Come Crumbling Down

There's a day when all courage collapses

And our friends turn and leave us behind

Creatures of darkness will triumph

The sun won't rise.

"What's the situation look like?"

Ren turned to his leader. "The amount of guards seems to indicate we were right. This is the place."

Jaune nodded. "Good. Are you two ready to go?"

"Yep!" Nora bubbled excitedly. Sitting still wasn't really her forte, and she'd been stuck on this rooftop for what felt like hours while her teammates scouted the building ahead of her. She appreciated that Jaune knew her well enough to not ask her to try and restrain herself and quietly observe their enemies, but still, it was boring as hell, even with Ren at hand.

"Where's Pyrrha?"

The blond turned toward the building before them, the one they were planning on infiltrating. The Grand Vale Spa and Resort. It was a massive facility, taking up several square blocks by itself. The main building was constructed of sharp, modern angles and a lot of glass. There was a towering structure off the left hand side that Jaune figured to be the guest rooms. Behind the building, the sprawling grounds were split into several different sections.

One area held a beautiful garden overflowing with plants and flowers from all over Remnant. Another was full of a collection of various sport related facilities, including a pool. The last stretch was merely an open field of green, stretching all the way to the fifteen foot walls constructed of thick safety glass that separated the facility from the yawning abyss of Vale's cliffs. Ren thought that walls made of glass were silly, no matter how thick they were. He supposed that if you wanted to let your guests see the view and keep them relatively safe at the same time, it made a sort of sense. Beyond the wall, suspended above the drop was a square landing pad, currently occupied by a Bullhead.

Jaune motioned toward the street that than ran beside the building on their right, and Ren squinted, barely making out a small spot of crimson nestled in the shadows of a second story window.

"Let's go over the plan one more time."

Ren sighed. Jaune had been incessantly having them recite their plan every ten minutes since they had come up with it three hours previous.

"Nora and I will remain outside and create a distraction at the front entrance while you and Pyrrha hop the wall and infiltrate from the back. Whenever you have Roman secured and are away safely, you'll set off a green flare. At that point Nora and I will withdraw and we'll regroup and have a...chat with Roman."

Jaune nodded. "And if you see a red flare?"

Ren smirked. "Then Jaune messed up and everything's gone to hell."

"Righ-hey!" Nora giggled and Ren offered him a shrug. The blond grumbled at them before his eyes darted back to the building, and Ren could almost feel the anxiety rolling off of him.

"Jaune, relax. The plan's solid. Everything's going to be fine."

"Yeah…yeah, I just can't shake the feeling that something's wrong."

"Is this about those airships from this morning?"

He bit his lip. "I think that's part of it. I mean, they were heading toward Beacon."

"Yeah, and they interrupted my dream too," Nora pouted. "I was just about to snap that Deathstalker's neck too."

"Deathstalkers…don't have necks," Jaune said unsuredly, but upon seeing Ren shake his head, wisely dropped the subject.

"Anyway, it was probably just reinforcements heading to Beacon."

"But why would they need more troops at Beacon? They've already got all those Grimm, and they can't even do anything as long as the shield's up." As he spoke the words, his gut twisted. Something didn't add up. He was missing something, and his instincts told him it was going to cost him.

Ren's eyes narrowed. "They could be up to something."

"Which means we just need to get done here all the quicker. I'm heading back over to Pyrrha. Start the distraction whenever you see our signal."

He nodded while Nora saluted. "Good luck, Jaune."

"You too. Be careful." Jaune departed, and he and Nora sat in silence for awhile, watching the window where Pyrrha was camped. Eventually a small light flashed out from her position. The signal.

Ren stood, his knees popping at the change in position. "There it is, Nora. You ready?" His partner merely smiled widely at him, Magnhild already in her hands in launcher form. He pulled a small red crystal from his pack. "Then let's get this started," he said as he pulled his arm back and launched the Dust toward the building's front entrance.

The poor guards didn't have a clue. One of them seemed to notice the crystal as it soared through the air toward them, and nudged his comrade, pointing it out. They never got the chance to discover exactly what it was as it smashed into the ground at their feet and promptly engulfed them in a fiery blast. Ren leapt out from cover and to the street below, kneeing one of Junior's men in the back of the skull as he did so. He was pleased that his assumption that the shock of impact from that height would be enough to ignite the Dust; the crystal form was much more stable than the powder and usually required something with more force, like a bullet.

