Cardin Winchester, with his mace perched on his shoulder and Jaune Arc opposite him with Crocea Mors drawn, leaning on his weapon as if exhausted, in the spotlight shining on the Beacon Academy auditorium stage. He looked at Cardin, who laughed at his opponent's tiredness, and Jaune gathered his strength to charge forward and swung his blade at Cardin, only for him to jump out of the way. Jaune looked back, surprised, as Cardin's mace sent Jaune's shield - and himself - flying back.
From where they watched the fight, the Horsemen were unimpressed with Jaune's performance. "I thought they were supposed to know how to fight already. Remind me again how this kid got in here?" Strife said.
"If there is an answer to that question, it eludes me." Fury scoffed.
"The boy does have a solid strategic mind." Death reminded his siblings. "But clearly, his fighting skills leave much to be desired." He admitted. Meanwhile, War simply looked on, not saying anything, studying the two fighters before him.
Now only armed with his sword, Jaune continued to try and attack, but is blocked by the mace's hilt. Their weapons locked, Cardin forced himself up, towering over a struggling Jaune.
"This is the part where you lose." Cardin said confidently.
"Over my dead-!"Jaune started seriously.
Jaune is cut short as Cardin kneed him in the gut, making Jaune drop his sword and fall to the ground in pain. "Disgraceful cheap shot." Fury said angrily.
"I mean, if it works, all's fair in love and war." Strife said.
Cardin raised his mace and was about to slam it down on a worried Jaune. Just then, the buzzer rang, the lights came back on, and Glynda Goodwitch's voice caused him to stop. "Cardin, that's enough!" She ordered. He relented and walked away as she came onto the stage, tapping her tablet. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's Aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament-styled duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle, and that the official may call the match." She explained while Jaune still lays on the floor in defeat and Pyrrha Nikos looked sad.
"A true warrior should be ready to fight until they can no longer stand." Death declared.
"I think you guys spent too much time in Wicked K's Crucible." Strife said.
"Crucible? What are you guys talking about?" Ruby asked curiously.
The Nephilim were surprised at this and mentally cursed themselves for not keeping their voices low enough. "Nothing you need concern yourself with, little one." Fury said.
Glynda turned her head to look at the losing warrior as he pulled out a smaller tablet with his low, blinking stats and that of his entire team. "Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your Scroll during combat. Gauging your Aura will help you decide when it's appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more... defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowulf now, would we?" She asked.
"Speak for yourself." Cardin said.
War growled at this and raised his hand. "Ms. Goodwitch. I would like to face Cardin next." He declared.
Glynda looked down at her tablet. "Well, there is time left in the class for one quick match, but Mr. Winchester has already been in a match. I would advise choosing another opponent." She suggested.
"I'll fight him. He's been walking around like he's better than everyone. I'll have fun knocking him down a peg." Cardin accepted.
"Clearly, you're speaking about yourself. And I agree, I do plan to humble you now. And I'll likely enjoy it more than I should." War countered as he stepped into the ring.
"Oh, now I'm really gonna hurt you!" Cardin declared, rushing in. He swung his mace at War, but the Nephilim easily blocked it, turning to the side and pushing outward to push the mace and- by extension, Cardin's arms- out to the side, leaving him wide open for War to slam his should into Cardin, staggering him, before he slammed Chaosbreaker into the boy's back, before flipping him over himself and slamming him into the ground, depleting his aura and eliminating him.
Glynda was a bit shocked at this, but quickly shook it off. "And that... is the match. The winner is War." She said, before turning to the other students. "Now, remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!" Goodwitch explained to the excited students, Yang punching the air in anticipation, Weiss shaking her fists with an excited smile, Ruby shaking her entire body with enthusiastic energy while squealing softly and Pyrrha was smiling eagerly, while the Nephilim only observed the student's eagerness while also smirking at War's victory over the bully.
The class started to slowly leave, Jaune being among the last to leave, before he suddenly felt a huge hand on his shoulder. "A moment, if you will, Jaune." War said.
