Do You Really Need to Be Asleep for Nightmares?
The group was stunned as Jaune let out a blood curdling howl. Grabbing his sword, he swung at both Pyrrha and Ren, the two people that he happened to be next to. This naturally alarmed his friends as they had to jump back, duck or dodge out of the way of the frenzied two-handed swings.
"What the hell, Jaune!?" Zhan yelled, having to lurch back hard for his bulky frame to avoid the wild swings.
"Disarm him quickly!" Rena yelled, gripping her spear to stand against him.
What happened next shocked everyone present. As Jaune growled like a rabid dog, a sinister white and black aura began leaking out of him as it began to take shape. In his silhouette, a creature of some kind began to form. A canine whose shape continued to shift and change, a hound of some kind. Snarling, the beast behind the blonde knight howled in feral fury as Jaune threw his head back to do the same.
"B… Beast Aura…? Wait… something is not right…" Azura said in pure disbelief and concern.
"Beast what?" Blake asked, using Gamble Shroud to parry a wild upward swing.
"We need to restrain Jaune and knock him out! If we do not, he will tear himself apart!" Azura told them urgently.
"And how do you propose that!? He's gone crazier than Trivia after a bad sugar rush!" Nora yelled.
"I will hold him down! One of you needs to get behind him and knock him out!" Azura called out, a lightning-like Aura coming out of him as he activated his Semblance.
"I vote Yang! Go get 'em, slugger!" Ruby yelled, pushing on her sister to move forward.
"Why do I have to do it!?" Yang asked indignantly.
"Because you're the big, strong and brave big sister that already has caused large amounts of property damage and still needs to pay back dad if I tell him about the warehouse." Ruby explained.
Yang gave her little sister a deadpan look. "Really? Blackmail? Low blow, Rubes…" She replied.
"She does have a point, Yang. You are fairly tough to hurt." Weiss brought up.
"You're backing her up, why?" Rena asked.
"Well, she is my partner." Weiss simply said with a shrug.
"I do not care who fucking does it! Just someone get ready to knock his himbo ass out as soon as I get him restrained! If we do not do it quickly, he could kill himself or others!" Azura snapped out.
"Well, you heard him, blondie! Give him the old one three!" Nora cheered.
"That's one, TWO, three, Nora!" Yang called out, bringing out Ember Celica.
"Well, knowing your lack of footwork, the second one you're the one taking." Nora shot back.
"Get ready, Yang!" Azura called out, rushing in a Jaune.
Growling, the blonde knight let out a howl as he tried to slash at the azure samurai. Dodging the hit, Azura evaded a secondary slash and leapt back to avoid a stab from Jaune. As his blonde himbo friend swung down with a swing of his blade, Azura caught it between his hands. Growling, Jaune tried to budge the blade only for it to not move. Howling in fury, Jaune let go of his sword as Azura tossed it aside, the blonde knight trying to punch the azure shogun.
Deflecting the wild haymaker, Azura grabbed Jaune in a bear hug from behind. Struggling, Azura pushed his Semblance until his lightning-like aura turned navy blue as he held his friend in place. Looking at the blonde pugilist of the group, Azura saw she was ready.
"Now, Yang! Hurry!" The azure swordsman called out.
"Nighty night, Vomit Boy!" Yang called out, rushing in with her fist pulled back.
Rushing up at her two friends, Yang swung her fist upwards in an uppercut. Nailing Jaune in the chin as hard as she could, Yang almost lifted Jaune and Azura off their feet with the blow. However, to everyone's shock, the blonde knight did not go down. Instead, he just forced Yang's struggling fist down by lowering his head, glaring at the blonde brawler with a feral rage in his eyes.
"This… may be harder than we thought…" Yang said in shock and slight fear.
Meanwhile: With Glynda and Shion
"Honestly Ms. Vanille, how did this happen?" Glynda said in frustration as she looked over a crying Trivia with a sap jar stuck in her hand.
Trivia pouts, pulling out a sign with her free hand. The sign read, 'I dropped a coin in it by accident and tried to fish it out… I'm sorry…' Trivia gives the puppy dog eyes.
"Alright, hold still." Glynda said as she gripped the jar.
As she began the attempt, Neo shaking her head in disappointment as this goes on, they are stopped by a very loud commotion. Shion perked his head up from his hat, realizing exactly what that is.
