Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY

Chapter 6: Breathe

A beat rung in Jaune's ears as he fell. The wind rushed against the soft structures of his ears, his eyes closed offering no vision as white filled his world. Headfirst he descended from the long-standing clock tower and lower into chaos below. Grimm roamed the ruined Beacon, survivors were far and few between, they often stuck together.

Inhuman screams could now be heard as he came closer.

He was swept from the air by a nevermore before he hit the ground, flying with him in its beak before his eyes cracked open. Looking down, he saw Crocea Mors on his hip, Joan's weapon. He unsheathed it with a muscle memory that shouldn't have been there, the blade glowing slightly as he sent a slash through the beak of the creature that traveled through, bisecting the bird as it flew.

Jaune landed on the ground below softly, weightlessly, his eyes still half-lidded as he stared at the monsters now drawing their eyes to him. The shield now sprang to life in his arm as he dashed in.

He blocked a swipe from a beowolf as the blade slashed through an ursa completely, the shield turned to bash a charging boarbatusk off course as the sword beheaded the aforementioned beowolf. The blonde flipped backwards as the stinger of a deathstalker pierced his earlier position, his sword flying through the air and slashing through the stinger before he even touched the ground. Jaune charged forward as lightning, bashing the deathstalker, stunning it and destroying multiple eyes in the one action. The sword landed once again in his hand before finding itself drilled into the deathstalkers face, once again being lodged into the stomach of another ursa before the deathstalker had finished fading.

The shield went spinning in the air as the blonde gripped the sword with both hands, drawing a line through the field that traveled beyond his blade, a path of light that slashed through 7 lines of grimm. The shield neared the ground to catch a kick that sent it into the face of an Ursa Major, Jaune rushed forward again, gripping the shield once again before it met the ground and pushing the ursa backwards with the force of a thousand men. With a quick spin, his sword drew a line through the chest of the Ursa Major. Then another, and another, another, before the ursa could process that it was dead, the body sprayed out black from the incisions in its chest.

Jaune took another look around, the horde barely thinning, he lazily through his sword straight up into the air without looking as a nevermore found itself quickly plummeting to the ground, the sword now flew back into his hand, as if the metal belonged there all along. Jaune stared down at his hand, the newfound power that he somehow possessed, a power that wasn't his.

The faces of his friends flashed through his eyes.

Ruby, the innocent prodigy that struggled to prove herself worthy of being in this school, brought in two years early by the same man who had sought him out. The girl wore her signature color, red as she flashed through with her unbelievable speed.

He flashed forward, covering the entirety of the courtyard as all the grimm previously in his way began to crumble as he killed them all in an action nearly invisible to the eye.

Weiss, the young heiress that was kind, but too embarrassed to show it outwardly, covering herself in this shroud of cold that would push others away. White purity adorned her, and glyphs passed down through her family.

Jaune stared up, his hair falling down behind him slightly as he stared at all the glyphs in the air, a trump card he had long left there if he'd ever needed it. A short hop brought him up to one as it launched him into the air, letting his arms and legs spread out as he embraced the sky, the air not yet rushing against him, urging him to return to the ground.

Blake, who had so many secrets to keep that she tended to want to be alone. She read these books that made her look smart, but everyone had eventually found out they were just smut. Hidden in black shadows of her past, and running away leaving clones wherever she may have been.

The Jaune floating in the air slowly faded away as the true body was seen slashing away once again on the battlefield.

Yang, the extroverted, overprotective sister of Ruby who always had a joke lined up for every occasion. Sensitive, although never showing it and always keeping a smile about when possible. Yellow sunshine, growing stronger with every hit she took.

A grimm caught a claw on his shoulder just before being launched back by its own force, quick enough that it seemed as though the beowolf had been fighting itself the entire time.

"That's Team RWBY, my sister team in a way. I can't wait for you to meet them all when we come to visit."

Joan.

Nora, always attached to the hip with her childhood friend, Ren. She was an unstoppable ball of energy that seemed to never slow down. Ren, the quiet and stoic. A complete 180 from Nora, his childhood friend. They were so different, but held onto the same pain together, it was as though everything would be okay as long as those two were together. Pink, and green. Maybe it was always just pink after all.

Joan.

Pyrrha, the ultimate champion and best partner ever. Always caught in the spotlight, wishing to be treated like a normal girl, but never being able to. Kept on a pedestal, but not to her friends. Red, the color of a champion I suppose.

Joan.

Jaune sent Crocea Mors. outwards, reaching out to grab them with an invisible force as they glowed slightly darker, the two metal objects swung in an ever-growing circle ripping apart the grimm that had come to surround their master. Pulling the weapons back to him, he sheathed them, stashing them back at his hip. Pulling out a yellow dust crystal from a pouch on his hip, he crushed it in his hand. Feeling his muscles rush to life, shaking his being and fueling him with unbelievable power. He jumped, sending him flying into the air, a shockwave cleared across the ground below him, catching himself on another glyph, he launched himself back to the ground.

A large group of grimm all but evaporated when he smashed into the middle of them, causing an earthquake that sent them all back to the spawning pools.

From the mist came a figure, a man who glowed white, opposite to the grimm. His head covered in a black hood, a white mask and armor decorated his body, the symbol of the white fang branded upon him. Horns were visible on his head, more resembling a demon than any type of animal.

The goliath of a man drew a colossal greatsword from his back, pointing the tip at Jaune, his expression neither angry or smug. Just empty, much like the one Jaune himself wore.

The faunus flew forward with vigor, but was easily batted away with a swipe from Crocea Mors. The hooded man gritted his teeth as he attacked again and again, clashing with the blade of the ancestral blade to no avail. He found himself being quickly pushed back by the opposing blonde, the grimm began to close in again, but Jaune seemingly just lost all color as the grimm only turned their gaze to the faunus. The fang was quickly losing hope as he was further overwhelmed, whenever the grimm seemed to draw close, they would die before reaching him. As though the blonde was telling them "This is my prey."

The masked man finally hit a wall as he collapsed over onto his backside. Rested against the wall as the menace stood over him, dark pits of blue glared down with pure hate as Crocea Mors was drawn back, and quickly stabbed forward, finding its place in the faunus' chest cavity.

With a small glance down, Jaune realized that the faunus was gone. A lone blade left lodged in his own chest. He looked down at the blessed blade that had betrayed him, his shield falling to the ground as he let go of the handle of blade now draining him of life. He turned around, sitting himself in the place where he had planned to kill the White Fang member, finding himself looking up to a dark sky, blood leaking down his body as his aura refused to jump to life.

He slowly let his eyes drift closed as he finally let a smile draw itself across his lips.

"I'm coming, everyone."

Jaune woke with a start, clutching at his chest, expecting to find the offending blade there. His team lay around him in their beds, peacefully sleeping. His heart pounded in his ears as a cold sweat surrounded his body. His breathing too quick to be healthy as he felt the urge to vomit. His eyes remained wide open, unable to blink as he stared down as his hands. His body sparked with his white aura, filling the entire room with light, but as he stared, he saw blood.

Blood staining his hands that he couldn't possibly wipe off, tears leaked down his face as he realized the dream he must've had. His mind wandered to his friends, those that had stood by him since he'd arrived at Beacon.

Squeezing his eyes closed, more tears dripped down onto his blanket before he buried his face in his hands.

He wouldn't be able to get anymore sleep, nor did he want to.

Something I came up with and really struggled to write to be honest. It never quite turned out to exactly what I wanted, but it's important, trust me. Just kinda hard to see, try squinting maybe?

Hope you enjoyed.

-DB