Love him, throw him into the highest cloud until he streaks into heaven, adore him, complete him, embrace him, comfort him, idolise him, make him wish for your comforting and delicate embrace, dangle your love before him so when he takes it he's lured into your warm and merciful hands. Throw him on a bed and kiss him with a powerful lust for his love, be the maiden he deserved when she left him, be there for him, care for him, cherish him, love him.

The clashing of swords and grunting of desperate swings echoed throughout the room. The gothic cathedral like room released dust from its weakened stone crack and the moon blazed outside of the large but dulled stained glass windows. Individual strands of moon rays could be seen with the naked eye as they seeped through the small crack in the glass and onto the concrete ground which had been turned into an arena as two sides clashed. The light and the dark.

"Ruby! Are you a okay!?" shrieked a concerned boy as he ran over to the side of a girl who was flung to the ground by a stray sword swing which also knocked her scythe from her hands and far out of her reach.

"Ouch" Ruby moaned, she gently rubbed her head as she sat on the ground with clashes, gunfire and explosions erupting around her.

The boy appeared before her crouched down to her level and staring directly into her eyes, his sapphire eyes that she had grown an addiction to were obnoxiously hypnotising, not only did they surface a blush over her face but they also transported her to a calmer and more peaceful world were the concepts of everything around her except her and him where redundant. She would stay for an eternity if only he would let her but without consideration he stripped her out from that world and brought her into a reality she wished she'd never have known.

"Ruby! Snap out of it!" more shrieks left the boys mouth as he violently shook Ruby backwards and forwards by the shoulders, but the girls eyes were blank and aimless. She was still stuck in her trance of bliss.

Suddenly her eyes saw a jolt of life spring back to them as they looked up to face the boy and his irresistible eyes, his golden hair made his eyes stand out like a single bolt of lightning in the night sky. Their eyes locked onto each-other and they didn't let go, not for even a second.

"Ruby! We've survived so much recently. What's one more day?" Although the boy didn't have the best of most original words he seemed to be breaking the divide between the two different worlds "Why are you doing this?" Jaune bowed his head in weakness and defeat.

"I'm scared" Admitted Ruby through a gentle and shattered voice as if she was on the verge of crying.

Jaune was was flabbergasted for a brief second before he gained the courage to wrap his arms around the the girl who was lost in contempt "You've always been the one rushing into battle without thinking, knowing that we're both scared comforts me" Jaune released his arms around Ruby and stood up lending a hand to Ruby "It's strength, feeling the right way."

Ruby still fought conflicts in her mind over contempt and regret but they were all but muffled now, she can finally think for herself, nearly without shackles. She took Jaunes hand without the burden of regret and stood up on her feet high ready to push on the oncoming offensive.

"Finally. Are you two okay now?" Nora shouted at Jaune as she struck at a buffed up Hazel with her hammer sending him flying towards the wall behind him.

"Yes we're fine" Jauned brought his face of reassurance into Ruby's view to which she nodded in agreement.

As they both prepare for battle Jaune caught a glimpse of flame spark in the center of the room, standing with their back to him which was still plagued by that horrid tattoo of two high heels connected by the sole forming a black heart. Jaune didn't hesitate, instantly he lost his fear and he began a charge towards them with his sword dragging across the ground kicking up sparks, Jaune expected them to turn and counter his attack the second he swung at her so he could stare her in the eye but instead his blade sliced straight through her spine and exited out between her breasts, as blood began to slide down the blade he saw a look of terror struck over her dwindling face as she slowly turned her head. Jaune expected to find Cinder at the end of his blade smacked with a face of fear but instead he looked into a pair of fleeting purple eyes instead of snide amber ones, the body his blade was impaled in melted away like dust uncovering a different and more familiar body. Jaunes face fell into confusion, regret and anger, he didn't know how to react, his mouth was stuttering at any word he tried to say for in front of him he stared directly into the soulless eyes of Ruby's older sister Yang, not even his mind could process what unmasked before him, he dropped onto his knees with Yang now lifelessly stuck on his sword. Jaunes eyes were wide and almost as blank as Yangs but instead a tear rolled down his face until his thoughts returned and he remembered the younger sister to the corpse he just butchered.

His head didn't turn to a weakened and sobbing Ruby hitting the ground in pain, instead he turned to see a blank emotionless face staring at him with eyes holding no grudge, no fear, no anger, no emotion just nothing. Jaunes eyes sparkled as they began to tear up, any type of apology would never make up for his action and he knew that, but even so he wanted to apologise. His words stuttered out of his mouth. Although the spotlight seem tuned onto Jaune and Ruby, Ren and Nora were equally as petrified, Salem's minions had been called back to the back of the room where they stood alongside a very much alive Cinder and a very boastful Salem.

