So... here we are. I've delayed this rewrite for a long time and now that I've done this I have to say that I'm really satisfied with this story. I hope that you guys like it.

I don't own RWBY.

Beta: Hedgehog of Time.

Author POV

"...Now you become a paragon of justice and virtue. I release your soul, my son, to protect you from the darkest shadows of the world." Beatrice Arc finished, feeling her ten-year old son's aura ignite the room.

"Mommy, why did you do that?" The little boy asked. She knew that time was short, her husband had fallen already. She restrained her tears and looked her youngest child in the eye. His blue eyes were full of fear. A pair of eyes that matched her own.

"Jaune, sweetie, mommy has to help your big sisters right now. Katherine will keep you safe." She looked at the elder woman, Katherine Beauregard, a loyal servant of the Arc house. In her younger days, she acted as a spy in the Faunus Revolution against General Lagoone. Now, as a retired, but still powerful, huntress, she would fit perfectly for the job. "We'll try to find you as soon as we can."

"But what about daddy?" Beatrice strengthened the grip on her weapon, a long bow now that turned into a staff. "Why did the guards attack him? Where is he?"

"I'll tell you everything later, honey, I promise." A piercing scream filled the night. Beatrice's eyes widened. "I have to go! Take him to Glynda!"

"Mommy...?" She hugged her son as hard as she could without crushing him, caressing his blonde hair.

"I love you, my little Knight." She said, tearing up.

"I love you too, mommy." Beatrice kissed her son's forehead and ran towards the battlefield. Katherine took Jaune's hand.

"Jaune, darling, we have to go." The boy nodded without saying a word. Katherine covered her face with the hood of her black cloak. Jaune repeated the gesture with his smaller, dark blue cloak. They passed through halls and halls as quick as possible. "We have to be quiet. Oh so quiet, like little mice we must be quiet." She said to the boy, who started sobbing. She looked at the source of his crying and felt a sharp pain in her heart. Lying in the great hall, surrounded by blood, is no one else than King Jonas Arc. He took down a impressive number of guards, but was taken down by their numbers. "Don't look..."

"They're here!" A guard screams on the other side of the hall. It didn't took long before a dozen guards swarmed through the corridor. Katherine pushed Jaune behind her, taking off her hood. A silver diadem with a blue gemstone decorated her face. Her platinum blonde hair fell to her side like a silk curtain. Her usually warm brown eyes were full of hatred, causing a scowl to mar her face. Time had tainted her features, but she still held an aristocratic beauty that few people at fifty five years could claim. She slowly raised her right hand to the side of her head, the guards still running towards them with weapons in hand, and emitted an ethereal blue light from the gemstone of her diadem. A psychic wave was propelled towards the guards, hitting the frontline with full force. Jaune watched defenceless as they got up. He looked around until his eyes found the golden pommel of his father's sword: Aurum Mortem. The Golden Death.

He grabbed the sword and it's scabbard, turning it to it's shield form. He tried to assume a fighting stance, but a combination of the sword being far too large and having no training made it impossible to do anything but wave the mighty blade. Katherine turned around, grabbing him by his arm. Jaune was confused about why she was going to run so quickly until he saw the guards of the frontline fighting their companions with merciless powerful strikes.

"It will buy us some time." She said, putting her hood on. She glimpsed at his father's sword. "Hide it, you'll be easily recognized." He did as he was told. They finally got out of the castle using a secret passage at the library. After running a couple miles into the forest, Jaune's legs failed. Katherine turned around. "Don't give up now, darling, we're almost there." He didn't moved. "Jaune?" She approached the boy, lifting his face up. He was crying, clutching his father's blade to him like a teddy bear. Katherine scanned her surroundings, knowing that his negative emotions could bring nearby Grimm. "Jaune, look at me." The boy reluctantly opened his eyes. "We have to get to the safe house. Your mother and sisters are going to meet us there. I need you to hold on until there, okay? We can't risk attracting Grimm." She cleared his tears and watched as he forced himself to stand up. A low growl ringed her senses. She bit back a curse, watching as a pack of Beowolves surrounded them. She focused on the Alpha, knowing that her semblance would be useless on the other ones. Lesser Grimm are mindless, so they can't be controlled.

Katherine was a Telepath. A rare, powerful semblance that allows the user to read and control minds, also allowing her to manipulate memories, creating or suppressing them. With a few effort, she could create psychic blasts to temporarily immobilize enemies, causing a painful migraine. She only had a shot.

A powerful blast hit the Alpha. His eyes changing from red to blue. He fought physically and mentally, but his will was suppressed. The lesser Grimm were still waiting for orders, and then Katherine started talking.

