Two years ago, I came up with an idea. A story to scare the pants out of every poor soul who read it. At first, I deemed it to horrifying for anyone to witness. This kind of darkness is better left in my twisted heart where all my other nightmares live, like spiders and the Alvin and the Chipmunks movies.

But now, on this month of October, I have decided to release my horrors onto the world. This story is only for the bold and the brave. If you are neither, turn back now. If you are, then read on... if you dare...

Cover art - Mike (you wouldn't know him)

Chapter 1 - Twilight Serendipity

If someone were to walk past Team RWBY's dormroom, they would no doubt here the loud music and cheers echoing from within it. They would wonder what all the fuss was about, before going back to their own dorm to get some sleep, as it was a Thursday night and they had classes first thing in the morning.

As for those inside the RWBY residence, they too had to get up at the crack of dawn. But unlike the previously mentioned sensible student, they had no plans on going to bed anytime soon. Tonight was a night of celebration. A time of partying. A time of festivities.

Because on that day, approximately nine hours ago, something very special had occurred.

"Three cheers for Jaune!" Yang bellowed, her legs barely balancing her swaying body. "Hip-hip!"

"Hooray!" everyone else cheered.

"Hip-hip, ah you know what? Screw it, let's settle for just one. I wanna drink my drink."

Yang threw her vodka down her throat with a single loud gulp. Somewhere, in a faraway land, her uncle smiled proudly. Her dad, not so much.

All of them were sat down on the floor, nursing their own drinks. They had all finished playing games like Pin the Stinger on the Deathstalker, and Try to Make Weiss Laugh. Now it was time for them all to get some liquor in their system. Even Ruby was allowed a bit of alcohol tonight.

Jaune sat in the middle of it all. He had been to quite a few parties since coming to Beacon, but never had he been the centre of them before. Never before had he had this many people congratulating him, giving him back-pats, and cheering him on to drink as much as possible all in the name of 'it's your party, dude!'

None of this was planned. This party was a spur-of-the-moment event. After all, who could've predicted that today he would finally win his first fight in combat class?

"Did you see the way he whooped Cardin's butt during those final few minutes?" Nora exclaimed. "He was all 'WATAAAAH!' and 'BLAMO!'" She used her hands to describe the movements.

"I counted at least fifteen blamos!" Ruby said. "And then there was that spinny move you did with your sword, where you hit him, like, sixty times! That was so cool!"

They were exaggerating. The real fight wasn't nearly as flashy as what they were making it out to be. He beat Cardin through patient strategy; blocking his attacks, exploiting his openings, careful dodging. Standard routine.

But screw being humble about it! This was his time to shine!

"I call that move the Shredding Whirlwind of Doom!" Jaune dramatically pronounced. "Cardin didn't know what hit him until it was too late. Remember how he hit the ground when he lost? That was the loudest thud I've ever heard. He's gonna have trouble walking tomorrow."

"I remember it well," Ren said. "I don't want to say I get enjoyment out of watching my peers get hurt, but watching him lose was… satisfying, to say the least."

"Well, then you're a better person than I am, Ren," Weiss said. "Because I took great pleasure in it all. That brute finally got what was coming to him."

"And to think some people say violence isn't the answer to problems," Nora scoffed. "I say, screw that! We're hunters! Violence is always the answer with us! If they wanted us to fight using words, we'd be lawyers!"

"Here's to not being lawyers!" Ruby cried.

They all cheered and clinked their cups together.

"I always knew you'd beat him eventually, Jaune," Pyrrha said warmly. "You've finally shown him what you're capable of."

Compliments from Pyrrha always made Jaune feel fuzzy. "I owe it all to you, partner," he said. "I couldn't have done it without your training. Lemme know how I can pay you back."

"Oh, please, there's no need for that. You don't owe me anything," she said. Then her hands started to fidget nervously. "W-Well, then again, I suppose I wouldn't mind going out for dinner sometime. Just the two of us-"

"You know what I think was cool?" Yang said, loudly cutting in through their conversation. She pushed her face in front of his. Her breath stank of whatever booze she used to fill her cup. "That time you used your sword as a… uh, wuzit called? - oh yeah, a sword to poke him a bunch of times! He must've got, like, serious ouchies!"

