Disclaimer:

The works of Rooster-Teeth and their characters are their own and that of the mighty Oum. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Oum Damn It!

Date Published: 19th September 2017

Chapter Title: Prologue - A Change in Fate

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Fate can be a very fickle thing for different individuals. Ask them what they think of fate and you would get many answers.

For one group of people, it suggests the inevitably of things to come, something that is predetermined by some outside forces. Something that cannot be worked around in spite of any and all effort to do so.

For a second group, it is often used with the word 'destiny', where the user in question will take an active role in a set of predetermined events, provided the person is willing to take the plunge.

And then we have those who have heard of their fates, told of their inevitability and how they should accept it. These are the ones who decided that they will still decide their fates to be made by their own hands no matter the cost, and they managed to do so, often achieving great things in life and reaching the pinnacle of their success, or to perish alone on a hill of blades, betrayed by one's beliefs.

The lesson in this: One can never and in some cases, should not use fate as a way of justifying the means to the end of a task. One does not presume that fate dictates your actions or that you can't do anything about it.

Because one can never tell when life decides to throw a curve ball in your midst and alter your fate in a different manner.

=()=

Jaune would like to think that he thought of everything not related to Hunters.

Firstly, he knew that his sisters would want him to bring along the bunny onesie, his younger sisters wanting it to be an item to remember them by, while his elder sisters want to pull off one last prank on him, which was why he created a secret pocket in his bag at the last moment to ensure that he had one set of normal pajamas when sleeping, thus ensuring he would not be an embarrassment to the public, only reserving it for the room where he would sleep in the future.

Secondly, Jaune took his sister's advice and got some air sickness pills to take before going on board the airship headed to Beacon as she had a feeling that Jaune would be so nervous that he might throw up in the airship. That certainly spared him the troubles of his stomach and not lose his lunch, and more importantly, the absolute embarrassment he would have obtained like the one guy who vomited all over some hot blonde's shoes, sending her and a younger girl screaming. In that sense, he was able to make a better impression when he went to help the younger girl out after she got herself blown up somehow, thus leading to a relatively good, if not embarrassing to him, meeting with her older half-sister who clearly enjoyed his reactions to her appearance and flirting.

Thirdly, he got the full nine hours of sleep to obtain the necessary energy needed for the initiation, unwittingly giving him an opportunity to get some good breakfast and chat with one energetic girl who seemed to have one major motor mouth and her almost catatonic partner who looked ready to hit the coffin. He hoped to be able to meet them later.

Lastly and by far one of the most important moments of his life, he followed the instructions of his uncle and his eldest sister to not follow his father's advice about women liking confidence. On that front he was eternally grateful to those two as he was able to somewhat hold a short, if not tensed conversation with that white-haired girl and another brief one with the beautiful red-head who was apparently someone famous that he recognized from the cereal that he and his sisters ate back home.

It was that advice which made him firmly believe was the reason he was still alive as he got saved from becoming a bloody smear on the ground by the one and only Pyrrha Nikos who threw her spear with such accuracy it pinned him to the tree. Once she came to help him off the tree they continued to complete the initiation, all while having a light talk about each other's hobbies and bits of personal history. It was also thanks to her that he finally obtained Aura, something that was apparently indispensable for all Hunters and something that he woefully hated his father for not telling him about amongst other matters.

And thus, they found themselves in front of a huge cave made in the face of the small mountain they encountered.

"You think this is it?" Jaune turned to the red-headed girl next to him as he gestured to the cave opening.

"I am not sure if this is the place." Pyrrha looked uncertain as she looked at the opening while gesturing at the wall paintings next to them depicting several humans fighting off a giant scorpion. "The Headmaster said that we are looking for a temple, this looks more like a cavern. And I don't think the markings are for show." She turned back to him with a slightly uneasy expression. "I think we need to keep moving." Jaune bit a lip as he looked at the wall paintings before alternating his eyes between his partner and the entrance.

