Author's Notes:

-Greetings readers. Glad to see that I have gotten this chapter done. And all of my Christmas shopping and gift wrapping! Huzzah! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

-In the spirit of all things merry and bright, I'd normally do a parody Christmas carol. However, due to burnout, all the stresses I've faced this year (and wanting to do more writing on future fanfiction chapters in general), I'm feeling lazy and deciding not to do it.

This would make it the first year since 2018 (when this story was first started), that I don't write a Christmas carol parody. But I don't want to leave my viewers empty-handed.

Instead, I pose this challenge; what is my favorite Christmas carol?

Anyway, Happy Nondescript Winter Holiday! Let's start the show!

[June 11th, 1:30pm]

Jaune was shown meditating within his room. Pyrrha was combat training with Nora, and thus, had the entire space to himself. The sunlight poured in through the window, the rays cloaking the area between the door and the wall in a soft light. The knight was on the floor, his legs crossed and eyes closed, feeling the light but not seeing it.

As he breathed in and out, he concentrated on his aura.

Pyrrha once told me that I have a large amount of aura. Ten gallons even, as unbelievable as that sounds. At first, I hardly knew how to use it. Often used too much at once and fell down pretty easily.

He thought of his early days at Beacon; his sanctioned combat duels against Cardin Winchester (which ended in failure), him trying to wrap his head around the basics of sword-fighting using an old journal he had found while everyone was asleep, and sparring lessons with Pyrrha.

All these memories… of how far I've come with aura. As a warrior…

He recalled Cardin grabbing him by the collar in the forest.

But what was it that truly happened in the Forever Fall Forest?

Flashes of white through in his mind as he recalled Cardin attempting to punch him, only to be blinded by white light and knocked back. He recalled seeing his own hands glowing.

And how I recovered so quickly from the minor injuries I got during the initiation…

He recalled his small cuts on his hands mending after his aura was unlocked.

All this time, I've been so focused on trying to make myself better, to prove that I am a worthy hero and future huntsman.

His duel with Rouge Arc came to mind, on how he could suddenly see her clearly despite being blinded, and how her daggers did nothing when striking him in the shoulders. Soon the image of his second fight against Charles Mustard came to mind as he avoided decapitation by raising his shield, blocking the madman's sword. The aftermath with his teammates came to mind, and how angry Nora had been with him for having previously lied to them.

And while this self-improvement has helped me, and my teammates by proxy, what if there's more than one way to aid them? And all my other allies, present and future?

He thought of how he had been using his resemblance, strengthening himself to allow him to help others; saving the citizens in Aletheia from Grimm, aiding Pyrrha in getting the former Scarlatti Alliance members to the hospital as the village was being attacked.

What if I can help them directly?

His eyes opened up as an idea came to his head.

Sometime later, Jaune was shown in the living room along with Qrow, his left arm still broken and held in a sling cast.

"You called?"

"Yeah. I have a theory. And I want to test it… by healing your broken arm."

"Healing? That's practically impossible."

Not unless you have rare magic…

"But have you heard of healing with aura?" Qrow rolled his eyes before turning away. "Just let me try. What do you have to lose?"

Qrow sighed. "Fine."

Jaune tentatively placed his hands to Qrow's left arm, and they began to glow with white aura. Soon the red aura around Qrow's lower arm appeared, shimmering as Jaune steadied his breath. The arm swelled and the huntsman tensed up. Cracks were felt but soon erased themselves, groans of pain escaping Qrow's lips all the while. Qrow bit his tongue, trying not to worry his other allies. Jaune breathed out slowly, trying not to exert too much force in his healing process. Slowly but surely, the bones in Qrow's arm shifted back into place, and once that was done, the bones were mended. Brief images were shown of the bones extending out as new cells were formed and soon back to the surface world, the huntsman in training shifted his hands so that they were farther up the arm and one hand underneath. He needed to not just fix the bones, but also restore muscle and prevent bone loss.

You've got this. Jaune told himself.

With a few more breaths, he soon felt that the worst of it was over. He continued channeling for a minute more over the whole arm, making sure he didn't miss any gaps or cracks.

"And viola." Jaune removed his hands, the process complete.