Ren spun up from his crouch, planting a firm fist into another enemy's gut, and sending a small blast of aura through his hand. The man took off like a bullet, crashing into two more of his comrades and carrying them all into the side of the building he and Nora had been perched on.

He heard three deep, reverberating booms as Nora began to assault the men that were rushing out of the building to respond to the situation. Handfuls of black-suited thugs went tumbling through the air in every direction as her grenades slammed into the center of the group. Some pushed forward, while the rest pulled back slightly, not willing to risk getting blown up just to leave the building.

The ones who managed to get through the smoke left by Ren's Dust attack and stumble into the street were immediately met by the perpetrator himself.

Stormflower now in his hands, Ren flowed from opponent to opponent, his mind a whir of strategies and what his next move would be.

Slash this one across the chest. Duck to avoid the attack coming from behind. Extend foot and spin, swiping his feet out from under him. While he's falling, stand and finish the spin by hooking him with the same foot. Use Aura, kick him into the air. Nora will take care of that one.

Bring right blade weapon up to block the sword aimed for the head. Embed left blade into shoulder and yank, cutting through the major tendons. Fighting arm useless, threat neutralized. Knock away with a strong kick. Turn and fire at the three that cleared the entrance, opening them up for a grenade strike from Nora.

Juke backward with elbow, catching the opponent trying to sneak up off guard and striking him in the abdomen. While he's doubled over and winded, turn and extend leg straight up and bring it right back down. Connect heel with back of head and crush face into pavement.

It continued like this as Ren dismantled any and all threats that approached him, his mind only coming out of its trance-like state whenever he realized that there were no more enemies around him. Nora was beside him, holding her hammer firmly in front of her. He wasn't sure when exactly she had joined him on the street.

He took a few deep breaths, savoring what he could of the respite, knowing that more would soon be on their way. He glanced toward the front doors, where more men were slowing regaining their courage to challenge the two warriors, despite the piles of groaning comrades lying on the ground around them. It was clear that he and Nora had managed to garner their full attention.

Ren smirked. "I think this qualifies as a sufficient distraction."

"That was a hell of a distraction," Jaune commented quietly as he landed in a crouch. He and Pyrrha had just cleared the wall. They had carefully chosen where to do so, and as such were now hidden behind a particularly thick hedge of bushes on the edge of the gardens.

Pyrrha made a noise of agreement. "Sometimes I forget how absolutely terrifying those two can be."

Jaune nodded. It was the same for him. Nora's happy giddiness at existing and Ren's stoic calmness belied the skill and strength each of them possessed. He and Pyrrha had had a few minutes to observe the beginning of their teammates' fight while waiting for the majority of the guards to shift their focus to them.

It had been awe-inspiring, to say the least. Nora was a grinning goddess of chaos who balanced sheer destructive power with impossibly well-timed precision. And then there was her partner. Even after over a year together, Jaune couldn't help by find Ren's fighting style hypnotizing. The way he flowed through a battlefield, every action calculated and measured. There was absolutely no wasted movement. He was precision incarnate. Watching him fight always left Jaune a little dazed.

He turned his attention back to the present, focusing on Pyrrha's crimson hair as she leaned around the edge of the bushes, emerald eyes scanning the walkways of the garden.

"Coast is clear," she whispered as she pulled back into cover, "but there are some guards over near the courts, and some more down at the landing pad. If we keep low and move carefully, the garden should provide us sufficient cover."

Jaune nodded and peeked his own head out. He took note of the positions of the men strewn about the resort's grounds, and then turned his attention to the main building. There was a large set of double glass doors set along the wall. The primary exit onto the backside. They wouldn't be going there; it was sure to be far too heavily guarded. He scanned further and spotted an order wooden door nestled amongst an ancient looking brick wall. It was overgrown with ivy and looked as though it hadn't been opened in ages, but it would be their best bet.

"There," he pointed to the door. "That's where we're going in."

Pyrrha followed his finger and settled into a crouch. "Let's go." She broke from cover and moved swiftly through the gardens, darting from cover to cover, always keeping the guards in her peripherals, in case they noticed something amiss.

