The Story of a Queen, a Dragon and a Knight

by MatthosSeaworth5

The world of Remnant is one plagued by fire-breathing monsters. Humanity squabbles amongst themselves, the dragons remain as disjointed as ever and a mysterious threat rises in the shadow cast by war. This is the story of a Queen, a Dragon and a Knight.

77. The Broken Knight

A kaleidoscope of colour engulfed her vision as she fell through something that felt not quite like nothing but was not something entirely sturdy, stable and tangible either. Yang was lost but sure of where she was. She knew, according to two talking weapons that claimed to be gods and had powers far more stronger than herself as well as by a wizened wizard her Uncle Qrow seemed to have a lot of respect for, that she was in Jaune's mind. Somehow. Someway. Some...Something. She was there.

But if it was Jaune's mind then it was a bit of a mess. She had no idea what was going on, where she was or where she was supposed to go. She knew she had to help Jaune though, and it was with that singular focus in mind that she let herself fall deeper into the colourful, swirling landscape she found herself in.

Then the voices started, whipping around her like a cold, icy wind. Soft whispers, angry shouts, pained cries, desperate pleas, joyful banter. It hit her all at once, these unfamiliar tones and sounds from strangers and people she knew all at once. Yet none of them belonged to Jaune, and she scrunched her eyes shut and tried to ignore the searing pain that erupted in her head as the voices barraged her senses.

"You are an Arc, if you cannot do simple maths then you already are a failure."

"God's help us when you become our Lord runt."

"Stop crying!"

"Get up runt! Training isn't finished yet!"

"It is hard son, but you must become a hard man. One day you will be responsible for thousands of lives as well as the future of our family. You must be ready."

"You are such a fool little brother."

"Jaune! Can we play now?"

"Ha ha! You're it!"

"N-No! Stop t-tickling me! I yield! I yield!"

"I may be hard on you Jaune, but that is because I love you and want to live a happy life. You will be Lord Arc one day, and that comes with many expectations and responsibilities. No matter what, I will love you Jaune. I always will. What mother would I be if I didn't? Now make me proud, and for the love of the gods start listening to your tutors!"

"Here, little brother. I know Turk was hard on you today. Don't tell mother or father I gave you those cakes or I'll smother you in your sleep, okay?"

"Good work today runt. Maybe one day I'll stop calling you that and call you my lord instead."

"That's a fine young man you have there Nicholas. If I had a daughter I'd offer a betrothal in a heartbeat."

"The king is displeased with me. I fear he will replace me soon and trigger another Faunus rebellion when his next Governor implements those vile policies of his."

"You will be going to Atlas son, to the heart of the Schnee family itself. You will be their ward, though in reality you will be a hostage to keep me in line now that Ironwood has replaced me as Vale's Governor. They will treat you well, and if not I will burn Atlas to the ground to get you back."

"I don't want you to go! You're my big brother! You have to stay and play with me! Please? Please Jaune?"

"Make sure to write to me little brother. I'll…I'll miss you."

"I'll be better! I'll do my homework and my chores and I'll wear those stuffy dresses mother wants me to wear! Please don't go Jaune! Is…is it me? Are you bored of me? I…I'm your little sister! You have to stay!"

"I may be a woman but I'm your sister as well. Let me know if the Schnee mistreat you and I'll tear them a new one myself."

"I hate you! I hope you never come back! I hope I never see you again!"

"My boy! My son! I don't want you to go! Damn the Schnee for taking you from me!"

"I'll try to see you when I can son. Good luck, and make me proud. Live up to our name and you will be fine. All you need is confidence."

"It's been a pleasure training you little Lord. When you come back you'll be a man grown, and I'll be eager to test your mettle."

"Jaune Arc, welcome to my home. I hope the journey was not too harsh on you. Atlas has never been known for its fine weather. Whilst you are under my care you will be looked after, but you will be expected to behave as the heir you are. You will be educated thoroughly, and should you have a need for anything you just have to ask. I am nothing if not a benevolent king."

"I am Weiss Schnee, though you may refer to me as Princess or Your Majesty."

"You're Nicholas' boy eh? I'm Sir Klein, and I had the honour of fighting alongside your father in the Faunus Revolt. I'll be handling your training during your stay here. Don't worry lad, I'll look after you."

"Hmph. You are just as much as a dunce as I expected."

"Your prowess in the training yard is meagre at best and your academic capabilities are beyond dismal. Ansel is a rich land in need of a capable administrator and lord. If you cannot prove yourself to be such, you will be the last Lord of Ansel to bear the name Arc."

"Don't worry lad. Things aren't the best now but you aren't terrible with a blade. In time you'll be a mighty Knight indeed, though as a Lord your brain is much more valuable than your sword arm. You must know how to command men, lead them to victory and above all else, keep them fed and paid. Chess is often compared to war, though there is much difference between the board and reality. Let's see how you can do eh?"

"Your tutors claim you are decent at counting pennies now. Let's see if you can turn a profit shall we? If so, I believe the Arc lineage will be secure for many a generation still."

"You're a dunce, but now you're my dunce you idiot. If someone picks on you again just tell me and I'll have father hang them for treason."

"Good work lad! At this rate I'll never beat you at chess again, though at least I'm better with a sword. Wouldn't be a very good Knight if a kid could beat me eh?"

"I…I believe your feelings may not be quite as unrequited as you believe. I meant it when I said you were my dunce Jaune. You are after all."

"Don't worry about father. Let me do the talking and we can bring him around to the idea."

"Those are just rumours you dolt. I'm not marrying some Mistrali Prince."

"You've been a good friend you dunce, of course you'll be a good husband."

"Klein knows…I think. He seems worried but not angry. I suppose he may know something we don't."

"You know I care about you lad, and I'm not saying this to hurt you, but so long as King Jacques lives you will never marry the Princess. That doesn't mean you get to assassinate him mind. I'd hate to have to kill you avenging Jacques of all people."

"I don't think we should do this Jaune. It isn't going to work. Father…I believe he has his mind made up as to who I am to marry."

"I am pleased to announce a betrothal between my daughter and heir to Prince Alexander Nikos of Mistral! The Schnee dynasty will continue to live on through their offspring, and the wounds caused by the Great War may finally begin to heal."

"Don't make this any harder than this has to be Jaune. I…It isn't just that Jaune! I don't…It was just a silly little crush that went too far. That's all it was. I'm sorry for not realising sooner. I'm sorry for hurting you by saying this but it's the truth! We…We never could have worked out. Im sorry."

"Your wardship here is at an end Jaune Arc. You will return to Ansel by the moons end."

"Goodbye Arc. What I said was harsh…but I do care about you. I hope…I hope you find someone you can love and cherish as your own someday."

"Jaune!"

"Little brother!"

"My boy!"

"Welcome home son."

"It's good to see you again runt. You've certainly grown. Beat me in the yard tomorrow and we'll see about me calling you my liege lad."

"The King is dead. Long love the Queen."

"You've been invited back to Atlas for the Queen's betrothal celebrations. Saphron will be going with you. I'll be damned if I let any of my children get trapped in that frigid Wasteland ever again."

"I'm not going to help you nurture that obsession of yours little brother. Times change and so do people's marriage status. Weiss Schnee is taken so accept your defeat graciously. The Mistrali play their games with spies and poison, so be quiet before someone overhears you plotting against our new King little brother."

"Dragon!"

"I'm Ruby. Ruby of the House Rose. I uhm saved you from the dragon but also kind of maybe putyouinamagicinducedcomaforaweekormaybetwo!"

"Jaune I'm sorry but you will have to leave soon. Nikos is calling for your arrest and some lords are supporting him. Klein has made sure you have a horse, sword and armour, foodstuffs and medicines. You and Ruby leave tomorrow morning…Goodbye Jaune."

"And where does your loyalty lie then? To the Queen or the Consort?"

"We have to go Jaune! Klein can't hold them much longer!"

"Run Jaune! Flee!"

"I was thinking about the quest."

"I know what birds and bees are Jaune."

"That's so adorable! You're like the innocent maiden who needs to be saved in the stories and legends!"

"No need to thank me. I'm just fulfilling my maiden's request."

"Goodnight Jaune."

"Blake. My name is Blake."

"If only more were like you Arc. Goodnight."

"Well we're all going to Snowmire. Considering the fact I nearly died last night from the weather alone it's probably for the best if we all team up. It'll be like forming a party for a quest. Our quest!"

"Thank you. I'm glad to join your party. Who knows, maybe we'll be heroes who have our stories told by the time we're done with all this."

"According to legend, a battle was fought here thousands of years ago between Queen Mira the Cruel and her younger brother, Atlas the First. Mira's army outnumbered Atlas' forces but he had the combined might of the Eastern Tribes and the Icewolf Clans at his back. When it became clear Mira was losing the battle, she cast a spell that turned the field they were fighting on into a mountain. That effort killed her and the founders of Snowmire, who were loyalists of Mira's son, named the village they built in her honour."

"It is an honour and a pleasure to be in your presence My Lord."

"My mother made it for me before I hit the road. It's all I really have of home apart from my brooch, which is useless without my cloak, my clothes and my scythe but they don't really count. They weren't made by my mother and…I know it's silly but it was just nice to have something that reminded me of her. Now it's all…icky."

"Come on. We'll get you some armour and a proper weapon. It was brave of you to attack Tyrian with a plank of wood, but I doubt that'll work against a dragon. With any luck Ruby'll be awake when we get back."

"Fine by me. The armour's yours kid. I'd offer you a hand putting it on but I only have the one arm to offer, the other's needed for my crutch. Fortunately for you, you have a pretty lady friend over there."

"Here. You've been a good customer, and I can write this off easily if you promise to give me a good word to your friends."

"For starters no one is really sure the dragon actually exists. It hasn't been confirmed yet. But from what I've heard listening to rumours around the bar there are two main areas we need to check out."

"One is a shepherd a way's down from Snowmire, on the southern slope. Apparently he saw the dragon, tried warning Snowmire but ended up conveying the message onto a guardsman at an outpost halfway up the mountain because he was too old to finish the climb himself. The second is the western Fang. Apparently a dragon used to call a cave there home until it was killed by members of the Order of Drachentöter."

"Sure. But there's something else we need to address first…Tyrian. I'm not telling you my story with him just yet, but I want you to know it could be possible he isn't operating alone."

"It's fine. Jaune…I really do want to tell you. I will. I promise."

"The shepherd lives out in those hills. If you have something that'll make it worth my time, I'll tell you exactly where."

"Easy there mister adventurer, that information wasn't free."

"Regardless of what the bastard did, you'll remember his name for the rest of your life. I hear it's supposed to get easier the more you kill, but hopefully you'll never reach that point."

"You haven't been a burden. It's been…refreshing to have some company. The only thing you should feel sorry for is for the poor folks who died at that tower, and you sure as hell shouldn't feel sorry for killing one of the bastards who sent them on to the Otherworld. John got what he deserved. You avenged them. The story is over. Time will give you the space you need to accept that."

"I'll tell you where I think the dragon is."

"Hello Jaune Arc. I'm Yang. Yang Xiao Long."

"Ruby is my sister. My half-sister. My mother took my father and sired me. My father…he escaped and married the woman he had been…betrothed? to. They had Ruby. When she got older our father told her about me and we met. Became sisters."

"We grew close. She was my best friend. I loved her.I…I had a crush on a boy from a village not far from my lair. I didn't want to just take him like my mother had taken my father. I wanted…love. Genuine love like in the stories my father and Ruby used to tell me. It sounded nice. So I chose to be honest with him. I revealed myself to him and he ran. I was devastated. My mother found out and…she destroyed him. Destroyed his village. Ruby thought I did it. She and her mother attacked my mother's lair. Drove us out. My mother died. Then they drove me away from her body too. Then I was alone."

"Okay?! Ruby's going to kill me! I don't want to die! I don't want her to kill me!"

"I don't know. But I suppose we'll have to find out won't we? I won't go all burny though. That would just prove her right."

"I can't confirm or deny the other things because I don't know what they are. But I am not lugged with you. You are the single best thing to happen to me in years. I've been either hunted by your kind or driven away by mine ever since my own sister killed my mother and drove me from my home. I was starving when you found me. The few fish I managed to catch wasn't enough to sustain me. I was weak, just waiting for death. But then you came. You came and instead of killing the weak, defenceless dragon like you should've done you fed it. You helped me and I helped you. You've given me a chance to see the person my sister has become. For me to learn what sort of person she is and whether there is any chance I can reconcile with her at some point. W-When you held me I felt safer than I had been since I was in my mother's lair. So no Jaune. I'm not lugged with you. You are lugged with me. And I'll be damned if I let you believe otherwise."

