I thought to try and make small sequels of the single-shots I've written, and this was the first and easiest to think about.

Also, I just wanna say... if you've watched RWBY V5's Chapter 3 (i think), I totally called the Oscar/Ozpin soul-in-control switch! (See ch. 16)

"Ren! Nora! Go help out Sun and the others! I'll go see what's with Pyrrha!"

"Right!"

"Understood."

Having received their confirmations, Jaune dashed off after Pyrrha, who had inexplicably become focused on Ozpin the moment the man appeared on the stone steps that led to Beacon.

The blonde quickly caught up to the pair, only just catching the end of their conversation.

"-must hurry. We've run out of time and options," Ozpin was saying to the redhead, who merely nodded meekly.

"Pyrrha! Professor Ozpin!" Jaune exclaimed, catching their attention. "What's going on? We need to go help out-!"

"Mister Arc!" Ozpin interrupted him. "I'm sorry, but I must borrow Pyrrha."

Jaune looked between the two, his eyes scrunched in confusion. The professor was a hard person to understand, and that was not helped by his insistence to take one of the school's best fighters.

"If you wish, you can come along with us," Ozpin sighed, "but we musn't dawdle."

Shaking his head, the Arc looked at the pair with a determined frown and nodded. Together, the trio ran into the school.

The sound of a bell signaled the arrival of the elevator at the lowest floor of the school, one that Jaune has no idea even existed.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Ozpin and Pyrrha ran out of it, with Jaune having to catch up. The blond looked around the area, noting the large pillars that led down a darkened path, lit only by strange, green lanterns.

"What is this place...?"

Jaune didn't expect an answer to his query, which only led him to be further confused by his partner's answer of, "It's... a type of vault."

"You've... been here before?"

The redhead didn't answer that one.

"I don't get it. What could this school need to-?"

He was unable to finish his question, as they had arrived at what he assumed was their destination.

A strange machine with human-sized pods on either side, one of which was already occupied.

"... hide?"

"Jaune..." The blond looked away from the machine at his partner's call. "I..."

"Pyrrha!" Ozpin exclaimed, drawing their attention. With a hiss of escaping air, the pod next to him opened up. "Get to the pod!"

Pyrrha looked back towards Jaune, then sighed sadly and went on her way.

"Mister Arc," Ozpin stated, giving him the most serious stare Jaune had ever seen. "If you wish to help, you may stand guard there."

Jaune's eyes narrowed as he nodded, turning and bearing his shield towards the way they'd come. He remained focused on the elevator that he could barely see, vaguely hearing Ozpin and Pyrrha have a short, muted conversation. His eyes remained on the doors even as the area around them shook, and they did not waver when the edges of his sight were filled with a warm, bright orange light.

However, when he heard his partner begin to scream in pain... That, he could not ignore.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune exclaimed, turning and running to the pod, watching helplessly as the redhead writhed and screamed under the assault of whatever the machine was doing.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Ozpin whispered.

Amidst the screams, though, Jaune's ears picked up another, much quieter sound, one he was sure he'd have missed otherwise.

The soft clicks of heels on marble.

Immediately turning, Jaune's eyes locked onto a figure that had suddenly appeared a few meters away. In her hands, with an arrow already notched, was a black bow.

There was a very soft twang as she released it.

Jaune's muscles pumped into action. Carefully measuring the amount of force he needed, the blond collapsed his shield and blasted off from his position, appearing just next to the arrow in the next split-second. His sword sang as it cut through the air towards the body of the arrow.

It was only a centimeter away from destroying the projectile when the arrow suddenly began to glow, and before his eyes, it broke into a multitude of pieces, which deftly avoided the blade of his sword. Before he could change course, the arrow reformed just ahead of him and continued towards its target, burying itself in the chest of the comatose woman in the second pod.

Alarms blared out immediately, but Jaune ignored them, quickly stopping his charge and turning towards the enemy in question. To his surprise, he recognized the face and hair of the person, though just barely.

It was one of the transfer students from Haven Academy, which Ruby had introduced them to after having bumped into the team during the festival.

"You!" Jaune exclaimed.