"Professor Goodwitch, we have bigger problems at hand." He spoke.
"Understood. Ms. Vanille, let go of the coin inside the jar and have your companion pull it off. There is an emergency at hand that requires my attention." Glynda said, patting her shoulder to try and calm her down.
In frustration, Trivia slammed the jar into a tree, shattering it, before she realizes she just wasted their time. She blushes in embarrassment.
With that, the two professors rushed off, arriving on the scene to see Azura and Yang, now joined by Ruby, Zhan, and Nora, trying their best to hold down a shockingly angry Jaune. Yang and Pyrrha had to duck out of the way as Jaune tried to bite at them.
"What is going on!?" Glynda yelled at the group.
"Beast Aura! But something is wrong! Trying to knock him out without hurting him!" Azura explained as briefly and to the point as he could as Jaune struggled to get loose.
"What is this 'Beast Aura' stuff! You're not making any sense, Azura!" Nora exclaimed in frustration.
"No time to explain! Just hold him down!" Azura called out, struggling to hold his blonde friend in place.
"If only that was the problem. Stand back students! Let me handle this!" Shion yelled, stepping forward and brandishing his staff.
Seeing no other choice, the other students all jumped away from Jaune. As soon as they were clear, the wizard hat wearing professor made his move. Strange threads then came from Shion's staff and wrapped around Jaune, starting with his eyes, and moving onto the rest of his body. With Jaune restrained, Shion then looked at the students.
"Alright, how long has he been like this?" Shion asked as Jaune tried to work against his restraints.
"I don't know, like a couple minutes?" Blake said.
"It just happened all of a sudden." Ruby explained.
"Jaune's been a bit distant lately, but that doesn't explain why this happened." Azura added.
"I have the explanation for you all, but we will need to return to the academy to treat him. Professor Goodwitch, can you please render him unconscious? It is an unfortunately necessary part of the process, on account of waiting for him to sleep at this rate is going to take too long." Shion said with a sigh.
"Of course." Glynda said, wielding her riding crop and using her Semblance, concentrating enough telekinetic force to knock Jaune out with a sharp blow to the back of the head.
"Why didn't we think of that?" Nora asked Ren.
"Because we can't do that, Nora. And we tried plenty enough already." Ren answered.
"Mr. Sōtora, could you please carry Mr. Arc for us back to the bullhead?" Glynda asked as she got everyone heading towards the airship.
"Of course, Professor. Come here, Jaune…" Azura replied, grabbing the tied up Jaune and hefting him over his shoulder like a massive sack of potatoes.
Hours Later: At the Academy
After hours of waiting, the students were allowed into the room Professor Shion had taken Jaune into. Inside they found a large spider web of the very string-like substance, with Jaune laying on one part of it, the string still over his eyes as he was now properly asleep. On various tables and boxes various electronic equipment that looked several decades old was set up. Shion turned away from talking with Glynda and Ozpin as the gaggle of newcomers surged in.
"Terribly sorry for the wait. It can take a bit to set everything up." Shion said.
"It's quite all right, professor. Can you tell us what's happening to Jaune?" Pyrrha replied with concern.
"Mr. Arc has been infected by a rare type of Grimm known as a Nightmare. And I am afraid for an unusual amount of time, judging by how long you said he seemed distant from you." Shion explained regretfully.
The other students were completely shocked by this revelation. However, the silence of their shock was interrupted by an outburst by a certain azure shogun.
"I FUCKING TOLD YOU ALL!" Azura snapped out.
"You don't have to rub it in!" Ruby shot back.
"Oh, I am sorry! I did not know that being called crazy for thinking it was Jaune did not warrant rubbing it in!" Azura snapped out.
Trivia sheepishly holds up a sign, reading, 'To be honest, out of all of us, I thought it would be Neo to get infected.'
Neo glares at Trivia in response.
"Normally the infection of a Nightmare takes hold upon one first going to sleep after several days to a few weeks at most, so the fact he was able to last at least a month is quite impressive. However, this means that it is more firmly rooted inside of him. Which will require sending some of you in there to take care of it." Shion explained.
"What is it doing to him?" Ember asked, looking over at him.
"It has been draining him of energy this entire time, rooting itself into his consciousness and attempting to subvert control to finish the process. I cannot be for certain, but with how long he has been infected, even with his astonishingly high aura, he might not last the day." Shion explained.