Jaune had to push her back a little. An intoxicated Yang was even more forward than a sober one. "Thank you, Yang," he squirmed. "Um, could you maybe breathe in a different direction? Ideally, away from me?"

Yang giggled stupidly. "Whus the matter? Do I make you nervoussssssssssssshhhhhhhh?"

An onslaught of bad breath assaulted his nostrils.

"No, it's just…" He looked over at Ruby. "Help me out here, will you?" he asked her.

"Oh no, should've seen this coming," Ruby sighed, coming up to pull her sister away from him. "Yang, how much did you have to drink before JNPR got here?"

"Pfffft, what're you, like, a police person now?" Yang slurred. "You'll never take me alive, Officer Sister!"

"She is going to have a fun time waking up tomorrow," Blake murmured.

Oh crap, Yang with a hangover. And they had combat class first thing tomorrow. He pitied the poor soul who had to fight her...

To distract himself from such a terrifying thought, he quickly stood up. "That reminds me, I actually have a few words that I had prepared for something like this. Gimme a sec." He reached into his pocket, pulled out his scroll, and opened up the document he had his speech saved on. "I had this written up for whenever we graduated or survived a pretty intense battle, but now feels like the right time for it."

"Woohoo, that's what I'm talking about!" Nora yelled. "Speech! Speech! Speech!"

Soon enough, they were all chanting the same word.

Jaune cleared his throat and started speaking. "This is truly a special day for me," he began. "Here I stand before you as humble Jaune Arc, friend and leader. I never thought it'd be me marrying Weiss Schnee today, but as I see her now with my family's ring on her finger…"

Jaune slammed his mouth shut so hard, his teeth almost cracked upon clashing with each other. Everyone burst out laughing, except for Weiss who was looking ready to murder him.

Embarrassment swallowed him up. "W-Wrong speech," he stammered, frantically trying to find the correct one on his scroll. "Okay, for real, this is the right one: Friends and comrades-"

But before he could continue, the door suddenly burst open. Everyone went silent. Even the music magically turned itself off. It was probably a sleep-deprived student telling them to shut up so that they could get some sleep. They could've knocked first, but peaceful negotiations weren't really a thing at Beacon.

But the person who walked in wasn't sleep-deprived. No, he was happiness-deprived. Standing in the doorway was a very pissed off Cardin Winchester, schoolyard bully and overall dickhead in every sense of the word!

"Alright, that's it!" he cried. "That's the last straw! I'm pulling the plug on this crap!"

"Who'z that?" Yang mumbled, lying on the floor. Her face was buried in the carpet.

"It's Cardin," Ren said.

"Oh… lemme know when it's the pizza man…"

"Will do."

"What do you want, Cardin?" Jaune leered. "Last I checked, you weren't on the party list. And even if you were, trust me, you aren't exactly the guest of honour here."

"Screw you and your stupid party!" Cardin growled. "I know exactly what's going on here. There's word going around about a party at Team RWBY's room just to make fun of me. I thought I'd swing by to see it for myself, and lo and behold, it's true. You guys suck!"

"But how did you find us!" Ruby gasped. "Who told you where we live?"

Cardin blinked. "No one, we're neighbours. My team and I live a few doors away from you."

Ruby looked shocked "Really?"

"Do you pay attention to anyone outside of your own friendship group?"

She shook her head. "Not really. Most of the other students here just look like shadowy blobs. I swear, some of them don't even have faces."

"Why do you care what we're doing?" Blake sneered. "Don't tell me you feel insulted. That's rich coming from a no-good bully like yourself!"

"At least when I pick on someone, I do it like a man, face-to-face!" Cardin argued. "You guys are hiding behind walls, chatting shit behind my back! This is schoolgirl-gossip levels of bullying, the lamest kind of bullying there is! I deserve better than that!"

"The only thing you deserve is a foot up your butt!" Nora jeered. "Now get going, before we let loose our Cardin-Slayer here!" She pointed to Jaune.

Oooh, Cardin-Slayer. He was gonna put that on business cards.

