Hey guys, RWBYBlackFlames here and I'm glad to present to you the Season 1 Finale of Jaune's Secret. Thank you for all the support, I do this for you guys. Other than that, I have nothing else to tell you except I hope you enjoy this extra long chapter! There will be more information at the end of the chapter, regarding my other stories and other things. Happy Holidays, and Black Flames out!

=O=

Chapter 11

The Fight

"Your past doesn't define who you are. It just gives you a starting place for who you're going to be"

~ Agent Carolina

=O=

"What am I going to do with you Joan…" sighed Olivia as she monitored her sister's vitals. It had been nearly half an hour since the two teams left to get the flower, but as time ticked away, Joan's status only continued to deteriorate.

Not only that, but she's been having a weird feeling for the past twenty minutes. She felt like something, or somebody was watching her. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. But maybe that was the lack of sle-

"…Good Evening Miss Arc, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." said a voice from behind her suddenly. She quickly turned and saw it was Professor Oobleck.

"Geez, you almost gave me a heart … Anyways, what can I do for you this evening?" questioned Olivia as she addressed the doctor. To be perfectly honest, maybe a talk with an old mentor would be for the best.

"I came to take a look at one of my students, how is Joan doing?" questioned Oobleck.

"All things considered, she's doing amazing! Her Aura seems to be holding out and she seems to be stable. If Team RWBY and JNPR can return soon, Joan will be fine." said Olivia with a smile. However, the coffee loving professor saw past the forced smile.

"Miss Olivia, please be truthful with me. The freshmen teams aren't here, so you can drop the facade. What is Joan's actual condition?" questioned the Professor, taking a sip of his drink as Olivia answered.

"Even after all these years, I still can't hide anything from you…" said Olivia with a depressed tone.

"It's only natural. After all, it seems that you spent more time in my class, as well as Peter's, more than anywhere else. You even apprenticed under me for a few years! You were a person of science, just like me. And as a person of science, I must ask you. What do you think of the patient's condition?" questioned Oobleck.

"… Right now, Joan is physically stable. However, with this disease, that doesn't matter. Unlike other diseases, Grimm's Night targets the users aura itself and attempts to destroy it. In a sense, it tries to kill the soul rather than the body. All we can do to measure the damage is look at Joan's aura as well as her eyes and hair, which are connected to her aura, and even then the results are spotty at best. We can only hope that the teams arrive in time." said Olivia, adjusting her glasses.

"… I see, so the flower must either boost the user's aura level or expel the virus from the system." said Oobleck.

"It boosts the aura levels of the user by nearly tenfold, and when it was tested in a lab, it seems to attack the virus. However, we haven't had the opportunity to test this on the field, as we're always too slow to do anything…" said Olivia with a frown. There was silence for the next few minutes as the two stared at each other. Suddenly, the doctor broke the silence.

"My dear, I believe I have an idea! If the flower fails to exterminate the virus, then this might just work…" said Oobleck. Olivia waited in silence for her mentor to elaborate, only for silence to follow.

"Do you want to share with the class what that idea is Doctor?" said Olivia.

"Of course, my apologies. This idea could be dangerous, but it might just work. We'll need to contact Peter to confirm, but if it checks out, then we'll have a back up! Hear me out…"

=O=

"Jeez, how many of these overgrown scorpions are there?!" shouted Yang in annoyance as she punched a pair of the Deathstalkers into the horde, and then proceeded to shoot one of the larger ones with Ember Celica. However, no matter how many she punched, there would still be more. Ruby wanted to help, but she had her own problems as she shot at a Deathstalker that was approaching Yang from behind, with little success.

While people like Yang and Nora had little problem with the Deathstalkers, Ruby, Pyrrha and Weiss were having difficulty with the scorpions, while it was nearly impossible for Ren and Blake to get any progress. They had been forced to make Nora and Yang orbit the group, taking out most of the Deathstalkers while their group was focusing on taking out any stragglers. Ren and Blake had been reduced to scouting for the flowers since their ammo couldn't pierce the Deathstalker's armor anymore, as well as Ren's aura being low from repeated hits. Thankfully, with Blake's night vision, they were getting some progress.

