Hana switched out the warm washcloth for a cold damp one and put it over Naruto's forehead. Yuna spoon fed him some medicine, which the blond coughed up. Tamao sighed as Naruto's breathing continued to be shallow while he appeared to be suffering. He reached out his hand like he was trying to grab something to his side but nothing was there.
"P-Pyrrha," breathed out Naruto weakly and in a strangled voice.
"Pyrrha is on her way, Gin," said Hana as she held his hand, "She'll be here soon. Just relax and get some rest."
Naruto soon drifted off to sleep and the rest of Team NYHT left him to rest.
"This is getting ridiculous," said Yuna in dismay, "He's been like this ever since he talked to Ruby."
"What even happened out there?" wondered Hana aloud as they headed to the cafeteria to get some lunch before looking at Tamao, "Did you get anything from her?"
"No," said Tamao plainly, "Somehow, my Shikigami aren't able to enter her mind."
As they went outside, the trio noticed a falcon circling above them.
"Isn't that…" began Hana as Yuna held up her hand.
The falcon landed on her wrist and she removed the small paper attached to its leg. Opening it, Yuna read the message before feeding the falcon some feed they each carried with them at all times then seny it back into the air.
"What did it say?" asked Tamao.
"He'll be in the next couple of days," announced Yuna, to the shock of the others.
A boy the age of 17 with black hair wearing a blue sash around his head and a tattered light brown poncho raised his hand in the middle of a forest as the falcon that he'd sent off returned from delivering its message. Resting the falcon on his shoulder, the boy continued through the forest but paused when several Beowolves surrounded him. The falcon took off from the boy's shoulder and landed on the branch of one of the many trees. From its perch, the falcon watched as the Beowolves each were felled by the hidden katana of the boy. Once the coast was clear, the falcon returned to the boy's shoulder as the Grimm mask over his face evaporated like the corpses of the Grimm around him.
(The Next Day)
Ruby awoke to the sound of constant ringing in her ears as everything seemed to have had the sound it made amplified by about 500%. Looking at Weiss, Blake, and Yang, who were experiencing the same effects, all of them sluggishly trudged to the bathroom to get ready for the day. After getting dressed, they headed for the cafeteria when they passed by Team JNPR.
"Hey, guys!" called out Jaune.
All four girls shot Jaune a look of tired rage causing both him and Nora to jump back in fright. Prryha raised an eyebrow and this and when Team RWBY had turned away, she picked up a small pebble then threw it at the back of Weiss's head. Weiss reached back and grabbed the pebble before throwing it back at Jaune, who was hit square in the forehead and fell to the ground. They continued on their way, not noticing the disturbed girls of Team NYHT had seen all this go down.
"No," said Hana, "He didn't… did he?"
"It couldn't be," said Tamao, "They would've destroyed the place if he had… right?"
"We can't take any chances," said Yuna seriously, "We need to keep an eye on them. If they show any signs of a Purge, we need to put them down."
Team RWBY slumped onto their table in the cafeteria while Teams JNPR and NYHT took seats close by to observe them. As the four girls ate, all of them covered their ears in attempt to dampen the amplified noises of everybody. Frowning, Tamao silently muttered something and an invisible entity snaked its way through the legs of everyone and over to Team RWBY. The entity stopped next to Weiss's head and when the heiress turned in that direction, she let out a shriek and jumped into Yang, knocking them both off the bench as everyone looked at them.
"What was that for?!" demanded the angry Yang as she shoved Weiss off her.
Everyone but Team NYHT was surprised by the fact that Yang had pushed Weiss about five feet back. Weiss's outfit began smoking and she began yelling as she dropped to the ground and rolled, freezing the ground while also putting the flames out. Team NYHT seemed concerned about this while the entity from before brushed up against Blake's ankle. When the black haired Faunus stomped on the ground in attempt to kill whatever had touched her, the entire floor shattered and caused a stalagmite to emerge from the ground and pin Ruby against the ceiling by her cape.
"Ruby!" exclaimed Yang as flames danced at her feet while Ruby tried to get free of her cape, which was strangling her.
Managing to get free, she attempted to shield herself from the fall when she noticed she wasn't falling as fast as she should. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was falling extremely slowly before gently landing on her feet. In less than an instant, everyone was back to where they were a minute ago while Yuna panted heavily as Hana seemed like she was about to pass out.
