It was a peaceful scene. A frozen lake laid within a clearing of a grand forest, one of the many that stood between the Festung der Schatten and Vale.

Several mountain elks were hammering at the icy surface, breaking it and drinking the water beneath. Crystals of ice hung from their antlers, the leaves of the trees, and some even fell from the sky, all interlacing in a grand network of glittering crystal.

A whistling sound could be heard in the distance, and the two elks glanced, up, before galloping away as a red and a purple blur sped past the lake, glowing glittering trails of black and red rose petals flying behind them sparsely.

Jet shielded himself from the many whipping branches as he sped through the forest. Ruby was beside him, and the two ran in parallel, ducking and leaping over fallen trees and branches, avoiding the occasional animal that would bay in surprise.

They'd been at this for the good part of half an hour, neither pausing for breath. It was good. It gave him time to think.

They were nearing the edge of the forest, and Jet could see the burgeoning of daylight from within the trees. He made the mistake of letting his focus slip, which resulted in him slamming into a tree. The momentum combined with his strength resulted in him uprooting the tree and catapulting him upwards, flinging him above the treeline, before he landed at the border of the forest.

Ruby was next to him in an instant.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Clearly she hadn't seen what just happened.

"I hit something." Jet admitted. "But it doesn't matter. I think we can stop for now."

"Okay." Ruby replied, before she took out a mat and laid it across the snowy ground. Jet moved onto it, and Ruby pecked him on the cheek as he got close to her. Both were shrouded by purple flames, Jet shielding Ruby.

"It's been about half an hour since we started." Jet said. "And only about another half before we reach the castle." As he said this, Ruby gave him a teary-eyed look.

"We had to leave the others though. My whole team, your whole team." Ruby mumbled. Jet gave his distraught lover a hug, and she settled into his embrace. He knew that she loved her team dearly, and his own team were loyal to each-other unto eternity. To leave them like that filled him with guilt, especially Izzet, who'd probably be broken once she found out he'd ran away with Ruby without her. He hoped she'd understand.

"Jet?" Ruby called, bringing him back to reality. "Can we lie here for a bit?"

"Sure." Jet replied, pulling her down, and embracing her tighter. She curled up in his arms, resting her head on his left arm, giving Jet the opportunity to have the privilege of checking out his lover. His sweet, innocent lover. Well, not so innocent anymore. He reached with his right hand and gently stroked Ruby's hair, not playing with it like he normally did.

"Keep doing that." Ruby whispered. Jet obeyed as she closed her eyes. It felt right to be comforting Ruby like this. If he had a heart, then it would have fluttered at her touch. Jet knew that he had to be strong, for Ruby.

"It'll all be okay." Jet said, watching as tears appeared in Ruby's eyes. "Don't worry. Everything will be okay."

"Th-thank you." Ruby responded quietly, curling up even tighter. "Mum."

Jet was taken aback. Was he reminding Ruby of her mother? He knew Ruby was torn up about her death, after quizzing Yang about their parents. If that was the case, he'd do his best to comfort her as her mum would.

"Don't worry, Ruby, I'll keep you safe. They can't hurt you." Jet whispered. As he did it, he reached up into the sky and constructed a dark field, forming a dome around them. Repulsing the cold and snow, the inside warmed up. "Go to sleep. You'll be fine."

He was rewarded by the sight of a wide smile on Ruby's face, a tear running down her cheek, before the sound of heavy breathing. As much as he needed to keep moving, he knew that they were safe. Even if those chasing them now were to happen upon this spot, the dark field would make sure they were safe.

There again, it would mean their teams wouldn't find them.

He remained with Ruby, lying with her, stroking her even as she slept next to him. She was so beautiful in the distorted sunlight, her skin like pale marble, her normally crimson hair tinged black. She was becoming like him. Her love of the light was starting to fade, in favour of her devotion to him, a user of darkness. It was ironic. They were serving the light, yet were corrupted by shadows.

Ruby was not far from embracing his dark ways, he knew that. She would become his partner in the darkness for as long as he was around. As long as his fate, the same as all around them, was prolonged unto old age, he would protect her as he knew she would protect him. Because he loved her.

And yet, even as these feelings filled him with warmth, a cold jab stabbed through him as he remembered Izzet. He was cheating on his true love. Though, he knew that was never the case.

Unfortunately for her, Izzet's relationship with him was nothing more than a manipulation of her good intentions. He enjoyed her love and affection, but it pained him that it paled in comparison to his bond with Ruby. And yet she needed that love. He knew that, like Ruby, Izzet needed to feel loved. So he would play the part. But she'd only see an illusion of the one she loved.