It didn't initially turn out this poorly, as in the beginning they were able sweep through the cave, but as soon as Blake and Ren ran out of their armor piercing rounds, they had lost nearly all the momentum they had been carrying. Ruby herself still had quite a bit of ammo, as her bullets could easily kill the smaller and medium sized ones, but the same could not be said for Pyrrha and Weiss. They were running rather low on ammo. Soon, they'd be reduced to the side lines.

The worst news of all? There were two of the larger Deathstalkers, like the ones that they fought during initiation, fighting them. Fortunately, one was crippled as it had lost it's stinger and a pincer, but the other one was busy fighting Yang. Yang's semblance has been building up so she's been doing the most of the group, but they couldn't keep this up forever.

Not only that, but there was also another unknown threat. The threat of getting lost in the cave. If they got lost, it wouldn't matter if they found the flower or not.

"Rubes, what's the plan?!" shouted Yang between the gunshots. She was at an impasse as she tried to decide what to do. If she left and abandoned the mission, her teammates would survive but Joan would die. She could continue on the mission, but there was no guarantee that they'd find the flower. Her teammates could also get hurt… She could either doom her first friend to death, or potentially get her friends hurt… This was the ultimate decision.

"Guys...we're-" Before Ruby could announce her decision, Blake interrupted her with a shout.

"I found a flower!" shouted Blake, pointing in a corner. Ruby squinted and saw the fabled flower. There wasn't even any Deathstalkers near it. Before she could say anything, Yang yelled over to her.

"Rubes! Grab the flower and get out!" shouted Yang.

"But-" Ruby tried to reply, but Yang didn't allow her.

"We'll be fine Rubes, don't worry about us! Just get out of here!" shouted Yang. After a moment, Ruby complied and ran over and grabbed the Espoir flower. She turned and ran back, dodging the occasional Grimm. After a few minutes of running, she saw the entrance in the distance, but it was blocked by the Deathstalkers. Fortunately, she managed to see a narrow path that she could use to get out.

"I'm coming Joan!" said Ruby as she activated her semblance, racing past the Deathstalkers, while shielding the flower with her hands, and raced out into the open. She could only hope that her teammates could handle themselves… As she looked out, she saw that the sun was already out. They had wasted far too much time in the cave. She needed to get back to Beacon.

=O=

"WHO ARE YOU?" questioned the voice yet again. This time, instead of a black abyss staring at her, it seemed that no matter where she looked, it was a blinding light. She still couldn't move.

"WHO ARE YOU?" She still didn't have an answer for it, again. The black water still seemed to be rising. It weighed down on her, she could barely move. Just lifting a finger became an exercise. There was still a problem, however.

She still couldn't remember much. Her memory seemed to be fading. She could no longer remember where she came from or how she got here. It didn't help that the same voice kept droning out the same words. She started to feel the same drowsiness from before and let it take her without a fight. She slept for what seemed like an eternity only to be awoken by a new voice.

She couldn't hear exactly what it was saying, but it felt important to her. It sounded… familiar. She struggled to open her eyes as she started to wake up. She wanted to give up and let the sleep take her again, but this voice. She had to figure out who was speaking this time, and what they were saying.

The darkness was not easy with her, as every inch she moved felt like she was trying to move a mountain. Yet somehow, she managed to turn her head. She was rewarded to see a faint pinprick of light in the distance. She tried to swim towards the light, but she could barely move.

As she gradually moved closer and closer to the light, she noticed that it became easier and easier to move. It was still difficult, but she was gaining progress.

"J—!" shouted the voice. Her ears perked as she tried to catch what it was saying, but failed to catch anything. She would figure out what it was saying. She moved forward, towards the voice, only to stop as she heard something behind her. Growling.

She looked behind her and saw small pinpricks of red light, almost shaped like eyes, in the distance. Almost like stars. She started to feel drowsy, but this time she fought it off. She couldn't sleep. Not yet.

