Part of Jaune was happy that he had a shield and wore armor. Even if his massive aura reserves would run out, he would have at least been able to attack and deal some damage to the enemy with his sword while the shield could protect him. With his armor, that would have made such contests of endurance easier to manage. With Jeanne having this Maiden powers of hers, he didn't need to watch out for his own reserves as much as he needed to though he still had instances of that out of habit. He could also have some of those Maiden powers technically but that would often result in a moment of weakness as the sudden surge of power enters his being; it is one of the primary reasons that Jeanne hasn't dematerialized since then.
Another part of him was annoyingly frustrated that he didn't consider a range option even once. He never thought he needed it since the supply of Dust would eventually run out and it wouldn't do well for him to rely heavily on the range when it would eventually go down to melee. Of course, when said opponent would constantly used various elements of Dust against you, it is rather annoying knowing that nothing can be done about it other than turtle behind shield, armor, and aura while the Headmaster of Haven Academy kept playing this cat and mouse game; ironic that the actual feline here was the one being the mouse.
As Jaune blocked yet another ball of flame, he pushed himself to get closer. At first, he had taken big strides to close the distance but Leonardo Lionheart had made it so that every time that Jaune would take that step, he would be put off balance as the more experience huntsman had the basic strategy down; kiting.
The two were practically drawing circles in Haven Academy while everyone else was busy having their actual fights. Jeanne had switched places with Oscar and the latter went down the Vault along with the Spring Maiden.
"Why do you keep fighting?" Leonardo demanded. "Don't you see that it is hopeless?" His voice was panicky and it felt more like he didn't want this.
"What about you?" Jaune returned. "You put Mistral in danger just to keep yourself safe!"
"I did what I did for Mistral!"
"You threw away the lives of huntsmen and huntresses!"
"You don't know the full truth of this never ending war! You don't know the truth about Salem!"
"Neither did those huntsmen you sent out."
Shields clashed and while Jaune pressed his advantage as thrusted his sword but only managing to remove strands of hair from the headmaster's mane.
Jaune felt a boot through his armor. Leonardo grunted in pain as aura couldn't exactly stop the feeling of the momentum at striking something. Still, it allowed the headmaster to create distance between them.
The two were on the stairs. Jaune had the advantage of being lower while Leonardo had to balance between checking what's in front of him or behind him lest he would lose his balance.
Both of them were back on the upper floors. This time, Jaune wasn't going to let Leonardo get away as he blocked every possible means of escape whenever he could by using what rubble and even used the headmaster's ammunition against him.
"No place to escape now," Jaune declared. He was going to force Leonardo to a fight if he had to.
"Like it matters," Leonardo replied. "She will come for us all eventually. I should have left when I had the chance."
"Why?" Jaune demanded. "Why would abandon everyone, headmaster? Weren't you one of headmaster Ozpin's most trusted?"
"Trusted?" Leonardo sounded offended at the notion. "If he really trusted me—or anyone else for that matter—he should have told us the truth from the start!"
Truth? What truth?
Seeing the pause in Jaune's movement, Leonardo took his chance. "You don't know that either, do you? Of course you don't. None of you would have joined his crusade otherwise!"
Jaune raised his shield as a ball of flame nearly filled his entire vision. In his blindness, he felt a sudden weight on his body. He had been tackled by Leonardo and the two were falling down the steps. The wood cracked and broke with small pieces of the debris entering the gaps in Jaune's armor.
At the bottom of the stairs, the two engaged in an ungraceful wrestling match. Leonardo's eyes kept focusing on the exit but the blonde knight was pestering presence that kept him from moving any further. Certainly, Leonardo had more years in under his belt but that did not mean that Jaune, or anyone in JNPR for that matter, were so severely lacking that they couldn't keep up at least.
Jaune had to keep his eyes on the headmaster as his helmet also limited his vision somewhat. He could hear the muffled sounds of his teammates engaging in their fights.
Ren and Nora were busy with Hazel. The larger man proved himself to be Nora's equal in raw strength. With Ren by her side though, Nora could at least concern herself solely with Hazel's nullification to pain.
Jeanne and Pyrrha were engaging with Tyrian. The two of them were essentially equal with Pyrrha being rather creative with her semblance. Using the surrounding pieces of metal, she always ensured that there was some threat the would always keep the faunus on his toes. Part of Jaune thought that he should have brought his old armor just for them to use.
Leonardo was getting back up. Jaune's concern for his team proved to be his undoing in this fight on the ground.
The headmaster of Haven would have gotten away as well if it wasn't for the hand that grabbed him by the leg. It wasn't graceful by any means but if nothing else, the headmaster needed answer for his crimes. It would be difficult to prove it but he still needed to try. Not just for himself and the huntsmen that died never knowing any better but also for the lives of the civilians that have been put in danger because of it.
