IV

Jaune could not look away from Cardin.

It was not the first time that he watched him as he climbed into the arena, clad in his armor and brandishing his weapon of choice, that heavy mace. He had the sensation that time had not advanced since then. Or rather, that it had turned back, wrapping around itself.

He did not like that feeling. There was a knot in his throat and a strange sensation in his mouth, as if he had vomited recently.

He clenched his teeth. Somehow he managed to make that the only external sign of the feelings that boiled inside him. He didn't want Goodwitch to realize that this was something personal and cancel the fight for fear that it would escalate. Crushing Cardin in a private duel would not be the same as a humiliating second defeat in front of all the first-year students.

No, why was he talking like he was half asleep? Beyond what logic dictated, there was a simple and honest reason: he craved to see the pain on his face when that happened.

Cardin stepped up in front of him. He passed his mace from one hand to another absently. He seemed like a clumsy guy, among other things, so he was surprised he didn't drop it. As he did so, Jaune noticed something that had not been there before. At some point since his first defeat, Cardin had installed a Dust port on the weapon, allowing him to make use of the types he had. He had to suppress the urge to laugh.

"Do you think that's going to change anything?" Jaune asked. "If you think it's so easy to beat me, that something like that is enough to turn the tables, you're wrong."

"Yeah, well, we'll see about that. At this point, words are unnecessary."

Jaune smiled wildly.

"I agree."

He jumped up, hurling himself at him like a bullet. He had chosen to leave the shield behind, for it was but a fragment of an old dream, so he held the sword with both hands. The blade cut through the air. To his surprise, Cardin moved quickly enough to stop the strike.

Flames swallowed the head of the mace. Jaune leapt back cautiously. He should not have bothered. They disappeared in the blink of an eye. Like a spark, not a bonfire. It made sense. Cardin did not have an unlimited arsenal, obviously, and fire was the type of Dust that burned energy most quickly. Even someone as foolish as his opponent understood that he had to be careful when using it.

Grasping the mace with both hands, Cardin spun it over his head and the weapon fell towards Jaune's head with force and speed.

Jaune stopped each and every strike without much effort.

He had to admit that Cardin had great physical strength, but his arms did not falter. And he did not retreat.

He heard a click. Cardin had just changed the type of Dust, but there was nothing to indicate which one he had changed to, the port was not transparent. He crushed the ground with his mallet. The blow activated the mechanism, apparently, and, turning the weapon like the baton of an orchestra conductor, directed the flow of water through the air toward him.

He lifted his sword and both arms. The wall of water crashed into his body like a battering ram. His legs shook, but he stood firm. He hated the sensation of cold water on his skin, running through his hair.

When the current dried out, he saw Cardin flying through the air, holding the mace with both hands to crush him.

He deliberately stepped aside at the last moment, and took advantage of the confusion and surprise to slash him from the right cheek down to his chest. The attack did not penetrate his aura, but it made a dent in his armor. A section fell to the ground in pieces.

Cardin let out a groan and retreated quickly, staggering slightly as if he had inflicted a deadly wound on him.

There was not a drop of blood in the air, but he could almost smell that sweet, thick, overwhelming smell.

Jaune threw his head back and chuckled. A rich sound and a touch of innocence that sounded strange even to his own ears.

Cardin looked at him as if he wanted to strangle him.

Jaune lunged forward, wielding the blade with one hand. This attack was indeed blocked, but he came close to making the mace slip through his fingers. With that he confirmed that the internal mechanism was triggered by impacts. It was old-fashioned junk, surely the best he could have purchased on short notice, or in general.

But it didn't matter that he knew that. Even if he avoided colliding weapons with him, it was enough for Cardin to hit the ground, as he had done before, to make use of the full potential of his weapon.

They exchanged attacks and defenses without the slightest elegance, without a trace of technique. The only thing that drove his sword now was rage. Sparks, water and fire flew between them. Very close.

It was hot. He was melting.

Absurd as that idea was, he was afraid to look down and see that it was true, that the skin was slipping out, revealing the grotesque flesh. Or whatever his insides were made of.

