Ruby sat in her dorm room, alone. Tomorrow was the day of RWBY and JNPR's fight with Jet, Angel of Darkness. She was on her bunk, in a state of contemplation on the floating bed.

She felt it move, and turned to see Jet had appeared behind her. Her angel was wearing a new black long-sleeve jacket with a hood, and matching dark jeans. His pale hands and face shone in the sunset.

Jet. The one she loved the most. The one who'd taken her purity as she'd offered it to him. The one who loved her. Who'd been corrupted in the same way by her. His emerald eyes met Ruby's silver ones, and not for the first time, she wondered if he knew what she was feeling on the inside.

"Thinking about the battle tomorrow?" Jet asked. "Maybe about how to beat me?"

"You're impossible to beat." Ruby said softly. That statement both pleased and frustrated her at the same time. "You told me yourself."

"That's not true, actually." Jet replied. "I said I was immortal and invulnerable, but only when I had my powers. In fact, if I don't play carefully, I'm certain to lose."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Remember you're my Fulcrum." Jet responded with a grin. "If you fall unconscious, I do too. If your aura is gone, my protection is destroyed as well. My connection with you. That's your team's only chance."

"Oh, right." Ruby said, allowing herself to smile a little. Now she got it. If Jet attacked her, he'd be essentially hurting himself as well, and if she was out, those purple flames would probably be gone too.

"Bingo." Jet continued. "And because you move so dang fast, you'll probably be one of the first ones I have to fight. That doesn't lower my attack power, but it does mean I have to dodge six or seven teammates while I take them down one or two at a time, or be taken down. And my most powerful attacks require me to stay still." As he said it, a knocking sound could be heard on the door.

"I'll get it." Ruby said, and hopped off the bed and walked to the door. She opened it to find Professor Ozpin, who wore his usual warm smile, one that was both unreadable and pleasant to see.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." he said in his calm demeanour. "I was wondering if you knew where I might find Jet. He wasn't at his team's room."

"He's here." Ruby heard Jet call from behind her, and she looked back to see him hopping off her bed and moving towards her. She moved aside as he met Ozpin.

"Ah, there you are." Ozpin greeted, his smile widening a little. "I wondered if we could take a stroll together. There's several things I am curious about."


"So this is the place." Ozpin remarked.

He and Jet were sat atop Sunset Hill, which boasted the glorious view it held from which its name was derived at this time. Jet's wings were outstretched, and he bathed in the warmth of the sun coupled with the chill of the air.

Jet said nothing. He was waiting for Ozpin to ask the question himself, as this was the reason they came out sometimes. He admired the old professor. He had the right idea, taking him in despite him being dangerous for the purpose of study and learning. Still, while he had been truthful so far, today, he would have to be careful. One misstep would lead to their discovery.

"Tell me, have you heard of the tale of Asmodeus?" Ozpin asked. Jet tensed as he looked into his eyes. Not good.

"Remind me, please sir." Jet replied, deciding to buy a little time while he planned out his movements in this conversation.

"It tells of one god, of all elements, splitting into two gods of opposite elements, light and dark. Neither could destroy each other, so they created beings to fight in their stead. But you are born of both, which theoretically makes you a child of both." Ozpin explained.

"I remember now." Jet said. "Yes, I would be considered a child of Asmodeus."

"I will not beat around the bush." Ozpin stated. "I know about the two choices you have."

So much for deceiving him.

"You're wondering if I've already chosen?" Jet asked.

"I know you've chosen." Ozpin replied. "You are an Angel of Darkness."

Shoot. He knew. But wait. If he knew…

"Judging by the fact that I'm not in custody," Jet stated, "I'm guessing there's something preventing you from doing so. Maybe a query about my purpose?" Ozpin's eyes narrowed.

"Precisely." he responded, now staring into Jet's eyes. "Who is your Fulcrum? Why did you do it?"

Jet hissed at the directness of his questions. If Ozpin knew he was an Angel, then he also knew about how powerful he was now.

"Ruby is my Fulcrum." Jet replied. "And my purpose is nothing less than defeating Flux, who is also an Angel of Darkness."

"I suspected as much." Ozpin replied. "You don't need to worry. I am the only one who knows. And while I am not in full control of the school at current, I will make sure it remains that way."