"Now if you want the old man's stuff back your gonna have to trade-"

"Easy! Don't do something stupid boy."

"You're bleeding! Are you okay? Are you dying?!"

"For heresy against the one true Goddess of Remnant, you are sentenced to summary execution and death. Do you have any final words?"

"Nikos did not send me. The Grand Inquisitor did. As for my name that is of no concern to a heretic. I am an Inquisitor. Whereas I was once a child of Kuroyuri, I am now a child of Her, and your soul will be a fine gift as she tortures the heresy out of you in the afterlife."

"I am an Inquisitor! You are a heretic! There is one fate and one fate only for heretics."

"You are a heretic Jaune Arc, yet one of noble blood. What are your final words?"

"Jaune?! Are you okay? Speak to me Jaune!"

"It'll be okay, Jaune. I'll protect you. I'll heal you. I always will."

"You glowed and your wounds began healing. It even cured whatever that poison thing the Inquisitor person gave you was."

"Not too far. I think at least. And I never said it was definitely a temple. I just…assumed that because of its location. Who else would build a big underground structure, if not for some weird religion?"

"I really do not like this. We should turn back."

"We should leave place is evil. I do not wish to repeat myself again, so do not make me. If we go in there…bad things will happen. I know it."

"No! I will not lose you to your own insolence and stupidity. There is something wrong with that place! There is something wrong with that girl! Stop whining and come back to…Jaune?"

"I was just angry. I'm sorry Jaune. I mean it, I am."

"Nothing will happen. Not much can harm me. You know that. Trust me."

"Let's get going shall we? If we aren't quick enough to do our lever the system will lock itself down. It'll take a decade to be able to open it again."

"No. Oh nonononono."

"It's a very potent, strong relic of a bygone age we know next to nothing about. It could have unintended consequences on people who wield it. I know you aren't some innocent lamb, but you are a good person and…and you're a good friend, one of the best I've ever had. So I'm not going to let that thing do anything to you whilst you help me finish my mission, I owe you that much."

"This place is making me feel really uncomfortable."

"It's a story of injustice, oppression, revenge and liberation."

"Why don't you wait outside the door Yang? I don't really know what might happen, so I'd rather we have someone as strong as you outside in case the doors try closing."

"It's fine. Just be careful Jaune. That girl, this place. Everything is wrong about it."

"I…You deserve better Jaune."

"Jaune?"

"I'm so sorry."

"Yes, Yes! I have been restored!"

"A scion of the Arc's as well as a Belladonna? Oh this day keeps getting better."

"Jaune!"

"You dare! If I didn't care about you so much I'd toss you over this cliff Jaune! You stupid, stupid idiot!"

"Y-You died! I was alone again. I've been a-alone for so long then you came and then I w-wasn't. You left me. Just like e-everyone else. I was alone again, a-abandoned again, u-unloved again. I hate that I hate you, but I do. I…I loathe you! I love you and you left me!"

"Jaune? Are you okay?"

"I'm so sorry for just leaving you on that mountain! I abandoned you just like how everyone else abandoned me and I'm the one who keeps complaining about it! I'm so, so sorry!"

"I have plans, plans for a better future. That future will have to be built on something, and the foundation for the new world will be on the broken bodies of the Brother Gods. Humanity will reign supreme, and will be allowed to flourish without fools for Gods watching over them. Let me show you. Open your eyes Jaune."

"Sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. The world we live in is a cruel one, and to do well you must abide by the sadistic rules put in place by the Brothers. The world I will build won't have those limitations. Only freedom."

"You are a naïve fool Jaune Arc. You remind me too much of him. The Brothers cannot be bargained with, nor relied upon to be rational actors. I will take no glee in your death, but you will fall all the same. For what it's worth, Jaune, I truly am sorry for what I'm going to do to you and your allies."

"Jaune? We thought you were dead."

"Jaune?!"

"Big brother!"

"Help us!"

"Jaune!"

Yang screamed as she stopped falling and the world turned blank.

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Qrow could not tear his eyes away from the husk that had become of his father in all but blood. For thousands of years Oscar had lived and mentored and guided, all for it to be brought to a sudden, ignoble end. The old man deserved a better death, a better way to go than...than...this!

Part of Qrow, a very small part, recognised that Jaune Arc was technically innocent. That Oscar had made his choice of his own accord, and that Jaune's state had been brought about by a literal rising dark Goddess who had done her level best to drive him insane to the point she had lifted a castle into the sky and dropped it back onto Remnant just to ensure his family and home all died with no hope for their survival being anywhere in sight.

That did not stop him from utterly loathing the blonde boy who was splayed out on a stone slab, protected by a God of Light and Crocea Mors, which had the power of the God of Darkness. It was a good thing he was protected, because if not for those two Qrow wasn't sure what he would and wouldn't do.

Yang screamed suddenly, and Qrow found his gaze snapping from the corpse of his father to the body of his niece, which writhed on the stone slab as if in unimaginable pain. Qrow rushed over to her, hands outstretched, only to be sent knocked on his ass by a zap of electricity shot from the God of Light. The pain was sharp but quickly forgotten, and Qrow cursed the inaminate shield as he pushed himself to his feet.

"What the hell is going on?" Qrow demanded. Both beings were silent. "Tell me!"

Lightning, this time purple, shot from the sky suddenly and scorched the ground in front of him as he took an aggressive step forwards.

"Gods damnit talk to me!" Qrow roared, only to be replied by more silence. "You already took my father from me today, I swear on my soul if you take my niece as well I'll deliver the both of you to Salem myself!"

"Yang has entered Jaune's Dreamscape." The God of Light finally replied, voice strained. "She is just in some mild pain from the transfer. She will be fine so long as you do not disturb us. This is important and delicate, so we appreciate your silence."

"Fine." Qrow huffed, crossing his arms and sulking against a pile of rusted metal, glaring at the sword and shield and casting worried glances at his niece, doubt shadowing his mind.

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Yang first felt ground. When she felt that she was confused, as it was soft and a slight brush of her hand revealed blades of grass. She had fallen asleep on stone hadn't she?

Realisation kicked in, and Yang's eyes flew open.

The sky was golden, with clouds that were coloured pink floating around. Everything was light and warm, and she wondered for a moment if she was in the right place. Surely Jaune's mind would be more turbulent than tranquil? Not that she was complaining of course.

She took in her surroundings, gaping at the sight of floating islands to her right. Some of them had those human castles on them, and she saw dragons flying in the between them. Further to her right was what looked like a forest, but the trees were strange. The trunks were striped blue and white and the leaves were golden, instantly making her lick her lips from instinctive draconic greed.

"Yang?" A familiar voice asked. "What in the name of the Gods are you doing here?"

"Jaune?" Yang whispered, tone disbelieving and eyes wide as she saw him perched on a rock behind her. He looked strange though. His hair was more orderly and short, his eyes more inquisitive than kind and there was a furrow in his brow.

"Sort of." Jaune replied, pushing himself up and striding over to her, offering a hand. His clothes were different too, not the armour she was used to, but rather simple blue robes with a satchel at his side, scrolls bulging out despite its secure trappings. "I am Intelligence. It is nice to meet you personally."

"Intelligence?" Yang asked weakly, heart plummeting with the knowledge things were not going to be easy.

"Yes." The Not Jaune said, somewhat curtly. "Will you take my hand or not? I have duties to attend to."

"I…Yes." Yang blinked, accepting the help up despite the fact she did most of the work on her own. Not Jaune winced slightly and quickly let go once she was on her own two feet. "What the hell is going on?"

"Simply put, Jaune, I, have gone insane. What usually makes him himself has been broken up and divided into numerous independent beings representing certain parts of his personality. Emotions and whatnot. Happiness, Sadness, Nostalgia…darker emotions." Not Jaune, Intelligence, explained, tone lecturing but softening slightly. "I am Intelligence, though I might as well be Caring or Kindness at this point."

"What do you mean?" Yang asked curiously, earning a sigh.

"I have become somewhat of a caretaker for…let's say softer emotions. Things may seem well enough here, but that cannot be said for the rest of Jaune's mind."

"I was told to find Jaune, the most stable part of his mind but…" Yang paused, fright clogging her chest in its icy claws and making her heart thunder in worry. "If Jaune has been…split up into all sorts of different emotions then how can I find him?"

"Part of Jaune's wholeness remains." Intelligence said softly, shifting somewhat uncomfortably. "But it is well hidden. I do not know where it could be, nor where to find it. There are…well, Salem isn't really here currently, but she isn't the only danger here."

"What do you mean?" Yang frowned, worry starting to rise again after plummeting at what Intelligence explained.

"Everyone has self-destructive tendencies." Intelligence said simply, and Yang's frown deepened at the crypticness to his words. "Come along. I'll introduce you to some of the others."

Intelligence turned and bustled away. After a moment's hesitation, Yang followed, passing the rock he had been perched on before realising they were clambering a large hill. She hurried up, eager to see what laid beyond, earning a chuckle from Intelligence at her eagerness.

A village laid in the distance, looking warm and whole. She could not see anyone inside it. The forest of strange trees sprawled on for what seemed like miles before ending at the foot of giant statues. She blinked when she realised they were all of Jaune, all of them looking strangely mighty, imposing and…odd. It was a weird sight.

"Ego and Expectation work well together." Intelligence explained. "A constant reminder of the shoes he has to fill, the hero he has to become. The hero part of him always wanted to be."

"The village?"

"A replica of Kuroyuri." Intelligence replied. "A place he had a fondness for in childhood. It was destroyed by a dragon some time ago, and he believed his friends had been killed."

"Believed?" Yang asked curiously.

"One survived." Intelligence grimaced. "The Inquisitor that nearly killed him."

"What?!" Yang exclaimed, shock and fury curling together. "Why?"

"The Inquisition most likely." Intelligence shrugged. "They have always had a dark reputation. His other friend may yet live as well, but considering what happened to Ren…it's best he doesn't know her fate."

Yang nodded numbly, before noticing a stone tower in the distance.

"That is my home." Intelligence said, cutting off her coming question easily thanks to having followed her gaze. "The ground is flat for now, but sinkholes open up randomly here and there as a consequence of Jaune's mental instability. Below all of this is an abyss, one controlled by Salem now, so if you fall, you die. Likely painfully. I recommend you don't do that, so watch your step."

"How do you know that?"

"I am connected to Jaune, despite my own present individuality. I have his knowledge, and I know he suffers when one of us falls through or is…hurt."

"How else can that happen?" Yang frowned, but Intelligence merely shook his head and strode forward. "Hey! Don't ignore me!"

"I am not ignoring you." Intelligence replied. "I am electing not to answer your question, as I cannot explain it easily."

"Just try." Yang demanded, and Intelligence sighed wearily. "Please?"

"I'm getting too damned soft these days." Intelligence scoffed, shaking his head. "I am connected to Jaune's hidden wholeness, as are every other emotion and individual 'being' of his personality that has split apart from the whole recently. We are aware of what Jaune is aware of, and we make him aware by saying things. Jaune is aware you are here as I said your name. Not every emotion Jaune has is good, so if I were to mention them by name…"

"They would be aware too. Of me?"

"Of me and you." Intelligence corrected. "There is a particular emotion that is essentially being hijacked by Salem right now, and rumour has it that it has been…hunting us."

"Us?"

"Everyone else except itself. My wards had close encounters with it."

"Who are you looking after?" Yang asked. "You mentioned more 'strays'."

"Honesty and Innocence." Intelligence replied, pausing for a moment as a sinkhole erupted next to them before continuing steadily. "Innocence in particular had a close run-in with the non-Salem danger. Every being it kills helps bring Salem closer to wiping out Jaune's wholeness entirely, albeit in a one by one process."

"That will not happen." Yang told Intelligence firmly, leaving no room for disagreement in her tone. Intelligence smiled wryly.

"There are more forces of nature than just you Yang." Intelligence remarked gently. "You are not yourself here, and the bond connecting our minds is weak, intentionally so, but weak nonetheless. Do not rush into danger and die."

"I'm no weakling." Yang retorted sternly. "Nothing will take my mate from me. Nothing."

Intelligence raised a shrewd brow at her, and she felt herself blush at her unwilling admittance.

"Jaune's wholeness won't know." Intelligence winked. "Not from me at least."