Their weapons crossed.

He hated to admit it, but he could not defeat Cardin in a contest of strength as he was now. So he wouldn't even try to do that. Taking advantage of the position they were in, he planted his feet on the ground with force and executed a spin, hoping to remove the mace from his hands. He came close to it, but Cardin resisted.

The spikes of the mace brushed the ground, producing unpleasant sounds. Jaune was several times faster, and the maneuver had left him in a more advantageous position, so this farce was going to end in a few seconds.

They swung their weapons for the last time. Cardin's face reflected the truth: he knew that he wasn't going to be fast enough.

Summer's face appeared on the edge of his sword. It was only for an instant, but he was left paralyzed, he couldn't even move a muscle.

The force of the impact threw him flying backwards, far away, he did not fall out of the arena for a few inches.

When he fell to the ground, he realized that the attack had crushed his armor and chest. In other words, his aura had failed him at the worst moment. He noticed the taste of blood in his mouth, his own blood. There was nothing sweet about it. He twisted his head and vomited to one side, avoiding drowning. What came out was more blood, not bile.

A sepulchral silence dominated the classroom. Frost and fear in the faces of the people around him, which were like clay statues. A thick curtain of blood covered his vision. He opened and closed his eyes several times. It was an improvement, but his vision was still hazy and the light from the ceiling seemed to avoid him.

I didn't want it to end like this, he thought.

"Jaune!"

Ruby jumped down from the stands, she didn't want to waste even a second, and landed next to Jaune. The rose petals fluttered in the air, then fell around him and on his body. One covered his lips. It was a disturbing image, as if she had prepared a grave for him, a bed of rose petals in which to rest eternally.

This cannot be happening, no, it is not possible, she said to herself again and again as she held him in her arms and skillfully removed part of his armor. Her face became white like milk. She squeezed his hands with her own, small and trembling.

She felt as alone and frightened as when she found out that her mother would never come back home anymore.

At that time, she had been so young that she didn't even understand what death was. Now she did. But would that make this easier?

No. No way.

"Don't be afraid. You'll be all right, Jaune. You have... you have to stay with me. Don't close your eyes!"

Jaune pressed his lips into a thin line and moved them carefully. Was he trying to say something?

"What is it?!" Ruby asked, bringing one ear close to his mouth.

"Don't... look at me."

Suddenly she recoiled, astonished.

"What do you say?" Her voice was shaking. "I promised you, didn't I? That we'd always be together. If it has to end like this, then I'll be with you till the end."

She heard Goodwitch call the infirmary staff distantly, as if the voice came from another room, or perhaps from a world far and completely different from her own. Or so it seemed to her. All the sounds that were exploding around her had lost their coherence. The only sure thing was Jaune's hard heartbeat, which she could feel in the hand she had on his chest, and his desperate breathing.

To her astonishment, Jaune somehow found the strength to stand. She could not believe it. He gently pushed her hands away and took a staggering step forward. His arm and right hand were wet with blood, yet he had not dropped his sword. It was as if he intended to keep fighting. As if this fight still had meaning at this point.

Ruby ran to him and put her hands on his shoulders, trying to make him stop.

"That's enough! Don't you understand that you are..." She swallowed. She couldn't finish the sentence. She had the horrible feeling that saying 'that' word would seal his fate.

Jaune looked at her from the corner of his eyes. She startled. His eyes were usually blue, but now the one eye visible between his bangs was so white that it seemed like it had no pupil. All of this had to be part of a strange nightmare.

"Don't look at me," he repeated with a little more force.

One more step. Not towards the future, but towards death. She imagined his organs spilling out the wound in his stomach because of the movement. Jaune took off his shirt, for some reason. He did not get very far. He fell to his knees, on his own blood.

"Don't look at me," Jaune insisted.

Why? She was about to ask him that, but she didn't have to. She received an answer shortly afterwards.

Jaune threw his head back and let out a noise that sounded like the last roar of the earth.