Was Jet missing something? Surely Ozpin, the one who took great care of all of his… students-

Ah. Jet understood now. Not only was he one of said students, but he was Ozpin's only way of destroying Flux. So it would be reasonable if he hid his status from the public. Jet stood up, and turned to face Ozpin.

"I guess you want to see my new form and abilities." Jet said.

"That would be preferable, yes." Ozpin replied, also standing up.

"I guess I can show you some. The rest, you'll see when I beat RWBY and JNPR." Jet explained, before taking a fighting stance, the purple flames surging around him in a demonstration of his power, Doomsayer and Darkening appearing in his hands.


Ruby closed her eyes as she listened to the slow, sleepy breaths of Yang. Tomorrow was the day when Jet would demonstrate his power. Defeating eight people on his own, four of them her team.

Ruby curled up tighter. This shouldn't be how it should be. Team RWBY was one of the best, next to LIJN and the teams of later years. They should be unstoppable, and they were unstoppable against the Nevermore, Torchwick, his robot, the White Fang.

But they'd be facing a living demi-god, essentially, one who was virtually impossible to beat. His only weakness was her, so how could-

An idea suddenly struck her, as Jet's words echoed in the back of her mind.

"If you fall unconscious, I do too. If your aura is gone, my protection is destroyed as well. My connection with you. That's your team's only chance."

Falling unconscious. Could she enlist Yang's help? If Jet fell unconscious, then he would instantly lose to them. He was practically invulnerable otherwise.

She shuddered at the thought of willingly taking a hit on the head, and it would need to be hard to knock her out. But if she could do this, Jet would lose.

There again, did she want him to lose?

That brought her back to the question; why was he doing this? What would destroying them and JNPR do? Was he showing off for someone?

She groaned in frustration. Why didn't he tell her? There were still many secrets between them, and Jet was becoming harder and harder to probe by the minute. Ruby could only assume that a major secret he'd been keeping was drawing close, and that she'd find out eventually anyway.

"What's up, sis?" a whisper came from beside her bed. Ruby opened her eyes to discover Yang standing beside her bed.

"It's nothing." Ruby said, smiling a false smile, but Yang grimaced.

"You're a terrible liar." Yang replied. "You can talk to me, remember?"

Ruby considered. Maybe it would be better to tell her sister. There again, she wasn't sure how Yang would react.

"I want to know more about why Jet does what he does." Ruby answered truthfully. "He's keeping something, or maybe some things, secret from me, and I want to know what, or at least, why he's keeping them from me. Sometimes he agrees with me on certain things, and others he immediately closes up and won't let me in."

Yang hopped quietly onto Ruby's bed and leaned against the wall, keeping her eyes on Ruby. Ruby maintained her gaze on her sister.

"Well, I don't know what he's keeping," Yang said, "but I might know the reason why. Do you remember when Dad fell, how I didn't tell you until you were twelve?" At Ruby's nod, she continued. "I didn't want to put such a hurtful thing on you from any earlier age, so I waited. I think Jet's doing that too. He's waiting for a moment to tell you, because right now isn't the right time, for whatever reason, and telling you now will only make things more difficult."

"Do you really think so?" Ruby asked, unsure. That was a concept she hadn't considered in all her time with Jet.

"Yeah." Yang responded, putting an arm around Ruby, and she laid her head on her sister's shoulder. "But even more than that, you might actually be hurting him by pressing him. Guys like him don't keep fucked-up secrets, like if he's cheating on you, or has some dark past, but even if he does," she raised her voice a little at Ruby's look, "either he'll tell you or he'll have a very good reason for doing it and keeping it from you. I don't see him as the kind of person who would hurt you like that."

"I… didn't think of it like that." Ruby said, now feeling a little downtrodden. Did she really have that little faith in him? He'd given her good reason to trust him, and while yes, he still had this air of mysteriousness and greater purpose, he wouldn't leave Ruby behind in his wake. It made her feel sick inside to doubt him like this. "Y-Yang? Can you stay with me tonight?"

"Of course, sis." Yang replied, and she sunk under the covers and put her arms around Ruby, who snuggled into her sister's protective and warm embrace. Right now, as she drifted off to sleep, she just needed someone to hug.