Arc II: The Knight Life
Chapter 9: Fight, Not Flight
Forever Fall.
Situated directly north of Vale's city limits, its perpetual autumn splendor granted many a student a relatively peaceful stroll through the woods, with the occasional Beowolf or Ursa Minor little more than a hindrance to enjoying the local ambience.
Yet, as Jaune breathed out and found himself locking eyes with the monster's own, he could not help but feel that what would've been easy marks for the picking had now turned into a sightseeing adventure for his near-future grave.
The beast in question evidently agreed, as it roared a mighty challenge and drew forth a wicked, jagged looking blade more akin to a hunk of metal than an actual sword, and began charging at them.
He grit his teeth and unconsciously took a step back, seeing Weiss do the same in his peripherals beside him.
Jaune. What stands before you is called a Lynel. How one survived here is suspicious, but in past lives, they were amongst the toughest of monsters that I have ever fought. They are beasts of incredible speed, strength and cunning. Unless you are already very far away if it sees you, you cannot outrun it and escape. Do not underestimate it.
"Damn. Well, alright. Got any -"
"Jaune...what...is that!?" Weiss interrupted.
"Uh, it's a Lyn -"
Careful. Do not call it that, lest she become suspicious.
"Then what am I supposed to call it!?"
Anything but.
Jaune sighed. "Um, it's -"
"Scary as shit!" Cardin helpfully interrupted, causing the two to quickly glance over to Team CRDL and seeing them retreating several paces backwards.
"Grimm or not, that thing looks like it'll fuck us all over real quick. We're out!"
"I don't think we can outrun that...that beast!" Jaune yelled back. "We have to fight it here!"
CRDL froze, and their leader took a quick look at the clearing they were in. The surrounding treeline basically encircled them all in a sort of natural arena against twenty one feet of rushing death. Realizing this, he looked back and forth between them and the monster, now barely a hundred yards away, torn between holding onto his pride and deciding to try it anyway.
The blonde swore internally as Cardin joined his team in making for the treeline.
Steady, Jaune. They like to get a measure of their opponents, and so have a habit of opening with a charge. As such, it cannot stop or make sharp turns at this speed. Prepare to dodge left.
Link's voice snapped his attention back to the forefront, eyes widening at its glare and just how tall the beast was now as it closed the distance.
The blonde loosened his legs and made ready to dodge -
The Lynel growled and drew its sword low, charging with the force of a raging bull -
Jaune jumped -
And the beast missed its swing, roaring at a wave of weaponized ice dust impacting its side. It slowed down to a trot and came to a stop at the other end of the clearing, affixing them with a glare that somehow proved to be more threatening than the first one.
If anything, it only seemed more agitated than hurt, snorting in dismissal.
With your compatriots gone, you need to find a way to deny its advantage of mobility around this field. Do note as well that while it may be tough, a solid strike to its face may stun it, at least temporarily.
Jaune growled under his breath. "Right, right. Hey Weiss! Got any more where that came from?"
"A whole weapon's worth of it," the heiress replied sardonically, running to stand beside him. "It looks like it'll be the old fashioned way, though, unless I drop a literal iceberg on top of it."
Another boom-boom-boom rang throughout the forest, the two looking and seeing the Lynel begin to charge with sword outstretched once more. Switching to fire dust, Weiss let loose another wave, although the Lynel quickly deployed its shield and caught the attack.
"Well, can you?"
Weiss raised an eyebrow and shot him a look, to which he shrank back and apologized.
"Listen, you dunce. Can you keep its attention occupied?"
Jaune gulped. "I don't think I'll enjoy that very much."
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I can do that."
The heiress summoned a glyph. "Good. Do that. We'll hit it from two sides at once."
"Got it."
Nodding, she used her glyph to speed off behind him, landing behind a small crest and out of sight. Turning back, Jaune raised his shield and began moving backwards as the Lynel bore down on him once again, and twice as aggravated.
Galloping to meet him, the beast drew its sword high to cleave his skull in two -
Jaune prepared to dodge to the right -
And was flung face down into the dirt as he jumped by the force of the Lynel driving its might and weight through the sword as it slammed into the ground around them, shockwaves and dirt flying in all directions.
