What a month, started playing D&D and got really into it, joined the companies tug of war team for the company picnic, entered a cornhole tournament and lost both lol. Overall it was fun as hell. There were some other things I did like start a fanfiction story with my friend who thought he could do how I do only to stop after 200 words and think that looked good enough for a chapter. Looking back on my first story and remembering how I first started off with chapters around 500 words meant I couldn't really say much to him.

The fanfics we wrote were about RWBY because I was having a little bit of a writers block at the time. I will forever live by my words that "starting a story is easy but keeping a story going is hard". In case you all wanted to know I made an Iseki story of Jaune ending up on a whole other Remnant at war with each other. Turns out the Jaune of that world vanished and our boy is forced to take his place as the crown prince of the Vale Kingdom.

Sounds interesting doesn't it, well it also has mech's in it too. I might just work on it in my spare time or when I get another writers block...get a lot of those lately anyway. All in all I wrote 4 different chapters this month alone, one for Naruto and three for RWBY. The Naruto one is because my niece loves my stories and asked me to make something for her favorite series. I was like "okay kiddo" asked what she wanted and she wanted a Naruto x Karin story. So yeah, did that and sent her the link for the first chapter and now I'm the cool uncle in her books.

She such a good kid and an advent book reader that she's already pestering me for the next chaper.


"Are you being serious right now"? Yang looked behind her just in case the heiress was actually talking to someone else. When she was absolutely positive there wasn't anyone behind her she pointed to herself and raised a brow for confirmation. The remaining members of their team looked just as confused as the blonde did with even Blake closing her book to pay better attention to what was going on. Weiss rolled her eyes at exaggerated acting her teammates were putting on.

This was by no means the first time she asked the blonde to spar with her and each time it was more of the same. They would act completely shocked by the request and would do everything they could to dissuade her from going through with it. Weiss was starting to get tired of their shenanigans and drew Myrtenaster and pointed it at the blonde. "No more games Xiao Long, we're here to hone our skills to be better prepared for the fights ahead and your the only person who can push me as hard as I need to go to get where I need to be".

Yang looked down at the blade pointed at her nose and sighed as she placed her hands on her hips. "I really can't talk you out of this can I"? Weiss didn't budge at all and kept her rapier pointed at her teammate. It was pretty much all that Yang needed to know before a grin split her features. "I love it when you get feisty like this" the blonde smacked the blade away and back stepped a good distance away, "alright, don't forget you asked for it Weiss-cream".

The youngest of their team and the one appointed as the leader of team RWBY jumped in between the two. "WAIT"! She yelled, arms held out as if it was possible to stop them both with her physical strength. Ruby Rose looked between the two, noticed how they froze because of her interference and turned to Weiss during the confusion. "Weiss please, you can't beat Yang in a one on one, she'll demolish you before a minute passes and I don't want to see you get hurt".

Weiss raised a brow, "so what your saying is I'm too weak to face your sister and I'm only going to get myself hurt"?

"Yes"! Ruby answered without really thinking about it.

The area went deadly quite and behind the young leader, Yang slapped a hand against her forehead. The cold gaze that Weiss gave her partner was in full affect and made Ruby realize her own mistake. In hindsight calling Weiss weak in front of everyone was a really big mistake but she was just trying to look out for her partner. They were supposed to do that in a team but for some reason Weiss always acted like what she was doing was always wrong. It made her angry but if she let that get to her the team would be even more dysfunctional then it already was.

Weiss aimed her blade at her team leader with narrowed and angry eyes that made the young Rose's blood run cold. "We are done with this discussion" the heiress said with a slight hiss in her voice, "now get out of the way or I'll start with you first". A hand from their final teammate settled on Ruby's shoulder and gently pulled her back and out of the way. The young leader didn't resist and allowed Blake to guide her to the ring side without complaint.

Their choice of battlefield was the gymnasium because it had the same function as the combat classroom without the high tech aura system. After all not everyone who went to combat class was going to get a chance to fight so the gymnasium was the place to get that added practice when needed.

