upon instinct, Jaune managed to grab Crocea Mors and opened up his sheath into a shield, causing the scimitar to bounce off of it. The blonde quickly took out his Winchester Model 1887 and shot at Gree's leg, nailing it.

'Goddammit!' Gree mentally cursed as he noticed Jaune quickly taking out his Mossenberg and aimed it at him. Gree managed to bring up his other scimitar to block the shot, but the force behind it sent him to the ground.

Gree quickly took out his hand cannon and fired at Jaune, forcing him to block with shield, causing him to skid back from the power behind the shot.

Jaune quickly started shooting at him with both his shotguns, spin cocking his Winchester with each blast, but Gree was managing to block the bullets, but one managed to send one of his scimitars flying away.

'Got him!' Jaune mentally exclaimed as he fired his last bullet from his Winchester at Gree.

The shot would have nailed him in the torso, but suddenly Gree's body shifted around the spread as if it was malleable and made of some sort of elastic, shocking Jaune.

Gree quickly reshaped himself and brought down another slash upon Jaune, who blocked it with his shield, only for the force to send him on his back with his Winchester 1887 falling from his hand, giving Gree the opportunity to aim his hand cannon at Jaune.

Jaune's eyes widened, but his body moved on autopilot as he saw everything move in slow motion. Gree pulling the trigger seemed to go at a crawl, as Jaune managed to quickly pull out his M1911 and fired right into the barrel of Gree's hand cannon just as the Faunus fire, resulting in a large explosion that sent Gree flying back.

Jaune managed to save himself from the blast thanks to pulling up his shield in time. That didn't stop the painful ringing in his ears though. He pulled his shield down as his mind was trying to readjust again. When it did, he finally took notice of Gree now on his back with his arm charred a little pass the elbow.

Jaune panted, shocked that he managed to pull a victory like this out of his ass. He then fell onto his back, panting with relief and a bit of exhaustion.

"Oh… thank God for all that practice." Jaune said as he panted for a bit, before putting in effort to get back up. He started making his way out, passing by Gree's down body. "Who knew all that practice with firearms when I was younger would have paid off here. I mean, I only learned to do that to win at pai-" Jaune didn't get to finish his sentence as his leg was grabbed, causing him to fall to the floor.

He turned to see Gree had managed to regain consciousness and grabbed his leg.

The Faunus looked to his hand to see it all charred and useless. He let out an angered roar as he grabbed his scimitar and raised it up.

Jaune quickly brought up his Mossenberg to block the slash, which it did, but the blade dug into it a bit.

Gree started slamming his scimitar on the shotgun, over and over again.

Jaune could tell that the shotgun would not last. He looked around to find anything that could help him at the moment. His eyes then noticed that the ceiling was made of metal tiles. Why that design? He does not know. What he does know is what happens when a bullet hits it.

With one last roar, Gree managed to slash the Mossenberg in half.

"Now die!" Gree shouted as he raised his scimitar up high, but Jaune quickly pulled out his M1911 again and fired at the side of Gree's head, only for it to bend around the bullet like before. "You missed!" Gree shouted as his face returned to normal.

What Gree didn't expect was for the bullet to ricochet off of the metal ceiling and strike his hand, sending his scimitar flying.

Jaune quickly grabbed the taser from his back pocket and slammed it into Gree's neck, right at the jugular.

Gree let out a scream as he felt electricity course through himself. His eyes widened in pain before going blank once it was over. Gree's body then fell once more onto the floor, now lying on his side.

Jaune panted with wide eyes. Once again shocked by the victory her had just attained. He crawled back from Gree's body and stood back up.

'I'm glad I took this.' Jaune thought, looking at the taser in hand. He looked back at Gree's body, making sure not to take his eyes off of it as he headed back towards the exit of the room.

Once at the door, he looked back at the mess they both had made. He felt bad that so much donated blood went to waste over this… but if this was the cost to save several innocent people… then he guesses this was fine. Still… he hated that it went to waste.

With that last thought, Jaune exited the room, entering the main hall. The nightmare had finally ended.

Unbeknownst to him, Gree's fingers twitched once he left the room.

.

.

Jaune entered the main room. He found that there was only one White Fang member there, sitting against the wall, hugging his legs and resting his forehead against his knees. In the center was the pool of Aria's blood with two White Fang masks.

Simon raised his head to see the human had returned.

"You actually beat Gree?" Simon asked.

"Yeah… I did." Jaune answered.

"I'm shocked."

"Yeah, you and me both." Jaune admitted, being the more shocked of the two of his victory over a powerful opponent. "He was really strong."

"Yeah, he was. We all thought he was unbeatable. Guess we wrong. Wrong about him… wrong about this heist." Simon said, hanging his head.

"I get why you did it… I just didn't like the idea with the hostages." Jaune said.

"Yeah… none of us liked it… we were just too scared to say so. It was his idea after all." Simon admitted as he then took of his mask, revealing his icy blue eyes and spiked back white hair with feathers sticking out along the border.

"Is strength really the only thing people pay attention to?" Jaune asked, more to himself as he frowned.

"I thought so… until you showed up." Simon said, surprising Jaune. "I'm done." Simon said as he got up from the floor and headed for the door.

Jaune watched as the apparent bird Faunus walked out of the blood bank with his hands up in surrender. He felt bad for the guy, but he was at least happy that he acknowledged his mistake and hopefully was willing to atone.

He then heard a creaking noise making him turn to see the security guard looking through the crack of the door.

"Jaune." The guard spoke the blonde's name as opened the door. "Is it…"

"Yeah. It's over." Jaune said with a smile.

"Oh… thank Oum." The security guard said with relief.

"Let's get these people out of here."

.

.

"What do you mean we can't go?!" Nora shouted out, shocked and appalled.

Teams RWBY and JNPR had went to the launching pad to take a bullhead straight into Vale to help Jaune, but Glynda Goodwitch had beat them there, knowing what they had planned once Ruby had left Ozpin's office.

"Miss Goodwitch, we have to help Jaune! Please!" Pyrrha pleaded, practically begging.

"What was that idiot thinking running in like that anyway?!" Weiss berated with annoyance at Jaune's rash behavior.

"Weiss, not now!" Yang scolded her teammate before facing Glynda. "Miss Goodwitch, please! We have to go there to back him up!"

"My answer is still no. You're all still students and this is a matter for the police." Glynda said with her arms crossed, not budging in the slightest.

"But Jaune's our friend! He needs us!" Ruby begged, scared for Jaune's life.

"I'm sorry, but either turn back or go through me. Those are your only two options." Glynda said.

Everyone didn't like either option. They were worried and weren't sure what to do.

Ruby's thoughts went back to Jaune, and how much danger he might be in. Him getting hurt and bleeding… she couldn't let that happen. She suddenly grabbed her scythe, Crescent Rose, and pulled it out, ready to fight, causing her team and what remained of JNPR to look to the petite girl in shock.

Glynda narrowed her eyes at Ruby, while the silver-eyed girl kept a determined gaze. Glynda had no choice but to ready her riding crop.

"No fighting will be necessary." Ozpin spoke as he made his way over. "If I were you all, I'd check your scrolls for the news live feed." Ozpin informed, causing the students to quickly check their scrolls.

When they did, they found the news live on the scene with Lisa Lavender.

"If you're just joining us, the police are still on standby. However, three White Fang members had already come out on their own accord, surrendering with one of them receiving an unknown stab wound through the stomach. A young female who is now being treated while the other two males are under custody of the police." Lisa Lavender reported.

"Wounded?" Blake questioned with shock and worry for both the Faunus girl and wondering how she earned it.

"You… you don't possibly think that Jaune-"

"He would never!" Pyrrha shouted, interrupting Weiss, who flinched in fear of Pyrrha's outburst.

"Hold on, there seems to be someone else at the door now!" Lisa Lavender said, catching everyone's attention. "It seems to be a young man… and he's carrying firearms on his person!" She reported as out came the tall, blonde knight.

"Jaune!" Teams JNPR and RWBY exclaimed, shocked to see their recently expelled friend with firearms strapped to his person.

"Don't move!" The captain of the police shouted out through the megaphone.

"Whoa, hold on! I'm not going to hurt anyone! I promise." Jaune said with his hands up. He then slowly undid the straps on his person, gently lying them and weapons attached down onto the ground.

"On your knees! Now!" The captain ordered.

"Wait!" A new voice called out, making everyone look to see it was the security guard, opening the entrance door. "Don't arrest him! He saved us!" The security guard shouted out, surprising everyone. He then opened the door more, allowing the hostages to hurry out.

"He saved them?" Weiss questioned as she and the others were in shock.

"He saved them! Hooray, Fearless Leader!" Nora cheered with joy for her one and only leader.

"How?" Weiss questioned, still in shock.

"I… think with those guns." Blake pointed out.