"Hrk!"
Spitting earth out of his mouth, he scrambled up to see the Lynel turn towards him only several feet away. Scrambling up, he just barely missed it rear up and attempt to stomp him into the ground. Annoyed, the beast drew its sword back and sliced in a wide arc. Another swing, another near miss. His heart rate, already pumping with adrenaline, spiked every time the blade came close to even nicking him. At one point, the beast actually managed to slice his sweater, though thankfully managed to avoid cutting his skin.
Grunting, he sidestepped just in time to miss another overhead strike, and quickly lashed out with a few strikes of his own.
The Lynel let out a low growl, and though Crocea Mors drew some blood, he was shocked to find that he couldn't even cut that deep in. The beast was simply too tough.
Cursing, his eyes widened as he immediately jumped back and barely avoided the Lynel swing its sword back reflexively.
"Dammit, I can barely harm him! He's too strong!"
Focus, Jaune. Remember, a sword wields no strength unless it -
"- it has courage, I know!" Jaune argued, momentarily distracted. "Kinda hard when one hit can, like - whoa!"
No time to lose, Jaune raised his shield instinctively and pulsed all of his Aura to the front as the Lynel delivered a solid punch with its own shield, the crash of iron on iron ringing loudly throughout the forest and painfully throughout his arm.
"Argh!"
Sliding back several feet into the dirt from the impact, Aura coursed through Jaune's arm and shoulder as he felt the beginnings of a bruise form. Looking back, he saw the beast make to charge, but grunted in pain as Weiss dashed out from cover, the ichor of Grimm dissipating off her clothes as she delivered a powerful, Semblance enhanced thrust to its side. In response, the Lynel jumped back and charged Weiss, although with the use of her glyphs she not only dodged its opening strike but also managed to quickly get back in and out with her own.
With the heiress engaged and taking the heat off him, Jaune quickly scrambled out and away, taking out his scroll and noticing 64% in his Aura display.
Even worse, when he made to call his team for backup, he noticed that there was no signal.
"What the fuck! But we're so close to Vale! How can there be no signal -"
Jaune, watch out!
He immediately pocketed his scroll and looked up, only to see a Weiss shaped mass collide with him and, with a loud oof from the both of them, tumble roughly across the field, only to collide painfully into the side of a tree.
"Ugh...ow..."
Shaking his head clear of stars, he leaned on something soft and pushed himself up, wincing at the sound of another pained grunt and the promise of a future telling off coming from below him.
Weiss glared at him with a murderous expression, which was magnified by bits of dirt smudged all over her face. "Ughh, what...is...wrong with you?"
"Sorry," he replied, extending a hand for Weiss to take up.
Behind you!
The Lynel rushed in immediately after and delivered a brutal pincer strike with his sword and shield, aiming to pulverize the two students. Instead, however, all it destroyed was the tree, and churned the earth around it.
It was as if Weiss herself heard Link, as her eyes widened and forcefully grabbed both him and Myrtenaster, using it to summon a glyph and barrel them away from certain death. Tumbling across the dirt, the two came to a hard stop once more with Aura flashing across their bodies as they collided hard onto some rocks.
A moment of darkness, before light filled his vision once again. Panting and coughing, Jaune fought the urge to fall into the darkness and scrambled to stand, with Weiss leaning on his arm despite the ringing and dizziness in their heads. They turned back towards the beast, which returned the favour with a fierce glower.
He turned his head and looked at her. "Dammit...I don't know if...hah...we can beat this."
Man, his voice sounded so...hollow. Like an echo.
Weiss was no different. She looked back, the dirt contrasting with her pale, crystalline blue eyes, and responded by summoning another glyph. "Just...keep...fighting. It bleeds, so...we can...kill...hah..."
They both turned back towards the Lynel, who, to their surprise, didn't seize the moment to charge at them.
Mainly there seemed to be what looked like fire forming inside its mouth.
Through the ringing in his head, Jaune could vaguely hear Link trying to tell him...something, for sure. Probably about how all you need is courage to do things and blah, blah, blah.