The pain was unbearable. Every cell in his body was on fire. But he didn't even feel his shattered chest anymore, or the overwhelming feeling of lacking oxygen. This agony came from the death and reconstruction of his body. It was the key needed to get through that door. He did not want to cross it. Not now, in front of Ruby's eyes. But he had no choice.

His body was no longer his body. And to say that he possessed a will of his own would be a lie. I've always been a slave to something, haven't I? Even long before the promise.

So he threw his head back and roared as if he were vomiting his soul. Which, in a way, was true. The skin on his back split in four places, through which spider-like legs protruded, only much longer and thicker. Leaning on the ground with them, he managed to stand up once more.

No, that was only partly true. Summer's ghost was pushing him forward, refusing to let him die. He could feel it.

Cardin seemed horrified. Despite all his bravado, the typical threats of a bully, he was still a stupid child. His rage, his determination, everything, everything was false and soft, a shadow of true emotions.

He did not care. One way or another he was going to make him pay for his mistakes.

He lunged at Cardin like a tiger, pulling him out of the arena and smashing him into the nearest wall. He stopped him from moving by nailing the tips of his legs close to his head, neck and torso. If he wanted to escape that trap, he would have to destroy himself, for the legs were as sharp as razor wire. He would have done it without hesitation. Whatever it took to survive. But, as he had said before, Cardin was only a child. And as such, he became a slave to fear. How regrettable.

But that was not going to save his life.

"I'm sorry," said Cardin in a low, almost mournful voice. It didn't sound like a plea for his life. But what did that matter now?

Jaune twisted his neck and ripped his head off. The blood gushed out, flew everywhere. The floor, the walls, on him. Jaune opened his mouth and drank as if were dying of thirst. He smiled with red lips like a woman's and teeth smeared with blood.

He threw the body aside. It landed between the bleachers, causing the frightened crowd to finally move. But to escape, not to attack.

Jaune heard a crack. His instinct made him turn in time to see Goodwitch's whip crossing the air, heading towards him, like a bullet fired from a cannon. He prepared himself.

Ruby got in the middle of them. She was unarmed, so she could only stop the blow with her own body. She gasped in pain and fell on her knees. The red mark on one of her cheeks made his blood boil.

Ruby turned her head to look at him. She looked shocked, but not in pain. He thought she had acted on instinct, just like him before.

"Please stop this."

Jaune looked away. He could not stand the way those silver eyes he loved so much were looking at him now. Nor her words of pain. But there was no turning back.

He arched his back, extended his arms as if he wanted to embrace the sky, and roared. The roar echoed within the walls of the classroom like the aftershock of an earthquake.

His eyes scanned the retreating crowd. In their haste, the students were only hindering each other. He spotted one of the members of CRDL who were still alive.

He jumped. He landed on the stands and ran instantly. The reach and strength of the spider legs greatly increased his speed, the kid had no chance of slipping away. He rose from the ground, having been trampled by several students. He turned around. Seeing him approaching, he clenched his teeth and lifted a dagger in each hand. They looked like toys.

The boy whose name he didn't even remember didn't try to beg, he just attacked. Once again, Jaune was faster. He pierced his chest with two legs, using the remaining legs to maintain balance despite his injuries. It was as easy as that, as if he had no aura to protect him.

Concentration was required to keep ones aura stable, and fear had taken that away from him, as well as the chance to save his life.

His enemy's blood was like a purifying rain. Jaune closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation, forgetting for long moments where he was, what he felt, forgetting the pain of his wounds, which were disappearing, but slowly. Something struck him, he opened his eyes suddenly. He grabbed the railing to avoid falling.

Goodwitch's whip, once again. Persistent whore. Didn't she realize that he had no interest in fighting her, that he only wanted to massacre the two remaining pigs? Why did she get in his way?

Kill them, Summer's voice resounded inside his skull like a bell. Don't let even one of them escape.