"Right, let's go in there then!" Ruby said, gun ho and ready to go.
"It's not so simple, Ms. Rose. Only those Jaune considers close can go into his mind and not get attacked. His mind, like his body, has an antibody-like response to intruders. Like a virus, the Nightmare was able to trick the system. Having looked at his scans, it appears his team, and oddly enough Mr. Sōtora would be the best candidates to send in." Shion explained.
"Wait… Jaune considers me that close to him?" Azura asked in surprise.
"By my scans, it appears so. I could send in more of you; however, my resources are limited at this juncture, and it appears the internal mindscape that has been constructed is not as complex as I would expect for someone who is able to resist for a month." Shion said.
"Isn't that you just calling him dumb?" Nora asked.
"You said it, not me." Shion shot back.
"Dammit." Nora frustratedly scowled.
Trivia giggles, pulling out a sign that reads, 'Yay!!!! I'm not the dumb one this time! Trivia is smort.'
Neo answered with her own sign that read, 'And you wonder why I resort to such methods?'
"Wonder no more." Rena muttered.
Trivia blinks innocently, confused, looking like a deer in headlights.
"Lay down onto the platform, and we will begin." Shion said, motioning to the massive web before them.
"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Nora yelled before jumping onto the web.
"Just our day, huh Azura?" Ren said as he walked over.
"You know it, Ren." Azura sighed, walking over as well.
"Don't worry, Jaune. We will save you…" Pyrrha muttered, looking at her partner and closest friend.
As the group laid down and Shion began to put the string over their eyes as well, they got a glimpse of Trivia poking Jaune's cheek and giggling like a dork. Only for Neo to drag her away like a disappointed parent. Soon however, the world went dark for the four, and they even lost their hearing. For however long they were in nothingness, before finally the four felt solid ground. As their eyes and sense's adjusted, they looked around them to a vastly different environment than Beacon.
It was a land of rolling green hills, grazing sheep, fertile fields, and an ever so chilly wind. It came as a shock to them. As all four of them were from Mistral, they realized it was from the western reaches. They soon noticed a great cobble road heading in a straight line before a large, rustic town.
"Jaune never told us he was from Mistral." Nora said in confusion.
"I wonder how much else he has been keeping from us. It may be his business and not ours, but any new information would help in this situation…" Azura replied.
"Speaking of information relating to this situation, what is that 'Beast Aura' you were talking about?" Ren asked as they began to walk along the road.
Azura sighed at this. "The Beast Aura is a physical manifestation of one's Animal Spirit." He told them.
"So Jaune is a dog boy?" Nora asked, confused.
"I think we need more to go on than that." Pyrrha pointed out.
"I will start from the beginning then. As you all know, Aura is a power of the soul and Semblances are a representation of the soul. However, there is another part of the soul that Semblances do not represent: Instinct. The animalistic side that governs who you are at a baser, more primal level." Azura explained.
"So, he really is a dog boy then, because I saw a giant pupper when he went crazy." Nora firmly stated.
"Yes. The Beast Aura is a power that allows one to manifest a physical representation of that part of one's soul, called an Animal Spirit. The Beast Aura and Animal Spirits, based on what we know of it, were supposedly granted to mortals via a race of deities known as the Beast Gods, gods who take the forms of great beasts and created the very animals who walk the planet alongside us. By manifesting one's Animal Spirit with the Beast Aura, you can use the powers and abilities natural to your Animal Spirit to increase your power." Azura continued explaining.
"That's a lot to think about…" Ren mused, not entirely certain how to take that.
"I want my spirit to be a horse!" Nora yelled.
"That's… Not how that works…" Ren sighed.
"I think we're getting off topic. Now that we know what this Beast Aura is, what can you tell us about Jaune's Animal Spirit that will help us?" Pyrrha said, trying to get things back on track.
"Well, the Dog, an Animal Spirit created by the dog god Inukami, is not one of the most powerful of Animal Spirits. However, due to how many different breeds of dog there are, it makes up for it with sheer versatility. You can take on the Strength of a Mastiff breed, the Speed of a Greyhound, or any other traits you can think of from any dog breed at any time." Azura explained.
"Then let's hope he's currently manifesting a teacup poodle then." Ren answered snidely.
"See! I knew I was being a good influence on you, Ren!" Nora said, patting him hard on the back.
"Not sure I'd say that…" Ren muttered.
