This took me a while to make.

Don't worry, I have no plan on stopping now as I have extensive plans for this story.

As a matter of fact, that's kinda why it took me so long to finish and upload this chapter. As I stopped writing the chapter to buckle down on writing the story's general outline. It's mostly finished now, so I won't have to waste time with planning.

Enjoy the chapter.


Cover art by: Notgustiarp

Chapter 2


Summer was at peace.

Enveloped by a warm light as she rested on the bench outside her home. Even from underneath the porch roof, the warmth was able to encompass her like a blanket. She felt at peace with the sounds of nature all around her.

She liked the city, the new places she could explore, and the new faces around every corner. Plus, with the city came Beacon, the place she'd always dreamed of attending, and when she did, it became some of her most treasured memories.

She really did like it, but...

It wasn't home.

She was right.

I miss this so much.

She did, more than everything she'd lost. Well, maybe not everything.

She heard the screen door to her left open and shut. Firm yet gentle steps followed suit, drawing closer to her. She tried to turn her head, but instead, it stayed fixated on the expansive mountains in the distance and what looked like countless rows of oak trees in between. Like her body knew that if it turned away, even for a moment, it would all just disappear.

No, like it would all be stolen from me.

She felt the wood bench shift, creaking due to added weight.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself."

Ah, it was just Tai. No wonder she didn't feel the need to reach for her weapon like she'd grown accustomed to doing at every little sound since...since...

Huh, she couldn't remember.

She didn't answer him, continuing to bask in utter bliss.

He chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, I get you Hun. We don't get to lay around and just live in the moment like we used to."

She wondered why that was. She felt the need to ask but not the strength to do so.

"Plus, it is nice just to sit back and watch the girls play, right?"

At those words, her heartbeat sped up, and a new sense of awareness filled her.

The girls? Where...where were they?

Adrenalin coursed through her veins as her heart rate quickened, sweat started flowing from her pours, as her body locked up. She felt sick and began to panic. Her eyes darted around, yet it felt impossible to move her head, let alone move from her spot. Trapped within her own body, all while screaming for help that didn't come.

Until she felt a rough hand land on her shoulder. The light smell of cheap cologne and pine trees brought her back to reality. Yet the voice that came with it soothed her soul.

"Easy there, Sum." She felt at ease with the familiar gravely tone.

"Qrow?"

"Course, it's me. Who else is gonna keep you grounded? This knucklehead?"

He must have been standing right next to her this whole time and without her even noticing.

That's right. He's always there when I need him, just like in Beacon. I really did get the best partner, huh?

"...you know I take offense to that, Qrow."

"Hope you do, ya blonde bastard." He replied, no real heat behind it. "Anyways, back to what I was saying." Ignoring Tai's grumbles.

He bent down closer to her, still out of sight. All except for the arm he extended in front of her. He gestured directly in front of her pointing to something she couldn't see.

"See, they're right in front of you, can't miss'em."

Her eyes refocused to exactly where he was pointing towards. But she couldn't see anything past the fog all around her. Blocking out the light that had once shined and bringing with it a chilly wind.

Where did all this come from?

Was it always there? She wondered if it was always blocking her sight without her even noticing. Though, after she knew it was there, the fog slowly pulled itself aside to reveal what was within. With that, she peered inside and saw a patch of bright green grass with three figures right on top of it.

Yang...Ruby?

She didn't know why she was so surprised to see them. Nor why she felt the insane urge to run to them and embrace the two. Still, she tried to call out to them. Even when she realized that she couldn't speak, she still tried.

Or was it that she didn't feel the need to? Looking closer revealed that they were perfectly fine. Playful screams and laughter rang throughout the field as Ruby chased after Yang. They were undoubtedly playing tag, with Yang running along with the much slower Ruby trailing behind, almost tripping over her still clumsy feet.

"They look so carefree, don't they?" She heard Tai say wistfully. "It's alright to sit back and relax, you know. We've earned that much." He placed his hand on her left thigh.

"You've earned that much, Summer."

Did she?