Jaune was a bit surprised at this as he turned to face the youngest Nephilim. "Oh! Uh, hey... War." He said a bit nervously, intimidated by the larger figure, before looking away. "God, it's so weird calling someone that." He said under his breath, before turning back to the Red Horse's rider. "So, uh, good job in your fight there. Not gonna lie, I enjoyed seeing that." He admitted.
"You could do that yourself. You have the potential. I've known many warriors and I've seen how far they can go. But you lack the skill to defeat him as of now. You hardly seem to know how to use your sword." War told him.
Jaune sighed at this. "Yeah, I'm working on that. But that's why we're here, right? To get better and become heroes?" He asked.
"But they are teaching those who ALREADY know how to fight in order to become even more advanced. You are leagues behind the others as of now." War told him, causing the blonde boy to become agitated at the reminder of his shortcomings.
"Yes! I'm aware! thank you! Is there a point to this!?" He demanded, before shrinking back a bit. "I'm sorry! That came out of nowhere." He said nervously.
Luckily for him, War moved past the outburst. "You need to actually learn the skills to fight before you can improve as a warrior. You cannot progress in something you don't know first. You need an instructor. And I am willing to be that instructor." He told the blonde boy.
"What? Uh, no. Thanks, I'm good." Jaune said.
"Jaune, I think you should take the offer." Pyrrha said as she walked up.
"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked in surprise. "Look, guys, I'm fine. I can do it on my own." He assured them.
"We know you can, Jaune. But it would be so much easier and faster if War taught you some things. And I could, too. We could work together and bring out your true potential if you'd just let us help you." Pyrrha told him.
"You think I need help?" Jaune asked.
"N-no! I don't think you NEED it, but I WANT to help you, to be able to make you become the Huntsman you want to be." She told him.
"Everyone needs help sometimes. No one can do EVERYTHING on their own. My siblings and I are strong, but there are enemies that even WE cannot defeat alone. That's why we are the FOUR horsemen. We are stronger together and when we fight as one, there is no enemy we cannot overcome. No warrior has ever become as great as they are on their own. They need people to guide them, to show them how to fight and how to engage an enemy. Even I still find myself learning things from my brothers from time to time." War told him, looking to his prosthetic arm, remembering how Death cut off the first one when he went into a berserker rage.
But Jaune was quickly growing fed up with everything he was told. "Well, I'll be the exception, okay?! I don't want to be the loveable idiot stuck in a tree while his friends fight for their lives! I want to be the hero! And I'll do that myself, without anyone's help!" He yelled at them.
"You are already being given help." War told him, causing him to look at the horseman in surprise. "Ozpin knows of your forged transcripts. He is aware you didn't earn your place in this school. But you impressed him with your skill and how determined you were to get into Beacon. You were caught cheating and you shouldn't be here now, but you are. Because Ozpin helped you." He declared.
Pyrrha was shocked at this. "Y-your transcripts were forged?" She asked in shock.
Jaune was horrified at this, but lowered his head and sighed. "Yeah... Yeah, it's true." He said, looking back up at War. "But I just don't know if I can feel like I'm worthy of being a Huntsman or even a warrior if I take someone's help." He said reluctantly.
But War soon placed a hand on his shoulder. "A warrior becomes great by rising up when they are down. Even if they need help to do it, as long as they keep moving forward and refuse to surrender, they are still warriors." He told the blonde knight.
Pyrrha smiled and nodded at this. "He's right, Jaune. No matter who or what you are, everyone needs help. Even the Grimm work in packs. If you let us help you, I know you'll become a great warrior. And a legendary Huntsman." She told him.
Jaune looked at the two of them, unsure at first, but then took a deep breath and looked at them. "Okay. I'll do it. I'll train with the two of you." He told them.
"Wonderful." Pyrrha said with a smile.
"It won't be easy. The training will be rigorous. You may even wind up vomiting from exertion, but you will become a true force to be reckoned with." War told him. Jaune gulped at this, but remained resolute and nodded.
The day neared its end and the Horsemen were returning to their dorms. "So, you truly plan to train the Arc boy in combat?" Fury asked, both intrigued by the idea and GREATLY concerned for Jaune's continued existence.
