Jaune III

There I lay in bed practically melting, snuggled between her bosom and a mess of warm blankets. Winter had finally come in earnest so protecting oneself against the cold was a top priority, and I had found the best way to stay warm on campus. I had no intention of moving from this spot for the rest of the evening, but the girl who lay there beside me with her legs wrapped around mine couldn't help herself. She had to go asking questions.

"Isn't there something we're forgetting?" Yang ran her fingers through my hair absentmindedly. I knew what she was alluding to. Her sister, Ruby, offered to study with us for an upcoming exam. Ruby didn't like the idea of her sister and I being together, so she was pretty upset with me. Naturally, I didn't want to see her until the two of us could settle the matter in private. As much as I disliked lying I had to pretend not to remember in order to avoid the inevitable conflict that would come from me being there.

"No, go back to bed," I told her.

"Fine. But if I remember, do you promise to wake up?"

"Sure, if it's important," It was at that moment that I began to question whether she had actually forgotten or if she was just looking for a gentle way to remind me. Going to Ruby's study group wouldn't end well for either of us. Ruby would most likely make a big deal out of me coming and give a cold reception to both her sister and I. Yang had already told me on many occasions how greatly it upset her when her sister refused to talk with her. Please, my dear, don't remember; stay your running mind!

She got up from bed and picked a book off the shelf against the wall, said she wanted to do some reading before finally going to bed. When she opened the book a note fell out. She read it and finally remembered.

"Jaune! Jaune, wake up," She tried nudging me awake, but I feigned sleep. I heard shuffling sounds, like she was getting dressed. Then I heard the door open.

"Wait, wait, I'll get up, give me a second," I said.

"Will you, or is this gonna be like last time?"

"I will, I just need a second," I crawled out of bed and threw on some clothes. Among the clothes of mine that had accumulated in her room from previous visits, I could only spot a couple that were clean. I threw on some trousers and a lavender button-down. We were out the door shortly after. I knew this was going to be awful, but I couldn't let her walk around alone at night. Rumors had begun to circulate that The Brothers Grimm were kidnapping young women and offering them as sacrifices. Supposedly The Brothers had made contact with the god of the Grimm and were eager to appease it. Whatever dark entity they made contact with was probably no god, but the fact that it could make a convincing case to The Brothers that it was warranted some concern. Could it be that they had found a Grimm that had lived so long that it gained human intellect? Oh, just my luck; of course I'm alive to witness the end of days! Why wouldn't I be? No, in all likelihood that thing they found, if indeed they had even found it, was not a god but rather a chief of demons. What kind of lover would I be if I let her go out alone when something like that is going on (although I can't say I'd be much help if The Brothers came for us).

At any rate, I tried to convince her to come back inside the whole way over. She had heard about the rumors as well, but in typical Yang fashion she was unperturbed. Before I knew it we were there, in the Library with Ruby. We saw her sitting at a table in the middle of the room, but she wasn't alone. No, she was sitting with 4 or 5 other people, talking and having a grand ol' time. The only other person I recognized was Blake. Even still, the smile on her face made her seem rather unfamiliar. "Doesn't seem like they're doing very much studying. We'd be better off just going home and doing the reading ourselves," I whispered to her.

"Why are you acting so strange? I know you're shy, but this is unusual even for you. What has you so scared, my love? The Brothers? Or are you perhaps mad at my sister? I told you she wouldn't let you have me so easily," Yang laughed and kissed me on the cheek. Her kisses still filled my cheeks with a flush of rosey red color, even after all this time. With each passing day I feared, more and more, that Yang might not just be practice for courting Pyrrha. There were days where she was all I thought about: her hair spun from sunlight, her lovely eyes, and her wit. God, her wit! It was unmatched. I don't think I've ever met a funnier person in my entire life. She had a way about her where you could never be sure if she was joking or not. So when she did, when she actually made a deliberate effort to make her jests obvious, one was liable to break a rib. All this to say that there were times when I cared more about Yang than anyone else.

"I'm not mad at her, Ruby is mad at me!"

"Oh, is that what's happening? Need I remind you that my dear sister is only 15 years old and often says strange things that she doesn't really mean, or even understand for that matter,"

"Easy for you to say, that 15 year old could cut my head off in a second. Of course I'm a little cagey around her,"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it. You're safe with me. I mean, wouldn't it be crazy if she decided to kill you right in front of me?"

"Yang!"

"What? All I'm saying is I can't see that happening," She sauntered nonchalantly over to Ruby's table. I followed her. Ruby didn't greet us. She saw us, but she didn't say anything. It was Blake who was the first to speak.