"Jo-" shouted the voice as she got closer and closer. The light had grown as she had gotten closer and closer. She heard another growl and turned to see a creature running at her in the distance, it almost looked like a bear…

She moved forward towards the voice in a panic as she tried to get away from the creature.

"Joa-" She could almost hear what the voice was saying as she neared the light, but it was muffled. She could hear the creature gaining on her but she made a final push for the light. She could see a hand extending from the light as she inched closer and closer.

She could hear the creature nearing her as she closed the gap between the light and the dark. In a few moments, the creature would be upon her and she knew the consequences wouldn't be pretty. It didn't want her to go to the light. She reached for the hand as time seemed to slow. The roar of the beast seemed to be right in her ears as she grabbed the hand.

"Joan!"

=O=

"… You gotta be kidding me…" said Ruby as she reached the bridge. Or what remained of it. She had ran over here to get an easy way back to the cliffs, and in turn get to Beacon faster. But she had forgotten one key detail.

They had completely destroyed the bridge during initiation. It wasn't all that surprising that it would still be destroyed, but Ruby thought that maybe Professor Goodwitch would have repaired it already. Though to be fair, the next year's initiation wasn't for a while… Anyways, she needed to get to Beacon fast.

"How do I get back..." hummed Ruby as she tried to figure it out. She looked around the ravine and couldn't see any end to it. The mountain that it was connected to was too steep for her to run up. And with no bridge, it seemed nearly impossible to cross.

"I guess I have no choice…" said Ruby as she ran back. Without a safe way to cross the gap, she couldn't use this route. There must be an alternate way to get up the cliff, somewhere. She ran at full speed back towards the cliff, in a hopes to find an easy way back up. After a few minutes of running, she finally saw a way up the cliff in the distance. A pair of stairs built into the cliff face. It was rather steep, but it would do.

"Joan, I'm com-" As Ruby ran to the stairs, she suddenly tripped over something. She couldn't stop in time and hit the ground hard, rolling several feet before being stopped forcefully as she bumped into a tree. Thankfully the aura negated any potential damage to her, though it took her a minute to regain her bearings. As she got up, she noticed something.

She wasn't holding the flower.

She quickly ran around, looking for the precious flower. After a few moments, she spotted it on the ground. But unfortunately, it didn't have aura to protect it like she did. It had been crushed in the fall. Petals had been scattered everywhere and the stem was broken off from the flower.

"No…" whispered Ruby as she gripped at the remains of the flower. Without the flower, Joan didn't have a chance at survival. The only thing she could do was head back to the cave and hope that her teammates were nearby. They would need to get the flower again, but this time without most of their ammo and aura… It was suicide…

She was at the same decision again. Either allow Joan to die and walk away from this, or go back and risk everyone'slives. Her first friend or all of them… She was at that fateful decision again. There was no going back… She had to-

"Little Rose, why are you so far from your garden?" questioned a voice. She turned around and saw a man with black hair. He had a black jacket, red shirt, and black pants. He had a pair of knives clipped at his side. After a moment, he spoke again.

"It seems that you've lost the Espoir flower. How unfortunate." said the man with a subtle frown.

"How did you know-" questioned Ruby.

"I have my sources. Anyways, it seems that you've gone on and destroyed the flower. Without it, Joan will succumb to Grimm's Night. It seems that you're in trouble." said the man. Ruby stayed silent as the guilt overtook her. It was all her fault.

"It seems that today is your lucky day after all little rose. During my morning walk, I happened to come across an Espoir flower. Seeing that such a beautiful rose needs it, I would be honored to give it to you." said the man. After a moment, he pulled out the flower from who knows where and gave it to her. She hesitated for a moment before taking it.

"Don't drop it." commanded the man.

"T-Thank you!" said Ruby before running away, up the stairs. As soon as she was out of eyesight, the man started to laugh.

"Geez, didn't anyone ever teach her to NOT accept gifts from strangers?" said the man. After a moment, a woman came out of the underbrush.

"It's not like she had much of a choice Nero." said the woman with a smirk.