Goodwitch was coming, and fast, but he didn't really care about that. He took one last look at Ruby, who was stunned and kneeling on one side of the arena. Her eyes were empty. There was no sign of her feelings. Not a twisted face, not the gleam of tears, not even a slight trembling of the lips.

Jaune clenched his teeth and ran out of there.

Jaune was running through the corridors like a wild animal. The students, supposedly trained to be protectors of humanity, invariably fled before him, running in the opposite direction or slamming the door of the bedroom shut after going out to see what all the fuss was about.

He caught a student, circling her waist with one of his front legs, and dragged the girl behind him to make the teachers think twice before attacking him. She was unarmed, so the student was a helpless prisoner, she could only try to open the leg with her bare hands. And that's what she did, she didn't lack courage. Without looking, he smashed her against a wall with all his strength, to disorientate her and weaken her resistance. The cracks spread through the wall like the threads of a spider's web.

A little further on, he threw the student against a window. He slid beneath her and between the rain of broken glass while she fell, and made use of the spider legs to maintain his balance as he rose to his feet.

He kept running.

He had lost sight of the other two members, and had no chance of killing them. At least not if he wanted to escape with his life. Summer would never forgive him if he died without keeping his promise.

Jaune slipped on his own blood and fell to his knees in the grass. He gathered the strength to stand. For a moment he thought he had made it, but he fell again.

He punched the ground several times, as if something so insignificant could alleviate, if only a little, his anger and frustration.

"Damn it," he muttered. "If it's going to end like this, why have I survived all this time?"

He realized he was crying, and he felt like laughing at himself. The monster, at the end of his suffering, could do nothing but complain about his fate.

Wheezing like a dog, he turned around to take a look at those who would be his executioners. Goodwitch, Port and Peach. Ozpin came from behind them. He knew he was strong, but not how he fought, what were the capabilities of that cane. He was at a disadvantage in every way.

Although it seemed like there was no hope, he had to keep fighting. Otherwise, he would never see Ruby's sweet face again. He couldn't even be able to remember her.

"Step aside," Ozpin said. "I'll take care of this."

Jaune laughed. Wounded and covered in blood from head to toe, he stood up. The memory of Ruby's smile made it possible.

"But headmaster..."

"That's an order." The teachers no longer protested, they moved aside. Ozpin looked at him. "Are you still in there, Jaune Arc?"

He was on all fours. His other legs rose above his back like the wings of some strange creature that lived only in myths. He did not reply. He did not know how to do it. And even if he did, would that make him spare his life? No way. He, who seemed to be a Grimm that could take human form, was a monster that had to die.

But I will not make it easy for you, bastard.

"I'm sorry," Ozpin said. He didn't know if it was true or not.

Jaune ran towards him. He would have called this a miracle, if he believed in miracles. He stopped a few feet away. He planted his feet on the ground with enough strength to create cracks beneath them. The spider legs cut through the air like swords, each moving in a different direction. And, at the same time, he executed a overhead strike with Crocea Mors. It was like a hammer working in the forge. Like thunder falling.

Somehow, Ozpin managed to stop each and every one of his attacks, the legs with his cane and the sword with the tip of one finger. Jaune stared. Not even in his worst nightmares would he have imagined that the difference between him and the headmaster was so enormous.

Even if he were lucky enough to beat that monster, the teachers would finish him off before he could do anything else.

In his current state, at least.

Yes, he thought he had lost it all that day, ten years ago, but his heart knew he could still sacrifice something else: the illusion of humanity with which he covered himself like an old blanket. His face twisted like that of a dying beast. He opened his mouth, clenched his teeth.

A white ghost staggered among the intense snowfall, which seemed to be in the process of burying the world. The holes left by her boots were filled in a matter of seconds. The wind was cold as steel against her neck, causing the cloak to spread its wings behind her. It was easy to miss, but the woman carried a child in her arms. And she was bleeding, mortally wounded.

No one knew how much she had run and struggled to get here, but she would go no further. She collapsed, and the child fell with her. The wind howled louder for a few seconds, as if something beyond human comprehension was celebrating that woman's imminent death.