As they walked through the countryside and entered the town, it was crowded, with winding streets outside of a medieval fair. Fighting their way through the crowd, they found the crowd centered around a great booth with various hooded officials signing people in. They then heard an eerily familiar voice call out above them.
"Volunteers! Volunteers for the lord's games! Victors will be heavily rewarded!" The cheery female voice called.
Looking up they saw of all people Ruby, calling out with a megaphone from a barrel. At her sides were, to their shock, Trivia and Neo waving flags of similar heraldry and symbols they saw on Jaune's armor. Trivia appeared to be quite happy with the job; Neo, however, had a scowl.
"What kinds of prizes!?" Nora chipperly asked.
"Gold, fame and glory my fair lady! For today, the great champion Legate Canis Arc has returned to his glorious Lord Arc to show his true might and potential for the city to see! Sign your name on the dotted line, try not to die in horrible viscera and have fun!" Ruby explained uncomfortably chipperly.
"Wait… Legate Canis Arc…? Could that be a representation of Jaune and his Animal Spirit…?" Pyrrha quietly asked the others.
"It could be. We should enter and check it out." Azura whispered back.
"Sign on the dotted line here, all of you." A hooded figure put their finger on the dotted line of a large paper scroll.
As they signed their names, Pyrrha looked up to see in the shadowy face of the hooded figure a glint of light. Light off glasses. Looking at it closer she saw Headmaster Ozpin's face. Shaking off the surreal sight, she finished signing and joined her comrades once she was done. Soon several guards in muscle plated armor of white, silver, and gold led them through the gates to the undercroft. As they were led along, it was only lit by spluttering torches, as if they were gasping for what little air they could get in the catacombs. Along the walls were cells holding unfortunate souls armed and fitted for the arena.
"Why aren't we getting fitted like them?" Ren asked a guard.
"You are armed enough already for combat." One of the guards answered simply.
"Anyone else feel like we are being set up?" Nora asked.
"We likely are." Pyrrha replied.
"One thing to look out for, everyone: The power of the Beast Aura is tied as heavily to emotion as it is instinct. The more the user feels, the more power they draw out. Unless we want a serious battle on our hands, we need to finish this quickly." Azura whispered to the others.
"So don't piss him off?" Nora asked inquisitively.
"Ideally, you shouldn't." Azura replied.
"Noted." Ren answered.
"Quiet guys. We are about to enter the breach." Pyrrha whispered as they neared the entrance of the colosseum.
As soon as they entered a metal barred gate slammed behind them. Now in the harsh sunlight and dusty sanded floor, they were hit by the roar of thousands of spectators. Banners, flags, and streamers galore were put up in the glory of Lord Arc as guards also were posted well around the arena to keep the peace. Food and refreshments were served by toga wearing servants to all the spectators. They then heard a mighty gong be sounded and turned to face the royal stands.
More magnificent and richly decorated, many clearly aristocratic individuals and their great retinues of servants, guards, knights, and other retainers lined the luxurious stands. At the top however, on a great dais draped across a gold and purple sofa was a man in white, silver, purple and golden robes, being served by beautiful women and guarded by towering, fearsomely armed and armored guards. Soon he rose and walked from the shade to the sunlight, to reveal it was Jaune wearing a crown of golden leaves, and a great medallion with his family symbol on it of pure gold.
"Wow, even in his dream he's a dork." Nora said louder than she should have, getting raucous and visceral boos from the audience as if on cue, "Oh come on, he is!"
"Don't argue with the crowd Nora, that's never a battle you can win." Ren sighed.
"Citizens of Mistral, today we gather for a glorious day of games! Today these four great wandering warriors shall face our returning champion, the greatest warrior of our great kingdom! Legate Canis Arc!" The Lordly Arc yelled over the crowds now thunderous applause, as he motioned to the other arena gate.
"Yep. Still a dork." Nora said, rolling her eyes at the pomp and ceremony.
"Nora, focus. We must be ready." Azura told her seriously.
"Oh, come on, it's Jaune. How could he possibly produce something that is a threat to us?" Nora asked.