"Especially when she tripped all over your aura strings. It made our job all the easier. Anyways, go call Fall, tell her that we've completed our end of the deal and that we're waiting for the lien." said Nero with a smile.

=O=

"Olivia! I got the flower!" Ruby burst into the hospital room, flower in hand… only to see Olivia and Oobleck talking to each other, with serious looks on their faces.

"O-Oh… Did I come in at a bad time?" asked Ruby as she stared at the two green headed people.

"… No! No, it's fine Ruby. Don't worry about it! Anyways, you said you had the flower, right?" said Olivia, reassuring the crimson reaper.

"Yeah, here it is!" Ruby handed over the flower to Olivia, who examined it. She stayed silent for a minute as she looked the flower over. Finally she spoke up.

"It looks a bit darker than it should be, but that's to be expected since it lives a majority of it's life in a cave. Thanks Ruby, we should be good! Take a breather and wait for you team, we should be good." said Olivia with a smile. Ruby took a seat and relaxed as she saw Olivia washed the plant.

"So Miss Olivia, how will you use the flower?" questioned Oobleck.

"Well, I need to wash it. Then, I'll ground it up put it into this container. Add some other materials and you'll have the most energizing drink there is! And since the flower naturally eliminates the virus, Joan should be fine after a few hours!" said Olivia with a smile.

Olivia continued to prepare the drink, humming a small melody as she did. Ruby decided to take a look at Joan. She had not improved, which was to be expected. Her hair had completely turned gray and her skin was deathly pale.

"Don't worry Ms. Rose, Olivia was one of my best students. The only thing that rivaled her knowledge of Grimm was her knowledge of the human body. Joan is in good hands. Take a seat and relax. She has this covered." said Oobleck, reassuring the huntress.

"Alrighty then Professor." said Ruby, plopping down onto a seat as Olivia finalized the drink.

"It's Doctor!"

=O=

"And that's how we got out Ruby! Weiss had an extra lightning dust container and Nora completely destroyed them." said Yang with a grin, patting Nora on the back… only to get shocked by a little residue electricity.

"Yeah, thanks Weissy! I got to break so manylegs! It. Was. Amazing! I wanna go break some more, and I think I have just the person in mind..." said Nora in a malicious tone. Somewhere, Cardin felt the unusual need to stay inside his dorm room for a few days.

"I don't remember packing it, but it came thankfully saved us. We would've been there for so much longer if it wasn't for it." said Weiss. Pyrrha couldn't help but agree as she remembered the situation. If Yang and Nora weren't there, they might not have been able to get out of there at all.

"Anyways, how's Joan?" questioned Yang. Pyrrha could help but notice that Ruby seemed off as she answered.

"I think you should see for yourself…" said Ruby. The group made their way towards the infirmary. However, as they got closer and closer, Pyrrha felt a strange feeling. It wasn't a bad feeling, but it was strange none the less. She felt her previous wounds from the battle disappear and her aura refill, and it seemed that she wasn't the only one being healed.

"How…" Pyrrha started to question it but Ruby quieted her. As they neared the infirmary, the feeling only grew. Pyrrha saw people rushing in and out of the infirmary in droves. All with happy looks on their faces.

As they entered the wing, they found themselves crowded as it seemed that dozens upon dozens of students were in the infirmary. It was like a bee's nest in there. They barely squeezed by the mob as they tried to make their way towards Joan's room.

As they made their way through the halls, Pyrrha heard someone talking next to her. She turned and saw a female student talking to a male in a wheelchair.

"Are you sure? I can go get the doctor!" said the female student with a worried tone.

"It's fine. You heard what the nurse said, about that 'healing aura'." said the student, brushing off his teammate.

"You remember what the doctor said, don't you? If you stand on that leg, you could risk permanently injuring it… You know what, I'll go get the doctor." said the student. She started to move, only for the other student to get out of their wheelchair and stop them.

"It's fine. See?" the male student, moving the leg back and forth in demonstration.

"Alright… But go easy on it. We don't want you to injure it again, the doctors already have enough to worry about without you adding onto it… Let's go get something to eat." said the female as the two walked away.