"Well… that confirms it," said Yuna as she tried to catch her breath, "He turned them into Nephilim."
(That Afternoon)
Ruby hummed as she walked toward Team NYHT's room with a basket in hand. Arriving at the room, she heard voices inside and opened it up to find Blake taking care of Naruto.
"Uh, what are you doing here, Blake?" asked Ruby.
"Well…" began Blake nervously, "I just…"
"Well, this is awkward," said Pyrrha as she entered the room.
"What is going on here?!" asked Ruby as she sat her basket on the nightstand next to Naruto's bed.
"I'm here because I overheard Yuna mention that Naruto was calling out for me in his sleep," explained Pyrrha as she sat down on a bed then looked at Blake, "What about you?"
Blake remained silent but looked away with a small blush on her face.
"Oh," said Pyrrha with a sly smile on her face, "Looks like the little kitty has a crush on the blond boy."
"No!" exclaimed Blake as she shot to her feet with her face completely red now, "I just… like the talks we've had."
"And what would those talks…" began Pyrrha before she looked off to the side in surprise, "No way…"
"What?" asked Ruby as she and Blake looked at the wall.
Pyrrha ran out of the room with Ruby and Blake on her heels. Once outside, Pyrrha headed toward the loading docks for the airships and saw a single boy approaching. He wore a light brown poncho and a blue sash around his head. He had jet black hair and black eyes while also wearing black pants and combat boots. Pyrrha's hand began shaking as the boy walked by her but stopped in her tracks.
"Stay down, Pyrrha," said the boy as he continued on his way.
Pyrrha's legs shook and she fell to her knees as the boy walked by Ruby and Blake, with Ruby noticing the nihilistic expression on his face.
"Nephilim…" murmured Ruby.
The boy stopped in his tracks and looked over at Ruby with the same expression on his face.
"Silver eyes…" said the boy in the same calm tone he had used with Pyrrha.
He then looked in front of him and jumped back to avoid Hana's fist, which shattered the ground he once stood on. Landing on his feet he jumped back to avoid the slash of Yuna's sword while also catching the lightning that Tamao fired from her bow and deflecting it into the sky. A crowd began to gather as the three girls of Team NYHT blocked the boy's path and got ready to fight.
"I can see this is going to go just like last time," said the boy calmly.
"You have no business being here, Sasuke," said Tamao with conviction in her voice, "You lost your chance 4 years ago."
"Would that be before or after I reported you four?" asked Sasuke calmly as he drew a katana from his hip.
The three girls and Sasuke charged each other and prepared to strike when Naruto appeared between them. His sword drawn with a black blade as he deflected Yuna and Sasuke's swords with it while he caught Hana's fist with his free hand and pinned Tamao's bow to the ground. The girls seemed surprised by this as Naruto still appeared to be in pain and sweating profusely. Taking several deep breaths, Naruto stayed as he was when Ozpin arrived with Goodwitch.
"Welcome, Mr. Uchiha," greeted Ozpin happily but with caution as well, "I see you met your old friends."
Sasuke withdrew his sword and sheathed it behind him.
"Put them away," thought Naruto weakly as he let go of Hana's fist and stepped off of Tamao's bow.
The girls put away their weapons and Naruto collapsed with Sasuke catching him. He put Naruto's arm over his shoulder then picked up his sword before walking with Ozpin and the rest of Team NYHT to Ozpin's office while Goodwitch got to work fixing the damages to the stone path. Ruby and Blake hurried over to Pyrrha to help her up but Pyrrha shook them off as she got to her feet. Hurrying on her way, Pyrrha hid from sight before looking at the faint black mist emanating from her hand.
Ozpin, Sasuke, and Team NYHT entered Ozpin's office with Sasuke setting Naruto onto a chair as Ozpin went and sat behind his desk.
"Now, I know you girls have some questions," said Ozpin calmly.
"Why is he here?!" demanded Yuna as she pointed accusingly at Sasuke, "He's responsible for the Massacre of the Glimmering Sands!"
"I also recall you and the others massacring almost everyone at Haven Academy on your first mission," retorted Sasuke calmly.
"He's working for me," thought Naruto weakly as he reached out toward Sasuke, who handed him a canteen which the blond drank deeply from, "Thanks for the medicine, by the way."
"Not at all," replied Sasuke as Naruto drank from the canteen again, finishing off the contents.