"Hello, hello! It's been a while since I've seen you two," She said.

"Of course it's been a while. You and Jaune aren't on the same team," Yang replied.

"Yes, but you and I are,"

"Don't be dramatic it's only been a week,"

"Three weeks, actually," Blake looked at me when she said that. Her eyes, or rather the look on her face, told me that she knew about us. She knew that Yang and I had taken each other. Awkward, very, very awkward.

I finally got a better look at the other people who sat with us and immediately recognized them. The two fools from the mortuary shared a book and whenever one of them went to turn the page the other would complain, saying they weren't done reading yet. The dusky woman and the silver haired lad were basically the same as they were before. However, there was one new element that I wasn't aware of before. To the left of the dusky woman, to the right of where Yang was now sitting, was a girl with black hair and amber eyes. We made eye contact only for a second, but her gaze reminded me of places I had never been. The shimmering yellow-orange of her eyes carried a bit of pain in every glint, but the rest of her face betrayed that, obscuring the pain with the faintest of smiles. Who was this? Was this the girl they were visiting in the hospital?

"You must be the sister I've heard so much about! I'm Cinder Fall, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," The mysterious girl smiled at Yang and the two of them exchanged pleasantries.

"I never knew my sister kept such good company. How'd you two meet?"

"It's quite the story. She saved my life,"

"Did she now?"

"Indeed she did. I was knocked out in a sewer being eaten by a grimm that resembled a slug, but she saved me. Your sister's a hero!"

"Don't say that. I didn't even kill the thing. For all we know it's still out there eating other people," Ruby kept her head down as she read from a tome.

"Yes, I guess you're right. You should still be proud though. What you did took a lot of courage and I'll always be grateful for what you did,"

"Get a room already," Emerald groaned. She didn't seem too fond of Cinder flirting with Ruby.

"Well, look at this, my little sister is a hero. Is anyone surprised? Doesn't she have the face of a fighter?" Yang patted ruby on the back, but she shrugged off the gesture.

"Can we focus on studying? The exam is in three days," Ruby looked like she was already tired of the two of us being there. This upcoming exam was mathematics, taught by Glynda Goodwitch. Though she had a very powerful aura, her knowledge of numbers was even more impressive. Like the other professors at Beacon College, Glynda expected nothing but the best from her pupils. I was decent at maths. I knew how to count. However, I started to get lost once they brought shapes and letters into the equations. Suffice to say that I was behind the rest of the class. Though I took solace in the fact that Yang was also somewhat behind in her studies. Ruby was an excellent teacher so the two of us picked up on the ideas rather quickly. When Ruby couldn't explain a particular formula to us the dusky woman made a nice substitute. I later learned that her name was Emerald and the boy she bickered with was called Mercury. She was smart, but the boy was terribly lazy. Not dumb by any means, just severely undisciplined. I suppose that's rich coming from me though.

We studied for a while, but soon we started talking about other things, despite Ruby's best efforts. Blake brought up the rumors about The Brothers Grimm. Cinder shuddered at the thought.

"You don't think they're actually doing that do you?" She held her hands close to her chest in a nervous posture.

"Of course not. It's just a dumb rumor," said Ruby "and even if they were I'd put a stop to them. There's too much unruly nonsense going on inside of this school already. If I found out that someone was sacrificing students to Grimm it would be over for them. They wouldn't live to see next morn,"

"They say it's not a Grimm though. People are saying it's an actual, honest to goodness, deity!"

"I highly doubt the Grimm have found god. Besides, there's only one god and he died a long time ago. I'll be damned if his replacement is a Grimm,"

"Those are strong words for someone who's in love with the leader of The Brothers," Yang purred. For an instant, just a flash, I saw red hot anger on Ruby's face, her eyes glossy with murderous intent. Then, not even a second later, it was gone. She had the face of your typical teenage girl.

She gave her sister a bashful smile and said playfully, "Don't talk about that with other people around! It's a secret,"

I knew I shouldn't have come here this is so fucking stupid. Just fail me already.

"Hey, Ruby, can I ask you something?" Mercury closed the book that he and Emerald were reading, much to the dusky woman's chagrin.

"Ask away, Swordy,"

"Well I'm just curious what you plan on getting out of all this. Do you really think any of us are gonna pass?"

"What? What are you saying? I wouldn't even be here If I thought that any of you were going to fall. It would be a waste of my time,"

"Right, so then why are you here? It's clear that half the table doesn't even grasp the basic concepts of the course, myself included. I think it's time we-"

"Look if you don't understand maths that's on you don't blame my sister for it. Why don't you hit the books instead of whinging?" Yang didn't take kindly to Mercury's mouth.