Yeah, well, wasn't courage the will to keep on going despite how scared you felt? Sounded like something worthy of a hero and all that, enough to activate his Triforce. And all this time, it didn't help him a single bit. Realizing that, he slowly widened his eyes and felt a pang of hurt lance through his heart, and not the familiar burn upon his left hand.
All around him, he could feel the darkness beginning to close him. Right there, by the sides of his eyes. It felt so easy to just give in. Though he knew what being scared felt like, for the first time, as Link's voice began to fade into nothingness, he began to feel fear. His heart rate spiked at the realization.
Funny, how all he wanted was to become a better warrior. A better fighter. A better Huntsman. And now, he was faced with an enemy far more dangerous than all of those at Initiation combined. One where he truly might not make it out alive. Where was it in odds so impossible, no matter how brave you could try and think yourself to be?
And all because he wasn't good enough. For both himself and his team. At the thought of the arguments between them, regret further tightened its grip on his heart.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Breathe in, and in, and -
He felt Weiss tap his shoulder, say something to him and gesture towards the beast, which sounded even more hollow as he stumbled back slightly, the smaller girl steadying him with a worried expression.
"...re you...kay?"
"No. I don't know."
Jaune nodded, and slowly turned around to look back at the Lynel, the heiress following his gaze.
The beast let forth a giant ball of flame.
()===|=====+
The Beowolf was crushed into the ground, exploding in a shower of fire dust as Cardin brought down the Executioner upon its head. Panting slightly, he wiped a brow and turned around to see Dove deliver several precise thrusts into a Boarbatusk, skewering it and firing it off with his gunsword's revolver. Elsewhere, Russel delivered a cross slice with his dual blades and decapitated another, while Sky impaled an Ursa with the end of his halberd and flung it into a tree baseball style.
After killing the Grimm, the team waited in silence for several seconds to make sure there weren't any more hiding with only the breeze and distant roars in the ambience. After what felt like an eternity, Cardin whistled and gave a thumbs up.
"Okay, guys, bring it in," the ginger breathed. "Look, we can't keep fighting every single Grimm around here if we're to make it back to Goodwitch safely."
"Kinda hard when the whole fucking forest is filled with them you know," Sky quipped, leaning on his halberd.
"Shut it. In any case we need to avoid the ones we can and finish off the others quickly," Cardin responded and holstered his mace. "Bad enough that signal's fucked around here. How we looking, Dove?"
The brunette in question reached for his scroll. "It's better here. Compared to back to where Jaune and Weiss are, I'm actually getting reception."
"But that's kind of weird, yeah? How come it can't get anything when Vale's literally right over the horizon?"
"Sky, since when can you get anything?" Russel piped up.
Dove hummed in agreement, nodding sagely.
"You little piece of -"
"Alright, boys, chill. Any more of that and the only thing he'll get is more Grimm." Cardin smirked at Sky's indignant pouting and the others' cackling. "In any case, let's go. How long until?"
"Should be a couple minutes. We're not too far away, according to the compass. Just gotta keep going west."
Sky sighed. "And then we'll finally be home safe and sound."
Yes. Safe. As the team began to run back towards the pickup point Miss Goodwitch set, he began to think about the fact that they just simply left Jaune and Weiss behind to deal with that...that monster. Sure, he could wholeheartedly admit in his dislike for the both of them. But even he could also admit to feeling the slightest twinge of guilt in his heart for leaving someone behind. Brusque as he carried himself, he always made sure his teammates would go back home safe and sound. Unless someone was White Fang, he would never leave any of them - or anyone - out there alone to fend for themselves.
And yet, he abandoned Jaune and Weiss. The look of betrayal and anger gnawed at his conscience. Even if he tried to justify it by telling himself that his team took priority.
Such was enough of a distraction that he failed to hear his teammates calling for him to stop and watch out, and took in the frustrated looking forms of Team JNPR a little too late. Out of instinct, he stumbled to the side as he tried to avoid crashing into Nora - who he later recalled looking almost disappointed that he didn't.
"Ugh, hey, watch where you're going!"
"I could say the exact same thing," Nora remarked and crossed her arms.
Cardin rose and dusted himself off, with the rest of his team coming to stand beside him.
