A Pyrrhic Victory in Flames

The gravel crunched and crackled under Jaune's boots as they ran towards the looming shadows of Mistral's two defenders. Twin mountainous peaks that housed the city, and at their summit, the Huntsman Academy spanning them both. The city itself couldn't currently be seen, seeing as how they were approaching the uninhabited side. The side that had stood as an impenetrable wall against the worst of the Grimm for centuries. Unfortunately, that soon no longer be the case. The massive Horde that was nipping at their heels would break through eventually, there was no doubt about that.

Unholy howls and screeches of all kinds split through the night, making Jaune and his current team only too aware of how close the rolling mass of darkness and hate was to catching them. He knew Ruby could have made it back already, but she wouldn't leave them behind. She knew it was the right choice, somebody had to warn them, but she refused to use her semblance to get away. Nora was very nearly dragging an unconscious Ren over her shoulder. He was bleeding out, the back of his partner's shirt already stained crimson with his blood. Jaune was hopeful that he would be able to survive if they made it back in time.

'Jaune..." he could her calling for him inside his head, but he ignored it for now, pushing on.

His muscled burned at the exertion he was putting his body under, his breathing was starting to become labored, and his heart beat like a pounding drum in his chest. They couldn't run for much longer, but luckily their destination was in sight. A small and almost forgotten mining elevator was the only way for them to scale the cliffs on this side. The only other option was to travel around the mountain itself, something they, nor Mistral, had any time for.

Finally reaching the elevator, Jaune yanked the old metal cage door open. Despite its years exposed to the elements, it was still strong. It had to be. This was dust mine, it needed to stand up to any potential explosions.

"Come on! Get in! Get in!" He ushered Ruby past him, and then Nora with Ren still over her shoulder.

As they got situated, Ruby helping Nora lower Ren to the ground, Jaune took a deep shaky breath.

CLANG!

A loud crash echoed around them before a loud buzzer sounded. Jaune took his hand away from the large button he'd just pressed, watching with sadness as his friends turned to look at him in shock through the metal bars. The electromagnetic lock on the door was now in effect.

Ruby was the first to run over to the edge of the elevator car in a flurry of rose petals, "Jaune! What are you doing? You have to get inside! The Grimm will be here any moment, we've got to go."

It was hard to meet her wide silver eyes, but Jaune forced himself to anyway as he shook his head, "The Grimm will be here in minutes." He pointed to a large metal contraption on the ground near him, lots of wires and pipes branching off and connecting to the old elevator. "That's the generator. It's the only thing keeping the lift going. When the Grimm overrun this position it will be destroyed. We won't even make it halfway up the mountain."

"No!" Nora had joined Ruby's side. Tears running down the normally cheerful girls face. "Jaune, you can't."

He gave them both a sad smile, "I have to."

"No… Jaune…" Tears were now gathering in Ruby's eyes too. "You're my best friend. You can't leave us. I'll stay and fight too. Let me out!"

Jaune shook his head again, "You heard the message from Qrow before the CCT was taken out here too. Your team is in Haven. They're waiting for you."

"What about us?" It was one of the first times he'd ever heard any kind of true anger in Nora's voice. "We're your team! You're our leader! You're the only one Ren and I have left! Are you going to abandon us too?"

Jaune flinched, her comments hitting their mark, but he didn't back down, "Take care of Ren. Both of you, take care of each other."

He moved his hand towards the large override lever on the panel before him.

"No!" She cried out, her anger evaporating at her panic. "Jaune!"

With one large tug, the lever switched positions with a large click. A loud whirring could be heard as the generator came back online. A moment later, the creaking and groaning as the cage began to rise was only drowned out by the sounds of the two Huntresses screams and pleas for him to stop.

In some sick sense of irony, he found himself gazing upon their slowly elevating faces with only a one thing coming to mind, "I'm sorry."

The words seemed to bring them no comfort, just as they'd brought him no comfort when he was on the receiving end of them before. Closing his eyes for a moment, Jaune took in the sound of their voices calling to him. Despite their distress, just knowing it was the last time he'd be hearing his friends, made him absorb the sound of their cries as if they were the greatest of orchestras. He never wanted to forget what his friends sounded like.

Opening his eyes, he turned his back on his comrades to face the oncoming horde, but first he had to face her. She was already there like he had expected.

"Hello again, Jaune." Her voice was just as cheerful and kind as he remembered. Her hair was still a vivid red, her eyes as green as emeralds, and her circlet shining bronze in the setting sun. In other words, she was still as breathtaking as always.

"Hello, Pyrrha," he replied. Despite the severity of his current situation, he felt his own eyes misting up too. "I've missed you."

"And I you," she replied with a soft smile. "But you know I have been with you all along?"

"I know," and he had. Maybe not right away, but now he was finally able to realize that she spoke the truth. They hadn't truly been apart since the day of Beacon's initiation when she'd unlocked his aura. "I forgive you, you know?"

"Oh?"

Jaune nodded, "I understand now."

She smiled once again, this time somewhat sadly, "I know you do."

Jaune raised his hand to cup her cheek, though it only managed to pass right through her. Trying again anyway, he held his hand where her skin should be, "It's ok Pyrrha. I've accepted it. The others will get out. They'll keep the fight going until the enemy is dead, and then they can live out the rest of their lives like they should. I'll be joining you soon enough, there was no life for me after you anyway."

"Jaune…" tears were spilling from her green eyes now too. "You should be able to live your life too."

"And so should you," he said. "Life isn't fair like that. Please don't cry though. We'll be together soon."

Loud screeches split through the air once again, much closer than before. Looking out across the horizon, it was if an actual wall of darkness was sweeping towards him. The only reason he could even see the Grimm's writhing bodies was because of the small amount of light their burning red eyes gave off.