"Thank you." Yang said, somewhat weakly, and Intelligence chuckled.

"Well then, I suppose I have always been curious as to what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object."

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Sinkholes erupted around them frequently and suddenly, though thankfully Yang managed to avoid them by the skin of her teeth. Intelligence had a frown on his face as he glared at a sinkhole that swallowed up a cluster of flowers.

"Things took forever to find." Intelligence grumbled. "Let alone seed. The sinkholes are becoming more frequent at a rapid pace. Not too long ago the best we'd get were several in an hour."

"Jaune is hurt." Yang said numbly, trying to ignore the implications of what the ever more frequent sinkholes in the ground meant. "But he's strong. He'll recover."

"You seem sure." Intelligence noted, and Yang nodded.

"I'm not giving him any other option but to get better either." She said, earning a snort of amusement from Intelligence.

"I'd suggest we hurry but we have to be more cautious than usual due to the increasing appearances of the sinkholes." Intelligence cautioned. "We should also spread out, lest we both fall victim to the same sinkhole. If I do perish, just continue to head to the tower, but do not panic and rush there. Remain slow and steady and you will most certainly be fine."

Yang nodded along to the logic, though she wouldn't let Intelligence fall without trying to help him. He was part of Jaune, and keeping Intelligence alive meant keeping Jaune alive for long enough for her to save him.

Something she still wasn't exactly sure on how to do. She was supposed to find Jaune, and considering what Intelligence had said so far she imagined that meant finding Jaune's wholeness, which was supposedly hidden in order to be protected from Salem and self-destructive aspects of Jaune's personality. But what would she do when she did find it? How was she supposed to break the bond he had with Salem? How was she supposed to make him sane again?

She considered asking Intelligence for help, but elected to wait until they were inside his tower. She did not like the thought of wasting precious time, but she didn't want to risk having such a conversation in the open where Salem or something else might overhear.

So she hurried as much as she could as they gradually, cautiously made their way to the tower, the sinkholes gradually growing less and less frequent. Intelligence let out a sigh of relief, and Yang realised she hadn't seen a sinkhole for a good minute.

"My tower is protected." Intelligence explained. "For now at least. The boundaries keep shrinking, but I've put strong wards in place to protect the tower itself. Innocence will be upset that there will be no field for him to play in anymore, but by the point the sinkholes reach my tower it's likely we'd die soon after along with Jaune's whole."

"How much time do I have to save him?" Yang asked quietly, and Intelligence pointedly did not meet her eyes as he unlocked the heavy wooden door at the base of the stone tower.

"Time is nebulous here." Intelligence muttered, delaying the answer he knew she did not want to hear. "But considering what I know and have seen, Jaune does not have very long before he is either destroyed or collapses."

"Collapses?" Yang frowned.

"He has been driven insane." Intelligence deadpanned. "He is unwell, and the threads of his sanity are rapidly wearing thin. Once they snap, he will lose himself utterly and become little more than a husk or maddened animal. Considering Salem's influence, I believe Jaune becoming some mad berserker intent on hurting all those he sees is most likely, as that will cause the most pain to yourself, your allies and the people he comes across. She will want the most hurt and pain to compensate for the loss of a powerful puppet."

"So not only is Salem and sleepy destructive emotions hunting him and forcing him to hide, Jaune is actively dying due to his bad mental state and can't ask for help since he's hiding from himself and a wannabe Goddess." Yang replied, speaking in the hopes saying what she had heard would make it make more sense. "I feel like I'm going insane myself."

"The Gods are protecting your mind, but you should still be careful." Intelligence cautioned, the heavy doors finally clicking. He huffed as he swung it open. "You can be harmed here, Yang. Come in, come in. The others will be eager to meet you."

The tower was dimly lit, and seemed to have a pervasive cold that sharply contrasted the mild weather outside. Intelligence took the lead, hurrying up a flight of spiralling stone stairs, Yang trailing behind him. He entered a room, and Yang heard voices within.

"Is she here?"

"Yes. So be on your best behaviour."

"I'm not Lust for crying out loud!"

"No you are not. But we both know you can do things neither of us want to happen."

"Is Miss Yang here yet?"

"Yes Innocence. Yang? Are you well?"

She stopped eavesdropping and entered the room, taking it on quickly. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled to the brim with books, journals, scrolls and random papers. There was a circular table with four plates on, as well as a roaring fireplace in front of a pile of furs. There was a desk with potions, tinctures and diagrams where Intelligence gently dumped his satchel.

What truly caught her eye were the two other Jaunes stood next to Intelligence Jaune, one a grown up like Intelligence and the other a small child with round, innocent, deeply blue eyes which lit up at the sight of her.

"Miss Yang!" The mini-Jaune exclaimed happily, racing forward and slamming into her waist with a hug. His arms barely reached around her back, and she felt her heart thundering as he beamed up at her. "We like you! You're very nice!"

"T-Thank you." Yang replied, fighting the urge to swoop the little boy into her arms and squeeze him tightly. Instead she contented herself with running a hand through his hair, petting him. The boy mumbled happily and leaned back against her touch, eyes shut in contentment.

Was this what her children with Jaune would look like? The thought made her face redder and her heart flutter.

"I want." She thought to herself quietly.

"I knew you'd fawn over Innocence." The other Jaune said, giving her an easy smile. "I'm Honesty."

Yang nodded back at him. Honesty had Jaune's hair, messy and long, but there was an easy-going slump to his shoulders that was missing in Jaune. He wore a white tunic and brown pants.

"Are we having a sleepover?" Innocence asked excitedly, pulling back from a hug to stand and clutch Yang's hand tightly in his own tiny, adorable little hands. "Are we? Are we? Are we?"

"I suppose so." Intelligence said, a hint of weariness in his tone despite the happy glint in his eye at Innocence's antics. "Why don't you get Yang 's room ready?"

"Yes sir!" Innocence exclaimed happily, beaming at Yang before scurrying away with happy giggles.

"I haven't seen him so perky for a while now." Honesty said when Innocence left the room, and Yang shot him a questioning look. "Considering...everything that's happened recently Innocence isn't in the best of places right now."

Yang frowned, realising just how much more paler compared to Honesty and Intelligence he had seemed now that she could actually think a thought beyond squealing in her mind.

"We do not need to worry for long, just keep him happy enough." Intelligence remarked, and Yang frowned at him. "Apologies. I'm a bit of a doomster these days."

"How can I save you?" Yang asked. "Save Honesty, save Innocence, save Jaune?"

"I don't know." Intelligence shrugged. "I'm not all knowing, and much of what I can offer is guesswork. I'm working on things, in the meantime, we should eat and keep Innocence entertained. If we can't tucker him out he can be quite rambunctious at night."

"I'm not staying long." Yang retorted. "I have to save Jaune."

"You'll likely die before you got anywhere near Jaune's whole." Intelligence scoffed, before shaking his head and strolling towards a wooden door at the far end of the room. "Honesty, keep an eye on Innocence. If you'd follow me I'll show the situation Yang."

"Fine." Yang huffed, stomping after Intelligence, annoyed he didn't think she could save Jaune. Honesty looked like he wanted to say something, like he was actively fighting back from saying something, but he swallowed his tongue and headed in the direction Innocence had scarpered off in. Yang thought back to the conversation between Intelligence and Honesty before she'd entered the room.

They were hiding something.

She followed Intelligence, but her guard was up. She'd been taking him for his word since he looked akin to Jaune, but for all she knew he could be Salem in disguise and luring her into a trap. She could feel her fire still, though she did not understand how, but she kept it close to hand should she need it.

Intelligence led her up a winding staircase that led to a rickety wooden ladder and a trapdoor on the ceiling. He clambered up first, grunting as he unlocked the trapdoor and swung it open. Yang followed, accepting the hand he offered at the top to as an attempt to hide her suspicion.

They were on top of the tower, with a parapet to stop them toppling off. It gave Yang a bird's eye view of the not so distant village, as well as the forest to her right and the statues beyond. She turned to her left, frowning when she saw swirling storm clouds that engulfed a significant portion of the horizon.

"That is Salem." Intelligence advised. "Or so I believe. It's actually more akin to being Salem's influence, rather than Salem herself. I would advise staying well away from there."

"What is the forest?" Yang asked, though she did not tear her eyes away from the roiling storm cloud.

"The Forest of What Could Be." Intelligence intoned darkly. "Stay away from it. For me, Honesty and Intelligence it is particularly dangerous for different reasons. We may go there and wish to never leave, becoming little more than husks addicted to dreams of 'what if?'. For you it is dangerous because you will see things that may hurt you, things that may be intentionally made to be hurtful by Salem. She will not turn down the opportunity to hurt you, not when the Lord of the Dragons could be such a big threat to her in future. She will likely try to do to you what she has done to Jaune now."

"Where does it lead?" Yang asked, noting that the forest continued past underneath the legs and feet of the giant statues, which blocked her view of what might lay beyond.

"To more dreams." Intelligence shrugged, and Yang felt her scepticism rise. Nonetheless she nodded agreeably and pointed at the floating castles in the distance. "The Realm of Imagination."

"Of course." Yang smiled, taking not of just how large and vibrant that area seemed to be. There weren't just floating castles, now that she had a better view she could see floating cakes, smiling faces of blonde women she did not know and smiling faces of herself, bright and beautiful. "Who are they?"

"His family." Intelligence said quietly, and Yang's pleased flush faded swiftly. "If we have the time we can go to the Realm of Imagination with Innocence. I'm sure he'd enjoy the cake."

"Maybe." Yang shrugged. "But I need to save Jaune."

"I fear it may be too late for that." Intelligence said, pointing at the field below them, where sinkholes appeared and disappeared at random. "I...Do you smell that?"

Yang frowned before nodding. It was a smell that she, as a dragon, was familiar with.

Smoke.

Yang turned, eyes gaping when she saw what lay to the south of the tower. The ruins of a broken human settlement sprawled across the horizon, but it wasn't that which caught her attention.

A blazing inferno was advancing across green fields towards the tower, leaving behind a trail of blackened, scorched earth that stretched from miles into the ruins and beyond. It was almost as if it had been burnt by dragonfire.

"He's found us." Intelligence whispered, horror in his tone before he started laughing maniacally. "He's found us! Of course he has! Why did I think we could hide?"

"He?" Yang asked, feeling a tremble of fear at seeing Intelligence's reduced to madness at the mere sight of whatever it was. "What is that?"

"That..." Intelligence managed to say, wiping tears from his eyes. "...is Rage. And he's going to kill all of us."

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"We need to run."

"We can't." Intelligence said glumly. "Where would we go? The forest? The village? We're not fast enough to beat him to the Realm of Imagination either. If we had more time...if I'd gotten up that alarm sooner..."

"If you going to lose yourself to what ifs now then we might as well go to the forest." Honesty said bluntly, crossing his arms as he frowned at Intelligence. "Don't fall apart on us now."

"I'm not falling anywhere." Intelligence scoffed darkly. "Except for the ground maybe after Rage cuts me to pieces."

Innocence whimpered and buried his face against her leg. Yang rustled a hand through his hair soothingly before shooting a fierce glare at Intelligence, who looked unaffected by the glare.

"If you want me to stop you'd have to kill me. At least that would be quick death." Intelligence remarked, before turning to Honesty. "If we run he'll follow. Our plan was to hide until the end. Well, the end is coming."

"We agreed it wouldn't be to Rage though." Honesty retorted. "An Arc never goes back on their word."

"If you believe Self-Preservation is also sticking to his word then you're solely mistaken." Intelligence scoffed, and Yang felt her ears prickle.

"What are you two talking about now?"

"A promise we made to another version of us." Intelligence said dismissively, turning to his desk. "I will be dying here. If you wish to flee then I can buy you some time to escape. I just need to find a few things to make some traps to slow him down."

"It looks like we'll be running then." Honesty said, turning away from Intelligence with a strained smile. "Where do you think we should go?"

The change in conversation was blatantly obvious.

"I don't know. I'm new here remember?" Yang replied, making Honesty flush. "Does this promise have something to do with whatever it is you two are hiding from me?"

Intelligence stiffened. Honesty paled.

"What are you hiding from me?"

"Don't!" Intelligence shouted, but it was too late. Honesty struggled, but he was bound to his purpose.

"We were going to delay you. Keep you busy. Keep you safe whilst...whilst Jaune's whole died."

"What?" Yang growled lowly, and Honesty looked away.