Yang watched her little sister get escorted off the field then turned to her fellow teammate with a frown. "Was that really necessary? I get getting annoyed when someone you know doesn't have confidence in fighting capabilites, trust on me on that but threatening my sis was not cool". Weiss spun her blade in hand, took a step forward with a spin and stabbed her blade into the ground. The second she did a glyph appeared behind her and created a large Arma Gigas's behind her with two medium size ones on either side of their master. Weiss ripped her rapier out of the ground and pointed it at the blonde, "well maybe next time she'll learn to not underestimate me".

The other three members of team RWBY stared wide eyed at the three summonings having never seen them before. Yang felt a bead of cold sweat slide down her face as she fell into her stance. She tightened her guard by pulling both fists closer to her face in a peek a boo style and started to sway from left to right. Weiss was ready and charged with her summonings in a 4 vs 1 match that took everything Yang had to offer and then some. In the end nothing and everything had gone to plan.

/

It had neen done. Weiss had finally proven her strength to her team, and by the look of the crowd that had gathered while she fought they knew it too. A win in her books as far as she was concerned but then there was that sudden disappointment she was now feeling. At first she didn't know why until she put Myrtenaster away. She was definitely tired, sure, but she could still walk around and didn't need help to get to the nurses office for a check up. "It's not like before" Weiss whispered under her breath. She thought back on all those team battles against the Ace Ops that forced her and her old team past their limitations.

This wasn't that and worse she really missed the harsh training that shaped her former team into was it was and what it could've been. She hated it, the sudden feeling of regret for leaving them behind to branch out on her own journey. If she had stayed in Atlas then maybe she would have been on a mission with Jaune and the others right now. Maybe she would be gaining more experience as they went into the field, where her team would all band together to solve problems as a unit rather then peacefully relaxing in the dorms.

Weiss watched Ruby and Blake help Yang to her feet and laughed about the spar, teasing Yang over her defeat. The more she thought of her old team the more she felt alienated from her knew one. Yeah they hadn't been together long but she could already see the bonds of friendship forming between them. Or more specifically between the other members of team RWBY excluding herself. She couldn't say it wasn't her fault though, she was the one holding them at arm's length all the time.

It was probably why when she left the gymnasim they didn't even notice, or if they did didn't even attempt to stop her in any way. The heiress got herself cleaned up and found her way back on that roof she had spoken to Yang on not that long ago. It had become something of a safe haven when she wanted to get away from her team and the people around her. Weiss sat on the bench furthest from the staircase and looked down at her scroll. "Maybe a scroll call to Winter would help me figure things out, it couldn't hurt and if anything it would be good to hear her voice again".

Weiss's finger hovered over her sisters face for a moment before she let out a sigh and stashed the scroll in her pocket. This was unbecoming of a Schnee, asking for help was one thing but crying about school matters was nothing more then the act of a child. She laid her head back and stared up at the sky. The night was fast approaching and her mind wondered back to her current team. This was not working but if she wanted things to be better then she needed to put the effort in to make a change. "Nothing worth having was ever easy, huh"?

She had heard those words before but never paid them any attention before now. One of her arms came up and covered her eyes. She needed to bring her walls down to let the rest of her team in but that was easier said then done since she spent so much time guarding herself from those who would take advantage of her. That kinda betrayal hurt the most so she hardened her heart and learned to never trust people so easily. Once again her mind wondered to her previous team and remembered how they all came together in the first place.

Jaune put himself out there to get the team to work together, even if he made a fool of himself on some occasions. The point was that he tried his hardest despite knowing that they could have just as easily refused to listen to him. She admired that a little but in her case that would be hard to do because growing up she was taught to protect her image and to never do anything foolish. A Schnee had to be perfect at all times, to stand above and beyond the rabble.

"W-Weiss"?

Weiss pulled her forearm off her eyes and looked to the side to see her current partner and team leader standing by the stairs with a nervous expression. "Ruby" she answered as she sat up straight. The young team leader looked at a loss for what to say but eventually asked, "are you okay"? Weiss watched her team leader for a second and sighed, she was okay physically but mentally she was criticizing her own faults. The long delay without words made the young leader feel unwanted and she slowly started to back away when Weiss spoke.

"I'm okay Ruby, I just needed a little time to calm down is all". The heiress met her leaders gaze and made a show of patting the bench beside her. "We need to talk, and no it won't only be about the terrible things you and your sister put me through".