"What's a perimeter?" He asked Yang.

"Go fuck yourself," She replied.

"Case and point. We aren't going to pass this test, Ruby!"

"Okay well what do you want us to do instead? Are you going to stop studying now just because you think it's hopeless? Because if that's the mindset you're approaching this with then I can already tell that you're doomed to fail," Ruby never took her eyes off the book she was reading. She continued to diligently jot down notes while he talked.

"No, I'm gonna stay right here and learn everything I can. Even If I fail there's a big difference between a zero and fifty. My plan is to fail with the highest marks possible, that way I can save myself with the extra credit assignment. In fact, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. Professor Port is hosting a grand hunt in the Foreverfall Woods. Apparently a powerful Grimm is lurking in the area. Whoever kills it will be granted fourty-two points to the course of their choosing, making it virtually impossible to fail so long as you do well on the final exam,"

"That sounds like a lovely opportunity, but what's the catch?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk with you about. He said that participants have to form groups of four and the points will be awarded to whichever team happens to slay the Grimm. So, only four of the seven of us could claim the prize,"

"Forgive me, but I'm skeptical of this so-called 'prize'. For one, Grimm dissipate into a fine black mist upon death. There would be no way to retrieve proof of the kill. It's one of the major reasons why Grimm kill missions are so rare. No one wants to take them because claiming the reward is always exceedingly difficult. Port is probably just playing some sly game. Pay him no mind and get back to your studies,"

"The Grimm he wishes for us to kill is ancients, its bones will persist long after death, perhaps even longer than those of men," Mercury's eyes hung low, having lost the strength to look Ruby in the eye after dropping such grim news (no pun intended). Everyone else seemed perturbed by the idea as well. Grimm that had lived long lives tended to be smart and vindictive. Legends said they could hold grudges for centuries, exacting their revenge on your progeny for generations to come. Failing to kill one often resulted in the wholesale slaughter of entire clans. To match wits with such a Grimm was to not only risk your own life, but that of your children, and their children too.

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Because at the moment we are only a team of three, I'd like you to be our fourth,"

"So you would have me follow you to your untimely death? Sorry, but I don't think I'll be doing that. If you want to pass the course just study,"

"Dammit all, do you have any idea how much we've missed? How long we've been absent! Three days isn't enough time to make up for that!" Mercury's face was red, but he didn't seem angry. To me it looked more like desperation.

A deep silence fell about the room. Even the people not at our table were watching quietly. Before either of them could speak, the doors to the library flew open. A horde of fools in Grimm shaped masks crowded into the room. The Librarian tried asking them what their business was, but one of them clubbed him. He fell unconscious, blood running down the back of his skull.

My heart began to race. Could it really be possible that the rumors were true? The masks they bore were none other than the masks of The Brothers Grimm. Perhaps they really had come to harvest the souls of young women for their dark rituals. By the light of Lamoors I would protect Yang with all I had. Even to my dying breath, I would risk it all for her. She was one of the few people who believed in me, what kind of craven would I be if I let her down?

The man who bludgeoned the librarian began to speak. He was a skinny fellow with a pot belly and not much in the way of muscles. Even still, he talked like he was the leader of the whole operation:

"I didn't want to have to do that! Hopefully we can resolve this without any more violence. After All that's what hunters do right? We keep the peace !" The rest of the mob he brought with him chuckled when he said that.

"What do you want? Bid ye gone you beasts! You aren't welcome here; Ozpin will hear about this!" Shouted a girl from the corner of the room.

"All Oz is gonna hear about is the color your brains leave the walls when we're done with you. Do you fellas hear this bitch? She must think we're clowns, she thinks we're just some jokers or something. Bring her to me. I'll show her what's really going on here!" Two brutes peeled off from the mob. Following his orders, they made their way to the girl who tried to defy them. She was a short and waffish little thing. They'd probably snap her in half in seconds. I had neither my shield nor my sword on me at the time, but I threw a chair at them. With all my might I threw it. It shattered on impact against one of the brutes and knocked him to the floor

"Don't touch her! Don't even think about it!" I stood up so that the whole rabble of fools would know who opposed them. It wasn't the place of the meek to defend Beacon. If I wanted to prove that I belonged here then I had to fight.

"Kill him," commanded the pot bellied man. The whole mob, twenty-six fighters strong, descended upon us. Yang flipped the table over on its side, forming a makeshift shield, and propping one of its sides against the wall. We made a perimeter and huddled behind it. None of us were armed, so those who could fight with just their hands stood on the outside, feinting blows and jeering. The three hunters who composed our wall were Mercury, Cinder, and Ruby. For some reason Miss Rose had an ax on her person prior to the fight breaking out. Mercury was like a crane, or perhaps some sort of horse. He was tall and a good bit of his height came from his legs. He struck the mob with quick kicks. One of his stray blows knocked one of them unconscious. The mask flew from her face, apparently it was a girl. Unbelievable! How could she let her comrades harass a woman right in front of her?