"I've been having him watch the artifact for me," explained Naruto as he slowly sat himself up in the chair, "He's been guarding it for the past 4 years."
"I thought you only learned about its location just before we arrived," reminded Tamao.
"That scroll my mother got was a spell to locate it," replied Naruto with a little more strength, "I've known where it's been for years."
"And you never thought to tell us?!" questioned Hana accusingly, "We're your friends!"
"I did tell you," thought Naruto as he looked out the window off to the side, "Think about everything we talked about since we were here."
The trio of girls remained silent for a minute before it suddenly dawned on them what Naruto was referring to.
"Any who, I suppose you three want to talk about what's going on with Team RWBY," thought Naruto in shame.
"What about them?" asked Ozpin as he took a drink from his mug.
"He turned them into Nephilim," responded Yuna with a glare to Naruto.
Sasuke looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow while Ozpin choked on his drink.
"No, I didn't," thought Naruto in annoyance, "I turned them into Archdemons."
The girls fell silent and looked at each other while Ozpin and Sasuke just seemed intrigued.
"What's an Archdemon?" asked Hana.
"Archdemons are, I guess you could say, a primitive version of Nephilim," explained Ozpin, "They're nowhere near as powerful but just as destructive as them."
"Basically, they only have access to the Stage 1 of transformation but it's impossible for them to enter Stage 2," finished Sasuke, "Which is when the connection to Salem manifests."
"But either way, they're going to be needing training in order to use those powers," stated Tamao.
"I've got the Ice Queen," thought Naruto angrily.
"Uh… How about I take her?" suggested Hana before getting shot a death glare from the blond, "Or… perhaps you should take her."
Pyrrha forced the black mist that was leaking out of her hand down before panting heavily.
"So, our connection has be reestablished," said a dark feminine voice in Pyrrha's head, "We really should catch up."
Pyrrha slammed her fist against a tree, shattering the trunk as she tried to tune out the voice.
"No," she thought, "Never again."
(An Hour Later)
Naruto sat in an empty classroom with his feet up on the desk just as Weiss ran inside.
"Sorry, I'm late," she apologized quickly as she took a seat at the desk in front of Naruto, "I got a little chilly and was trying to find something warm," she kept her gaze on the empty desk as she swallowed the lump in her throat, "Are you sure you should be helping me study today? You could still be sick."
"I had an old friend bring me some medicine from Vacuo," replied Naruto coldly as he stood up and went to the front of the classroom, "Get down here."
Weiss hurried to the front of the room and stood behind Naruto with her head lowered.
"How good are you with your Semblance?" questioned Naruto.
"Huh?" asked Weiss as she raised her head, not expecting the question.
"Compared to Winter, how much have you mastered your Semblance?" rephrased Naruto, "Can you summon Avatars?"
"Sadly, no," said Weiss in shame, "But what does that have to do with Grimm Studies?"
"More than you think," thought Naruto as he turned to her, "One of the reasons Ozpin is having me tutor you is to improve your endurance."
"He has?" asked Weiss.
"Sometimes, when fighting a Grimm, all you need to stop them is to show dominance," explained Naruto, "You saw it when that Grimm attacked in the forest while we were gathering sap for Professor Peach."
"Oh yeah," said Weiss as she remembered that day, "But what does that have to do with endurance?"
Naruto stared into Weiss's eyes and the girl tensed up, feeling a large amount of pressure on her back, trying to force her to her knees. But Weiss held firm, abet a little shakily.
"Before now, whenever I locked eyes with you or put out even just a little killing intent, you'd either run out of the room or pass out," thought Naruto as he let the pressure on Weiss subside, "But now, you're pushing through it. That's trained your endurance."
Weiss stood up fully as Naruto snapped his fingers behind him without taking his eyes off of her. A white glyph appeared behind him, giving off an extremely cold breeze from it.
"Today, I'm going to teach you to channel that same intent I was giving off into your glyph to allow you to teleport," explained Naruto.
"And how do I do that?" asked Weiss, "I'm been trying to do that for years but haven't gotten anywhere with it. And how are you able to use glyphs?"
"How I'm able to is none of your business," thought Naruto condescendingly, "And you do it by surrendering control of the glyph and letting your instincts take over while also maintaining an objective in your mind. You are to teleport to your room in the dorms."
"I surrender control?" questioned Weiss as she began to shiver a little from the breeze coming off the glyph behind Naruto.