"You're going to retreat, leading your pack miles away from us. If you find any humans, you won't attack." The Alpha's eyes turned red for an instant, but they quickly reverted to blue and quickly did as he was ordered to. The pack walked away, disappearing into the night.

"They won't come back, right?" Jaune asked. His father's sword was trembling in his hands.

"They shouldn't. Grimm are easier to control than humans. Now let's get going, okay?" Jaune nodded, walking at Katherine's side.

"How can you do that? You never told me you can do that." The young boy asked reluctantly.

"It's my semblance." The boy muttered something. "Your mother unlocked your aura, so it won't take long until you learn yours."

"I wish I could do what you do." The boy said, almost whispering. Katherine smiled at the boy, but her traces turned harsh for a second. It wasn't time nor place to discuss this, but at least it was distracting the boy from the bad things he saw. She kept going.

"You probably won't, darling. Each semblance is unique. It is related to your own soul, to your deepest desire." She winced, regretting of her use of words.

"What's yours?" The boy innocently asked with genuine curiosity. She couldn't back off now without hurting him. After a deep breath, she conceded.

"I wanted to be in control." The boy frowned. She knew he wasn't going to accept only that as an answer. But he didn't argue, and she could appreciate that. She basically saw the boy grow up with her own eyes. She helped to raise him and his sisters as their nanny and bodyguard. She could only hope that Jaune's sisters were going to make it. The youngest sister was eighteen years old, all of them being graduated or in training huntresses. Katherine knew they were ready to defend themselves. She helped to train all of them. After tiring twenty minutes, they arrived at a rustic log house.

"We arrived first." Jaune said. Katherine nodded.

"Don't worry, darling. They can take care of themselves." She opened the door to reveal a dusty empty room. A fireplace was placed against a wall. The kitchen was empty, but they has water from a small lake behind the house. A few blankets were stored inside a wardrobe. It wasn't much, but it would suffice for now. "Do you need anything?" She asked him while taking off her cloak. He shook his head. "Don't hesitate to ask me, okay?" He nodded. "Do you want to talk?"

"I-I..." He looked down. "I don't understand. Why did we have to run? Why did the guards attack us? Why is father..." He couldn't finish the sentence. Katherine hugs him closely. His father, her student, friend, king and ally was dead.

"Sometimes people with a cause stand against the ones who're in power because they don't agree with their ways. Your father fought for what he thought was right, and people like me supported him. But his decisions didn't please everyone, some... bad people were starting to get angry. I guess things just turned into a point where they couldn't hold back their anger anymore and decided that they would try to fight for what they thought was right by any means necessary." She thought about what she said, hoping that it was a good way to explain politics to a ten-year old boy. "Get some rest, okay? Your mother and sisters should arrive soon."

She watched as Jaune grabbed his blanket and sat next to a corner, wrapping himself in a cocoon. The sight remembered her of before the attack, when he and his elder sisters wrapped themselves into blankets and crashed against each other. The memory brought a smile to her face. Time went on and the only signs of life were their breathing. Katherine started to worry. It has been two hours. The boy fell asleep long ago due to his exhaustion and there were no signs of his mother and sisters. She couldn't leave him alone and search for them.

Katherine took a deep breath and assumed a meditative state. Her mind wandered through the dark forest, searching for any signs of life. She found lots of Grimm, dragged towards the fallen kingdom, but no sign of the Arcs. She kept her search as long as she could, but the intense use of her semblance claimed it's price. Her mind was launched back to her body, causing her to wake up from the meditative state. A minor headache started to show up. She looked around. Jaune is still asleep. Her hand wandered through her pockets, grabbing her scroll. She waited long enough. She went outside while dialing Glynda's number.

"Katherine! What's happening? They're broadcasting the attacks, are you okay? Where are Beatrice and Jonas?" The voice of the Headmistress filled the silence.

"Jonas is dead. Beatrice and the girls are missing, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were... dead as well." Glynda didn't answered, so she kept talking. "I'm with Jaune in the safe house next to Azure lake. I need you to get in a bullhead and get us out of here."

"I-I'm on my way." She turned off, getting back inside. Jaune was on his feet, wearing a confused face.

"Where is my mom?" He asked.

"She's..." Katherine but her lip. "She's taking too much time, darling. So we have to go before the bad people find us."

"Is she dead?" He asked, and she was genuinely surprised by his choice of words.

"I don't know." She said, knowing that it was true. Beatrice could still be alive. "Your godmother is going to take us to somewhere safe. Do you remember her?"