Before he could say any more or charge, a rush of wind came from behind him as a bright light shot past him and collided with the woman, being absorbed into her body. The woman bent over momentarily, then rose to her full height moments later, fire surrounding her body in a protective sphere.

With a growl, Jaune gripped his sword tightly and once again blasted forward, ignoring Ozpin's warning and swinging it at the woman's neck. Before it could connect, however, the woman's flame shield flared, and the blond was just barely able to get his shield in front of himself in time to prevent his immolation. The blast sent him flying back, forcing him to right himself in midair.

Before he could dash in again, Ozpin held his hand out in front of the blond, saying, "No! Take Pyrrha and get out of here! Find Qrow, Glynda, or James! Tell them to hurry back!"

Gritting his teeth, Jaune nodded, turning back to the pod in time to see his partner climb out of it. With a simultaneous nod, the pair ran towards the elevator, making sure to give the superpowered woman a wide berth.

The last thing they saw before the elevators closed were powerful flashes of red and green energies clashing.

"Okay, I think I have Glynda's number," Jaune muttered once outside, immediately pulling up his contact list. Even as he scrolled through it, though, his mind was elsewhere, leading him to stop searching altogether and turn to his partner carefully. "Pyrrha... What was all of that?"

Pyrrha frowned meekly, her eyes turning downward. "I..."

A powerful tremor cut her off, sending them both off balance. The pair looked back towards the open doors, only to freeze as they witnessed a flash of orange light come from the elevator shaft, heading directly upwards.

"No... But... Ozpin..." Jaune muttered in a disbelieving tone.

"There's no time..." Pyrrha muttered sadly, before he countenance suddenly solidified as she turned to him. "Go! Get to Vale and call for help!"

"What?! What are you going to do?!" Jaune exclaimed, looking at her. The look she gave Beacon Tower was all the answer he needed. "No... No, Pyrrha, you can't! You saw how powerful she is!" When the young woman didn't respond, he stepped closer. "Pyrrha, I won't let you-!"

The blond suddenly fell silent, courtesy of the soft lips that were suddenly pressed against his own. His mind blanked momentarily, but returned a second later, processing what the young woman was doing.

As the kiss between them broke, Pyrrha's eyes closed, and because of that, she missed Jaune's right hand closing into a fist and pulling back.

"I'm sorr-."

Pyrrha was the one that was now cut off, though in a much less romantic manner. Spittle flew from her mouth as she gasped in pain, her eyes wide open and her sternum bent against the fist that had buried itself into it.

The redhead's arms came around her stomach as she struggled for air, the girl feeling the edges of her eyesight blur. Her legs lost strength, making her fall to her knees, and she was barely able to turn her head towards the blond still standing next to her, who was looking at her with sorrowful eyes.

"No, Pyrrha... I'm sorry."

"J-Jaune..."

With that whispered name, the redhead's struggle for air was lost, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Jaune's eyes remained trained on her for the moment, feeling a twinge of regret at his actions, before he got moving and picked the redhead up. Looking around, he spotted an empty rocket locker and marched over to it, placing Pyrrha inside in such a manner that she would be upright for the landing. Carefully looking her over, he then proceeded to take off his breast plate and his hoodie, wrapping the armor in the metal plate and placing it around Pyrrha's head and shoulders as a makeshift pillow.

Finally, he pulled out his scroll, stopping momentarily as he looked at his background picture. It was one that he had taken one day when they'd gone out to Vale, having been by the docks. Jaune was in the middle, holding the scroll, whilst Pyrrha was just behind him, laying her head on his left shoulder. Next to him was Ren, who was leaning on Jaune and wearing an easygoing smile. On Ren's right shoulder was Nora, who was happily grabbing onto the quiet boy's arm and grinning at the camera.

Jaune blinked some moisture out of his eyes, cementing his decision. With a nod to himself, he pulled up the sound recording app on his scroll and pressed 'Record'.

There were very few things Cinder Fall didn't expect. She prided herself as a woman that manipulated others, someone who was very versatile in achieving her goals. For that reason, there was little that could catch her off guard.

The sight of the blond young man from earlier slashing down the door of the elevator and silently challenging her was one of those things, mostly because she couldn't exactly fathom how he got up the shaft to begin with.

"Well, well, well... Look who decided to come and face me," the woman said in her usual seductive tone. "Are you truly so keen to die?"

