Here we are at Chapter 4. First of all, I guess I need to say it again. To whomever has been asking, I will NOT be making a Jack Snyder cut version of RWBY KEPL. I simply don't have as much time as you think, and I've been pushing it to get these chapters in so quickly recently, and I'm trying to get this story and Daemon Eater's Rose done by the end of August for various reasons. Also, so we're clear, Blake will have a love interest in volume 10 of the main story, but it's not who some of you think it is. Some seem to be forgetting a character from the show that has been very important in helping Blake solve her personal problems. I do take suggestions from time to time and I do add them in my stories, but not all of them. I sincerely apologize if this is not what you want, but that's how it is. Now, anyway, time for Khazhak and his team to encounter a threat they've never seen before. I do not own RWBY Ice Queendom. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 4. Enjoy.
Chapter 4: Nightmares
A few days have passed since Khazhak and Reaper talked with Ruby and Weiss. Since then, the mood between them has gotten better. Khazhak heard from Blake how Ruby started taking her studies seriously and Weiss started trying to be a better teammate and loosen up a bit. As far as Team KEPL is concerned, that's progress. Of course, the same cannot be said for Porphyrius. Whenever the two teams interacted with one another, Porphyrius would only give subtle glares to Weiss and would take great effort not to talk to her. Whenever someone from Team RWBY asked them about this, Team KEPL would just say that 'it's complicated' and leave it at that. Of course, the days of school continue on, waiting for no one. In Professor Goodwitch's class, she has the students engage in one-on-one sparring sessions to practice and test their skills. In the stands, students cheer for their friends and classmates. This is scene with Team's RWBY and JNPR who cheer on for Jaune as one of the fighters. Weiss watches on as Ruby cheers.
"Come on, Jaune! You can do it! Don't give up!" Ruby cheers, but then notices Weiss staring at her and gets nervous. "Oh, uh, am I too loud?"
"...No, not really. Though, your advice could use some work," Weiss says.
"Wouldn't make a difference anyway," Weiss looks to her right at Lloyd. "He'll still lose," he notes while Porphyrius and Reaper nod.
Unfortunately for Jaune, his opponent happens to be Khazhak Rairyu. On the stage, Jaune appears to be catching his breath. Meanwhile, Khazhak stands with his arms crossed and his blades still on his belt. He hasn't drawn them once since the duel began, and he doesn't have a scratch on him.
"Is that really all you have, Jaune? Frankly, I'm disappointed," Khazhak notes with disinterest. Jaune takes a few more breaths before running at Khazhak, his sword held up high. He makes a downward swing, but Khazhak catches it and brings Jaune in close. "Are you just blindly swinging your sword around, hoping to land a hit? That won't work. Focus. Don't let your enemies goad you into attacking," Khazhak says before hitting Jaune in the face with a left elbow, followed by a right hook. "Study your opponent, watch their techniques, and figure out their weaknesses. When you do, exploit them, find openings, and attack when the time is right."
In the stands, Pyrrha watches with worry as Khazhak beats the Hell out of Jaune. Jaune comes at him again, aiming low with a wide swing at Khazhak's legs. Khazhak merely jumps and flips over Jaune, landing behind him. Jaune turns, only to get another punch to the face.
"Keep your shield up. At least try and use it. A shield and sword combo may be a bit old school, but it has its merits. Master them together," Khazhak instructs him.
Jaune tries to shield bash him, but Khazhak counters with a shoulder tackle directly into the shield, making Jaune stumble bac like before.
"That's not what I'm talking about," Khazhak is getting annoyed.
Jaune gasps for air, his aura getting lower and lower with each hit he takes. He makes one last, desperate swing with his sword, but Khazhak catches his wrist in his left hand. Applying pressure, he forces Jaune to drop his sword and down onto one knee.
Khazhak looks down on him and sighs, "...I've lost interest," he throws a knee under Jaune's chin, knocking him up, then catching him by the neck and choke slamming him into the floor.
His team and Team RWBY look on with concern on how brutal Khazhak was with beating Jaune. Jaune is just barely conscious thanks to his aura protecting him.
"I can see why Ozpin chose Ruby and I to be leaders, but I struggle to see why he chose you to be the leader of your team," Khazhak mutters before walking away.