"Have you seen Jaune? We've been looking for our leader after Miss Goodwitch messaged everyone to return immediately," Ren asked in a calm and measured tone.
He forced away visions of the blonde facing down a ruthless monster and shook his head. "No, I haven't."
At his hesitation, Cardin noticed that Nora and Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at him, forcing him to shirk off the lie and stand to his full height.
"Get lost, losers. We haven't seen your boy wonder anywhere."
"Maybe if you spent more time looking for him instead of stopping us, then you'll actually find him."
Sky and Russel came to his defence, while Dove merely crossed his arms and glowered.
Nora pointed at Cardin. "Are you so sure? Cardin himself seemed to have trouble believing that."
"Tch."
Cardin frowned. As his team and JNPR kept bickering back and forth, regret and indecision once more began to paralyze his heart. Though he was looking Ren in the eyes, he was no longer looking as his mind became carried away with voices warring to go back, and voices urging him on despite the other team. In the corner of his mind, images of Jaune slowly faded into those of his brother, standing defiantly and outnumbered against a multitude of -
He widened his eyes as a loud shing snapped him back to the present, Sky and Russel having deployed their weapons while Dove reached for his own. In response, JNPR shifted into fighting stances, with Nora deploying her behemoth of a war hammer and Pyrrha unsheathing her crimson spear.
"Who cares! Just get the fuck out of our way!"
"Oh please. Pyrrha alone could take all of you and more! Jaune could be in danger, so tell us where he is!"
Russel pointed a dagger at Nora, pressing a button and brightly coating the blade with a layer of lightning dust. "Stand down or we'll cut you down."
The ginger gleamed at the sight of the electrical blade, and Pyrrha pointed her spear at them. "You don't want to do this. You wouldn't want to upset Miss Goodwitch now, would you?"
Sky swept his weapon back, while Dove sighed and drew his gunsword. "Last chance."
Ren narrowed his eyes and deployed his automatic pistols. "For Jaune, we'll take it."
"Enough!"
Sky and Nora made to charge at each other, if it weren't for Cardin unsheathing his mace and slamming it loudly into the dirt, silencing all and causing them to turn and look at him.
Sighing, he sheathed his mace and rubbed his eyes. "Guys. Put your weapons away."
Sky pointed a knife hand towards Pyrrha in exasperation. "Oh come on! We can -"
"We will not!" Cardin roared, turning towards his teammates. One by one, their shoulders drooped in frustration and stepped back, holstering their weapons. In return, Ren, Nora and Pyrrha did the same, although gazed wearily at him, the unasked question hanging in the air.
"Do you know where Goodwitch and the others are?"
Ren remained expressionless. "Why?"
"Because your answer will determine if we can help Jauney boy in time," Cardin breathed, with the team opposite narrowing their eyes at him once more.
"Keep going west, in the direction right behind us. They should be just a little but past that hill."
Cardin nodded. "'kay. Sky, Russel, get going."
The two looked at each other in confusion, then back at him with determination. "We're not gonna leave you and Dove alone, boss."
"That's alright, we have these runts here," Cardin gestured towards JNPR. "Grimm are probably onto us now, so both of you stay together and run to Goodwitch. Warn her and call for backup. Me, Dove and these guys will go back to Jaune and Weiss."
Hearing Weiss' name, Pyrrha immediately took out her scroll and began typing, while Ren approached him. "Cardin, what is going on?"
"I'll explain on the way. Get going you two," Cardin ordered, with Sky and Russel nodding and running off. "This way."
Ren nodded, and the group began running in the opposite direction of the rendezvous point. Yet, as soon as they split, Cardin was proved right; smaller Nevermore, though easily dispatched, began to assail them, along with the occasional charge by Boarbatusks from deep within the forest.
The sounds of monstrous roaring could be heard growing in intensity as well.
Tired, Cardin called for a quick break and leaned on a tree, panting heavily and spitting all the while. Ren, Pyrrha and Nora approached him, while Dove joined him in leaning on the tree.
"So, Cardin. Do you mind explaining to us now just what exactly was going on with you and Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.
"And if the sounds of Grimm that way have anything to do with it?" Ren added.