"Hey, kids!" Tai called over to them. "Why don't you guys come on over? I think Mom needs a hug!"

Yeah, maybe she did deserve to rest every once in a while.

"...kids?"

She was always off on missions for...for...why was she always going on missions? It must have been important to neglect her family to go on them so often. At least, she hoped they were.

Maybe I should finally slow down and spend more time with—

"Yang, Ruby!"

The yell from Tai was guttural and had her attention ripped back to the present.

What's going on?

She looked back at the kids and saw that they were still just playing. Except now, they were running further and further into the thick fog that surrounded them.

Where were they running to? It's too dangerous out there for them to be alone.

Come back...

She wanted to scream for them, but it wouldn't come out. Tai had already taken off in a dead sprint after them anyway.

That's right, Tai wouldn't let anything happen. He'd stop them from leaving.

She watched as Tai chased after them, running at full speed, yet it didn't seem to help. The girls just kept running farther and farther away into the fog.

Ahead of them in the thick miasma, something monstrous was writhing deep within. No, multiple things are, all more dangerous than the last. Yet the only one she could make out right now was a small black bird menacingly drifting high above them all.

She saw the dangers associated with it, along with the other creatures that dwelt within. But Tai wasn't going to make it in time, and she couldn't move. She looked everywhere for help, calling for the one person left to count on.

Qrow! Please, we need you...I need you...

But he was nowhere to be found, was he? All that remained was the putrid smell of alcohol, so much that she felt nauseous just inhaling it.

Realizing that she was all alone in this, she watched as Tai ran until he collapsed. As he lay there, a haze of dark fog consumed him, enveloping him entirely as all she could do was watch.

She couldn't sit by, not as this nightmare played out in front of her. With all the strength she had, she tried to stand. To fight against the weight holding her down. But she failed, too.

Bones snapped, muscles tore, and her nerves were on fire as she stood. With all that, she didn't even make it one step before crashing to the ground. Now, she lay there in a puddle of tears and blood, crying out for help. Yet she was alone.

She was alone.

She was alone.

She was alo—

"E-Excuse me ma'am, are you alright?"

...

What?

/-/

Air rushed into her lungs as her eyes slammed open, forcefully regaining conciseness. For a few seconds, all she could do was lie there gasping for air.

I-I'm alive?

She soon wished she wasn't, as pain flooded her body, mind, and soul all at once. Her eyes tried to close in pain, but years of training ingrained into her stopped that from happening.

Where am I?

She was puzzled for all of a second. Her mind worked to remember the events that led to her situation. Eventually, it all returned to her, except for what woke her up.

I heard a voice call out to me, right? What did it say again?

She continued to think while surveying the surroundings, though very slowly, as most of her vision was a blur.

There was a question, right...Oh, I remember now!

"E-Excuse me, ma'am are you alright?"

She tried to reply, but the only thing she could do was cough and groan. Even if it was a dumb question to ask in the first place, she at least needed to answer—wait.

Her eyes finally cleared as she looked straight ahead. The sight that greeted her confused her more than helped.

No one should be here. So, who was this supposed to be?

Indeed, it made no sense whatsoever as to why anyone was here to help her. The groan she gave seemed to be enough for her rescuer as his shoulders sagged.

Had Ozpin sent someone after her? No, she hadn't given him any warning when she'd come here, let alone allowed someone so young to be able to tail her.

And boy, was he young. Looking ahead with faded vision, she could make out just how small he was. He wouldn't have survived the trip through the wilds that she took to get here, at least not without her noticing.

So he must have come after the fact, which just brought about more questions. Ones that she ignored as she came back to the reality of the situation.

A mere child was standing in the way of her and one of the most powerful foes she'd ever faced.

It didn't help that her body was at its limit—no scratch that it was beyond its limits. She couldn't move her body at all without feeling an insane level of pure agony.

What were they even doing? Why was he still standing even? She'd never heard of a time that it was thought that Hazel had directly hurt a child before, but still. He was standing between him and a valuable kill, wasn't he?