"Ha! War being a teacher! Never thought I'd see the day. Man, this new world just keeps surprising me." Strife laughed as the quartet entered their dorm.
"Your next surprise will be my fist plunging into your chest to remove your heart." War warned him with a glare. "The boy DOES have potential. He merely lacks the skill. I believe between myself and that Nikos girl, he could be a warrior worthy to join the finest ranks of any army, perhaps even the Hellguard, if he had wings." War explained.
"Just make sure you don't kill the boy." Death told his youngest brother.
As the Horsemen settled into their room, they all couldn't help but feel a strange spiritual energy. "Okay, I'm not the only one sensing that, right?" Strife asked.
"Indeed. I've never felt anything like it." Fury agreed.
"It's native to this world. That much I can tell. And yet... I can't help but feel a kindred connection to it." War said.
"You feel it as well?" Fury asked as Death nodded.
"Something that rivals even us in power...but is it friend or foe?" The eldest Nephilim couldn't help but wonder.
In a tomb hidden somewhere deep within the Emerald Forest, an altar began glowing brightly, flickering between brilliant colors of red, blue, gold, and silver before a vibration came from within and the ground opened up, revealing a sarcophagus of some kind rising from the abyss before slowly opening up as ancient runes glowed on it.
As the tomb fully opened, a figure rose out from within and floated out before settling on the ground. His eyes slowly opened, revealing them to be pure black with red irises and his hair was long, black, and unkempt.
Stumbling through the forest, the figure, who was a young man wearing hooded robes, looked around wearily, as if trying to get a grasp of his surroundings. Suddenly, a growl was heard as a Beowolf lunged from behind with its claws outstretched... only to be impaled by a stone spike that erupted from the ground, killing it instantly.
An Ursa Minor rushed in to barrel down the young man, who simply held out his hand before a massive blast of fire burst from his palm, incinerating the bear Grimm into ash. He continued walking before a Death Stalker's stinger was stabbed in front of him.
The scorpion Grimm shrieked, its pincers clacking before the young man simply sighed and raised his hand before swiping it downward, air gathering and solidifying into a hammer-like shape as it slammed down on the Death Stalker with enough force to bury it in the ground. The young man then walked over the trapped Grimm, his steps seeming to burn it, causing it to shriek as the burns spread before engulfing it completely and leaving nothing but ash.
Coming across a river bank, the young man knelt down and held his hand out to it, water droplets floating out before surrounding his arm like a bracelet, constantly moving and shifting as it gathered in his palm and formed a type of vision.
"Father..." He said.
The young man then levitated off the ground and flew off... in the direction of Beacon Academy.
Ozpin was sitting in his office, enjoying his hot chocolate [1], when the Horsemen suddenly emerged from the elevator. "Professor. A strange form of energy is swiftly approaching the academy. But we cannot discern whether it is an ally or enemy." War informed him.
"It would be wise to start preparations in case the students need to be evacuated." Fury agreed.
Ozpin could only give them a look of confusion. "How can you be so sure a powerful presence is coming, but you can't tell if it's friend or foe yet?" He questioned.
"Dude, is now REALLY the time to be questioning us? Who knows how long we've got until whatever that thing is busts up in here like-" Strife began.
However, before he could continue his thought, something crashed through the window behind Ozpin. Fury quickly lashed out her whip and pulled Ozpin back, the whip releasing him once he reached Fury, causing him to fall to the ground behind the Horsemen, rolling once or twice, before looking up in shock to see the hooded figure. But before he could say anything, War quickly rushed at the figure, swinging Chaoseater at him, but the hooded man created a blade of similar size made out of lightning, locking blades with War.
Background Music: "Courtesy Call" by Thousand Foot Krutch
The two pushed their blades against each other, but it was clear War was winning the struggle and began to push the hooded figure downward. However, the figure looked to the side at all the broken glass from when he burst through the window, using wind to lift the shards of glass and send them flying at War's face. The youngest Nephilim raised his prosthetic arm to block the blows, but this allowed the figure to spin and strike War's other side, sending him off to the side. Strife began firing his guns at the figure, but he put up a wall of rock from the floor to protect himself. Fury used her Crossblade, throwing it into one of the support pillars, causing it to bounce off and redirect itself at the figure, who blasted it with a small, but focused blizzard that pushed against the weapon, robbing it of its momentum until it clattered to the floor.