Ruby let out a nervous chuckled and took the offered seat.

The conversation they had was a much needed one after everything that happened. As they continued on for the next few hours Weiss decided that she might have to thank her former team leader for giving her the courage to make a change like this. It wasn't going to be easy by any means but if he could do it and bring their team together then she could definitely do the same with team RWBY. The next time Jaune saw her, he'd see just how much she'd grown.

The thought alone made her smile, knowing her old team leader was going to have to work his butt off to keep up with her.

/

Back in Shelter Jaune stared out the trucks window as it sped through the town, lost in his thoughts.

If there was such a thing as a bad luck semblance then he honestly believed it might have been a side affect of his aura amp. How often does one go on a simple mission only to have it explode into something that could cause the death of countless people? Seriously! First it was the ship jacking by the White Fang which endangered the crew and nearly claimed the life of his teacher at the time. Now here was another situation just like the last but a thousand times worse with an army of monsters ready to kill them all for no other reason then because they could.

The truck he was in screeched to a halt and the five of them jumped out as quickly as they could. They climbed up the wall and peered out over the top to see what they were dealing with. It couldn't have been as bad as they were told, right? It turns out it was even worse then he could've imagined. His eye's took in the sea of black that stretched as far as the eye could see and possibly more then that. The number of Grimm that faced them equalled death, no question or doubts would ever be enough to change his mind from that fact.

A quick look to his teammates only solidified that more in his mind. Ilia, whether she knew it or not, changed her scales from their normal brown color to a pale white that was even more apparent against her dark skin color. Ciel stood slack jawed like she was trying to catch a flies with her mouth open. Penny was leaning slightly forward over the wall, no doubt using her mechanical brain and eyes to count every Grimm in the vicinity. As for Winter, it was only for the briefest of moments but he saw her eyes droop and her body slacken before she straightened herself out.

Winter was probably putting on a brave face for them but was feeling just as frightened about the possibility of dying here like he was. It's too bad he had watched her look of despair in that one moment or he might have believed her. Jaunes hand fell to the Crocea Mors and ran it over the handle until he touched the pummel. His head slowly turned downward and he stared at the small pummel piece that doubled as a limiter for his blade. Could he possibly-?

"What are they waiting for"?

The question caught him off guard but when he looked out over the wall again he noticed the the Grimm were all lined up but made no attempt to attack yet. He didn't get much time to think about it when one of the soldiers yelled something out and everyone started pointing at something in the distance. Jaune scanned over the group of Grimm and saw that the center of the large army started to open up as a smaller Grimm around double his size made it's way to the front. He never seen nor heard of anything that looked like that one before and worried it might be a dangerous variant that had never been discovered before now.

It had a humanoid shaped with bones forming over it chest and body like a suit of armor that traveled down to it's legs. It's joints were the only thing unprotected, but that was probably so it could move without the bones getting in the way. Instead of a hand the creature had what looked like a wall made of bone attached to it's left wrist while in the other it looked like a sword made of bone doing the same for the right. All and all it was equipped like he was and stood like the leader of the Grimm army. A "Grimm Knight" if you would, it was as good a name as any.

The creature raised both of it's arms and let out an ear piecing roar that had it's army growling and roaring along with it. Each of the creatures of Grimm started clawing at the ground and baring fangs like they were ready to get the blood bath started but were just waiting for the signal. Then without warning the gun turrents started to spin, confusing everyone on the walls until the barrels were pointed at them. Winter was the first to move, racing forward she created a glyph to plug the barrel of the closest turret.

It was almost like a call to action that had the rest of them racing of to different points along the wall. Jaune drew his sword and released an aura slash that destroyed the turret that Winter stopped and joined her in destroying the others. Penny and Ilia went with Ciel to deal with the opposition side, cutting through the tough metal with their blades while Ciel helped whatever soldiers who weren't fast enough to get out of the way. Bullets cut through their numbers and it took some times but eventually they manage to destroy every turret and end the threat. Those caught off guard met a quick end but even when they destroyed the last turret too much damage had already been done.

