Chapter 12:

A/N: Hey Everyone, sorry for the long wait. Real life got crazy for a while, then I lost all interest in writing in June, then I was back updating my other story 'Making a Deal With a Devil' BUT now I'm back! This chapter isn't the behemoth the others before it was but more of a normal length and I think it ended at a pretty natural point. Anyway, I really appreciate all the support I've been receiving! All the reviews, follows and favorites really mean a lot! I still can't believe this story has broken 2k follows! Thanks so much! Anyway, as always, let me know what you think of this in the reviews. Enjoy!

P.S. I only self edited this pretty quickly so hopefully I didn't miss too many mistakes. If anyone has experience being a beta and wants to beta read for this story, please shoot me a message.

Update: Forgot to mention, this is my first story to reach over 100k words! Yeah me! :D

Salem did her best to contain her rage, only letting an annoyed sigh escape her lips instead. She wasn't sure how much Cinder could try her patience before it snapped. She truly was a pitiful little girl, just like when she had found her all those years ago. Despite the annoyance the girl's initial clinginess had caused, it had allowed her to shape Cinder into the useful tool that she had been. Now, that her usefulness was at an all time low, it was becoming much harder to put up with her. It only served increase her hate towards the silver eyed girl who'd done this. The girl who had ruined all the work she'd put in her tool. When she finally had her in her grasp, she'd end the troublesome lineage those eyes caused once and for all. She'd thought the mother had been the last, but it seems she was wrong. At least this girl was young enough that she wouldn't have had a spawn of her own yet.

"I thought you were the girl who wanted power? This showing is pathetic. You have to truly want it! You are the one who took this power from its previous host, only now to fail in using it? Are you sure you are the one in control? Or is the Fall Maiden's power going to master you?"

The raven haired woman scowled, anger clear on her face. Good, that's what she needed. It was understandable that Cinder was having trouble. The Grimm parasite she'd infected her with was the only reason she'd been able to absorb the Maiden's power in the first place. With the damage the silver eyes had done to it, it was still to this day syphoning off the majority of Cinder's aura to keep itself alive, not that Salem was going to tell her that. The ironic part was that without the protection of Cinder's body, the parasite would have died immediately in the girls attack, and yet if Cinder had not carried it within her at the time, the girl's silver eyes would have done absolutely nothing to her. Now because of it's presence that night, half of Cinder's previously gorgeous figure was covered in scars and she'd lost an eye. She wouldn't be sending her out on any more seduction missions that was for sure.

A loud bang reverberated throughout the hall, drawing Salem's attention away from the current Fall Maiden. As the footsteps grew louder down the hall, Tyrian finally slunk into view. She immediately saw the stump where his stinger used to be and lack of girl with him, but she kept her face neutral with great effort. It seems she'd been right to send her new pet as backup. She didn't even care if it killed the girl instead of capturing her at this point.

"Tyrian. You've returned. Did you bring the girl?"

He seemed to shrink in on himself at her words. His despair was absolutely delicious. The others had all joined her because they wanted the power she could bring them, or they just wanted to be on the winning side, or even because they feared her power, but Tyrian was different. While the others might speak the words and claim they worshipped her as their Queen, Tyrian really saw her as his Goddess. It made it all the more easier to break him whenever she felt like it.

"I'm sorry my Queen… I've failed you." She hummed without comment, trying to think about the best words to crush his spirit before she built him back up again. "B-but that's not all! I killed the Huntsman, Qrow Branwen. He got in the way and I poisoned him with my stinger. He won't last long now."

Well… this was interesting. One of the last of Ozpin's little pawns was out of the game. It was one less thing to worry about, though she had started to think he might be the one with the relic since it was nowhere to be found at Beacon.

"You disappoint me Tyrian." The strangled screams of despair were music to her ears as she walked down the long hall towards the entrance of her palace a few moments later. To her surprise, the front doors banged open once again, admitting a hulking figure. "Ah, perfect timing Hazel. What do you have to report about Beacon?"

Stepping into the light he inclined his head, "Your grace." His voice was deep, almost impossibly so, and his speech seemed to move at the slow grating pace of a grinding boulder. That wasn't to say he was stupid, he was actually quite intelligent, he just always spoke in such a slow and measured tone that it tested most people's patience. "I investigated what you asked. The Schnee girl, the oldest, the one we've had encounters with before. She was present on a mission from Atlas when the dragon fell."