In another life, he would have foolishly suggested to go inside, ignoring whatever warnings there were and likely get himself pummeled to the ground or thrown to some far-off place, maybe with his luck be at some actual ruins and likely collide with someone midway.

But after hearing some stories from his uncle, grandfather and his eldest sister about the dangers of the world and how some of their Hunter companions lost their limbs or lives, and taking into account his lack of ability, he would heed the advice of a more experienced fighter.

"Okay, I think you got a point." Pyrrha visibly sagged with relief at his agreement. "But that just leaves us with a bit of problem. We still need to find this temple and fast." Jaune gestured with his thumb at the dark clouds. "Looks like a storm is coming."

"Well then, we should make haste." No sooner Pyrrha said that, the clap of thunder roared around them, making them clamp down on their ears while wincing from the ringing. A second later a lightning bolt struck the hillside, destroying parts of the mountain and raining boulders on the both of them. Pyrrha tried to move away but the suddenness of the lightning bolt and the resulting power that shook the earth forced her to ground, leaving her open to the boulders heading her way.

"Pyrrha watch out!" Jaune grabbed her and pulled her back in time to avoid one particularly big boulder that smashed the ground where she stood and embedded itself deeply. Without further ado, he made to bring her back to the entrance and held her tightly against the wall while using himself as a shield to protect her from the rocks.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called out as she struggled to be free and to stop him from hurting himself.

"Just hold on!" Jaune winced in pain as some of the rocks hit his armour, the impact managing to make his back plates dig into his back but ensuring none hit his head from the odd angles. It did not take long for the landslide of rocks to stop, but the result was the accumulation of debris that sealed them off from their freedom.

"Are you okay, Pyrrha?" Jaune slowly released his hold on her and looked at her in concern at her expression of fear, shock and something else.

"I… I am fine Jaune. Just a little shaken." Pyrrha spoke a little softly while looking slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed with a red face. "And Jaune, could you… you can let me go now?" It was at that point that Jaune realized their positions and the manner he had one arm wrapped around her waist protectively while the other was against the wall for supporting his body, thus putting them in close proximity with one another. With the few rays of light shining through the gaps of the blockade, Jaune could not help but notice her lightly curved face with pale skin, luscious red hair that seemed to flow naturally over his arm and emerald eyes that gleamed like actual gemstones. He could not help but note that she was a very beautiful girl…

And the fact that he was pining her against a rock wall and thus unwittingly feeling her body against his own.

'I thank the Lord that Coral isn't here, she would tease me to the end of time.'

"I am so sorry!" Jaune quickly removed his arm around her and moved away a few steps to give her some room, scratching the back of his head while feeling the blood rush to his head. "I did not mean to be so close to you, I was trying to make sure no rocks hit you!"

"It is okay. Thank you." Pyrrha assured him while lightly moving a stray strand of hair out of the way, making the gesture very cute to Jaune. She looked to the closed off entrance with a frown. "Well I don't think we can get out that way."

"Not for now at least." Jaune winced at the sound of the thunder clapping and the rain now coming through the gaps of the rocks. "For the time being, we would have to stay put or try to find another way out. Hopefully the storm ends by then."

"I suppose so." Pyrrha sighed before looking at him woefully. "Looks like we end up exploring the cave after all."

"Looks that way." Jaune shrugged as he set about making a quick torch out of the few pieces of wood that got broken by the boulders and landed near them. In no time he was able to make two torches for the both of them, greatly increasing their vision in the dimming light.

"Thank you, you are pretty quick in making these." Pyrrha complemented him as she took the torch handed to her.

"I spent a bit of time in the outdoors with my grandpa." Jaune spoke as he adjusted his armour and weapon. "He tends to give me tips on surviving the outside world, though it was not fully related to Hunter training. Still at least he helps me a lot in my life, alongside my uncle and eldest sister."

"Let's see." Jaune closed his eyes as he focused his senses and his mind for a moment. "Okay there should be another opening somewhere else. This type of cave should have multiple openings elsewhere."