"Auntie Glyn?" Katherine nodded. "But what about mom? Juniper, Jane, Jean, Joan, Johanna and Juliet? We can't leave them behind! Call them! Tell them where we are!" It's not like Katherine hadn't thought about that, but it was highly recommended to not call them if they were in a middle of a fight, or hiding. Jaune must have sensed her hesitation and was about to cry. "Please."

"Fine. One call." She dialed Johanna's number. The elder sister always kept her scroll next to her. A blonde haired woman with green eyes was shown on the screen, she had a nasty cut on her forehead but seemed fine. "Johanna, this is Katherine. What's your position?"

"Thank goodness that you're safe. Is Jaune with you?" The older woman nodded. "Good. I'm heading towards the meeting place with Jane and Juliet."

"What about the others?" Johanna's face fell. Katherine's paled. "No."

"I-I promised mom to keep them safe. She held them back with the twins so we could escape. Juniper's wounds just got worse and... She didn't make it." Katherine looked at Jaune, who stared at the floor, shocked.

"We'll have a bullhead here soon. Get here as fast as you can." Johanna nodded.

"We'll be there shortly." Johanna ended the call. Jaune was on his knees, tears blurring his vision. His sobs quickly filled the room.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry." Katherine hugged him. "I know how it hurts, but you're not alone, understood? You still have a family. Your sisters, your godmother and I will take good care of you." He cried into sleep. A few minutes later, Johanna arrived with Juliet and Jane. Katherine received the three of them with a hug.

"Jaune! Where is he..." Johanna's worried face disappeared when she saw her little brother. Her battle axe slipped from her hand. Tears of happiness filled her eyes as he run towards her brother. Her sisters right besides her. Jaune woke up with all the commotion around him. He saw his sisters and broke down. Johanna hugged him closely. "It's going to be okay now."

"I want mommy back. And daddy, and Juniper, Joan, and Jean. I want them to be here." He said.

"I know." The youngest sister, Juliet, caressed his hair. Her lavender eyes calming down her brother. "We all do. There is a time in everyone's lives when we learn to do the best to keep our loved ones safe. I'm just sad that you had to learn that by the worst way imaginable."

"They are here with us. We're Arcs. Our ancestors will always guide us and live through our memories and love. They'll never be forgotten." Jane said. As huntresses, they had experienced lost and grief. At times like this, on this job, you have to learn to block your emotions out until you're out of danger. The three Arc sisters seemed fine on the outside, but the breakdown was inevitable.

A ringtone broke the silence that followed up. Johanna got her scroll as quick as she could do it physically.

"It's mom!" She accepted the call. "Mom, where are you?! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It takes more than that to take down an Arc matriarch. Jean is fine, Joan is severely injured, but she's still with us." She looked off camera for a second. "Where are you? Are you there yet? Is Jaune with you?"

"We ran towards the lake, as you told us to. We're with Jaune, don't worry." Beatrice looked relieved.

"Thank goodness. I'll see you soon. Love you all." She turned off the call.

"She's alive." Johanna laughed. "Did you hear that, little brother? Mom is fine. She's coming to get us." Jaune immediately calmed down. "Juliet, how much aura do you have left?"

"Enough to heal Joan once she gets here. I'll probably be without Aura after that." Juliet said, her whip and spear combo laying besides her. Her semblance was called Healer, obviously for healing people. "I can probably heal your forehead, if you want me to. It's not wise to have a open wound like this."

"Save your semblance for Joan. We don't know the extent of her injuries." Juliet nodded, but still grabbed a few materials from her belt pouches and approached her sister. Cleaning the wound was the least she could do.

"Jane, could you get some water for me, please?" The field medic received a nod from her sister, who got up. Jane grabbed the pair of pistols attached to the back of her belt, just in case of a Grimm encounter. Minutes passed as they waited patiently. Johanna's eyes suddenly fell towards her father's sword.

"Aurum Mortem..." She muttered.

"Jaune recovered in an attempt to defend ourselves." Katherine explained. "He didn't use it." She reassured them. Johanna left out a relieved sigh. Her brother wouldn't have to kill anyone yet. She hoped things didn't have to change anytime soon.

A loud bang coming from the outside startled them. The sisters grabbed their weapons and entered a defensive formation. Their mother opened the door and quickly closed it behind her.

"Where are the twins?" Jane asked, giving her mother a hug.

"We were attacked by Ursa. I fought them while Jean took Joan out of there. They were ahead of me, I thought they had already arrived." Juliet and Johanna shared a worried look.

"We will look out for them." Juliet said, earning a nod from her two sisters. Beatrice suddenly fell to the floor before they reached the door. "Mom!"