Salem's eyes narrowed. That girl had crossed her twice now and was quickly becoming an annoyance, "Very well. She's skilled but I doubt she'd have the requirements to pull off the job. How'd she do it? Were you able to find out?"

"You speak of magic?"

Salem's burning red eyes locked onto Hazel. "What do you know."

"The magic user that saved Schnee. The one Emerald witnessed was with her," he reported. "They say he restrained it to the tower with giant golden chains that shone like the sun. Others said that large fires and explosions were all that was seen until the Dragon finally fell."

For the first time in a long time, Salem felt rattled. Great golden chains? She'd never heard of any magic like this. "Is there anything else."

Hazel nodded, "There is some kind of field in place around the Kingdom. It is keeping the Grimm away. I couldn't find much about it, only that it appeared shortly after the dragon's fall and its source seems to be Beacon tower."

Silence reigned in the hall aside from the distant crazed ranting of Tyrian, but that was easily ignored. She couldn't help but wonder if that was why she hadn't been able to sense much in Vale lately. Was there really some magic that was able to keep her children from advancing further into the inhabited portions of the Kingdom?

"The structural damage to the tower has also been repaired ahead of schedule and I heard talk of the CCT being back online soon."

Salem's fists clenched. All those years of planning and setting things in motion, and now it appeared the Kingdoms, though unsteady, were making big strides to recovery. This wasn't supposed to happen!

"Who is this magic user?" She bit out starting to lose her composure.

Hazel handed her a scroll, "This is from one of my contacts in the the city."

The picture on screen was slightly grainy but otherwise was clear. Caught walking down the street was the familiar figure of Atlesian Specialist Winter Schnee, but at her side was a man she hadn't seen before. He was of average height and narrow build. Wild black hair covered his head, and even in the somewhat low quality of the photo, bright green eyes were visible behind wire rimmed circular glasses. A faded lightning shaped scar sat on his forehead.

Who was he? Was this Ozpin's new reincarnated form? Did he somehow regain the knowledge he lost on the majority of his magic? No, it couldn't be him. The boy in the picture was too old. Was a new player entering the board?

"Hazel, make sure everybody knows, the operation at Haven is being pushed forward. We are going to launch ahead of schedule. Go in person, make sure they are ready to go in a week."

Jaune pushed aside the flap of the tent as he passed through the exit. For a tent that had insides comparable to a small house, he was still able to feel surprisingly claustrophobic. He just needed some air. Wandering a few steps away from the tent, he made sure to stay inside the edge of the boundary that the guy… Harry… had set up. Supposedly, as long as they stayed inside, it would keep the Grimm away.

Somehow despite everything that had happened, his world just kept getting weirder. The new things he learned just continued and continued to pile up. He didn't know how much longer he could take it. First it had been the fall of Beacon and Pyrrha's death. Then it had been the fact that they were being hunted by some madman intent on kidnapping Ruby. On top of that, they hadn't even been alone like they thought. Ruby's uncle had been following them and watching over them the whole time. Then said Uncle drove off the crazy Scorpion Faunus only to get stabbed and poisoned in return.

Before falling unconscious to his injuries he just managed to tell them a story, shattering any beliefs they had about the world to inform them that magic was real. That it was used by four maidens who could control the elements without dust. He told them that it was what Pyrrha had been trying to become in that pod. That it was why Pyrrha had died.

This had been more than enough to stir his recently ever present temper into full boil. The only reason he'd even helped the man he now hated was because he was Ruby's uncle, and he would never wish harm on his best friends family. He didn't want her to have to deal with any more loss. Their new quest to save Qrow's life had led them to Yang's apparently long lost mother. A strangely handy bit of teleportation magic, or a semblance… he wasn't sure, brought them to her home base… also known as a bandit camp. It was a lovely bit of coincidence that said bandit camp was responsible for the destruction of Shione Village where'd they had met the one Huntsman who died and even worse, Ren and Nora's childhood home.

Fast forward a little bit and we have Jaune watching helplessly as Ruby is about to be executed by her half-sister's biological mother, only to be saved by said half-sister and other teammate Weiss. Of course they didn't come alone, bringing Atlas Specialist Winter Schnee and the last thing he had expected to see, a wizard named Harry.

Using real, honest to dust magic, he'd made quick work of many of the bandits only for their wonderful luck to kick in, and one of the supposedly extremely rare and elusive Maidens to be among their number. The fight had been beyond anything Jaune had ever seen, and that's saying a lot from a Huntsman in training. It had taken a while, but things had been mostly resolved and now they were all settled in their camp with a tent that was many times bigger on the inside than the outside.