Jaune slowly, painfully, sits back up as Goodwitch steps onto the stage, "An impressive performance, Mr. Rairyu. Class, this is why you must be wary of your aura levels when in the middle of the battle. You must choose and adapt a fighting style that fits with the strength of your aura, so you don't waste it and leave yourself open to your opponents," Goodwitch explains.
Pyrrha looked the most worried for her leader, while said leader can only hang his head in defeat. At the end of class, everyone leaves to head to their next class. However, Porphyrius stops for a moment when he notices a shadowy figure in the crowd that looks similar to him. Paying it little mind, Porphyrius continues on to catch up to his team. Later that evening, Pyrrha helps Jaune train on one of the rooftops of the dorm buildings. From the entrance, Weiss spies on them.
"What does she even see in him? I still don't get it," Weiss mutters.
"Still trying to get on Pyrrha's team?" she bolts and turns to find Khazhak leaning against the wall behind her on the stairs. "I figured you would've learned better by now."
Weiss steps down so they aren't seen, "Khazhak, what are you doing here?"
"Same as you. Spying on Jaune and Pyrrha. I guess the Champion of Mistral is helping him train. Should give him some help anyway. I'm not all that interested," Khazhak replies.
Weiss scoffs, "For your information, I was just trying to figure out why Pyrrha has taken such an interest in him. It's obvious that he's nowhere near as skilled as the rest of our year here at Beacon. How did he even get enrolled here anyway?" she asks as she walks by him.
"Weren't you asking the same questions about Ruby?" his question makes her stop. "I've been told that things have gotten better between the two of you. At least you know when to take another's advice,"
Weiss turns back to him, "I refuse to let anything stop me from graduating at the top of my class and becoming a huntress. I am willing to work with others, after all. And... I guess I was being difficult. I've decided to give her another chance,"
Khazhak merely grunts, "You've made progress, but you still have a long way to go, princess. Tell me, what kind of person are you trying to be?"
"Huh? I don't understand the question," Weiss retorts.
Khazhak sighs, "Let me be clear then. Who are you trying to become: the next Nicholas Schnee or the next Jacques Schnee? Because so far, I still can't tell,"
Weiss takes a step back from his question, "I don't... I mean, I..."
"Sooner or later, you'll need to figure it out. Before you end up doing something you might regret. Ruby wants the two of you, and Yang and Blake, to be a team. Don't disappoint them," Khazhak says before walking away, leaving Weiss alone with her thoughts.
…
The next day, Team KEPL are in their room, getting their uniforms on as they prepare for class.
"I hope Jaune hasn't gotten too depressed after your match with him yesterday," Reaper notes.
"I saw him training with Pyrrha the night before. I think he'll be fine. But he seriously has a lot of work to do. I've never seen anyone so unskilled and inexperienced enter into an academy like Beacon. How the Hell did he manage to get in?" Khazhak replies.
"Think Professor Ozpin knows something?" Porphyrius asks.
"Possibly. He seemed to name him as leader for similar reasons as he did Ruby. I can't quite figure out what's going on in that caffeine-filled head of his. I don't like it," Khazhak notes.
"You've never liked anyone you couldn't figure out upon the first meeting," Reaper notes.
"Well, as long as Jaune gets better, I don't see the problem. I think he's an okay guy. Fun to get along with," Lloyd says.
"Of course you do," Porphyrius rolls his eye.
Suddenly, they hear banging on their door. Reaper opens it up to find Ren on the other side.
"Ren, what's going on?" Reaper asks.
"We have a problem. Something's wrong with Jaune," Ren says, even his usual stoic expression faltering a bit.
They all follow him into Team JNPR's room, meeting Team RWBY there as well. Inside, they find Jaune still on his bed, unconscious. But the scary part is weird marks spread out all over his body. A closer look reveals that they look like vines with thorns.
"What the Hell?!" Lloyd exclaims.
"What happened to him?" Ruby asks.
"We don't know. We tried to wake him up, but he wouldn't. Then I checked his aura and found it lower than normal. That's when we noticed the marks. I've already called Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch and explained the situation. They said they'll be here shortly," Pyrrha explains.