"It's not us." He admitted weakly. "It's him. Part of him. It's given up. There's no fight there anymore. He just wants to rest...like his family."

"No..." Yang gasped.

"Yang-" Intelligence tried, but Yang stumbled back with a roar and slammed her fists against the table. It cracked easily, sending plates spilling to the floor. Innocence started crying.

"No!" Yang roared, kicking a table across the room. "You don't get to do this to me!"

"Yang please!" Honesty tried, but his attempt fell on deaf ears.

"You don't get to make me fall in love with you only to give up and die Jaune! Do you hear me? I'm not letting you die! Not without a fight!"

"Y-Yang!" Innocence cried, just as she was about to kick another chair. "Stop! P-Please! Your scaring m-me!"

Yang paused, breathing heavily. There were tears in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Her gaze fell on Innocence, who's tiny body was heaving with silent sobs, face red and with tears trailing down his cheeks.

"Do you want to die?" She asked quietly. "Do you all want to give up?"

Honesty looked away. Intelligence couldn't meet her eyes. Innocence shook his head tentatively.

"What was the promise? What does it have to do with Self-Preservation?" Yang demanded, stepping towards Innocence and swooping him into her arms, holding him close and wiping away his tears.

"Self-Preservation is selfish. He wants to go against the bulk of us, go against our decision and live." Intelligence explained bitterly. "Our promise was that we would not seek death actively and that we would avoid dying to Rage's hands."

"Where can I find Self-Preservation?" Yang demanded, and Honesty shrugged.

"We don't know." He said, eyes flickering to Innocence for a moment before fading away. "Self-Preservation was attacked by Rage whilst looking after Innocence. He managed to get Innocence away, but...it isn't likely he was able to as well."

"Fine then." Yang sighed. "You've made your decision, but Innocence doesn't want to die, and I don't want Jaune to die either. Will you buy us time to escape?"

"Yes." Intelligence said firmly. "Though not entirely just to help you. I've always wanted to get back at Rage for always being such a mindless animal."

"I'll help too." Honesty said quietly, offering a weak smile. "It's the least I can do for not being entirely honest with you eh?"

"Thank you." Yang nodded, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. She still didn't know what to do or how to save Jaune, but with the more immediate goal of saving Innocence on her mind she could at least think and do something.

"If you want my advice, go to Kuroyuri." Intelligence told her as he grabbed a bottle of something liquid and gave it to Honesty, who looked at it with a look of utter confusion. "There aren't any residents there, and you can hide until Rage wanders off."

"Won't Jaune's wholeness know that?" Yang frowned, and Intelligence grinned.

"I've enchanted my tower. Jaune's wholeness is cut off from it. It would also have kept you hidden from Self-Preservation if he was still around somehow." He told her unabashedly, and she scowled at him, hating the fact she would have been oblivious to all this if not for Rage's presence and that their ploy would have likely worked. "Go, quickly. You won't have long before Rage arrives and the sinkholes will slow you down."

Yang nodded, turning to head down the stairs before Innocence perked up and pointed behind her.

"Teddy!" He exclaimed, and Yang hurried back to pick up the one-eyed bear that had been left on the furs next to the fireplace, handing it to the small boy in her arms who quickly cradled it against his chest. "Thank you!"

Yang beamed at him before rushing from the tower, starting to smell the acrid smell of smoke. She didn't have the time to take it slow, so she hurried across the field as fast as she dared as sinkholes blinked in and out of existence faster than they had been when she had been heading towards Intelligence's tower. She could see roaring flames in her peripheral vision, and she sighed in relief when she reached the village. She raced to the village centre, deciding to hide out in one of the house's there, the quietness of the settlement unnerving when combined with the distant roar of a blazing inferno.

Innocence whimpered so she covered his ears and held him close as his hold on his teddy became so tight his hands were turning even paler. She heard the sound of wind and water. A piercing scream tore through the air, and then there was the sound of thunder. Then the sounder of increasingly desperate thunder. Finally the thunder died out with an ominous silence, and Yang listened carefully as the fire roared and moved. It sounded like it was moving closer, but when she tried peering outside of a window all she saw were other buildings. She sat back and hoped it would fade in time, but it did not. When she looked out the window again, she saw flames in the distance.

Something plummeted in her stomach, and she gently tried extricating herself from Innocence's hold to step outside. He refused to let her, letting out a softer whimper and a quiet, begging "Please!". She sighed and stood up, holding him gently as she stepped outside, where she was hit by smouldering heat.

Kuroyuri was encircled by a ring of fire. It was hot, even for her, and she felt sweat trickle down her skin. Poor Innocence looked like he was melting. The fires seemed to roar, and Yang turned, staring down the street she had raced down to reach her hideout. The flames spilled forward slightly, and Yang feared they would all come rushing forward and burn her. Instead a figure stepped forward.

It was Jaune. Or it might have been. She could not tell. His armour was worn, covered in dents and scratches and even rust, leaving the armour left in a muted state. There was no hint of anything behind the helmet, just an endless, blank void. He bore a shield and a sword that were as dull and rusted as his armour.

"You." The figure spat, tone filled with venom. Yang stiffened. Innocence sobbed. "There will be no escape this time."

"There won't need to be." Yang snapped, realising he, no, it, was threatening Innocence. "You're going to die for threatening him."

"You will try." Rage said dismissively, drawing it's sword and readying it's shield. "Don't get me started on you."

"Hide somewhere safe." Yang instructed, setting Innocence down. He didn't fit back this time. "Hurry!"

"Good luck." Innocence whispered hoarsely, scarpering away at Rage casually strode towards them.

"For all your hatred you don't seem to be in a hurry." Yang remarked, pumping her hands forward to get the blood flowing there, bouncing lightly on her feet.

"I'm going to savour this." Rage replied, a hint of a snarl in it's tone. "Intelligence has probably put up a better fight than you will."

"Let's find out shall we?" Yang snapped, rushing forward as her patience waned. She threw a punch at the helmet, but Rage moved with a sudden speed that caught her off guard. His rusted shield slammed into her face and sent her skidding against the ground until she was stopped by the foundation of a nearby house.

"Slow." Rage commented, blitzing forward with an unnatural speed as she pushed herself onto her hands and knees, vision spinning and head throbbing. His armoured foot slammed into her stomach, kicking her up into the air slightly and making her wheeze. He grabbed a bunch of her hair and spun her around violently, sending her crashing through the walls of the house on the other side of the street facing them. She smashed through the house and crashed into the wall of the one behind it, embedded in the wall but not breaking it. She coughed and gasped, clutching her stomach and slowly peeling herself out of the wall.

She heard something clatter and saw Rage strolling through the ruins of the house he'd sent her flying through. She pushed herself harder, ignoring the pain roaring through her as Rage strolled towards her, falling to the floor when she managed to free herself. Her knees' wobbled, but she stood on her feet as he calmly stepped out of the house and onto the street. She kept her eyes on him as best as she could, but her head was screaming in pain and her vision was blurry.

"He fought for you, did you know?" Rage said, tone filled with a mocking arrogance Yang just wanted to punch off. "When you abandoned him on that mountain. I wanted to hurt something, to hurt someone, to hurt you, so badly, but Jaune pushed me down. If it was a bandit, a murderer, Blake, he would've let me rip and tear and maim. You? You were protected. He's not here to save you now. He won't be here at all soon."

Yang roared something unintelligible and charged again. She feigned punching him in order to grab the rim of his shield and pulling him towards her. She kicked her knee up and into his stomach, earning a muted sound of something resembling surprise before his sword swung towards her. She raised her arm to block, knowing her skin and sinew was strong even in her Amator form, and let out a surprised scream as pain tore through her arm. She stumbled away, clutching her forearm as blood spilled from the bloody stump that had once been her right arm. Everything beyond the elbow had fallen to the ground as Rage's sword tore through it, ripping through her arm as if it was nothing.

Had she lost her arm in the real world too? Would she die from this? From blood loss? How had his sword managed to cut through her arm? Even in her Amator form, she was more durable than a human. Only very rarely could a very good, likely enchanted or cursed, blade pierce her skin, let alone tear through the muscles underneath.

As she hobbled, clutching her bloody stump and keeled over in pain, Rage kicked her side and sent her toppling over onto the floor. She writhed in agony, trying to stem the blood, struggling to comprehend her loss.

This wasn't a battle. Or a fight. It was a one-sided massacre. How was it so powerful? So strong?

"At this point the runt will put up a better fight than you have." Rage remarked dismissively, wiping her blood off it6s sword against her shirt casually before standing tall above her. "I only wish I could make this more painful for you."

She was a fool. An idiot. She just needed a little time.

Her left hand curled and lashed out suddenly, crashing against his stomach and sending him stumbling back a few feet. Her body glowed as she channelled her Fire as quickly as she good, skin turning to scale, hand turning to talon and teeth turning to daggers. She roared triumphantly as she realised she could switch forms even in Jaune's mind, and she glared down at Rage, who seemed to miniscule below her.

"I suppose my wish will be fulfilled after all." Rage said simply, earning a guttural growl of rage. "Jaune always did want to slay a dragon."

The mention of her mate only spiked her fury, and Yang lashed out with a gust of burning fire that could turn stone into ash. Rage advanced blindly through the flame and swung wildly, striking a scale and cutting it in half.

Yang howled in surprise and pain, spinning around and lashing out with her tail. Rage raised his shield in time for it to take most of the blow, but he was sent crashing through Kuroyuri and flying out into his own roaring flames. She could escape now. All she needed to do was fly. She tore through the village in search of Innocence, but she struggled to find him. The flames around her roared suddenly, and she looked up in time to see them rushing towards her. The flames engulfed her, wrapping around her like chains and squeezing tightly as they burned hotter than anything she had felt before. She howled in pain as her scales were burned and weakened, and she struggled to break free from the constricting flames.

Yang lurched suddenly, and she tore upwards through the air before coming to a sudden halt. Then she was dropped suddenly, and a howl of pain was torn out of her as she was slammed into the ground. She was lifted again, before she slammed down in another part of the village, and she realised Rage was using her like a hammer, breaking her body whilst also trying to crush or flush out Innocence. Just as she was gathering her bearings she was slammed back into the ground, and she realised the only way to escape was to change as quickly as she could. Her Fire was rapidly diminishing from trying to heal dozens of wounds littered across her body, and she doubted she would be able to shift again. She had to think of something, and she had to think fast before Rage killed her.

Her body glowed as she plummeted the fourth time, and thankfully her Fire absorbed much of the blow. She slipped through the fire as they were raised into the air again, and Rage hastily set them back down around Kuroyuri to keep them trapped again. Yang dove beneath some rubble, breathing heavily and catching her bearings. Her Amator form was in better shape now after being given a chance to heal, but it still wasn't good. Her stump was healed and she was no longer bleeding, but she was covered in bruises and her head was in insurmountable pain.

She listened quietly as clanking armour echoed through the ruins. They got closer, slowly but surely, and she grabbed the large piece of wood she was hiding under. Once she knew where he was she would throw it at him to distract him and hopefully get a few good hits in before he recovered.

Armoured boots came to a stop at the corner of her vision, facing opposite her. She heaved with all her might and bit her lip to keep quite as she tossed the large block of wood at Rage, who spun around and raised it's shield. The block turned to splinters and Rage stood firm, but Yang was quick to take advantage of the opportunity. She raced around it's guard to the right and tackled it to the ground, raising her fist and slamming it against Rage's helmet as he lost balance, leaving a slight indent. Rage let out a soft grunt and swung it's sword at her, and she leaped away from the blow. She rushed forward, but the brief respite was all that it needed to get back onto its feet. Its sword flashed and she ducked, but it was on her again in an instant with a thrust aimed at her belly that she narrowly dodged. She managed to slide past the attempted bash with its shield and soon enough she was spiralling on the back foot, barely able to dodge its blows as Rage came at her as if it was part tornado, sword arcing and slicing through the air here and there and then there all in the blink of an eye.

One of them had to give, and it was unlikely to be Rage. She summoned some of her flame to her hands and tossed it at Rage, making it grunt for a moment before the blitzkrieg continued.

It ended back in the village centre, half ruined by part of her draconic imprint left in the ground. She was too slow, and Rage's sword slammed into her stomach. Rage's shoulder's moved up and down heavily, but there was no indication of it needing to breathe and she stared at the blank void in the gap in it's visor she saw nothing. Yang whimpered as Rage's sword tore free of her stomach, hating how she could feel it move and slide against her innards, and she clutched her belly in a weak attempt to stay well. Rage cocked it's head as she swayed, seemingly content to watch her fall, and it was tiredness and pain that brought her to her knees so quickly.

