King: I'm going to be honest. This one hurt to write. Not in a bad way, just... emotional. I suppose we should just get into it then. Live with honor...

Inspiration: Overwatch

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The screen lingered in black for a while, but it started the next world soon enough.

The first thing they saw was an old tavern bar, falling apart as plant life started to grow up from the cracked floorboards.

Qrow rose his flask, "A toast to the dried watering hole…" He took a sip from the flask and placed it away.

A large man in off duty, military-esc garb sat at the bar. He was old, if his silver hair was anything to go by. But he was a large man, muscular despite his age. His grey tank top showing a series of scars. The camera spun around to show his paling blue eye. The other eye broken, likely by whatever gave him that mean scar on his face.

Weiss blinked, a hand reaching up to her own scar. She'd never thought about how lucky she'd been. If the blade had been just a little closer to her, it's very possible she'd be blind in one eye.

The man was looking down at a medallion adorned with the symbol of Beacon. The sound of a slamming door pulled him back to the world. He turned to see a woman in her early twenties. She wore attire similar to that of a mechanic. Her pale blue hair was tied back as her oceanic eyes glared toward him, "We need to talk…"

"Who's that supposed to be?" Nora adopted a thinking position. "I mean… after last time… It could be Neptune."

Neptune narrowed his eyes toward the screen. "I don't think so…"

The man turned back toward the medal. "Not now, Skadi…"

Yang folded her arms and leaned back. "Alright. New face again. Let's see how they're related to Jaune somehow."

Skadi marched forward, standing next to the man, "You can't just brush this off!"

"I'm not brushing this off. I've already made a choice, and you can't change my mind."

"Jaune! Listen to me!"

Yang's mind paused in surprise. "The… the big guy is Jaune?"

"Then who's the girl?!" Nora wanted an answer, damn it!

Jaune sighed. He'd known Skadi since she was young. He'd always been something of a godfather to the youngest of Weiss and Neptune's children.

Nora clapped once, "Got it!" She smiled, finally having an answer.

Weiss and Neptune were just surprised, not sure how to take what they'd heard. But… at least they could say that Jaune would be a good godfather…

Skadi always wanted to grow up to be like her mother. To run the SDC and huntress. But she'd always go starry eyed when Jaune would tell her stories of knights and monsters. In time, she moved away from the SDC path and wanted to go off and help people. Jaune, in many ways, became an inspiring figure to her, and she followed him to become a squire.

"What's a squire?" Ruby asked.

Ozpin was the only one that could answer. "A squire is a young student to an older knight. They learn the skills of the trade and perform menial tasks while the knight deals with their duties to their land."

"Aw~! Weiss's daughter looks up to Jaune enough to be his squire!" Yang was laughing to herself. But, she had to admit, she could see it… Jaune seemed like the kind of guy that could be someone's hero…

And brings them here… to the once proud castle town of Eichenwalde. Skadi sighed and moved to his side, "Jaune… You need to think about this rationally. Ozpin's message wasn't meant for you!" She tried to look him in the eye, but he kept his eyes on the medallion. She slammed her hand onto the bar, "My mother told me about your work together! You gave the Huntsmen everything! And they tossed you aside! How can you just forget that and run back to them?!"

The Beacon students weren't too sure what to make of what they'd heard. Surely this was just some crazy quirk of the world. After all, the Huntsmen sounded like an organization rather than a profession.

Her voice became an echo. Jaune glanced to the side a moment. His name etched into the wooden bar. He looked back to the metal disk in his hand. The old, scratched steel became like new as it sat in a gauntleted hand.

"What just happened?" Nora tapped Ren's shoulder, given he seemed to understand things like this.

Ren stopped Nora's hand before answering, "Likely a flashback."

The camera pulled back to show a younger Jaune. Well, younger than he was. He was in his prime. His hair was shoulder length and a glowing gold. Both eyes were still intact. He was covered in bronze and silver armor. He looked like a real knight in futuristic power armror. He smirked and looked toward someone off camera, "So… that's it? You're leaving us?" He flipped the medal toward someone.

A man, likely in his late forties, caught the disk. He was an almost regal looking man. His bald head and mustache/sideburn combo made him stand out. His griffon patterned armor made others heed. "I have been called! I must answer."

Neptune let out an impressed whistle. "That's some crazy looking armor. Question is, who is he?"

Ironwood glared toward the screen, "Baldric Schutzengel. He is…" He paused for a moment, a lump forming in his throat, "was… my friend."

Winter looked toward her commander. She'd never heard of this man before… "What happened?" She suddenly realized she'd just spoken freely to her commanding officer without permission. "Apologies! I didn't…"

"It's fine. Baldric passed away. Taken by sickness… He died peaceful."

"I'm… I'm sorry, sir…"

"No need. Let's just continue."

One of the non-armored soldiers laughed, elbowing one of his teammates, "Jaune's just jealous he didn't get picked."