Death rushed forward, summoning the arms of his Reaper Form and its massive scythe, cutting through the rock wall, leaping forward and slashing at the figure with his smaller scythes. The figure managed to narrowly dodge the first few strikes, before making a pair of cutlasses out of fire, blocking Death's next attacks. He then began to strike back at Death, the two exchanging blows, trying to hit each other. However, it was once again clear Death was the superior combatant, as he would easily block or counter the figure's movements, giving him an opening to attack, the figure being JUST fast enough to avoid any serious damage, only getting cuts to his clothes or the smallest scratches to his body.
The eldest Horemen then ducked as Fury's whip came around in a sweeping motion that knocked the two swords out of the figure's hands. War then charged in and swung his sword at the figure, who created an ice shield to defend himself. The ice shield shattered, but it was enough to stop a deadly blow as the figure was launched back into one of the pillars. Strife then fired on the figure once again, but he made himself a thin layer of ice armor to stop the bullets, although they were still rattling him greatly. But during all this, Fury had used her whip to recover her Crossblade, which she then charged with the power of the Force Hollow, flinging it into the figure's chest and managing to blast him back and shatter his ice armor.
The figure hit the ground, but rolled to his feet and started to make a massive thunderstorm inside of the office, lightning viciously striking at the Horsemen, but Fury changed into her Storm Hollow and created her own lightning bolts to counter the storm. However, doing this left her open for the figure to create an ice spear and hurl it at her, sending her flying into the back wall of the room. And upon contact with the wall, the ice crept froze over her entire torso and to the wall, leaving her pinned in place. "Fury!" Her brothers all cried out, shooting her a brief look of concern. War turned around with a raging look in his eyes, charging forward, leaping at the figure and doing his aerial vertical spin move, but the figure raised his hand and created another pillar of rock from the ground, slamming it into War and sending him smashing into the ceiling, keeping him pinned in between the two surfaces.
Fury was thawing herself out with the Flame Hollow, but the magic ice was much more resilient than normal ice. And War was slowly freeing himself thanks to the Tremor Gauntlet, but with so little room to move and charge the weapon, he was only chipping away at his prison a little at a time. So both were in the process of freeing themselves, it would take more than a few moments.
So this left only the two masked Nephilim to face the figure. "Okay. Now I'm pissed!" Strife said.
"On this occasion, brother, I completely agree." Death told him.
Strife fired upon the figure once again as Death charged in, the figure creating some ice swords and blocking the bullets, then again going blow-for-blow with Death, this time using lightning to overcome the skill deficit, managing to deliver short blasts of electricity whenever Death managed to cut him. The two locked blades and tried to push each other back. However, the figure could tell from Death's eyes he was smirking beneath his mask and moved his head, allowing Strife to land some shots on the figure, causing him to stagger back.
Death then took on his Reaper form and delivered one final swing that would surely finish this strange new foe. However, before the blow could be struck, Ozpin suddenly rushed in front of the attack, striking the tip of Death's scythe with the tip of his own cane, a green forcefield blocking the strike and, just barely, holding back the Nephilim.
End Music
Death pulled his blade back and reverted to his standard form, about to demand an explanation from Ozpin, but the headmaster simply raised his hand. "Please...I know who this is..." Ozpin said as he calmly approached the hooded young man, pulling the hood back to reveal his pale white skin, black tear mark-like tattoos over his eyes, and black eyes with red irises as well as his messy and unkempt black hair. "My son...After all these years, you've finally come home." He told him.
"Son...?" The horsemen all asked at once.
"Father...What is happening...?" The apparent son asked Ozpin.
"I'm sorry, my son. But I'm afraid that your mother has become a threat to humanity. And Remnant as a whole." Ozpin told him.
"Mother... How could she?" The boy asked in horror.
"Uh- hey, hi. Mind filling us in over here?" Strife asked, waving to them.