Gesturing for her to follow, Naruto stepped through the glyph and Weiss complied.
Weiss shook as she stepped out into a snowstorm on top of a mountain.
"Where are we?" she asked as she rubbed her arms to try and regain feeling in them.
"The tallest peak in Atlas," replied Naruto calmly, "Far from any human or Faunus contact and out of range of the CCTS."
Weiss began getting even more uncomfortable as a very intimate part of her was starting to freeze.
"At this temperature, an Archdemon can last for 30 minutes before losing total loss of function," thought Naruto.
"A what?" asked Weiss as she looked around.
"But you'll probably go into shock within the first two," thought Naruto as he headed toward the glyph.
"What?!" exclaimed Weiss as she wheeled around.
"Surrender, princess," taunted Naruto as Weiss dove for the glyph after Naruto had passed through but only hit the snowy floor.
Weiss shivered and her breathing became labored.
Naruto stepped out of the classroom to find Sasuke leaning against the opposite wall.
"What happened?" he asked as Naruto raised his left hand to his throat.
"She's training," replied Naruto as he walked with Sasuke to the dorms.
"You didn't dump her in the middle of nowhere did you?" questioned Sasuke.
"Perhaps," said Naruto like it was no big deal before he lowered his head, "Did she say anything when you two spoke?"
"Besides just talking about how miserable she is, she was wondering how you were," reported Sasuke as they turned a corner, "You should apologize."
"I will once Hell freezes over," shot back Naruto as they passed by a tree, causing it to wither up and die, "After what happed when I was five, she'll be lucky to even kiss the ground I walk on."
Naruto suddenly collapsed and Sasuke quickly checked up on him.
"How much of that medicine did you take?" he asked the blond as he helped him up.
"All of it," said Naruto with practically no strength and now looking incredibly tired.
"You're supposed to take half then wait 12 hours before finishing it off," scolded Sasuke as he helped Naruto along, "Vacuo Fever isn't something you should take lightly."
Weiss shivered as she attempted to create a glyph back to Beacon in the massive snowstorm before grunting in frustration. Looking around, Weiss fell to her knees.
"I don't want to die out here!" she thought fearfully, "I don't want to die!"
As she cried, countless images flew across her eyes before it settle on one. Grunting in anger, she felt the world become distant. She got to her feet and panted angrily. Reaching to the right right of her face to wipe away her frozen tears, A black mist that seemed to glow blue appeared in her hand.
Arriving at Team RWBY's empty room as it was closer, Sasuke helped Naruto to a bed and helped him lay down when a ringing reached their ears. Looking in the middle of the room, they both saw a white glyph appear as Weiss stumbled out of it. Falling to her knees, Weiss fell forward and the white mask on her face fell off, bursting into a black mist.
(That Night)
Pyrrha stood atop Beacon Tower and looked out at the starry sky. She then gazed at her hand, which was still emitting a black mist. Sighing, she lowered her hand and continued to gaze forward unto the horizon.
"What do you want?" asked Pyrrha as she closed her eyes and lowered her head.
"How long have your memories been back?" questioned Sasuke as he appeared on an adjacent tower.
"Since Naruto told me to pursue a relationship with Jaune," responded Pyrrha remorsefully, "He should've looked into that spell he was using. It only works on each individual once."
"How bad is Salem's voice getting?" asked Sasuke in concern.
"Not too bad," replied Pyrrha, "She's not speaking right now so I'm just enjoying the silence."
"That's good," said Sasuke as he took a seat on the ledge.
"How is she?" asked Pyrrha hopefully, "Is she alright?"
"Summer is fine," assured Sasuke, "She's on Menagerie being taken care of by some people Naruto and I trust."
Pyrrha let off a sigh of relief before sitting as well.
"Why did everything have to turn out like this for us?" asked Pyrrha, "Everything we fought for and we can't even enjoy it."
"Perhaps the brothers don't favor us but we are destined to forge our own path and not the ones they laid out for us," stated Sasuke as he held his stump of a shoulder where his left arm was supposed to be, "We both know what's going to happen if you transform again."
Pyrrha nodded and looked toward the dorms.
"If it's to protect the one that I love, I'll gladly accept that," she said while standing up.
"Would that be Jaune or Naruto?" questioned Sasuke.
Pyrrha remained silent and turned into a black smoke that flew toward the dorms.