Jaune heard that and decided to get back at him. He took the man's beer stein and downed the drink in a single go.

Qrow was actually impressed. "If the kid's that good at holding his drink, I might just have found a new drinking partner."

Jaune finished the drink and slammed the steel stein onto the bar. "Oh, please! The Crusaders are the immortal defenders of Germany! Why would I give that up for some secret project beyond our homes? They will sing songs of our legacies!"

Baldric was getting exasperated. "Our legacies are in our deeds. You'll do well to remember that." Baldric knew Jaune well enough by now. He was a glory nut. A reckless man with a need be remembered in history. He was a talented warrior, but this made him cocky, over confident in his skills. He hoped one day, Jaune would get this lesson through his head.

Weiss sighed. "Sounds like a handful…"

"No kidding," Ironwood glared. He'd dealt with enough of this version's type. He usually made it a point to get that attitude out of them during Basic Training. If it failed, he'd make their life a living hell. That usually gets them in line. The fact that this Jaune was causing his old friend grief didn't help.

A soldier ran in through the doorway. "Colonel Baldric! Bots to the East! They're marching into the city!"

Baldric laughed. "You heard the man! They're playing our song! Stick with your dance partners! Let's crush those rush buckets!"

Jaune walked over and held a large hammer toward the Colonel, "Here's your walking stick old man~!"

This got a chuckle out of the Colonel. The two then recited the motto of the Crusaders, "Live with honor!"

"Die with glory!"

They heard a whistling sound before the screen changed to show Baldric and another Crusader moving forward with blue energy shields. Gun fire flew above the barriers, but the shields were tall enough and wide enough that it didn't matter.

Ruby was getting giddy. "Oh my gosh! Energy shields! That's so cool! How to they work?!

The screen zoomed through the shields to show a series of robotic surface drones firing into the group. They were rather boxy, likely a mass production unit with a focus on armor. They were pretty janky as they moved. Baldric signaled with his free hand and one of the unarmored soldiers loaded a rocket launcher. One shot later, and the robot line was exploding. The explosion gave way to show Jaune charging through the bots laughing. He tore through their line like they were paper. He rounded a corner, shoving a small squad of bots off, shoulder checked another, and finally grabbed one of them and dragged it across the ground; propelled by a rocket system on his back. He tossed the robot into another group and swung his giant war hammer into the last of them.

Nora jumped up in her seat. "YEAH! GO JAUNE! SHOW 'EM WHO'S BOSS!" She was a little more invested to see her 'hammer buddy' succeed and rip those bots apart.

Jaune chuckled, "I love the feeling of the wind in my hair~"

Yang grinned, "Have to say I agree."

Baldric rocketed up next to Jaune, "Get back to the line!"

"Can't break a line with a shield!" He decapitated another bot with his hammer. "Besides! They should be fine!"

The camera snapped to a group of soldiers ducked under a stone wall, "Where the hell is Jaune?!"

Ironwood felt his eye twitch. Leaving the unit pinned like that… If someone like that was his subordinate, he'd have them court-martialed so fast their head would spin.

The camera returned to Jaune and Baldric as something fell into the street before them. A large, centaur-like robot booted up and readied its large Gatling gun of a left arm. One of the soldiers shook, "What is that…?"

Jaune got over the shock a little faster, "That… Is mine!"

Weiss tapped her chair, "I have to be honest… This version of Jaune kind of reminds me of Nora."

All involved could only nod while Nora giggled. It was actually a rather scary thought that there would be two of them…

Jaune charged using the rocket system and slammed into the bot. However, the robot's four-legged system was more capable of taking the hit and compensating. It was able to halt his charge and push him off. Its other arm snapped to the side, revealing a sword of energy. It slashed at Jaune, searing his skin and burning his eye.

This got more than a few in the audience to recoil. Yang's grin tried to stay on, trying to diffuse the thought… put on a brave face. "At least now we know how he got the scar…"

"Head's up!" A third Crusader unit called out, "More of those things!"

Another centaur-esc bot landed on the ledge above her and let out something resembling a roar. It's movements certainly contextualized it as such. It slammed down on top of her and started to unload into the soldiers.

"Why would a robot need to roar?" Glynda asked. She found the idea ridiculous. Surely there wasn't any real answer.

Ironwood would certainly try to answer though, "Likely intimidation. Think about it. What's scarier: a cold, emotionless, almost predictable machine or a bot that moves like a beast?"

While the cold machine was intimidating, the general had a point. It would be more predictable. If it could act like a beast, though… that would be harder.

Baldric had to make a call. "Fall back to the rally point! I'll get Jaune!"

Jaune tried to stand, but one of the robot's feet pinned him down, ready to run him through. It looked up in time to see Baldric slam it into a wall with his hammer. The bot was able to recover and fired into the now deployed shield. Unfortunately, the center of the shield was not barriered and started to break down. When the shield fell, the bot moved in and stabbed the Colonel in the side. He wrapped an arm around the bladed arm and ripped the bot's appendage out of its body, followed closely by a slammed hammerhead to crush the bot like a tin can. Baldric lurched forward, leaning on his hammer.