"Yang!" A small voice cried out, and Yang shook her head as Innocence ran over to her, teddy in hand and clutching her shoulder desperately. "No! Get up! You have to get up Yang!"

"Runt." Rage said, grabbing Innocence by his hair and yanking him away from her. Yang growled weakly, handily falling on Innocence's fallen teddy bear as she tried pushing herself onto her feet. A quick kick from Rage left her sprawling on her back. "I told you this time you wouldn't escape."

"Yang!" Innocence wailed, tears streaming down his chubby cheeks. "Help! Help me please!"

"You think she is your knight in shining armour?" Rage scoffed. "You think she can help you? Look into her eyes runt. That's fear. Terror. She's going to lose you. You are going to die. She knows it."

"Y-Yang?" Innocence asked weakly, and all she could manage was to push herself onto her side weakly, wheezing as blood spilled from her belly, her arm outstretched towards him in the vain hope it could save him. "I...You'll save me. You'll save him. I know you can."

"Jaune is as good as dead." Rage snorted, grabbing Innocence by the scruff of his neck and raising the boy into the air, bloody sword pointed towards the boy's belly.

"No." Yang whispered weakly.

Innocence gasped as the sword pierced his soft skin and slid through his body with ease. He cried out in pain, legs kicking and arms clutching at Rage's armoured forearm. Rage removed the sword slowly, occasionally jerking it to make Innocence sob with pain. Yang's eyes became blurry from tears, world spinning as Innocence's body fell limp. Rage tossed the small corpse onto the ground, and it disappeared in a flash of golden light.

A golden thread tore through the air and wrapped around Yang's waist before dragging her away. She heard Rage bellow angrily but it quickly grew into a distant sound as whatever the golden thread was dragged her out of the encircling flames and into the Forest of What Could Be, her eyes fluttering shut as exhaustion overtook her entirely.

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Moon light cast the balcony in an illuminated, beautiful hazy glow that only increased the beauty of the woman standing there. Hair the colour of snow fell over bare shoulders, the long tresses loose and free. The woman wore a simple white shift, and she seemed lost in thought as her husband embraced her from behind, kissing her cheek lovingly.

"You seem worried." Her husband noted. The woman managed a weak smile, but something in her arctic blue eyes betrayed her unease.

"Mistral has been uppity since I turned down their prince." The woman said. "I'm worried they might do something stupid. The Mistrali are as prideful as your Valeans."

"Says the oh so humble Atlesian." Her husband snorted, before his light-hearted humour bled away. "It's not like you to get so worked up over something like this."

"If something did happen, it wouldn't be me leading our armies to war." The woman retorted, turning to stare out at the icy tundra surrounding their home. "I'd need to keep things stable at home. It would be you who'd be expected to lead our armies abroad."

"And to victory."

"That's not guaranteed."

"I promise and an-"

"Don't!" The woman snapped. "Just don't...we both know you won't be able to keep that promise."

"I can promise I'd try to?"

"That's not good enough either." The woman insisted, a brief flash of vulnerability showing on their face. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't." Her husband shrugged. "You'll always have me. In life, and in death."

"I'd prefer having you alive."

"So would I." Her husband smiled. "Come on. Let's not lose our heads worrying about things that haven't happened."

"Jaune?"

"Yes Weiss?"

"I love you."

Jaune's face split apart into a wide, beaming grin.

"I love you too."

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Leaves brushed against her skin, and new cuts opened as twigs and branches made of strange blue and white materials scratched her. Her eyes kept opening and shutting, and she was well aware of the insurmountable pain wracking through her body. The golden thread pushed onwards, and she tried to reach out and pull it, only to stare at a stump and a missing hand before her eyes drifted shut once more.

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"You know, I really hate you right now."

"Is this seriously the time we're having this conversation?"

"Oh you bet it is missus!"

The knight stopped his tirade to duck underneath a thick, draconic tail the size of two of him selves. His companion, a scythe-wielding warrior dressed in a blood-crimson cape.

"First you get us lost!"

"You didn't realise the map was upside down either!"

"Then you get us chased out of town!"

"How was I supposed to know I had to cover up my hair to be considered 'modest'?!"

"And now you've gotten us in another battle against another dragon!"

"It's not my fault they hate us for killing so many of them!"

"Your the one that does most of the killing! And did you seriously just say that it's not your fault they hate us for killing them? Seriously?"

"They're just dragons. All they care about is gold and dominance."

As they spoke the duo moved like a well-oiled machine, scythe and sword cutting through the thin gaps between the scales of the dragon and killing it slowly, exhausting it by moving so fast and forcing it to respond just as quickly as it's lifeblood spilled out across the ground. A death by a thousand cuts.

"Just finish this!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! You've done it enough times I'm pretty much immune to it now."

There was a flash of silver light that made the dragon shriek in pain. It crumpled to the ground, scales smoking and burnt, and the knight finished it off by stabbing easily through it's weakened scales and piercing its heart.

"Another kill to add to the belt." The caped-one said, cutting off a scale and adding it to a pouch bustling with dragon scales. "Remember our first?"

"How couldn't I?" The knight replied. "It was also our easiest. Weird how it just laid there."

"What can I say? Dragons are weird." The caped-one shrugged, eyeing the scale the knight had tied around his neck from a leather string. It had gotten loose during their recent escapades, and the yellow scale hanging from was clear in the sunlight. "Why didn't you sell it?"

"Sentiment I guess." The knight shrugged. The caped-one snorted and punched his shoulder.

"You're such a goof Jaune."

"And what does that make you then huh?"

"Fast." The caped-one winked, turning around racing away. "Last one to Vale is a rotten egg!"

"Oh come on! That's cheating and you know it Ruby!"

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She gasped when she woke, images of something she didn't wish to ever see again haunting her. Her legs were bruised and covered in dirt, and her head lolled as she tried turning to see her arm, only to realise she really had lost it. She could feel her hand, her fingers twitching, curling up into a fist. Her fire was essentially so weak it was crippled, muted, significantly more weaker than it ever had been before. She was close to death, though part of her welcome the thought of eternal sleep. She was only here for him, and it was becoming clearer he did not feel the same. Especially not after that.

She fought the sleep this time, not wanting to see what fresh horror could be conjured up to mock and torture her. She drifted off nonetheless.

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"Why don't you wait outside the door Yang?" The dark-haired one said as she came to a sudden halt, the dagger in her hand clutched tightly. "I don't really know what might happen, so I'd rather we have someone as strong as you outside in case the doors try closing."

The Dragon frowned and turned to the Knight, who shrugged and grinned weakly.

"I mean, I'd feel a lot more safer if you were guarding the door." He said, answering the silent question. "But if you want to come inside with us I don't really see why we should exclude you from coming in."

"It's fine." The Dragon replied quietly after a moment's thought. "Just be careful. That girl, this place. Everything is wrong about it."

"We'll be in and out." The Knight smiled, turning to follow the dark-haired one, who had already entered the chamber within that oozed of darkness and death. "Promise."

Inside, the Knight was in awe of giant statues depicting strange beasts that looked dreadful to behold. Despite his wonderment, he followed the dark-haired one to the central piece of the room, an altar.

"Woah...What is this place?"

The dark-haired one had no answer, or at least it didn't provide one. It's skin was pale from fear, eyes wide and watering, and the hand holding the dagger shook uncontrollably.

"Are you sure you're alright?" The Knight asked worriedly, putting a hand on the dark-haired one's shoulder and forcing her to a stop. "You look sick."

"I...I just..." The dark-haired one tried, wiping tears from her eyes and staring at the ground in trepidation, shame and fear, stubbornly refusing to meet the Knight's kind, worried eyes. "It's been so long...I don't...I don't know if it's worth-"

"Stop." The Knight ordered firmly, squeezing her shoulder gently in a show of unequivocal support. "You've already told me you've spent pretty much your entire life searching for whatever it is that's down here. I know it might seem daunting, but we'll get it done. Alright?"

"Alright." The dark-haired one replied hoarsely, before a furrow marred their face into a self-loathing frown. "No. No it's not alright. All you've done is help me and I...oh Gods what was I going to do? What monster am I?"

"Blake?" The Knight asked, but the dark-haired one had nothing else to say. They threw the dagger as far away from them as they could, tears running down their cheeks and sobbing uncontrollably. They threw their arms around the Knight and sobbed into their chest. After a few moments of awkward uncertainty, the Knight hugged the dark-haired one gently, whispering soft words of comfort into their ears, unaware of the ancient evil laying meters away from them.

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Weary eyes blinked open once more. The forest surrounded them, engulfed them. The forest was beautiful, but that was just a lure. A pretty lure, but a lure nonetheless. A lure to attract, to lower your defences against its cruelty and torture that it revealed to late for you to escape.

She hadn't chosen to be there. It was the golden thread that had brought her there. She clawed at it weakly with her one hand, trying to break its hold on her. Nothing she did worked, and when the thread started to glow she closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

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Ansel was whole and unbroken, standing tall and proud like it had done for hundreds of years, home forever to the Arc's and their descendents, of which there were many. Or would be.

His sister's were all married or betrothed and the married ones were pregnant. Their marriages had not been made with political convenience in mind, and as a result of the love they bore for their husbands they were willing to engage in typical marital activities.

He would soon be an uncle, and although that made him happy, nothing made him happier than the woman laying at his side. His wife.

One of his hands played with her long mane of blonde hair whilst the other rested on her round belly. Nothing could draw his gaze away from her in that moment, as her eyes fluttered awake and he saw the sleepy look in her beautifully mesmerising lilac orbs.

"Good morning sleepyhead." Jaune greeted softly, kissing her forehead. "Did you sleep well?"

"Hm." She replied tiredly, a hint of grumpiness seeping into her tone. "I keep worrying about hurting the baby whenever I move."

"He'll be alright. Jaune Junior is made of strong stuff, aren't you kiddo?" Jaune asked the babe in his wife's belly, earning himself a stern glare.

"Firstly, she'll be alright." Yang retorted, putting an emphasis on the she. "I'm a dragon you silly doofus. We only have daughters. Who will also breathe fire, so be prepared to spoil her. Even if we didn't, I would never allow you to call our son yourself."

"We'll see." Jaune shrugged. "Salem was supposed to be unkillable, but we fixed that didn't we?"

"We did." Yang nodded, instantly mollified by the reminder of the fact the witch she detested with all her being was dead-dead. Something that Jaune never abused to get himself out of trouble. "Though this is different."

"It is." Jaune nodded in agreement, pushing himself up and kissing Yang's belly button. "This time we won't be making so many mistakes."

"I'm worried about that." Yang admitted softly. "Making mistakes. Messing this up. My...I didn't have the best role model for a mother."

"You haven't repeated any of Raven's mistakes." Jaune reassured, kissing Yang softly on her cheek to cement his reassurance of her worries. "And you won't. You're a far better person than your mother was, and our child we be just as good and awesome and amazing as you."

"And you." Yang retorted, poking Jaune's nose, a sigh of relief emanating from her as he washed away her fears and self-doubts with soothing, truthful words. "We're going to be okay. We will be okay."

"Damn right." Jaune smiled, kissing her again, this time on the lips. Yang grinned, hands snaking around his neck and burying themselves in his hair. The kiss deepened, and he had a feeling they weren't going to be downstairs in time for breakfast.

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Yang's eyes opened tiredly, and she stared at the colourful sky above her, a swirling mix of blue and green and yellow and red and orange and gold and silver and white and all sorts of other colours that mixed together in a moving, beautiful mess. She could no longer feel any pain in her body, but her head was throbbing with a dull headache, and she was utterly exhausted.

Intelligence had been right about the Forest of What Could Be, and she winced when she saw the dragon scale hanging from Jaune's necklace again after he had slaughtered another member of her kind with Ruby of all people. She had claimed Jaune as her mate...but had he accepted her claim?

She wanted to rip and tear and dominate as her draconic instinct demanded. If she could not woo her mate then she should just take him, whether willing or not. Time would fix any damage caused to their relationship, and he would be forced to eventually return her love and love her young.

But Yang pushed that instinct down and closed her eyes. She was not Raven. She would no be another monster.

"You haven't repeated any of Raven's mistakes." Jaune reassured, kissing Yang softly on her cheek to cement his reassurance of her worries. "And you won't."