They reached the door with no issue, thankfully, and Pyrrha pried it open with Miló's tip. The door led into an old storage room, clearly unused for quite some time, if the thick layer of dust covering the checkered linoleum was anything to go by. Pyrrha moved to another wooden door on the other side of the room, the only visible exit, and put her ear up against it, listening intently for sounds of movement on the other side. Hearing nothing, she cautiously opened the door and surveyed the hallways it opened into. She motioned for Jaune to follow and they both stepped into the white-tiled corridor.

"We're in the basement levels," Pyrrha stated as they trotted.

"This must be a staff section only. It's too plain to be part of the customer side of a resort."

"Roman will probably be in the penthouse at the top of the hotel area."

"So up we go."

"We can't take the elevator. It's probably guarded and makes too much noise besides."

Jaune sighed. "I know. Which leaves us with-" He opened a door, and was met with a large, rectangular staircase that seemed to stretch upward for an eternity. "-stairs," he finished, grumbling.

"C'mon," Pyrrha encouraged, already on the first step. "They aren't gonna climb themselves."

He sighed again before following after her.

Thirty floors later saw him panting for breath as sweat dripped down his face. Pyrrha looked entirely unwinded, her breathing slow and even. His legs were wobbling and his muscles burning, but they had reached the top floor, so it didn't much matter. He motioned for Pyrrha to stop briefly, and retrieved a water bottle form his pack, taking a few swigs to soothe the aching in his throat. He took a few more moments to calm down, and once his breathing became less ragged, they proceeded.

They crept cautiously from the stairwell and into the carpeted hallway. The penthouse took up the entire floor, and as such, there was only a small corridor outside of it. Jaune saw the elevator doors a little further down, and a few more doors as well. Maybe supply closets of some sort. Jaune didn't know, and he really didn't have the time to ponder, as his attention was focused on the two men in black suits and red ties that were standing to either side of the penthouse's entrance.

The two men that were staring right at them.

The corridor's too small. They must have heard the stair door open. They couldn't possibly miss us.

They moved, one of them unclipping a radio from his belt and raising it to his mouth, and the other drawing a pistol from a shoulder holster under his jacket. Neither of them managed to complete their respective actions, though, as Pyrrha ripped Akoúo̱ from her back and threw it with all of her might. The shield struck the gun first, tearing it form the henchman's hands, before smashing into and shattering the radio the other had been about to speak into.

Jaune, fortunately, had remembered one of Pyrrha's more important lessons. Those who strike first gain the advantage, and so before Pyrrha had even called her shield back to her with her semblance, he was charging the men.

The first was gripping his wrist, his hand gone completely numb after the brief contact with the metal projectile, and looked up in surprise at Jaune's approach. He opened his mouth to yell out a warning, but Jaune didn't give him the chance. He slammed into his waist and tackled him into the other opponent, sprawling them both out on the floor.

Jaune yanked his sword from to sheath and struck the one he had tackled square in the temple. He was rewarded with seeing the goon's eyes roll back in his head as he fell unconscious. He turned to the other, intent on doing the same, but found himself face to face with the barrel of a gun.

Oh…

"Game over, brat," the man hissed, finger started to depress the trigger.

A heeled boot came flying from over Jaune's shoulder, firmly crushing the man's skull against the floor, and his arm crumpled to the ground. Jaune looked up to find Pyrrha glaring down at the now unconscious man, green orbs burning with a fierce anger.

"Thanks," he breathed, and Pyrrha's expression softened as she held out a hand to him. He accepted it and she pulled him to his feet.

"No thanks necessary. I'm your partner." She smiled. "Nice tackle, by the way. Glad to see my training's working."

Jaune just shook his head. "Still had to get saved in the end though."

She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, it's what partners do. Protect each other." She took up a position beside the door, Miló now deployed in rifle form in her hands. "Now, are you ready?"

He shook off his thoughts and steadied himself, holding his sword and shield at the ready. "Let's do it." He kicked the door in with all his might, and surprisingly, the entire thing burst off its hinges, flying into the penthouse in a cloud of dust.

Pyrrha spun into the room, rifle held at the ready as she looked through the sights for any threats. Jaune followed close behind, eyes and ears open and alert. There was nobody in the main area to greet them and, after a silent agreement, they each split off to check the side rooms. It didn't take them long to realize that there was no one in the penthouse. Roman wasn't there.

Panic rose in Jaune's throat. Where was he? This was his base of operations. Somebody had been living here, that much he could tell from the state of the rooms. But there wasn't a soul to speak of.

