Source: Fanfiction: Sunshine - Chapter 18

Cast:

None!

Those in the theater:

Ruby - Weiss - Blake - Yang - Nora - Ren - Pyrrha - Sun - Neptune - Reese - Arslan - May Z - Velvet - Coco - Emerald - Mercury - Gillian - Jeanette - Ozpin - Glynda - Ironwood.

Also, am I being a bit weird in self-promoting another work of mine? Yes, but hey this is My fanfiction! I do what I want!

Don't worry though! I'll mostly be doing other Jaune-centric Fanfics in the future! For example, a few Fanfictions or "Alternate Timelines" as they'll be referred to in the story are: Castaway Island by Agent-G, One New Message by Random O' Panda, Both versions of Hands-on Education by Mallobaude, and Mending the Knots by azndrgn, and many more!

Anyway! Let's begin shall we~?


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As the others milled about, still processing the previous viewing, Team NPR remained seated, their focus solely on Nora, who was visibly shaken by what she had just witnessed. The latest universe had clearly left its mark on her.

"Nora..." Ren started gently.

"I-I know you're here, Ren, but..." Nora's voice trembled as she tried to hold back her tears. "Seeing that world... a world where you weren't with me—it terrified me," she confessed.

Ren's expression softened with sadness. "Nora, I... I promise I'm not going anywhere anytime soon," he assured her. "We've been through so much together, and honestly, I was just as scared during the viewing. When I saw that Roman could've chosen you... I couldn't bear the thought of what might've happened. I-I can't imagine a world without you in it," he admitted, his voice cracking slightly.

Nora's electric blue eyes widened in surprise, her heart racing at Ren's words.

"Ren...?"

Ren looked down, a blush creeping up his cheeks. "Nora, I-I think we should talk more about this in private," he said softly.

Nora's lips curved into a gentle smile. "Yeah," she agreed quietly.

Pyrrha, sensing where the conversation was heading, stood up from her seat, giving her teammates a warm smile. "I'll leave you two to talk... and for what it's worth, I'm glad this is finally happening," she said softly before walking away.

Once Pyrrha left, Nora and Ren exchanged glances. Nora's smile lingered, but Ren's expression was serious, though the faint blush on his cheeks gave him away.

"Nora, we've been together since Kuroyuri," Ren began, his voice steady but filled with emotion. "Through everything, we've always had each other's backs. We came to Beacon and found a family with Jaune, Pyrrha, and the others... but no matter what, the one constant in my life has always been you. And for so long, I've hidden how I really felt because... I was scared."

"Scared of what?" Nora asked gently.

"Scared that if I loved someone, I'd lose them like I lost my parents," Ren admitted, his voice trembling slightly, but he held his gaze on her. "But during that viewing, I realized I can't keep waiting. I can't live in fear anymore, because life is too short. And if I'm going to spend it with someone... I want it to be with you."

Nora's eyes brimmed with tears, but her smile never wavered. "I was so scared that night," she began, her voice soft but full of emotion. "You saved me, Ren. You gave me something I hadn't felt in a long time... love. At first, it was just as friends, but over time it grew into something more. And I was afraid too, afraid that if I told you how I felt, you might reject me, or leave me, just like my mother did. But hearing you now... seeing you like this... I don't know why I was ever so scared."

With a tearful smile, she looked into his eyes. "Ren... I love you."

Tears welled up in Ren's eyes as Nora's words sank in, and a smile spread across his face. Joy and relief washed over him—finally, the woman he had loved for so long felt the same way. "I love you too, Nora," he said softly.

With those words, they leaned into each other, sharing a deep, passionate kiss that conveyed the love they'd both held inside for so long.

When they pulled apart, still smiling, they wiped away their tears, the weight of unspoken feelings finally lifted.

"Should we tell the others?" Nora asked, a playful glint in her eye.

Ren chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they already know—one way or another."

Nora giggled. "Yeah, you're probably right. But can you imagine Jaune's face when we get back?"

Ren grinned. "He'll be shocked, no doubt. And you know he'll have a hundred questions."

They laughed together, the moment light and warm, but their laughter was interrupted by a voice.

"Uh, hey..."

They turned to see Mercury standing awkwardly behind Ren, his usually confident expression replaced by uncertainty. The couple stood, now facing the grey-haired teen, who shifted nervously under their gaze.

"You're Mercury, right? Emerald's teammate?" Ren asked, his tone calm.

Mercury nodded. "Yeah," he muttered, then hesitated. "Look, I... I..." He struggled, frustration building as he searched for the right words. "Damn it! I just wanted to say... I'm sorry!" he finally blurted out.

Ren and Nora exchanged confused glances.

"What are you apologizing for?" Nora asked gently.

Mercury clenched his fists. "For what happened in the last universe," he said, his voice wavering. "If it wasn't for me—well, the other me—the you from that world would still be alive. It's... it's my fault he died."

Ren's expression remained steady. "No, it's not."

Mercury blinked, taken aback by Ren's blunt response. "What? How can you say that?"

"It's not your fault, Mercury," Ren said firmly. "I understand why you'd feel responsible for what the other you did, but you shouldn't. Roman made that choice. He's the one who decided my other self would die, not you. The other version of you had no way of knowing what Roman would do. In that situation, you did what anyone else—Jaune or Yang—might've done. So please... don't carry that guilt."

Mercury was stunned by Ren's words—it wasn't his fault? He had expected anger, maybe even Nora yelling or blaming him for the death of the other version of her boyfriend. Instead, there was none of that. No hate, no blame—just understanding.