"I'm fine... D- Don't worry." Jaune ran towards his mother.

"Mommy? Are you okay?" His eyes widened when he saw a red stain quickly spreading through her clothes.

"No. No. No..." Juliet turned around immediately, kneeling down and pressing her hands over the wound. White light bursts from her hands as the wound closes.

"Thank you... Sweetheart." The last part came out as a growl. "Mommy feels way better now." A dark pulse was emitted from her body, knocking the sisters, Katherine and Jaune away. They quickly get up to see the image of their mother disappear, replaced by a tall, black haired man with a well-trimmed beard. His poisonous green eyes sparkled as he smirked triumphantly. "Your mother really did a number on me, but I knew that I could count on you."

"No." Juliet immediately paled. Of all people, it had to be him.

"Michael Rasputin." Katherine growled. The sisters retrieved their weapons and stood between him and Jaune, who was incredibly confused and scared.

"Hello there, Katherine. It's been years since we last spoke." Katherine gritted her teeth and Rasputin's grin got wider. "How is your son?"

"Dead." The Arcs, except for Juliet, turned their eyes towards their mentor and protector, surprised by the sudden reveal.

"Oh, it's true! It was really a shock, that tragedy. Who would have guessed that Daniel would've ran into my sword eight times!" The tension inside the room got stronger and stronger. "He was always a clumsy kid while growing up. Still, he lasted longer than the twins." Venom practically dripped from his words. Johanna snapped at this new information, aiming a slash towards his neck.

Michael easily avoided her attacks, his grin never disappearing from his face. Juliet immediately followed her sister, aiming her spear towards vital spots. Rasputin drew his sword, parrying the attacks with precise blows. Jane was on the back keeping an eye on Jaune, but fired every time she saw an opening. He was focusing on his defense, what would be predictable and even advisable, but something was wrong and Katherine knew it. She saw at least six wasted opportunities to attack, which meant he wasn't attacking on purpose. Tiring them out maybe? She knew it wasn't his style. He would normally go for ruthless, well placed attacks. This wasn't leading anywhere.

"Stop." Katherine ordered. Johanna frowned as if she was crazy.

"Why?! He killed our sisters!" Juliet shouted back. "He's brought nothing but pain into our lives! He's the reason for all of this to be happening!"

"Don't forget mommy and daddy, sweetheart." With a renewed anger, Juliet managed to get her whip to tangle itself around his left leg, causing him to trip. Johanna's axe was pointed right next to his throat.

"Give a reason for me to not sink my axe into your head." She growled.

"You'll ruin this pretty face of mine?" The blade got closer. "No sense of humor got it."

"Why did you do this to our family?" Jane asked, her both pistols pointed at his head just in case.

"Finally some clever questions. I knew that I could count on you for that, Jane." Juliet kicked his stomach. Michael winced but didn't show any other signs of pain.

"Answer her!" He rolled his eyes at her remark.

"Easy there, love. Just got it fixed up." He smirked again. "Isn't it simple? I want all of you dead. After all, it's not like your parents and I were in the best relationship after what they did to me, but let's stop talking about the past. Unless my dear Juliet wishes to tell one of our tales."

"I can't believe that I used to love you." Juliet said, almost in a whisper.

"Juliet?" Jane was genuinely shocked and confused. Johanna frowned but seemed more saddened than surprised. "You know him?"

"It was a long time ago. He certainly wasn't this pathetic excuse of a human being that he is now." He laughed at her remark.

"Now that hurt me more than that kick." He disappeared in a black blur, erupting from the shadows in the corner of the room. "It was fun, girls, but I'm afraid that this is the part where you die."

"As if you could face the four of us alone." Katherine said from behind.

"Save your words, you old witch. I'm not dumb enough to presume that. I hope that you don't mind that I invited a few more guests." The front walls of the house exploded. When the smoke cleared, a entire battalion of soldiers stood against them. Most of them were armed like the soldiers from the castle, but some of them were wearing white clothes and Grimm masks, pointing their weapons towards them.

"The White Fang?" Jane frowned, a pistol aimed at Michael and the other aimed at the crowd. Before anyone could react, Katherine fired a blue beam from her diadem. Ice spikes erupted from the ground, creating a wall between them and the White Fang grunts. The ice dust crystal stopped glowing when she took the accessory from her head. It's form switching to a silver dagger. The ice dust crystal now in the pommel. The girls and Jaune looked slightly surprised, but Michael just looked amused.

"You're no fun, but I'm actually honored to see this war relic in action again! What's its name again? Silver Frost?" He was answered by another ice beam, emitted from the pommel. He barely dodged it in time.