They were speaking, though her ears still rang something fierce she could make out just a bit.

"My name is Jaune Arc."

Is he telling him his name? It seemed that Hazel had gained his trust somehow. This was bad. Unbelievably bad.

She looked around once again, trying to find her weapon.

There it is!

She looked to her right and saw that Hazel had dropped it at some point after she fainted. Either way, it was just a few feet away from her. She threw herself forward, literally in this case, as it felt impossible to move her legs at all.

She should have ammo for it on her belt. At the very least, I could distract him long enough to let the little boy escape. She dug her fingers into the ground, pulling herself closer and closer to her weapon, Crimson Blossom.

"We don't have to fight, right?"

What?

"That's right, after all, we are friends, right?"

There was no way, right? He had to be lying.

"Of course!"

Ah, but it seemed that the boy believed otherwise...

That idiot!

She looked over and saw Hazel approaching, one hand extended but the other...

She saw his left hand twitch slightly, a bit of his Aura surging through it, preparing to attack, no doubt. Was he actually going to kill him? Did something change with the man?

No...no, he was always a Beast. This was just him finally displaying his true self.

She refocused on her weapon, but it was still too far away.

She wouldn't make it.

Her bloodied fingernails dug harder, dragging her body closer and closer to her weapon.

She wouldn't make it.

Despair filled her body.

Nothing's changed, has it? Just like in the bits and pieces of her dream that she could remember. Nothing was different. She was still just trapped in her useless body.

No, there is one thing that's different than before!

She whipped around to face them.

And screamed.

"Get away from him!" She yelled in a desperate chance to warn him of the coming attack.

Just like she said, unlike before it worked to grab their attention as both turned to look at her. She saw a few expressions flash through Jaune's face as he looked at her downed form.

Yet it settled on a forced look of confidence as he spoke, "Oh! Don't worry, ma'am, we've worked it out!"

He was so young. These were the last thoughts she had before he'd turned to face the monster behind him.

She failed once again.

She watched in horror as less than a second later, a haymaker was barreling towards Jaune's head. The force of which looked to rival those that he'd thrown during their fight.

The next second, a mass of air was blasted forward, forcing her to shield her eyes.

Her ears rang from the destruction before her, yet it didn't even really register. Her body went numb as she lay on the ground just inches away from her weapon. The fight that had been present in her now all but vanished, replaced by a terrible emptiness.

It happened again.

Tears welled up in her eyes without her realizing or even caring. She limply clawed her hand where the young boy once stood.

"N-no, you weren't supposed to...you shouldn't have..." She whispered.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. She was going to protect him. It should have been her this time.

A burning rage filled her once-empty body.

Her fist met the ground as she punched it over and over again. She couldn't take this feeling of being helpless, not again!

Before her bloodied fist met the deck again, she froze as a familiar voice met her ears.

"Are you okay, ma'am?"

Her breathing stopped as she heard that same voice from earlier. Was it all just another bad dream?

When she looked up, a familiar sight greeted her. Standing in front of her, back towards her again, only this time much closer than before was—

"Jaune?"

Seemingly not so much as a scratch on him as she stared at his sword-clad back. He seemed relieved that he'd heard a reply, yet this time his shoulders didn't sag. In fact, it appeared his entire demeanor was different from earlier. For one, he didn't glance back at her at any point, focusing his full attention ahead. She followed his gaze, landing on what should honestly have been a hilarious scene, yet it somehow found a way to fill her with nothing but dread.

A few paces away, Hazel Rainart stood oddly silent, staring at his fist, completely dumbfounded. After what felt like an eternity, his eyes refocused on them.

The look he gave promised death.

"Can you stand?" He quickly asked.

Jaune's voice was panicked, with an unmistakable sense of urgency that carried through.

"Right, uh yea, let me—" She made to stand, but her legs gave out from beneath her.

She hissed, feeling multiple joints pop and a few muscles give out from the strain. Her body was at its limit and wouldn't move any further. Shame filled her mind as it seemed that every warning she ignored came to pass.