"Has he ever used one before at Beacon?" Yang asked.

"N-No." Pyrrha said, shaking her head, amazed by what she was seeing.

Ruby let out a relieved chuckle as she stared at her blonde friend with teary eyes.

"Way to go, Jaune."

.

.

Jaune watched as the hostages were leaving the blood bank one by one. He sighed and smiled with relief that it was finally over. He noticed the anemic boy coming out, coughing a bit as he almost tripped, only for Jaune to catch him.

"I got you, little guy." Jaune said with a smile.

"Thank you." The anemic boy thanked him as his mother gently took him by the hand and led him down the stairs.

"Way to go, kid. Thanks." The security guard thanked the blonde with an appreciative smile.

Before Jaune could say anything, they all heard the sound of an engine revving. Coming around the corner was the truck the White Fang demanded earlier with none other than Gree behind the wheel.

"No." Jaune said in shock that the large Faunus was still able to move.

Gree growled as he glared at Jaune.

'I'll get him for this.' Gree mentally swore as he then noticed the mother and ill son at the bottom of the stairs. 'But first…' Gree revved the engine and sped forward.

The mother gasped in horror as she and her son ran for the other side, only for her son to trip and fall in the middle of the street.

"No!" The mother screamed out in horror, trying to get to her son only for the cops to stop her.

The anemic boy looked up in shock and horror as the truck came speeding towards him.

Jaune's eyes widened in horror as once more his body moved on its own. Rushing down the steps, the blonde knight extended his hand out as his aura shined brightly around himself. Making it to the bottom of the stairs, Jaune managed to dash over, diving forward and wrapping the child in an embrace, covering him for protection as the truck came over and rammed into them as a bright white light exploded throughout the area, forcing everyone to cover their eyes.

.

.

Teams RWBY and JNPR, along with Glynda and Ozpin covered their eyes as the light was even intense through the live feed.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha screamed out in worry and horror as she and the others looked back at the screen with widened eyes.

"What's happened!? What is going on? Did anyone get that?!" Lisa Lavender asked quickly as the light died down, allowing everyone a clear view of what happened.

And what had happened shocked them all.

.

.

Everyone stared with shocked, wide eyes as there before them was Jaune, still huddled over the sick child with the truck halted in front of them with its bumped completely destroyed, as if it were crushed into with the windows shattered and Gree's face first against the wheel.

The anemic child gasped as he opened his eyes, noticing that he was alive and well. Looking around, he saw all the people staring at them, all in shock, including his mother.

"Hey…" Jaune spoke, causing the child to look up to him. "You okay?" Jaune asked, offering the boy a smile.

"U-Uh huh." The boy answered with a nod.

"Good… that's what matters." Jaune said before he fell to his side, unconscious.

"Jaune!" The security guard ran down the stairs towards the blonde.

"Get some medics over here!" The captain ordered as the medical professionals ran over.

"Remi!" The mother ran over and hugged her son.

"Mommy! He saved me!" The anemic boy, Remi, said to his mother.

"I know." The mother said, hugging Remi dearly with tears in her eyes. She looked down at the young man, who was still breathing. "Thank you." She thanked the young knight, who remained unconscious.

"He's alive. His aura readings are low though, so he won't be healing all his injuries right now. That hit took a lot out of him. Let's get him to a hospital." One of the medics said as two more came over with a stretcher.

Gree groaned in pain as he raised his head, with his now damaged mask chipping to pieces. He opened the door and fell out onto his pack, pulling off his helmet to reveal his grey-haired crewcut that was spiked in the front with a few strands hanging off the border, a pair of scars over his right eye which was blank meaning he was blind in it with his left eye being golden and slit like a cat, and he had a grey stubble across his jawline.

The police surrounded him with their guns aimed at him.

"Fuck." Was all Gree could say as he slammed the back of his head against the cold concrete.

.

.

RWBY, JNPR, Ozpin and Glynda stared with wide eyes, shocked by the scene before him.

"What… just happened?" Yang questioned with shock.

"The truck. I… I saw it hit him, but… how?" Weiss was still trying to make sense of the scene before her.

"His semblance…" Pyrrha said as she had teary eyes and started gaining a smile. "It was his semblance. I know it!" Pyrrha proclaimed with a proud smile and her hands over her heart.

"No way! What is it? What is it?!" Nora asked, hopping in place in excitement.

"Excuse me, sir. What happened inside? And more importantly, who is that boy? And did he really save you and those people?" Lisa Lavender asked the security guard.

"The White Fang planned to hold up the blood bank and take as much as they could for their soldiers, but they went way farther than that. Their cause was understandable until it regarded the hostages. Apparently, they planned to use mannequins as substitutes so they could take them with them for insurance until they made it out of Vale. They planned to dump them in Grimm infested waters." The guard explained, causing everyone to gasp.

"They were going to what?!" Weiss shouted, shocked and appalled.

'No. How could they?' Blake thought to herself in shock and horror, covering her mouth as her bow drooped a bit.

"That explains these." A cop said as he and another officer took out a pair of mannequins. "These things were in the back room. They must have snuck them in while we were focused on the front."

"It was his idea!" Simon shouted from within a police car, gesturing to Gree, who was in cuffs.

"Why you son of a bitch…" Gree growled at the bird Faunus.

"Go to hell!" Simon shouted at the feline Faunus.

Gree roared like a wild cat and tried to attack him, but the police grabbed him.

"Hold him down!" One officer shouted, only for Gree to slip out of their grasp, as if he was made of slippery elastic.

"What the hell?!" Another officer shouted as Gree returned to his normal shape and ran.

"He's making a run for it!" Another officer shouted as several of them ran after Gree.

"Use a stun gun on that bastard!" The security shouted out, aggravated that the true mastermind was making a break for it. "Anyway, yeah, that kid did save our rear-ends. He told me he sucks with that sword he has but give him a gun and he can take out a small army from the looks of it. The kid took on the whole group by himself. I only tasered one." The security guard finished explaining to Lisa.

"And his name?" Lisa asked.

"His name is Jaune Arc. And he's a real hero." The security guard answered with pride in the brave, young man.

"Yeah!" Nora cheered with a leap while Ren smiled.

"Way to go, Vomit Boy." Yang said, actually impressed with her fellow blonde.

"I can't believe it." Weiss said, still in shock.

"Believe it!" Ruby cheered as she then faced the headmaster. "See that, Professor Ozpin? Jaune does deserve to be here! He can come back now!" Ruby said with a bright, hopeful smile.

Ozpin exhaled out his nose as he looked to the hopeful looks of his young students.

"I'm sorry, Miss Rose… but it's not that simple." Ozpin said, surprising the bunch. "You can all visit him when the school day is at an end. That is the most I can offer." Ozpin said as he then turned and walked away from the now disappointed group.

"But… but he saved their lives." Ruby said, shellshocked by Ozpin's decision.

"That doesn't change the fact that he cheated his way in. A crime punishable by decades of imprisonment." Glynda mentioned causing everyone's hearts to drop. "Just because you've done some good, it does not change the wrongs you've made." Those were the headmistress' last words as she walked away, following her superior.

"But… but…" Ruby then fell to her knees. "He's a hero." She uttered as she hung her head, with Pyrrha gently placing a comforting hand on her shoulder with an empathetic and also saddened expression on her face.

.

.

Gree ran down an alleyway and hid behind a dumpster. He panted a bit before taking a seep inhale as he focused his semblance to morph his hands and wrists, causing them to thin out with his forearms filling out more and more. The cuffs slipped out as he then exhaled with the extra 'filling' within his forearms going to his wrist and hands, filling them back up as they were.

"I think he went down here!"

Gree heard an officer call out, forcing him to run down the alleyway and start ripping off his strap and vest.

The cops ran down the alleyway, hurrying after the Faunus. They noticed that his straps and vest were on the floor. Up ahead, they saw a man sitting against the wall with a dirty blanket covering him.

"Hold it." One officer said as he then grabbed the blanket and yanked it off, only to see a brunette elderly man with his right eye closed, the other being violet colored, had a full beard and his face was covered in some grime. "Never mind. Sorry, sir." The officer said, handing back the dirty blanket.

"He couldn't have gotten far." Another officer said as they hurried further into the alley.

The elderly man watched as they hurried down. Once they were gone, he gave a deep scowl as he opened his right eye to reveal it was blind while his left eye flashed gold and became cat-like for a moment. He stood back up and started walking away. He then slammed his fist into the nearby wall, cracking it with fissures and pieces of it falling off.

"I swear… I'm going to kill that kid."

.

.

Jaune groaned as he finally was regaining consciousness. He brought his hand up and rested it on top of his head, brushing it through his golden locks. He smacked his lips for a moment before speaking.

"What hit me?" Jaune asked himself.