Ozpin sighed and turned to them. "You see, during one of my very first reincarnations, I reunited with Salem and we became the loving couple we once were. And we had a family: four beautiful daughters and a handsome young son. Then, when I saw how far Salem had fallen, I tried to get my children away from her, but she discovered us and went berserk. And in the fight between us, our daughters were unfortunate casualties. Our son nearly was as well, but the God of Light felt must have felt some form of sympathy or pity and saved our son, imbuing him with part of his essence, giving him the elemental powers you witnessed. He may actually rival the Brother Gods themselves." Ozpin explained.
"Incredible." Fury said in shock.
"So it seems the God of Light at least had some heart." Death huffed, folding his arms.
"Indeed. The God of Light and I sealed my son away, so he could grow and mature over the centuries. It was our hope that he would be the deciding factor in the battle between Salem and I." Ozpin explained.
"Well, that's nice. But that's definitely more power than just Light. I'm guessing the little brother had something to do with it, too?" Strife asked.
"Yes, the God of Darkness, when he heard about it, also imbued some of his power into him, so that it would balance out his brother's own power and also as an act of spite." Ozpin explained as he put a hand on his son's shoulder, smiling warmly at finally having his last remaining family returned. "Benjamin..." He said warmly.
"That's his name?" Strife asked.
"It means Right Hand of God in some languages," Ozpin explained. "Of course, the God of Light figured it was a fitting name for him." He added.
Ben nodded as he turned to the Horsemen and bowed his head, no doubt apologetic about attacking them. "I regret that we came to blows." The prodigal son told them.
"Do not bow. It is us who attacked you first, you were merely defending yourself." Fury said.
"As an apology, allow us to train you in the proper ways of combat." Death offered.
"Indeed. Your powers are formidable, but unfocused and in need of refining." War added.
"Fortunately, we're all about focused and refined combat. Heck, who knows, maybe after a while, you could be the Fifth Horseman." Strife said jokingly.
Ozpin couldn't help but to smile at that. "I think that would be a wonderful idea." He agreed in amusement.
And so, Ozpin made arrangements to make his son a new students, leaving him as a special case of not having his own team, but instead joining other teams (mostly the Horsemen) on missions when reinforcements were needed. But with that, he was officially cleared to join in on classes, which leads us to now, where the students were getting on a Bullhead with Glynda.
Ben was the last to get on, sticking was the last to get on and stuck closely to the Horsemen. Most of the other students elected to ignore him, but teams RWBY and JNPR were curious and approached the group. "Hey, guys!" Ruby said with a wave, before looking to Ben. "Who's your new friend?" She asked.
"This is Benjamin. The headmaster's son." Death told them.
"Yep. Turns out, ol' Ozzie was holding out on us and had a kid." Strife said, putting a arm around Ben's shoulders.
"Professor Ozpin has a son!?" They all said in shock.
"I never knew." Weiss said.
"W-well, he wanted to make sure I adjusted well and that students would treat me for me instead of hoping to get things from the Headmaster's son." Ben explained.
"Well, Ben, I think it's very nice to meet you." Pyrrha told him.
"Yeah, same here. I hope we get to be good friends." Ruby said with a smile.
"Thank you. I hope for the same." He said.
"Yes, I'm certain we can all end up being good friends." Weiss said. "Especially if someone can ensure our placements on the Honor Roll. Of course, I study and get perfect grades, but some assurance would be greatly appreciated." She added, leaning in towards Ben.
"And that's what I meant about trying to get things from the Headmaster's son." Ben said, leaning away from her.
"So, do you like reading?" Blake asked.
"Every so often, I enjoyed picking up a book, yes." He confirmed.
"And what about explosions!?" Nora asked eagerly.
"As long as they're controlled, I don't mind the occasional one here or there." He said.
"And what about tea?" Ren asked.
"Oh, it's my favorite!" Ben said happily.
"And what about ME?" Yang asked flirtatiously, getting a little closer to him.
"Um... Personal space, please." He said, grabbing Fury's arm and swapping places with her, moving closer to Blake and Ren.