Sighing, he pulled out a canteen and took a quick swig. It was warm, but after running nearly non stop and fighting Grimm along the way, it was essentially the nectar of the Brothers.
"It's...not...hah...Grimm that's out there."
Another loud roar almost seemed to confirm that statement.
"Huh? Not Grimm? What, is he fighting a dinosaur or something?"
Ren brought his hand up and rubbed his chin. "There are mountain lions which live in Forever Fall, but none of them sound like that."
Holstering his canteen, he began jogging away, only for him to hear the sounds of them catching up. As soon as they did, they shielded their eyes from the flash of light as they burst into a large, flat clearing. Fighting the pit of fear that came with him laying eyes upon that...that thing, he pointed his mace at it. "That's because it isn't one."
Ren grunted, while Nora and Pyrrha gasped at the sight of burnt grass emanating in several directions from a slightly bloodied centaur-looking beast, which swing a massive, jagged sword against a dirtied Jaune. He was able to dodge of each of its swings, but it looked more akin to him diving out of the way. He looked like he was slowing down as well.
Weiss Schnee was kneeling in exhaustion some distance behind him, clutching her right arm.
"What...is that?"
"Good question," Cardin snidely remarked.
Dove piped up. "Even with a whole team, we wouldn't have been able to stop it."
Pyrrha looked at them with a twinge of resentment, saying nothing before dashing towards her team leader.
"And so you'd leave them both to die out there!?" Nora angrily exclaimed. She was held back by Ren, who cleared his throat and brandished his weapons.
"...let's go, Nora. Jaune and Weiss need us."
"Hmph."
The two dashed off, leaving them in the ambience of roars and yells from the clearing. Left alone, Dove walked up to him and sighed.
"What are your orders?"
"...yeah, I hate them, but I only wanted to protect you guys. My team first before the rest."
"Yes, and I'm grateful for it. But I've known you since Signal, and I know that you're better than that."
"Tch."
Delivering a friendly punch to Cardin's shoulder, Dove turned towards the fight. "...look. In times like these, just ask yourself, what would Phoenix do?"
His eyes widened as Dove ran towards the beast, who was now being engaged with grenades and dust rounds from the rest of Team JNPR.
"...you always know what to say, don't you? If you weren't my friend I'd kick your ass."
Hefting the Executioner onto his shoulder, and before his hesitation could kick in once more, he sped off away from the treeline.
()===|=====+
As he jumped back from the beast slamming its shield into the ground, Ren noted that not since the Nuckelavee that rampaged through Kuroyuri had he faced a monster so large, strong and intelligent. If anything, looking at it reminded him of it, except that it was twice as angry and definitely not a Grimm.
Shaking his head, he fired off several more rounds as the beast roared and aimed to slice him in two, only to miss as he jumped back again. With its sword stuck in the ground, Nora shot out from behind him and quickly ran up its arm, yelling as she made to swing a devastating blow to its face.
It did not connect, as the beast immediately ducked its head and reared up its horns slapping her away. Getting up, Ren quickly fired off shots into its face, earning a growl and its attention. Reloading, his eyes widened as the beast knelt and jumped, bringing its shield back and aiming to land a devastating blow.
Ren sighed and immediately ran away, giving off a loud oof as he stumbled forward from the shockwave of its descent. Turning back, it trotted over to its sword, and with a mighty roar, pulled it out in one stroke. Almost immediately after, its roar of strength changed to one of irritation as several dust rounds exploded into the sides of its head and torso, with Dove Bronzewing joining the fight and running around in a hail of dust bullets. Several pink explosions soon detonated around it, causing it to growl in pain, and then once again when Pyrrha dashed from behind and drove Miló into its flank.
"Hah...this thing is tough, eh, Renny?" She panted, jogging up to stand beside him and leaning on Magnhild. "Never mind the fact that its a freaking centaur!"
"Agreed," Ren replied, with the pair jumping to the side in time as a large fireball whizzed past them, dissipating by the treeline but leaving a trail of singed grass in its wake. "And definitely not Grimm as well."