Red trails of blood spilled over the walls from those soldiers they couldn't save. "You men clear those bodies on the west side and you on the east" Winter order, taking full command over everyone present. Nobody seemed ready to disobey her and Jaune was grateful for that. Now was the time they came together to face this threat, not butt heads with one another to see who reigned supreme. Suddenly there was a small "Clink" from the walls gate that drew the blondes attention.

/

"Hmph, so there are some capable people in this backwater town. It matters little I suppose since the end is now". Watts swiped his finger once and the gates to the town started to open of their own accord. Without the gates protection it would only be a matter of time before everyone within died a gruesome death. A sophisticated man like himself did not have the stomach for such barbarism, so with a heavy heart he shut down his laptop and closed the curtain on his connection with Shelter.

/

"Winter! The gates"! Jaune pointed below them at the gates as they opened up giving every Grimm out there easy entrance into the heart of the town. The specialist cursed under her breath then flung herself off the edge of the wall and dropped in front of the entrance using a glyph to slow her decent. Her eyes took in the entrance before she aimed her saber at it, a large glyph appeared suddenly and created an ice wall that sealed the way the way in.

On the outside of the wall the Grimm in charge saw the doors open for them and aimed it's bone like sword forward. With a loud roar every Grimm ran forward, ready and willing to give their life's to kill the humans beyond the walls. The Grimm Knight followed it's kind but at a slower pace, eyes firmly on the wall like it was expecting something to happen. Raising it's bone like sword into the air several of the winged Grimm took to the sky at it's command to better invade the town from above uncontested.

Jaune's eyes were drawn to the variant, right away, all but throwing away the previous misconception that all Grimm were mindless monsters driven by hate and instinct. It was pretty clear with that monster giving orders the way it was. His eye's traveled upwards to the threat above and knew if they flew over the wall like they were about to there'd be no salvaging the situation. The soldiers around him knew it too if the despair on their faces was any evidence.

Decision made he raised the blade of Crocea Mors to his face and spoke as clearly as possible. "Arc 001". There was a small click and Jaune quickly pocket the pummel, flipped his sword in hand and used his semblance combined with the aura absorption device. With a roar that rivaled any Grimm in the field, Jaune swung his sword and released all that he had to offer. All it took was that single swing and a good portion of the flying Grimm were wiped out in a flash of white light that lit up the night. Ash was all that remained of those above and the soldiers had their hope restored.

Seeing all those Grimm vanish because of him gave Jaune an upsurge of confidence he never had before. I can do this! I can turn this whole thing around with this level of power! I can be the hero! He urged himself on and got ready for the next strike, holding his sword low, pushing his aura and activating his semblance all at the same time. With all his practicing in aura control and aura manipulation, his build up increased threefold. Not even three seconds passed before he was ready for the next shot, which he took knowing it would restore even more hope in the soldiers at his side.

The Grimm Knight eyed it's golden haired foe as he released another aura slash that cleared the sky of any Grimm with wings. So sure in his victory, so taken with the cheers and admiration from the soldiers that he forgot the number one rule in any true fight to the death. Never take your eyes of your opponent. The Grimm Knight bent it's knees and kicked off the ground with so much strength that the ground exploded from the force. The sound it created was like a cannon being fired, it was also the only warning any of them got before the top part of the wall was shattered where the blonde knight was standing.

It all happened in slow motion for Jaune. He heard the loud crack and turned to see what it was only to come face to face with the variant Grimm he knew was the leader of the army at their door. Months of training against some of the best Atlas had to offer had him raising and reinforcing his aura to it's max right before the Grimm smashed it's shield into his body. The pain was so intense that the impact knocked him unconscious for the first few seconds as he was carried off the wall and into the center of town.

"JAUNE"! Penny screamed in a tone she didn't even know she could make. One of complete fear that is. Having followed the Grimms movements with her mechanical eyes she'd seen it take their team leader by force. It also had a pair of wings on it's back that it didn't have before. She quickly put that thought aside and took off after them, abandoning the wall as she jumped to the ground below and took off running.

The rest of team AASP didn't know what had happened having been unable to keep up with the flow of events, but what they did know was Penny, and she would never leave the wall if it wasn't important. They looked at the soldiers firing bullets down at the Grimm, struggled with what to do but eventually decided it was best not to abandon their teammates. "Winter can handle the wall" Ilia said. Ciel agreed with her and the two chased after their teammate further into the town.

