Salem, still wielding the Scythe of Destiny- which was ironically in the form of a sword- leap at Nora and Jaune with the intent to kill. Jaune was equipped to deal with sword-wielding opponents with his shield, but the Queen packed so much power behind the strike that the hunter was thrown backwards. Nora dodged to avoid a similar fate and swung at Salem with her war hammer right afterwards. Despite the mass being in the huntress' favor, though, the Grimm Queen easily blocked the blow without moving an inch.

This was most definitely an odd turn of events for the hunter. The last hour had given him the greatest amount of surprises that he'd ever gotten before. Cinder leading a Grimm invasion of Vale and Beacon? Inevitably going to happen at some point. Being able to talk with Gary the Beowulf? Unexpected, but the signs were there. Having to fight his former self who was evil and also previously imprisoned in his subconscious…? Honestly, that one was expected as well when Jaune thought about it hard enough. All those glitches and oddities that Arc had blocked out of his memory previously were now rushing back to Jaune.

However, remembering the real cause of the date fiasco and why he was never able to make up with Ren didn't change anything. Those mistakes had still been made, and even worse, those mistakes were made for him. That made him feel powerless, as if his choices were not his own. And considering that Jaune had spent the better part of the last year training himself to grow beyond that feeling, it was safe to say that he was feeling pretty passed.

Jaune refused to lose even a moment during this fight. Once he steadied himself after landing, the leader of Team JWLR let out six shots from his revolver, all aimed at Salem's face. Of course, these did no damage whatsoever, and only two of the six bullets actually hit their mark, but damage was never the intention. Arc's puppet reflexively flinched when 'hurt,' and Nora followed up quickly on this lasp by sweeping the legs. The huntress then leaped into the air to deliver a devastating smash with her hammer, but the Queen rolled out of the way just in time. Salem then transformed the Scythe-Sword back to a scythe and used the extra reach to cut Nora's lower arm on her exposed side.

"Ah!" She cried out. As was already known, magic weapons such as the Scythe of Destiny ignored a person's aura. Nora's blood stained the scythe's edge and she quickly jumped away in pain. To cover her, Jaune sent a wave of fire towards Salem, though there was once again no damage sustained.

"So, how did you beat her last time?" Jaune asked Nora once they were right next to each other.

"We just- ergh- beat the crap out of her. There really wasn't anything special to it." Nora confessed as she wrapped up her arm with a strip of cloth from her skirt. "She's different this time around. Ren was able to land hits, but they healed instantly. Last time, she could shrug off the damage but it didn't go away."

"Did you do anything different? Do you have any skills that could do something?"

"My status as a 'Gamer' is kinda in an odd position." The Valkyrie confessed. "I can access a good amount of my previous strength, but I don't have the ability to use my old skills. I only have- Well… Nevermind."

"What is it? It might help." Jaune urged her on. Before she could answer, though, Salem charged back in.

"Ugh, you love to talk talk talk so much!" Arc complained as he watched the fighting. "That's another reason I dislike you so much. Always using words before action- So boring! You didn't even fight Cinder Fall once!"

"If talking can fix the problem, there's no need for fighting." Jaune defended his position while making sure Salem didn't cut his head off. "Besides, I can usually get villains to spill their plans to me to get an advantage."

"Oh? Do you think I'll tell you exactly how to defeat Salem?" Arc challenged.

"N-"

"Because I will." The ghost interrupted.

"And-" The leader of Team JWLR momentarily stopped talking to focus on dodging Salem's attacks. "-why would you do that?" At this, Arc smirked.

"I know you." Arc declared. "You're a coward, weak. I'll tell you exactly how to defeat Salem because you'll never do it, and when all of your friends die because of your inaction, I will soak in your anguish."

"Try me."

"Absorb." The villain stated simply. "I invented the skill to take the magic of others for myself. You can unlock the skill book, absorb Salem, and defeat her once and for all, but that much magic would kill you at such a low level." That… Made sense. Too much sense, honestly. It had to be some sort of trick. Arc couldn't have actually given away the solution to their problems, right?