"I'm not going anywhere until this party is shut down!" Cardin said. "I've kicked Jauney boy's ass twenty times this semester alone. You think just because he beat me once, he's now better than me? Hate to break it to you dummies, but that's not how it works. Especially when it was only because of luck that he won!"

"Here we go, the age-old excuse," Pyrrha groaned.

Feeling cocky, Jaune placed his hand on Cardin's shoulder in a mock attempt to be friendly. "Cardin, friend, let's not come to blows over this," he said. "What say we discuss how you lost big time to me like mature adults?"

Cardin swiped his hand away. "Don't give me that 'mature' crap," he snapped. "I'm not the one throwing a party just to make fun of someone. And it was luck- the light reflecting from your sword got in my eyes. You must have freaking OCD or something, because you polish your sword way too much for it to be that shiny!"

Jaune nodded like he was pretending to listen to him. "I understand. It must be hard being the worst fighter in the school. I wouldn't know because, well, that title belongs to you now. It suits you better anyway."

"You better wipe that smile off your face," Cardin snarled.

"If you like, I can start giving you combat lessons? Help you get on my superior level."

"Stop acting like your some cocky badass now!" Cardin barked. "It's not badass if your win count doesn't even compare to mine! News flash, Jauney, luck runs out! And when it does, I'll just stomp all over you again!"

"Maybe," Jaune smirked. "But you know what? I'm feeling pretty lucky now. You feeling like sorting out our differences? Go ahead, big guy. Give me your best shot. Let's get even."

Okay, even Jaune could admit he was acting a little smug for his own good. But this was his night, and after weeks of getting bullied by the leader of CRDL, this kind of revenge felt long overdue. Especially when he knew Cardin wouldn't lay a hand on him. Not with all his friends watching.

To Cardin's credit, he didn't rise to the bait, not after seeing how hopelessly outnumbered he was. A sly smile slid across his face. "You know what?" he said. "Screw it. Have your party. You wanna feel proud for something stupid, then be my guest. Go nuts."

"I don't seem to recall needing your permission," Weiss noted.

Cardin ignored her. "Laugh it up all you want. I'm not gonna do anything… not now, at least. You all think of me as a sexy hunk and an absolute alpha male, and I accept that responsibility. But I'm brains and brawn, bitches. I'll get you back for this, Arc. You're not gonna know when or how, but when it hits you'll feel it. Maybe that'll teach you to mess with the Winchester!"

He shot them one last sinister grin before he walked out of the room, back to his own dorm. Along the way, he would probably steal someone's homework or be racist to a faunus or two. Cardin Winchester was a creature of habit.

"I know I should feel somewhat concerned that he just threatened me," Jaune said. "Buuuuuut I'm not feeling it. Like seriously, I'm trying really hard to be intimidated right now. Nothing. Zilch."

"He can't hurt you anymore," Pyrrha said. "This time, you can stand up to him."

It was almost embarrassing, how he let himself get pushed around by someone like Cardin. Sure, he knew his secret about his transcripts, but looking back at it now, it was unlikely anyone was gonna believe the word of a notorious bully. It was satisfying that he was able to move on from him now.

"So… going back to that earlier speech," Nora said cheekily.

Another embarrassing memory came back to slap him in the face. "Please, don't remind me of that," Jaune groaned.

"I just wanna know when you and Weiss were planning on getting hitched," she eagerly pressed. "Are we invited to the wedding? Am I a flower girl? Oh, wait, wait, make me the priest! I wanna give the whole 'dearly beloved' bit."

Jaune couldn't hide his blush. "Look, I wrote that really far in advance. In my defence, I never thought I'd get this far. I thought for sure I was gonna be Grimm food in the first few weeks."

"You're going to wish you were," Weiss growled.

"Jaune and Weiss sitting in a tree," Yang sang, voice muffled from the carpet. "K-I-S-S-I-" Her stomach growled. A shiver ran through her body. "Oh… oh wow. Who put all this vomit in my mouth?"

"Oh, crud!" Ruby yelled. "Party's over! Abort! Abort!"

They all rushed out of the room, locking the door shut behind. No one wanted to get in the way of that dragon's fire.

I promise it won't be two years for chapter 2.