As Jaune tried to get a better handle on Leonardo's leg, between the gaps of his helmet, he witnessed Nora being thrown across the room.
"Nora!" Ren shouted. He immediately followed after her as Hazel threw Ren as well.
Jaune's first instinct was to go after his teammates. However, in doing so, he let Leonardo go. His team were more important.
Before Hazel Reinhart could get any closer on the pair. Jaune stood between them. The blonde knight was pretty tall among his peers but compared to the giant in front of him, Jaune felt rather of average height at best.
"You don't know what you're getting into child," Hazel said. "Playing knight to that monster."
"It's not about whatever plans headmaster Ozpin has," Jaune replied. "It's about protecting my friends."
"Friends," Hazel repeated slowly. "Tsk. You will all meet the same fate anyway for as long as you follow Ozpin."
Hazel lunged at Jaune. He had to buckle under the weight and momentum as he had to place down one arm on the ground lest he be on his back.
Rolling to the side, Jaune swung his sword along with the momentum and kept Hazel back. From the glimpses that he managed to get, Hazel had used his aura and semblance to its fullest extent. While he still won't be feeling much in the way of pain, Hazel would still suffer from whatever damage that have been dealt once his aura was low or depleted.
"He boosts himself using Dust crystals," Ren warned.
"Got it." Jaune nodded.
Before the two engaged, Jaune glanced over the engagement between Jeanne and Pyrrha against Tyrian. They were on mostly equal grounds though Jeanne was certainly carrying more on their end.
Unlike Leonardo who kept Jaune at a distance, Hazel kept banging on the shield; the sheer force behind his blows made it so that Jaune couldn't counter with his sword and focused more on buckling himself.
Hazel grabbed Jaune's shield and the blonde knight felt the full impact of his Dust-boosted fist on his helmet. It was like a hammer had directly struck Jaune on the head. His aura may have protected him from the damage but there was no protection on the momentum that it had. Jaune fell on the ground with a resounding thud.
"Jaune!" Nora cried out. She pushed herself back up as quick as she could in order to help her team leader. Forsaking her hammer, she engaged in another contest of strength with Hazel.
Activating her semblance, Nora generated as much electrical currents as her body could allow while also taking what she could from Hazel's own Dust crystals. Eventually, she managed to out-muscle the larger man and threw him over her shoulder.
Ren was the first to tend to Jaune. He sighed relief when the blonde knight was conscious.
"I'm okay," he assured them. "I'm okay."
"Hazel is getting away," Ren commented.
Jaune raised his head and confirmed it to be true. Rather than resume the fight, Hazel chose to retreat.
"Tyrian!" Hazel called out. "Leave them. We're leaving."
"But our goddess!" Tyrian begged. "We must not disappoint her further. She may not be so merciful this time!"
"The bandit has already left us. Our place here is finished," he reasoned. "Let Salem deal with them." He turned to address them. "You want to be heroes? Fine. Then, die like them."
Tyrian Callows soon followed suit. Rather than chase them down, Jeanne and Pyrrha let him go. As for Jaune, Nora, and Ren, none of them made to stop the faunus. When he ran past Jaune, Tyrian said, "may you and that heretic see the truth that is our true goddess."
Ren and Nora each took hold of one of Jaune's arms and pulled him up. Surveying the state of his companions, Jaune concluded that if it had kept going, then team JNPR would have lost. It would have been too much to expect a bunch of former students to be able to handle seasoned huntsmen and huntresses. Only Jeanne proved to be a match for them and she was a Maiden.
Team JNPR gathered together. The only thing left for them to wait for was that of Oscar and Raven. Part of Jaune wanted to go after them but Jeanne assured them all that it would be as well as it could be.
"What did he mean by die like them?" asked Jaune.
"Something is coming to Mistral," Jeanne guessed. "Probably something to do with Salem or something."
"You don't think it has something to do with the Grimm being scarce?" Pyrrha asked, a slight dread filling her voice.
"We'll have to wait for Oscar," Jaune said.
The time it took for them wait was long. In that time, their aura reserves were increasing back to normal and decrease as it had been used to recover what injuries they may have suffered. Jaune, in particular, had to strip himself of his armor due to the small pieces of debris that managed to get in. Thankfully, his armor was mostly undamaged and had little need for repairs.
It felt as though another hour had passed. Jeanne's grip on her banner began to tighten as her feet began to tap on the floor in a hastening tempo. It didn't take them that long when they were down there, did it?
At the slightest sound of an ascending platform, everyone in team JNPR had been stirred. If anything, they were more exhausted waiting in bated breath than they did after their scuffle with Salem's associates.
The first to appear was a black bird who flew out. When did that bird get there? Afterwards came Oscar Pine with the Relic of Knowledge; a lamp looking thing with a little bit of blue mists coming out of it.