"Nora?" Jaune looked to the woman for confirmation.

"It could work." She begrudgingly admitted. "Though I never had the skill for myself, so I couldn't say if you would actually die or not."

"…"

"No." Jaune decided. This had to be a trick. He would die for his friends any day they asked, but not on a whim- and especially not on the whim of his former, evil self.

"Told you." Arc said smugly. "My victory is all but assured." No, that couldn't be right either. "It's practically written in the code itself."

"I don't believe it." Jaune challenged.

"Don't believe what? That you'll lose?"

"That everything is just code in the game. I don't believe it." He decided. "I have memories from before I arrived at Beacon. Things have happened to me that even the Game can't explain. There has to be more." Arc scoffed.

"The sooner you realize only the game, the sooner you can become more powerful than ever." The villain stated. "It all revolves around you- Or should I say, me. Why do you think I was able to become the most powerful person on Remnant? Because when I'm the Gamer, the world revolves around me. I made the mistake of letting Nora keep her gamer status last time, but not this time. She will be the first to die by my hand."

No, that couldn't be. That selfish point of view couldn't be true. Arc couldn't be assured victory because he was the 'main character' or something like that, right? There had to be something Jaune could do.

The power of friendship? No. He was already fighting for his friends, and while that instead pushed him to fight as much as possible, it didn't grant him any crazy strong abilities. And besides, after being abandoned by Pyrrha and blasted off by Nora, he wasn't exactly in the greatest mindset to be 'channeling his friends.'

Time travel? That would probably work, but he didn't want to restart the game again. Who knew what could happen at that point.

Of course, there was always the self-sacrificial option that Arc presented him in the form of absorb, but Jaune did not believe that this supposed 'mastermind' working behind the scenes to have every outcome in his favor would possibly give his enemy even the slightest chance of victory. He may have been telling the truth in that Absorb could get rid of Salem, but what might happen after that, Jaune shuddered to even think of.

Salem dodged another blast of fire by acrobatically jumping over it and tagging Nora on the way down. The Valkyrie took the cut in stride, but she clearly felt the pain.

So was that just it? The Leader of Team JWLR refused to be baited by the first Gamer, so he and Nora would inevitably be worn down and killed by his puppet Salem? Perhaps so.

But Jaune wouldn't go down without giving it his all! He took a deep breath and charged.

Taking Nora's place as the primary attacker, Jaune managed to actually catch Salem off guard. His sword landed a nasty cut to her face before he was sucker punched away. A short lived moment for a weak individual.

"Well, that's to be expected." Jaune sighed, right back where he started. Damn. Had he learned nothing from his time at Beacon? He was weak. He would never be strong enough to truly go head to head with his friends without some amount of trickery, and he'd certainly never be strong enough to save them from Salem and Arc. Perhaps if he just died instead of constantly defying the odds, Arc would've never been resurrected and Beacon wouldn't be under attack. This was all his fault.

"Jaune! How did you do that?!" Nora shouted happily in stark contrast to his depressive thoughts. Jaune's eyes shot up to their opponent, whose face had yet to heal from his attack. "Ren's attacks had already healed by now, what did you do?" Nora insisted.

"Now hold on just a second-" Arc barged in, looking worried. Jaune tuned him out as he looked down to his sword.

Of course! Crocea Mors! The Arc Family sword was the one thing Jaune knew he had before the game ever started. No aura, no magic, no scythe, no skills. No. Jaune had tried to enter Beacon with Crocea Mors and a dream of defeating all the evil in the world.

[Crocea Mors]: One handed, Longsword. The Arc family sword handed down from generation to generation.
Basic Requirement: STR: 5
Basic Effects: Inflicts 5+STR physical damage with 50% chance to inflict bleed.
Full Potential Requirement: STR: 50, Longsword Proficiency LV: 10, [?]
Full Potential Effects: Inflicts 15+STR physical damage and 5+INT light damage with 90% chance to inflict bleed.