Meanwhile, the two long-haired girls simply looked at each other for a moment, before Yang raised an eyebrow and smiled. Fury rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile herself.
Soon, the Bullheads docked and the students stepped out as Glynda guided them. "Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so." The assistant Headmistress explained.
"Uh, ma'am, we're here too, y'know!" Strife sarcastically called out with his hand raised, only to get elbowed by Fury.
Glynda ignored Strife as she continued. "Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at 4 o'clock. Have fun!" She told them.
Jaune was about to follow Pyrrha, when he noticed Cardin and his team, Team CRDL, skulking off suspiciously. And he couldn't help but have a bad feeling in his gut. "What are they up to?" The Arc Boy wondered as he followed after them.
Ben watched him leave, briefly considering going after them, before Death put a hand on his shoulder. "Do not worry about him, boy. War is handling him." He assured the boy.
Jaune crept up silently towards Team CRDL to find the reason for their suspicious behavior.
And all the while, he was unaware of War secretly following behind him. For a wall of muscle, heavy weaponry and armor, War could be surprisingly silent when he wanted.
Jaune then crept up to a decent distance and watched closely as Cardin held up a box that seemed to be moving in his hands. "Alright, boys. Thanks to your hard work last night, we have a nice, big batch of Rapier Wasps in this box. And I happen to recall thanks to one of those dumb essays from Oobleck that these nasty things LOVE sweets. So we're gonna nail that know-it-all with this jar of sap, then lets these little guys have at her. She'll look like a toad from all the bumps the stings will leave on her!" Cardin declared.
Jaune was shocked and horrified at this, wanting to get up and stop him, but hesitated in fear for his own wellbeing. But then he remembered something War told him in one of their training sessions. "True strength comes from helping others, especially those you care about. If you gain power merely for yourself, it will be meaningless, as you have nothing you are fighting for, you'd have nothing to drive you, no conviction to grant you true strength. Similarly, if you can't stand up for your convictions, you have no right to be a warrior. You'd have abandoned your principals. Your strength would be a lie." The nephilim's words echoed in his head.
Jaune regained his determination at those words and steeled himself, charging towards the group. "Cardin!" He snapped, charging forward and throwing a right hook that smashed into Cardin's face as he turned to look at him, turning him and sending him crashing face down into the ground. Jaune then slowly backed up, raising his hands defensively as the rest of Team CRDL approached him threateningly. (Good thing War taught me some hand-to-hand, too.) He thought to himself.
Cardin growled as he was picking himself up off the ground, getting to his feet and turning to face the others, revealing that he had landed on the jar of sap he intended to throw at Pyrrha, the sap now covering his breast plate. "Oh, Jaune-y boy. Looks like you finally grew a spine. Good for you!" He said in a fake congratulatory tone. "Now me and my boys are gonna break it." He said darkly as he and the rest of his team rushed Jaune, all of them ready to throw some form of punch or kick as Jaune, unprepared for an assault from all four of them, merely pulling his hands in close to defend himself and closed his eyes.
However, at the exact moment the attacks from the team of bullies would have landed, a bright light shined throughout the area as a white aura launched the delinquents back, causing them to skid across the forest floor. They all looked up as Jaune opened his eyes, all of them seeing the blonde boy enveloped in a powerful white aura.
"Jaune...you're noble heart has awakened inside you. You have proven yourself worthy of the sacred treasures passed down through the Arc Clan." A voice echoed.
War watched this go on with interest as thirteen weapons began surrounding Jaune, spinning around him, leaving him and Team CRDL confused and freaked out.
"The Sword of the King, the Axe of the Conqueror, the Bow of the Clever, the Blades of the Wanderer, the Blade of the Mystic, the Star of the Rogue, the Greatsword of the Tall, the Shield of the Just, the Mace of the Fierce, the Scepter of the Pious, the Trident of the Oracle, the Katana of the Warrior, and the Sword of the Father. These are the Crocea Mors wielded by your ancestors and now, they shall be yours as well." The voice told him as the weapons came closer to Jaune, before vanishing, Jaune's gloves disintegrating and revealing a golden tattoo of his family's symbol on the back of each hand.