"Oh, you're awake." A female voice spoke, causing Jaune to snap open his eyes to see a pretty brunette nurse with emerald, green eyes and her hair in a ponytail. "As for what his you, apparently a truck." The nurse said, giving the boy a pleasant smile.

"L… literally?" Jaune questioned with widened eyes.

"Literally." The nurse answered with a nod.

Jaune blinked his eyes as he started recalling what had happened before he was knocked out. Memories flooding back of him rushing over to save the anemic boy from being roadkill courtesy of that crazy jungle cat Faunus. The minute Jaune remembered all of this he quickly sat up, only to flinch in pain.

"Bad move." Jaune grunted out with pain.

"Careful. You just woke up from suffering sustainable injury from collision." The nurse said as she gently placed Jaune back down against the bed. "We honestly expected you not to wake up until tomorrow since your aura levels were so low."

"How long have I been here?" Jaune asked.

"Almost three hours. Like I said, your recovery is rather impressive." The nurse said as she started walking away.

"Hey, uh… is everyone…"

"Everyone from the incident is alright." The nurse answered, causing Jaune to sigh with relief. "By the way, the police are here to see you."

"The police!?" Jaune flinched with a look of worry.

"Yeah, they wanted to talk to you about something sensitive." The nurse mentioned. "Your name is Jaune Arc, right?"

"Y-Yeah." Jaune answered, only for his eyes to widen in realization. "Wait, you know my name?"

"Everyone in this town does now." The nurse answered.

"Even the police?" Jaune asked.

"Mm hmm." The nurse nodded. "I'll go inform them that you're conscious. For now, just rest." The nurse said as she headed out the door, leaving Jaune who she had not noticed was in a bit of a panicked state.

"O-Okay, Jaune, no need to worry. It's just the police. They just want to ask you a few questions that you can answer." Jaune said trying to calm himself. "Questions that only you can answer… Jaune Arc… whose name they know… along with his… permanent record." Jaune said to himself with a gulp as he now adopted a look of fear. "They're gonna know! They're gonna know what I did to get into Beacon and they're going to throw the book at me! Miss Goodwitch said it herself! The cops will put me in cuffs upon learning that I forged my transcripts!" Jaune stared to hyperventilate. "I-I can't stay here! I have to get out of here before they arrive!" Jaune quickly got out of bed, flinching but ignoring the pain as he looked for his clothes.

Luckily, they were folded neatly beside his bed with his family weapon, Crocea Mors, gently laid atop of them.

He grabbed his family's sword and foldable shield/scabbard and brought it up. He stared at it with a saddened expression as he then sighed.

"I'm sorry, grandpa." Jaune said before placing the weapon onto the side and started getting dressed as fast as he could. Once done, he clipped on Crocea Mors, and was about to head for the door, when he remembered. "I might bump into the cops while I'm out there. There has to be another way." Jaune said to himself as he looked around until he gazed towards the open window. "Aren't I just filled with bad ideas today."

Jaune made his way over and looked outside to see he was high up. From the looks of it, the third story. He noticed a ledge he could climb and on his left was a pipe that reached the bottom floor. If he could get to it, he could shimmy down it and reach the ground floor. It might not be the easy way, but it's better than the hard way. That being just jumping for it.

Taking in a deep breath and then exhaling, Jaune started to climb out the window. He put one foot onto the ledge and then carefully put the other. He almost fell but managed to grab the windowsill.

'Why am I even doing this again?' Jaune thought to himself with a scared frown as he then started to inch over towards the pipe, hugging the wall as he did so. His heart was racing as he inched closer towards the pipe. He inched closer and closer until he was close enough to reach for the pipe. He carefully brought his hand over and gripped it. 'Success!' Jaune mentally cheered, only for a large spider to then crawl down the pipe and then along his hand. He screamed as he then fell down and landed inside an open dumpster with a grunt. "… Of course." Jaune said with a frown as his body ached all over.

Thank goodness for aura.

He climbed out of the dumpster and fell onto the concrete, back first. Jaune moaned with disappointment with a frown reflecting that. He stared up at the beautiful blue sky above. He sighed as he slowly got back up to his feet and walked away.

The time for second thoughts was no more as he focused on getting away from the hospital, away from the police, away from any more trouble.

Unaware of what may lie ahead.

.

.

Within the forest, there was a camp occupied by the White Fang. Originally, they were working for a new agenda that was to take place later on in the year, but now, the lot of them were surrounding a large tent where they all were watching the news on TV.

It was on the recent blood bank heist that a few of their own were issued. When the story was released, the White Fang were very much disappointed. Not just of their group's recent failures, but of how it had happened.

"If you're just joining us, we now have exclusive footage of what had transpired inside of the crime scene. As it turned out, the young youth who had gone in had used masterful skills in marksmanship, but also cunning strategy to dispatch the White Fang one by one." Lisa Lavender reported as then footage of Jaune's battle against their White Fang's brethren aired, causing all the members watching to growl with anger, but none more than a blood red-haired one with a pair of black horns. "However, the real shocking report is what had happened to the young Faunus who was impaled and soon treated. We warn you; this next piece of footage is graphic." Lisa said as then footage of Aria taking off her mask and essentially issuing her resignation before being stabbed right through the stomach by Gree was shown, shocking everyone.

"He didn't!" A member shouted with shock and horror.

"Gree… that bastard!" Another growled, clenching a fist.

"Adam?" A very tall, muscular WF member with a thick mask, short black hair and tattoo covering his left arm looked towards the red-haired horned Faunus beside him.

Adam Taurus just watched the footage with a stoic expression on his face. He didn't show it, but he was proud of Gree's actions. All traitors had to be dealt this way.

"Such actions against their own kind leaves much speculation on the White Fang in general and their actions on not just the humans, but their own kind as well. Has the violence on their end increased to the point where they are willing to even harm those that they are fighting for, those who they fight with and those he shall continue to support them, regardless of these actions? Only time can tell, but one thing is clear. This does not paint a pleasant picture for the group." Lisa Lavender said, causing Adam to frown with annoyance and tightly gripping the hilt of his katana. "Today was a dark day, but fortunately, there was hope in the form of a brave young man who was prepared to sacrifice his life for those that were captured, but also who was willing to reason with the criminals when he had the chance. As this next piece of footage shows of him willing to relinquish his means of defense to reason with the young Faunus girl who was so viciously attacked by her own kind." Lisa said as footage of Jaune undoing his straps and letting his weapons fall to speak with Aria was shown.

"Wait… he was trying to reason with Aria?" A male White Fang member questioned with shock.

"It's his fault! If he didn't get into Aria's head, then Gree wouldn't have stabbed her!" A female WF shouted.

"But Gree is nuts. He would have done something like that anyway if someone was showing… weakness. As he'd put it." A male WF member said.

"And he'd be right." Adam said under his breath, with only the taller, dark-haired Faunus beside him hearing.

"Though the debate for Faunus equality done through peaceful means or by force still rages on, with evidence such as this, is it possible that perhaps with people like this young man, is there more hope for the former than there is for the latter? We can only hope. What we can say now is thank you to the selfless young man who was ready to risk it all, not just to save the imprisoned today, but perhaps for what may come tomorrow. From us at VNN, we thank you, Jaune Arc." Lisa finished.

Adam suddenly gritted his teeth and destroyed the television with his katana, Wilt.

The rest of the White Fang stared at him in shock by his sudden actions, but they understood. To be honest, they expected him to destroy the television earlier.

"Uh… Adam, sir?" A brave White Fang member spoke up.

"Get back to work. All of you." Adam ordered. No sooner than he had spoken those words, everyone went back to their posts and jobs. Adam stared at the destroyed TV with a glare, hidden behind his Grimm-like mask. 'It had to be an Arc.' Adam thought with a new rage brewing inside of him as he tightly gripped his hilt. 'I… will kill you… Jaune Arc.'

.

.

Teams RWBY and what remained of JNPR had been watching the news through their scrolls on their way to the hospital, shocked by what they had witnessed.

"Whoa… who knew Vomit Boy knew his way around a firearm." Yang said with shock and awe at the skills they saw on the footage.

"He's a prodigy." Pyrrha said with amazement.

"Why did he bother with a sword then?! He was terrible with it!" Weiss exclaimed, still in shock and trying to make sense of why Jaune would hinder himself so much.

"Perhaps he has a more… personal reason for doing so." Ren suggested, causing the rest to look at one another, thinking that perhaps Ren was onto something.

"Regardless, Jaune showed how much of a skilled combatant he truly is. All he needed was the right tools in hand." Pyrrha said, smiling and still proud of her one true partner.

"Yeah! He's a heck of a rootin' tootin', kickass cowpoke if I ever saw one!" Nora said giving a cowgirl accent, using her fingers like guns and grinning with joy at her fearless leader's gunslinging skills.

"He should trade in that armor for a ten-gallon hat then." Yang said with a smirk.

"No, no, I actually like the armor. It's very becoming." Pyrrha said with a loving smile.