The knight took a tentative step back as Qrow undid the sling, holding his arm up. Jaune looked nervous, wondering if it worked or if he messed something up.

"I can't believe it…" Qrow spoke.

Slowly he extended it, let it fall to his side, rotated his wrist and brought his fingertips to his face.

Maybe luck is finally on my side for once.

He pinched himself on the right wrist to ground his senses. He was awake; and Jaune had performed a miracle.

The unlucky huntsman smiled. "Thank you, Jaune."

"Qrow, are you alright?" Ruby asked as she entered the room. She soon noticed Qrow using his arm. "Your arm! It's healed! But I thought the doctors said it would take weeks to recover."

"You can thank Jaune for this. He seems to have learned how to use his aura to mend others' auras and heal their injuries."

"How long have you had the ability to do this?" Ruby asked.

"It's… more of a recent discovery." Jaune admitted.

"I can't thank you enough. With my arm mended, not only am I back at full fighting capacity, but it will also make traveling much easier."

"So what's next?"

"Get the others here. We need to share this discovery. Also, there's something I should inform you of if you're not already aware."

Ren, Nora, Pyrrha and Oscar were shown in the living room about ten minutes after Qrow's arm had been healed by Jaune's newfound power. And, as expected, the others showered him with questions.

Ren started off with, "What happened?"

"Do you have magic powers?"

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked.

"How is this possible?" Oscar wondered.

"Okay, okay, calm down." the huntsman told them. "I didn't heal my own arm. Jaune did. He's discovered that he can use his aura to extend others' aura to heal their wounds."

Ren raised his eyebrows in silence as Oscar blinked.

"Oh. Oh wow. That's amazing!" Pyrrha cheered.

I'm so proud of him…

"Wow, that's incredible!" Nora exclaimed.

"Indeed it is. With my arm mended, not only am I back at full fighting capacity, but I can also travel much easier now. And with that, I have something to tell you. I've recently heard rumors of a woman named Anastasia Chrysanthe, member of what was once team SSEA (Sea) of Beacon, has recently returned home to Zephyros. She may be our only chance to get backup if Haven is attacked. The journey may take a few days, possibly a week or so. If my good luck sticks around a bit longer, it'll take less time."

"When do you plan to leave?" Oscar asked.

"I plan on leaving in a few hours. Before I go, I need to have a word with Lionheart and his guards regarding the academy's defenses." He faced all of the young trainees. "Do you think you'll be alright here for a few days alone?"

At that moment, Ozpin suddenly took over for Oscar. "I assure you, Mr. Branwen, that everything will be fine."

"Thank you. I suppose I should start preparing."

"Alright, just let us know when you're leaving and we'll send you off." Ren offered.

Qrow smiled and nodded before leaving the living room. He went up the stairs to a bedroom with a few windows and black walls. A painting of Beacon Academy was hung near the door as he prepared a travel bag.

He sighed.

Hopefully Glynda and the others have been having better luck…

In another corner of the world, Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch and a few others were shown at a table inside a room at Beacon Academy. The right wall was notably missing, but most of the people present didn't seem to be fazed. Among those present were Brick Bond, Peter Port, Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck, Thumbelina Peach, Ann Greene and Harold Mulberry.

And while Professor Port and Dr. Oobleck looked the same as ever, Brick Bond's red hair was tousled about, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, his suit a bit wrinkled and messed up.

Thumbelina's cream colored hair was styled into a top bun, her peach colored eyes trying their best to hide her worry. She wore a hot pink skirt, and a lavender suit jacket with a white undershirt blouse. Finishing the outfit were pink slipper-like flats and the silver fairy charm necklace she held to soothe herself, breathing in to exhale negativity..

Ann Greene had dark skin paired with grass green eyes and dark brown hair with faded lime highlights appearing to be in her early 30's. She wore a forest green pantsuit, her sleeves rolled at the buttoned up cuffs. She brushed her fingers against the fabric of her sleeves, almost as if she was shivering.

Harold Mulberry had unkempt brown and purple hair, his eyebrows receding to the former color. He appeared middle-aged, his blue eyes with bags under them, showing his tiredness. He wore a light purple suit ensemble, his black dress shoes noticeably worn out.

The camera shifted to Glynda, standing with a mug of coffee in her hand as she drank every last drop.