The Glint in Ruby's silver eyes shined just as bright as the head of her ax. As a result, none of The Brothers challenged her. Cinder fought with daggers made of glass and no matter which way she swung she managed to draw blood. Her nervous face did not match up with her skill. She fought like someone who had known nothing but war her entire life. The enemy kept a safe distance from her.

Our three powerhouses gave us a lot of breathing room. Hell, if it were just the seven of us then there'd have been no problem. We could have held out until morning if need be. However that was not the case. That night there were hostages, a whole room full of them. Saving them was number one on our list of priorities. Apprehending The Brothers would have to come second, but I was sure we could do it. Some of the most skilled hunters in Beacon were there in the Library that night. The only thing that could have made our odds even better was if team CFVY was there. And with our weapons too… it would be a bloodbath (for the enemy of course).

Too bad that wasn't the situation we found ourselves in. Unarmed and outnumbered, we found ourselves on equal footing with the motley fools who comprised The Brothers Grimm.

"You just couldn't let her get murdered could you? You had to play the hero!" Yang jested, however my expression was deathly serious. "It was just a joke, jeez. You have to find a way to laugh in dire situations like this, my love. No moment is guaranteed. We may die any second," Her muscles strained under the pressure of the horde.

"I know. I'm prepared,"

"I knew you would be. Hey, you with the fat ass and the long dark hair, would you mind stabbing me a few times?" Yang asked, as both Blake and Cinder turned around. "No, not you, Blake. I was hoping the other one could help me out here," Yang grinned. Cinder snuck away from the front lines and Blake quickly took her place.

"My Lady, I'm afraid I can't do that. My blades are remarkably sharp, sharper than steel! If I cut you it would hurt," Cinder tried convincing Yang that she was mistaken, but she wasn't having any of it.

"My Lady? Please! Call me Yang! If we survive this and become well acquainted, you can even start calling me 'the dragon' if you like,"

"Oh. oh no, I don't think I'll be doing that,"

"Hm, well, all the same, do you think you could get on with it," Yang pointed at her throat, "Give me a bright red smile from ear to ear, love!"

"B-b-b-but I never stabbed anyone before!" Cinder's eyes nearly began to water. Yang snatched the knife out of her hand.

"For goodness sake! I'll do it myself. How do these things work?"

"I can only focus on two at a time and when I'm not concentrating on it the blade behaves like regular glass. It gets flimsy and dulls easy,"

"Do you think you can fight with just one dagger?"

"I can,"

"Good, then maintain focus on this one and fight with the other! I have plans for this blade of glass,"

"I don't understand! What could you possibly hope to gain from stabbing yourself?"

"As stupid as it sounds, Yang actually has a plan. Now come back to the front and help me!" Ruby threw one of The Brothers off her and flung her ax into his arm. The weapon instantly flew back into her hand, spewing a trail of blood behind it. She threw it again. Except this time she lobed it over the heads of the mob. When it came flying back to her it went hurtling through the crowd. A few of The Brothers hit the ground instantly. She did that a few more times and The Brothers began to spread out. If they stayed bunched up, like they were a second ago, Ruby's ax was liable to take out their entire fighting force.

Meanwhile, Yang drove the glass blade into her chest and winced. Her aura stopped it from breaking the skin, but it was obvious that she had to use more energy than expected to divert the blade. Her golden aura flared and flecks of light flew from her body where the blade was. She held the table up with one hand and continued to stab herself with the other. I trusted my lady love with my life. However, the reason why she stabbed herself eluded me completely. Just trust her, just trust her, she has a plan. She has a plan, right?

A shriek rang out from around where I threw the chair. Ruby hopped on top of the table to investigate, fearing the worst.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's the girl from before, they got her. I'll be back,"

"No, wait! We need you here, Ruby stop," I strained my voice screaming at her, but she didn't pay what I said any mind. She flew over the crowd with her semblance and left the rest of us alone. I took her spot in the formation and braced myself. Somebody with a katana began to slowly approach me. He wore only a mask and trousers, no shirt, and on his chest was a dragon tattoo. He kept walking with a slow deliberate pace. Out of desperation I watched Mercury and tried to copy his moves. We were about the same height so I figured I may as well. I waited for the katana user to get closer. He was within my reach and his blade was still in its sheath. I kicked him and swept his legs. "I'm no louse. Don't approach me so carelessly," I said as the man hit the ground. I offered him a hand and when he was back on his feet I punched him in the jaw. That knocked him out.