"Oh~." Nora and Yang said in unison with cheeky, teasing grins, causing Pyrrha to blush red.

"I-I'm just saying it works for him is all!" Pyrrha quickly said, trying to alleviate herself of some embarrassment.

Ruby couldn't help but gain a bit of an amused smile. She then noticed Blake still staring at her scroll, with a bit of an odd look on her face.

"Everything okay, Blake?" Ruby asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. It's just… I can't believe he was ready to do that." Blake said, looking back at the scroll.

"I know. Jaune turned out to be one heck of a shot. I got to see how good he is with a sniper rifle. Just not with Crescent Rose." Ruby said with a smile.

"No. I mean… what he did with that Faunus girl. He dropped his weapons and… talked to her. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to hurt anybody." Blake said, recalling Jaune letting down his guard to make peace with the bunny Faunus.

"It wasn't like they were giving him much of a choice." Weiss said with a disapproving frown and her fists pressing against her hips.

"But he gave her a choice… and she listened." Blake said, being a bit lost in thought, not noticing the looks the rest of her friends were giving her.

"You sure you're okay?" Yang asked.

"Yeah… I actually am." Blake said with a soft smile. "Ruby… you were right. A person like Jaune does deserve a second chance. He should come back to Beacon." Blake said, looking at the young reaper with a smile.

"Yeah. I know he does." Ruby said with her own smile with her eyes reflecting gratitude for Blake's words. "That's just more of a reason to get him back!" Ruby announced with a fist pump.

"But Professor Ozpin said it wasn't going to be that simple." Ren mentioned.

"Then we'll just make it simple!"

"What?" Weiss looked toward her partner with confusion.

"We'll just keep trying to convince Professor Ozpin that Jaune belongs back at Beacon with us!" Ruby explained.

"And if he isn't convinced?" Yang asked.

"Then we'll just have to convince him more and more until he says yes!" Ruby proclaimed, thrusting her fist into the air.

"I'm with her!" Nora cheered with a grin, wrapping an arm around the petite reaper with her own fist thrust up.

"As am I." Pyrrha said with a smile and nod and bringing a fist up, joining her fellow redheads.

"Yeah! Just you wait, Jaune! We'll get you back!" Ruby cheered with a grin.

Unknown to the group, not only did Jaune escape the hospital, but he was also ducking within an alley near them. Unfortunately, he wasn't near them enough to hear what they had just promised. He was sitting against a wall, sighing with his thoughts occupied by his recent actions.

"I can't believe I just did that." Jaune said as he had his face into his hands. He pulled his head back and sighed as he stared at the sky. "I officially ran from the cops. I mean… was that even the right choice? Maybe they would have arrested me, but maybe not. Was the chance to great though? Was I really at a much higher risk staying?" Jaune wondered out loud. "Well, people will be after me now after this. I'm a wanted man. In a sense. Might as well go on the lamb and change my name to Felipe." Jaune said as he stood up from the ground.

Jaune sighed again as he started walking away. He travelled down the back allies of Vale to avoid being found by anyone, not just the police. While traveling down one alley in particular, he noticed a man in a fedora and white coat that had the Atlas emblem on the shoulder, holding a suitcase in hand walking down another alleyway. Jaune just shrugged and continued on his way, but then he heard some commotion.

"Hey buddy, nice case." Jaune heard around the corner. He peeked his head over to notice a guy with spiked up brunette hair stopping the white coat man. "You from Atlas? You one of its higher alumni or something?" The brunette asked with a smirk, getting only silence from the white coat man. "What? Come on man, talk to me." The brunette egged on, only getting a small growl from the white coat man who turned towards a door within the alleyway. "Not a talker, huh? Fine by me." The brunette guy said as he pulled out a pistol. "Just had over the case then." He ordered as he aimed the gun at the back of the fedora man's head.

'Oh no.' Jaune thought with wide eyes.

The fedora man remained silent.

"What? You deaf too? Hand over the case." The mugger ordered, but the man remained unflinching by his threats. "You don't think I'll use this just because we're in Vale?" The mugger questioned as he cocked the pistol, causing the white coat man to narrow his eyes as he turned his head to the side a bit. "I'll show you otherwise in three… two…" The fedora man let out a louder, more demonic growl baring razor-sharp teeth as his eyes gleamed red. "One?" The mugger's eyes widened as then the fedora man turned with his jaws opened with skin on the side tearing apart and bit into the pistol, tearing it in half. "What the Fu-?!" The mugger's throat was then grabbed by the white coat man.

The mugger was raised up high as the white coat man's body started to shake with several places of his body bulging and shifting around.

The mugger, and by extension Jaune, watched in horror as the fedora man's body was shredded to pieces like it was a skintight suit as something else had been hidden inside. Something big.

It was a large muscular Grimm with long thick razor-sharp spikes coming out the back of its wrist. In fact it had spikes poking out from various places on its body; its back, its elbows, its forearms and even out the heel of its three toed feet. Its Grimm mask covered the front of the top half of its head with two spikes coming off the back of its head and it had sharp teeth.

'What the-'

"Fuck are you?!" The mugger questioned, unintentionally finishing Jaune's thoughts.

The muscular Grimm growled as it brought the mugger closer, tightening its grip on his neck as the mugger's scared face was right in front of the beast.

Jaune panted a bit with fear as he had never seen a Grimm like this before. It clearly looked way out of his league. Looked to be out of anyone's league who isn't a huntsman.

Suddenly the door the Grimm was apparently about to open a moment ago was kicked open as out came a new person.

He was average height with dark hair done in a ponytail with three locks of feathered up bangs sticking out of the border of his hair with a pair of long locks framing the sides of his face and maroon-colored eyes. He was wearing a long white coat with red and blue accents on the sides of his torso and shoulders, an armored vest underneath, leather gloves, long navy-blue pants and steel toed boots. Wrapped around his left bicep was strap with the symbol for Atlas on it.

This new man had a hand cannon out and aimed towards the Grimm.

"What's going on out here?" The dark-haired man questioned with a glare.

'Oh, thank goodness.' Jaune thought with relief.

The dark-haired man stared at the Grimm holding the mugger, who was holding his hand out for assistance, then he looked down to the shredded skin and clothes the Grimm had been wearing a moment ago.

"Are you kidding me? Do you know how hard it was to get you that person's skin without Ironwood breathing right down my neck?!" The dark-haired man exclaimed, glaring at the spiked Grimm.

'What?!' Jaune thought with utter shock and disbelief upon what he had just heard.

The Grimm gave a low growl in response.

"Well then kill him. Ironwood plans on bringing his fleet over soon some time before the Vytal Tournament. I don't want the little time I got to be impeded by some deadbeat mugger." The dark-haired man said, putting away his hand cannon.

The Grimm growled as it turned back to the very scared mugger, readying its claw to cut him up.

"Put him down!"

"Hmm?" The dark-haired man, Grimm and mugger turned with surprised expression to see a young blonde man wearing some armor.

"Y… You heard me. Put him down." Jaune said, putting on a brave front.

"Who are you?" The dark-haired man asked with narrowed eyes.

"My name is Jaune." Jaune answered. 'Why did I tell him my name?!'

"Are you a huntsman?" The dark-haired man questioned.

"N-No."

"A warrior? A hero of any kind?"

"No. I was a student… until I got expelled. B-But that doesn't matter right now! I am here and I am demanding you put that man down now!" Jaune ordered as brave as he could.

The dark-haired man and Grimm looked to one another with confusion.

"Are you for real?" The dark-haired man questioned, narrowing his eyes again, this time with major confusion.

"Yes, I am for real! Now put that man down now!" Jaune ordered, this time with an aggressive tone that even he was surprised he had.

The dark-haired man stared at him for a moment with half-lidded eyes.

"Well, you heard the kid. Put him down." The dark-haired man ordered as the Grimm reared its claw back.

"No!" Jaune called out with his hand out.

"Help me." The mugger begged, extending his hand over to Jaune, before being stabbed into the stomach by the Grimm.

The mugged coughed up blood and looked to Jaune with pleading teary eyes, before the Grimm snapped its arm up, slicing the mugger's upper body and head in half.

"No! Goddammit! Why?!" Jaune screamed out in horror and sorrow at the man's death.

"Now kill him. I don't need any witnesses." The dark-haired man said as he was heading back towards the door.

The Grimm released the bisected mugger and sped towards Jaune.

Jaune gasped to find the Grimm was super-fast and already in front of him with its claw ready. Jaune quickly brought his arms up to block and upon instinct, his semblance activated as his whole body shined with yellow aura and just as the Grimm slashed at him, a bright light enveloped the alleyway.