The boy pulled his arms out, grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. What if she didn't open her eyes again? What if...?

He realized she was still alive, albeit barely. She looked at him with eyes blurred by pain and blood loss. Although he still had no words for it, only certain associated images came to him, the boy understood at that very moment that everything was over. His savior, whose name he did not know, smiled at him with a pale face and bloodstained lips.

"Hey," she muttered, wrapping him in her arms, in her thick, warm cloak. And in the smell of blood. "Your name is... Jaune, right?

The boy nodded.

"I can't continue," she admitted, "but you shouldn't have any problems. Get up and walk in a straight line. Very soon..." She stopped suddenly, coughed several times and swallowed. A thread of blood slipped between her lips and down her chin. "Very soon you will see a town, a safe and warm place."

"Come with me."

The woman smiled sweetly.

"I can't. I can't even walk anymore."

"I'll carry you." He knew he didn't have the strength for that, but he said it anyway. He had the strange sensation that his chest was a panel of glass, that his furious heartbeats would end up shattering it.

"Hush, Jaune. Please listen to me. I need you to promise me something. Can you do that?"

"First tell me your name."

A second passed. The woman squeezed him harder.

"Summer Rose."

Summer. The symbol of rebirth, like the dawn. No wonder she was so beautiful. Her silver eyes, although blurred, were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in her life.

"I have a daughter," she continued. "Her name is Ruby, and she's what matters most to me in this world. You must protect her in my place. No matter what happens."

"I'm sorry."

Summer caressed the top of his head.

"Don't worry. I don't regret saving you, and an ending like this is good in its own way. I wish... I wish I could have said goodbye to my family. But it's too late for that." She covered his mouth with one hand. "Promise me, Jaune. You have to promise me."

"Don't leave me alone. I will protect her for the rest of my life, so close your eyes and rest. Summer, I'll bring help."

She put one hand on his back, gently.

"Ah, if only I could have said goodbye..."

"Don't talk like that. Don't talk like..."

She looked him in the eye.

"Go. Go and..."

She suddenly fell silent.

"Summer?"

Silence. The wind howled, shaking the world.

Jaune roared like a wild animal, out of anger and pain. He grew mandibles like that of a spider, slowly and painfully. Blood and fragments of broken bone flew away.

He pushed with all his might, but it was not enough. A crack spread across the sword. Seconds later it exploded in his hands, and he flew backwards. The fragments of his family's only memento shone in the sunlight like sparks from a bonfire before falling with him. Blood continued to run down his face, mixed with the bitter tears.

Ozpin approached him. He had not even managed to scratch him. The sun shone over his head, turning his face into an inhuman shadow.

"Tell me, are you a creation of Salem?" He calmly asked, as if nothing of importance had happened. What the hell was he talking about? "No, it doesn't matter. Even if that's the truth, you wouldn't know it. I don't know who you really are, but again, I'm sorry. I promise it won't hurt. That it will be very fast."

He took one more step. He stopped and looked to the side. He had felt something. Jaune as well. The broken pieces of his blade were expelling a fog, and that fog gathered and formed a ghost right in front of him.

Ozpin was paralyzed. The cane slipped between his fingers, rolled over the grass. He staggered backwards, fell to his knees.

"This can't be happening," he muttered to himself.

Yang grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back, restraining her. Ruby resisted with all her might.

"Let me go!"

"If you do go out there, he'll kill you. Don't you understand? He's a monster."

Ruby looked at her. Yang froze. It wasn't the first time someone had looked at her with rage, but the first time she had done it with total seriousness.

"Shut up," she spat. "You don't know what you're talking about. He fought to protect me; he's doing that even now. It's all he wants and all he can do. He would never hurt me. Not me. And I am the only person who can stop this."

Yang grabbed her other shoulder and slammed her against a wall. Her hair light on fire, her eyes became red like blood.

"What are you doing? Have you gone crazy?"

"That's my line. Listen, Ruby, he's not the only person who wants to protect you. And if by doing I make you hate me, so be it. But I won't let you end up like the others."