"Another tip from your personal survival school?" Pyrrha asked as she checked her equipment.

"My eldest sister." Jaune nodded as he lifted his torch and checked the ceiling for leaks. "If the paintings are correct, a creature of that size should have another escape route in the event this one is closed off. That much is certain."

"I see. How about your father? Any tips he gave you for this situation?" The moment those words left her mouth, Pyrrha knew she screwed up badly as she watched a shadow cover Jaune's face as all expression left it. He paused for a moment before walking into the darkness.

"He did not bother teaching me anything useful." Jaune spoke in an emotionless tone as he continued on. Pyrrha felt her heart gripped tightly in shame as she noted the underlying bitterness present in his words. There was no other way of saying it, but clearly, he had a very strained relationship with his father and he made it very clear that he did not wish to talk about it. She silently followed him into the cave, slowly walking about the area to avoid slipping into the many puddles that gathered. After a while she plucked up the courage and walked a little ahead of him before turning and facing him in the eye.

"I'm sorry." She bowed her head deeply as she apologized. After a few seconds she heard Jaune let out a resigned sigh.

"It is not your fault, you did not know about my situation." Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder to get her to look up. "If anything, I am the one who must apologize. I did not mean for you to see me like that, and I must remember that having these types of feelings around these parts is bad news since Grimm would love to have a taste of this blonde scraggly guy with a side seasoning of negative emotions." Jaune waved his hand flamboyantly as he flicked his hair. The manner he did it made Pyrrha cupped her mouth in a futile attempt to stifle the laughter that was emitting from her mouth, but she soon let her hand drop to her stomach as she let it all out, her laughter sounding like chimes in the cave.

"I think there should be some spices needed to be used for cooking in your case." She managed to speak after taking a few breaths.

"I believe you would know that." Jaune remarked with a smirk. "Despite popular belief, I do not taste like chicken even if you try to catch me like a bird of prey with your weapon."

"I am not going to be let off on that huh?" Pyrrha rolled her eyes in good humor.

"Nope~" Jaune replied while extending the 'p'. The both of them looked at each other before letting out another laugh, their earlier mood now lifted.

'ROOOARRR!'

The sound of a huge creature letting out a bellow in the cave put an end to their laughter and looked to the origin with pale faces. "Pyrrha, please tell me that was your stomach?" Jaune asked with a nervous tone as he gripped the torch tighter while grabbing the handle of his sword.

"Only if you tell me that was actually your stomach?" Pyrrha jabbed the end of her torch into the cracks of the wall and grabbed her weapons.

"Sorry, it is not my stomach." Jaune gulped as he did the same actions as her. "You know what I am feeling now?"

"Soul crushing regret?" Pyrrha quipped. The sounds of something huge and heavy started to fill the silence of the cave, the enclosed space making it echo louder and seemingly heavier.

"Yup~" Jaune said as the sounds got closer and harder. But it seemed that the creature coming their way was too heavy for the ground to support its weight, because cracks started to appear and widen on its approach. When it seemed that it was about to close in on them, the ground completely broke apart and taken the two of them by complete surprise and unprepared for what to come next.

"OH SHIT!" Jaune yelled loudly as the ground gave out below them and they found themselves plunging down to the cavern that was evidently at the bottom of the mountain. They did not freefall for too long as they hit a gentle slope and started to slide down rapidly somewhere. Before they could take the time to orientate themselves, the slope beneath them ran out and they hit the ground hard.

"GAH!" Jaune let out a pained grunt as he gingerly got up from the ground. "Damn it I am going to be feeling that in the morning." He looked around using the after-glow from the remains of his torch and started to panic at not finding Pyrrha around. "Pyrrha, are you there?!"

"Here!" He turned around and immediately felt relieved at seeing her having landed in a relatively soft patch of dirt. Looks like she had a fair amount of luck on her side.

"Are you okay?" Jaune mentally berated himself for asking that in a situation like this, but it seemed that Pyrrha did not mind as she wobbled slightly while getting up.