"Johanna, fight the soldiers back. Juliet, you follow her." The sisters reluctantly agreed, jumping over the ice wall. "Jane, take Jaune out of here. I'll handle this bastard." Jane took Jaune's hand in hers, while he grabbed his father's sword. The little boy couldn't cry anymore, now he was just trying to keep the rest of his family safe. If that meant getting out of the way, he would oblige.

"It looks like we're fighting again." He said, looking excited. "The last time this happened, someone ended up bleeding on the floor."

"But this time you'll be the one who's bleeding." Michael grinned.

"Entertain me." She rushed at him at impressive speeds, her dagger meeting his sword in a series of slashes. He disappeared in a shadow, appearing right behind her ready for a critic blow. Her enhanced senses allowed her to dodge in time, exploiting the momentum to hit him on his shoulder. His aura took the hit, but he managed to swing his sword in a crescent arc, forcing Katherine to slide back to avoid the hit, firing some ice bolts from her dagger while doing so. He disappeared again in a series of blurred shadows around her. There was no way of knowing from where his next attack would come. So, she did the best she could. Preparing her dagger and putting up a plan, she dashed out of the house. The moonlight was strong out there, sparking against the ice wall and lightning up the place. There were way less shadows than inside of the house. The battle sounds on the other side were intensifying, she wondered how the girls were doing. Still, she knew by the shouts behind her that they wouldn't give up without a fight.

Fight...

"Johanna! I need cover!" Juliet called for her sister as the battle intensified. Johanna raised an arm towards her sister and big roots erupted from the ground, covering Juliet while she charged her weapon with dust. Johanna's semblance earned her the tittle of "Battle Gardener" due to her ability to turn the environment against her enemies. Right now, she had the field advantage. White Fang soldiers fought vainly against roots and vines that trapped them into the ground or above the trees. Juliet was also fighting with everything she had, her whip cracking around the battlefield and hitting her enemies with a powerful type of earth dust, that spread through skin, petrifying the target upon contact. For that infamous move, and the use of her whip, she was known as "Medusa".

"See if you can find Jane! I can hold them for a while!" Johanna ordered. Juliet frowned.

"But what about you? Do you have enough aura to keep them out of the battle?" She asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

"I'll be fine! Arc's aura, remember?" Juliet rolled her eyes, running towards her sister. Johanna cursed and covered her while she ran. Before she could say a thing, she felt Juliet's aura merging with her own.

"Don't argue with me. You'll need this more than I do." Her green eyes met her sister's blue ones as they shared a quick hug. "Take care."

"You too." And with that, Juliet disappeared from her view, running towards the lake. She focused on the soldiers in front of her. "Alright, you bastards! I'm feeling generous today so I'll give you all a choice. Do you want to be impaled by spikes or constricted by roots?" They ignored her, charging at her with a blind fury.

Blind...

Jaune couldn't see, only hear the sounds of the battlefield. The quietest sister was nervous and Jaune could feel that. She watched the battle from a tree, managing to shot one or two soldiers from time to time with the aid of her sniper rifle, which was a combination of the two smaller pistols and the retractable staff that she kept stored inside one of her pockets. Being a long range fighter, she avoided physical combat every time she could. After shooting down a grunt that tried to get Juliet from behind, she noticed that her sister seemed to run towards their direction. Johanna was still fighting at the center of the battlefield, her roots crushing their defenses and quickly putting them down.

"Jane?" The youngest Arc called.

"Yes, Jaune?" She said, aiming for another lethal shot. A bullet, a death. She couldn't spare a single shot.

"Shouldn't aunt Glynda be here for now?" He asked. Jane raised an eyebrow. It was a fair question. After a perfect shot, she spoke.

"She's at Vale. The trip from Vale to Arkend takes at least two hours. Plus, she might have had some trouble in finding a bullhead." She was satisfied with her answer and recharged her bullets.

Bullets...

The sword was also a gun. Of course. Younger generations and their guns, Katherine sighed while dodging another bullet and cutting other in half with a precise cut. The ice behind her cracked with the shots.

"Are you dead yet?" He yelled from behind the wreckage that used to be a wall. His answer was an ice beam that passed inches over his head. He groaned, getting up. He traveled through the shadows and appeared at her side. Katherine, however, was aware of all the points that he could appear around her. She dodged his attack and hit the pummel at his head while putting a little bit of aura in it. The crystal reacted, coating the pummel with a hard ice layer. He took the blow, tumbling away quickly. He shook his head, trying to recover, Katherine exploited the opportunity to hit a series of quick slashes and stabs. "Okay. I've had enough." A pulse of dark energy was emitted from his body, knocking Katherine away once again. He didn't waste time and dashed at her, she ducked the first blow, but was hit by a kick in the stomach.