"But it should have been—"

"No!" Nora interrupted firmly. "Stop blaming yourself. You didn't do anything wrong, and neither did the other you. Like Ren said, it was the other Roman who made that choice. He could have spared him, but he didn't. It wasn't your fault," she reassured him, her voice gentle yet unwavering.

Mercury stood there, still stunned, struggling to process the kindness they were showing him. A part of him was relieved—they didn't blame him, they didn't hate him—but a small part of him still clung to the guilt. Yet, that guilt was beginning to be drowned out by their unexpected understanding.

"I... thank you," Mercury murmured, turning to leave.

"Will you be alright?" Ren asked, his voice calm but concerned.

Mercury paused, not turning back to face them. "Yeah... I just need to think about a few things," he replied quietly before walking away, his mind racing with new thoughts.


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After a while, everyone returned to their seats, though, this time with most of the students, even Emerald and Mercury, sitting more closely together, filling the first row, while Gillian and Jeanette took up the first two seats in the second row while Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood, sat in the first three seats of the third row.

Finally, with everyone seated, RR appeared, "Is everyone back?" He asked.

Everyone answered the god in different ways letting them all know they were accounted for.

With that, the god nodded, "Good, now, we'll be looking at another Alternate Timeline," RR said.

Before they began, Pyrrha had a question. "Wait, what's this other Timeline about?" The invincible girl asked.

RR looked back to them, "See, in this timeline, Jaune was expelled from Beacon for the rest of the 1st year because of his false transcripts,"

"HIS WHAT!?" Ironwood cried.

Ozpin looked at the general, "James, sit, no need to yell,"

Ironwood turned to his fellow headmaster, "Ozpin! Did you not hear what he said!?" Ironwood cried.

Ozpin nodded, "Of course I did, and you think I didn't know?" Ozpin asked.

"You knew?" Ironwood asked, baffled.

Ozpin nodded, "Indeed, and I'm sure you're all wondering why I accepted Mr. Arc, yes?"

Ironwood nodded with a stern glare, "Yes, I'd very much like to know why you accepted him,"

"Because I saw promise," Ozpin replied. "And don't be angry at me for bending the rules, if I remember correctly you did the same with Ms. Schnee," Ozpin replied.

That quickly shut the General up, knowing that he had indeed bent the rules and pushed Winter ahead of many other students due to her Semblance and potential. He turned back and looked back at the screen.

With the General quite, RR continued, "See, Ozpin had expelled Jaune rather relunctenatly, but had to because of the council, however, offered him a chance to return in the beginning of the second year, which Jaune accepted, Jaune's first stop was Mistral, where he would explore and train, however, he ran into two Branwen Bandits, Vernal herself and another man, Shay D. Mann," RR said.

"What happened next?" Nora asked.

RR nodded, "Raven appeared and nearly killed him, however, seeing his resolve, took him in and is sort of holding him hostage, also because she and Jaune's father were once friends back in the Beacon days,"

Hearing this, Ozpin and Glynda were a bit surprised to hear that Raven and Nicholas were still friends in another timeline, but that brought up another question... wondering if the Raven of this timeline still had a crush on Nicholas.

"Thus Jaune is forced to kinda work for the Branwen tribe, mostly taking care of Grimm near their camp with the help of Vernal as both of them were forced to be partners, however, what we are going to see is farther into their journey, and Jaune is not in the right state of mind," RR continued.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

RR sighed, "By this point, Jaune had lost so much, he feels like a monster and doesn't wish to get Vernal and the rest of his new family involved with his journey, afraid that he'd get them killed,"

Hearing this, many wondered what this version of their friend had gone through that he may not have been in the right head space anymore.

With that, the screen turned on and the Timeline appeared on screen...

It's been three days since he arrived in Atlas and three nights that he hasn't slept. However, he didn't let it stop him from taking jobs but he hasn't been able to sleep in any Motels, due to them being packed as one side of the city is in a constant state of panic due to a hole in the wall, that Grimm used to get in the city, for now, he's simply been sleeping on the streets, well, not sleeping at all, as stated before, the hallucinations of the dead and the Beowulf were haunting him, worse, the hallucinations are so vivid that Jaune could feel their boney fingers grab him, and he tried to fight them off, every night, but they seem to be endless.

"He's... suffering from Hallucinations?" Yang muttered in shock.

"And what does he mean the Beowulf and... people grabbing him?" Blake asked, a bit scared.

Jaune Arc looked nothing like he did before he arrived, he was disheveled, restless, dirty, and looked like he was going to drop dead any moment.

In a dark alleyway, Jaune was backed into a corner and the corpses of those he had killed slowly began to walk towards him. Jaune glared at them and swung his sword at them, "killing" them once again, but there was still much more of them coming toward him, but he didn't care, he simply charged forward and swung like a madman, fighting off the hallucinations.

"Go away you damn ghosts!" Jaune seethed in anger.

"What do I keep telling you blondie!? You can't ever get rid of us!" Shay said in the far back.

"You're gonna suffer like we have! We'll haunt you to the ends of the fucking world!" came the voice of Noah.

"God damn right you are! If we can't get you here! We'll be waiting in that fucking abyss for you!" Duncan cried.

Malachite appeared and looked at Jaune with a smile, "You can never be free from us, our blood is on your hands forever," Malachite told him

Everyone was shocked at just what they were seeing, unable to believe that Jaune was suffering from such hallucinations, worse, it's what the voices were saying that shook them to the core. It didn't take them long to realize that the visions of people before Jaune were people he killed.