"I won't." Yang mumbled to herself tiredly, blinking when she felt something prod her arm. "What now?"

The golden thread hovered next to her, and she realised it was longer than she had thought, twisting and winding towards a broken hut inside of a green valley. The area looked familiar for some reason, and Yang sighed before pushing herself to her feet, struggling to adapt to just one arm. She hoped she had not lost in the real world as well.

Stumbling next to it, Yang followed the golden thread to the hut. For whatever reason it had saved her from Rage, and even if that reason was to just kill her itself then there wasn't much she would be able to do to stop it anyway, not when her fire remained so weak and muted after her one-sided fight against Rage.

Golden light gently glowed from the thread, and she felt a muted warmth wash over her. She stood still for a moment, staring at the thread, basking in the warmth, but it quickly faded. Shaking her head at the weirdness she had gotten herself into, Yang stumbled onwards, more confidently this time, feeling like her fire had recovered somewhat or somehow had been strengthened.

As soon as she stumbled into the entrance of the hut, the thread faded and disappeared, and she wondered if it was a trap, and if so, why she felt more lonely now that the thread was gone.

"I knew you'd come." A hoarse voice rasped, and Yang gasped when she saw what was inside the hut.

Jaune, or at least another version of him. Except his body was mangled and broken, bruised and bloody. He was spread-eagled in the air, hands tied to the broken roof of the hut and legs to the bottom of the walls on either side of him. One eye was swollen shut, caked in dried blood and a weepy, clear liquid. The other eyes was missing, the right half of his face a broken, bloody viscera. There was a large gash from his navel to his throat that looked as if it had been cauterised shut, and dozens of cuts littered his chest and arms and legs to the point she could barely see an inch of skin that was not red with blood.

"W-What?"

"Rage." The Jaune said simply, saying everything and more in one word. "He always hated me. Rage is hot-headed and always wants to rush into battle and let loose, no matter the consequence. I always held him back, tried to keep us all focused on surviving the battle."

"Self-Preservation." Yang whispered quietly, adding two and two together.

"Good to know I have a reputation." Self-Preservation said calmly, as if he wasn't brutalized and teetering on the brink of death. "I would have thought you'd keep Innocence close. Did...Did Rage get him?"

"Yes." Yang replied, shuddering when she saw the child's body hit the ground, eyes still open but lifeless. "Rage."

"I feared her would." Self-Preservation sighed. "I thought...I didn't...Never mind. There's still time to save him."

"What?" Yang blinked. "He died. Not only that, he disappeared in golden light."

"That was him being re-absorbed by Jaune's Whole." Self-Preservation said. "Albeit in a weak, broken state. If Rage kills all of us, there will be too many broken pieces for Jaune's conscious to put back together, and he'll enter a vegetative state to try and slowly recover, something that will leave him wide open for Salem to occupy his body and destroy his consciousness permanently, effectively killing him."

"Why is Rage doing this?" Yang asked. "He doesn't gain anything from this."

"Rage is a monster made all the more worse by an unholy alliance with Self-Loathing, Recklessness, Hatred and Spite, all of whom were willingly absorbed by him. That's why he is so much more powerful than the rest of us. It doesn't help that Salem has been spurring him on, though I think he wants the chance to lure her deeper in Jaune's mind just so he can fight and try to kill her." Self-Preservation sighed. "I...I had a plan. I wasn't just going to let us die, and I knew you'd come. I made sure you landed near Innocence when you came crashing down with the help of that golden metal rope thing."

"You don't know what that is?" Yang asked in surprise, not really processing Self-Preservation's words yet.

"Not really, it does feel familiar though." Self-Preservation answered, in a tone that suggested they were talking about something as trivial as whether the weather was nice that day. "It helped a lot though, but making sure you were near Innocence took a lot out of me and opened up a bunch of the wounds Rage sealed."

"Why did he do that? Why did you do that?" Yang blinked, and Self-Preservation smiled wryly, showing off his broken teeth more clearly.

"To the first question, Rage has given me the dubious honour of being the last of us that he slays." Self-Preservation explained. "Secondly, Innocence is the best of us. I hoped he'd galvanise you."

"I...You'll save me. You'll save him. I know you can."

"He did." Yang swallowed, looking away at her arm. "I want to help, even...even if Jaune doesn't."

"Doesn't what?" Self-Preservation asked curiously, and Yang swallowed her bile and stared at the ground, unable to look at Self-Preservation's half-mangled face or her own severed limb anymore.

"Want me to be his mate. I saw what was in the forest. He dreams of a world where I am not present."

"If you think that you're a damn fool." Self-Preservation snorted bluntly. "Even Rage was tempered by your presence before he became a monster. You evidently haven't met Love yet, and god forbid you run into Lust. You'll probably want to help Rage and Salem kill us if you meet that crazy bastard."

"That woman...Ruby and Blake." Yang said, spitting out the last two names with hate. "That is who he dreamt of. I...I was an afterthought."

"You'll see just how much of an afterthought you are when Jaune's put back together." Self-Preservation said simply, voice turning hesitant. "This hut is where Innocence started to...well...it's were part of him died. You wouldn't recognise it. You only saw the ashes, but this is where the Shepherd lived with his dog. Those bandits slaughtered them, stole his things and burned his home, this very hut. This was where Innocence first started to suffer, but it was after the Temple that he really started to get ill. I looked after him here, and there were times he would cry for hours and hours because of pain, but there were times he'd calm down and seem like his old self again. Whenever Jaune was around you, we all felt better, Whenever he talked to you, his mind was at ease. Whenever he was near you, his mind was at ease. Whenever he saw you, his mind was at ease. I want to thank you for that. You made us feel better, feel right, even as Jaune started to crack and break down."

"I'd like to believe you." Yang replied quietly. "But the reason I don't is self-explanatory in the form of your name. Do you know how to find Jaune's Wholeness? How I can help him?"

"A moot point." Self-Preservation sighed sadly. "If leave this valley to north, directly behind the hut, you'll find a mountain. There's a cave there, somewhere, that will lead to wherever Jaune's Whole is hidden. You have to be quick, and you have to be careful. Rage spends most of his time scouring the mountain whenever he isn't hunting one of us down, but Jaune's Whole knows to keep the entrance hidden to Rage."

"If Jaune's Whole is just hidden in some mountain then why didn't no-one else have so much as a hint of a clue as to where it was?" Yang frowned, and Self-Preservation chuckled, before coughing up blooding a hacking, wheezing fit.

"You'll see." Self-Preservation replied cryptically, and Yang sighed, another worry coming to mind.

"What do I do if I find it and so does Rage?"

"Run and hope for the best."

"Shouldn't I..." Yang trailed off, looking away from Self-Preservation. "Shouldn't I take you down? Help you?"

"Don't waste your time on me Yang." Self-Preservation smiled wanly. "In a way I don't even really exist. I'm just apart of Jaune, and if you don't fix us I'll die anyway. Go. You don't have much time. Salem's around now, your fight with Rage earned her attention and she's been lurking ever since.

Yang remembered the Forest of What Could Be, how the trees had turned red and black and a muted, greyish pure white...Salem's colours. Had she manipulated what she saw? Yang wouldn't be surprised at this point, but it wouldn't explain the last 'vision' she'd had.

She cast one last look of Self-Preservation, silently apologising for leaving him there, before she followed his instructions and ran up the green hill behind the ruined hut, ignoring the soreness in her body as she moved. She quickly slowed when she noticed something wrong with the sky above her. Earlier it had been golden, but now it was a colourful sky that hovered above her, a swirling mix of blue and green and yellow and red and orange and gold and silver and white and dozens of other colours. Was this a strange version of nighttime? If so, why was there still light? She reached the top of the hill, eyes blinking when she saw miles and miles of gold around her. The valley and the mountain were connected by a strip of grass which suddenly cut off into what looked like a flat, shiny sheet of gold that stretched for as far as the eye could see. She wandered down the hill, eyes fixated to the gold and lured to it as if it was a siren's call thanks to her draconic, greedy nature.

She kneeled down at the edge of the green grass, fingers grabbing forwards, and she quickly pulled it pack when she felt her hand go through the gold as if it was mist. She stared, before repeating it again before playing with the golden mist, realising this was the golden sky she had seen earlier, and that she was on a floating island above it that gave it camouflage.

Just how did she get there? Was this intentional? Just more questions to add to the millions already swirling around her tired mind.

"I thought I could sense the presence of the Gods." A feminine voice said, and Yang jumped and saw Salem standing next to her, staring out at the endless golden clouds.

"You." Yang growled, and Salem turned to stare at her impassively.

"Me." She affirmed, looking intently at Yang's missing arm for some reason. "I suppose history does repeat instead of merely rhyming."

"Get out of his head." Yang snarled. "Leave Jaune alone!"

"But he could be so useful!" Salem protested as if they were bickering over a toy. "If only he had accepted my offer…I would have made life so good for the two of you. I don't understand, don't you want your happy ending? To savour a long, fulfilling relationship with Jaune and have a family as large or as small as you want? To raise them in an era of unimaginable prosperity and peace?"

"I am not fool enough to trust your words witch." Yang snapped back.

"But you were fool enough to come here." Salem replied, passion leaving her voice to return to a neutral, half-mocking tone. "Do you not feel even an inch of doubt at the Brothers? They threw you in here without so much as a moment of preparation, though Ozma's last pawn likely didn't help in that regard with his eagerness to die. The young fool suffered less than Ozma and myself yet he gets to die when he wants to. The Gods are hypocritical fools, yet you and Jaune support them. The both of you will only die if you walk down that path. John me, and not only will you love but you will thrive."

"I don't want your words or false promises. I want Jaune. Give. Him. To. Me." Yang demanded, and Salem merely sighed sadly.

"You would be a lot more threatening if you weren't a mere cripple." Salem retorted bluntly, a sad but cruel smile on her face. "And you are stupider than you look. I know you are here. Jaune's disparate emotions and identities know you are here. So does he. Yet where is he? If he wanted help why would he continue you hide?"

"From you and Rage." Yang snapped, and Salem merely chuckled.

"I don't have the energy to destroy him right now, and Rage is too busy brooding over your escape from his clutches to notice anything much right now. No. He's hiding from you."

"He wouldn't do that." Yang frowned. "I wouldn't hurt him. Ever."

"That, my dear, is precisely the point." Salem chuckled mirthlessly. "You want to save him, and you will if you find him."

"What do you mean?" Yang snapped, something defensive and angry coiling in her stomach. "Stop with your lies and riddles and tell me the truth!"

"You already know it." Saelm replied coyly, stepping forward and into the golden clouds as if she was weightless. Yang knew she couldn't follow her. Salem turned around once more, staring at her with an intensely blank look before fading away in a cloud of black, smoky inkness.

Yang sighed, hand clenched into a fist before shaking her head and turning away from the clouds and headed towards the mountain, freezing when she saw a ring of fire at its summit. The hairs on the back of her neck were raised, and she felt a pain in the stump of her missing arm. Her heart roared in her chest so thunderously she feared Rage would hear and it and casually stroll down the mountain before finally finishing what it started and destroy her

Something twisted around her fingers, and she instinctively pulled back, raising her hand to the golden thread entwined in it. She stared at it, noticing that it stretched out ahead of her, and she quickly followed it after swiftly calming down from her slight panic attack, the golden thread something she now knew was helping her either in her quest to find and save Jaune or to help her in his mind generally. Casting fearful glances at the flames above, Yang creeped alongside the golden thread. Rage didn't seem to have spotted them yet, but he was most likely just waiting for her to find Jaune's Whole.

The golden thread led her to a sheer rock cliff that it disappeared inside. She froze for a moment, before it tugged insistently, and she nervously stepped forward, shivering as she passed through the rock as if she were a ghost or spirit, and she entered a dark tunnel. Moments later the golden thread started to glow, and she followed it deeper into the mountain, thankful for the light it provided as she saw dozens of different pitfalls and traps with keen albeit tired eyes.

The thread led her on and on and on until they came to a small cavern that was empty apart from a throne-like clump of stalagmites. Yang stared at the golden thread, which untangled from her hands and drifted away, falling to the ground in a tangled heap, the golden light fading.

"Well this was a trap." Yang realised belatedly, curling her hand into a fist and preparing to fight whoever her ambusher was. The dull stalagmites started to glow a rich, pure, bright white. The light made Yang flinch and look away, and when she opened her eyes the cavern had changed from a dark enclosed space to a wider area illuminated by glowing golden rocks. There was a waterfall and a pool, and standing in front of her where the stalagmites had been was a tired, weary Jaune who had an exhausted, weak smile on his face.