She managed to get up quickly, blocking his slash with her dagger and aiming a punch at his throat. He ducked to his side, aiming for a wide slash. Katherine blocked it but was left with an opening at her ribs. He saw that and aimed an aura reinforced punch at her. Katherine endured the spot with her aura but still was thrown back by his strength.

Strength...

Jaune knew he wasn't strong. Not like his sisters, not like his parents, not like Katherine and certainly not like that mysterious man that took everything from him.

Still, he was standing there holding his father's sword and shield, waiting for an attack. He had to be ready to fight. He couldn't run, he had to protect them. He would be sure that no one else dies tonight. Jane suddenly jumped from the tree. Jaune was about to ask her why, but then he saw Juliet coming towards them. He wanted to run to meet her, but Jane stopped him, changing her sniper rifle back to her pistols. The staff fell to the ground.

"Stop right there." Jane ordered in her cold, analytical voice. A lock of hair covered part of her eye, but she didn't bother to move it. Jaune was confused, but then remembered about the peculiar ability of the man. His sister was just making sure. "Identify yourself."

"Juliet Edwards Arc. Twenty two years old, graduated from Atlas Academy. Leader of Team JGNT (Juggernaut). Born in Arkend, third oldest sister of the Arcs. You guys call me Julie. My semblance is Healing and I accidentally broke a finger when you and I were playing in the dungeons. You took the responsibility so dad wouldn't fight with me." Jane lowered her weapons.

"What are you doing here? Johanna will need your help!" Jane said while grabbing her staff and forming her sniper rifle. She climbed the tree and aimed at the battlefield while waiting for an explanation.

"Johanna ordered me to check up on you two. She is efficiently holding them back on her own." She waited for her sister to shoot. A bullet less later, she continued. "Katherine is still fighting with that as..." She looked at her brother. "A-astonishingly skilled, but evil, man."

"We should advance a little bit. I can't get a good vision from here." Her eyes widened for a mere second when she saw a shot fired towards her. She quickly activated her semblance, her skin being covered by a strong, organic diamond. The bullet was smashed at her forehead and dropped on the ground. She shot the enemy sniper and joined her siblings on the ground. She dismissed her diamond form only to get punched in the arm by Juliet. "Why was that for?" She asked, not really hurt nor angry.

"Jane Grace Arc! Don't you scare me like that again!" Jane rolled her eyes while all that Jaune could do was to stare in awe. His sisters are awesome!

Sisters...

There were no other thoughts on Johanna's mind besides protecting her younger sisters and brother. She noticed that bullets occasionally killed one or two enemies that she couldn't see. She smiled internally, knowing that Jane was behind that. The aura boost that Juliet have her made a huge difference. Speaking of the devil, she wasn't surprised to see her sister back so quickly. The shots had also became more frequent, what meant that Jane had found a better spot.

"I presume that you found them, right?" She asked while blossoming venomous flowers at the enemy side, poisonous mist taking down a full squad. She heard at least four cracks of her sister's whip, stone quickly spreading through her unfortunate targets.

"Yes. Jane got a nice cover and Jaune's with her. He has dad's sword and aura, so he isn't completely defenseless." Johanna nodded, getting cover. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just a little tired from using my semblance for so long. There's tons of them." She took a deep breath, getting up. "I think I'll do some close combat now." She took her battle axe from her back. "Can I count on you for covering my back?" Juliet rolled her eyes before assuming a fighting stance against her sister's back.

"Stay close, don't act recklessly and do not, under any circumstances, get in the way of my attacks." Johanna grinned.

"Ditto." The sisters charged at the soldiers, weapons in hand and ready to fight for their lives.

Ready...

Katherine was ready to counter attack when she was surprised by another dark energy pulse. She felt his boot pressing against her pulse, forcing her to drop her weapon.

"Getting a little rusty, aren't we?" He smiled triumphantly. Katherine rolled her eyes, blowing a lock of hair away from her face.

"Didn't your parents teach you to respect the elders?" He frowned. "Oh, that's right. Forgive me. They're dead." She fired a telepathic blast at him, making him wince in pain. He fought against the migraine. The sight of a bullhead at distance instantly relieved Katherine. Glynda was here. They still had a chance. Before Michael could recover, she blasted her way through the ice. She could sense Johanna and Juliet next to the lake, and sent a telepathic message to them. "Bullhead incoming. Stay there, I'll take care of the rest. Try to take down as many as you can." Katherine saw shots being fired from a distant tree next to some rocks. Jane's long blonde hair shined against the moonlight. After taking a entire squad under her control, Katherine crossed the battlefield, using the soldiers to attack or as human shields. When she was next to Jane's spot, she ordered them to attack themselves. "Jane, bullhead!"