Soon they felt the sand beneath their feet begin to shift under great force. Soon they felt a rumbling as if a stampede of bulls were coming at them. From the other gate in shocking speed and grace came a titanic and heavily built wolf, back and head clad in thick plate armor crested with a great saddle behind its shoulders. Yet its rider drew them even greater attention. Clad in similar colored armor to Jaune's, it was much more ornate and stylized. Bracers and greaves were depicting great battles and titans fell upon the white canvas of their frames. His breastplate was forged as if he had a chest of a god, finely muscled as it gleamed in the light. Finally, to their surprise, he wore a helmet with straps holding cheek guards to his face and a wide rim on the back. Most bizarre, and indeed somewhat intimidating, was a mask across his face, in the style of a death mask for their friend. Gripping a short and wide bladed sword and Jaune's distinctive shield, he motioned to the crowd, which pumped them up even more.
"... You just had to say it, didn't you Nora?" Azura asked in disbelief.
"I'm not gonna lie, that's kinda badass." Nora said, her face looking stunned.
"That's… not a dog…" Ren pointed out in slight fear.
"... Azura? Can you explain, please…?" Pyrrha asked in concern.
"This is just a theory…. But I think the Nightmare is to blame. I think it corrupted Jaune's Animal Spirit and took it over, converting it into a more primeval state to allow it to better control it." Azura explained a bit fearfully.
"Okay Pyrrha, what do we do?" Nora asked.
"The only thing we can do: We fight and defeat these two, then find the Nightmare." Pyrrha replied, arming herself with her weapons as the others drew their own.
"For the glory of Lord Arc, the strong will triumph, and the weak shall fall." The great armored figure roared, pointing his sword directly at them.
"Combatants? Are you ready?" Lord Arc asked, getting a nod from the great armored champion.
"Yes… We are!" Pyrrha roared up to the box.
"Begin!" Lord Arc roared, followed punctually by the smack of a great gong.
"Crush them under foot!" Legate Canis roared, hitting the hound hard in the side with his stirrup to motivate the monstrous mount.
Howling with fury, the great wolf charged right in at our heroes with a vicious snarl. Its very footsteps shook the ground beneath its feet. As it did, our four challengers dived aside as the beast bit into the ground, ripping a chunk of rock from the earth. It then bit down, and the piece of stone was crushed in its massive canine jaws as it snarled at the four.
"Bad dog, bad dog!" Nora yelled, brandishing her hammer, and twirling it a bit.
Howling in rage, the great wolf slashed at Nora with its clawed left front paw, forcing her to jump back to dodge. Activating his Semblance, a sapphire blue lightning aura manifested from Azura as his eyes glowed the same color. Rushing in, the azure samurai slashed and stabbed at the beast's unprotected legs with his ōdachi. The beast snarled viciously and snapped at the scar faced Sōtora, forcing him to dodge. Ren began firing shots at the creature with the gun function of his weapons, trying to distract it as Azura tried to get on top of it. However, the beast noticed this and threw him off before snapping at Ren.
Turning Magnhild into its grenade launcher form, Nora began firing rounds at the massive wolf that exploded on contact. Turning to her and growling in rage, the great beast tried to stomp on her as Pyrrha leaped up on it to take on its rider. Clashing blades with Legate Canis, Pyrrha tried to use her Semblance to pull his sword out of his hand. Seeing that this left him open, she slashed at his arm in an attempt to cut through his armor and force him to let go. However, her weapon failed to cut deeply enough as he pushed her off. Slashing with his sword, Pyrrha was surprised to feel the weight behind the swing.
'H… He's so strong…!' Pyrrha thought in disbelief as she tried not to be flung off by the force of the swing.
As Pyrrha continued to trade blows with the mounted gladiator, Azura looked at Nora.
"Nora! I need you to launch me at him!" The azure samurai called out to his friend.
"One flying samurai sushi platter coming right up!" Nora yelled as she transformed her weapon back into hammer form and readied her swing.
Jumping towards her, Azura landed on the head of her hammer. Following this, Nora swung with all her might, sending Azura flying at their mounted foe with great force. As he took off at the wolf-riding gladiator, Azura aimed a flying kick at the man's head. As soon as the kick made contact, the man was flung off the wolf and sent rolling to the ground, his helmet and mask flying off from the impact. The helmet rolled to Nora's feet as she brought Magnhild down and smashed them into pieces while the gladiator rolled to a stop on the ground. However, as he slowly got up and glared at them, a familiar, but uncharacteristically cold set of sky-blue eyes glared at them from a face framed by a mop of light blonde hair, leaving them in shock.
"Is that…?" Nora asked nervously.