"I will live." Pyrrha winced as a bone popped loudly in the cavern. "A little sore in the back but I can move."

"That's good." Jaune looked up and around with a frown. "Weird to think that this opened up to another cave."

"The ground seemed to be quite unstable. I guess the earlier lightning strike may have weakened it and the creature from earlier did the rest by pounding on the ground." Pyrrha said now being able to stand on her two feet without looking unsteady. "I guess we should count ourselves a little lucky that we are just at the bottom of some cavern, rather than dealing with whatever it was up there."

"You don't think it is here with us, right now?" Jaune looked at the shadows with a wary eye as though he was expecting the creature to jump out from them.

"I don't think we have to worry about that, it was still a fair bit away from us when the ground collapsed so it is likely still up there but not moving." Pyrrha assured him as she dusted herself. "And if it were with us, it would have made a fair amount of racket to get out of this rock pile."

"I see." Jaune let out a sigh before frowning as he touched his side. "Oh crap."

"What's wrong?"

"I dropped my weapons when we fell." Jaune cursed as he tried to search the area with the limited light he could get from the small flame. "Considering the creature that is in the caves, I am going to be a sitting duck at this rate."

"Okay, let me help you with that." Pyrrha looked at her side and started to shift some of the rocks, subtly using her Semblance of polarity to find his weapon. "If I might comment, you are the only person I know outside of Mistral who uses such a classic weapon. Even for those in my home, very few solely use a sword or a spear without some form of firearms."

"It belonged to my great-great-grandfather, passed down to my grandpa." Jaune moved some of the bigger rocks while grunting from the effort. "Calling it a classic is a bit of an understatement, it was one of the first-generation weapons to feature some form of moving mechanisms that you see in current Hunter Weapons, and it was used during the Great War."

"Wait, the same Great War where the four kingdoms fought one another?" Pyrrha paused in her search to look at him in disbelief. "But that is roughly seventy years ago, no weapon should be able to last that long!"

"Well this one did." Jaune shrugged before continuing his search. "What little I know about it, weapons from that period were made with a special ore that resists rust and metal deterioration, and Crocea Mors had another ore that can handle huge impacts and actually strengthen its properties, so the combination works well." Pyrrha let out a light whistle of admiration for the blacksmith of that period and wondered if she could get those ores for her weapon.

Whatever thoughts they had were put on hold at the sounds of some clicking that echoed in the cavern. They turned to find small eyes of red glaring back at them, with more appearing by the minute.

"Oh crud!" Jaune backed away while grabbing the torch. He would have to make do with the torch while he tried to find his weapons. Pyrrha however had other ideas as she went ahead of him and held up her spear.

"Jaune, go and find your weapons while I hold them off!" She yelled out as the first creature came out to the light. The Grimm that came before them was some arthropod centipede with scythes for legs, alternating colored body segments of black and white and its mandibles seemed to be glistening with some type of acidic saliva as drops of it dripped to the ground and started to eat through the dirt while spewing smoke. Glowing eyes of crimson peeked through the white masks as the Grimm let out a hissing sputter with its mandibles.

"Great, just what we needed. Acidic bugs." Jaune grumbled as he shifted the rocks faster to find his weapon. It was more than just protecting himself right now, he needed to help Pyrrha in whatever way he could.

Pyrrha started to engage the Grimm in close quarters, using her shield to block the bladed legs and the mandibles, taking extra care to ensure the acid did not touch her bare skin. Her claim of being the four-time Mistral champion was certainly not an empty boast as she was able to switch between offense and defense in a split second while utilizing her multi-form weapon to its best capabilities by alternating all of the forms.

From his angle, Jaune could see that the creature was favoring the right side of its face, using its giant feelers to swipe at Pyrrha while keeping her from hitting the left. When it turned to avoid a strike, he could see in the dim lighting that it seemed to be having issues looking at her from that side.