Shaking his head Jaune didn't know what to think. His whole worldview had been shattered over and over. He wished Pyrrha was here to talk to about all this. It had been her advice that had always made him feel better. Her support that got him through everything. He didn't know why he had been so stupid. He wanted another chance. He just missed her so much It was like a physical ache inside of himself. Pyrrha...

Snap!

The crack of a snapped twig broke Jaune out of his thoughts, his hand immediately going to the pommel of his sword. He scanned his surroundings, looking for the disturbance. He couldn't see anything, and yet the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. What was it that Pyrrha had once said? 'Have you ever felt like you were being watched without knowing that someone was there?'

She had been talking about Aura. Just because he couldn't see someone didn't mean his feeling was wrong, but she had been speaking mostly about detecting Grimm, and the empty feeling they gave off based on their lack of soul. Harry had said they were safe from Grimm here. Could it be something else? A bandit coming to finish the job from earlier?

Something flashed through the air, and Jaune could feel it approach from behind. Jaune moved without thought, reactions ingrained from his long training sessions with Pyrrha guiding his movements as as he spun, freeing his weapons and parrying the blow. His opponent backed off for a second before pushing his defenses from a new angle.

The move felt familiar, too familiar. It wasn't a bad strategy but he'd only fought against one person who would come in from that one specific hole in his defense. Tilting his shield downwards he deflected the blow, though it was much heavier than he expected, causing him to stumble backwards. Righting himself, Jaune finally got a look at who he was fighting.

He felt his breath leave him in a gasp. His sword and shield shook in his trembling hands. It couldn't be her. She couldn't be here. This had to have been something conjured up his conscious to torture him some more. He'd just been thinking about her. That's why he saw her standing there before him. Crocea Mors slipped through his numb fingers and hit the ground. A loud clang sounded through the clearing as the blade slid against a rock. Jaune didn't even flinch.

He was both enraptured and horrified by the sight in front of him. Pyrrha. Her green eyes locked onto his own blue, seemed to see right into his soul. Her head was tilted to the side in a cute look of confusion. It was like she wanted to ask him something. A question he knew was coming. He could here her voice in his head asking… always asking the same thing. 'Why didn't you save me Jaune? Why weren't you strong enough? Why did you let me die?'

His knees began to wobble and he was sure they were about to give out.

A sound from his right side drew his attention as his red hood wearing best friend charged out of the tent, her giant mechanical scythe unfurling as she approached. "Jaune! I heard somethi-"

The girl trailed off as she skidded to a stop, her eyes wide in shock that slowly filtered over to horror. Wait! Could Ruby see her too? That had to mean it wasn't a hallucination…

Yang exited the tent next, her long blonde hair flowing wildly down her back. Her gauntlets were both already unfurled, her one arm glinting softly in the low light. She stopped right at the entrance, her worried eyes also widening in shock. "Holy mother of-"

"Oof…" the small white form of Weiss smacked into the blonde's back as she too tried to exit the tent. Shoving past her teammate, she went to say something before also stopping in similar state of surprise, her hand flying up to cover her mouth.

Last but not least were Ren and Nora, managing to escape the tent together, just like they did most everything in life. They both stopped like the others.

"Pyrrha… I… I don't…" Nora whimpered. Jaune had never seen her like that. She moved as if to step forward but Ren's firm hand shot forward grabbing her shoulder and holding her back. His face was mostly still except his mouth ever so slowly curling in disgust.

"What are you?" Ruby's voice called out. Despite her usual squeak, her question seem to have a weight to it. Jaune could hearing it echoing back him. 'What are you?' What did she mean? It was Pyrrha! They could see her too… it meant she was real. It meant he wasn't insane. Pyrrha was back. He could feel tears beginning to prickle in his eyes.

"How dare you take that form!" Another voice called out. "Making a mockery of our friend!" It took Jaune moment to realize who it was. He'd seen her angry many times before, often directed at himself, but he'd never heard her so enraged. Weiss stood, her rapier pointed outward even while her arm trembled just as much as his did.

Jaune was still so confused. He knew they all must be surprised by Pyrrha's return, but why did they look so disgusted? Something wasn't right. Ever so slowly he turned his head back to where he knew the love of his life would be standing. His hopeful eyes finally came to rest on her form once again and he froze.

How had he not noticed it before? Had he been so blinded by his own hopes that he had missed what stood before him? Could he blame it on the poor lighting?