"Alright, after months of strenuous work, we have finally cleared the campus grounds of nearly all Grimm." She announced. "I've brought you here to confront the elephant in the room. Or perhaps I should say, the Wyvern on the roof. If we want to truly rebuild this prestigious academy and restore it to its former glory, we need to get rid of it, once and for all.

She took out The Disciplinarian, using its rod form to point to two different unfurled papers. "As you can see by these blueprints, I have devised two different plans on how to get rid of it. The first involves using large cables attached to bullheads, aided with my semblance, to transport the ginormous statue somewhere it will not cause any damage to life or property. The big problem is that the petrified Grimm is extremely heavy. Any attempts to move it could end in disaster if the cables are unable to bear its weight, and they may snap before the transport is done. Furthermore, if the Grimm Wyvern is placed in the wrong spot, more Grimm creatures will be attracted to it, causing more problems for us later down the road.

Everyone grimaced at the thought. Thumbelina shuddered.

"The second, and much more dangerous route, involves trying to destroy the Wyvern from its stone prison. The problem is that even if we are able to get enough ammunition to feasibly destroy it, there's no guarantee the dragon will be completely destroyed. If it is not destroyed, we could end up releasing it from its prison, creating a very big problem that we may not be able to handle. As far as my knowledge goes, no one here has ever had to fight a Wyvern, as the species was previously believed to have been extinct for decades, maybe even a century or more. Additionally, any attempts to destroy or fight the Wyvern may cause even more damage to the school's tower or infrastructure.

Audible gulps were heard from almost everyone present. Brick was the only one that remained silent.

"I have thought over these plans for many days, but have not been able to draw a conclusion as to which plan is better. That is why I have summoned you here. We must determine the best plan for moving forward with the restoration." Glynda concluded.

There were a few tense moments of silence before the first vote was cast.

"We should go with the first one." Thumbelina suggested. "The second plan sounds way too dangerous for my liking."

"I don't know…" Anne began. "The first sounds really dangerous. Also, how would we even attach those cables to the bullheads in the first place?"

"Those cables aren't likely to be stable." Dr. Oobleck argued. "We have to fight and destroy this Grimm whether we want to or not!"

He began to sip from his thermos as Mr. Mulberry argued, "But we've never fought a Grimm this big!"

"Professor Port, what do you think?" Thumbelina asked him.

"Hmm…" He mused to himself in silence for a few moments. "Truth be told, neither of these plans seem very good. I think it might be better if we build a new tower all together and create a permanent prison for the beast."

"But if we don't move the Grimm, that Grimm beast could reawaken and/or attract other Grimm once we reopen the campus." Mr. Mulberry remarked.

"We need to destroy it." Mr. Bond remarked.

Anne sighed. "We're getting nowhere fast."

Harold sighed. "It's a shame that Charles Mustard went off the rails. His input would be quite valuable right now. He may even have valuable Insight that we could use."

"Would he really help though?" Thumbelina circled her finger, pointing to her head, "It seems that he's always been crazy." Ann raised an eyebrow at her. "Some say his decline really began nearly twenty years ago, long before I even stepped foot into this place." Glynda looked at her in surprise. "I never said anything as a student, partially out of respect and partially out of fear, but now, ten years later… it seems I was right."

"Anyway, moving on." Glynda began. "We have three votes for the second plan, two for the first, and one entirely new idea. Looks like I have to make the deciding factor."

In theory, we should be able to destroy it. We just need to ensure we have enough fire power. Thankfully James came to his senses and lifted the dust embargo a while back… She looked at the second blueprint. It's dangerous. It's risky… But we may not have much of a choice…

"All things considered…" she began.

Everyone waited for her response.

"We're going to destroy the Wyvern."

Thumbelina held her necklace with both of her hands as Harold murmured a quiet, "Oh boy…"

"We need to get as much fire power as we can, preferably in the form of missile launchers and very big guns. We will also need to take measures and prepare for battle in case the Wyvern is not destroyed and released from stone."

"One thing that I must ask; how did that Grimm get petrified there in the first place?" Dr. Oobleck asked.