"Pyrrha, keep attacking the left side of its body! It can't see well there!" Jaune called out to her while throwing a huge rock at the creature to draw its attention, thus exposing the weak side to Pyrrha. She took note and fired off a few rounds at that side of the face, making it hiss in agony and bumping its body against the cavern walls. Jumping to avoid the feeler aimed at her, Pyrrha switched her weapon form back into a spear and viciously stabbed it into the eye, causing it to roar out angrily and twisting its body in an attempt to shake her off, which was successful while causing the ground to rumble greatly.

"Shit!" Jaune lost his footing and slipped to the ground, dropping the torch and unfortunately gaining the attraction of the Grimm which hissed at him and pushed forward, ignoring the shots given by Pyrrha in a futile attempt to attract its attention.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out to him as the Grimm got closer. Jaune shuffled and scrambled on all fours, his eyes focused on the creature that was opening and closing its mouth quickly.

'I need a weapon! I need a weapon! I need a weapon! I need...'

His thoughts got interrupted when his hand touched smooth steel and wrapped around it. Without thinking about it, Jaune swung just as the Grimm leapt forward with its mouth opened wide, ready to swallow him whole.

'Shring!'

The sound of cold steel slicing through the air was soon followed by the painful roars of the Grimm as it thrashed violently all over the place with half of its right mandible and feelers removed rather brutally. Jaune got to his feet and brandished the weapon before him, now taking note of the item he had in his hand. And he frowned lightly at the sight.

'This is not my weapon.'

The weapon in question was a sword of a rather simple and somewhat unusual design. Its hilt was basically a long handle with a pointed pommel and an oddly shaped cross-guard that seemingly covered the entirety of the back and a good portion of the single-edged blade. The fuller had odd angled designs that separated the covering from the black edge of the sword, giving the weapon the overall look of a blade that was designed for heavy strikes.

"Jaune, look out!" His observations got stopped by Pyrrha who yelled as the creature stopped its thrashing and was now looking at him with distinct anger in its eyes. It let out a roar and lunged at him, now intent on crushing him instead of eating him. With a yell, he jumped to one side to avoid the hit, but got thrown back from the aftershock.

'Okay, got to make this work!' Jaune rolled a few times before coming to a clumsy stop, getting into a kneeling position while gripping the handle with both hands. Unknowingly for the both of them, the blade started to glow lightly in the cavern. The centipede Grimm wheeled around from its side and set about to attack. Jaune was about to move when a light tugging at the back of his head made him pause, as though to wait for the right opportunity. Then as though someone flipped a switch in his head, the Grimm seemed to slow down and for whatever reason, the color scheme seemed to switch to reveal vein-like patterns all around its body, with odd spots glowing a bright red. Without a thought, Jaune leaped forward and stabbed the blade deeply into one of those spots.

"RRRRHHHGGYYYYAAA!'

The Grimm let out a terrifying screech of agony as it tried to throw Jaune off. With a grunt, Jaune pushed the blade even further into its body while hanging on for dear life. With a final roar, the Grimm crashed to the ground and laid still, its eyes now losing the glow and the body starting to disintegrate. Jaune let out a sigh as he pulled the sword out of it and jumped off it, but he was not given reprieve as Pyrrha came over, grabbed his collar, and proceeded to pull him away quickly.

"Whoa!"

"Hold on a minute, I got to blow up the walls first!" Pyrrha temporarily lifted him and threw him to the far side before turning around and firing off a round at some raw deposits of dust in the wall, detonating them and demolishing that portion of the wall and parts of the ceiling, thus blocking them off from the Grimm that were just about to launch themselves at them.

"... Is it safe?" Jaune asked quietly, not wanting to move from his spot.

"We are okay now." Pyrrha let out a tired sigh as she leaned against the wall. "God, I want this initiation over with and get to bed."

"You have my vote on that." Jaune got up from his spot and moved slowly to her.

"I did not hurt you just now, did I?" Pyrrha turned to him with a concerned look.