"W-what the heck is going on?" Jaune asked, looking over his hands, before he was pulled out of his thoughts by a low growl. Everyone turned towards the scene and see large paw crash onto the scene, belonging to a huge Ursa Major with dozens of jagged spikes sticking out from its wide back. It leapt forward and stood over the shocked and terrified students.
It then reared up on its hind legs, identifying the source of what it wanted by smelling around, looking at the sap on Cardin's chest, dropping back down onto its hind legs and roaring at the leader of the bird-themed team. "That's a big ursai!" Russel said as he bravely ran away after Sky and Dove did so, leaving Cardin to fend for himself.
Cardin pulled out his mace and prepared to defend himself, but the ursai easily smacked it away from him, sending the large mace to Jaune's feet. Jaune looked around, deciding what to do, the ursai roaring again.
And this roar was loud enough for those further away to hear. "Did you guys hear that?" Ruby asked as she finished collecting sap.
At that moment, team RDL ran by them, although they were safe now, still running for dear life. "Ursai, ursai!" Russel called out, Yang grabbing him.
"What?! Where?!" She asked, holding him up off the ground.
He then pointed back the way they came. "Back there, it's got Cardin!" He said.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha said in worry.
"Yang, Blake, you two go get professor Goodwitch!" Ruby ordered as Russel freed himself from Yang's grip and ran away again, the two of them taking off as well.
"You two go with them! There could be more!" Pyrrha ordered, Ren and Nora taking off after them. That left Pyrrha, Ruby and Weiss, who all ran to where Russel pointed to where the danger was.
Death looked to his two remaining siblings as they looked to him expectantly. "Let's go." He said, the Horsemen quickly following his lead.
Back with Jaune and Cardin, the bully ran as the ursai chased him, jumping to clear the distance and knocking him down once again. "Crap, crap, crap!" He said as he crawled away a bit.
The others arrived to see this predicament now. "Oh, no!" Pyrrha said. The ursai was about to swing down and finish Cardin, but its strike was blocked and held back by Jaune's shield. Weiss was about to jump in, but Pyrrha stopped her. "Wait!" She said.
The Horsemen had also readied their weaponry, but stopped when they suddenly saw Chaoseater held out in front of them blocking their path. "No. An interesting development has happened. Let him handle this." War told his siblings. [2]
Background Music: "Hero" by Skillet
Jaune pushed back the Ursa's paw and slashed it across the chest, causing it to stagger and roar in pain. Suddenly, Jaune found his mind flooded with memories of his past ancestors using the weaponry he was bestowed with, giving him the FAINTEST idea of how to use the weapons. "Well, right now I guess it's the best I've got!" He said, rushing in.
First, he summoned the Axe of the Conqueror: a mighty serrated Labrys, slashing the beast diagonally across its torso, then changing to the Blades of the Wanderer: a pair of Sosun Pattah (think Bayonetta's Rakshasa), which he used to slash an X across the beast's waist. It roared again and swung its paw to knock him away, at which point he summoned the Shield of the Just: a glorious white shield twice the size of his original shield, gold lining the edges of the shield with a glorious deep ocean blue diamond in the center, held in place by a gold frame, from which a pair of beautiful angel wings sprouted forth, three swords pointing out of the bottom of the frame. Thanks to this shield, Jaune was able to withstand the hit with no damage at all, although he was pushed back at least twenty feet from the monster.
"The boy's smart to use so many weapons and effectively chain together attacks with such vastly different weaponry." Fury praised.
However, he used that distance to his advantage, summoning the Star of the Rogue: a six-pronged serrated demon wind shuriken, in his right hand. He then spun clockwise and gave a powerful backhand throw that sent the weapon flying towards the Ursa, slashing its face, narrowly missing its left eye. But then left it open for Jaune to rush in, leapo towards the beast and summon the Mace of the Fierce: Basically an orange Brachydios tail club, which he smashed across the monster's face, before summoning the blade of the mystic, a blue single-handed, double-edged sword with an opening for a shining blue jewel emitting a blue light. Jaune stabbed the weapon into bear's gut, causing ice to form all around the wound, before he summoned the Shield of the Just again and slammed it into the icy wound with full force, shattering the ice and causing some shards to break off and stab the beast, causing it to stagger back.