"Is that… aura?" questioned Weiss as they neared the room, reminding Pyrrha of why they were here. She could feel aura coming off of something, or someone, but it shouldn't be possible for one person to have that much… It was ungodly. They could easily add all of their auras at full together and they wouldn't even be close to a halfof the power, let alone all of it. She had only felt that much aura once before…

"Yep. Do you wanna guess who's aura it is?" questioned Ruby with her peppy voice.

"Joan…" said Pyrrha in disbelief as they opened the door to Joan's room. As soon as they opened the door, they got hit be a wave of aura. It was awe inspiring.

They rushed in and took a look at the fallen huntress. She had gained a healthy glow, and almost all the traces of the disease had disappeared. She looked like the picture of health, and even her hair seemed to shine. It almost looked like she was taking a nap.

Almost. Her hair still had traces of gray in it. She seemed uneasy as she rested, constantly rolling over. It was like she was in a bad dream. But in the end, she seemed worlds better compared to what she had been only this morning. And in the end, that's all they could ask for.

"Oh hey Ruby…*sip*… I see you brought your teammates… I hope we didn't put you through too much trouble…*sip*…" said Olivia, drinking a cup of coffee as she greeted the teams.

"It was nothing, but if I may ask, is that Joan's aura that we're feeling?" questioned Weiss,

"Yep, the flower did the trick." said Olivia.

"But how? We can't normally feel the aura of other people. But we felt 'Joan's' aura from outside the infirmary. Far outside the infirmary." said Yang.

"Well, I think we need a metaphor!" said Olivia happily.

"We don't need a metaphor." said Blake.

"Of course we do. Aura is … hmm… *sip* … Oh, Aura is like a glass of water." said Olivia.

"That's a simile." said Blake flatly.

"You're no fun…" said Olivia with a frown. After a few moments, Nora spoke up.

"Ooh, is it because water is nice and refreshing after a work out, like how aura makes you feel better after one?" questioned Nora happily.

"Not quite. Think of the body as the glass, and the water as aura. Now what happens when you try to pour more water than the glass can hold?" said Olivia.

"It overflows…" said Pyrrha as she thought about her partner. Even when she was unconscious, she was helping people.

"Yep, and the same goes with aura. The Joan's body can't hold all of it's newfound aura, so it releases the excess, letting it flow out freely. Fortunately, there was a side effect with the release. Since Joan's aura has an unusual healing factor, it's been healing anyone that it can reach, namely everyone in the infirmary. I'd wager that Joan's saved quite a few lives from simply being here." said Olivia.

"So the flower made Joan's aura this… godlike?" questioned Yang.

"Yep. When I said that her aura would multiply tenfold, I wasn't lying. Well, scientifically speaking it's actually 9.75…" said Olivia.

"Wait, that's not right. Joan's aura is way too high then. Her aura was only a little higher than ours after all." said Yang.

"Well, we Arcs *sip* always had rather large aura compared to everyone else. If I'd had to guess, Joan's never been at full. With that gem that she's been using draining her aura, as well as the virus sapping away at it, I'm simply surprised that she's been able to use her aura at all. And I took a look earlier, it seems that whoever unlocked her aura didn't complete the job *sip*. It seems that the flower forcefully unlocked the rest of it. Better now then never, I suppose." noted Olivia while Pyrrha remembered the fateful initiation.

"Anyways, I'd say just give her a good nights, or days, sleep and she should be fine by tomorrow. If the flower *sip* works that is." said Olivia, ending her statement with an annoyed tone.

"What do you mean 'if'?" questioned Yang.

"Well, that's how it always seems to work *sip*. Whenever you're not looking, something changes. Just like those Beowolves I was studying…*sip* I left for one minute and the town was on fire. Or that time I took a nap after I captured some Nevermore. I still don't know where it ended up. Anyways, I'm not going to jinx it so I'm going to wait right here until Joan wakes up." said Olivia.

"Alright, so now what?" questioned Ruby. Her stomach growled in response, embarrassing her.