Jaune grits his teeth and swung at the apparitions again, causing them to fade away, however, he began to hear laughter and looked up to see the Beowulf sitting atop the edge of a building, however, it looked much larger than before, even though it's bones looked thicker.

'What a wonderful sight! You're going absolutely crazy and falling deeper and deeper into the well of despair!' It cried with glee.

"What is that!?" Weiss cried in horror.

"That is what Jaune's mind conjured up to deal with what he's done, but it's also a part of Jaune that has been pushing him to become darker, to go down a path that he could never return from," RR told her.

With a worried look, Ruby looked at the god, "What has he done?" she asked.

"He's killed and slaughtered a lot of people," RR said. "He's done it out of anger and revenge, and while most were not exactly good people, it still weighs heavily on Jaune's heart and mind," The god told her.

Glynda looked at the god, "I'd be very concerned if it didn't,"

Jaune glared at the beast and returned to slashing at more of the dead that walked toward him, however, he was getting tired, he hadn't slept for three days and today marked his fourth, and if this kept up, he was sure he was going to lose his mind. Thankfully, however, morning had arrived and the hallucinations disappeared, even the Beowulf, and Jaune fell to his knees and let out ragged breaths, the young blonde wanted to rest, wanted to get some sleep, but he couldn't, he needed to work, he needed the money for when he was going to leave this place. So, Jaune got back on his feet, sheathed his sword, and went to look for local jobs.

As he was heading to a local Hunstmen joint that had a mission board, he saw a construction crew preparing supplies and equipment, no doubt heading to the wall, Jaune walked over to them and as he did, one of them noticed him and walked toward him as well.

"Can I help you?" They asked.

The worker had short raven hair, round circle glasses, blue eyes, and wore the typical construction worker uniform, his hard hat in his hands.

Jaune looked back at them, "You guys are heading toward the wall right?" He asked.

They nodded, "Yeah, why?"

"There's no soldier's with you, why?"

The worker sighed, "Because the Atlas Military isn't supposed to be involved yet," He replied, "Because the Hole in the wall was recent, we had to call up there for aid, however, a few members of the council think this is only a "Mantle Problem" And with the council butting heads, they're not able to come to an agreement of either staying out of it or helping us down here," they replied.

Ironwood let out a growl, of course, part of the Atlas council were butting heads, with some of them believing it to be a Mantle problem that would cause strife between the two cities and thus bring more Grimm in, but those short-sighted idiots couldn't see that.

Jaune was a bit baffled by that, "Are you serious?" Jaune asked, "Atlas is just going to do nothing for the people down here?"

The Worker nodded, "Pretty much," they told him, "You know that saying in Vacuo where only the strong survive?" They asked.

Jaune nodded.

"Yeah well, we here in Mantle have something similar," He said "If you wanna survive this place, you gotta be cold as ice and look after your own,"

Jaune sighed, "So, this place really is that heartless," Jaune said.

"Atlas is, but us down here, we know that in order to survive all the shit we deal with, we gotta work together," They told Jaune, "Of course, there's still those racists who just make things worse for the Faunus community and then there's the few posh fucks who live down here thinking they're shit don't smell,"

"We're not all like that," Weiss huffed.

"Whatever you say Weiss-cream," Yang said with a teasing tone.

"I was not that bad!" Weiss cried.

"Who was whining that they didn't get to be leaders again?" Blake asked, a slight smirk on her lips.

Weiss pouted in embarrassment as she looked away from the two.

Jaune nodded, "I've seen a few of those people around," Jaune said. "Anyway, If the soldiers aren't protecting you guys while you work on the wall, who's protecting you guys?" Jaune asked.

The worker scratched the back of his head, "The happy Huntresses, but with them being labeled as rouge Huntsmen, they can't really help out all the time,"

Jaune's brow raised, "The Happy Huntresses?" Jaune asked, "Who are they?"

"Yeah, who are they?" Yang asked.

"Honestly, I don't know myself," Ironwood replied as such a group hadn't been heard of In Atlas just yet.

"A group of four huntresses that do some work around Mantle," The worker said, "But as I said, with them being labeled as Rouge Hunters, they can't really help much in fear of the Military arresting them,"

Jaune's interest was piqued once more, "Why are they labeled as Rouge Hunters?"

The worker's brow furrowed in anger, "Because that damn Jaques Schnee accused them of purposely stealing dust from some transport trams, though everyone saw the footage when it leaked, they didn't steal shit, they used it to protect the workers from some Grimm, but due to that fucking bastard being in control of the SDC, is word is practically law,"

"Oh gods damn it..." Ironwood and Weiss said at the same time, both knowing very well it would be something Jacques would do.

Jaune had always heard a bit about the supposed corruption of the Atlas government, and he never thought it could be that bad, but was seeing it with his own eyes, and he realized just how right those rumors were.

'Now I know why Weiss has a stick up her ass for so long' Jaune thought. However, Jaune decided to get to his point, "Well, if the Happy Huntresses can't help, mind if I?" Jaune asked.

Weiss gasped at what Jaune had thought while Yang and many others chuckled, with some a bit shocked that Jaune thought something about a girl he had tried to ask out many times.

The worker looked at him with a raised brow, "You do that?" He asked, but then the worker looked at him with a look of realization. "How much do I have to pay you?" They asked.

Jaune shrugged, "Let's say... 50 Lien, the whole day?" Jaune asked.

The worker was a bit surprised to hear this, "50 for the whole day? Not per hour?" They asked.

Jaune just looked at him, "You're already dealing with you're workers' pay, no need to add more stress on you," Jaune said with a soft smile.