"Dammit!" he sword loudly, causing Pyrrha to jump slightly. "Dammit dammit dammit!" He slammed a fist onto the kitchen counter. "Where the fuck is he? He's supposed to be here, so just where is he? We were supposed to finish this today. Now what are we supposed to do? There's no way we can free Vale without Roman! Where is he?!"

He hadn't been expecting a response, so he was startled whenever he heard Pyrrha's response.

"Beacon." He turned to her, confused, and only then did her words sink in.

"What do you mean, 'Beacon'?"

"He's at Beacon."

Jaune walked across the room to her, his blood feeling like it was frozen in his veins. "How do you know?"

She pointed to a display of lights hovering in the air before her. "Holographic scroll interface," she explained. "Roman must have synched it with his, because there's messages addressed to him still displaying. This one he got from his partner, the one who's going after Beacon. Jaune…it's Cinder. " He slid onto the seat beside her, feeling a cold pit of dread form in his stomach as he remembered the havoc the fire witch had rained down during the Vytal Festival the previous year. Things were going from bad to fucked. "That's not all."

He gave her an incredulous look, silently asking how there could possibly be more. "The message-" she began, but Jaune was already scanning the text.

When he reached the end his eyes widened. "We've got to warn them," he said as he stood.

Pyrrha followed suit. "How?"

"I don't know," he admitted, "but we've got to think of something. They're in danger. Dammit and we left them!"

"Jaune-" But her sentence abruptly died as her eyes focused on the door.

Jaune turned and let out a growl. The man he had cracked in the temple was leaning unsteadily against the doorframe.

"We don't have time for this!" He took a step forward, but froze whenever the goon let out a small, rasping laugh. For some reason, that chuckle made his blood run cold and the hairs on his arm stand up. Something was wrong.

"Boss figured someone might try something like this. Set up a nice little surprise for you." He held up a small, black cylinder with a red button on top. Too late Jaune realized what it was. Too late did he see the small red lights blinking out of the shadows in every corner of the room. Too late.

The man's thumb descended.

Time seemed to stop for an instant, the world went silent. The only sounds he could hear was his own thumping heartbeat and the harsh rasp of his breaths rushing in his ears. He reached for Pyrrha, mouth open and her name on his lips.

The world erupted into noise and fire around them, and the last thing Jaune saw was a bright light engulf them.

Cardin's grip on his mace tightened. This was it. This was his last chance to stop. After this it was the point of no return. He could very well be branded as a coward and criminal after this, but honestly, he didn't care. So long as he survived.

He was through with this hell. Through with playing pretend hero with his classmates. He had wanted a way out, and this was it, and it was the only one he was going to get. The thought steeled his resolve and he hefted his weapon to his shoulder. He would have to remember to thank his grandfather for teaching him morse code when next he saw him. This wouldn't have been possible otherwise.

"Cardin," a voice spoke out from behind him, and he glanced back to see Russel looking at him worriedly. "Are you really sure this is a good idea? I mean, we could just sit tight and wait for reinforcements."

Cardin scoffed. "Are you kidding me? You actually think anyone's coming? Face it, Beacon's on its own. This is the only way out, Russel. They promised us safe passage and protection, which is more then we'll get by sticking around here. This is happening one way or another, so you might as well stay with us and take the free ticket out." He looked over to where his other teammate stood silently. "Right, Dove?" The sandy-haired teen merely nodded. He had never been much of a talker anyway. Cardin turned his back on again. "You can run along and try and warn them, but it won't make a difference." His gaze hardened as he glared at the glowing green orb suspended in the air above him.

His words had the right effect, and Russel stayed right where he was. Cardin had always been able to sway the hearts and thoughts of his team to whatever he wished.

"Get ready," he said. "As soon as I do this, all hell is going to break loose." They nodded, and he stepped forward, channeling his Aura in his weapon and up into the red sphere nestled in the top of the mace. It was solid crystal of Dust, designed to increase gravity in whatever direction the mace was swinging when it was activated. What was it his father had called it? Ah, right, a 'kinetic amplifier.' Not that Cardin really cared about that. All he really cared about is that it would help him swing harder.

He hauled his weapon back and brought it forward viciously.

No going back now.

"Ruby!" The small brunette started, the sandwich in her hands slipping from her grasp to fall to the floor beneath. She pouted at it as Yang gave her a sympathetic look. She had really been looking forward to that sandwich; she had spent the last 20 minutes perfectly crafting it at the buffet. She grumbled unintelligibly as she turned to face the source of the disturbance.