The ginger glanced at him with a roguish grin. "Say, Renny, I wonder what it would be like if we had one as a -"
"That'd be a pet you'd take care of all by yourself," Ren sighed, earning a chuckle from Nora before she switched her weapon back into its grenade launcher form and began lobbing shots around it. A large boom resounded as the monster delivered a devastating wallop onto Dove, the flat of its blade causing his Aura to spark all over and tumble back into the dirt. Roaring in pain, it kicked back as would a horse, but only managed to catch Pyrrha's shield. Regardless, she was forced back as well. Looking forward, the beast weathered the rain of dust grenades as it eyed Dove's fallen form, and began to charge once more.
"Damn. I better get back in there."
As he made to sprint, however, a white form whizzed past him and delivered a precise thrust into its hind knee, piercing clean through and earning a loud howl from the beast. Weiss, firing waves of fire dust from Myrtenaster, dodged back with a glyph as the beast swung its shield in her general direction.
Once it looked back forward, it was met with a solid, powerful hit from Cardin's mace as he jumped over his fallen teammate. He then detonated its fire dust crystal, forcing the beast to stumble back and shield his eyes, and used the time to pick up a coming-to Dove and dash out of the danger zone.
Ren stepped forward, but felt a hand on his shoulder. Jaune stood beside him, brandishing Crocea Mors against the monster.
"Together."
He nodded, both picking up the pace together as the beast was distracted with Nora weaving in and out around its sword swings and delivering the occasional hammer blow. As she made for another, Ren gasped in anger the beast raised its shield up and deflected it, stunning her momentarily and proceeding to bash her away with its horns.
She tumbled into the dirt besides Pyrrha, pink Aura flashing. The redhead stood back up and changed weapon form into a rifle, defending the fallen Valkyrie as her shots landed around its head.
The beast, annoyed at being warded off, turned around, only to be met with the sight of Ren and Jaune running full speed at it. Roaring, it brought its sword up for an overhead strike, crushing and churning the ground but missing as the two boys of JNPR sidestepped, stumbling slightly at the shockwave. With a grunt, Ren unleashed a salvo of shots along its horse-like body, while Jaune yelled and delivered powerful slices along its side.
Roaring in pain and overtaken by anger, it blindly swung its sword in Jaune's general direction, with him ducking low to the ground and striking back with a thrust to its side.
"Guys!" the blonde yelled, jumping back as the monster made to strike him again, instead being met with Pyrrha and Cardin dashing in for some hits, before jumping back. "I...I think it's working! We can kill it!"
Panting, Ren jumped back, giving him a safe distance from which to view the creature. It definitely had multiple injuries, some of which were serious if the amount of blood leaking out was a sign.
"'Kay! Um, Ren! Dove! Weiss! Distract it with dust! Pyrrha! Nora! We'll stop it from moving here. Cardin, finding openings and smash it apart!"
Ren gave a subtle smile.
"...as per your wish, team leader."
Jaune's commands were met with a cacophony of acknowledgements as the students moved forth once more, both firing and intending to deliver brutal punishment onto the beast. As if in its own reply, the beast jumped back and, panting slightly, surveyed the assortment of Huntsmen in training ready to end its life.
Ren seized this opportunity to dash forward, steadying his aim and firing shot after shot into its torso.
And as the others came dashing forward, the beast reared up on its hind legs with a low growl.
It was at this point that Jaune suddenly yelled for everyone to get back immediately, but it proved too late as the beast drove its sword into the ground with devastating force, unleashing a wave of fiery energy that sent him and the rest tumbling back and seeing nothing but darkness.
()===|=====+
No.
This couldn't be.
He shouted Link's warning too late, resulting in the beast knocking them all back with brutal, fiery energy. Spitting out dirt, he saw that the various Cardin, Ren, Dove and Nora were knocked out cold with broken, flickering Aura, while Pyrrha used her spear to stagger back standing.
"No...I failed them..."
His eyes widened at the realization, gripping Crocea Mors and forcing himself to kneel. His shield was blown away somewhere, temporarily lost in the grass.
Jaune, steady yourself! Your team still needs you! Do not give up now!
"But...I...look -"
Focus! Keep pushing yourself! Do not...