The worker smiled at Jaune, "You got a good heart kid, what's your name?" they asked.

"Jaune Arc," Jaune told him.

"Name's Perry Flynn," The worker, Perry, told Jaune, "Nice to meet you,"

"Yay! Jaune made a friend!" Nora said, trying to lift the mood up.

RR looked away from the screen, then into blank space, before retuning back to watching the screen.

"Nice to meet you too, Perry," Jaune replied.

"So, you a Huntsman?" Perry asked with a raised brow.

Jaune shrugged, "Kinda," Jaune said, "I got kicked out of the academy for the year, but I'm still able to fight," Jaune said.

Perry chuckled, "Don't matter to me kid, as long as you can fight off the Grimm that come at us, that's all I need," He said.

Jaune nodded and Perry did the same, he then told Jaune to follow him so that they could inform the other workers about Jaune being their security for the day, some were skeptical about him due to his age while others were grateful to have someone watching their back's while they worked.

They all went to the Hole in the wall and Perry and his friends got to work while Jaune went outside the walls and watched the horizon for any signs of Grimm, but thankfully there was nothing.

"Well everything seems good so far, just seems like Jaune's gonna get paid for nothing at this point," Yang said.

Hearing her partner say such a thing, Blake gave Yang a deadpan look as she let out a sigh, knowing very well that she had no doubt jinxed Jaune.

Jaune stood and watched the horizon, however, his mind was on the people he left behind, he wondered if they would catch up to him, and a part of him wanted them to, but a bigger part of him wanted them to stay away from him, after all, he'd only end up getting them hurt or killed. He was a Monster who would get those he loved hurt, and he could not stand that thought, which is why he didn't stop at his sister's, he didn't want to take the chance that something might happen while he was there.

'It's better if I kept my distance' Jaune thought, 'I'd only end up hurting Saphron and Terra, or worse, I'd end up hurting Adrien... if that ever happened I'd never forgive myself,' He told himself.

Ozpin sighed, knowing exactly what the young man was feeling, as he felt the same way when he reincarnated into those who had families, and some of them being hurt while waging war against Salem.

The thought of something happening to his nephew getting hurt because of him horrified him, because not only he be responsible for what would happen, but he'd also see the hate in his sister's eyes. He could not live with that sight, if Saphron knew what he had done the past month or so, she would be horrified, she would be disgusted, she would want nothing to do with him, and he wouldn't blame her.

"Would his family... really look at him differently?" Ruby asked, hurt that such a thing could happen.

Yang looked at her sister, "Would you look at me differently if I killed someone?"

Ruby looked at her sister with a horrified, "I wouldn't Yang! You would never kill anyone!" Ruby cried.

"Ruby..." Yang began.

"Yang! You'd never kill anyone! Why would you!?" Ruby cried.

"If they hurt you or gods forbid took you away from me, or Weiss, or Blake... I would," Yang told her truthfully. "If someone killed dad or Uncle Qrow, I would,"

"But-!"

"Ms. Rose,"

Hearing the voice of the General, they all turned to him, wondering what he was going to say.

"I understand not wanting to kill or lose people close to you, but life is not a fairy tale, nor is life fair," Ironwood told her with a stern but understanding tone. "You saw that in the last viewing, while you might want to be a hero, save everyone, you can't..." Ironwood told her.

RR nodded in agreement, "He's right," He said. "This Jaune has suffered and will continue to suffer, but what matters is what you do with that suffering," RR said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Well when you feel at your lowest, what do you do?" RR asked. "Some lie and hide secrets in order to not lose hope,"

Ozpin took a sip from his mug, thinking about the God's words.

"Some put on a front to hide how they feel..."

Nora sat close to Ren, while Yang and Pyrrha continued looking and listening to the God.

"Some run away, looking for a different path..."

Blake's bow twitched as she looked to the ground and Weiss sat back in thought.

"Some turn their anger at the world to others and cause suffering..."

Mercury and Emerald looked at the ground, feeling shame while listening to the god.

"While some, like You and Mr. Arc... continued to stay strong, fight, and suffer in silence," RR said. "What you must remember, Ms. Rose, is that no matter what, no matter what suffering may happen to you, no matter how much pain you feel, you must keep moving forward, one way, or another,"

Ruby took in the gods' words and she slowly nodded, and turned back to the screen, as did everyone else, watching what would happen in this alternate timeline while also letting the words of the god sink in.

He wouldn't want anything to do with himself either, he's spilled so much blood out of anger and empty vengeance, he was nothing but a monster who killed without reason... he was no better than the Grimm.

"You'll pay for what you did!"

"You'll burn in the abyss!"

"You'll join us soon enough," Shay said with a sinister giggle.

"Finally! Finally, we'll drag him with us!"

"To the Void with him!"

"You're coming with us! Down, down below!"

Shay appeared in front of him and leaned forward, "This is it Blondie, this is it" Shay whispered into his ear.

"You can never be free from us, our blood is on your hands forever," Malachite told him.

'Maybe they are right... I do belong with them, in the pits of an empty abyss, where my soul will be tortured by the people I've killed,' Jaune thought sadly.

"Jaune..." Pyrrha said sadly, hating the fact that he thought such things about himself.

Reese herself was shocked to see this version of Jaune be so... depressed and selfloathing, and she prayed that he would heal.

As he continued to watch, 4 hours had passed by and so far, there was no sight of Grimm, which was great for him, he was simply getting paid to be security, however, Jaune heard a horn go off once and turned around to see the workers stopping what they were doing and gathering up around one guy next to a large cooler, Jaune was wondering what they were doing until he saw Perry walking toward him with a smile.