"Got it." Jane didn't need to interrogate the woman, seeing her using her abilities from distance. "Jaune, be ready to run." The young boy nodded. "Stay next to me." Jane turned into diamond and got both her pistols back. "Ready? Run!"

The three of them ran towards the lake. Jane protected her brother from the bullets by simply getting in their way, firing back precise shots while Katherine fired ice blasts by focusing aura inside the crystal, her dagger now back to it's diadem form. Katherine spotted Michael running at them, and tried to intercept him with another ice wall. The bullhead was hovering over the lake, so Katherine froze it, draining the crystal completely, and watched as Johanna created an impenetrable barrier of massive roots that kept the soldiers from advancing. Jane and Jaune reached the sisters, her diamond skin slowly fading away.

"Finally." Jane said. "My aura is practically depleted after that ru..." She was interrupted by the blade that passed through her chest. From the shadows of the bullhead, Michael stood, pulling his blade out of Jane's dead body. Jaune reacted out of pure anger, four humanoid creatures were formed from the ice beneath his feet, tackling the man away. Johanna quickly recovered from her shock and joined the fight. Juliet tried to heal her sister, but it wasn't getting any results. Blood tainted the floor, freezing upon the above average cold ice.

"Unfortunately, love, you can't bring back the dead, can you?" Michael grinned while blocking another slash from Johanna. Jaune's humanoid creatures had already turned into debris and the boy passed out from using his semblance carelessly for the first time. His unconscious body was enveloped by a purple energy and lifted up, quickly getting inside the bullhead. Juliet joined her sister a split second later, using her spear to try to break his defenses. Katherine prepared her dagger, and was ready to fight when she heard the shout from Juliet.

"Go with Jaune! Don't worry about us!" Katherine frowned, ignoring Juliet's wishes. They wouldn't make out of it alive. She tried to approach, but Johanna fired at the ice between them with her axe, that apparently it's also a gun. Unable to freeze it again, she considered her options. Even if she could escape with Jaune, Michael would track them down later. If she stayed they could actually have a chance, plus they had Glynda as a backup. However, by the sounds on the other side of the wall of roots, the army was managing to somehow get past Johanna's plants. They would be outnumbered and exhausted. She had to make a decision, and a fast one.

Putting together all that was left of her aura, she focused at Michael. She passed his mental barriers as if they were made of paper, and he was too busy fighting the sisters to notice that. She focused on creating a memory. An elaborate one. It would feel so real that he would never forget it. Katherine established the scenario, she entered on the bullhead and ordered Glynda to go. She was too focused to hear the headmistress answer, but felt the vehicle moving. She waited a few seconds for the bullhead to stabilize and made it seem like Michael was shooting the bullhead while defending himself. Now he hit the fuel tanks, a spark and... Boom! The bullhead crashed into the lake, disappearing into the deep waters.

Michael's laugh echoed through the night, he had saw what she wanted him to see. At least she hadn't failed one of the Arc children. A loud crack was heard at the battlefield as a huge root fell over the frozen lake, breaking the ice and dragging the two last sisters down. Unknown to both of them, their enemy had disappeared in a cloud of dark shadows.

"Where do we go?" Glynda asked from the pilot seat. Katherine closed her eyes and felt a tear running down her face.

"To somewhere safe, where no one else can find us." She said, caressing the child's hair. Katherine knew that she had to do something about him, he couldn't be Jaune Arc anymore since he was supposedly dead and his family was definitely gone. Katherine day sat next to Glynda at the co-pilot seat. The headmistress glanced at her, waiting for an explanation. "It started when a reunion was called..."

After a detailed explanation of all the events in the past four and a half hours, Katherine took a deep breath. Glynda focused on piloting the bullhead, avoiding eye contact. Her usual stern eyes were fighting the tears. She had been at team BRGD (Brigade), lead by Beatrice. She was at Beatrice's marriage as the maid of honor and at her coronation as a Queen. She was there when every child was born and was Jaune's godmother. She saw the girls graduating from Beacon, the Arcs were basically her family. Glynda finally broke the silence.

"What are we going to do about Jaune?" She asked. Katherine had asked herself that question since she entered the bullhead. She had been trying to come up with a plan to keep them safe. Michael thought that they were dead, plus he didn't knew that Glynda was the one piloting the bullhead.