/

The second Jaune snapped back to reality he was forced to raise his aura to the max again just as the bony shield shot off several spikes like a shotgun blast into his body. His aura took the hit and he dropped like a meteor onto one of the towns shops. The roof of the building couldn't support his impact and caved easily, giving him a first hand look at the interior of the building. Any normal person would have been killed by what he went through within the last few seconds, that he was still breathing at all was a miracle even in his own mind.

Jaunes aura faded away, becoming dust in the wind after having done all that it could to keep him alive and in one piece. The world swirled around in his vision and his body hurt in so many places he couldn't even name them all. Eventually he decided that his everything hurt and called it a day. He leaned to his left and realized that he had smashed into the stores cashier station breaking the wood and knocking the register of the counter. With a grunt he rolled to the right, off the top and landed on his feet but quickly found out that standing up straight wasn't something he could do at the moment.

Pain raced up his leg and he toppled over and onto the floor where he tried to use his hands to stop himself. That too didn't seem to be in the cards for him as his right arm shot up another bolt of intense pain that froze his body. As a result he fell face first onto the hard floor with a hard "crash"! Jaunes nose started to bleed but that didn't matter to him as he tried to move his right arm while he was down on the ground.

A sharp pain tore through his body and he relaxed his muscles to stop anything else from hurting him. He tried with his left leg next and wanted nothing more then to cry out from how much it hurt. Broken, that was pretty obvious from how he could barely moved those two limbs without the pain bringing tears to his eyes. He couldn't even heal them because all his aura had been spent to keep him alive from the earlier assault. Before he could contemplate his situation any further a loud crash was heard from outside the building.

He already knew who it was and dragged himself back towards the spot he had landed. He took shelter under the broken cashier station and found his blade laying on the floor. When he had dropped it he couldn't remember but it had to have been before he rolled off the counter top. He grabbed the blade with his left hand and dragged it under the table with him. The foot steps got louder and suddenly the entrance was smashed inward with the Grimm Knight standing at the entrance.

Jaune slowed his breathing and tried his best not to make a sound as the creature came closer. It's sword like arm dragged across the floor cutting through the hard stone floor with each step it took. He couldn't see it's face but he remained ready to put up a fight if it managed to find him either way. The creature stepped away from him and allowed him to let out a shaky breath in relief...at least until it's bony sword ripped through the wooden table and barely missed his head by a few inches.

The sword was yanked back and with it the table hiding him from the Grimm.

"How did-" he started before he remembered that Grimm could sense the negativity in a person. He cursed himself for thinking he could hide from the Grimm of all things considering the situation he was in. The Grimm Knight slashed at his head, all but ready to decapitate him but Jaune pushed himself into a sitting position and barely dodging it by a hairs length. The Grimm followed the old rule of "if at first you don't succeed try try again" by slamming down it's shield on top of the blonde only for Jaune to roll out of the way and avoid becoming paste on the floor.

The harsh movement caused the pain from his broken arm and leg to act up leaving him open to the Grimms next attack as it kick him like a soccer ball. Several of his ribs cracked and he was sent flying through a nearby window and out onto the snow covered road. He was going to die. That's what the reality of the situation was forcing down his throat. It sucked so badly cause now he'd never get a chance to say goodbye to the people he cared about, or get to thank them for being there for someone like him. His left arm pressed against the floor and he pushed himself up slightly to look at his families blade.

He could still use it. It still had aura within but how many people would get caught in it's attack range...if there were any people in the first place. He had to consider not everyone had made it to Shelters bunker yet because of how much time had passed so far. His eyes were drawn to a nearby window where someone was peeking out at him. They were terrified, no doubt from probably seeing a real life Grimm land in their town and no one around to protect them. It made using his aura slash not an option because it proved there were still people around.

The Grimm Knights footsteps were heard close behind so Jaune used the rest of his strength to slowly roll on his back to look up at his killer. Looking up into those glowing red eyes should have scared him silly, oddly enough he felt calm despite knowing there was nothing else he could do. A smile split his face and a chuckle forced it way past his lips. "Well? What are you waiting for, a tear jerking ending song to set the mood"?! The Grimm Knight snarled and raised it's sword like hand into the air while Jaune closed his eyes.