Ruby dropped onto her knees and her hair covered over her eyes as her head bowed and her eyes stared blankly at the ground "Burn him" she said with a voice of conflict and hate "Pity him" she spoke again her voice as equally as broken "Envy him" Ruby's voice was growing deeper and louder and she started to stand up from the ground her head still bowed and her hair still covering her eyes from Jaunes view "Never love him" she slowly walked forward enough to pick Crescent Rose off of the ground, she slowly dragged her feet and her scythe across the ground bit by bit closing in on Jaune who was too scared and confused to move.

"Get out of here!" Weiss barked at Ren and Nora who were also frozen through confusion and fright.

"But Jaune, and R..."

"Get out of here, we'll get Ruby and Jaune and catch up with you!" Blake interrupted Nora with an order of her own.

But the scythe was still scraping the ground creating a tedious cringe in the air. Ren forced Nora towards the exit by her shoulders and they both jolted towards it with all their energy, they ran for two barely open gigantic heavy metal doors which could only be seen by the moon's rays gleaming through it and as soon as they found themselves on the outside Jaune found himself staring into something that was not Ruby nor was it human, he was staring into the cold eyes of the reaper and without any effort Ruby lifted her scythe up ready to strike in only one hand, Weiss and Blake were all ready running towards her as fast as they could but they was not as fast as a quick strike to the throat which Ruby had landed on Jaune himself.

There he lied , Jaune, choking on his own blood as he released his grip from the handle of his sword and let Yangs body fall onto the coldness of the ground alongside his, as he writhed it pain trying to take in gulps of breath as his neck ran with the crimson of the very thing Ruby wore she couldn't find any emotion to show or any sanity to present instead she looked at the ground away from her former friend and softly spoke in a sane voice if only for a second.

"Forgive me"

Jaune closed his eyes and dropped back his head onto the ground as he silently slipped from the world that burdened him for so long.

"NO!" Screamed a princess running at Ruby with her rapier raised high and accompanied by a feline with both of her bladed sheathes ready to strike.

Although the odds, Weiss and Blake versus one Ruby would seem off putting it didn't for Ruby instead she looked at them both with the same emotionless eyes and fired a round of dust from Crescent Rose behind her shooting her like a bullet forwards towards Weiss who stopped on the spot and sliced upwards with her rapier at the twirl of red that rapidly approached her. Weiss clipped Ruby over her right eye deep enough to scar but shallow enough to not reach her eye and blind her, this cut sent her to the ground and the impact on the stone knocked her out clean.

Drawing in deep breaths Weiss dropped her rapier to the ground and Blake looked over at Jaune who looked not as peaceful as one might expect as he lied there in a pool of his own dark blood which only kept growing as more blood poured out from his neck. Blake looked away from the horrific sight and instead ran over to Weiss who had fallen onto her knees with tears falling from her eyes.

"Did you see the look in her eyes?" Weiss cried to Blake who crouched beside her.

"No" Blake replied.

"Exactly, there wasn't any she wasn't there" Weiss sprung to life and grabbed onto Blakes shoulders pushing her onto the floor revealing a red face covered with tears "Blake, that wasn't Ruby, she's still in there - she has to be"

The sound of two hands clapping together echoed throughout the room. Weiss and Blake faced towards the claps to see the menacingly tall Salem looking over them, Weiss and Blake instantly grabbed their weapons and picked themselves up ready to fight her together and alone. Weiss ran straight at Salem without hesitating or thinking, blinded by rage she took a quick straight slice at Salem which she easily dodged with an out of character backflip, then as Salem's feet touched the ground a white flash erupted from the ground beneath her blinding Weiss and Blake for a second and then revealed a small girl standing under an umbrella with long white, brown and pink hair and a devilish smirk. Weiss calmed her face and then pointed the tip of Myrtenaster towards the girl. The girl known as Neo began a slow walk towards Weiss simultaneously closing her umbrella and unsheathing a thin needle-like blade attached to the handle hidden within the interior of the umbrella, she twirled the handle in her right hand so that the blade rested along her arm, putting her hand behind her back she performed a formal bow towards her two combatants with a smirk still glued to her face.

Blake growled at Neo's mocking bow and ran at her thoughtlessly, unsheathing her Katanas. She created a shadow clone using her semblance just before the two opponents met face-to-face. Neo swung her hand as if throwing a punch, her fist phased right through Blakes clone which revealed that Blake was now above Neo preparing an aerial strike but before Blake dropped from the sky Neo's eyes had already met hers as if this attack was already anticipated. As Neo's punch continued on the loosely held sword in her hand began to swing around in her palm until she was able to gain a powerful grip on the handle. Ss Blake began to fall with her weapon attached to the ribbon on her hand floating in the air above she pulled on that ribbon and the gun fired, the recoil forced the gun down at great speeds but by the time it would reach Neo it would've been too late as Neo's own blade struck Blake across the stomach which also threw her to the side of Neo where she hit the ground with small amounts of blood slowly leaving her wide cut. The second Blake hit the ground she attempted to return back to the fight but something kept her to the ground, something kept her limbs from moving an inch.