One side of Pyrrha's face, before covered in shadow, wore a mask made out of bone. A mask familiar to all those who had seen the creatures of Grimm in person. While one eye was in fact the green he remembered, the other, the one covered by the mask, burned a hateful red. From what he could see, her normally flawless skin was pockmarked by patches of sickly black, not unlike a beowulf's skin. On top of that, glowing red veins snaked their way from her mask, across her face and even into the green coloured eye. Even the shape of her familiar armour and weapons were not made of the metals they were supposed to be but, were formed in an exact likeness from that same bone-like material.

She stood unnaturally still, observing all the new arrivals, eyes flickering between Ruby and Jaune the most before she launched herself forward with an unholy screech. Everyone exploded into action and Jaune grabbed his dropped gear. A human sounding cry of rage was picked up by his ears next as Yang charged in to help her sister who was under attack.

Pyrrha's usual proficiency was executed more ruthlessly than the sweet girl ever had in life. This Grimm doppleganger ripped through them all with with ease. Yang's shotgun powered punches all missed their mark and what looked to be new techniques involving more footwork were turned against her as she was tripped up and pushed out of the way.

Great slices of Crescent Rose were ducked and dodged with little effort. Thrusting her arm forward, the bone version of Akoúo̱ crunched into Ruby's face, making the younger huntress crumple backwards.

"Ruby!" A voice called in a panic.

Their opponent went in for a finishing strike only to be blocked by a sudden wall of ice. With a wordless snarl, Weiss suddenly launched herself on top of her partner's would be killer. Jaune had never seen her move so fast. In a blur, she poked the end of of weapon into her enemy over and over and over. Many of the strikes skidded away on it's armour, but many more also seemed to pierce the weaker skin, droplets of black sludge bleeding out. Despite this Jaune did pick up on one cut on her side that seemed to be dripping crimson. What did that mean? Was this really Pyrrha? Had something transformed her into this twisted form or was this Grimm just twisted into her shape to mess with them?

Snarling like an animal, it twisted to avoid Weiss next flurry of strikes before with a great clang trapping her extended blade between her bone shield and sword. With a long drawn out screech, the Grimm Pyrrha started applying pressure, ever so slowly bending the blade of Myrtenaster. Even from where he stood, Jaune could see the stress this was putting on the dust canisters. Weiss only had a second to widen her eyes before with a loud crack, the blade snapped in two and the volatile dust ignited.

With an explosion that shook the trees, Weiss was bodily thrown backwards. She impacted the side of the canvas tent just as the flap was opening to allow someone to exit. The whole structure collapsed down and Jaune could hear cursing coming from inside. Qrow was still inside! He may not like the man much but that didn't mean he wanted to know what happened inside one of those crazy magical tents when it collapses.

Jaune tightened his grip on his sword. His friends were getting hurt around him, he didn't know where Harry or Weiss' sister was, and the only other adult, Qrow, was stuck in some dust be damned magic tent. He needed to do something, he just wasn't sure if he could make himself attack her. He didn't know if she was real but she looked just like her.

The familiar sound of Stormflower's rapid fire of dust ammunition lit up the night, striking at humanoid Grimm. They didn't do anything other than annoy her, bouncing off armoured areas with no impact and only slightly irritating the rest of her skin. In the distraction it caused, Jaune noticed the forms of Nora and Yang moving back in. One readied their fists the other their massive hammer. Jaune knew what was coming and he almost wanted to avert his eyes. The true strongest Huntresses in training, in terms of physical strength at least, were about to sandwich her between them.

Ren ceased his attack and with a simultaneous cry, Yang swung her new robotic limb at full power while Nora brought her hammer down. There was a loud metallic crash, the actual impact hidden by a cloud of dust. Waiting on bated breath, Jaune feared to see this Pyrrha's body, even if only a doppleganger laying there on ground broken, but to their surprise that was not the case. As the dust settled, Jaune gaped as he watched the Grimm hold back Magnhild with one hand and Yang's fist with another. Swinging her arm around she pulled Nora off her feet, using her own weapon to swing her around and send her flying. Jaune watched in horror as she crashed into a gaping Ren, both of them tumbling away.

A horrible ear piercing, grating sound of protesting mechanics pulled Jaune's attention back to the fight. The creature in front of him, for that's what Jaune had finally realized she was, was over powering Yang's new cybernetic, pushing it back twisting it a direction he was sure it was not supposed to go. Yang screamed in agony, her burning crimson eyes doing nothing to help her now. With loud crack something broke and the creature flung her away where she impacted a nearby tree, her aura visibly shattering.