The others laughed at her, only for their stomachs to growl. Except Weiss's. She's a lady after all.

"To the cafeteria!" said Ruby happily, only to be interrupted by the green haired scientist.

"Wait! If you're heading down to the cafeteria, can one of you get me another cup of coffee? I'm running low here…" said Olivia.

"I would be delighted to Olivia." said Pyrrha with a smile.

=O=

"Thanks, you're a life saver… I owe you one…" said Olivia as she took a sip at her new cup of coffee.

"Don't worry about it. It's the least I can do after what you've done for Joan." said Pyrrha with her world famous smile. Somehow, she had gotten the coffee even though they were out of it in the cafeteria. She had run into Oobleck on the way back and explained her situation, and he somehow produced a cup from who knows where.

For the next few minutes, the duo remained silent as Olivia worked on her scroll, occasionally taking a sip from her cup of coffee. Soon, the silence became unbearable and Pyrrha spoke.

"So, do you like coffee?" questioned Pyrrha in an attempt to make small talk.

"Hate the stuff. Tastes like dirt. I'll take tea over it any day of the week." said Olivia without missing a beat.

"Then why do you drink it?" questioned Pyrrha.

"Well, I haven't slept in the past… 5? No, 6 days. I just need to stay awake for a little longer." said Olivia, taking a sip at the end of the sentence.

"Why haven't you slept in the past 6 days?" questioned Pyrrha.

"I've been traveling between the kingdoms all week. That's what happens when you're a Grimm Specialist. There's been incidents everywhere. One councilman's daughter was sick with some sort of Grimm disease, another kingdom catches a rare Grimm and wanted me to examine it and a huntsman academy wants me to do a presentation… That was just on the first two days, you know. I was planning to sleep the day away yesterday, but that didn't work out." said Olivia.

"You have my condolences." said Pyrrha sympathetically. When she had been sponsored by Pumpkin Pete's, she had been all over Mistral. She could count all the free time in minutes that she had per week on one hand. Well, it wasn't that bad but it was still very tiring. It was a nice change of pace in Beacon, with all the free time she had been given.

"Anyways, I think that everything's gonna be… Oh Oum damn it!" cursed Olivia as she took a look at Joan.

"What?!" asked Pyrrha in a panic.

"Well, it seems the flower didn't work. Joan's aura is in a free fall. I knew something like this would happen…" said Olivia with a sigh.

"Well, what do we need to do?!" questioned Pyrrha.

"Right now, we have approximately two minutes to decide our next course of action before Joan bites the bullet. Luckily for us, Oobleck had an Ace in the hole for us this whole time." said Olivia as she pulled out a syringe.

"What's that?" questioned Pyrrha.

"This vial, my dear champion, is our way out of this situation. It should theoretically eliminate the virus." said Olivia as she held the syringe filled with black liquid.

"How?" questioned Pyrrha.

"Well, this syringe will eliminate all the aura in a person-" said Olivia before she was interrupted.

"Isn't that the thing that we're trying to stop?!" said Pyrrha with shock in her voice as she looked at the syringe.

"It is, to a degree. If Joan runs out of aura when the virus is still in her, then it'll be able to get to her soul and destroy it. If we use this vial, it drops Joan's aura instantly, theoretically killing the virus with her aura. Then we begin step two…" said Olivia.

"What's step two?" questioned Pyrrha.

"Oobleck only provided me with the vial, but I fear that it won't be enough. I'm afraid that once her aura starts to regenerate, the virus will just reinfect her. If that happens, then no matter what we do, Joan will eventually die to it…" said Olivia flatly. She got up and stood next to Joan.

"There's…*sigh* There's only one way to make sure Joan won't die to this virus." said Olivia.

"What are you going to do?" questioned Pyrrha. She didn't like the look of this.

"I'm going to do the only thing I can do. I'm going to destroy Joan's aura." said Olivia with an unreadable expression.

"WHAT?! That's insane! There has to be another way!" shouted Pyrrha as she listened to the green haired scientist.