"Just go!" She yelled for him to leave her here, not to let her drag anyone else down again. She looked ahead and, with some effort, crawled her way to her weapon Crimson Blossom. She wrapped her hands around its hilt and planted the tip into the ground.

Propped up now, yet barely able to take a single step.

"I'll distract him while you run as far as you can." She didn't wait for a response as she tried to hobble forward. She didn't take a single step before—

A brilliant light halted her in her tracks, blinding her instantly. With its appearance, Hazel's aura flared, ready for an assault.

Instead of attacking, Jaune wiped around locking eyes with a startled Summer and, with no warning, scooped her up over her shoulder and bolted!

It was all unexpected, her view going from a perfect calm to bobbing up and down, throwing off her equilibrium. She tightened her grip on Crimson out of instinct more than anything. The wind whipped her face as she struggled in his grasp.

She was shocked at the speed easily comparable to a fully-fledged huntsman. She was astonished by how much ground someone so young could cover in such a short time. In just an instant, they had already cleared past the remains of the main hall. Already, they were bobbing and weaving through buildings and foliage.

But it wasn't fast enough.

"Kid, let go of me!" She all but yelled in his ears. "You won't be able to outrun him at this speed, let alone while carrying me!"

She was right, and it was confirmed as she looked back and came face to face with a horrifying sight. Hazel Rainart gave chase, seemingly undeterred by their breakneck pace.

She maneuvered herself to look down at the boy's face to try to plead with him. She met with wild eyes, franticly searching for an escape. Realizing that she wasn't getting through to him in this state, she warred with herself on what to do.

Damn it all.

She shook her head and adjusted herself to get the best angle on Hazel. She brought Crimson Blossom to bare and hit the button on the side, mecha shifting it to resemble a simple hunting rifle.

As Ozpin once told her.

"Simplicity carries its own deadly message."

She wouldn't drag anyone else into her fate. She would prove that, at the very least, she could take responsibility for her failures. That will be her last message to the world.

Like I said, this time it's different.

She shouldered her rifle, loaded her magazine, and cocked it back.

This time I'll make damn sure he's listening.

She aimed, careful to balance both the bobbing and the intense light that radiated off Jaune. Thankfully at this point, her eyes had adjusted to the intensity enough.

She breathed in, ignoring the pain that raced through, breathed out, and fired.

With the trigger pulled, the bullet soared through the air, sailing perfectly for the target. Hazel saw it coming, but instead of dodging, he tilted his head to the side, letting it smack his cheek. Sadly, the resulting shot didn't even seem to faze him as he continued to charge forward.

Tch, it isn't enough.

She thought right as a combination of things we're working against her. First off, she was entirely out of Aura and would be for a while, so she couldn't infuse the bullets with any extra punch. Second, his brother's forsaken Semblance let him shrug them off anyway. The fact that he was probably still near or above 70 percent, Aura himself didn't help.

She cocked the bolt back and aimed another shot. Pulling the trigger, another shot went downrange.

She'd find another way, just like she'd been taught to do.

It seemed to be the same as last time, with Hazel simply allowing the shot to bounce off his Aura. This time instead of just bouncing off, something else occurred.

An explosion went off, sending fire and shrapnel all over Hazel's face.

Hazel screamed not in pain, of course, but pure rage as no doubt this would have been another in a long list of surprises that he'd dealt with today.

No matter how many times she fought people, she would never get used to it. She became a huntress to fight the enemy of life itself, the Grimm, so she was always more suited to that combat style. But if she said that she felt no joy in seeing this monster flail around in anger, she'd be lying.

These last few years had taught her well in dealing with their ilk if nothing else, that trick magazine being just one example.

Squinted her eyes as she rounded to Jaune below, not used to looking directly at his burning form.

"Quick, while he's distracted, get on top of the buildings!"

Even though he was panicked, Jaune was still able to understand what she planned. He changed course slightly and ran straight for the nearest building. With what seemed like little effort on his part, he leaped up and landed on the roof.

The landing could have been smoother as he wobbled and almost tripped, most likely due to the added weight and probably inexperience in fast-paced movement.