"J-Jaune…" Pyrrha continued, as if the breath were taken away from her at the sight.
"F-Focus, people! One of these Jaune's cannot be real! The fake one was probably created by the Nightmare!" Azura told his friends.
"Which one is it though?" Ren asked as the great wolf turned its attention to him.
"We will focus on figuring that out later! Right now, we need to take care of these two! Ren and Nora, take the wolf! Pyrrha, with me!" Azura told them.
"Right!" The three answered as they rushed to their assigned targets.
The four then split up to divide and conquer. Ren and Nora used shots from Ren's guns and grenades launched from Magnhild to get the wolf's attention and lead it away from its rider. When Legate Canis tried to go after his mount, he was cut off by Pyrrha and Azura rushing in front of him.
"Not so fast! We are your opponents!" Azura told the gladiator version of his friend.
"So, you wish to stand against me, my foolish teacher? Using what is left of your strength to die on these sands in such an ignoble death?" Legate Canis Arc answered.
"No. I want to save you. And this is the only way to do it." Azura replied, readying his blade.
"Jaune, please! Snap out of it! Don't let the Nightmare manipulate you!" Pyrrha told Legate Canis.
Gripping his sword tighter, he growled, "You two always think you know what's best for me, huh? That I can't make decisions on my own? That I'm simply someone to save. First the forest, then Cardin, now this? We don't need saving. It's you who will need to be saved!" Legate Canis roared and brought down his sword towards Pyrrha with a shockingly forceful overhead slash.
However, the swing was blocked by Azura with his ōdachi and wakizashi. As soon as he blocked the swing, he felt the power behind it and was forced to brace himself. Pushing back, the azure samurai forced the blonde gladiator back as Pyrrha used her Semblance to try to hold him in place by targeting his armor. However, to her surprise, she found him resisting it.
Turning to face her, Legate Canis struggled against the grip of her magnetic Semblance as Azura slashed at him, forcing him to defend himself. Blocking the azure swordsman's swings with his blade, Legate Canis was forced on the defensive as Pyrrha tried to hold him in place. They could already tell that, if they did not do something soon, this would be no easy battle.
Not far away from the samurai and arena fighter, the duo of Mistrali street orphans found it equally hard to handle their own target. The wolf, despite its immense size, was surprisingly nimble and swift. It was as fast as it was strong, making things much more difficult for the pair. Dodging a stomp from one of the front paws, Ren shot at its face in an attempt to hit its eyes. Howling in fury, it tried to bite down on him only for an explosion from a fired grenade to hit it on the side of the head.
The wolf turned and growled at Nora, who had just launched the explosive. She then began firing as many as she could as quickly as she could, trying to throw the wolf off balance to give Ren an opening. Seeing what his partner was doing, Ren took the opening and leaped onto the wolf's head, digging the blades of his weapons into its flesh to hang on as it howled in pain and tried to shake him off. Making his way down to one of the eyes, Ren stabbed it with all his might. Howling in pain and fury, the wolf shook its head until it threw him off.
Glaring down at them with a hate-filled, one-eyed gaze, the wolf snarled viciously as it charged in at them with great speed. Dodging aside, Nora and Ren avoided being stomped by its paws only for it to then lash out with them, batting Ren aside with great strength and sending him tumbling into the sands.
"Ren!" Nora yelled, barely audible over the thunderous unending cheering of the crowd.
"We have to find the Nightmare!" Pyrrha yelled, trying to hold back the armor-clad champion before her.
"It cannot be too far away from Jaune! Look carefully!" Azura called out.
Panning the arena, the best she could, Pyrrha's eyes were drawn to the royal dais. Despite it being in a fairly well-lit portion, it was dark. It was even hard to see the other Jaune. Focusing more closely on that peculiar area, she could faintly see what appeared to be thorns and vines. For but the briefest moments she saw what a Grimm's skull plate could only be, this one being rounded with a single glowing eye.
"It's in the box! It's in the box with the other Jaune! That must be it!" Pyrrha yelled.
"Are you sure?" Azura asked, barely dodging a decapitating blow from the champion.
"I saw the Grimm! If I can hit it, I can potentially kill it! It's got a giant single eye!" Pyrrha yelled.
"I will cover you! Ren, Nora, make sure the wolf does not get to Pyrrha!" Azura roared.
"Easier said than done." Ren said through gritted teeth as he rose.