"Hello Yang." Jaune smiled. "Trust me, I'm just as confused as you are but it's good to see you, even though I'd prefer if you hadn't entered my mind. It's not really safe here apparently."

"Jaune?" Yang asked tentatively, too used to copies of Jaune that were merely fragmented parts of him.

"In the…not flesh." He finished awkwardly, and she rushed to pull him into a hug before catching herself, freezing at the sight of her stump. Jaune glared at it, anger fading to concentration and she blinked when the golden thread appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around her half-severed arm and coiling forwards. It stilled and glowed, and she blinked again when she saw that her arm had been restored.

"W-What…?"

"My mind, my rules. To an extent. Hard to do what I want when parts of me want to kill me and Salem's running around making things worse." Jaune sighed, smile tired. "But I can do little things. Like help you."

"The sinkholes…escaping Rage…all of it. It was you. You were the golden thread."

"I wish I could have done more, especiallywith what happened in the Forest of What Could Be. I should've noticed Salem was influencing what was shown and making embellishments." Jaune said guiltily, and when she went to assuage and question him his voice turned dark with hatred. "When Rage took your arm I wanted nothing more than to throw myself into the fray and eviscerate him myself. I wanted to rip him apart limb from limb until he…I…I'm sorry. I need to…I can't get angry, it just makes him stronger."

"Is that why he's so powerful?" Yang asked cautiously, the sheer loathing in Jaune's tone as he described how he would butcher Rage worrying her slightly. "You…rage?"

"What else can I do Yang?" Jaune smiled shakily, clearly trying to put an effort in for her sake but struggling clearly to do so. "I'm stuck in my own mind, my body a potential puppet for an abomination I helped release because I trusted the wrong person at the wrong time. I'm being hunted by that witch inside my own head because she wants to use my body as a puppet and she's turned me against myself. Rage didn't just start off wanting to slaughter everything mindlessly. When Salem coalesced a bunch of emotions and him together he turned into a monster. Now you're here, and I have no idea what all this could be doing to you. Even if you save me Yang, what then? I die in the coming war? I die as a pawn for two Gods, one of whom has already abandoned us? I die sacrificing myself to end Salem? I…What's the point?"

"The point in what?" Yang asked, holding back tears as Jaune ranted and raved in front of her, pacing back and forth with a reckless sort of agitation, bristling with anger and helplessness and something else that was oh so clear but that she didn't dare place out of the fact that doing so would shatter her heart into pieces.

"The point…the point in going back." Jaune said slowly, finally coming to a halt near the water and staring into its inky abyss. "Here…At least here I can die on my own terms. Salem needs to destroy me before she can puppeteer my body. Rage is destroying me bit by bit and destroying himself in the process. If I go back I could die honourably or I could die in vain. Here…Here I can just rest, benefitting no-one in this damn war I never signed up for. There's no hope for me Yang."

"You still have reasons to go back." Yang replied, voice barely a whisper.

"Reasons." Jaune repeated slowly, nodding to himself. "Of course. Reasons. Why didn't I think of that before?"

"Jaune-"

"Reasons?!" Jaune roared suddenly, the golden rocks slowly turning crimson red. He laughed, but it was a callous, ugly, broken sound. His voice turned into a sneer, and his eyes were the harshest she'd ever seen from him. "You want to talk about reasons Yang? Let's talk reasons. I've been effectively conscripted as a champion for two stupid, arrogant, damned Gods who couldn't care less about us and am expected to sacrifice everything to create a monster that they created. A monster that has driven me to madness, destroyed my home, destroyed my family, destroyed my life. I have to fight for a world that had driven me on the run for months because of bullshit political and religious pretext and I was nearly killed by my childhood friend who's been likely indoctrinated into being a murderer for a cult. Ruby, someone I considered a friend, is probably dead and an attempted kinslayer. Blake, someone I considered a friend, slit my throat to intentionally release an ancient evil and died for it before I got the chance to gut her like a fish and strangle her with her own intestines. Your Uncle hates me, Gods only knows what Weiss thinks of me thanks to all of her damned mixed messages and the fact it's been months that I've seen her and my family died in front of me! What in the name of the Otherworld do I have left Yang? Because the way I see it, all I can expect were I to go back is a sword, shield and a 'noble' death. Well screw that!"

Yang said nothing, and she stared back at him before he erupted into giggles.

"Oh Yang, I can see them you know." Jaune said in a happy tone, a joyful smile plastered across his cheeks despite the tears streaming down them. "Their hopeful faces, outstretched hands. The shield protected me, but it didn't protect them, and it certainly didn't stop me seeing and oh boy did I see. There was blood everywhere, a bit of bone here and there, by the Otherworld, I'm pretty sure I saw little Hazel's head go pop! She was smiling one moment and the next, goo everywhere! That was the first time I saw her in…in…oh. I've forgotten again."

"Forgotten?" Yang asked hoarsely, stricken with indecision at seeing her mate, who she loved so dearly, in such a maddened, manic, frightening state.

"Forgotten." Jaune nodded, a half-giggle, half-cry spilling from his lips. "I don't know if it was because of my insanity or my sword but I've forgotten things…just a few…mostly the old stuff."

Yang remembered falling into Jaune's mind, the voices she'd heard. They were his memories weren't they? Yet all of them implied he was a relatively old child at them happening. Nothing from when he was younger, before…ten maybe? She didn't know. Her eyes widened as she realised what he said.

"What about the sword? Crocea Mors?" Yang frowned. "What did it do?"

"Something…or nothing. I can't tell. I don't wanna. I don't think I can remember honestly." Jaune blinked, smile fading away into a look of shame as the rocks turned from red back to gold. "I…sorry about that. I've been getting worse for a while now. You…You won't want to be there when the ends come I…I don't know what I'll be like by that point."

"Come back." Yang blurted out, struggling to fight her tears, Jaune's turn from insanity to rationality spearing through her heart as she saw the suffering that awaited him if he remained. "Just come back Jaune. Please. For me."

"Yang…" Jaune began, sighing heavily.

"You wanted a reason to come back?" Yang demanded, sorrow giving way to anger and desperation. "You have me. Me. I will never leave you. I will never hurt you. You will be mine…and I will be yours. Please Jaune, my sweet, lovely mate…I know it hurts. I dislike my mother, but she was still my mother. Is saw her die in front of me too, and I have been haunted by that memory ever since. This…tiredness that you feel will pass. I know because I felt it too, once. Not even that long ago. I was weak, starving and alone like I had been ever since my mother died. I saw a Knight heading towards me, and I thought my death was imminent. Instead he fed me, opened his heart to me and thanked me for a relatively small act of kindness from me after he'd given me much more. You gave me the spark I needed to want just one more minute to see if it was worthwhile…and it was. That tiredness…I don't want to succumb to it anymore Jaune. I want to wake up tomorrow, to see you by my side and know that you will be there every step of the way with me until we meet again in whatever comes after death for mates."

"Yang…" Jaune replied, eyes squeezed shut. "I…I don't know how to save myself. How to…to fix this. I can feel myself lose my grip on reality as every second passes. This…This isnt the first time I've seen you here, though I know you're the real you thanks to your Aura…I think. Even if we do try to fix this and miraculously find out how, I can't imagine it will be risk free and neither am I willing to see you hurt or worse trying to save me."

"You don't get to make that decision for me!" Yang snapped.

"And you don't get to do that for me either." Jaune replied calmly, which despite being better than his giggling madness only served to rile her up thanks to the truth that she knew must lie in them. "Look, I just mean…is that you?"

"What?" Yang asked, and she turned to see a flicker of orange light from the tunnel that led to the outside. "No…"

"Ah." Jaune said, eyes wearily turning to the top of the cavern. "I hoped my traps would slow him down longer."

"R-Rage." Yang whimpered, and Jaune nodded in confirmation, eyes narrowed when he saw her clear fear.

"I'm going to kill him." Jaune promised, and unlike his earlier bloodless he seemed cold and clinical in his words. A dozen orbs each glowing different colours came pouring from the water fall suddenly, and they soared towards Jaune, slamming into him and disappearing quickly, though they made him gasp and double over. Yang made to help him, only to stop when a baby blue orb stopped in front of her.

It vibrated excitedly, and she felt a tingling feeling of a familiar presence.

"Innocence?" Yang whispered, and the orb vibrated even happier before darting around her and disappearing when coming into contact with Jaune's skin, making him grunt. "The personalities and emotions killed by Rage…"

"This is so weird." Jaune sighed, breathing heavily as he stood up. Despite that his skin seemed less pale now and and he stood taller, with more energy clear in his eyes. "Yang, you should go."

A tunnel opened up behind him, but she frowned and shook her head.

"I'm not letting you stay here and die." She said determinedly, and Jaune just shook his head.

"I'm not." He replied. "Whatever those things were gave me advice…somehow. At this point I'm hoping my mind does finally shatter completely because I don't know how much of this weird stuff I can take. Apparently I need to defeat Rage and separate the personalities merged with him…somehow. But to do that I need Aura, and I don't have much of that right now. I need you to go so I can focus everything on Rage."

"I'm not a weak maiden." Yang glared, and Jaune held his hands up in surrender.

"In the real world you kick my ass ten times over." Jaune admitted easily enough. "But this isn't the real world and Rage isn't something you should be taking lightly after what happened last time."

"Let me help." Yang insisted. "I'm not going to leave you."

"Yang-"

"Isn't this just wonderful?"

Yang flinched and spun around, the sight of dull, rusted armour making her heart stutter with a staccato of pure fear and utter terror. Jaune noticed, stepping forward with a fierce glare.

"You." Jaune spat, and Rage chuckled mirthlessly.

"You." Rage returned. "Even now you give me power."

"You need all the help you can get when I beat you black and blue seven ways to Sunday."

"I'd like to see you try boy." Rage returned, voice a low growl, the faux humour gone. "But I have unfinished business with your girlfriend to deal with first."

Yang could only blink as Rage darted like a bullet towards her with his rusted sword ready to pierce her heart. She started to move, but Rage was a whirlwind who somehow managed to seem stronger than he had been before.

Yang yelled as she was shoved out of the way and a mighty clan rang through the cavern. The walls and floor shook, and dust and small pebbles fell from the ceiling. Yang stared at the sight of a literal white knight standing opposite Rage, armour gleaming in contrast to the muted dullness of Rage's own. Gold lined the edges of white plate armour, creating a striking image that seemed to have even startled Rage.

"What is this?" Rage demanded, but the knight moved and easily kicked the startled monster back into the wall of the cavern, creating a crack that led to the ceiling.

"You. Will. Not. Touch. Her." Jaune growled, voice muffled by his helm, and Yang could only gape with the realisation Jaune was the knight and that he had saved her from Rage.

"I'm going to relish destroying you." Rage snarled, genuine anger in its furious tone, flames whipping around it like a viper coiling in preparation of striking its prey. "But most of all I'll enjoy the look on your face when I butcher your little whore."

Jaune darted forward with a speed he should not have been capable of and Rage moved to meet him halfway. The clash of their swords made the ground tremble, and Yang barely managed to stumble onto her feet as they clashed.

She wasn't going to be much help. If this was a fight in the real world then she could undoubtedly swing the scales in Jaune's favour. In the real world, Jaune wouldn't be moving with the speed of a howling tornado and striking with the strength of a giant. But this was not the real world and after her last one sided bout against Rage she knew she couldn't help much. Not in her Amator form.

"But if we were outside…" Yang wondered, staring at the light coming from the tunnel Jaune had opened for her to escape the cavern. Rage's fires had caught her off guard last time, she would not make the same foolish mistake twice, and she knew her Pugnator form could at least distract Rage and send him flying into the horizon with a well placed tail swipe.

The cavern was shaking worringly violently now, rubble toppling from the ceiling. Jaune nearly decapitated Rage, who's shield was dented and forced onto his knees, only to be sent flying away from the perilously positioned Rage by its fire, which lashed out like a whip. Yang rushed over to Jaune and helped him onto his feet, dragging him towards the escape tunnel as the cavern started to collapse. Idly, she saw Rage's flames wrap around it and drag the monster through the tunnel it and Yang had travelled through to get there in the first place.

As Yang entered the tunnel and swiftly exited it due to its surprisingly short size, she was followed by a billowing cloud of dust and tumbling rocks that piled on top of the other, blocking the tunnel. She hoped, but doubted, that Rage had been caught by the rocks.