"What The-!?" The dark-haired man shouted out as the light blinded him, forcing him to cover his eyes. Once the light was gone, he heard a pained growl beside him. Uncovering his eyes, his vision properly returned to him, allowing him to see the Grimm on the ground on its back right beside him. "How in the-? How did he? What kind of semblance was that?" The dark-haired man questioned as he looked down the alley to see the boy already gone. Looking back at the spiked Grimm, it sat up, shaking its head. "What are you doing? Go find him! If he gets out of here alive, my position within the Atlas military will be compromised! It will ruin my- uh, his plans! Now go!" The dark-haired man ordered, causing the spiky Grimm to roar and rush down the alley way to find the blonde. "Stupid Grimm. That's going to catch some people's attention." The man said with an annoyed frown.

Jaune had been running down multiple alleys with his arms hanging and bleeding at the forearms. Even with his aura going full throttle for protection, he still suffered damage. Jaune was forced to stop upon feeling some exhaustion. He turned a corner and pressed his back against the wall as he then slid down into a seated position. He looked to his forearms to see his detached reddish-orange sleeves were cut into with the gashes within his forearms healing bit by bit.

That Grimm had hit him hard.

He didn't know what he did at that moment, but it saved his life. But what's going to save his life now?

Jaune groaned in pain as he moved his arms.

'I can't move my arms that well now. Which means I can't use Crocea Mors to defend myself. Not like it would help me out. I suck at using it! Killing that Ursa Major was a fluke! Dammit, if I only I had a gun!' Jaune thought to himself as he hunched over, groaning in pain. 'Come on, Jaune. Don't just give up now. There's got to be something you have that can save you. Please let there be.' Jaune thought to himself as he searched around his person, ignoring the pain in his arms. As he did, he found something in one of his pockets. It was a small vial filled with fire dust. 'Wait a minute… isn't this…?'

.

.

"Hey Jaune!" A female voice called out to him, making him turn to see it was Ruby. "You mind doing me a favor?" Ruby asked.

"Uh, okay. What?"

"I'm pretty much packing a whole lot of dust ammo on me, but I didn't have enough for this one. Can you hold onto it for me?" Ruby asked, extending a vial of fire dust to Jaune.

"Uh… that's not going to explode on me, is it?" Jaune asked with clear nervousness.

"Oh, Jaune. Not if you're careful." Ruby said as she handed the reluctant knight the vial. "Thanks, Jaune! You're the best!" Ruby cheered with a smile as she skipped away.

Jaune groaned as brought up the vial, staring at it with worried eyes.

.

.

Currently, Jaune held the vial up, staring at it with joy and relief.

"Ruby, I love you!" Jaune proclaimed, feeling much gratitude for his best friend. Jaune then noticed the Grimm had made it around the corner with its claw ready.

Jaune managed to duck under the claw strike, which cut right through the brick wall he had been leaning against, breaking apart the bricks and shattering them into smaller pieces. Jaune quickly got to his feet, only to be grabbed by the neck and slammed into the wall. The Grimm glared at him with its soulless red eyes with near invisible reddish orange pupils. Jaune gagged a bit, holding onto the muscular arm that was holding onto him.

The Grimm let out a mighty roar.

In a moment of pure adrenaline, Jaune instinctively gripped the vial of first dust into a clenched fist that started glowing yellow and then thrust his fist into the Grimm's mouth, causing its eyes to widen as Jaune crushed the vial of fire dust in hand, causing it to ignite and explode within the Grimm's head.

The explosion was heard throughout the section of the city, with everyone wondering what it was, but only one knew.

"What the-?!" The dark-haired man from earlier said in surprise as he quickly followed after the sound of the explosion at a blinding inhuman speed.

He managed to arrive in time to find a small cloud of smoke with the Grimm he sent a moment ago. Or at least what was left of it. He watched as all that was left were its legs, which fell over and dispersed into ash. His eyes widened in shock at seeing this specific Grimm die like this, with his mind littered with questions. He noticed a yellow human sized visage of light flicker within the smoke. Making his way over, he found it was the boy from earlier with his right arm burnt up to the elbow with his glove and detached sleeves burnt away.

"I-Impossible… no mere human can kill a Razor, except… no… no, you can't be!" The dark-haired man said as he took a step back. The only response he got was exhausted moaning from the boy. "No… of course, you can't be. Silly me. Thinking this boy was the Crusader of all people. Ha! Hasn't been one for over half a century now." The dark-haired man said with a relieved grin.

'What… is this guy talking about?' Jaune thought to himself.

"Still though… to kill a Razor… you're no mere child. That power you had earlier… yes… that's a useful ability. And I know just who can help me make it mine." The dark-haired man said as he walked in front of Jaune, who managed to look up to him. "Nighty-night, Golden Boy." The man said with a grin as he then delivered a kick to Jaune's face.

.

.

"I don't believe this!" Weiss shouted as she actually kicked in the door to her team's room. "Unbelievable! Honestly! He fled!" Weiss exclaimed, swinging her hands up in annoyance.

"Yeah. Really surprising. I'm more impressed that he had the guts to do such a thing. I really underestimated Vomit Boy's nerves of steel." Yang said, both surprised and impressed with Jaune's bravery.

No one would expect him to actually run from the cops like that. Especially since the only escape he had was through the open window.

"Why would Jaune do that?" Ruby wondered to herself with a confused and saddened frown.

"Why wouldn't he?" Blake responded, earning her team's attention. "Jaune did get into Beacon by using forged transcripts. That alone is a criminal offense that would lead up to thirty years in prison. The police already had his name, which means they could get his file as well."

"So, he bolted to avoid possible prison time. Makes sense. I would have done the same." Yang admitted.

"But he saved those people's lives!" Ruby argued.

"Ruby, remember what Professor Goodwitch said before. Just because he did some good today, does not change the wrongs he's done." Weiss said.

"That doesn't mean he shouldn't be forgiven!" Ruby fired back.

"The world isn't always forgiving. Nor will it choose to be." Weiss retorted with her arms crossed.

"She's right." Blake agreed with a frown.

"Well… I've forgiven him. That matters… it should." Ruby said, looking down with a saddened frown.

Yang came over and gently placed a comforting hand on her sister.

Nora suddenly ran over, slammed their door shut, only to kick it open, unsurprisingly surprising the four.

"You Guys! Jaune left Pyrrha a message earlier!" Nora exclaimed, surprising the all-female team.

They all ran into the room of Team JNPR, or what's left of them, to see Pyrrha sitting on her bed holding her scroll in hand and Ren standing nearby.

"There was a message from Jaune!" Ruby asked as she hurried over to Pyrrha's side.

"I forgot to grab my scroll earlier today. Jaune had apparently left me a message right before he left Beacon." Pyrrha said, staring down at her scroll with a saddened expression. "I could have talked to him."

"So… this Jaune's final message." Yang said, causing everyone to frown.

"You… don't mind if we're here for it, do you?" Ruby asked.

.

.

Jaune groaned as he finally regained consciousness. He heard the sound of buzzing as he felt something pressing and rubbing against the side of his head. He finally realized that follicles of his hair were being cut off, causing him to snap his eyes to see he was staring up at an iron ceiling with light shining down upon him. He also felt a rhythmic movement within the room that made him a little sick, which meant that he was in an aircraft. Not only that, but he also felt something wrapped tightly around his wrists and ankles.

"W-What's going on? Where am I?!" Jaune questioned, not starting to get scared.

"Look who's up." A person with a distorted voice and mask similar to a gas mask spoke as he was focusing on shaving the sides of Jaune's head.

"Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter. Where you're going, people on the outside won't be making contact with you." The masked man said.

"On the… where am I going?" Jaune asked as his heart race increased.

"Where the toughest of the tough and dastardly of the dastardly go." The masked man said as he then focused on the other side of Jaune's head.

"Toughest of the-? Hold on! Do I look tough or dastardly to you?!"

"Doesn't matter. Orders came from a higher up. We are to deliver you to where you are assigned to go." The masked man said.

"Who ordered this?" Jaune asked, wanting answers.

"Doesn't matter. You're not going to see him again." The mask man said as he finished shaving the other side of Jaune's head.

Jaune looked down to see he was strapped to a table, wearing a sleeveless, orange prison jumpsuit with white shoes, and though he couldn't see it at the moment, his hair was cut short and styled to be upswept and somewhat spiky.

"Oh no." Jaune thought with a new level of fear. "L-Listen to me, listen to me! There's this guy! I know this is going to sound crazy, but he was working with a Grimm! The thing was wearing someone else's skin that he got for it, and it killed someone! I mean, it was a mugger, but still! Whoever that guy is, he's dangerous!" Jaune tried to tell the masked man who was walking towards worktable.

"Working with the Grimm? That's impossible." The masked man waved off.

"I know what I saw! It was huge! It was like a buff guy covered in spikes! He cut through the mugger like he was made of butter!" Jaune tried to explain as he then noticed the man had a handheld device that had a needle at the end of it. "W-What are you going to do with that?" Jaune asked with new worry and fear.