"Hey, Jaune, it's break time," Perry told him.

Jaune looked and him and nodded, he walked with Perry back toward the wall, and he glanced back once more just to make sure, and when he did, he saw 7 or 8 figures coming toward them. Jaune stopped walking and turned around fully and looked as far as he could, and that's when he saw them, Sybers coming right at them.

"Sybers?" Ruby asked.

Ironwood smiled, "Ah, I suppose you haven't learned about the other Kingdom's Grimm yet, as most Academies focus on the Grimm that naturally inhabit their Kingdoms," Ironwood said. "Sybers are Grimm similar to Vale and Mistral's Beowulf's, though more cat-like than dog-like,"

Jaune's eyes widened and turned to Perry, "Get back to the others and get out of the area!" Jaune cried.

Perry turned around confused as he looked at the young knight, but that's when he saw the pack of Grimm coming toward them. He turned to Jaune with a worried look, "Are you sure you can take them on!?" Perry asked.

Jaune nodded, "I'll be fine! GO!"

Perry did as Jaune ordered and ran back to the other workers yelling at them, and warning them of the incoming danger. Jaune stared down the Grimm as they were quickly closing in, and he felt an itch coming, an itch he needed to scratch.

He wanted to kill.

"Come on! Give me a fight! I wanna fight! I need to fight!" Jaune seethed with a glare. "I want to fight until the voices stop! I want to fight until can't remember a thing!" Jaune cried.

Every adult in the theater knew quickly that what Jaune had said was a major red flag and that he was not in the right headspace, and while it wasn't directed at people, a Huntsmen itching to fight Grimm while not being possibly mentally stable was dangerous.

Finally, the Sybers arrived, but Jaune was the first to strike, leaping into action, and killing one with a downward strike, he turned to a second and quickly killed them by stabbing them in the mouth.

"Whoa! He's a lot faster than the Jaune we know!" Sun cried.

Pyrrha nodded, "Indeed, while Jaune's catching up, he's not as fast as the rest of us," she said. "But this version of him seems to be able to be faster and more skilled, was he trained previously before Beacon?"

RR shook his head, "No," Jaune replied. "Jaune's experiences out in Mistral's wild as well as his fight against enemies that outnumbered him cause him not to hold back and he's learned from each experience, letting him be a better fighter," RR said.

Unfortunately, one of them managed to claw Jaune's side, causing the blonde knight to wince in pain, but he pushed past it and killed the Syber, he turned around only for another to pounce at him, but he quickly blocked it with his shield, and he pulled his sword back to stab the creature, however, another Syber bit into his forearm and Jaune cried in anguish, Jaune then pushed the other away with his shield before turning toward the one that bit his arm and used the edge of his shield to bash it in the eye, killing it.

"Jaune!" Reese cried out in fear.

"Damn! Is he gonna be ok!?" Neptune cried.

Arslan watched intently, "He's powering through it, and he's no doubt having a rush of adrenalin, but that only goes so far," she said.

Jaune turned back around and gripped his sword tighter despite the blood that seeped from the bite wound, he quickly slashed the fourth and he turned around to kill the other Sybers, as he killed them, he couldn't help but feel better, all of his fatigue was gone due to the adrenalin pumping through his body.

After a short amount of time, Jaune finished killing the Sybers, and he began to breathe raggedly, the wounds were starting to get to him, and the adrenalin rush he felt was quickly fading, meaning his fatigue was coming back.

'D-Damn it! I overdid it!' Jaune thought.

Weiss watched with worry, "This isn't good, if more decided to show up, he could be done for..." Weiss said.

He quickly boosted his aura and healed the wounds, however, because of how deep they were, they left scars, but after they healed, he walked back to the wall, staggering his way due to being tired.

Coco saw this and nearly jumped out of her seat, "Whoa! What was that!?" she cried.

"Did... he just heal his wounds that quickly!?" Velvet also asked in shock.

RR appeared next to the two, "That was Jaune's Semblance, which allows him to boos his Aura, and because of how big his Aura reserves are, he's able to heal near fatal wounds in a matter of minutes,"

"Incredible!" Glynda said. "A semblance like that is rare!"

Gillian felt a little pride when she heard a semblance like hers was rare and the man she married also had a powerful semblance. Jeanette also felt pride about her semblance since it was similar to her parents.

However, once he was close enough, he heard the crunching of the snow in front of him and looked to see four female huntresses, each had a staff of some sort and all four we're looking at him.

One of them, looking older than the first three, stepped forward and looked at him with a suspicious glare. "Who are you?" She asked him.

Jaune was in no mood for whatever was going on, "Shouldn't I be asking who the fuck you four are?" Jaune asked, his tone angry.

Jaune's team was kind of shocked to see and hear Jaune's tone shift to such words and anger, knowing he could take a lot before he got really angry.

"My name's Robyn Hill, I'm the leader of the Happy Huntresses," Robyn told him.

'Happy Huntresses... the ones Perry was talking about?' Jaune asked.

"So she's the leader of those Happy huntresses, huh?" Yang said. "Wonder what she's doing here?"

"I told you who we are, now... who are you," Robyn asked again.

Jaune looked at her and smiled, "I'm nobody," He said with a small chuckle.

Robyn examined him, analyzing every detail about the young man that stood before her. 'He couldn't be a specialist, too young, and most of them stationed here are required to wear a variation of their uniform,' Robyn thought. "What are you doing outside the wall?" She asked.

'Interesting, she knows about Specialists uniforms and realizes Mr. Arc could be one due to his age and attire... meaning she may be ex-military' Ironwood thought as he watched the screen.