Glynda suddenly froze. How am I supposed to explain this? None of them know about magic…

She soon noticed Thumbelina raised an eyebrow at her. Does she know about magic? No, surely Ozpin would have told me if she knew...

The others glanced at each other nervously. "You're not hiding something… are you?" Anne asked.

Glynda continued to remain silent, her brows tensing and her lips squirming in anxiety.

Thumbelina asked, "The legends of Silver-Eyed Warriors are real, aren't they?"

Glynda nodded, realizing what she had to admit. "They are. One of those warriors unleashed their power during the Battle for Beacon. Even though they have unintentionally created a difficult situation, if they hadn't used their power when they did, things would likely have ended much worse than they did."

"But aren't silver-eyed warriors just a fairytale?" Peter Port asked.

"It isn't. There's a lot of stories, some true, some false, some… even in-between."

Dr. Oobleck fired off several questions rapidly. "So what happened to the Silver-Eyed Warrior? Where did they come from? Where did they go?"

Glynda briefly thought about Ruby and where she was going with her new team. "I don't know where they have gone, but hopefully, they are still alive and doing well. Nonetheless, we will target the Wyvern and try to destroy it from its prison. But we will take measures in case the worst case scenario happens."

"So, where do we begin?" Brick began.

"First things first, we're going to need to set up multiple firing stations at separate coordinates. We're going to need as much firepower as we can get."

She pointed at three different points on the second blueprint; one at an adjacent tower from the Wyvern, one from the ground as a silent fast-forward montage began as Glydna explained the plan.

"And that should cover all our bases." she finished. "Any questions?"

"How soon do you think all of this can be done?" Dr. Oobleck asked.

"The sooner the better, but hopefully within a month. Three of the members of the Veni, Vidi, Vici Society, or VVV for short, are on their way here. Dr. Gogol, Dr. Voirel, and Dr. Kolur all agreed to help repair the CCT tower in Beacon as well as provide future upgrades. Unfortunately, Dr. Pietro Polendina has declined the offer to come. But considering all that's happened, I can't blame him…"

"What about Dr. Watts?"

"Didn't you hear the news?" Mr. Mulberry asked.

"What news?"

"Arthur died fifteen years ago. They never found his body in the Paladin Incident, presumably burned alive. His laboratory was left in disarray and there was very little found in the wreckage."

The overcaffeinated professor winced. "Ouch. What a terrible way to go."

"How did you not know this?" Anne asked him.

Glynda closed her eyes, not paying attention to Oobleck's response.

That day was a terrible one. Watts died, James was almost killed… and everything else…

Brief flashes of the past went by; video footage showing parts of Atlas City on fire from a television screen. The screen zoomed out to show a living room in an apartment, with Glynda looking completely horrified. She was shown on a flight to Atlas, looking anxious and desperate.

She was then shown pacing outside a hospital room as her Scroll rang; she answered.

Murmurs of a voice on the other end were heard, and Glynda was choking up at their words.

"No… this can't be."

The phone call ended, her fingers going numb, dropping the Scroll as Glynda softly cried, burying her face in her hands.

She opened her eyes, stopping herself from going back further, dismissing thoughts of the past and glared at the future with determination.

"No matter. With or without Dr. Watts or Dr. Polendina, we must press on."

Back in Mistral, Oscar was shown in the living room along with the others.

"It seems that aura has more possibilities than I originally thought," Oscar confessed.

"Oscar?" He turned to see Pyrrha asking him, "How much do you actually know about aura?"

"Well… Ozpin automatically unlocked my aura when he first… merged with me, for lack of a better term, but I feel like I only know the basics. I can't even tell how much aura I have or how to best use it. How do you even measure this stuff? And what would an aura number even mean?"

"Hmm… I don't think we're qualified aura masters, but I think we have something that can help with that." Jaune said.

About ten minutes later, he returned with a screen projector on a rolling cart. He turned it on, turned off half the lights and waited for the image scanner to load. Using his Scroll, he searched for a certain image before projecting it onto a wall.

"For aura measurement, refer to this chart."

Ren pulled up a chart and displayed it on the projector. The chart was mostly a large square box, divided into six tiers.

From the bottom to top, the colors were as follows; red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

In that same order were a few numbers in each box; 1-2.9, 3-3.9, 4-5.5, 5.6-6.9 , 7-9.9, and 10+.