Jaune forced his legs to move. He was the last one left. All of his friends were down and injured. The only reason none of them were dead because of luck alone. What he did next may haunt him for the rest of his life, but he was not going to lose another friend… even to a Pyrrha look-a-like. He prepared his sword and readied his shield, forcing the tremors away. He could not fail.

Taking the initiative, Jaune lashed out first. It was a conservative strike. Not much chance of actually hitting but it didn't open up his own guard much. They say 'no risk, no reward' and it was true, but he was just testing her. It was just like their rooftop spars. Nothing different. He was probably more familiar with Pyrrha's style than anyone else. It had never allowed him to beat her, but he pushed that thought away for now.

Launching another attack, he tried a move he remembered Pyrrha teaching him as a quick attempt at disarming your opponent. As expected, she countered it easily, but the strength she put behind every move of her own was exponentially larger than he was used to. It almost made him lose his sword, but he managed to keep his grip. Having expended his chances, the faux-Pyrrha moved to attack.

He parried the first blow, almost losing his sword again to her unnatural strength, and catching her second strike on his shield. He didn't have time to check, but he was certain that one blow alone put a dent in the ancient metal construct.

The minute that followed was a back and forth of strikes. She had torn through all his friends so easily and somehow he was lasting the longest. It was like they were back on their rooftop training at night after a day of classes. Looking her in the face, he wondered if she was somehow feeling the same. Her single emerald eye seemed to have a familiar look in it. With that thought, Jaune faltered in his strike. The crimson eye seemed to suddenly glow brighter and before he knew what was going on Crocea Mors was spinning away into the darkness. A boot hit him in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

Jaune skidded across the ground, gasping for air after the breath was knocked out of him. His shield had fallen away during his few seconds in the air. Groaning, he tried to sit up only to have the same boot press into his chest again, holding him down. He looked up into the twisted face of the woman he loved, her red eye burning with a familiar hatred for humanity. She raised her bone sword with both hands higher and higher, the tip pointing hungrily towards his heart.

"Pyrrha…" he let her name escape in a gasp. At least it would be her name that was on his lips when he died. At least she would be the last thing he saw. There were worst ways to go.

As the name escaped him, the creature above him froze. Looking into her eyes, his heart skipped a beat when he saw the crimson one flicker back to its natural colour for only a moment.

"Pyrrha," he tried again. "Pyrrha it's me."

The time between each flicker slowed and the inhuman rage that had painted her face before slowly faded away to a look of horror. "J-J-Jaune." His name came forth in a rasping voice, as if it hadn't been in use for a long time. Despite their current circumstances, Jaune felt a genuine smile breaking out across his face for the first time since his world had gone to hell, and tears welling up in his eyes. Tears were also visibly building in her eye free of the bone mask as she slowly started lower her sword.

"BOMBARDA!" A loud shout split the night. There was a distortion in the air and then, before Jaune could even blink, something had crashed into Pyrrha with immense force, sending her spinning through the air and out of sight. Panicked, he ignored his numerous aches and pains and forced himself into a sitting position.

Harry was striding into the clearing at a furious pace. His face a mask of anger, a stick in his hand. Winter was just behind him but hurrying over to her sister's prone form instead.

Looking around, he spotted Pyrrha regain her feet several meters away. She stood in a crouch growling lowly at the approaching wizard, none of her before seen humanity visible anymore. With numerous flicks of his stick, or as Jaune assumed to be a magical wand, Harry sent all kinds of different coloured lights towards her. Moving with inhuman grace she dodged them all, even twisting back at one point so her head nearly touched the ground before springing back up to her feet.

Jaune heard a muffled curse before with his wand moving in grand sweeping arcs this time, the ground began to shift. He'd seen the wizard fight the maiden earlier and yet something about this seemed even more impressive. Spears and other spikes of dirt and stone rose out of the ground, all homing in on Pyrrha. Jaune pushed himself to his feet, despite his body's protests, ready to intervene. He watched in trepidation, that turned out to be unwarranted, as Pyrrha dodged them all once again.

Next, great hands of stone began reaching out towards her. It was as if the planet itself had come alive and was trying to pull her in. She dodged one swipe kicking off the stone construct and rolling out of the way of another. Unfortunately, this put her right in the path of a third which managed to wrap its stone fingers around her and pulling it's grasp taught with a crunch. Tensing, Jaune was once again surprised when the loud sound of cracking stone met his ears. Pyrrha was tensing and flexing within her restraints and a moment later the hand shattered around her. How strong was she in this form?