Jaune did not answer. He merely gripped his sword tightly, falling into a practiced stance.

"A man of few words? Truly, it's a shame you must die. I'm sure I could have come to like you."

"Not in your wildest dreams, you witch," Jaune growled, dashing towards her.

Cinder blasted a stream of fire at him, which he blocked with his shield. Pushing his legs as best he could, he ran through the stream of flames, jumping out at the last moment and twisting in order to strike the woman with a backhand slash.

To his surprise, his blade was stopped cold by Cinder's hand, who then proceeded to grip it tightly and place her free one against his chest. With a burst of flame, she sent him flying into the wall next to the elevator, his sword still in her grasp.

Jaune recovered quickly, glaring at the woman whilst gripping his shield's straps tightly. He watched as she tossed his sword to the side and produced two sharp flames in each of her hands, using them as propulsion to blast herself at him. He tensed, waiting for the right moment, and when she was no more than a meter away, he twisted in place, dodging her charge by a hair's breadth. Jaune quickly swung his shield around, using its sharp end as a makeshift blade and slamming it into her back, making her crash to the ground. The moment she bounced upwards, he pulled back and swung it in a low arc, slamming it into her side and sending her flying into a wall. Without preamble, he dashed for and picked up his sword, leveling it at the woman that was now standing up.

"Well, this is interesting," Cinder said, giving him an appraising look. "You're much more competent than I had expected."

Jaune allowed himself to smirk slightly. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

Both combatants dashed towards each other, meeting in the center of the office in a clash of shield and flaming hands. From there, they fell into a rhythm of attacking and dodging, with Cinder deftly avoiding his strikes and retaliating with narrow blasts of flame, whilst Jaune rolled twisted around most attacks and blocked the streams of flame he couldn't dodge with his shield.

As Cinder attempted to barbecue him for the sixth time in their clash, Jaune ducked and swung his shield arm in an uppercut, using the shield as a bludgeon against the woman's chin. As the false Maiden's head snapped up, he brought his sword arm around and slashed at her sternum, sending her stumbling back. Collapsing his shield, Jaune jumped forward, using both hands in an attempt at a powerful vertical slash.

Cinder, however, recovered faster than he expected. The woman's hands came around, slapping against the flat sides of Crocea Mors and stopping its charge cold. Jaune grit his teeth and pushed, attempting to overpower the woman, but Cinder's newfound power gave her strength, leaving them at a stalemate.

Cinder smirked as her hands suddenly began to glow, the orange light soon transferring to the blade she was holding onto. A roar from outside drew their attention to the Grimm Dragon, which had been watching the battle inside the office. It had detached from the tower and flown off, only to come back around in an attempt to ram into the tower.

The moment before it hit, Cinder's grip on Crocea Mors tightened, and with a twist of her hands, she snapped the blade in two, sending Jaune off balance. Before he could recover, she lifted her leg and slammed it against Jaune's stomach, sending the young man flying just as the Dragon slammed into the tower, destroying the roof and windows around them.

Jaune coughed as he slammed into the wall, falling to one knee. He shook his head in order to come back to his senses, then looked down in shock at the broken remain of his sword still in his hand.

"Left with no weapon to fight with," Cinder spoke coyly. "It seems this is the end for you. It was certainly fun, I'll admit. You've helped me become more acquainted with my new power. You should be proud."

The false Maiden watched with mirth as Jaune remained silent, his shoulders shaking slightly. To her surprise, the next sound to come from him wasn't a declaration to fight her until the end, or a pathetic plea for his life.

It was laughter.

Jaune chuckled as he stood up, dropping his sword to the ground and reaching for his shield straps.

"Do you find death amusing?" Cinder asked, one delicate eyebrow raised in confusion.

Jaune simply continued to chuckle as he took off the straps of his shield, dropping it to the side. Finally, the chuckles abated as he tightened his gloves.

"Who said the battle was over?" Jaune taunted.

The blond fell into a martial arts stance, with his legs bent, his right hand held in a fist by his waist, and his left arm held in front of him, open hand up. With a grunt of exertion, the blond's aura erupted, surrounding him in a flowing glow.