"Kid… you're about to have your first tattoo." The masked man said as he walked over back to Jaune and turned his head to the side.

"W-Wait!" Jaune pleaded before the masked man started carving into the left side of Jaune's head, causing him to scream in pain throughout the process.

.

.

Pyrrha stared at the message within her scroll for a moment. She looked around towards the others, seeing them stare at her and the scroll in anticipation. She took a deep breath in through her nose and exhaled out her mouth.

"Here it goes." Pyrrha said as her thumb hovered over her screen.

"Fearless leader's final message to us. I wonder how it starts out." Nora wondered aloud.

When Pyrrha hit the answer button… they definitely didn't predict how it would have started off.

"GODDAMN, STUPID MOTHERFUCKING, PIECE OF CUNT! CAN'T I GET ONE GODDAMN BREAK! IS THAT SO FUCKING HARD, LIFE?! IS IT?! WHAT DID I EVER DO IN A PAST LIFE TO CONDEMN ME TO A LIFE FULL OF MISERY AND NEVER-ENDING DISAPPOINTMENT! IS MY LIFE A FUCKING SHOW FOR SOME SICK TWISTED INDIVIDUALS TO LAUGH AT?! Well then~, FUCK ALL OF YOU TO HELL YOU CONTAMINATED, TOXIC SOULED ASSWIPES! HERE'S MY APPRECIATION FOR THE LAUGHS! EAT IT! EAT ON IT AND SUCK IT, YOU STUPID, SADIST PIECES OF SCUM! I HOPE YOU ALL ARE PROUD OF YOURSELVES! GODDAMMIT!" Jaune's screams of much held fury and frustrations were heard followed by the sound of his scroll hitting the floor.

Everyone's eyes were widened greatly with Pyrrha, Ruby, Weiss and Blake covering their mouths in shock.

"Whoa… you think he kisses his mother with that mouth?" Yang questioned, breaking the ice.

"Hey, um… I'm sorry about that. I just had… so much built up and… I just wanted to talk to you. Guess not being able to turn out to be the final straw." Jaune's voice was heard, now being more calm, somber and sincere.

Pyrrha's eyes grew somber as she could feel the hurt within Jaune's voice, followed by the rest.

"Pyrrha I… I am so sorry about what I said. I should have just accepted your help to begin with. It's just… I felt I needed to accomplish being a hero on my own to make up for something that happened." Jaune then chuckled a bit. "I can already hear him telling me 'It's okay to ask for help every now and again. It doesn't make you any less who you are… or who you could become.' But help is what costed him everything." Pyrrha's eyes widened upon hearing this. She didn't expect Jaune to be holding such pain, especially for someone who was no longer around. "But what happened… it's no excuse to how I treated you. You were my friend. You were willing to help me while everyone just left me to fend for myself… like a wounded animal. I am a wounded animal… and I turned away your offer to help me, like a scared, dumb… dumb fool who was too big for his britches. I'm so sorry for turning my back on you… I think you… I think you were the only person to ever believe in me… and even though my word now might be worth spit… nah… maybe lower than that… I just wanted to say thank you for at least holding your hand out to me."

Pyrrha covered her mouth with her hand as tears escaped her eyes. Her heart was breaking from just hearing Jaune put himself down in such a way. Considering himself a wounded animal with worthless words to spare… her heart ache as she too felt pain from just these words being spoke, and she wasn't the only one.

Everyone else was shocked and hurt to hear Jaune put himself down like this. Even Weiss was having trouble stomaching his words.

"Pyrrha… I know I'm not worth it, but… can you do me a favor. Can you tell my final words to each of the people I became close with?"

"But we're here, Fearless Leader!" Nora shouted out.

"Nora… it's just a message." Ren said with a frown.

"Shut up!" Nora shouted at her longtime friend.

"Tell Nora that…" Nora perked her head upon hearing her name. "I'm sorry I wasn't the fearless leader you said I was." Nora's eyes widened. "I know it was just a nickname, but… it kind of felt like that's what you hoped I'd be. I'm sorry I could never live up to it. Even though you were much to deal with at times, you brought an energy that made life… a little more bearable to deal with. Never lose that." Nora's lips started to quiver as she got teary eyed. "It helps out a lot more than you think… you being you. No matter what people say, or how they judge you… especially how they judge you, never lose that spark. It's strong enough to even make the nastiest of days… just a tad bit brighter. Keep shining on Valkyrie."

Nora started shedding tears as she suddenly fell to her knees and started to cry.

"I will, Jaune. You'll always be… our fearless leader." Nora said as she cried into her hands.

Ren came over and hugged his best friend with a somber expression on his face.

"Tell Ren…" Ren's head now perked up when her heard his name. "I know we never really talked… and I never really got to know him like I should have… but he's someone I admire so much." Ren blinked his eyes in surprise. "No matter what danger came his way, he was so calm, yet confident… even when he knew he was about to lose. Truth be told, I'm really jealous of him. He's definitely the coolest guy I met here." Ren's eyes widened upon this compliment. "I wish I got to know him better… but I think I know enough. Enough to say that he's one of the most reliable men you'd ever meet. You and especially Nora are so lucky to have him. I know that… whenever you guys feel down, he'll be there to help lift you up. It's like he has an answer for everything. I know my word might not mean anything to him, but I know he'll listen to what I'll say." Ren frowned with saddened eyes that Jaune would believe he wouldn't mean something to him now. "I was happy to be on the same team as you. I wish we spent more time together… I felt like you would have been the closest thing to a brother that I ever had. I guess you might think it's sad, but… it means something to me. Thanks for being there, keeping our hearts steady with just your words. Unexpected from a guy who barely talks."

Ren closed his eyes with a calm, yet saddened look.

'My words mean very little compared to what has just been said by you… brother.' Ren thought as he hung his head in sorrow.

"Tell Yang…" The blonde bombshell perked her head up in surprise at her name being mentioned. "Hell what can I not say? Cool, tough, always cheery yet ready to unload a can of whoop-ass. I guess the best way to describe her is like if summer said: screw it! I'm already a kickass season, why not be a kickass person too?" Yang could help but smirk at this with her eyes reflecting gratitude and a sense of warmth. "Everything just seemed so easy for her, but at the same time seeing her fight… I could see all the effort she put into being where she is now. Out of everyone, I envied her the most. She is probably the closest to what I wish I was. I guess… I look up to her." Yang gained a look of surprise upon this confession. "Weird thing to say, but I bet she hears it a lot. She may have had a nasty temper…" She pouted at this. "But even that I admired." Then she smiled again. "It just showed how much she cared. She had so much emotion that anyone could feel it. If she said 'calm down everyone. Everything's going to be fine', I feel like everyone would believe her. Her words, her actions, they resonated strength that put people at ease and enemies on their toes." Yang's smile widened at this as she gained a bit of a blush. "If anything bad happens to her… I hope she gets right back up. If she loses a limb, I hope she keeps fighting. If she's on the verge of bleeding out, I hope she keeps kicking ass until she used up the last drop of her blood! If someone… if anyone tries anything on the people she loves… I know she won't rest until she gives them exactly what they deserve! If someone burns her hair… well, I think that goes without saying. I just hope that no matter what happens, whatever comes her way, everyone's way, even if the gates of hell itself opens up and every threat imaginable comes over for a fight… I hope… no… I know she'll be the first to fight and the last to give up! Because that's who she is. She's someone to be admired and anyone who says or thinks otherwise… well they don't know a damn thing at all. They don't know the atomic blonde that… I was lucky enough to know. Even if she doesn't care what I have to say, or is too pissed to listen, tell her… thanks for being the sun that brightened the day the only way she could: being herself, ready to start things off with a Yang! I don't care if that pun sucked… it was pretty damn good to me."

Yang put a hand over her heart as she started to cry with a saddened, yet grateful smile on her face.

'Thanks, Jaune. You really know how to make a girl feel special.' Yang thought to herself, happy that Jaune got her.

Blondes know blondes, and they should always stick together.