"I was hired as security for the construction workers, keep them safe from any Grimm that might come at them," Jaune told her plainly, "Are they safe?" Jaune asked, his tone slightly worried.

"Aw, he still cares!" Nora said joyfully.

Ren smiled, happy to know that while his leader changed, he still cared for others.

Another member, a sheep faunus, nodded, "They're safe," She told him "One of them told us about you and how you might need help," she told him.

Jaune smiled, guessing it was Perry that told them, but he was mostly happy to hear that Perry and the other workers were alright.

However, the moment is interrupted when the ground behind the blonde knight began to shake and Jaune quickly turned around only for the ground to burst up in the air, and emerging from the ground was a Cenitaur, a sharp-clawed acid-spitting Grimm.

Ironwood's eyes widened in shock, hardly believing that such Grimm had appeared or could grow.

"What the hell is that!?" Blake cried.

It was Glynda who replied, "A Cenitaur, a dangerous Grimm that dwells underground, however, before this, it's usually a Ceantinel, but if not killed quick enough, then it will evolve into this, a Cenitaur,"

"What does it do?" Ren asked.

"It has two bladed arms, though, what makes it more dangerous is that it can spit acid," Glynda replied.

"It does WHAT!?" Yang cried.

Jaune turned around only for the Cenitaur to spit acid at him, but he quickly jumped out of the way, dodging the dangerous liquid, however, the Cenitaur was not letting up and it swung its blade at him, once again, the young blonde narrowly avoided it, only getting cut on his cheek.

"To close!" Yang cried.

Jaune winced a little but quickly turned and prepared to strike only for the Grimm to be shot in the eye by a bolt, and Jaune turned to see that it was the sheep Faunus, that had shot it.

"IDIOT!" Jaune cried, "STAY OUT OF IT! IT WAS FOCUSED ON ME!"

However, the blonde was slapped backward by the arms of the Cenitaur, and it then charged at the sheep Faunus, quickly swinging at her with one arm but she dodged it, the other huntresses shot bolts at the beast but only angered it and it continued swinging wildly at her, but thankfully, she managed to block one strike from the bladed arms of the Cenitaur, only for it reel its head back, and she knew it was ready to spit acid at her, but she was tackled out of the way, just as the acid shot toward where she once stood.

The girl looked to see Jaune had been the one that saved her, however, he was atop of her, looking down at her with a glare.

"Damn it! Stay out of this!" He said as he quickly got back up.

May was confused as to why Jaune was trying to fight the Grimm alone. "Why doesn't he want their help?" May asked.

Rese shrugged slightly, "I don't know," Reese replied sadly.

Jaune turned back and saw that the Cenitaur was still being shot by the other huntresses, but he gripped his sword tighter and charged at the Grimm, Jaune jumped at it, trying to take off it's head, but it noticed him and quickly swung its bladed arm at him, but Jaune quickly raised his shield and blocked the attack.

"Go Jaune!" Nora cried.

"You can do this!" Ruby cried.

Before landing on the ground, he quickly turned around only to see both bladed claws of the Cenitaur raised, so he stepped back just as it swung down both bladed claws, and he quickly charged back in, ready to slice it right down the middle, however, it turned it's head to look at him and spat it's acid for a third time, and Jaune quickly jumped to the left, avoiding it.

"You can do it VB!" Yang cried.

"Don't you dare die," Ren said.

However, it was enough time for the Cenitaur to pull out it's right claw and swing at Jaune, Jaune saw it coming but instead of blocking it, he had a crazy idea, and he allowed the claw to stab him in the shoulder, piercing right through it, causing him a great deal of pain and dropping his shield in the process.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried in shock

Blake's eyes widened in horror. "Oh Gods!" Blake yelled.

"What the hell is he thinking!?" Arslan asked with a baffled expression.

"No!" cried the sheep faunus girl.

She was about to take aim only for Jaune to stop her with a hand signal, and she was confused, but then the Cenitaur lifted him off the ground, causing more blood to gush and Jaune to cry out in pain, but the Grimm brought him closer to its face, ready to eat him, its mouth slobbering as it was ready to take a bite out of the blonde, however, once Jaune was close enough, he smiled wickedly at the Grimm.

Sun watched in confusion. "What is he planning?" Sun asked.

"Chew on this!" Jaune cried as he stabbed the Cenitaur through the chin and out the top of its head.

The Cenitaur flared around in pain, dragging Jaune along with it, causing more pain as the bladed claw went deeper into his shoulder, however, the Grimm finally fell to the ground dead, and slowly began to fade into nothing.

Jaune slowly got up as his red blood dripped onto the snow, and as he got to his feet, he felt dizzy, staggering backward and then forward. 'S-Shit... I-I need to heal,' Jaune thought.

He quickly boosted his aura, and slowly the wound began to heal, however, the fatigue and blood loss were getting to him, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to his knees before falling flat on his stomach.

"Oum is he ok!?" Neptune asked.

"No fucking way he is," Emerald said. "But still, that was a ballsy move to pull, it worked out, but damn..." She began

The sheep Faunus Huntress rushed over to him and went to feel for a pulse, and when she felt one she was relieved.

"He's alive!" She told Robyn

Another member walked over to Robyn, they had blue hair which was tied in a long braid. "What do we do with him?" She asked.

The sheep girl faunus looked at Robyn, "Well we can't just leave him here," She told Robyn, "He saved my life,"

"But he might be a spy," said the one with blue hair. "If he's working with Atlas or something, he could rat us out,"

"He just saved your friend's life!" Ruby cried. "Don't just leave him there!" Ruby begged.