"I'm afraid it's all too sane… It's the only way to save Joan's life. I've spent the past few hours considering any alternatives, and I mean any alternatives. And all of the ones I have found have a chance for something to go wrong. Some way for Joan to die. Something that can easily go wrong. There is no 'happy ending' with those. The only way I can make sure Joan won't die to the virus is to destroy her aura. She will never be able to use it again, nor will she be able to unlock her semblance. But if it works, the virus won't be able to kill Joan!" said Olivia with a laugh.

"And this is the best alternative?!" questioned Pyrrha.

"It's the only alternative that I'm going through with. The virus can only do real damage in the virus while it's in the aura. In the body, it just lays dormant until it can get in. There may be a smarter way, a way that can end in Joan waking up and being healthy, but I can't risk it." said Olivia.

"Why?!" asked Pyrrha.

"I've lost two sibling already. I don't want to lose a third." said Olivia quietly. Pyrrha was silenced by the comment. After a moment, Olivia injected Joan with the syringe. Pyrrha saw the aura on the monitor instantly drain to zero. After a moments hesitation, Olivia began the ritual.

"In all beings of light, we share the gift of the soul. Through this, we fight the darkness to protect the light-" said Olivia as she began the ritual. As she spoke, Pyrrha saw Olivia start to glow, with a white outline forming around her. All the while, Pyrrha had one thought.

This is bad. All her instincts were screaming at her to do something, anything! Time seemed to slow as Pyrrha looked around the room. She noticed a closet in the corner that was slightly open.

"With the power of light at my side, I de- Huh?!" Pyrrha interrupted Olivia by quickly grabbing her, stopping the ritual before it could be finished. Before Olivia could do anything, Pyrrha kicked the closet door open before throwing Olivia inside and quickly closed the door. Pyrrha finished the motion by using her semblance to mangle the metal in the closet door, so it would be sealed closed.

"Let me out!" shouted Olivia as she banged on the door. As she did, Pyrrha took a look at Joan. Regret began to fill her as she realized that Olivia was likely the only person who could've saved Joan's life. Pyrrha might have an A in Professor Port's class, but that didn't make her anywhere near Olivia's level of skill. She had to let Olivia out if she wanted Joan to live…

*BEEP BEEP*

"Hmm?" Pyrrha noticed her scroll buzzing and opened it. A quick look told her that she had just been messaged by an anonymous number.

[IF YOU WANT JOAN TO LIVE, REPEAT THE FOLLOWING PHASES. IT WILL SAVE HER LIFE AND SHE WILL KEEP HER AURA.] After that, the message contained a few lines of what looked like an ancient Vytallian poem. Normally, Pyrrha would question how this person would know about Joan and the current situation, but time was dire. If she didn't do anything right now, Joan would likely perish.

"Sorry Olivia… For it is within our connection to one another that allows us to combat the darkness, through this we strengthen our light. Eternal in compassion and unknown from fear, I connect our souls, and by my heart, open my soul to thee." As Pyrrha spoke, she felt her aura start to drain as a shroud formed around the two. As the ritual ended, she noticed the aura shroud getting brighter and brighter… only for it to disappear as the ritual ended.

"… Did it work?" questioned Pyrrha as she took a look at Joan. She didn't look that much better, did the ritual even do anything. Suddenly, she felt her legs give out as she felt her aura being drained. She barely had the time to recognize what was taking her strength before the world turned black.

"Joan…"

=O=

Hey guys, RWBYBlackFlames here and so unbelievably happy to show you the end of Chapter 11. This has been a journey. This chapter has been revised and changed so many times that I've lost count. I've been working on this during Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. But every time I think I gained progress, something would change. Maybe I would have a better idea, maybe my laptop would shut off. But after so much delay, I've finally gotten the result I've wanted. Even with the cliché cliffhanger ending. Anyways, I'll work on the Arc Angel next and I promise you it won't take as long. I know exactly what I want.

Anyways, sorry for taking so long. I'll leave you with one question. What's your opinion on omakes and would you be opposed to having them? Black Flames out!