"Nah, the Grimm was giving me more pain." Jaune winced as he felt one of his bones popped back into position with his Aura. He was really thankful for the unlocking by Pyrrha. "That was like riding one of the stable horses back home. That guy was a rough one."

"Still I am sorry for throwing you without warning. There was no time." Pyrrha bowed her head in shame.

"Hey at least you are able to keep them away from us now." Jaune assured her while placing his hands on her shoulders. "I think you may have taken them all out, as for me I could only take on one." That seemed to perk her up a little as she started to smile lightly.

"You say that, but you were the one who took on that creature when I couldn't." She paused as she looked at the sword in his hand. "That is not your weapon. Where did you get that?"

"Found it when I was running from that centipede Grimm." Jaune lifted the blade and looked at it. "I am just grateful that this guy is around and that it is still sharp enough to kill Grimm."

"Hmm~" Pyrrha lifted a finger and lightly touched the black edge of the sword before flinching back in pain. "Ow!"

"Pyrrha?!"

"I am fine. You were not kidding about its sharpness." Pyrrha lifted her hand to reveal a deep cut in her finger, her blood dripping from the wound.

"Oh no, hang on." Without hesitation, Jaune took her hand and brought it to his mouth, sucking on the finger and repeatedly spitting out the blood.

"Erm... Jaune?"

"Hang on Pyrrha, we got to make sure none of the rust gets into the bloodstream." Jaune remembered what happened to one of his younger sisters when she got cut with a rusty piece of fencing, it was a hellish afternoon as she got a high fever and the family scrambled to get a doctor to cure her.

"Erm... I can use my Aura actually?" Pyrrha's words broke his concentration and left him still sucking on her finger.

'Huh?'

Pyrrha slowly pulled her finger from his mouth and showed the light glow of Aura from her closing wound, leaving behind a light bruise and a trail of saliva that came from his mouth.

"My Aura can heal this cut and deal with the rust issue." Pyrrha said softly with a huge blush on her face, "and erm... You can let go now?" Once again, Jaune found himself in another embarrassing situation where he basically took the finger of a girl and sucked it.

'Now I am glad my uncle is not here, he would certainly use this to great effect on me.'

"I am so sorry!" Jaune released his hold on her hand and got down on his knees while lowering his head to the ground. "I did not mean to, I just remembered about my little sister getting cut and I just reacted!"

"It... It is okay, Jaune!" Pyrrha stammered as she attempted to calm him down. "It was a good gesture and..." She looked away with another blush. "It was nice."

'Okay, I am sooooo~ glad none of my elder sisters, my uncle and especially my grandpa are here to see this. They would never let it down.'

"I see." Jaune got up from the ground and looked around awkwardly, thinking of a topic to dispel the situation. Thankfully she got one.

"So how did you kill the Grimm? Aside from the earlier weakness you told me, I could not get my shots through." Pyrrha asked curiously. Jaune thought for a moment to the part where he saw the weird crimson spots and veins along the body, then recalled the moment when the vision passed and Pyrrha's earlier tussle.

"There were odd indentations and cracks that run along the armor. It seemed to flinch when even a pebble hit them, so I figured it must be sensitive there. I honestly did not think it was that fragile, I barely stabbed the sword in." Jaune answered as he thought of his answer. Best to not let her know about the odd vision he saw.

"I see. That is some good observation." Pyrrha praised him much to his embarrassment. "Good thing this sword was there to help." She motioned to the blade.

"Yeah." Jaune looked at it while shifting it slightly to get better lighting. He paused as his thumb felt something and held the blade differently to look at it. "Huh, this guy has some inscriptions on it."

"What does it say?" Pyrrha got closer to peer at it, unintentionally for him to smell the hint of lavender from her hair. Shaking his head from the random thoughts, he looked at the scripts that was etched in old Valean symbols. He was a little rusty with his translation, but if his lessons with his grandfather were correct, it said...