Ruby scrambled to get away, but it was useless. She knew from the beginning that she could not beat her sister in that. Though she also knew that Yang wished her no harm, it was oppressive and terrifying. She bowed her head.

"Let me go, please."

"When all this is over."

"I beg of you. He is all that's left of mom."

Yang opened her eyes wide.

"What did you say?"

Ruby took advantage of the momentary hesitation to slip away and run. The fight with Ozpin had ended with Jaune's defeat. If she didn't hurry, he would die before her eyes. She would have to hold him while he bled to death. No, no, anything but that. Anything but that.

That day, ten years ago, she thought she had lost everything. She had found strength to continue in the memory of her mother and the idea that her life from now on would be like a tribute to her, a way to honor her. That, and no other, was her reason for living. And now the boy his mother had died to save was in danger.

How could she allow such an atrocity? How could she remain a observer and wait for the end? As far as she was concerned, it was as if they were thinking of desecrating her mother's body.

No matter what happened, even if she had to sacrifice everything she had, she would protect him. If her determination meant becoming the enemy of the world, she would accept that as her destiny.

Summer knelt on the floor, covering him with the white cloak that lurked in his nightmares. Jaune barely noticed that. He felt like he was already dead.

"Jaune! Jaune!" Ruby's voice made his heartbeat speed up. He couldn't believe it, but it wasn't just his imagination, she was getting closer and was worried about him. She didn't hate him.

Ruby suddenly stopped. For a moment, mother and daughter crossed glances again.

"Mom?"

Summer vanished like morning mist, leaving no trace. That exposed him. Jaune screamed.

"Don't look at me!" He crawled backwards, trying to cover himself with his hands, while the metamorphosis of his body progressed inexorably. He was unable to control himself. "Please don't look at me. I don't want you to see me like this."

"Ruby, get away," Ozpin said. "He's dangerous."

She nailed him to the spot with her gaze. Sparks of anger danced in her silver eyes, the omen of a fire. She moved on. Jaune stepped back and stopped before he fell headlong down the cliff. He turned his head to take a glance. The endless blue sky stretched beneath him, the clouds seemed to traverse invisible rails through that expanse.

"Don't be afraid," Ruby muttered. She knelt in front of him. He put his hands on top of his and pushed them down. He knew what he must look like, drenched in blood, turned into a kind of humanoid spider. The deep wounds on his cheeks, which left his teeth visible at all times, completed the effect of a monster in a horror movie. Yet her smile did not fade, nor did she tremble even a little. "Look at me. I am here with you, I always will be."

"I lied to you." His voice sounded distorted, inhuman.

"So what? I haven't told you some things either. That's how the world works, your silence is not a crime."

"But that..."

"It doesn't matter." She squeezed his hands. "Only the two of us matter, okay? You and me. Take me hostage."

"What are you...?"

"It's the only way to escape with your life, and you know it." She let go of his hands. "Do it."

Jaune looked into her eyes for a long time. Despite his horrible appearance, she didn't look away either and didn't show a shred of disgust. It was almost as if nothing had changed.

He had to lean on her to stand. He put his legs together and lifted them behind his back, so that Ozpin and the others would not see the movement and had no reason to suspect.

"Thank you," she said. Raising her voice, she added, "I'm glad you've come to your senses."

Jaune set himself in motion. Ozpin moved to intervene, but by then it was too late. He wrapped her with his spider legs. One around the waist, one near the chest, the next against her neck.

"You son of a bitch!" Yang screamed. She looked ready to attack him, despite everything. But she didn't.

He placed a blood-stained hand, like the rest of his body, on Ruby's chin, leaving red marks on her porcelain skin.

"Jaune, don't be stupid." She acted well, even under pressure. He expected nothing less of her. "What good will this do?"

Ruby resisted weakly, and he exerted force with his legs. It had to look real.

"I'm satisfied with surviving for the moment. After that... after... I'll think about it when the time comes. Don't take another step, Ozpin. If you try anything, I'll kill her."

"I don't believe you."