Robyn turned to the Huntress with blue hair, "Spy or not, he saved Fiona's life, so we'll return the favor, we bring him back with us, that's final, May," She said. "Joanna, bring a Doctor to our base so he can get patched up, and once he wakes up, I'll question him," Robyn said.

With that, Jonna ran to get a doctor while May and Fiona picked up Jaune, putting one arm over the back of their necks and dragging him back into the city.

Every let out a sigh of relief that the group of Huntresses were not gonna leave Jaune bleeding out in the snow and were going to help him, though they continued to watch as the scene changed.

"Jaune!" Vernal cried "JAUNE HELP ME!"

"Who's yelling?" Yang asked.

Jaune ran through the forest as quickly as he could, hoping to reach the voices in time before it was too late, he heard the blood curdling screaming Vernal and he instantly ran toward her screams, however, he wasn't alone, from behind he saw the mass of darkness chasing after him, and inside the mass were the bodies of those he killed, trying to get ahold of him and stop him from reaching Vernal.

He put all of his strength into his legs and kept pushing forward, and eventually, he arrived on the scene only for his eyes to widen with horror, as before him, lied Vernal, on the ground dead, her insides eaten by the Beowulf, Jaune's rage quickly appeared and he grabbed his sword and charged at the Beowulf with rage, and when he was close enough he swung at them, however, Crocea Mors was stopped by... Crocea Mors.

Jaune was surprised and he looked at the sword and then looked at the Beowulf only to see its form fade away and turn into him. Jaune was frozen in place, unable to even comprehend what had just happened.

"Who... Are you?" Jaune asked.

"What the fuck was that about!?" Emerald asked, confused.

But before he got an answer, his eyes shot open and he gasped sharply, he sat up quickly but then winced in pain, and slowly he stopped himself and realized that he was shirtless but he looked at his shoulder, which was bandaged up he then looked around only to see he was in some room sleeping on a cot.

Many got a good look at Jaune's shirtless form and began admiring it. Ruby blushed ad hid her face with her hood, while Yang was blushing lightly but smirked. Blake's eyes widened as a light shade of pink came to her face. Weiss was shocked but looked away, not wanting anyone to see the light dust of pink on her cheeks.

Pyrrha quickly covered her nose and looked away in fear she faint, Reese blushed wildly as she was shocked by how more fit he had become, while it was nowhere near Sun or Arslan it was still pretty impressive. Velvet looked away while she blushed so hard one could see steam rising from her hair and May hid behind her hands.

Emerald's eyes widened with shock as she felt her heart race and her face feel warm, "D-Damn..." She muttered.

Sun cheered, "Hell yeah! Abs for the win!" He cheered as he sat up and spun his shirt.

Arslan turned to the Monkey Faunus and had a smirk on her face, enjoying the small show.

Jeanette looked away, grossed out by all the woman looking at her dad.

Meanwhile, Gillian licked her lips, remembering the first time she and Jaune had done it. 'Hmm... I know what I'm doing the first thing I go back home,' Gillian thought.

He looked around only to see that his weapon, Armor, cloak, and shirt we're gone. Slowly got out of the cot and used his arms to push himself up but he felt slight pain, but it soon passed as he stood up, then walked toward a door only to see a small living room, and in the living room were all four of the happy huntresses, each doing their own thing.

Fiona, who was wearing a light green wool sweater and a pair of jeans, heard the door open and looked to see Jaune standing there, she beamed and rushed over to him. "Looks like you're finally awake!" She said with a smile.

Jaune looked at her and nodded, "Yeah, thank you... uh...?"

"Fiona, Fiona Thyme," Fiona told him.

Jaune gave her a quick nod, "Right, thank you, Fiona," Jaune said.

Fiona nodded, "But you should be taking it easy," She told him, "You're wounds haven't fully healed, if you push yourself you might reopen them,"

Jaune brushed her off, "I'll be fine," Jaune told her, "Where is my stuff?" He asked.

"Fine my ass!" Nora cried. "You better listen to her mister!"

"Nora... he can't hear you, "Ren told her with a small smile.

"Your shirt was torn up from your fight, as for your armor, cloak, and weapon, Robyn has them," Fiona told him.

"Why?" Jaune asked.

"Because I have a few questions to ask you,"

Jaune turned to see Robyn standing next to him, looking at him with a blank expression.

Jaune looked at her with a glare, "Why should I answer any of your questions?" Jaune asked.

"Considering we didn't leave you to bleed out beyond the wall, I say you owe me," Robyn told him.

"Hey... fuck you lady!" Yang cried.

"Yang!" Weiss reprimanded.

Yang looked at her teammate with a raised brow. "What!? He saved their friend and they saved him, I'd say they're even enough!"

Jaune groaned but nodded, "Fine, what do you wanna know?" Jaune asked.

Robyn held out her hand for him to take, Jaune looked at her hand with a raised brow but grabbed it and Robyn gripped it tight before a pale lilac Aura surrounded their hands

'Must be her Semblance,' Jaune thought.

"Good eye," Ozpin said.

"Why are you in Mantle?" Robyn asked.

Jaune looked at her, "I'm here to visit and get some experience while I'm here," Jaune told her.

The Aura then turned Green, and Robyn moved on to the next question, "Why help and protect the construction workers?" Roby asked.

"Seems like she can detect lies," Glynda said, watching Roby's aura turn green.

"I offered my help since none of the soldiers could and I was getting paid," he replied.

Once again, the aura glowed green, and Robyn moved on to asking more questions.