"Crimson Blitz." The moment the words left his mouth, Jaune could have sworn that the weapon seemingly hummed in response while the hair on the back of his neck stood up lightly. Then for whatever reason, the blade seemed to glow briefly before reconfiguring itself to a form more fitting of his figure with a shorter handle and the blade portion more obvious to him.

"Did it just reset itself?" Pyrrha blinked as she looked at the weapon with narrowed eyes. "Did you find the button to make it compact?"

"I don't think so, I don't see any button on this." Jaune held up the blade and looked around it to find no such item. "Maybe as you said, the sword reset itself. I guess after all these years, the mechanisms must be a little rusty and with that fighting we did, the sword just went to this state. Hopefully this does not happen too much, but I would like my weapons back."

"Hmm~" Pyrrha hummed as she looked around before pausing. "Oh there we go, I think I found it!" She moved to one pile of rocks and shifted some of the looser ones to reveal the familiar guard of Crocea Mors.

"Yes!" Jaune came forward to where she was. "Thank you very much Pyr!" He said as he turned to start removing the rocks from his weapon, thus missing the blushing Pyrrha had from his nickname of her. It took a while but he was able to get it out and inspect it for damage.

"Phew~ glad it is not damaged." Jaune activated the mechanisms and checked it thoroughly. "Gramps would have my head if this got busted."

"Glad you got it back." Pyrrha petted his shoulder before looking to the side. "Well, it would seem that the explosion might have done something better than just trapping the Grimm." She pointed somewhere down the cavern where Jaune could spy a light coming at the end of it. "I think it loosened the rocks enough that they fell off the other side."

"Then let's not waste time." Jaune said as he picked up what looked to be a worn-out sheath and slide the sword through. Surprisingly it fitted rather well and there was a good enough strap for him to sling to his body. That was a bit of good luck to have after the crap he went through.

But he got distracted when Pyrrha's voice called out to him.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha pointed to an area of the cavern with one hand over her mouth, her hand clearly shaking from something that shocked her. With a bit of trepidition, Jaune moved the torch to her to get better lighting to see what it was that made her this way. What he saw stopped him in his tracks.

Before them in the light of the torch, rows upon rows of skeletons lined the walls of the area they were in, each clad in armor and holding on to different types of weaponry. Littered on the ground were more skeletons in similar garb, but with them being strewn all over the area with limbs or heads missing and with gaping holes in armors. The sight seemed to stretched all the way to the opening, giving off the grim impression of a last stand.

"I think we are in a catacomb." Pyrrha looked around them with a hint of fear in her voice. "There are several in Mistral, but I never encountered one of this scale in my life!"

"That's not the only thing." Jaune shone his torch back from where they came, highlighting the broken columns and bricks that were now visible in the light. "I get the feeling that we are in some old city that used to be here before Beacon and got buried beneath all the rocks." Jaune lightly gripped the handle of the sword he had acquired, now feeling the true weight of it. "And if I am not wrong, the city got attacked by the Grimm."

"I think you are right." Pyrrha pointed to some of the more intact skeletons laying on the floor, with armor pierced with the same sharp legs the centipede Grimm had. "We were not the first ones to encounter those creatures. I guess the guards had to fend them off but failed."

"Then..." Jaune unsheathed and raised Crimson Blitz to his eye, peering at the reflection on it. "This is..."

"I am guessing a weapon used by one of the guards." Pyrrha nodded with a solemn expression. Jaune looked to the blade with a new found respect and sorrow, feeling somewhat unworthy to wield this weapon. As if she was reading his thoughts, Pyrrha placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Jaune, I think you should hang on to that for now."

"What?" Jaune looked to her with slight disbelief. "I am not sure if I should take this with me, it belonged to someone else!" He looked back to the weapon with slight discomfort. "I don't feel worthy of this."

"Normally I would advise to put the weapon back where it should be as well, but I believe in this situation, we can make an exception." Pyrrha paused before continuing. "I don't mean to be rude, but currently I feel the sword actually fits you better than Crocea Mors."