A moment later, Ozpin and Goodwitch appear, along with one other individual. A woman wearing a purple shirt that exposes her shoulders, white pants over black boots, and a large witch-themed hat matching her shirt's color.
"Who's this?" Khazhak asks.
"This is Shion Zaiden. She's a huntress, although a special kind of huntress. She's what's known as a Nightmare hunter," Ozpin explains.
"A Nightmare Hunter?" Yang asks, perplexed.
Shion walks over and checks on Jaune, running her hand along his chest and neck.
"It's here. We need to start now," Shion says.
…
The group relocate to a large empty room. Shion brings out a large suitcase, which opens up revealing a typewriter, a jar, an hourglass with flowers inside, an older-styled phone, and a few other tools and items inside. She pulls out a wand with a circular head, with light purple string forming a symbol inside, and four crystals hanging off of it. She moves her wand around, a trail of string following in its path.
"Care to explain. What's a Nightmare Hunter exactly?" Reaper asks.
"I hunt Nightmares. Nightmares are a type of grimm that possess humans and rain their aura. The victim is trapped in a perpetual dream, and their body becomes a breeding ground for these things," Shion explains as her string flow around, forming a web upon which Jaune rests, with some string wrapping around and covering his eyes.
"So, what? We just kill this grimm and Jaune will be okay then?" Pyrrha asks.
"Yes, but to do so, you must kill it inside his dream," Shion replies.
"Inside his dream?" Ren asks.
"A task that only his closest friends, those he has bonded with, can accomplish. If a stranger were to try, his heart would reject them, and they would fail," Shion turns to Team JNPR. "So, are you willing to perform this task?"
Pyrrha steps up, "Yes, we will rescue Jaune,"
String dolls that resemble the team appear above them as they lay upon the web and enter the same positions as Jaune. Thus, they enter his dream while the rest wait for their return.
"Man, this is freaky," Lloyd scratches his head.
Khazhak turns to Shion, "I take it one of the reasons you hunt these things specifically is because of your semblance and skills?"
"Yes, my semblance allows those close to the victim to enter the dream and fight the Nightmare," Shion replies.
Khazhak stares at Team JNPR, "Hmmm, guess you learn something new every day after all,"
After a few minutes of waiting, the phone from Shion's suitcase starts ringing.
Shion answers the phone, "Shion here, did you find Jaune?... Good job, now you must fight the Nightmare to set him free," she then hangs up the phone. "They found Jaune,"
"Pretty fast, too. Excellent," Opzin notes.
"They're a good team that trust and care about one another. That will be their greatest strength against the Nightmare," Shion notes.
A few moments later, the vine marks around Jaune's body turn black and fade away. Then the Nightmare pops out from his chest and tries to fly away. Shion swings her wand, sending strings out that bound he grimm. Administering an electrical shock through the strings, she forces the grimm into her jar, locking it inside.
"Now you get to see what it's like to be a captive within a prison, Nightmare. Stay put and become a seed once more," Shion mutters as the grimm tries and fails to break free.
Once the danger is over, the group take turns peeking into the jar, finding a seed inside.
"A seed? So it's like some kind of plant?" Blake asks as she looks inside.
"Sort of. Most grimm take on the form of animals, or even creatures from mythology and folklore, but some grimm are more unique in their form and abilities. This is one of them," Goodwitch explains.
Khazhak takes a look inside, "I've been all over the world. I've seen many types of grimm, but even I have never seen something like this. A grimm that possesses people and traps them in their dreams. I must admit, the thought is rather unsettling,"
They all look to Jaune, who suddenly wakes up and bolts upright, "Oh no, I'm gonna be late!" he freaks out, much to his team's humor. "Huh? What? What's going on?" he has no idea what happened.
Shion rubs her jar, "It's good that we captured it before it became too large. Fortunately, Jaune's aura is underdeveloped," she notes.
"Mr. Arc has yet to unlock his semblance too. Luckily, he had his friends to aid him," Goodwitch says as some in their group check on Jaune.
Porphyrius watches on, "So, his weakness is what helped him in the end, huh," he mutters.
"I must warn you all of something else. I sensed other Nightmares within the forest. The more conflict and turmoil within one's heart, the more vulnerable you are from within, the more they will prey on you. Please instruct all students to be on their guard," Shion says.