Jaune sped up next to the Colonel, not noticing the injury tucked under Baldric's breastplate, "I had this!"

"Obviously…"

"How does he not notice Baldric's injury?" Winter scowled.

Ironwood, however, was able to defend the action, "A result of the warzone they're in… Unless he lost a limb or lets him know directly, it's less likely he'll notice the injury. Especially when its between his armor's plating."

More of the drone robots started to march in. A few dropped and shifted into a turret system, unloading their rain of death into the Germans. Some even moved and fired like small tanks. Baldric grabbed his hammer and led Jaune back to the large castle. They pushed the large oak doors shut as Baldric's breathing started to get heavier, "That won't hold them for long… Get back to the unit… I will hold them off."

Jaune turned to Baldric and laughed, "And leave you to get all the glory? Not likely! Come on! We can fight our way out of this together!"

"Jaune…" Baldric removed his helmet to look his young friend in the eye. "I'm staying here…"

Ironwood's eyes fell closed. He knew the kind of man Baldric was. He would do something like this… And that made this hurt all the more.

Jaune now noticed the brake in Baldric's plating. His expression fell, uncertain… "What? But… without you we'd…"

"Lieutenant! You took an oath to be a Crusader! Now… Keep it!" Baldric extended his hand toward Jaune, waiting for him to follow suit.

Jaune refused to believe what he'd heard. His commander… his friend, the man that he would follow to hell's door if he needed it, had just told him to leave him behind to die. All the while, the bots were starting to break through the door. "I… I won't leave you here! We can still fight and…"

"The team needs you. Be their shield."

A new visage fell upon Jaune's face. A grim determination at the request of an old friend. He took Baldric's hand. They remained this way only a moment, as Baldric placed the medallion from before into Jaune's hand during the exchange.

Baldric had only one thing he could say to the young knight, "Jaune… Live with honor."

Jaune's eyes were forced to look aside. He took a breath and held his own hammer toward Baldric. Once accepted, he turned to rejoin the group, staying behind only long enough to say one final thing, "Die with glory… old friend…"

As Jaune left, the bots broke through the door and started to march inside. Baldric stood defiant against them, twin hammers ready. His rocket charged, augmented by a boost from both hammers.

Nora was wide eyed, "Rocket hammers! They were rocket hammers! Ruby! Figure out how to make that happen!"

"On it!" The weapon nut was already creating rudimentary sketches.

As Baldric charged, he ripped through the robotic line with both hammers. Meanwhile, the soldiers were in full retreat. As the robotic forces marched forward, intent on their extinction, a wall burst open as Jaune charged through the bricks. The world moved in slow motion as his barrier shield extended outward to defend his team.

Ruby stopped her sketches to look up toward the screen in amazement. No… not amazement. It's something else. Something she couldn't explain. She was happy to see Jaune defending his team again. It was like the Jaune she always knew, her first friend at Beacon. The music during the moment didn't help. It was the kind of thing that would play during a last stand.

The screen returned to Baldric, who continued to break the bots into pieces. At one point, he threw Jaune's hammer to destroy one of the bots up on a balcony. With one hit, the camera retuned to Jaune as he shouted out, "Barrier failing!" Cracks started to form in his shield, eventually causing it to shatter. When it did, he spun around to act as a human shield for his team, bullets glancing off his armor.

Suddenly they were back with Baldric as he charged a centaur type bot and leapt into the air. The rockets on his hammer burst and he broke the bot apart.

A pass by German fighter planes dropped bombs that destroyed the bots outside. The explosions were given no sound. There was nothing but the music playing in the background. Then they saw Baldric, falling back into the castle's throne. His hammer fell to the side, unable to hold his grip. The shining blue lights of his helmet began to flicker and finally fade. Of the Crusaders stationed in Eichenwalde, only Jaune would survive.

Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora all had to look off the screen for a moment. The idea of Jaune's whole team dying was a jarring idea. But to be left behind… alone as your friends were taken from you? It was horrible.

Ironwood took a breath to calm his nerves. Seeing his old friend die in battle was difficult. But he can say his friend seemed to have lived a full life of a kind. He died with glory…

Baldric never moved from that throne. The scene suddenly returned to the present day. The once shining golden armor was now dim and covered in moss. Eichenwalde was forgotten by time and left as it was after the battle, including Baldric's body, forever entombed on the old throne. Jaune stood before his old friend once more. He walked up to place the medallion on the armrest of the throne. He turned back toward Skadi, a look of determination on his face, a face filled by sorrow and knowledge that he must move forward, "I have been called… I must answer." Words once spoken to him, now a way of life. He placed a hand on Skadi's shoulder a moment before walking passed her, "Always."