"Huh?"

"I mean no offence, but there is a clear difference in the manner you handled both weapons. With Crocea Mors, you seemed to be struggling with both the defense and offense, and your stance is off by a fair bit. I would think you do not have much if no training in that aspect of fighting." Pyrrha said while unintentionally sending arrows into Jaune's already fragile pride and heart. "But with Crimson Blitz, you seem to have some form of control and with that quick thinking of yours, you are able to get the targets quickly. I am guessing your training involved just using a sword and mostly dodging?"

"Well..." Jaune paused as he thought of the few times his grandfather, uncle and his eldest sister tried to train him in various styles, and for the most part it was as she said, not to mention his lack of training and the odd feeling he had when wielding Crimson Blitz, "That is actually pretty accurate. I only started with the shield portion only recently, my grandpa insisted I learned how to dodge attacks first before using a shield."

"I see." Pyrrha nodded lightly. "I believe that for the time being, you should hang on to the weapon. I mean no disrespect to the previous owner, but as it is, Crimson Blitz has no one to wield it, and I would like to think that it would be happy to have someone using it again after so long."

"You really think so?" Jaune asked with a hint of confusion.

"In Mistral, there is a tradition and a bit of superstition that weapons are meant to be used for fighting and to fulfill the last wishes of the user." She motioned with her hand with a solemn expression. "Although they have fought to protect the city, I imagine that they would have some form of regrets. In some parts of Mistral, weapons belonging to some of the old fighters were given to another group if they have both the aptitude and same wishes as the previous users."

"I think for this case, the previous user of that sword would not mind you using it."

Jaune looked at her for a moment before directing his attention back to the sword, looking at his reflection and thinking on her words. He was a little uncertain about taking a weapon from someone, let alone one that had died a few years ago, but he could understand the reasoning for it. Right now he would need whatever edge he could get.

"Okay." He nodded slowly and turned to Pyrrha who was now smiling at him. "Just let me do one thing before we moved on." Handing her the torch, Jaune walked a bit away from her before lightly stabbing the sword into the ground and bowing his head, trying to recall what his grandfather and uncle said for certain events.

"I know not your names, nor of your past, but this I promise. When we finish our tasks, we will alert the academy of your presence so as to grant you a proper resting place and hopefully a true passage to the heavens above. Perhaps I might return this weapon to your comrade, but until then I wish to wield it in his place. It would not mean much to you, but this I swear upon my name as an Arc." Jaune spoke the words while remembering what his grandfather had spoken at his friend's passing before bowing his head lower in respect. After a quiet moment, he raised his head and picked up Crimson Blitz, sheathing it on his back and turned to find Pyrrha also paying her respects to the deceased around them. She opened her eyes and smiled gently at him.

"I think they would appreciate that greatly." Pyrrha said as they walked side by side to the opening. Jaune nodded in silence as he looked at her, and for a brief moment, he thought both Crocea Mors and Crimson Blitz hummed in agreement. And thus they moved on, not realizing of what happened in that one moment they paid their respects to the long forgotten.

If they had stood around for a few more seconds, they would have seen a small ball of light coming from where they came and melding into Crimson Blitz, glowing a light green briefly before dimming.

If they had stood around for a few more seconds, they would have noted some of the other weapons behind them were glowing lightly with an array of colors.

If they had stood around for a few more seconds, they would have seen the skulls of the deceased lightly turning towards Jaune, with an unearthly glow of colors seen through their empty eye sockets.

But they did not do so.

And so, with this one event and action, Jaune had unknowingly altered his fate and that of his future companions.

But that would be for later. Right now, Jaune had an initiation to complete.

0-0-0-0

Hello there, as promised to those who followed, this one-shot is going to be made into a full-fledged story! Thanks for those who came over, and welcome to those who are currently seeing this for the first time. I hope you enjoy this idea that was proposed by dracohalo117 as a challenge, and that if you like it, you would come back for more.

And I put my pen down for now.