Neo looked at Blake on the floor, her smirk turned into a smile but before she could boast any more she heard running footsteps from behind her, she looked over her shoulder to see Weiss running at her. The chamber on Myrtenasters hilt rotated to a purple canister, as Weiss closed the distance Neo didn't hesitate to start dodging as she anticipated the attack before Weiss could even attempt it but still Weiss stuck out her sword releasing a blast of purple energy which still managed to strike Neo even when she dodged the main blast, a small portion of the blast threw her back several meters however this was more of an inconvenience to Neo as she just readjusted herself mid air and landed on her feet as if the gravity blast didn't affect her in the slightest.

Weiss didn't waste any time, she instantly followed up her previous attack with two thunderous blue bolts of pure dust energy and as they travelled through the air towards their target Neo she quickly sheathed her needle sword into her umbrella and did a backflip into the air jumping over one of the bolts and then landing to intercept the last one, she knelt down and hid her head behind her umbrella as she opened it, the bolt then instantly contacted the umbrella and exploded into a bubble of blue energy which then imploded in on itself sending out a shockwave which threw Neo onto the ground and almost disarming her by throwing her umbrella into the air out of her hand which she luckily managed to catch mid-flight as she then hit the ground. Neo jumped up from the spot she lied in as another bolt of energy hit the ground creating a crater from the smaller explosion. Neo found a space of time where she managed to catch a glimpse of Weiss who was recklessly sending these bolts towards her without even aiming at this point. After Neo managed to recollect herself she stood her ground firmly and only needed to jolt her shoulder backwards to dodge a bolt which then exploded on the wall far behind her.

Weiss sent out another, another and another but now each and every shot she took would miss Neo by a long shot, all Neo now did was slowly walk towards Weiss and unsheath her sword one more time, this time she threw her umbrella aside and as she stood almost arms length from Weiss, Weiss aimed her sword at Neo's heart, she activated the dust chamber on Myrtenaster and a small click signaled the end of Weiss's dust supply, nothing left Myrtenaster not even the smallest grain of dust remained in the chamber.

Blake lied on the ground behind Weiss motionless, her face the only moving part on her body which was drenched with sweat.

"Weiss, her sword, it's poisoned, it'll... paralyse you." Blake struggle to speak but she closed her eyes and opened her mouth as wide as she could "WEISS DON'T LET IT CUT YOU!"

But Weiss seemed to ignore Blake and dropped her sword onto the floor, she began to weep and faced at the ground as if her will to fight and will as a whole was suddenly absent. Blake stared up as high as she could where she saw Emerald standing on the outline of the room almost covered entirely in shade with her left hand pressed against her temple as if she exhausted herself. Neo's smile was so big it was almost like she would break into laughter, she brought her sword into the air and swiped down only lightly scratching Weiss left arm, Neo then turned her back and walked away silently chuckling to herself.

Weiss barely noticed the scratch on her arm, but one by one her limbs started to give out, first her left fell completely numb followed by her right arm, Weiss sniffed and her tears stopped rolling down her cheek, and then suddenly both of her legs gave up sending her onto the ground alongside Blake. Weiss fell unconscious and Blake watched Neo walk away as a tear rolled down her face at the realization that they were beaten, everything and everyone they sacrificed meant nothing; they failed. Perpetual darkness will consume Remnant and everyone in it because of the failure they lead.

"Forgive me" Ruby's voice echoed into the boundless white void around her.

"You're asking for forgiveness? After what you just did? That's your sanity speaking, isn't it?" Jaune replied, he as stood in front of Ruby.

"Maybe I will. You brought me somewhere I was destined, somewhere the people I love is destined and somewhere you're not as destined. I can never hate you Ruby but you found a way to hate me and from what I could tell, you loved me. Where does evil like that spawn in someone like you? As always you're full of surprises but even so, you need to forget about me I think it'll only make you worse. When you find yourself, only then do I allow you to remember me." Jaune's speech was full of almost every emotion imaginable but eventually it faded out into the white nothingness of a horizon along with his body.

Ruby sprung up from the hard and damp ground from her dream, around her she saw the concrete mossy walls of a cell and a tacky wooden door with a caged window.

"Why?" She asked herself through a confused whisper.

A/N: Yeah, this took a while, a lot of shit happening in real life plus a few procrastination sessions here and there but now I've finally posted and it feels good. Slightly more edgy, but definitely also wholesome, originally I had planned for this chapter to be the ending of this fic however I got a better idea so I've broken it up into five chapters for the first part, you'll see what I mean next chapter but what you must know is that I will get working on Chapter 5 as soon as I can and that I'm back so I'll see you in the next chapter! Also, because I've been through all the emotions recently if you notice anything wrong, lacking or down right bad about this chapter or my writing please don't hesitate to tell me I'm in desperate need of that *constructive* criticism. And yes, this chapter is set before the others, that's obvious so I didn't really need to say that. Regardless, bye.