"Okay, the kid knows his stuff. That was pretty slick." Strife admitted.
However, taking all this damage seemed to send the beast into a frenzy, causing it to charge forward and bash its head into Jaune's chest, knocking the wind out of him, before swiping its claw and knocking the shield out of his hand, as well as scraping his hand a bit, before one more swipe of its paw sent the blonde boy flying, then tumbling across the ground, before coming to a stop, face down on the ground.
"You can do this, Jaune." War told him.
The blonde boy got back to his feet as the bear charged towards him once again. Jaune charged forward as well, seeing the beast rising to its feet and pulling both arms back, clearly planning to slash him with both its claws. However, Jaune looked down and saw there was an opening between its legs, so he jumped and did a baseball slide in between its legs, going underneath it and summoning the Bow of the Clever, a bow that seemed to be made of lava and brimstone, forming the face of a snarling dragon, complete with jagged obsidian-tipped arrows. Jaune created two arrows, pulling back and firing them at the same time, sending one into the back of each knee, bringing the beast to all fours. Jaune then charged in summoned the Trident of the oracle, a trident that looked to be made of gold and jade, leaping up and sinking the weapon into the beast's back.
"It's time. Finish it." Death said.
Jaune then stood up and summoned the Sword of the Father, his original Crocea Mors and swung it downward, decapitating the beast.
End Music
Jaune looked at the weapons in his hand and closed his eyes, putting his family's weapon back on his hip. He then turned to Cardin aand approached him, helping him back to his feet."H-Holy crap, Jaune!" Cardin said, amazed.
Jaune kept a leveled glare at the bully. "Don't ever mess with my team, my FRIENDS, ever again. Got it?" He demanded.
Cardin, humbled and looking almost apologetic, nodded his head meekly. Jaune sighed at this and started to walk away. But as he did, he was quickly approached by his friends. "That was amazing, Jaune!" Ruby cheered.
"Yes, well... I suppose you didn't do half bad." Weiss admitted awkwardly.
"They're right, Jaune. You were very brave. I think your family would've been proud of you, Jaune." Pyrrha told him.
"And I certainly am." War said, putting a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "You were true to your beliefs, stood up for what you believed was right, defended your allies and even protected one who was once your enemy. Setting aside anger and grievances like that is no easy obstacle to overcome, but you did it. But most importantly, you finally stood up for yourself. Well done, my student." He told him.
"I feel like I've seen those weapons before. There was something familiar about them. I'll have to ask my father about it later." Ben said.
"Well, for now, I'm just happy no one got mauled. Let's just get the sap we need and get out of this crazy place." Jaune said, everyone agreeing and following him back to the rest of the group.
However, what the group didn't know was that Ozpin was already aware of these new happenings, having sensed them. "So, Mr. Arc has awakened his family's Royal Arms." He said with intrigue in his voice. "Well, Mr. Arc, I look forward to seeing what your destiny will be from here on out." Ozpin said as he took a sip from his mug and thought on how recent events would affect the future. And, of course, if it would be enough to stop HER.
A/N: Finally done. I am SO sorry that took so long, everyone, especially to my partner on this story, but I hope this makes up for it and you don't want to stop working with me. But I'll be sure if we do continue to make better efforts of updating this on time.
So, the addition of Benjamin was my partner's idea, but I think it's a neat idea to give the Horsemen as a whole a form of apprentice figure. Jaune's family weaponry was also his idea, which came out of nowhere, but I thought it was a really cool concept, so I hope you guys agree and I hope that you thought I did a good job putting them to good use. To my partner, sorry if the weapons weren't exactly what you imagined, but you only gave me names, no real descriptions or anything, so I did the most with what I had.
[1] Apparently, Miles and Kerry have said that, at least in their minds, Ozpin's drink of choice is hot chocolate or chocolate milk.
[2] I was ALMOST tempted to make War say "Let him Cook."