"Ah, yes. I'd heard rumors of your aural power up," Cinder mused. "Please, as if that will be enough to-!"

The woman's speech was cut off suddenly, courtesy of the fist that was now buried in her gut.

"There's a ship ready to get you guys to Vale."

"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing!" Nora exclaimed, holding her leg carefully.

At the Beacon Bullhead dock, the situation was just barely contained. Team RWBY were together, but all with their own pains. Yang was unconscious and missing her right arm from the elbow down, Blake was almost hysterical and gripping her sternum, Weiss was in slight shock at the situation, and Ruby had just arrived.

Ren and Nora, injured from the fighting in Beacon, were left helpless.

"Guys!" Sun insisted. "That giant Grimm keeps circling the school! Even the White Fang are pulling out! We all have to go, now!"

"We're not... leaving... Ugh!" Ren attempted to stand, but a wound on his side protested sharply.

Then, before anyone else could raise an argument, there was a boom nearby as something crashed into the ground a few meters away from the dock. Together, the eyes of those who were awake turned to the source, which turned out to be a rocket locker that had buried itself headfirst into the path that led to the airstrip.

The door to it vibrated momentarily before it was ripped off its hinges and sent flying, and from it emerged a haggard Pyrrha. The girl was breathing heavily, and one of her arms was wrapped around her stomach. The other's hand held a scroll.

Around her shoulders was a familiar black-and-orange hoodie.

"Pyrrha!" everyone exclaimed, with Weiss rushing over to help the girl up.

The redhead looked up, accepting the proffered hand and letting Weiss help her over to the airstrip, where the girl once again collapsed to her knees, her breathing coming out labored.

"Pyrrha, what happened to you?! Where's Jaune?!" Nora asked.

The champion's eyes widened at the questions, her irises moving over to the scroll in her hand. Knowing she was unable to even breathe properly yet, the desperate young woman brought up the scroll, showing everyone there the open audio file on it, then pressed 'Play'.

"Pyrrha, if you're hearing this, then you've awakened," Jaune's voice came from the speaker, startling those listening. "First of all, I want to say I'm sorry. I noticed what you were planning to do. Your kiss was distracting, no doubt about it, but when you did it, I knew… and I couldn't let you go. Not like this. If you're with our friends, please, let them know that I chose to do this. I doubt I'll come back from this, but I promise, I'll give it my all. And lastly, Pyrrha… Please, stay safe."

With that, the scroll fell silent, much like the rest of the students.

"Pyrrha… where is he?" Sun spoke up, his tone devoid of emotion.

Looking up, the redhead raised her free hand and pointed up, towards the highest point of Beacon. "He went… to fight… that woman… the one responsible… for all of this… But she's too strong… he won't… he won't make it…!"

Sun growled, looking up at the tower. "That idiot!"

With those words, the monkey Faunus ran off, moving as fast as he could to Beacon.

"Sun, wait!" Weiss exclaimed, holding a hand out, but it was too late. "Damn it!"

"I'll go," a voice spoke out, drawing all attention to the cape-wearing leader of RWBY. "I'll find Jaune, and I'll bring him back!"

There was silence for a moment, then another voice spoke up. "No. We will get him back," Weiss said resolutely. Looking back at the group, the white-haired girl said, "Watch after Blake and Yang for us. We'll be back."

With those words, the duo dashed away, following the same path Sun had.

In what used to be Ozpin's office, there was a sound of breaking rubble as a body crashed into the wall of the office with extreme force, breaking through it entirely. The figure flipped in mid-air and growled at the offending person before creating a pair of fireballs in her hands, throwing them at her opponent in a pincer-like attack even as she flew towards him.

The blond young man in the middle of the office tensed, watching the triple attack that came towards him. With nothing but a minor grunt, he brought his hands up, coated them in his aura, and caught the pair of fireballs that were aimed at him from the sides. As Cinder approached from the front, the blond's hands tightened as he forced the fireballs together in front of him, slamming them into Cinder in a move that caused them to explode, sending the pair of fighters in opposite directions.

Cinder coughed as her back slammed into an intact wall, thankfully not breaking through it. She looked up at the smoke that had resulted from her hijacked attack just in time to dodge the punch that Jaune had thrown at her as he emerged from the smoke cloud, which landed on the wall behind her and blasted a large hole in it, which was accompanied by a resounding boom, and which she feared would have actually hurt.