Jaune quickly used six of his skill points to bring his strength to fifty. The only requirement that remained was the unknown one. Technically, the effects of a Full Potential Crocea Mors weren't actually that powerful, but Jaune knew better. The game had no idea what strength Crocea Mors truly contained. He remembered his grandfather's stories; this sword was capable of greatness.

He tapped the final requirement.

You must have a True Bond, one that transcends the Game itself, with at least one true friend, and you must realize that there is more to life than the Game.

[OK]

Jaune smirked. Done and done.

As the final requirement was met, Crocea Mors began to glow with a white light. Soon, Jaune's entire body followed suit. He could feel immense power within him, but it wasn't his power. It was the power of Weiss, Cardin, Blake, Yang, and Ruby all together, as if they were fighting by his side all at once. Ironically enough, Crocea Mors' secret power was the power of friendship. How else would Jaune be able to kill such a selfish man like Arc and his puppet? Harnessing the power of his friends, with whom he'd crafted truly special relationships, was the only proper way.

When Jaune charged at Salem this time, she knew what was coming. But even that knowledge could not prevent the utter beat down that awaited her. He moved with the speed of Ruby, and used Blake's coordination to easily counter Salem's defensive attack by blocking the strike then turning his blade to cut straight through the Grimm Queen's wrist. Yang and Cardin's strength was used in tandem to both literally and figuratively wear down Salem. Finally, as she tried to flee, he channeled Weiss to… Summon himself from a glyph? Jaune did not know that Weiss could do that. Did Weiss know Weis could do that? Regardless, this move temporarily doubled his strength as his glyph summoned self cut Salem off from escaping, allowing Jaune to stab her right through the chest, ending this fight once and for all.

You've learned Magic!
[Error]

Learned magic? But Jaune already knew magic.

"Ugh. You could've just absorbed her and given me all the power I needed." Arc complained. "But instead, you managed to somehow kill her. Don't worry though, I'm a resourceful guy. I can work with this." The ghostly figure suddenly disappeared.

You?ve Arc Magic!
[Error-Transfer]
[OK]

"What's happening? What is he doing?" Jaune asked Nora in worry.

"You were supposed to absorb all of Salem's magic once you killed her, but since you already had that ability, the power is just out there for the taking. And he's taking it." She realized.

"How do we stop him?!"

"We can't stop him. We can only hope that we have enough power to take him down together."

"Do we?"

"I-"

The entire room was washed with a blinding light-

BOOM!

And the thunder came soon after.

When the leader of Team JWLR was able to reorient himself, he was the only one standing. In Nora's place was a huddled and charred mass, twitching in pain.

"You know, without a semblance or aura, lightning really hurts." Arc said coyly, floating down from the ceiling where he'd created another hole. He was no longer a translucent ghost but an actual solid person.

"You son of a bitch! Fight me!" Jaune cried to his evil doppelganger in fury. Everytime he did something right, that asshole always ruined it!

"Pffft, really?" Arc raised an eyebrow. "Do you honestly believe that you're a match for me?"

"Fight me!" Jaune shouted again, rejecting Gamer's Mind's attempt to calm him down.

"Okay. How about this? If you can remain standing after ten seconds under my attacks, I'll let you kill me. Deal?" That generous offer actually snapped the hunter out of his anger, as he needed to process just what he heard.

"…Deal-" Before he could even finish speaking, Arc attacked.

10.

The villain was behind him, and delivered a massive punch to the center of Jaune's back, sending him flying forward.

9.

Jaune, still using the strength of his friends, tried to use Blake's semblance to dodge out of the way of the next attack in midair, but Arc knew what was coming.

8.

Arc didn't fall for the feint, but still refused to end the barrage quickly. He positioned himself under where Jaune was to land and delivered an uppercut that sent the hunter flying upwards.

7.