He kept moving with the momentum to his credit, and with only a minor hiccup, they were off again. She was able to look back just in time to see Hazel brush off the remaining dust from his eyes. He glanced up and, no doubt due to the light coming off Jaune, was able to track them enough to guess where they went.

Just as she predicted, he didn't halt his momentum in the slightest and just did what no doubt came naturally to the brute.

He barreled straight through the building.

He rammed it shoulder first, not needing to cover his face due to his Aura. With that, he tried to keep an eye on them, but it wouldn't help when he was still inside the wreckage.

She patted Jaune's side and pointed to a building diagonal to there's instead of dead ahead. With him trapped inside their currently collapsing building, he couldn't see them, and thus they could put some distance between them.

When they jumped and landed on the next building, she instructed him to keep going in irregular movements toward the village's outskirts.

"But couldn't we just pick a building and hide until he leaves?" Jaune asked, confused as to why they were even still trying to run from a man who so obviously would be able to keep up.

She shook her head. "We can't; all it would take would be him ordering a single Grimm to track us down." She answered without thinking.

"He can control what..." Jaune muttered too quietly for Summer's distracted ears to hear.

Honestly, she was confused about why he hadn't summoned any to swarm them yet. Sure, she could typically blink them away, but that wasn't possible now, as even a single use of her eyes would likely knock her unconscious. He should also be aware of that. At least it would have made them easier to catch.

It seemed that there was a deeper reason as to why he didn't, one that she didn't have time to ponder as their pursuer finally exited the building. The resulting crash from the aged home collapsing shook the entire village.

But the ensuing roar shook their very cores.

Jaune didn't question her anymore after that as it seemed he found his second wind. They were running across overgrown hole-ridden roofs while occasionally jumping from any nearby trees in between.

In the background, they could hear more collapsing structures, truly accentuating that they were in dire need of a new plan.

As they were running—correction as Jaune was running and she was being carried, she felt around for her scroll, finding and fumbling to get it out. When she did, she checked to see if it was still in one piece from all the abuse it had undoubtedly taken.

It wasn't. Go figure.

Frustrated, she chucked the scrap of metal and glass along with its Protective Case in Hazel's direction.

Huntsman-grade, my ass!

She tried to rack her starved and exhausted brain for another solution to the problem, currently making a beeline towards them.

Thinking back to the past for any inspiration, she came to a realization. A Huntress was nothing without her team.

/-/

As they leaped over to another rooftop, Jaune mentally reminded himself to keep a consistent speed to avoid collapsing the old roofs. They needed to avoid any setbacks as even now, he could sense the rage from the carnage heading right towards them. He was tracking them.

Dumb power making me all glowy

"Jaune?"

Oh, the woman on his shoulder was talking to him again.

"Um yes, ma'am?" He honestly didn't know how to address her. Was it rude to call her by her first name like she did to him?

"We don't have time for formality. Call me Summer."

"Okay, Summer it is!" He couldn't help the small smile that grew on his face.

I haven't really talked to anybody in a while. It feels nice.

"So, what did you need?"

Silence, as if she were trying to find the best way to phrase her question, but then she sighed, giving up and just giving it straight. "I'm stumped. You have any ideas of how to get out of this mess?"

That got his attention as it didn't help their already dire situation. He was honestly hoping that she would—ironically carry him in terms of coming up with plans.

To be fair to himself, he was completely out of his element here. So any advice he could give would be more general or abstract than she was probably hoping for.

Another tremor shook the village, signifying just how close said creator of the element was gaining on them.

Oh well, best give it a shot anyway.

"Um well, I haven't been in many real fights really, but..." His face contorted. "Actually, I haven't been in any fights before this..." He admitted.

"That's alright. Any plans are good when you don't have one in the first place, right?" She said tiredly.

That didn't really seem right, but it helped to lighten his mood, even if that probably wasn't the intention enough for him to do his best to give any advice he had.