"Damn you," she muttered as she recovered a few meters away. "How?! How are you this strong?!"

Jaune looked over to her calmly, though his clenched fists told another story. "Lots of aura channeling, that's all."

With that, they fell once again into battle, the blond using every ounce of effort he had in order to hit her. He threw a right hook that Cinder ducked under, with the False Maiden throwing out a leg that swept his feet from under him. The blond quickly recovered, placing one hand on the ground and this time throwing an airborne roundhouse kick that slammed into Cinder's jaw and snapped her head to the side. Using his momentum, Jaune twisted like a break-dancer and shot out a straight kick into Cinder's stomach, which made her bend over. The woman's hands landed on his outstretched leg, and when she straightened, she used her leverage point to lift him up and slam him to the ground behind her. Whilst there, she attempted to incinerate him, but Jaune's free leg kicked out, sending her blast of fire into the air as his foot impacted against her wrist. The blond then dropped that foot, landing an axe kick against the arm that was holding onto his leg, which forced Cinder to let go. As he flipped to a standing position, he moved forward in a split-second and landed another powerful punch against her sternum, winding her, then quickly shot out a one-two combo against her face, and finally twisted and sent her flying with a reverse hook kick.

Cinder hissed in pain, her body screaming in protest as she felt each of the attacks that the blond was landing. She looked up with half-lidded eyes, refusing to believe what was happening.

"This is impossible!" she exclaimed. "I am a Maiden! I should be beating you easily! How?! How can you hurt me like this?!"

"You don't have much of an idea how aura works, do you, lady?" Jaune asked, his breathing slightly labored. He had grown much stronger, but the aural channeling he had been doing since the battle began was beginning to take a toll on him.

"That's it! I've had enough of you!" Cinder yelled, a sphere of flames surrounding her. "I will make sure nothing remains of your mangled corpse!"

Jaune winced and stepped back as a powerful blast of air emanated from the woman. When he looked back, he was startled to notice the large fireball in the middle of her hands, which was only growing larger and which he was sure, with the limited space he had, he would have a difficult time dodging.

"Well… I guess this is it, then," Jaune muttered, raising one of his hands to waist level and clenching it into a fist. The blond grunted in exertion as he called out his aura, which surrounded him in a flowing white glow. Closing his eyes, he figured he had about a quarter of aura left, and while it was less than he had hoped, he knew that it would be enough. "It's time for me to pull out all the stops as well."

"You will not escape! You will not survive! I will make sure of that, and you will regret ever challenging me, boy!"

Jaune looked up at the now slightly-deranged woman, a small smirk on his face. "You're wrong. I will make sure you don't hurt anyone else ever again!"

Cinder's eyes widened as Jaune's aura flared, his form disappearing in the glowing white light emanating from him. She could feel the temperature in the office begin to rise at twice the rate it had before, which set her on edge.

'Pyrrha… Nora… Ren… Ruby… Weiss… Blake… Yang… Sun… Mom… Dad… Blanc, Noire, Vert, Violet, Rouge, Bleu, Rose… I do this for you all. Please... forgive me.'

"Die!"

"Haaaaaaah!"

Cinder's eyes widened in shock as the blond's aura flared further and exploded outward, her fire blast being consumed by the energy emanating from Jaune. She crossed her arms in front of herself, willing her aura to rise to her aid, but unlike Jaune, she had not been paying attention to the amount of aura she still had, letting the flowing powers of the Fall Maiden rise to her head. Her aura flared red for a moment before it suddenly shattered, and with its breaking came a feeling she was intimately familiar with delivering but had almost never received.

The feeling of burning.

Cinder screamed as the energy emanating from Jaune scorched her, trying her hardest to cover herself in any way. Above her own screams, she was vaguely aware of her opponent also screaming out, his roaring coming out as if by force, and with that, her mind understood, remembering the words of her Mistress long ago.

'This is one of the few last-ditch abilities aural users have, Cinder. Most Huntsmen refer to it as an 'Aura Bomb'. In a last ditch attempt at an attack, the Huntsman can expel his or her aura in an explosion. The size and power will heavily depend on how much aura the person has, so you must be very careful with competent enemies. Never believe that your opponent is finished until you see it with your own eyes.'