Breaking away as Azura pushed his Semblance higher to hold the line, she made it to the middle of the arena. As the fighting her comrades committed to heating up, Pyrrha changed her weapon to its Javelin form. It was not going to be an easy shot due to the upward angle and distance. Concentration was even harder due to the sheer unending volume of the crowds. However, she had to. Jaune's life was at stake, and she did not know how much time they might have. Digging deep and planting her feet in a throwing position, she readied to throw upwards at the Grimm.
The guards in the stadium saw this and began to rush down towards the arena to stop her. The Jaune in the stands was surprised, as it looked like she was aiming at him. In reality, she was aimed at the Grimm that lurked behind him. Then she heard a great roar, but she did not have the luxury to look at the side.
"Hurry, Pyrrha! The wolf's on you!" Nora yelled while fighting through pain, having clearly taken some horrible blow from the creature.
Rearing the javelin back, Pyrrha gave it a bit of a running start as she made the longest throw of her life. She threw off her balance at the end, however it might have saved her as she saw the great fanged jaws of the canine graze past her. The airborne missile spun through the air on its arc towards the dais. Grazing ever so close to Jaune's cheek it slammed straight into the Grimm's eye, driving deep. The Grimm made horrific noises in pain as thorn covered tentacles writhed in the stands. Mercifully as she saw the black smoke come off it, it merely was performing its death throes. With one final roar it practically burst into smoke as Pyrrha's weapon landed on the floor in a metallic ring.
Azura was about to receive a horrible sword blow to his head as Legate Canis dropped his weapon, his hand slowly beginning to disappear. All around them, the world began to warp and change as the guards, flags, even the crowd began to disappear. Most dramatic was the hound as it shrank down, causing the armor to fall off, revealing a still massive, but more docile-looking dog with both eyes intact. Even the Jaune up high was confused.
"W-what the hell…" They could hear from a very confused Jaune.
Looking to the blonde knight, the large, golden white dog gave a canine chuckle. "We are free now, Jaune. The Nightmare that had taken hold of us is gone, thanks to your friends here." The canine Animal Spirit told its human compatriot.
"You're welcome… giant talking fluffy dog…" Jaune nervously said, not sure how to take all of this.
Azura gave a smile at that. "That is no ordinary dog, Jaune. This is your Animal Spirit." He told his friend.
"Oh…" Jaune said, as if finally getting something that eluded him for a while.
At that, the others all felt their scrolls go off. Flipping them open, there was a message saying, "Use your coins in your pockets on the door closest to Jaune to get out."
"What coins?" Nora asked.
Rifling through his pocket, Ren pulled out a coppery looking coin before saying, "I think these."
"Then let's go. That way, we can give Jaune some peace of mind." Pyrrha said before heading up towards Jaune on the Dias.
As they headed up, they all looked back at the massive canine that was Jaune's Dog Spirit. Giving a canine smile, the hound bowed its head gratefully to its human partner's friends. Bowing back, they made their way to the door near Jaune to leave.
Azura gave Jaune a smile as he passed him, going first. "Since you have already contacted your Animal Spirit, we will probably need to step up your training from this point on. Hope you are ready, Jaune." The azure shogun told his friend.
"As I'll ever be." Jaune answered with a smile as one by one they used their coins and went through the door.
To Jaune, it felt like nothingness had gone over him. Shortly however he began to groggily wake up. Taking the weird coverings off his eyes, his eyes were assaulted by light they were not used to yet. Recovering, he saw all his friends and comrades looking very relieved to see him awake.
"Hey guys, what happened…?" Jaune asked.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha and Ruby yelled as they jumped at him to hug him.
"Dogpile hug on Jaune!" Yang called out, making a pun as she jumped in to join the hug.
At that Jaune was jumped by his comrades in arms. Trivia even jumped in on the hug, however she got sandwiched between Azura and Nora, making her understand what a cookie must feel like in the box. Neo jumps into the dogpile unexpectedly, before immediately blushing, pulling out a sign that reads, 'I was ONLY worried, because Trivia was worried! Don't get the wrong idea, baka!'
Everyone let out a good hearty chuckle at that as they continued to crush Jaune under their weight and affection. The only one not on the pile of hugging friendship was the white-haired heiress herself. Though she did have a look of relief from all of this, she then turned her head away coldly. Everything worked out this time… for once.