Looking back at Harry, Jaune saw him get into a stance. The tip of his wand started to glow and insidious orange, and he just knew something was up.

"Wait! Don't hurt her!" He yelled moving forward.

"Stay back!" Harry yelled without taking his eyes off Pyrrha. "She's not human anymore. Whoever she was before is long gone by now."

Jaune pushed even further forward, "That's not true!"

A flick of his wand towards him and Jaune found himself knocked backwards a few feet onto his back.

"I said stay back," Harry called. Scrambling to his feet Jaune was in time to hear him yell, "Ignis Verberaque!"

A thin stream of fire shot forth from his wand and remain in that shape. It was only as Harry cracked it in the air that he realized it was a whip. A whip made of pure magical fire. As soon as he realized this, all Jaune could picture was the flames coming down on Pyrrha, biting into her flesh, sizzling the skin and ripping her apart. He couldn't let her get hurt, let alone be killed again.

Pushing himself as much as he could Jaune launched himself forward. He saw Harry's arm swinging downward, the whip coming with it, Pyrrha on the other end. With one last push he threw himself into the whip's path. He turned midair and took one last look at Pyrrha.

A shocked look graced her face, both eyes suddenly a solid green once again before Jaune felt the fiery burning pain split down his back. He'd never felt something so intense in his whole life, and he'd experienced a lot being as clumsy as he was growing up. Cuts, bruises, broken bones, you name it all, this was worse. He felt the skin on his back starting to bubble when it finally became too much and everything went dark.

Harry stared ahead incredulously. That idiot, Jaune, had just jumped in front of his fire whip. In his shock, the spell faded away, his concentration gone. A snarl from the abomination in front of him drew his attention back to his more pressing concerns. Two emerald eyes, much like his own, glowed in the darkness making him shiver.

The human shaped Grimm launched itself back at him once again, and another blast of force had it flying back, this time outside his protections that obviously weren't working and into the dark. It wouldn't hurt it but it was useful for giving him space to think. A silent Lumos Maxima flared to life and disconnected from his wand as he flung it before him in the sky.

As the surrounding area was illuminated, Harry tensed. The humanoid Grimm stood at the edge of where his protections were supposed to function, staring him down, her face a mask of rage. Strangely enough, one of her eyes was glowing red this time, he wasn't sure what that was about, but that wasn't what had made him nervous. It was what was behind her. Surrounded by three sides was a small horde of Grimm.

They weren't crossing his borders yet but it seemed the humanoid one was somehow able to lead them across. This wasn't good. He didn't fear for his own safety but with all the teens out for the count and Qrow nowhere in his line of sight, he wouldn't be able to fight them off while keeping the others safe. He didn't want to try something overly powerful and destructive either as he wouldn't be able to control it with everyone else around him so close. He needed another option.

There was one thing he could try. He'd theorized it might work for a while but hadn't been sure. If it didn't work he'd have to go with something a bit more dangerous.

Calling up on as much positivity as he could muster under the circumstances, he allowed the feeling to spread through his body as he closed his eyes. He focused on what he'd felt just moments earlier when he and Winter had kissed for the first time beside that little beautiful pond. The feel of her lips on his. The tender care and affection that had been growing between them. The beauty of that moment resonated within him as he opened his eyes and projected it onto the oncoming horde.

"Expecto Patronum!"

The white light that had been growing at the tip of his wand exploded outwards in a wave. A blindingly bright ethereal stag charged forth towards his opponents, and just like the dementors who fed on negative emotions, the Grimm that used those same feelings to locate their prey, howled in pain as their senses were overloaded with the exact opposite.

The advancing horde began to falter when the first wave of the spell hit them and they soon began to break rank to flee. The only one who stayed the course was his original enemy and that was exactly where the corporal body of his patronus was heading. Prong lowered his impressive rack of antlers as the distance closed between them. Harry wasn't sure what would happen in the confrontation but he found himself waiting with bated breath.

It happened as if in slow motion. As the two approached each other, Harry could see the light of his patronus shining more and more off his opponent's skin. Her expression of discomfort seemed to only grow the closer they came but she didn't make any moves to change course. Just as quickly as it had all started, it ended. Harry's eyes widened in surprise as his patronus hooked her in its antlers and with an all mighty sweep of it's head threw the humanoid Grimm back across the clearing. He didn't know how it was even possible. The Patronus Charm did not conjure a physical guardian, so as far as he was aware, what had just happened should not have been possible. The only reason it was able to act like that on dementors was because they were more wraith than physical being.