"Because I love her? That's true." He looked at Ruby. She looked back at him. "That's why, if she can't be mine, she won't belong to anyone."

Jaune jumped backwards into the void.

He heard gasps, sobs, and a scream before they disappeared amid the clouds.

"What the fuck are you thinking?" It was the first thing Ruby shouted, without a shred of shame, as soon as she recovered her voice. The wind took her words away, but she was sure Jaune heard her.

"Don't speak; you'll bite your tongue. And I need to focus."

Ruby remained silent and trusted him. Jaune surrounded her with his arms. After a while that seemed to last forever, something appeared in her peripheral vision. Huge, black wings, like those of a Nevermore. The spider legs were gone. Surely he had used them as material to build the wings.

Jaune took flight, executed a quick, sudden twist that formed a knot in her stomach. She covered her mouth with one hand. She thought she was going to vomit, but she did not.

"Have you ever dreamed of flying following the horizon, without destination, without stopping?" His inhuman voice was tinged with a very human pain.

Ruby didn't know how to respond. He was talking about something different from what he was saying, as usual.

They flew silently for miles. The wind swirled her hair, caressed her cheeks. Vale soon extended under them. From that height, the houses seemed about their size and the people small and dark like splashes of blood. She imagined Jaune fainting or losing strength in his arms, dropping her. Without her Crescent Rose, she could do nothing to avoid the fall, and her aura would not save her. She clung to him tighter.

Jaune stopped suddenly. The wings stretched out behind him like uneven halves of a ragged cloak. Ruby maintained her silence.

He moved just as suddenly again, plummeting toward Vale, wings retracted close to his body. They landed in some alley. Jaune released her. His wings collapsed. The wind carried away the feathers scattered everywhere, it made for a beautiful spectacle.

Jaune fell to his knees and vomited blood.

"Shit." She crouched in front of him and... and nothing. What could she do for him?

"Don't worry," he said, his face red and covered with sweat. "It looks bad, but my wounds are healing. I'm not going to die in a place like this." He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. "Go. Go back to where you belong. It won't be difficult for them to believe that you managed to escape from me."

"Jaune..." She swallowed.

"Why are you looking at me with those eyes? You shouldn't worry about me. I am a monster. "

"That's not true." She placed one hand on his heart and the other on one shoulder. "The only thing that has changed is the way you look. I can still hear the love and kindness in your voice. I can still hear you.

Jaune lifted his head and closed his eyes. One of the last black feathers passed over them at that very moment.

"Kindness," he repeated slowly, as if it were the first time he had heard the word.

"Let me go with you."

He looked into her eyes.

"They won't allow me to live. You know that. Otherwise you wouldn't have asked me to take you hostage. I'll spend the rest of my life hiding like a rat. If you come with me, you'd have to do the same. You, who only dreams of protecting the people, fighting against other human beings. No." He shook his head gently. "No. You would never be happy like that."

"I don't care."

"You think I don't see the sadness in your eyes?"

Ruby bit her lower lip hard. She tasted blood.

"I love you so much," Jaune said.

"I know." She kissed him. She didn't doubt, despite the blood, despite that the mandibles scraped her skin. It was a clumsy, disgusting and even a little painful kiss. Nothing like the other kisses they had shared. And yet, there she found something that no one else could give her. "I know. I love you too. That's why I'll do what you ask... and I'll make sure they understand that you're not a threat."

Jaune smiled.

"That you can think like that shows you're a better person than me."

Ruby stood up. Sooner or later, the police or maybe some curious citizen would come to the alley to see what was going on. It would be best to disappear before that happened.

"Wait a minute," Jaune said. He grabbed one of the many feathers that had fallen in the alley and got up.

"What's the matter?"

Jaune stroked her right cheek with the feather, which was razor-sharp, drawing a red line along it.

"There. It will be more believable like this."

She nodded.

"Take care of yourself. We'll meet again."

Ruby turned around and ran out of the alley. She remembered Jaune's face, his true face. From there, she would draw the strength to move forward.