Link's voice clashed with his, looking down at the dirt as shock, shame and disappointment at being a team leader bubbled to the surface.
"I...I'm not strong enough. I can't even protect my teammates. I can't -!"
A loud cry of pain snapped his head back up, seeing Pyrrha catching a devastating blow with her shield and tumbling out cold into the dirt. The beast, panting in injury, slowly eyed him, and the stumbling form of Weiss between them.
The beast sheathed its shield, and with a two handed grip, prepared to charge.
Weiss looked up, paling in fear and eyes widening at the sight of twenty one feet of rushing death.
Adrenaline spiking, Jaune rose to his feet and half ran, half limped to meet the Lynel, brandishing his sword in the same fashion as his enemy.
"No...no! No, Weiss! Please! Weiss!"
And yet, though the heiress began limping in desperation away from it, it looked like he would not be the first one to meet her.
"NO!"
With a cry, he dashed with all his might as the Lynel bore down on her with a snarl, its jaw wide open in anger.
Roaring fiercely, the Lynel brought his sword down with merciless force -
Jaune's left hand burned, all sounds fading away with holy ringing as he yelled and brought his sword up to meet its own -
And unimaginable pain lanced through his arm, shoulders and back, parrying the force of a sword that weighed just as much as he did. His Aura crackled, about to break but reenergized from the Triforce; divine light streamed from underneath his glove, filling him with unnatural, refreshing energy - but most importantly, the fire to keep on fighting and protecting his friends.
Roaring, the Lynel withdrew its sword, drawing it low and swinging forward in a crescent.
It was as if time itself was tired, with the Lynel's swing slowing further and further. Almost instinctively, From the depths of his soul, he could almost see flashes of a swordsman in blue leaping forward and delivering fast strikes onto his poor enemy.
Now!
Jaune breathed out, and with great calm jumped back just out of reach of the Lynel's sword at Link's command, and rushed forward. Blood sprayed onto his face as he delivered slice after thrust after slice into its front, with the beast yelling in pain and falling to its knees.
Adrenaline dissipating, he too fell to his knees and drove Crocea Mors into the ground, both man and beast sizing each other up.
His heart and anger raced once more as the beast awkwardly and clumsily stood back up.
"No...what more will it take?"
Looking back, Weiss had fallen to her knees too, the same resignation evident on her face.
The Lynel began trotting forward -
And let out a loud, painful roar as Ruby Rose sped by with her Semblance, carving a slice along its side.
"W...what?"
"Jaune! Are you okay!?" Ruby sped over to him, concern manifesting as she knelt by his side.
"I...I think...?"
A laugh threatened to bubble to the surface as he looked past her, seeing Yang propel herself out of the woods with her gauntlets and land a devastating punch into its back. It stumbled around to face them, roaring in pain again as Blake weaved through its strikes and landed several hits with Gambol Shroud.
Behind them, Glynda Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin emerged, along with the rest of the student group. Above them, Bullheads flew by, circling above and preparing to land.
"Students! Recover the fallen. Get them to safety," Ozpin ordered, brandishing his cane. Glynda, meanwhile, used her Semblance to rip several large trees out of the ground and began beating down the Lynel. The Headmaster dashed right in front of it, earning a roar and bringing its sword down several times, only for it to look like it simply went through him harmlessly. Rearing it up, it summoned a ball of flame, with Ozpin summoning an electric green shield with his cane and effortlessly withstanding its fiery blast.
As the Headmaster and Miss Goodwitch began engaging the dying Lynel, various students began to run towards them and gather his fallen teammates. Jaune sighed in relief.
"We...we made it..."
Ruby nodded and gave his head a quick hug, with Yang and Blake coming over with worried expressions. "You'll be fine. You're all safe now. Have you seen..." She looked up, and her eyes widened. "Oh my...Weiss! Sorry, be right back!"
Speeding off at the sight of her partner, Jaune coughed in affirmation, fatigue beginning to overtake him as the power of the Triforce faded away. And as he passed into unconsciousness, all that he could think about over and over was the fact that his team - his team - lived. They made it through.
Breathing out, he welcomed the darkness with a smile.