"Thank you for your help, Shion," Ozpin says.
Khazhak glances between them and the others, "Turmoil from within, huh,"
…
Later that evening, Khazhak finds Jaune up on the rooftop, lost in thought.
"You're not thinking of jumping, are you?" Jaune turns to Khazhak. "I highly your team would approve,"
"Khazhak. No, no, I'm not doing that! Just... a lot on my mind, I guess," Jaune rubs his head.
"Well, I suppose being possessed by a grimm will do that to you. Luckily, your lack of training, and the help of your friends, saved you. So, what will do you now?" Khazhak asks.
Jaune looks out over the school, "I want... I want to grow stronger. I know I have a lot of work to do, but... I don't want to let my team down. They were there for me, and I need to be there for them. I'm just afraid that I won't be able to. At least not as I am right now. I want to be stronger, so I won't fail them,"
Khazhak eventually grunts, "That's gonna be a long and hard road, Jaune. But... I think you have a shot. For a while now, I've been wondering why Ozpin chose you as the leader of your team. Maybe... maybe he chose you for something you possess... Something you have yet to reach. Your untapped potential," he looks back, seeing Pyrrha joining them. "But, that doesn't mean you have to walk that long, hard road alone. Isn't that teams are for,"
Pyrrha walks up to Jaune and takes his hand, "No matter what, I'll be there for you, Jaune. We all will. We're a team. And we'll face whatever challenges lie ahead of us together,"
Jaune smiles at her, "Thank you, Pyrrha,"
"Don't disappoint me now, Jaune. More importantly, don't disappoint your team, and don't disappoint yourself," Khazhak walks away, waving them goodbye for the night.
Khazhak ends up stopping by the school library, looking for any materials on the Nightmare grimm to read up on. Unfortunately, since the grimm are a rare species among them, there isn't a whole lot. However, as he's searching, he finds Blake looking at books in another aisle, and once again notices her bow twitching. That all but confirms his previous suspicions. He walks up towards her; her focus on the novels before her.
"Find a good read yet?" Khazhak says, making her look over her shoulder at him.
"Khazhak, just looking up a few study materials for class. What about you?" Blake asks, picking one book out.
"Searching for materials on those Nightmares. Shion said there were more of them out there, so I want to be prepared," Khazhak says.
"Always so serious. I think you'll be fine, Khazhak," Blake replies.
"So... when are you going to tell them?" Khazhak asks.
"Tell who what?" Blake asks as she looks back at the bookshelves.
"Tell your teammates that you're really a Faunus," Khazhak's sudden announcement nearly makes her drop her book. She swings back to him, looking both scared and anxious. "I noticed your bow twitching a few times. Wasn't that hard to put the rest together,"
Blake steps back to the shelves, looking for a way out, "So, is that a problem? Come to ridicule me like so many others?"
Khazhak shakes his head, "No. I don't care if you're a Faunus," his sudden declaration not only makes her lose some of her tension but replace it with confusion. "It makes no difference to me if someone is a human or a Faunus, Blake. What I want to know is why you hide your heritage the way you do?"
Blake looks away, "I... I'm sure you've seen it. How Faunus are persecuted, discriminated against, and treated like monsters. As something less than human. I couldn't deal with that here. I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am. I want people to know me for me and not for my ears. If I reveal that I'm a Faunus, then all of that could end up washing away. I can't bear to let that happen,"
Khazhak stares at her and then sighs, "It seems this school is full of charity cases and sob stories," he turns and walks away.
"Khazhak, wait! Please... don't tell anyone about what I am. I can't-," Blake pleads.
"I won't tell anyone. That... will be up to you. But think about this, Blake. Living a false life. Hiding an important part of yourself, even from your friends. Can that really be called living? Or, is it just hiding in the shadows, forever afraid to step out in the light? Think upon my words. Hopefully, you'll figure out what you need to do soon," and Khazhak takes his leave.
"Khazhak... thank you," Blake mutters with some relief, though his words bring new concerns to Blake's mind.
And that's the chapter. Khazhak and his friends learn about the Nightmares after Jaune gets possessed by one. Now, Khazhak may have to face a new threat, one that will require more than simply beating the problem into submission. What dangers lurk ahead of Team KEPL and the others? Until then, please Read and Review.