Keeping his eyes peeled just in case, Harry watched the area where the humanoid Grimm had disappeared. Prongs was pacing the edge of his wards. Two eyes peered out of the darkness again and Harry prepared to send Prongs forward to meet her when she advanced. Strangely, both eyes were back to green. He really didn't understand that. There was just enough light that he could see the creature's face and he was shocked to see the inhuman rage from before seemingly gone. Her face almost looked sad, but that wasn't possible was it? When they were transformed, the sentient energies from the void, that were the Grimm, latched onto the person's soul like a parasite. It corrupted them and they shouldn't be able to feel anything but rage and hate against humanity.

With one last look, the creature turned away and disappeared into the dark trees. Harry remained rooted to the spot, trying to digest everything that happened. The sounds of a few groans of pain and Winter's worried movements all around him snapped him back into motion. He was pretty sure his protections had been working to keep the regular Grimm out. The hybrid had been able to find them and lead the other in, but without her he was certain the enchantments would hold. He didn't want to risk it though.

Gathering his power and focusing his mind, Harry prepared his next big endeavor. With his concentration now somewhere else, his patronus faded away, but he barely even noticed. Satisfied that he was prepared, he knelt upon the ground and stabbed the tip of his wand into the dirt. Expanding his awareness into the earth he began to exert his will. A loud rumble grew in the clearing as great walls of earth and stone began rising all around their camp.

Sweat began to bead on Harry's brow. Despite what some may think, the Earth or in this case Remnant had it's own form of sentience. It wasn't the same as the human or even animal mind, but the planet was alive, so using magic as a conduit to directly will such a being to change was an immensely hard task and require an incredible strength of will. It would be easier to use magic to manipulate the earth as a force, but in this case it wouldn't be good or solid enough.

Sensing that they were high enough, Harry released his hold over the magic, slumping backwards in exhaustion. The day had been way too long and his mental reserves were extremely taxed, but he wasn't done yet. At least they should be mostly safe from any physical threats that may come their way.

Jaune was still laying a few feet in front of him unmoving except for the shallow rise and fall of his chest that told him he was still alive. The smell of burnt flesh that was coming off of him almost made Harry sick. His injuries were serious so he would need to deal with him quickly.

Glancing around he saw Winter climbing back to her feet. "Is everyone alright?"

"They'll all live," she answered calmly, but Harry knew her well enough by now to see the worry in her eyes.

"Where's Qrow?"

Winter scowled, "Who knows! He was supposed to be here to protect them! Probably off getting even more drunk than before."

Before Harry could answer he heard a muffled shouting. Looking around he saw his tent collapsed on the ground, the fabric bulging repeatedly in one area as if someone were underneath it. Eyes widening, Harry flicked his wand a few times, watching as it rebuilt itself to it's normal appearance. The second that it was complete, Qrow came spilling forth from the entrance looking extremely ruffled.

Cursing, he climbed back to his feet, freezing a moment later as he took in the sight of all the fallen teenagers. His eyes locked onto the prone Ruby, and immediately began to head towards her.

Winter moved to intercept, "She's fine Qrow. Just a little banged up. Don't wor-"

"Get out of my way," he growled knocking into her side and sending her staggering back a few steps.

Feeling his temper flare up in his chest, Harry strode forward a few steps and grabbed Qrow's arm causing both men to stop. "Hey! Watch yourself."

There was silence for a minute while Qrow looked down at where he was being held before ever so slowly bringing his red eyes up to meet Harry's green. "Are you sure you want to try and stop me right now?"

Their eyes remained locked for a few moments neither giving anything away on their face. They were sizing each other up. Harry knew he had no chance in a physical confrontation with the veteran huntsman but he didn't want to back down. Harry's gaze flickered over to the form of the unconscious scythe wielder. He knew Qrow was just worried about his niece. It didn't make how he treated Winter any easier to swallow but he wouldn't begrudge the man that. He removed his hand and took a step back. The older man didn't say a word but just continued on his way.

Harry stood there for a minute before turning to the other adult present, "Winter, can I have your help with Jaune?"

She nodded and joined his side as they moved towards the blonde boy.

"You didn't have to start a fight with Qrow?" She said. "I can handle myself."

Harry sighed, "I know, but it doesn't mean he wasn't out of line."

"As much of an asshole that he is, he was worried about his niece."

"I know, it's the only reason I didn't clock him."

"You've been extremely effective with everything we've done so far Harry, but in a strictly melee fight with Qrow, you wouldn't stand a chance."