He was tired and hurting but as he laid there waiting for the end to come he thought of his mom and dad and how sad they'd be to learn of his end. He thought of each of his sisters and how torn up they would become to learn he'd never be able to come home and visit. Just the thought alone felt like he was having a whole open up where his heart was. His mind flashed to his team and wondered how they were going to feel when he was gone.

He remembered meeting Penny and remembered the first time she nearly crushed the life out of him with one of her bone crushing hugs. He thoughts went to Ilia next and he remembered just how serious she was about their training. They were awkward around each other at first but as time broke down the walls between them he learned about the kind and caring woman she truly was. In a way she reminded him a lot of Saphron, his oldest sister and the one he looked up to himself.

His life continued to flash before him and it settled on Ciel surprisingly. They didn't really know each other all that well but from how she acted she was strick and imposing. She was a true soldier. He kinda regretted that they didn't have more time to talk with each other. His memories moved on to Weiss next and he wondered how she was doing in Beacon. When she learned of his demise would she blame herself for not being there to help him? He hoped not, she had become a good friend to him and he wished her only the best because she totally deserved it.

Speaking of the best, his thoughts turned to all the members of the Ace Ops who helped him in their own unique ways. He felt bad that all their training didn't help him live longer but that was on him and not them. If anything he was most grateful for his teacher Vine who helped him master his aura to such an extent.

And finally his mind settled on the one other person he was grateful for. Winter. In a way she inspired him to want to be more then just some dreamer with ideas of grandeur. Their promise to give each other their best was a real wake up call. It showed him just how much she was willing to invest in him when not even his parents were willing to do the same. She placed her faith in him and did exactly as she had promised. It made him better both physically and mentally...but could he really say he gave her his all?

If he died here then everything she did for him would have amounted to nothing, but what could he do? He was out of options and had two broken limbs handicapping him from even putting up a decent fight. He couldn't even use his sword in town unless he wanted to cause untold destruction which could compromise it's integrity. But wait, a sword wasn't his only weapon of choice. His weapon was a sword and shield combo that he had used over and over again during training so why did he forget about it all of a sudden?

The answer was simple, because he had gotten overconfident. It caused him to not think straight and when he'd gotten humbled by the Grimm he all but lost confidence that he could win.

Jaunes eyes snapped open and he released his sword. Reaching down with his left hand he grabbed his sheath and pulled it up just as the Grimm brought it's bony sword down. Jaunes shield expanded at the last second and redirected the Grimms attack slightly off course but enough for the blonde to narrowly escape his end. Even the Grimm seemed slightly surprised which gave Jaune just enough time to charge up the gravity dust within it's crest to blast him away from his spot under the Grimm.

He slid across the floor and crashed into a house. The Grimms gaze followed him before it retracted it arm, it was ready to finish him off and the blonde Knight knew it. He would struggle to the last but he wouldn't, couldn't give up. He pushed himself up onto his good leg and raised his shield with his good arm, flashing the crest for the monster to see. The Grimm took a step forward, eyes locked on it's target. Before could it could go any further, and before Jaune could put his new found conviction to the test a green wave of energy blasted the Grimm Knight away and down the street. Jaunes eye's widened in shock before he turned to see who had done such a thing. Red hair filled his vision and he pulled into a bone crushing hug he was all too familiar with.

"P-Penny. Arm" he said in between gasps of air. Penny pulled back and took in his form, eyes scanning his body before narrowing into slits. "Wait here" she hissed "this will be over with quickly". He had never seen such an angry look on her face before and it left him speechless as she stalked after the Grimm that had gotten back to it's feet. Ilia and Ciel arrived shortly after and moved to see if he was okay. He waved them off, "don't worry about me just help Penny". The two followed his orders and raced off to help their teammate, leaving him to fall to the floor, relief sapping the strength from his muscles.


I would like to say that thanks to the training Weiss went through it made her even stronger then her volume 1 counter part while Yang remained the same. And to make things even better for our heiress she had early access to Jaunes aura amp which allowed her to train her abilities even more then if she did normally. That being said Weiss is not completely stuck up or anything, she just has a hard time with the changes going on in her life like she did in volume 1.