"That could've gone better." Jaune grumbled, brushing dust off his white pauldron, and shaking his head dazedly, voice sounding weak from bleariness caused by his harsh crash against the cavern wall.

"I can help now." Yang said bluntly. "I can use my tail to knock him off the island."

"I keep him distracted and you tail whip him?" Jaune reiterated, earning a nod. Jaune's eyes were visible in the visor of his helm, and they were glittering with mirth. "Alright then."

Yang glowed as she marshalled the last of her Fire and strength to transform into her Pugnator form, body glowing and twisted. Soon she towered over Jaune, and she was surprised by the sight of a knight at her side. Knight and dragon side by side. A rare sight indeed.

She did not have long to marvel at the sight, as roaring flames creeping over the top of the mountain warned them of Rage's approach. Yang roared in defiance of the flames with an ear shattering bellow, wings rearing as she prepared to take flight. Jaune scrambled onto her neck, and she flew him up the mountain to fight Rage steel against steel.

Rage's fire roared towards her like a writhing serpent, and Jaune leapt from her back, cradling behind his shield and toppling through fire unharmed as his body glowed white. The flames roared past him towards her, and she snarled angrily as she veered away letting Rage's flames pursue her as Jaune and Rage clashed atop the mountain.

The flames were formless, with nothing to identify them beyond their faintly worm-like shape and the wiggling way in which it moved. Yang growled as it licked at the talons of her hind legs. She soared into the higher 'sky' in the hopes it may be somewhat deterred by the abyss above them may deter it. Instead it followed her willingly, blazing a trail of orange flame after her as she flew in dark, misty clouds.

Yang realised her mistake when red lightning started sparking around her. This was Salem's corruption, her domain in Jaune's mind, her foothold. She veered right and a bolt of red lightning destined for her missed and struck Rage's flames, causing the fire to dispel before retreating hastily and reforming below the black clouds. Yang swooped down and strengthened her scales with what remained of her Fire, using her massive form to disrupt the formation of the flames as it tried regrouping itself. It weakly tried to chain her as it did earlier, but Salem's lightning was powerful and had drained the strength of Rage's flames considerably.

Rage's flames were scattered into falling clumps, disoriented and weak now that they were not one big mass. The sounds of the battle below Yang drew her attention to the floating island surrounded by a sea of endless golden clouds. Her eyes widened when the mountain shattered suddenly, white and orange light shooting out in opposite directions from the tumbling mass of cracked rocks that flooded off of the edges of the island and down through the clouds, leaving holes behind in the golden sky cloud.

Yang rushed down and saw a white figure emerging from the cloud of dust and rock, her wings beating away the dust as she landed next to her mate. Jaune was coughing and his breathing was laboured, and parts of his armour were flecked by blood or had blood trailing down it. His sword was broken in half and the golden moons on his shield were scratched in half by a neat, clean downwards cut. She could not see Rage, and she wondered if now he was buried underneath rock and rubble.

Another orb flew out from nowhere, and Yang hoped it was Rage. The orb fluttered around her before slamming into Jaune, making her mate groan lowly, his body glowing with his white Aura.

"Self-Preservation." She realised, looking at the green part of the island only to see it covered in rubble. At least he had been given a merciful death.

"A bond?" Jaune groaned, shaking his head and sighing wearily, breathing less laboured and movements a little less tired. "Of course is."

She chuffed at him, eyes inquisitive, and her waved her away with his half-broken sword.

"We need to finish off Rage first." Jaune said, pointing to something to their left.

Yang stiffened as she saw Rage's form stumble through the the settling dust clouds, before relaxing at his dire condition. A mixture of crimson and black blood oozed down him as if he was being drenched in water, giving his muted, rusted armour a new coat. It's shield was cleaved in two, and it favoured its right leg over its left, which looked like it had been crushed in the the debris of the mountain. There was a cut down its visor, and Yang could see the killing intent radiating from it.

But she did not fear it, not truly. It was on death's doorstep, and a strong wind would likely knock it over.

Yang's assessment was quickly proven wrong when it threw a boulder at her, making her bellow in surprise and hastily beat her wings and move to her right. She heard swords clang as she landed against a pile of rock, and when she turned she saw Jaune and Rage battling once more, but the ferocity of their fighting had diminished and Jaune clearly had an upper hand. His half-broken sword glowed white suddenly, and it cut through through Rage's own easily. Jaune spun around the startled Rage and kicked it on the back of its one good knee, forcing it onto its knees as he clutched the hilt of his blade in two hands and rammed it in the space between Rage's helmet and pauldron.

Rage shrieked out in pain, something that sounded utterly unhuman as multiple voices came out of it. Jaune's armour glowed white and fed into his sword, his eyes blazing as he glared at the back of Rage's head.

"You will submit and return to me." Jaune commanded, white Aura pulsing. "You are mine. You belong to me."

Several orbs spilled out of Rage's visor, though it remained somehow, trembling in pain as it used its last strength to resist returning to Jaune. Then its arm moved, and Jaune gasped.

Rage had held its broken sword in its hand the whole time since it had been stabbed, and now the blade was inside of Jaune's stomach, rammed in through his side in a desperate attack that struck true.

Rage finally collapsed, and it's body glowed gold before disappearing, leaving an orange orb that slammed into Jaune harshly, making him gasp in pain as he fell to his knee. Yang roared her rage so that the heavens could here it, rushing over to her wounded mate and pressing her muzzle against him insistently.

"Y-Yang…" Jaune gasped, easing himself to the ground, one hand clutching his side as he laid on his back. "T-The Abyss. S-Salem's bond that c-connects us is there. Destroy it, b-but be quick. T-There isn't anything for me in the real world right now."

Yang growled in protest before realising that he meant she wasn't there right now. Hastily she nudged him with her head in apology before taking to the skies, roaring at it and challenging Salem to defy her from saving her mate.

Which Salem did. Or rather tried.

Crimson lightning that hurt more than it should have burned her scales and tore holes in her wings, but the wounds she took were not severe enough to stop her. She found the portal, a swirling red circle crackling with magical energy, and Yang opened her maw and threw every inch of fire inside of her at the damned thing.

A pale hand lashed out suddenly, giant in size, and it swatted her away as if she was a fly, leaving her dazed and confused as she spiralled downwards rapidly. Nonetheless she heard Salem's frustrated cries as the world spun and turned into a kaleidoscope of colour.

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"It is hard son, but you must become a hard man. One day you will be responsible for thousands of lives as well as the future of our family. You must be ready."

"I may be hard on you Jaune, but that is because I love you and want to live a happy life. You will be Lord Arc one day, and that comes with many expectations and responsibilities. No matter what, I will love you Jaune. I always will. What mother would I be if I didn't? Now make me proud, and for the love of the gods start listening to your tutors!"

"I don't want you to go! You're my big brother! You have to stay and play with me! Please? Please Jaune?"

"Make sure to write to me little brother. I'll…I'll miss you."

"Don't worry lad. Things aren't the best now but you aren't terrible with a blade. In time you'll be a mighty Knight indeed, though as a Lord your brain is much more valuable than your sword arm. You must know how to command men, lead them to victory and above all else, keep them fed and paid. Chess is often compared to war, though there is much difference between the board and reality. Let's see how you can do eh?"

"You're a dunce, but now you're my dunce you idiot. If someone picks on you again just tell me and I'll have father hang them for treason."

"I don't think we should do this Jaune. It isn't going to work. Father…I believe he has his mind made up as to who I am to marry."

"Your wardship here is at an end Jaune Arc. You will return to Ansel by the moons end."

"The King is dead. Long love the Queen."

"You've been invited back to Atlas for the Queen's betrothal celebrations. Saphron will be going with you. I'll be damned if I let any of my children get trapped in that frigid Wasteland ever again."

"Dragon!"

"Jaune I'm sorry but you will have to leave soon. Nikos is calling for your arrest and some lords are supporting him. Klein has made sure you have a horse, sword and armour, foodstuffs and medicines. You and Ruby leave tomorrow morning…Goodbye Jaune."

"Run Jaune! Flee!"

"Blake. My name is Blake."

"The shepherd lives out in those hills. If you have something that'll make it worth my time, I'll tell you exactly where."

"Easy there mister adventurer, that information wasn't free."

"From what I've heard listening to rumours around the bar there are two main areas we need to check out. One is a shepherd a way's down from Snowmire, on the southern slope. Apparently he saw the dragon, tried warning Snowmire but ended up conveying the message onto a guardsman at an outpost halfway up the mountain because he was too old to finish the climb himself."

"I'll tell you where I think the dragon is."

"Hello Jaune Arc. I'm Yang. Yang Xiao Long."

"You're bleeding! Are you okay? Are you dying?!"

"Nikos did not send me. The Grand Inquisitor did. As for my name that is of no concern to a heretic. I am an Inquisitor. Whereas I was once a child of Kuroyuri, I am now a child of Her, and your soul will be a fine gift as she tortures the heresy out of you in the afterlife."

"You are a heretic Jaune Arc, yet one of noble blood. What are your final words?"

"Jaune?! Are you okay? Speak to me Jaune!"

"It'll be okay, Jaune. I'll protect you. I'll heal you. I always will."

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Yang awoke with a cry that was also a gasp of pain. She lurched upwards, only for the sheer amount of pain roaring through her body to force her to lay back down on the uncomfortable stone slab, trying to raise her arms to see if they were whole but struggling to do so from the pain and exhausting effectively crippling her.

"Yang!" Her Uncle Qrow cried, his worried face filling her vision, his eyes running up and down her body in search of wounds. "What's wrong? What hurts?"

"Everything." Yang groaned, no inch of mistruth of embellishment in her words. She truly had never felt as utterly horrible in her entire life as did right then...and she hoped she'd never be worse than this. "M-My arm? Is it there?"

"Your arms look fine." Uncle Qrow frowned, practically becoming the definition of worry as it radiated off of home like fear from prey. "What the hell happened to you in there?"

"Not now." Yang replied simply, trying to turn her head but struggling. "I-Is Jaune?"

"The Gods are doing something. Or rather the God and the talking sword are." Uncle Qrow shrugged, and she found herself annoyed at his general antipathy towards Jaune's wellbeing. She tried turning her head again, pushing through her pain and swallowing it down so Uncle Qrow didn't stop her.

The sword and the shield were sending different colours of light towards and into Jaune. The shield sent soft, golden light that seemed soothing to watch and to feel, and the sword sent rough, fast lines of purple that surrounded Jaune's forehead like a bandage that emitted the dark energy and scent the God of Darkness smelled off.

"Is he okay?" Yang asked weakly, and she felt the attention of shield, despite its lack of eyes.

"That is unclear." The God of Light answered distantly. "He should be awake, yet he is not, and his pulse remains worryingly weak."

"His Aura is lacking as well, something that should not be the case considering his vast reserves of it." Crocea Mors added, though Yang could not help but feel suspicious of the blade after what Jaune had mentioned about it making him forget his past memories. "Something has strained that greatly, likely himself and Salem, and that excessive strain is taking its toll on his body. It…It does not look good right now."

Yang stared at Jaune's limp form, his shallow breathing the only visual form of his still being alive, resisting the urge to scream. She had gone through all that and now suffered a pain she felt to her very bones because of it, yet he still remained on the verge of death? Her mate?

Unacceptable.

Yang was very much on the verge of collapse, but she rolled herself onto her side and stood weakly, stopping her Uncle Qrow's attempts to sit her back down with a glare and batted hand. She nearly fell on the first step, and she definitely did in her last, falling to her knees next him. She summoned the last drop of Fire left in her body, arms shaking as she held it in her hand and yellow light sparked and broke around her.

She remembered what she has promised in Jaune's memories, and she had fully intended in keeping her word even without the reminder of it.

She brought her hand crashing down against his chest, her Fire flaring and pushing inside him, not just in body but mind as well, her little spark of Fire purging away the last remnants of Salem she felt there in the form of a dark, inky Abyss, saying the words out loud and in mind so that there was no chance of Jaune not hearing them.

"It'll be okay, Jaune. I'll protect you. I'll heal you. I always will."

Her strength finally failed, and she fell backwards into Uncle Qrow's waiting arms, the sound of his frantic yelling distant to the sound of breath exploding from Jaune's mouth and her mate lurching upwards just as her eyes fluttered shut and she fell blissfully into the waiting arms of unconsciousness, content in knowing that when she opened them again, her mate would be there.

A/N: Next update ?/?/?