Jaune was trying to protect himself with Crocea Mors' power, but that was not nearly enough to defend him against what Arc was bringing upon him. He blasted through the ceiling, creating a third hole, and reached an apex in the sky for the second time that day.

6.

Arc was in front of him, having moved faster than even Ruby could process. That maniac smile on their shared face sent shivers down Jaune's spine. This man was a monster.

5.

Arc hammered down on Jaune's suspended body, rocketing his opponent downwards at insane speeds.

4.

The leader of Team JWLR laid on the floor, auraless and defeated.

"Man, I thought you would at least make it to the very last second." Arc commented. "Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you once again prove to be a disappointment."

Jaune didn't have the energy to say anything back. Instead, he focused the entirety of his being on standing back up.

"Still so much fight left in you. You get that from your mother. Well…" Arc looked to Nora's barely moving body. "Maybe not."

"Just… Do it." Jaune spat blood.

"Ha! So eager to meet your own demise. Good thing I aim to please." The villain quipped one last time.

BOOM!

Yet another massive bolt of lightning struck the top of Ozpin's tower. This time, it contained enough power to shake everything within a mile radius. And all of that energy was directed solely on Jaune.

"I think you forgot something." Arc was surprised to hear his own voice ring out loud and clear, except… It wasn't him talking.

"What? How?" The first gamer sputtered, seeing Jaune standing upright and strong as lightning crackled and sparked around him.

"I'm not just Jaune, I'm a Valkyrie too." And with that, Jaune harnessed the power of yet another ability that seemed to be beyond the game: his semblance.

He meant to shoot out a massive wave of fire at his enemy, but his magic actually mixed with all the electricity inside him to coalesce as a bluish white beam of pure energy, heading straight for Arc. The villain had no time to move, no time to speak, no time to even think before the power that he was partially responsible for creating vaporized him into nothingness.

It was simple. It was quick. And it was over.

You have learned a new skill:
Turtle Destruction Wave
[OK]

Turtle Destruction Wave? That was an odd name for his attack, but whatever. Jaune had better things to worry about as he ran over to Nora to see if she was okay.

"Nora! Are you okay!" He tried to get her to wake up as he checked the woman's pulse. Thankfully, she was still alive, although unresponsive.

"She'll be okay." Jaune nearly jumped as a hand was placed on his shoulder. Ren had finally awoken, and looked at him with pride. "Salem and Arc are gone, and the Grimm are retreating. You did good, Jaune. I'm proud to be your partner." The two shared a smile. Gary was responsible for the Grimm retreat, but Jaune could take credit for the rest.

For killing two strong opponents, you level up twice!
[OK]

Wow. Really? That's it? Only two levels for all that work?

Heh. Fitting.

So, this is it. There will be an Epilogue and an Alternate Ending, but this is essentially the end of New Game Plus. If I'm being honest, I'm not too happy about how it came out.

Unfortunately, the simply truth is that I didn't have enough time. It took me two years to write chapters 1-20. Chapters 21-60 took me five and a half months. Double the chapters, a quarter of the time. As you know, however, those chapters were very short ones, but they each contained a kernel of the story which I wanted to express, and because of that, I put a lot of thought into each of them, despite the length. All the extra stuff that made the first twenty chapters so good, I simply didn't have time to think about and flesh out.

Still, I pushed on despite my hang ups for a reason. Nearly one thousand people had followed my story when I stopped at Chapter 20. Know that these forty chapters were made for each and every one of you who supported me and enjoyed my work. I know you all wanted more and disliked the shorter chapters, but I hope I delivered some fulfillment to you all by actually completing a story instead of being yet another "ABANDONED" project like so many others.

I'm rambling in word form now, but the point I'm trying to make is: Thank you for reading my story. I really hope you enjoyed it, and perhaps learned something about writing along the way (either through my successes or my failures).

It was a pleasure writing for all of you.

And until next time,

-RMV

P.S. I'll answer any and all questions about the plot next time.