"Tell Blake…" Blake's eyes widened, surprise that Jaune had something to say about her. "She was unique." She blinked her eyes at this. "I didn't get to know her and that's a shame." Her head perked up in surprise to hear this. "She was hard to read, she seemed distant, anti-social…" Blake frowned, sinking a bit as she looked down with a sense of shame. "But she never left anyone behind." Blake's eyes widened at this. "I somehow could tell a lot just from how she acted with her team. She was… happy to have them. I know she is happy to have them, and I'm pretty darn sure they're happy to have her." Blake felt a hand on her shoulder, making her turn to see a smiling Yang, with Weiss and Ruby giving small smiles as well. "So happy that she'd never abandon them." Blake looked down, biting her lip. "I think she loves them way too much for that. She's not someone who easily forgets. It's funny… a lot of the times, I feel like that if I gave up on trying to be friends with anyone… I'd hide in the corner like she did when she first came to Beacon…" Blake clenched her hands tightly into fists. "But when Team RWBY started, she never went back to that corner. For someone like her… that takes guts." Blake picked up her head in shock. "Being out of your comfort zone is a tough thing, but she took to it like a fish to water." Okay not that she couldn't help but frown at, mainly because of the comparison's irony. "No matter how silly her team's antics were, or how much she didn't want to be there when they acted out… she never walked away. She stood with them through thick and thin. I know she'll stick with them no matter what. Maybe she never really showed it, but… I think out of everyone, she's the one who cares about everyone the most." Blake's mouth gaped a little in shock. "Maybe a little too much and that's why she'd rather stay silent and to her books… but her heart… it's so strong that she shows all that love she has through her actions. No matter what… her heart always guides her. At least… that's what I think." Blake instinctively put a hand over her heart. "I think she really does want to show that love… and I hope one day… she won't have to fear showing all that love. I hope she never runs away from what's in her heart… and who she gave parts of it to. Tell her that… I hoped we could have at least gotten to know each other. Just keep those you did get to know and love close to you, and never run away from that love… because… leaving that love you left behind… hurts more than anything."

And just like that, Blake started shedding tears. She sobbed a bit as she hung her head with a pain look on her face, with her eyes reflecting sadness, but also gratitude for Jaune's words.

'I… I hope I don't.' Blake thought to herself. She personally didn't believe that in herself, but apparently, Jaune did. And that means so much to her. 'Thank you, Jaune.'

"Tell, um… tell Weiss… what can I say?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Except… I'm sorry that you knew me." Weiss gasped in shock as her eyes, along with everyone else's, widened. "I'm sorry I bothered you the day we met… I'm sorry I tried to get your attention… I'm sorry… that I was being me in front of your eyes… no not that. I wasn't being me. I was being… what I thought would grab your attention. I never was really good with girls. I just… I just thought… I admire you so much. You're just amazing. You were cold, but you're also incredible. You're smart, graceful, and talented. Heck, I remembered stopping in front of your dorm one time and I heard you sing. It was beautiful. I thought… that I heard an angel singing." Weiss put a hand over her heart as it fluttered from the compliments. "I wish I could have told you how incredible I thought you were, but… well… I didn't deserve to tell you. I didn't even deserve to talk to you. Every time I tried, I just messed things up, when… I should have told you the truth. You… you were right about me from the very start. I was… a loser. I am a loser. I'm trash! I'm despicable! I wasn't worthy of being here because I cheated!" Weiss' expression became one of hurt as she listened to how Jaune regarded himself in such a terrible manner. "I cheated and… I just wished… I just hoped that being here would change me into someone who didn't rely on something like that. To be someone respectable, dignified, someone who has a future to be there for others and with a smile, you'd calm their souls… your smile… it didn't calm my soul… it made it burst with awe. I was never blown away as hard as when I once saw you smile." Weiss' eyes widened as she silently gasped. "You're… a bit rough around the edges, I won't lie about that, but I know that you're going to go far! Not because you're a Schnee, but because you are Weiss Schnee!" Weiss' eyes widened more upon this declaration. "I don't know much about your family… hell I didn't know much about anything before coming here… but if your family made someone as amazing as you… then they really are worthy of respect." Weiss tightly gripped her chest. "I… I envy that." She then bit her lip. "I wish… I wish I could live up to my family name like you are. Bringing it pride and real honor! Like a true hero… like a true person worthy of respect! I know you'll go far Weiss… I know you'll be a true huntress… because you were right. You are right that someone like you is destined for greatness… while someone like me is destined to be thrown in the trash… rotting away to be forgotten by history. Pyrrha… tell Weiss that… I'm sorry that she got to know me… but that I… I don't know why, but somehow… I got lucky to know someone like her… even though I never deserved to in the first place."

Pyrrha had her hand over her mouth as everyone was in shock, but none more than Weiss. The Schnee heiress' back hit the wall, as she then slid down it as tears started to pour from her eyes.

'No… you were wrong. About my family… and… about me. You weren't… you weren't trash, Jaune. And you definitely weren't lucky to meet me. I wish… I knew how lucky I was to know you.' Weiss thought as she had a look of pure hurt as she continued to cry with her sobs echoing throughout the room.

Everyone looked to her with somber expressions, clearly seeing how much pain the heiress was now going through from hearing Jaune's words to her.

"Tell… t-tell Ruby…" Ruby gasped as she quickly snapped her head back towards Pyrrha and the scroll. "Ruby, I... thank you. You were my first friend. Even if you didn't believe in me… I'm not sure if you did… thank you for thinking I was worth talking to. You could have just said 'thanks for helping me up' and walk away like any other person would have, but… you talked to me. Even though you made a joke about me vomiting on the ride here, you stuck around and talked to me. Became my friend. My first friend. You're cheery, you're optimistic, you're brave, you're strong and you are so, so kind. Along with Pyrrha, you're the kindest girl I ever met. We took jabs at each other, but never to hurt each other. We had some laughs. We never… we never felt awkward around each other. I think… I think you were the one I always felt the calmest around. Even though we're social awkward, whenever we were together… it never felt that way. It felt… natural. Like talking to you, spending time with you… everything with you was second nature to me… and I'll never have that with anyone else. I'm glad I got to have that with you. That I got to know you. You're the best friend I ever had… and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have stood up to Cardin. What you told me… how a leader couldn't afford to be a failure, for the sake of his team… it inspired me. It gave me the strength I needed… even if I was terrible at being a leader. I still think I wasn't meant to be the leader... I turned my back on my friends just to stay in a place I never belonged to be in. I'm not saying that what you told me led to all this, that was my fault from the start… but it helped me take a stand. I may have been exposed, but that moment of standing up to Cardin, doing what was right… I would never trade it. For the first time in my life… I felt the closest to what a true hero is meant to be. A person who forgets about their worries and does the right thing. Protecting someone from something they didn't deserve and standing up to a foe who seemed way out of your league… but you never cared, because no matter what happened… you did something right… and I'll carry that something with pride. Thanks to you. Ruby… you're… you're the light that guided me. You're the light of Beacon. Ozpin… Ozpin was wrong to pick me, but he was right to pick you to be the leader. Though everyone has their own strengths, yours is so much greater. You can take someone whose hit rock bottom and lift them up to places where it feels like they could touch the sky itself. That's a strength that should never be underestimated. No one should underestimate you. You should never underestimate yourself, because you are that incredible. You were the light of the fire that brought my soul the strength it needed to do what was right… the only thing I ever did right. I thank you for that. For being you. For being my friend. I could never ask for anyone better to be the first friend I made here. Ruby… I don't know if you'll take my words seriously after all this, but please… please… for everyone… not just here… but for everyone outside of Beacon, outside of Vale... please… never change. Never change who you are… because you are perfect. I know… I know with all my heart… with my very soul… that you will be the greatest huntress ever… so long as you never lose that light that burns bright within your very soul."

Ruby was a bit of a wreck right now. Her eyes poured with tears and her lips quivered. She had a saddened expression on her face, wishing now for nothing more than the boy who spoke the words about her to be back with them again. To be back with her. She wanted her best friend back.

'Jaune…' Ruby thought of the blonde knight that had in a way, saved her that day, and wanting him back by her side like before.

"Pyrrha…" Pyrrha looked down to her scroll. "There is something else I wanted to tell you before I go." Pyrrha listened closely, keeping her saddened eyes focused on the screen in hand. "Thank you… for being my partner… thank you for being my friend… thank you… for caring about me… even though I never deserved it. I could never ask for a better partner than you. I just wish I was the partner that you deserved… but hopefully you'll find someone who is worthy of being your partner… because… because… to me… you're not a student of Beacon. You are a huntress!" Pyrrha's eyes widened at this declaration. "Everything you hope you'll become; you already are! I know you'll stick with Beacon until you graduate, but to me… you're already what a huntress should be. Strong, compassionate, selfless and seeing worth in everything you come across. Even the worthless. You don't care if it is worthless… you'll do everything in your power to protect it, because that is who you are… and I would never have it any other way. I was… I am lucky I got to know you. I know Beacon… Vale… hell even all of Remnant will be safe in your hands. If there is any doubt in you that you are, which I doubt there is, don't listen to them. Because you proved that you are someone who should never be doubted by anyone, including yourself."

Droplets of water hit the screen of the scroll as Pyrrha stared down at it with tears pouring and her lips quivering. Her heart was fluttering, and it ached, all thanks to the words of the man that she cares for. That she loves.

'Jaune… everything I am… I know you are as well. Where it counts the most. My one true partner.' Pyrrha thought to herself as she shut her eyes tight and let the tears continue to pour.

"The bullhead's here… I guess this is goodbye… I don't think it's going to be a see you later."