"What happened?" Jeanne asked first. "Is everything alright? Did you get the Relic?"
Oscar nodded. "We did." It was his voice. There wasn't Ozpin's air of confidence present. The farmhand must be the one in control at the moment.
Everyone sighed relief. "What about Raven?" asked Jaune. "Where did she go?"
"She said that she would go back to her tribe. An agreement had been made?" Oscar sounded unsure with the latter and looked to Jeanne who nodded.
"The bandit had her reasons," Jeanne replied. "But she won't be bothering us anytime soon. Unless we end up coming across her tribe."
"Okay then," Jaune said. "We'll need to get ready for our next job then. Where are we going?"
"Actually." Oscar raised his hand, motioning them to wait. "There is actually something that you need to know about Salem. The headmaster usually keeps this sort of information but he also wants you to understand that what Leonardo and Raven did is because of this truth."
Team JNPR looked to one another. Was there more that Ozpin had kept from them? If he wanted to share them, why now?
For another moment, Oscar appeared to have lost balance and regained it soon after. Though Ozpin's mannerisms shone through, there was still a level of uncertainty and nervousness that team JNPR noticed.
"But first," Ozpin began. "Let me tell you about Remnant itself."
/-/
Finding and opening was the most difficult thing to do in Mantle. Even if the kingdom of Atlas wasn't in the harshest of lockdowns, they were still a cautious bunch that ever since the attack on Beacon, they have beefed up security making it an almost daunting task. Almost. For someone like Arthur Watts, such matters were as simple as keeping his head low, some disguises, and ensuring that he had a different identity.
"Moriarty," someone called out. It was referring to him. "You coming? Everybody else is out to celebrate."
"Thank you," Watts returned. "I will catch up with you soon."
"Alright, don't take too long."
Watts shook his head. Simpletons. Thanks to his impressive resume, someone like him could only ever be involved with computers. While the rest were off to whatever it was that they intended to do, he is set free to operate their technologies as he saw fit. Of course, the reason behind it was much simpler than last: a simple means of sharing a message across all the major kingdoms. He had met little resistance on his way here, mostly those who have to when one comes from a destroyed settlement. So simple a matter.
"Very well, then," he said as he checked his surroundings. There was always that chance of some imbecile snoozing around the corner. Placing the USB drive into the computers, Watts then began to put the code.
It was only a matter of waiting. After that had been done, he ejected the USB and proceeded to clean up after himself. Everything had already been set as per Salem's wishes. Whatever happens next is no longer his choice.
"I suppose," Watts said to himself. "I could enjoy a drink or two."
/-/
It had taken some time before word of Watts' action reached Evernight castle. When it did, Salem sat on her throne, lips curving upwards. She had been waiting patiently for this moment. While it had been pitiful that Tyrian Callows had failed to accomplish his objective, none of that mattered. Whether humanity was united or not was of little consequence to her. What matters is that she would achieve that which she desired and if that would be to give mankind the kind of evil that they would unite against, so be it.
The signal was weak and it needed tweaking to strengthen that connection. No matter, Watts had proven himself capable of going something about it, she was sure. Instead, Salem got up from her throne room and proceeded to make her way towards her personal chambers. However, before that, she stopped at the front of one.
The doors had dust on them, unused in how long. The size of the doorway was rather grand and could certainly fit a giant if they wanted to. Salem had never entered this door in many centuries. Without realizing it until it was too late, she felt her Grimm hand on the door's handles.
Sighing, she opened it. Whatever happens in the near future, this may be the last time she would ever enter this room.
A cold breeze met her. Dust had gathered and piled up everywhere. While she may have done some cleaning on the castle herself if she didn't have any of her followers or Grimm to do so, this was the one room that had been forbidden of entry.
Taking that first step, Salem entered the bed chambers that she had back when she was a married woman. Before everything fell apart and the true nature of her husband's return had yet to be revealed to her.
The mattress was old and way out of its time. It had sagged and could hardly give a good night's sleep at this point. Old as it was, it had also its own dust piles from being unused. Still, for old time's sake, Salem sat on it. She could no longer remember the warmth that it had nor of the children bouncing on it in the early hours of the morning.
"Soon," Salem whispered to herself. "No matter what happens. It will end soon."
Getting back up, Salem left their bed chambers. She gave one last look as the fuzzy memories of a time so long ago was a blur and Salem found that she had to correct herself a little on the little details that had occurred in this room. She closed the doors for the last time.
"Either this world will burn," she said to herself. "Or I will burn."
Checking the device that Watts had left behind for her, she noticed that the signal had been boosted somehow. Good. The time was coming soon. Salem returned to the throne room and readied herself for her declaration to be heard.
AN: I don't know why but religiously fanatic Tyrian just feels right to me. Also Watts taking up the name Moriarity is more of a reference to his allusion (according to the RWBY wiki).