"We are going to pretend that you had him with Daniel. You were on the same team at Atlas Academy and, if I remember well, you and my son used to have a relationship." Glynda looked away, but nodded. "He'll get Daniel's surname and I'll pretend to be his Grandmother."

"I have an apartment at Vale." Glynda said. "I only use it during school break, but it has a more space than I need. You two can live there with me."

"Good. Once my aura is complete I'll change his memories." Glynda's eyes widened. "I'm not erasing them." She said as if she could read Glynda's mind. As a matter of fact, she could. "I'm clouding them. For our plan to work he needs to act like a normal child. After what he has seen today, I don't think that'll be possible. Once he's aged up, we'll tell him the truth and I'll give his memories back."

"What about his first name? It's very recognizable." Katherine thought about it for a couple of seconds.

"Jonathan. John, to put it simply. Jonathan Beauregard." Glynda raised an eyebrow, looking satisfied with her choice. "It still sounds similar, but is a much more common name."

"It will fit perfectly." Glynda glimpsed back at the boy, who was comfortably wrapped in his cape. His father's sword and shield laying right next to him. "How did he passed out again?"

"Aura exhaustion, probably. He used what I think it is his semblance for the first time." Katherine said. "It's a unique one. Some kind of summoning."

"Like the Schnee's semblance?" Glynda asked.

"No, it seemed more like a form of animation. He made those humanoids out of ice, his semblance uses the environment's resources to summon his creations." Katherine looked at Jaune. "If trained properly, he will be able to raise an army from the ground whenever he wishes to."

"Golem Animation." Katherine nodded. "A rare and powerful one, that is. I believe you'll train him to be a hunter, am I right?"

"Beatrice always knew that her children would have to learn how to fight. It won't be different with him." She glanced at the sword. "He already got a weapon, thought we should probably modify it. Maybe modify the shield's symbol and the color. It can be easily arranged."

"He can apply to a training school. There's Signal Academy at Vale. I know the teachers, one of them has two daughters around his age, and..."

"No." Katherine said simply. "I trained all the Arc children by myself, and all of them graduated from the best combat schools. He'll do the application test at Beacon when the time comes."

"If he wants to be a hunter." Glynda pointed out. Katherine crossed her arms.

"He's an Arc. It's in his blood. Besides, it's in his semblance. He was born to lead, to protect. And when the time comes, we will help him to claim his name back." She looked down. "I'll guarantee he will be prepared to fight."

"Don't say that. It's like you're going to use him as your tool to get revenge." Katherine glared at Glynda. "If you want to train them, I can support that, but let he decide whether he wants to claim the crown or not. Don't corrupt him to be a vengeful person and let him follow his own choices. We're already making a big one without his permission."

Katherine didn't said a word for the remainder of the trip. Instead deciding to rest and recover her energy. A dreamless slumber was more than she could ask for after that night. She didn't knew how much time had passed until Glynda woke her up.

"He's awake." That was more than enough to make Katherine get up. She looked at Jaune, who appeared to be just a shadow of the happy and energetic child he used to be. His eyes were slightly swollen and he was looking down at his feet. She approached the boy silently.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." Katherine said. Jaune didn't reply, but nodded. "We're going to protect you, you understand that?" The boy frowned for a second, slightly confused, but nodded again. Katherine pressed her hands against his temples, lifting his head. He stared at her apathetically. "I hope you can forgive me someday." Jaune's eyes widened as Katherine invaded his head, cutting and sewing the fabric of his mind, creating new memories to replace the blocked ones. Ten years of his life were changed in mere twenty minutes. Katherine fixed up the memory gaps that were left and finished her masterpiece. She grabbed Jonas's sword and handed it to Glynda. Jaune was unconscious for the next five minutes, opening his drowsy eyes and facing Katherine. He looked at her with a confused and tired face.

"Grandma... What time is it?" He looked at his surroundings. "Where are we?"

"We're moving to Vale, darling, don't you remember?" He smiled and nodded, to Katherine's relief.

"That's right. Mommy's piloting." He yawned. "I'm tired. When will we arrive?"

"It won't take long, Jau... John." Katherine forced a smile. "You can go back to sleep, I'll wake you up when we arrive."

"Thank you..." He yawned again. "Good night."

"Good night, sweetie." When he finally got to sleep, Katherine went back to the pilot's cabinet. "It's done." Glynda looked sad, but nodded. It would be for the best. Jaune was her son now, and she silently promised herself to protect him with her life. That was what Beatrice would have done, and actually did.

She would have to have a long talk with Ozpin, maybe convince him to hire a second combat classes teacher for the higher years. She had a little boy to take care of now, and she would be a part of his life.