"Don't say that!" Nora shouted out.

"Please don't say that." Pyrrha said as her heart ached more.

"Guys… I hope for the best for you. Life… life was never good to me. Not even the moment I was born. I wasn't even meant to last a month… but somehow, I did." Everyone looked up in shock at this news. "Somehow… I made it this far in life… and even though I'll leave as a failure… I'm leaving with something precious… something I'll never trade. My memories with you." A pang resonated within everyone's hearts at the same moment. "I know you'll all be amazing. You're going to be great huntsman and huntresses… I was just wishing too much to be beside you all when that happened. Guess even that was too much to wish for. Even though I won't see you guys fulfill your dreams and living them to the fullest… I'll always be cheering you on, because… because you're my friends. Even if I'm not yours any longer, I'll always consider you all mine. Like I said… life was never good to me… it never gave me a break… but now I think it did give me one. Giving me the chance to know all of you. That's good enough for me… that's more than enough for me. I… I love you all! Thank you… for being in my life… no matter how brief it was. Thank you… for being my friends… I will never forget you. I can never forget you, even if I tried… and I wouldn't have it any other way. Goodbye you guys… thank you… for everything!"

The message had come to an end.

Everyone had saddened expressions on their faces, with tears being shed. Their time with the blonde was brief… but it was clear that it meant the world to him. More than they could have ever known. He truly cherished them all. Flaws and all.

Sorrow. Guilt. Longing. Depression. Regret.

These were some of the feelings they were all feeling. Some more than the rest. (Weiss).

Never had they felt so cherished before and from a friend that some of them were ready to write off as a simple cheater. Jaune cheating his way into Beacon was now the last thing that came to mind, and him being a cheater is the last thing they will see him as.

He was a partner. He was a leader. He was a goof. He was kind. He was funny. He was good-hearted.

He is a friend.

A friend that they all want back more than ever now.

Ruby looked around the room.

Ren held Nora close, letting the orange haired girl sob onto his chest, while he himself silently cried.

Blake was hanging her head with her eyes shut tight and a pained frown on her lips, while Yang held onto her shoulders in comfort with the lilac-eyed girl looking down with somber eyes as it almost looked like her hair had lost some of its sheen in the past few minutes.

Weiss was sitting against the wall with her face hidden within her hand, unable to face anyone at the moment, as her sobs could be heard throughout the room.

Pyrrha was silently crying with her body hunched over with the most pain-filled look upon her face as she held the scroll to her heart.

Ruby then looked down with her lips quivering. She suddenly clenched her hands into tight fists as her eyes, though reflecting sadness, also shined with a new determination as she then declared.

"We're going to get him back."

.

.

Jaune was now being guided down a hall by the masked man with his hands behind his back and cuffs keeping them tied together. Now carved into the left side of his head were the numbers 4-24-1990.

They stopped in front of a one-man containment cell that looked kind of like an escape pod. The masked man opened the door and pushed Jaune in, allowing him to fall to his knees.

"Hold on! Where are you taking me?!" Jaune questioned as he looked back towards the man.

"A special prison within Mistral. Where only those deemed too dangerous, or more accurately, too rowdy by the world are placed in. It's known as the Château, but it goes by another, more grisly name." The masked man answered. "Won't be there for a while but let me be the first to welcome you… to Pyscho Prison."

Jaune watched with wide, horrified eyes as the masked man closed the door to the cell with now nothing surrounding him but the dark.

End of Prologue

Grimm-dex Entry:

Razor – Large muscular Grimm with spikes protruding out their bodies, like their arms, knuckles (which can range from one giant one to 2-3 long ones), legs, back and even from their heads. They are highly aggressive Grimm that live for one thing: Ripping and Tearing… with their claws. As one could tell they love making things bloody with their protrusions. Everything for them is cutting, slicing, tearing and ripping with their claws. They even will cut up the area around them, with the part they designate as their 'den' being littered with claw marks everywhere. However because of this mentality of focusing on only aggressively cutting this apart, it makes them predictable and simple-minded. They are essentially muscle heads who'd rather use their brawn instead of brains. Although that's basically all Grimm, so it's not too bad. To Grimm standards at least. Despite their focus on brawn over brain, that does not make them any less dangerous. If not prepared, a Razor can slice into a person's body and shatter their aura all in one strike. Being fast on your feet and outthinking them is the key to success. Remember that, or else you'll be next on the chopping block.

Physical Description: A Grimm with a large muscular humanoid build with razor sharp spikes coming out the back of its wrists, which can be either one large, long and thick spike or 2-3 long, thinner spikes. The latter can protrude out the knuckles as well. It can also have spikes sticking out of other body parts, like from out its back, elbows, arms, legs and heels of its feet, but the ones that protrude out the backs and elbows are long, while ones sticking out its arms, legs and heel are much shorter. Their masks cover the front of the top half of their head with two long spikes coming off the back of it, usually in a V-formation, and of course it has sharp teeth.

Author's Notes:

Okay, first I'm just going to get this out of the way. For those who know of my original RWBY story, An Arc to the Past, I haven't given up on that story and I do plan to return to it. That one chapter I had been working on is almost done and then after that I'm going to try writing shorter chapters, those being between 2500 – 3000 worded chapters, something a little more. So, it will continue, I'm just focusing on something else at the moment right now.

Now with that out of the way, I have to admit, this story has been on my mind for years. Like since Volume 6. I had gotten the idea from WolfCross' Of "Vanilla and Coffee Beans" back when it was "Road To A Better Life", which had a similar set up in the beginning with the expulsion. Then I had gotten into the Doom hype with Doom Eternal's E3 reveal and thought, damn, wouldn't it be cool if Jaune fought Grimm as often and as kickass as Doom Guy / The Doom Slayer with all those glory kills? Then Devil May Cry 5 came out and I rediscovered the awesomeness that is Samurai Jack.

And just like that, BOOM! This idea came to mind, inspired by another fanfic that I love, and three kickass franchises with each one's hero (Doom Guy / Doom Slayer, Dante and Samurai Jack) inspiring what Jaune will become!

I've been wanting to do this story and all that time of thinking it over instead of just jumping into it really helped me out as I already mapped out how it's going to go, with new paths being taken, new lore, some character deaths here and there, some characters surviving instead of ending up dead like in the original timeline, reinventing certain characters who are given new avenues to explore; you know, shaking up the story in general.

I even put little easter eggs in this chapter. The passcode for the security guard's safety deposit box (6-5-2013) is the date for RWBY's first episode, which is where Jaune made his first appearance, and the numbers carved into the side of his head (4-24-1990) is the birth date of none other than Miles Luna, Jaune's voice actor.

Another tidbit I would like to add is the character I introduced, Gree, is based on Greebo from Discworld, who is a very evil and cruel cat who has the ability to shapeshift, with Gree's semblance being based on that. I call it 'Shifter'.

Now, I know there are people who have read the chapter who are going to be like 'What the hell? Why did you have Jaune be so badass with firearms like that and so early?'

Well, for one, I thought it would be so funny that since he never used a gun before (and at this rate, I doubt they're going to give him one unless they plan on him making a sword/gun weapon of his own for Volume 10, which hasn't come out at the point of this chapter) that he could be a surprise prodigy. The idea that the whole time we've been with him that he was actually a 'Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass' with firearms sounds so damn hysterical and yet so right at the same time!

Plus, it also plays into a little fun fact that I doubt a lot know of. That fact being that it turns out Joan of Arc was more skilled with cannons than she was with her sword. Not only was she good with where to place and aim them, but she was able to predict the target of enemy artillery.

So, in a way, Jaune's usage of firearms and being not only really good with them, but much better with them than he is his sword and shield is actually faithful to the person he is based on.

God, I love that fact.

Still though, I know people will still ask how Jaune was able to pull all of that off. I'll get into the backstory of not only his gunslinger skills but also why he actively chose to wield his family weapon for a later chapter.

For now though, I'm just gonna let this story hang for a bit. At least until I finish this one story that I'm making that I plan to complete first before moving onto any other stories I have been making or been holding off on. I want to gauge the reactions of readers to see if they want more and how much they want to see this continue.

So, for those wondering if I plan on continuing not only this but any other story I've been holding off on, I will do so, but only after this one other story is completed first. I just decided to post this up before finishing up the other one because it was almost done anyway, and I kind of got back into my RWBY groove after finishing seeing Volume 9. Didn't get into it properly until the volume was finished.

Also, if I do continue this story, I'm going to break this up into Volumes. Make it easier for everyone if I don't just put the whole story into one whole thing. This way if anyone needs to go back for anything they won't have to go through a buttload of chapters just to find a specific one to get a clue for what is happening in the chapter they were up to so far.

Well, I think that's all I wanted to say. Thanks for giving this story a shot and hopefully there will be more to come, and you'll stick around for those.

Thanks again!

Takeshi1225, Out!