Unsheathing Crocea Mors, he readied himself. "Are you ready old friend? Are you readt to bathe in the disgusting ichor they call blood, one last time?" The sword glinted gold in the low light, almost as if responding to it's masters words, and telling him it was ready.

"Will you stay with me, Pyrrha?" He asked. "Until the end?"

"Of course," he could see her hand lay down upon his arm from the side. Despite there being no physical weight to her touch, the spot felt warm and it was almost as if strength was flowing into him, taking away his earlier fatigue.

Standing tall as he stared down his coming death, Jaune activated his semblance. It was only now that he was able to realize, like Pyrrha, it had always been there, right within his reach. He'd only had to reach out and take it. Energy swirled around his body in the shape of golden flames, even extending down the length of his family's famous blade.

He tightened his grip on his sword. "Let's go." Then with a loud cry he and Pyrrha charged forward.

The elevator came to stop with a huge shudder. Ruby's heart skipped a beat as it did so. That was until she noticed that they had arrived at the top. With a loud squealing sound, the rear door slowly and jerkily opened to the tunnel she knew lead back to Haven Academy. Glancing back at her companions, Ren was still unconscious and Nora had a white knuckled grip on the bars keeping her contained. Tears flowed down her face silently.

They couldn't see Jaune, the angle from which they were ascending had put him completely out of their view, but the fact that the elevator had continued on uninterrupted at the top indicated to her that he was still fighting. She nearly flinched at every one of the hundreds of shrieks, caws, roars, growls, and howls heard below, knowing that each one could be the Grimm that was about to tear into her best friend.

"Nora…" the girl didn't respond, standing still as she looked down at the endless horde.

Ruby didn't know what to do. She'd been so happy earlier. Uncle Qrow had sent word, while they were on their scouting mission, that Weiss and Yang were in Mistral. Some of her teammates were back! All of that positivity had gone down the drain when it had all happened again. The CCT in Mistral had been taken out somehow, cutting off their contact, and another Grimm horde was heading towards another crippled Kingdom.

The leader of Team RWBY tried to figure out what to say to her hammer wielding friend, but was having no such luck. She was too much at a loss herself over Jaune's actions. She didn't want to believe this was it. There had to be something they could do. Maybe if she could just get those supposed powers from her eyes to work again than she could save him like she'd failed to do with Pyrrha.

Just as those thoughts passed through her head, there was a blinding flash of golden light that forced her to screw her eyes shut and turn her head. When it finally died down and she blinked them open, it was Nora's gasp that caught her attention. Rushing to the edge of the elevator car, she gaped at what they saw. With the amount of smoke rising from the corpses of disintegrating Grimm, people in the distance would probably think it was a forest fire.

It was heartening sight to see so many creatures of darkness cut down at once, but even so it wasn't enough. Already more were pressing into to fill the large void, and somehow Ruby just knew her friend was now gone.

"Nora… we… we need to go," she said, tears spilling down her own cheeks once again.

"No! Jaune… he… we need to…"

"Nora!" Ruby commanded. "J-Jaune… Jaune is… he's gone… and Ren will be too if we don't get him to a hospital."

The girl in question stiffened, her fists clenching on air once again, before she turned around her whole body shaking. Moving forward, she gathered Ren up into her arms, before moving into the tunnel. She stopped in the entrance, her back to Ruby, and spoke her voice flat, "Let's go than."

Jaune coughed, his whole body wracked with pain. The ground around him was now clear, the Grimm having dissolved away. He could hear the stamping feat of the oncoming horde once again, but it would take a few minutes for them to get here. Feeling around the large tears in his armour, his let out a muffled shout as he accidentally prodded an open gash on his stomach. This was the wound that was troubling him the most, but the pain was slowly dissipating as his body began to feel numb.

"You did it Jaune," Pyrrha was still there like she promised, standing over him with a sad smile. "Our friends have gotten away."

"I'm guess your lessons paid off then," he said with a chuckle, cutting it off halfway through because of the renewed pain.

"I'm so proud of you. Do you think the boy I first met in his onesie could have singlehandedly held off a Grimm horde? You've come so far Jaune," she said sincerely.

Smiling, his eyes swept the battlefield, coming to rest on the fallen Crocea Mors several feet away, it's blade stained with black ichor. He felt bad that he'd never be able to return it to his family, "Maybe my family would actually be proud of me now."

Pyrrha kneeled down beside him, running her hand through his hair fondly. For the first time since she'd died he could actually feel it. "I know they would be. You've saved many lives Jaune."

"Good," he coughed again, his vision starting to go spotty. "Than it was all worth it."

He focused all his might on the feeling of her hand. It was the only thing that felt real anymore.

"Is it time for us to go yet?" He asked weakly.

"If you'd like." She answered.

"I think I would."

Feeling his own breath rush out of him for the last time, there was a strange tug-like sensation and suddenly he was flying. Pyrrha flew beside him, his guardian angel in both life and death, as they disappeared into the light.

A/N: Ok, I know this is really depressing. I never write this kind of stuff, but I was inspired by a piece of fanart on the RWBY subreddit this morning and just couldn't let this idea go. I sort of based Jaune's semblance on his namesake, Joan of Arc, and the whole flames thing on how she was burned at the stake. Seeing Pyrrha's ghost or spirit or the Remnant of her soul left over from unlocking his aura or however you wish to see it, is also a tie in to Joan of Arc and how see supposedly communicated with spirits. Anyway, I wrote this whole thing in about an hour, so it might not be the best, but just had to get it off my chest. Hope you all enjoyed.