He pouted, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"I-" Winter stopped in her tracks. "Oh my..." They had reached Jaune.

Some of the cheerfulness he'd regained from his friendly banter with Winter faded as he was faced with the problem in front of him. "Yep."

"We need to get medical help. Aura can only heal so much, he needs a doctor."

Crouching down down beside him, Harry vanished the ruined sweater and shirt he was wearing, "I'll do what I can but, yes, it would be best for us all to leave and get him to a doctor."

Harry winced as he looked at the wound. It was a straight line that cut diagonally across his back. While the heat of his whip had cauterized it and made sure he wouldn't bleed out, the edges were blackened and charred while much of his surrounding back looked as if the very skin had bubbled. He couldn't imagine the pain Jaune had felt and if he didn't feel so bad about it, he would start cursing the boy for his stupidity once again.

Pulling out his Mokeskin pouch, Harry summoned a jar of heavy duty burn salve from within it's depths. It would have been helpful to use some Essence of Dittany first but as he knew they were all out of that. Jaune's injury was sure to eat through a lot of salve meaning the next time they stopped for a rest, he would need to start brewing some replacement medical supplies. His potion skills had never become exceptional but he'd manage.

Taking a generous scoop of the thick and smelly creme, Harry began applying it to the teens back.

"Jaune?" A soft voice spoke out as he worked. Glancing up for a split second Harry saw the boy and girl, Ren and Nora he remembered, looking down at their leader in horror. They both looked a little battered but nothing too bad.

Harry was shaken from his observation as Jaune seemed to come awake as he treated the worst part of the wound. He screamed in pain and began writhing away from his touch.

"Help me hold him down!" Harry yelled, doing his best to keep things under control. "He's going to hurt himself even more. The muscles in his back are already bad as they are."

Ren and Nora hurried to comply, and Winter moved to help keep one of his arms down. With him mostly unmoving, Harry pushed through the boy's screams and finished the job. Then scrambling for his wand despite his filthy fingers, Harry pointed it at Jaune and muttered a quick "Stupefy." The boy went slack in a flash of red light.

Letting out a relieved breath, Harry climbed to his feet.

"Will he be ok?" It was the stoic boy in green that asked him the question this time.

"I think so, but we're going to need to get him to a doctor anyway."

He nodded his thanks before turning back to the girl with short hair. They shared a concerned look but didn't say anything else.

"We should get moving. It seems resting for the night wasn't the best idea. Getting the Mistral is more important. Can you get things ready to go?" Harry asked.

"Of course," Winter nodded before glancing over at the bullhead. Then looking around for any observers and seeing none, she leaned in pressing her lips to Harry's cheek quickly, surprising him. Meeting her gaze, he saw a hint of blush on her cheeks. He wanted to comment but she was already moving towards their vehicle, intent on getting everything started. However, this didn't stop his eyes from trailing the sway of her hips as she disappeared inside.

Shaking his head, Harry looked around what was left of their camp. A wave of his wand had the tent folding itself back and soaring back into his bag. Obviously having gotten the idea of what was going on, Yang was awake and hobbling into the Bullhead, and Qrow was heading the same direction with Ruby in his arms. Weiss and Jaune were still laid out on the ground.

Another wave of his wand conjured a stretcher into existence and Harry carefully levitated him onto it, "You guys got him?"

Their nods were all the confirmation they needed as they each took an end and started moving in the right direction. Striding over to Weiss, Harry took in her ruffled yet peaceful appearance in her unconscious state. What shocked him more was the state of rapier beside her. The blade was snapped in two and the dust cartridge area was all bent and warped. Crouching down and tapping it with his wand, he muttered a small "Reparo" and watched as it reassembled itself into perfect condition. The dust was still gone but he was sure she had more. Scooping up the weapon, Harry levitated Weiss into the air with sweep of his wand. Keeping her before him Harry strode over to the bullhead.

It was time for them to finally get to Mistral. They'd be safer inside the Kingdom and hopefully have time to recuperate. Maybe he'd even have a chance, in between their mission, to take Winter out on a propre uninterrupted date. Climbing the ramp, Harry saw where many of the teens were being laid out or were sitting on the floor.

Winter was obviously watching from the front as the mechanical hum of the ramp started to move behind him. Conjuring a simple mattress pad, he lowered Weiss down, setting her rapier beside her. With a loud bang, the door behind him had closed, shutting them off from the outside environment and signally that they were ready to go. Feeling the engines rev, Harry moved towards the cockpit.