Outside the box to the left in that same order were the following descriptions; weak, below average, average, above average, strong and very strong.

"As you can see by this chart," Ren said, pointing to the bottom of the chart with a rod, "the red area refers to those with weak aura. Weak auras are considered rare in nature, making up 5% or less of all known aura fighters. So far the lowest aura gauge known to mankind was held by a man named Gregory Roberts, a soldier who fought and died during the Great War. He had only a single gallon, but that did not stop him from fighting for what was once the kingdom of Mantle, or present-day Atlas. He was also one the first people in the kingdom to have his aura measured by Mantle's newest technology, along with hundreds of other soldiers and warriors.

"History aside, those with a weak aura gauge rarely ever work alone because they can't withstand many hits against the attacks of Grimm or violent criminals. They often work with other huntsmen and sometimes civilians to compensate for their weakness. However, they often face adversity before getting their license. Very low aura gauges can be and often is a reason for discrimination and/or denied entrance to a huntsman academy. Some people argue that such practices are necessary to ensure the best of the best can defend humanity and all other life. Others argue that this discriminatory practice only hurts humanity and faunus's chances to survive because there are less huntsmen than there otherwise would be.

Oscar visibility winced at this revelation. "There is some good news. Certain huntsman academies, such as Shade and Haven, have taken measures to hopefully prevent such discrimination. Others, such as Beacon and Atlas, have yet to take them. Alas, both Beacon and Haven are shut down for different reasons, and whether or not Atlas will change their ways is unclear. But with this, I give the baton to Nora to explain the next tier."

Nora took the baton and pointed to the orange rectangle within the square as Ren exited stage left. "Thank you, love. Above the weak and unfortunate you have the orange tier, aka those who are below average in aura. This level of aura is uncommon, about 15% of all fighters or so, although to be honest I've never met anyone in the bottom two rows. I've heard that below average aura gauge fighters still have their struggles, such as acceptance from the community, but what do I know?

"Anyway, moving on," Nora gestured to the yellow box. "This represents those with an average aura gauge. It is estimated that about 45% of all fighters are in this category. In some cases, aura levels can be altered as a temporary effect of certain semblances. Or so they say… But such semblances are said to be rare. I'll let Jaune take it from here."

She passed the baton to Jaune, pointing to the green box.

"This box represents the above average gauge. Supposedly about 27% of all aura fighters have this aura level. As previously mentioned, aura gauges can be reason for acceptance or rejection, but aura gauge isn't the only factor taken into consideration when reviewing huntsman academy applications. They factor in aura level, semblances, or whether or not they have one, their weapon and fighting style, and other factors. Truth be told, I'm surprised I passed the entrance exam…" He soon realized he may have said too much and got off topic. "But I digress, I'll let Pyrrha continue the lesson."

He passed it to Pyrrha, smiling as he stepped to the side. "Thank you Jaune." Before she pointed to the blue box. "Here we have the strong aura levels. About eight percent of all aura fighters are in this category. As for measurement, aura is usually measured with Scrolls or other specialized technology. Using myself as an example…" She got out her Scroll, tapped a few things, and pressed her thumbprint to a red circle. A few moments later, a ding was heard. The Mistralian Champion showed a result of her aura gauge scan to Oscar.

Pyrrha Nikos; 8.6/8.6 gallons

Oscar's eyes lit up in wonder. "Oh wow, that's amazing."

"Indeed so. I think that's all I have to say on the matter. Take it away, Ruby."

She passed the baton to Ruby, who then pointed it at the purple box. "And finally, we have the very strong aura tier. Anything ten gallons or greater is considered rare, occurring in 3% of all aura fighters, if not even less… They usually have powerful semblances to boot, as is the case with Jaune Arc over there, with ten gallons of aura." She gestured to him, who awkwardly waved. "But the highest known aura gauge was said to be twelve gallons, held by a huntress named Zelda Hue. But it was said that despite her high aura level, or even because of it, she still met her untimely end. Truth be told, I don't remember all the details."

Oscar winced.

Ozpin… do you know anything about Zelda Hue? Oscar asked the spirit within him.