"Alright, well, when I was traveling here, there weren't many of those big monsters around." He heard a small scoff from Summer for some reason. "B-but when I did meet a few, what I would do was just...run away."

Humming a little before responding with a harsh, sarcastic tone, hopefully not intended for him. "Well then, I guess we're already off to a good start!"

He couldn't help but flinch.

"I-I'm sorry, Summer."

They continued for a minute or two in complete silence. He wasn't much help, and he knew that. He was berating himself for not being of much use in this situation.

To his relief, though, a few seconds after another crash was felt, he heard her speak again.

"Do you have anything specific that you'd do to escape them?"

His expression improved at the chance to be useful appeared again. He shook his head. "None that would help here, I mean unless we had something really, really big to—"

He came to an abrupt halt.

/-/

"Woah!" She nearly slipped out of his grasp from the full stop he did. "Is everything alright!?"

He didn't even seem to register what she said as he was too busy staring into the distance, so much so that he deactivated his Semblance. She took the opportunity to get down to stretch her numb legs while still leaning on him for support.

Summer observed the area around them for anything out of place. Most importantly, she scanned the area dead ahead. Their view of the village was entirely unobstructed. From here, she could see that if they kept their current pace, it would take maybe ten minutes to clear the last house.

That was just it, though. After that, it would be nothing but woodlands with no real cover from here to the next village.

They'd have no way to escape him, and if they met any Grimm while out there, it would slow them even further. She didn't even know any villages nearby because it was so far out in the frontier.

Jaune might, though.

She doubted it as he hadn't really been of much use knowledge-wise so far, but still planned to ask him later.

You know, if I make it out with him.

There was no question if he would make it out as she'd promised herself not to drag him down with her. Her life was a different story, though.

Speaking of Jaune, he still hadn't moved an inch. She refocused on him, but it seemed due to his stony expression he was remembering something.

He didn't seem all that pleased with what he was remembering.

She followed his gaze and realized that what he was looking at was a massive statue just next to the village's outskirts. It was huge, easily towering over the few homes adjacent to it. Covered in vegetation and seemingly weathered from time and the elements.

Despite that, it was still easy to make out what it was meant to represent. It depicted a woman shrouded by a cloak, hood pulled up so its face was obstructed, but even with that, she could make out a weird feature about it. There seemed to be jagged protrusions coming from where her eyes should have been, as if to show some sort of power emanating from them.

As if...was this supposed to be a Maiden?

She shook her head to rid the irrelevant questions. Ozpin said that the Maidens had been around for a long time, enough to have a fairytale about them even. It stood to reason this old town probably paid tribute to the tale long ago.

Other than that, the only notable feature was the arms. They were positioned outwards as if to embrace the entire village.

"Does your idea involve that?" Pointing towards the monument.

His expression shifted uncomfortably as if his own plan upset him. "Yeah, I guess I do have an idea, but..."

She could tell he didn't want to tell her, but they didn't have time left, so she tried to coax it out of him as gently as she could.

With a gentle voice that she hadn't used in a while, she spoke. "Kid—no, Jaune we need to stop him somehow, or neither of us will..." She didn't finish the rest. She didn't have to.

He had to know what was at stake, but it was still obviously hard for him to come out with it. Oddly enough, when the next tremor was felt, and a roar of pure frustration was heard, she was glad. It seemed that the fear he held was enough to push him to at least confide in her.

"Alright, um." He fiddled around with his weapon, a nervous tick perhaps? "When I was traveling here, I didn't run into many of those monsters."

She reminded herself to explain what Grimm were to him later. Until then, though, she would keep her astonishment at his innocence to herself.

"But this one time, I did. I wasn't able to run from it cause of all the obstacles around me. So, when it cornered me against an old tree, it slashed at me!"

She could admit to herself that even with the situation surrounding them. That the way he animated his entire talk with slices of his arms and different faces was kinda cute.

But he needs to get to the point.

"I dodged, so it hit the tree instead, and after that, it came crashing down on top of it..." He trailed off at the end as if he didn't like the ending of his own story.

...no way.