"Not bad. One down, twenty to go," Mercury spat.

"Don't say it like that. With Ruby on the other side we may have a chance. We have to get out of this corner though. If they keep us trapped here then they can get to the other students,"

"So what? They attend Beacon, don't they know how to fight?" Mercury's question made my heart sink.

"No, not all of them, but if we can get to them in time that won't matter. If we can get two more people on the other side then we can hit them from both sides. They'll fold before they even get a chance to touch anyone," I quickly stepped back to dodge the swing of a hammer. When it hit the ground it lodged itself in the floor and the man was stuck. Cinder threw her knife at him, caught it when it reflected off his aura, and slashed at him. The man fled before his aura could break and I hefted his hammer out of the floorboards before any of his allies could grab it.

"That's a nice plan but how would we get anyone on the other side?" Cinder spoke, "I don't suppose any of you can fly like, Ruby?"

"No but one of us can jump. Blake, can you jump off the wall and land on the other side of the crowd?" She looked at me and then at the wall before nodding a yes.

"I'll go with her," Mercury was wrestling with a spearman and looked eager to get away. Ever since Ruby left the mob grew more bold. Without her there to control the crowd, they inched ever closer.

"Make space! Make space!" I said as I walloped another one, but he didn't go down like the other one. Before I knew it I was caught in a grapple. Emerald shouted, telling Blake and Mercury to go and begin the attack.

"Jaune's right if we don't make a move now we're done for. I can make an opening. Just go!" Emerald's hair began to stand on end and the air became dank and wretched. A large black portal appeared above us and thick fluid dripped from it. Some of it fell on my face and I squirmed against the cold sensation. A giant Nevermore flew out of the portal and spread its wings. Its call was deep like the sound of a cello and its feathers were so dark that the Grimm seemed more like a hole in reality than a creature that was actually there.

"Is this part of your plan?" I wheezed, struggling to breathe in the headlock. My captor's grip had loosened enough to allow me to talk. He was looking up at the Grimm as well, wondering what the hell was going on. If she could always do this then why did she wait so long to summon a Nevermore?

"Yes, he's friendly, just go," Blake and Mercury started to move. When they leaped off the wall they backflipped over the Nevermore. Blake went over its right wing, Mercury its left. The Nevermore paid them no mind. Instead it decided to peck at The Brothers and scrape the crowd with its claws. The Brother's screamed in terror and tried to run, but that was no simple task. With Blake and Mercury on the other side of the crowd we had effectively put them in a pincer attack. My captor had released me as well. He just stood there staring at the massive bird Grimm, dumbfounded.

"Say, that woman, the dusky woman with the emerald hair and ruby eyes, she's a witch ain't she? Mercy, I beg you, call off your witch and we'll never bother you again, I swear!" He pleaded, but I wasn't having any of it.

"Get off me, you idiot," I kicked him in the teeth and he scuttled off somewhere. With the help of Emerald's Grimm we had them surrounded. We attacked them from all sides: swinging, kicking, and slashing. Our efforts pushed them back against the door they came in through. A good number of them fled. They practically trampled over each other trying to escape. I'd say roughly half of them managed to get away. The ones that couldn't were stepped on and pummeled by their fleeing allies. So it was easy to capture them. We made makeshift manacles out of rags and spare cloth and tied them around the wrists of the unconscious.

When all was said and done the only people who hadn't been tied up were the other students, the two unconscious men that Ruby had dealt with, and one odd straggler. He was obviously one of The Brothers, his Grimm mask gave it away. He wore the mask of the King Taijitu, the breed of two-headed serpent Grimm that terrorized the jungles of Mistral. His clothes, which were just the standard Beacon uniform, didn't have a single speck of dirt on them. I guess he didn't fight alongside the rest. Perhaps he knew the operation was doomed from the start and thought that by not participating in the brawl he would be given a lighter punishment. It mattered not, because Ozpin would no doubt punish all of The Brothers Grimm, not just the ones who participated in this motley raid. All that we had to do was get the last man to yield and take all of them to Oz. Simple enough, what could possibly go wrong?

Yang had finally finished doing whatever she was doing and her hair was completely on fire. Golden fire on sun woven hair, burning the floor with every step, she attacked. Yang charged at him and punched him in the chest. A colossal ball of fire sprawled out from where she hit him and lit several bookshelves on fire. The shockwave knocked us to the floor. The windows shattered. However, when the smoke cleared the man in the snake mask was still standing, unphased.