Hmm… The name sounds familiar. Ozpin admitted. I think she was from Atlas… but I don't remember what exactly caused her death. Her time was before Oliver merged with me… I may have to think for a while…

"Well, um, thank you, for all this." At that moment, Ozpin took over. "Thank you for teaching Oscar more about aura. You explained it to him better than I could. And perhaps in turn, I should impart you with some knowledge. Hopefully you aren't too terrified by what I have to say."

Jaune's eyes nervously darted. "What is it?"

"Have you heard of someone with a black aura?"

The five of them looked on, mostly confused but some scared.

"Black aura? Isn't that just a myth?" Nora asked.

"I'm afraid not. It is rare, but under certain circumstances, aura can darken."

Pyrrha felt a shiver on her spine. "Aura… can.. darken?" She paused in silence. "How?"

"There are three ways that an aura can darken. Being infected by the Hellzoa Grimm, being cursed with a spell that mimics its effects, or using Grimm magic."

Pyrrha shuddered. "The Hellzoa? What is that?"

"The Hellzoa is a wretched species. It is classified as one of the few Grimm parasites known to mankind. This rare worm-like Grimm is small, but can infect an unsuspecting victim if they are unaware of their surroundings, or more commonly, when they're sleeping. Once they've entered a victim, they dissolve and curse them, amplifying their negative emotions." He noticed Pyrrha and Ruby looking scared while everyone else was confused. "And if you don't think that sounds too bad, think again. Their amplified negativity can cause them to feel emotions stronger and overthink even more. This can cause emotional instability and sooner or later lashing out at loved ones. It can ruin relationships, worsen job performance and in some cases, the victim may be violent to others. And the more negative emotions they feel, the more their aura darkens. It starts from the victim's left side and continues spreading out to the right.

"What makes this worse is that the Hellzoa Virus is hard to properly diagnose and treat. A darkened aura isn't visible until at least 25% of it has blackened. And many of the victims are those who do not have their aura unlocked, and most likely would never realize what was happening until it was all but too late. In the past, detecting it was much harder, and it was often mistaken for other disorders or insanity. Even though aura detectors and monitors have made it easier to discover, it has not helped with treatment. There is still much that remains unknown, both by aura scientists and the world at large.

"The Hellzoa's effect is disastrous, as the effects worsen under stress. Under low levels of stress, it could take several months or years to fully infect an individual's aura. But if someone is immensely stressed out, it could take weeks, maybe even a few days. And if the target has a pre-existing emotional condition, such as bi-polar disorder, it can make things even worse. The more the victim's aura is darkened, the more negativity they feel, and the harder it is to prevent and undo damage. And if one's aura is darkened entirely, it's almost impossible to reverse it. In the worst cases, this can cause the victim to take their own life, or worse, become a weapon of mass destruction."

All of them gulped. Ruby held her stomach and put her fingers to her mouth. She nervously swallowed and tried not to look completely terrified, putting her hands behind her back.

Jaune nervously glanced at the professor. "I'm guessing you've seen this before?"

"Several times. Qrow has been unlucky enough to witness such an occurrence as well." Ozpin gave a very long sigh. "For morale's sake, I shall not recount that tale. I can only hope that us and any allies and friends we've had, past, present or future, will not be affected by this Grimm."

[Land of Darkness, Evernight Castle, Training Room]

All the while, Cinder was shown conjuring a sphere of darkness within her left hand. With her orange aura surrounding what was left of her human skin, she hurled the sphere into a wooden dummy, knocking it off its post and lying in pieces on the ground. The maiden flare appeared around her right eye, and strangely enough, appeared adjacent from the left eye, previously replaced with a Beowolf. With the real and artificial flare, she glanced into a dark tinted glass from a nearby window.

What is this?

At that moment, the maiden flare fixated on the Grimm eye, becoming darker as magic mixed together.

Cinder smirked, knowing her power over darkness was setting stronger. She looked at what was left of her left arm; there was a black aura around her shoulder and whatever else remained.

But instead of fear or sadness, she looked a little confused.

A dark aura?

She conjured a black sphere of aura within her right hand; her aura had begun to darken.

A sign of the Grimm magic that has made me stronger. Cinder concluded. With Maiden abilities, darkness and Grimm magic, soon enough, no one will stop me.