"Curse… you…" Cinder grit out through clenched teeth. "Curse you! Curse you, Jaune Arc!"

"That thick-skulled bastard!" Sun exclaimed through gritted teeth as he ran as fast as he could towards Beacon, brutally taking care of any Grimm that blocked his way. "I swear, I'm going to shove Ryuji up his-!"

"Sun!" A voice exclaimed his name behind him, but he paid it no heed. "Slow down!"

The sun-kissed Faunus ignored the voice, his sight focused on the tower he was running towards. He had barely been able to see the effects of the clash between Jaune and the woman responsible for this attack, mostly by the air pressure waves he could see and recognized as the signature areal effect of Jaune's aural channeling abilities, not to mention the further destruction of what was left of Ozpin's office.

"Finally," the blonde heard a voice at his side. His eyes flicked down to his right, where he could see Ruby running astride him with a determined frown on her face. His eyes shot to his left, where Weiss was also running alongside him, though she required the use of her glyphs to keep up with their strides. "Would it have killed you to wait for us?"

"Not me, but Jaune," Sun spoke shortly, his even tone denoting to the girls how seriously he was taking this.

As the trio ran into the courtyard of Beacon, they stopped upon realizing just how many Grimm had gathered at the base of the tower, all of which were now focusing on the newcomers. Without preamble, Sun withdrew his nunchaku-shotgun-staff, gripping it tightly as Weiss and Ruby brought out their own weapons.

Before either party could move, however, they all felt a tremor around them that left them unbalanced. Looking up, Sun's eyes widened as he noticed the glare of light that was coming from above them, and though his mind refused to believe it, his body and instincts reacted immediately.

"Move!" Sun exclaimed, turning and grabbing a hold of Ruby and Weiss' arms. Before they could even react, he jumped, taking them with him behind a fairly large pillar that had fallen from the tower.

"Sun, what-?!"

Weiss' question was unceremoniously cut off by a resonating boom from above them, and the next moment, their world shattered as a massive explosion came from above them, nearly sending them flying. The trio pressed themselves against the large pillar, holding their heads down as best they could as they heard Beowulves and Creeps roar and run off.

The explosion lasted no more than a few seconds, but to the trio, those seconds felt like hours. The light slowly began to disperse, and with it, they were able to slowly regain their senses. Sun was the first one up, his panicked eyes denoting his realization of the situation. Ruby and Weiss, though somewhat slower due to the shock of the explosion, followed his line of sight as they also got up.

The entire upper area of Beacon Tower had been destroyed, leaving only jagged pillars where before there had been a proudly-standing spire. In the center of the sphere of destruction that had dispersed, almost hanging in midair, was the figure of a person. As the rest of the light dissipated from around him, gravity took over and the figure began to fall, slamming into pillar after pillar and wall after broken wall on his way down before plowing into the ground inside of Beacon Tower and causing an eruption of dirt and debris.

"Jaune!" Sun exclaimed, immediately jumping over the pillar they had been hiding behind and running towards the tower, with Ruby and Weiss hot on his heels.

The Faunus kicked open the already broken doors to the tower, coming up to the sight of his fellow blond lying in a crater inside. In an instant, he ran to kneel next to Jaune, with Weiss and Ruby coming in hot behind him.

"Jaune... no..." Sun muttered, grabbing a hold of Jaune's hand. "Why...? You idiot..."

"Jaune?" Ruby whispered, her voice frail at the sight of the broken young man in front of her. She knelt at his side, her mind struggling to process the sight of the burns on his body, the lacerations and bruises on his torso, and the paleness of his skin. "No... No, Jaune... get up... please..."

Weiss said nothing, her mind whirling as she stood at the edge of the crater, watching two team leaders despairing over another.

The, breaking the silence like a bullet through glass, there came a raspy laugh.

Together, three pairs of eyes shot up to Jaune's face. Jaune's eyes were slightly ajar, his irises faded but still managing to look at them all, and his mouth was open, letting out a dry chuckle.