It was painful to be the bearer of that knowledge. Maybe ignorance was bliss after all.

As Jet continued with this melancholy, a loud roar could be heard above them. Jet looked up as Ruby jolted awake, clearly not having been in such a deep sleep as she'd seemed. Through the dark field, Jet saw a huge, black shape in the snowy sky.

Disabling the dark field immediately, Ruby letting out an 'eep' at the sudden cold, he took off in flight.

As Jet flew higher, it came into view. A vast Grimm, easily the size of a double decker bus, with scaly, black skin shimmering in the sunlight. Two leathery wings kept it aloft, and a gargantuan, spiked tail was stretched behind it. A long neck supported a large head with a maw of glistening teeth. Red eyes locked with his own, below a bulbous, orb-like growth upon its head.

This thing was a dragon!

"Woah, big guy." Jet said to himself as he stared it down. But, it was a Grimm, like any other.

He stretched his wings, igniting his flames and allowing his weapons to appear. Time to make this guy learn his place, one way or another.

"Grimm!" he called, using his commanding voice gifted to him by Deus's boon. "Leave this place! You have no business here!"

As he said it, a nearby pack of beowolves he'd seen earlier looked up at him, before howling to each other and running to the forest behind him. The vast drake did not follow suit. It was still staring at him, now with a look that suggested amusement.

"Leave here, or feel my wrath!" Jet roared, flaring his flames still brighter, allowing his full strength to spill into the world in the form of the fires surrounding him, which were now an iridescent blaze.

The dragon roared now, and the fleshy orb growing from its head started emitting a bright red light from within. As soon as it started, a wave of pain erupted through Jet's body, causing him to momentarily drop from the sky. As he fell, trying to re-establish control over a suddenly pain-wracked body, he dropped within shouting range of Ruby.

"Jet! What's wrong?" Ruby called as Jet stopped himself from falling, the flapping of his wings now sending agonizing jolts of pain through his body. He didn't reply, now feeling really ticked. How dare this Grimm try and bring HIM down?

He aimed his lance at the dragon still watching them, and charged his power. After a full five seconds, he unleashed a full-power blast, intending to wipe the thing out in one shot. As soon as he stopped firing, the pain in his wings became too great, and he fell, though he wasn't worried, as the fires around him would protect-

A heavy impact with the ground. And there was pain. A lot of it. Jet got up, feeling it in his back, which had taken the impact. Wait. His protection was gone?

He looked at the dragon, and his heart sank. The giant beam hadn't done any damage whatsoever. It was still just looking at them, with that cold look of amusement. Then, it dived towards them, where it landed in the snowy clearing. A plume of snow was thrown up by the impact, throwing Jet backwards.

He landed face-down in the snow, and tried to get up, but his strength abandoned him.

"Jet!" Ruby called from somewhere. He tried to get up again, but his powers seemed to fail him. He laid there, unable to move away from the chilling snow. What was that thing?

Someone lifted him up and slung him onto their back. A scent of roses told him it was definitely Ruby. Jet heard a roar before Ruby threw herself to the ground. Jet felt himself smash into the ground, before blackness overtook him.

Jet could hear voices above him. His head was sore, pounding in places. He could feel a hand on his left arm, gripping it tightly.

He flared his powers, and to his relief, he felt the dark flames that had been smothered catch and burn around him. The hand released him immediately.

"He's awake! Thank god." a voice said above him, and he guessed it was Weiss'. He cracked open his eyes and saw a stone roof, covered in a flickering light. Were they in a cave? And why was Weiss there?

He stood up as team RWBY, Lilac and Izzet approached him as one. Stretching his wings, he extinguished his flames, thankful to have his powers back. His headache vanished, as if banished by them.

"What happened?" he asked, remember that he'd fallen after trying to fight the dragon. "Where are we, and how did the rest of you find us?" His eyes found Ruby beside him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." Ruby replied, as Yang gave him a punch in the shoulder in way of greeting. "They found me after I dropped you. We ran for it."

"If that thing could take you down, we wouldn't have stood a chance." Lilac replied. Jet felt a hand on his shoulder, and found Izzet checking him for injuries. Before he had a chance to let her know that he was fine, a realization struck him.

"Wait, where's Nouvelle?" Jet asked.

There was a horrible silence at his question. Each pair of eyes previously looking at him was now looking down at the stony floor. None of them answered his question, and Jet had his answer before they could give it. But it couldn't be.

"Did she die?" he asked. Only Weiss replied.

"Yes. She was killed."