"Do you work for Atlas?" Robyn asked.

Jaune shook his head, "No,"

Green for a third time.

Robyn let go of his hand and looked at him, "That's all the important things I wanted to know," Robyn told him, "But, I have to ask again, what's your name kid?" Robyn asked.

"Jaune Arc," Jaune told.

Robyn nodded, "Where you from?" she asked.

"Vale," Jaune replied, "And before you ask, I'm 17," Jaune told her.

Robyn smiled, "17 huh? Well with that training you have and your age, you should be a Hunter-in-training, and shouldn't you be in Beacon?" Robyn asked.

"I was..." Jaune replied, "But I got kicked out, and I won't be able to return until next year, which is why I'm traveling," Jaune told her.

Robyn smiled, "Kicked out huh? For what?" Robyn asked.

"Fake transcripts," Jaune replied.

"Damn kid, that's it?" Came the voice of May Marigold, "Thought you did some really fucked up shit for you to kicked out," she said with a smile.

Sun nodded in agreement, "Yeah, you'd think a Huntsman would get kicked out for way worse than fake transcripts," Sun said.

"Well to be fair, not every kingdom uses the Transcripts system, as certain students, such as a few in this room, don't attend Combat School," Ozpin said. "Vacuo could care less about it, allowing anyone to join, Mistral is kind of the same, while Vale at Atlas require them after a few students later turned to become major criminals such as Raven Branwen,"

Yang groaned, as hearing her mother was the cause for Vale to have Transcripts felt embarrassing.

Jaune shook his head, "No... that stuff came after I left," Jaune said coldly.

"Well, Jaune Arc, You picked one hell of a time to come to Mantle," said Joanna "Mantle isn't in a stable state right now, with the hole in the wall and no help from Atlas, and Atlas is also on a bad state as well due to the protesting of miners and other workers about the wall, meaning they aren't getting enough supplies up there... this entire kingdom is on the verge of a riot,"

Ironwood sighed, rubbing his temples, "Oh gods..." He muttered.

"Oum, no wonder Weiss is the way she is, Atlas sounds like a terrible place!" Sun cried.

"Hey!"

Ozpin sighed, "Atlas is one of the best when it come to Technology, but I will admit it has not been doing well in the past years, what with recent events," He finished.

Jaune knew things were bad, Perry told him as much, but there was not a lot he could do, he'd just tried to earn money and then leave, it wasn't his problem. 'Don't get involved,' He told himself, 'It'll just make things worse,'

"Yeah, all that sounds bad, but I can't really do anything," Jaune said.

Robyn looked at him, "You can help us protect and provide for the people of Mantle," Robyn said. "Help us and in exchange, you can stay here with us and I'll even pay you too, that way when the time comes, you got enough money to head to wherever it is, you're going next on this little journey of yours," She told him.

Jaune wanted to deny the offer as again, he didn't want to get involved with more people that he might just get hurt in the end, but he also wouldn't have to sleep in an alleyway and be cold, he'd have a roof over his head and warm food, and when he was passed out, he would admit he had the best sleep he's had in awhile... minus the nightmare of course. "That's it?" Jaune asked.

Robyn nodded, "That's it," She told him.

Jaune slowly nodded, "Fine, I'll help you do whatever to protect the people of Mantle, but the moment I get the money I need to leave the kingdom, I'm gone, deal?" he asked.

Robyn nodded with a smile, "Deal," She said.

"Yikes he... he really just wants to move on doesn't he?" Neptune asked.

"Jaune believes that danger follows him and that eventually, people get hurt or killed around him, so he just wants to leave as quickly as possible, as he'd blame himself if anything happened to anyone he cared for," RR told the Haven student.

"Good... now, do you have a spare shirt, I'm feeling a little cold here," Jaune told them.

"There's a spare shirt in my room, let's head back in it and I'll grab it for ya," She replied with a smile.

"I'm sure that's not the only thing you wanna grab," Jonna muttered with a smirk.

Jaune didn't hear what she said but due to her genetics, Fiona heard what her fellow teammate said and blushed, but kept leading Jaune into her room, trying not to retort.

"Oh my does she also have a crush on Jaune~?" Coco teased.

"Don't blame her, you see that body of his?" Emerald asked.

"Indeed I do!" Coco agreed.

May chuckled and looked at her partner, "Did you really have to tease her like that?" May asked.

Joanna looked at the blue-haired huntress, "She was staring at his chest like you stare at Fernando Decarpo on screen, but... I can't really blame her, you see that kid's muscles?" Joanna asked with a smile.

May nodded, "They aren't as defined but some of those scars look pretty hot," May said, "What do you think Robyn?" May asked, turning to her leader.

Robyn smiled at them and shook her head, "I think you both need a cold shower," She said before walking away.

As the Screen turned off, many chuckled at the joke while Glynda was happy that the older woman was remaining professional with someone younger than her.

Suddenly, though, The screen began to turn on again, glowing brightly before it suddenly glitched out and the screen flashed several colors before eventually it stopped and turned black, shutting off.

"What happened!?" Nora asked.

RR appeared and floated over to the screen, "I don't know! This had never happened!" RR said.

Suddenly, the screen turned on once again, however, instead of the next universe that was planned by RR, the screen showed an emblem of a black dragon head surrounded by a circle.

RR was shocked that for some reason he was overwritten, wondering who had done it, but decided to play along. "I guess the Batman Universe will have to wait," RR replied. "It looks like it's time..."

Tai looked at the god with a raised brow, "Time for what?" Tai asked.

RR smirked, "MORTAL KOMBAT!"