A member of Team STAR was sprinting toward her from the cafeteria's entrance. Ruby's irritation died the minute she saw the look on the young girl's face. She skidded to a halt in front of her.

"Tiana, what's wrong?" The rest of the cafeteria had gone silent, suddenly taking note of the air of fear that clung to the teenager. Weiss, Yang and Blake were all watching intently.

"The shield," she panted. "It's-" but Ruby was already gone, leaving behind only a few rose petals to float softly to her vacant seat. Yang and Blake sprung to their feet together, knocking over the bench beneath them, which neither of them cared about. They pelted toward the school's entrance, Weiss hot on their heels.

Ruby was already outside, staring upward at the vast green dome that stretched over top of them. They mimicked her actions, gasping in surprise at what they saw.

"Oh, fuck," Yang breathed, her voice sounding uncharacteristically small.

Above them, picked out in vibrant orange from the setting sun, cracks were spreading through the expanse of the Aura shield's green surface. With each second more appeared, spider-webbing their way across the sky like an unstoppable wall of flame.

"Blake," Ruby said, her eyes still fixed on the barrier. Yang didn't know how her sister's voice could sound so level right now. "Get to the headmaster's office and hit the alarm." Blake nodded and was gone. "Yang, go get everyone in the cafeteria. We don't have much time." Yang turned and sprinted back inside, her hollering echoing off the vaulted ceilings when she reached the entrance hall.

"So in the end we're going to have to fight anyway," Ruby said quietly, and a shudder wracked her body.

Weiss rested a hand on her shoulder. "We knew it could come to this, Ruby. Now is not the time to be frightened or second-guessing yourself. You have be strong and steadfast. You can do this, Ruby. We'll be right here with you the whole time."

Ruby gave her a strained smile and gripped her hand briefly. She took a few deep breaths, trying to quell the roiling in her stomach the cold fear piercing her chest. "You're right. The only thing I can do now is lead everyone through this as best as I can."

Yang emerged behind them, followed by a crowd of students, all with weapons drawn and faces etched in stone. Some showed fear, others grim determination. A high-pitched keening split the air, and Blake reappeared soon thereafter. More and more students arrived in response to the alarm. After the siren had died and they were all assembled, an eerie silence pervaded the air as they all watched the sky fragment.

"This is it," Ruby spoke whenever she could sense the barrier was about to go. "Students of Beacon," she turned to address them. "It is time! Trust in your classmates, and fight with everything you have! This is our home, our lives, and we'll show them that they are not so easy to destroy as they thought! Stand strong, we will get through this!" A roar met her words as the students absorbed her speech.

There was a distinctive sound of mechanical clicking as Ember Celica deployed on Yang's wrists. "Way to go, sis."

Blake nodded her agreement. "Don't worry, Ruby. We'll be right beside you the whole time. You can focus on leading the students."

"We'll protect you," Weiss commented quietly as she pulled Myrtenaster from her hip.

Ruby pulled Crescent Rose from her back, training the rifle on the hole where the gate used to be.

Then, with a sound far too quiet for its size, the Aura shield protecting Beacon shattered and dissipated.

Not long after word a great howling tore apart the evening air, and Ruby felt another shiver travel up her spine.

It had begun.

A/N: Did I mention before that shit was going to hit the proverbial fan this chapter? Because it did. Hard.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I loved finally getting into the thick, juicy, (soon to stab your feels in the heart) meat I've been preparing the entire story

So who here thinks Cardin's a bastard? *raises hand*

Anyway, I'm honestly surprised at myself for writing so much JNPR into this sotry. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore JNPR, but I wasn't planning on having them play a very big role in the story until Books 2 and 3. Looks like things worked out way differently than I was planning though, and I must say I am pleased that they have

I shall stop ranting now. Last things I'll say are 1) chapter from here on out in this Book are going to have pieces of "I May Fall" lyrics at the beginning (if you didn't notice), since it is the theme of this story. 2) I'm thinking there's 2 or 3 more chapters in this baby, and then it is finished. And then it's on to Book 2! :D

Thank you for all of the continued support and reviews, I love all of you!

Sorry, one last addition: I've actually started thinking about starting up another RWBY fic. An AU that I think would work pretty awesomely. I'm jotting down story ideas and character designs and such atm, but if you guys are interested I can keep you posted about it