"I think... this is it..." Jaune whispered, his raspy voice carrying to them all in their shocked silence. "I'm sorry... Ruby... I guess we won't... become... the greatest team leaders... after all... you'll have to... carry on..."

"No..." Ruby said, her voice wavering as tears filled her eyes. "I can't... I can't do it alone, Jaune! You can't leave us like this!"

Jaune's blank eyes slid over to Sun. "Sun... thank you... I was able to... kill her... thanks to you..."

"Thank me by surviving, you idiot!" Sun said, gripping Jaune's hand tighter. "Don't turn this into a sacrifice; you have to live!"

Blue eyes slowly traveled to land on the final member there. "Weiss..."

Weiss didn't respond, but her wide eyes pooled with tears at the sight of Jaune's struggle to talk to her.

"Take care of yourself… and of them… They'll need you…"

With those words, the blond's eyes slid towards the night sky, a wan smile appearing on his face. He exhaled one more time, and with that, his chest stilled.

Silence fell on the area, with even the breathing of the remaining three Huntsmen and Huntresses being muted by the silent passing of the blond.

It was broken by the low voice of the red reaper.

"Jaune…"

Sun and Weiss' eyes, both already pooled with tears, slid to Ruby's form.

"No…"

A trio of tears fell from her eyes and onto Jaune's arm, and with them came small particles of light.

"What the…?" Sun whispered.

"No…!"

Ruby's grip tightened on Jaune's right hand.

The particles of light solidified, forming small wings coming from her eyes.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"No!"

Ruby screamed.

Weiss and Sun both exclaimed in shock as the area around them was bathed in an explosion of bright light.

"Oh damn… what happened?"

Sun groaned as he sat up blinking to get his eyes used to the darkness now that the bright light had receded. Looking around, he immediately became aware of the second unmoving body in the destroyed room.

"Ruby!" he exclaimed, dashing over to her. He held his right hand up to her face as his left one went for her neck, sighing in relief when he felt her exhaling against his hand as well as her pulse against his fingers.

"Ugh… Wha- Ruby!" Weiss, now awoken as well, immediately forced herself over to their position.

"She's alive," Sun assured her. "I don't know what the hell that was, but it seems to have just knocked her out. That… that wasn't her Semblance."

It wasn't a question.

"No," Weiss sighed. "It certainly wasn't, but I have no idea what it was."

Sun sighed. "Can you carry her? I'll take Jaune…"

Noticing the mood drop on Sun's face at the mention of the human blond's name, as well as the feeling of her own heart plummeting upon remembering his death, Weiss merely nodded and reached down to grab Ruby.

Before she could, however, Sun's voice caught her attention again.

"What…?"

She looked up, realizing that Sun was kneeling over Jaune and staring down at him, his eyes wide. Weiss' eyes trailed down, focusing on Jaune's body.

At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then, her eyes widened as she realized his chest was moving.

Up… down… up… down…

He was breathing…

He was alive!

"He's… I'm not imagining this, am I?" Sun asked, his eyes snapping towards Weiss', who shook her head.

"No, I see it too, but… he was…"

Sun's eyes hardened. "No time for questions; we can figure that out later. "Let's get these two back to the evacuation point!"

Weiss nodded resolutely, grabbing a hold of Ruby's arms and lifting the redhead onto her back. As she watched Sun carefully put Jaune over his shoulder, however, she realized they may have a problem.

"Wait," she said, catching Sun's attention. "Neither of us can fight like this, and the Grimm must have congregated around this area once again. How will we make it back?"

"Leave that to me," a voice said from the entrance, drawing their eyes.

Standing at the same doors they had used to enter was a familiar, grizzled man with a broadsword on his shoulder.

"Who are you?" Sun spoke, his voice full of skepticism.

"Ruby's uncle," Weiss was the one to respond. "Qrow, right?"

"That's right," Qrow nodded, stepping towards them. "Is she alright?"

"She's alive," Weiss assured him, "but we're not sure if she has any anomalies or ailments."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "If what just happened is what I think it is, I don't think so. She just needs to rest."

The heiress and Faunus nodded, making sure to hold on tightly to each of their charges. With Qrow leading the pack, they made their way out of the building, weapons (and Semblances in Weiss' case) at the ready.

…