She understood his plan now! Her expression brightened a bit as she thought it through further. They could lure Hazel here and cause a collapse at the base. It might even be enough to kill the bastard! At the very least, wound him enough to escape.

She was so thrilled that she did something a little out of character. She bent down and wrapped the boy in a tight hug, overjoyed at this new hope they'd been given. She was glad she hadn't wasted her time and took the chance to encourage him-

"Jaune? Is something wrong?"

Indeed, it seemed that after she ended the hug, his face had reverted to a more tense, even queasy expression.

"I-I don't...I." She grew more concerned as his breathing became labored and his whole body began trembling in her arms.

She took a step back from him, completely out of her depth, as she watched what she could clearly identify as a panic attack.

Should I just wait this out? Maybe he needs space.

She watched helplessly as he struggled to breathe, clutching at his throat with trembling arms. She realized that he wouldn't get better on his own, not fast enough at least.

But I've never dealt with an episode like this before. Besides, it was always Tai that took care of them most of the time before...before...

Her face became serious as she chose to do her best instead of just standing around.

Running on pure instinct, she rushed down to one knee, careful to give him space while staying as close as possible. She put her hands on his shoulders and attempted to calm him down.

"Jaune, listen to me." She got his attention with a firm but gentle tone. It seemed to work as even with his clenched and teary eyes, he was focusing on her. "Everything is going to be okay. You're going to be okay. But you have to trust me, alright?"

He was shaking terribly, and his breathing was still erratic, but it seemed to be coming under control.

"Just take some deep breaths in and out, got it?" He nodded through teary eyes, taking long and deep breaths.

"Good, you're doing great!" She turned to look back to where she knew Hazel was rampaging.

We don't have much time before he's on us.

She glanced back at Jaune and saw that he finally seemed to be over the worst of the panic attack. Though he still wasn't entirely past the symptoms.

"I'm sorry to ask this right now Jaune, but we need to get to that statue, and I'll need your help with that. Can you do that for me?"

It seemed that due to his current scattered mindset, he'd comply with whatever she asked despite earlier reservations. Good.

She wouldn't say she was glad for his episode, but she would admit that it was useful as it helped convince Jaune to follow through with the new plan. Not a moment too soon as the sound of trees being toppled over signaled that he was just mere minutes behind them.

She'd need to find out what about the plan or his memory caused this reaction later.

She awkwardly positioned herself to be picked up again, letting him take the lead. He wiped his tears away, and with only a slight bit of hesitation, scooped her up in a bridal carry.

She watched his face. His expression was troubled in one second, no doubt still reeling from his panic attack moments ago. In the next, his face morphed into a tranquil, almost serene look as his body exploded with raw Aura from his Semblance.

It was the first time she'd paid attention to how his Semblance affected him. His hair looked angelic, made to look pure white due to the Aura enveloping his form. It seemed that looks were all it was as no part of his body seemed affected by it in that way. Nothing else emanated from his body, no wind or anything, just a harsh light.

The only other part of his body that seemed affected at all were his eyes. They shined like no other, different from hers in significant ways. Hers only glowed when activated and even then, only for an instant before the power within was unleashed. Yet his looked to be permanently active as even when not being used, they still had an ethereal glow.

But when they were, the rings around them burned even brighter than when it wasn't. However, she could still make out his eyes through the light, thankfully.

He wasted no time after that as he rushed to the rooftop's edge, leaping as soon as he got close.


Author's Notes:

Whelp that was over a thousand words longer than I wanted. I aim for between 3-5 thousand word chapters, the last one being a little over 5k. This one was over 6k. Which is fine, I guess but could lead to me going way past even that later down the road. So, I'll try to limit myself next time to keep these all a consistent length, thus helping to maintain a consistent time between.

With that, I'll remind you all that this is the first thing I've ever written. So please give any criticism you can either in the comments or PM me.

That'll be the last time I'll mention this, so it doesn't get annoying, and I'll try to keep the starting AN briefer.

Merry late Christmas everybody!

See ya next chapter.


Date Published: 2020/12/27