/AN\
Ah, finally it's out. Good to have it in time for Christmas too, lol.
In any case, welcome back to A Descendant of Legends! Bit of a short AN as I haven't been feeling well over the past 48 hours, and suffering from burnout since exams a week or so ago, so I'll make it quick. I'm happy to see Jaune & co. finally take on one of the more challenging and fun enemies to beat, so here's my vision of how it all went down. Hopefully you were all entertained by it!
Again, thanks to all those who have read, reviewed, followed / favourited, and to those that have stuck around thus far. I pushed to publish this by the 25th as a thank you gift, and it feels satisfying giving something. Respectful criticism / feedback is always welcome, and look forward to what I can improve upon in the future for better.
Hope to see you guys at Chapter 10! Merry Christmas and happy holidays, all.
The Good Life Creator 678: Yeah the Grimm and monsters from Zelda are completely different from each other, and for now I plan to keep it that way. And thanks! I understand the generic bully trope, but sometimes I get tired of it. I thought it'd be fun to build reasons as to why Cardin and CRDL are the way they are. Thanks again, hope to see you next chapter!
Dragon lord Syed 101: Yep. Maybe I should put menus and eating food mid fight to restore Aura if they fight them again, lol. Hope you liked it!
ZenithTempest: It is true that RWBY and JNPR are very much naive, especially in the first season or so. Ruby herself is very black and white in seeing the fight against Grimm and being a Huntsman / hero. Looking back, yes, I can see how Jaune's dispute with his team seemed relatively OOC; Ren's attitude especially. Personally, I wish that maybe I fleshed it out more, or give further detail and depth to why they acted the way they do, but I'll take it both as a lesson and in stride, and I want to find a way to have that conflict - OOC as it may seem - compliment their original characters more. After all, people can and do change, but at least for JNPR, I'd like to keep them as close as possible to their canon personalities. I do also agree that Link is rather an enigma; he felt like a blank slate of a character, and so, as I build up CRDL, so too do I want to build Link up, and give him depth. Though he may be the first Link, he's not perfect - even as a teacher - and I seek to include and explain how it fits the ideas I have for his character. In any case, thanks! Hope to see you next chapter.
The Real Hell Fire: He's not just weak, he's weaker than weak. A bit more competent than his canon counterpart to start, but yes, nowhere near that level of heroic prowess. However, in this story I want to show Jaune's development and change as a character as he tries to find the balance between being the Hero and fulfilling his own goals. I don't want to give him too much of a boon, and here he already has the power of (half) the Triforce of Courage - not to mention access to past memories and a teacher in the form of his first life. He'll only get better and stronger for sure - and a hero who is simply handed everything to them on a plate honestly doesn't feel too heroic to me. In any case, thank you for bringing it up! Hope to see you next time.
Fyr RedNight: Thank you! Hope to see you in Chapter 10.
Spartastic 4: If it was, it's probably an unintentional one because I've never heard of TigerBunny before, lol. And yes, with RWBY the show it can be kinda confusing at first to see when things happen chronologically. With this chapters - and honestly, pretty much all of them in varying levels - I refer to the RWBY Wikia to make sure I'm within the right time frame. Exams are done for now, so there'll be more to come for sure in 2020. Thanks, and hope to see you then!
MeraHunt: Lol yup, popular opinion states that be it Child / Adult / Downfall, BOTW happens somewhere down the line anyway. I'd like to explain the three timelines and how they unite as some part of the lore, but I don't think I'm quite far enough in the story yet. And yes, honestly yeah a lot of people have been feeling like its RWBY novelized. My intention was to never cling religiously to canon events in the sense that it's just sprinkled with the occasional Zelda reference, but to start in a familiar place and grow apart as the story progresses and the truth / history / destiny / of the world becomes evident - much like how Jaune discovers that everything he was taught was not all as it cracked up to be, and go from there. It's deliberately a slow burn for now, and if it allays people's concerns, I can say for now that there will be a significant, dramatic moment in the story from which it'll take a completely AU turn. In any case, thank you! Hopefully I'll see you again next chapter.
The Legend of Zelda and RWBY are properties of Nintendo and Rooster Teeth, respectively.