Watching Jaune Again!

by NigmaShady

People of Remnant are pulled into another theater watching different scenarios of one Jaune Arc except there's a twist. What do you mean they go back to their reality? What do you mean he might go into watching himself along with the cast of characters? A different take on the react trend in RWBY fics. (Changed to Rated M in chapter 5) (Discontinued)

11. Elopes and Arkos Whilst in Despair

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY since that is the intellectual property of Rooster Teeth and the late great Monty Oum. I also do not own the fanfic that will be used for reaction 'Time Travelling Trolls' by Romantic Silence. I also do not own Danganronpa since the ones who own it are Spike Chunsoft. If I did… I would have made a killing game where all of the cast of V1, V2, and V3 were stuck in the halls of Hope's Peak. But someone already made it, his name is Crit Fail's "A New Hope". That amazing son of a bitch managed to trick me so hard in that twist. Easily the Coeur of that fandom. I also do not own the fanfic I will use which is The Apocryphal One's "Extra Life".

Why haven't I updated and why did it take me about sixteen days to make this chapter... to make one that is 20k+ words, I guess.

I truly don't know if people actually read this author notes and look and my answers to reviews or questions. Because a lot of pm's and reviews are telling the same question, do I need to really reiterate my answer?

I'll do something special since we passed 500 follows, I want to make a special chapter that gives thanks to this community for becoming amazing supporters. Also I want to explain why a new chapter was taking so long besides becoming depressed with Meeting the Parents. So if we pass in the follows Another God-Dang React Fic by ManOffTheWall and reach 500 reviews then I will do it. Since you guys don't like suspenseful teasers, I'll just say it. I'll do Solo Leveling and Fire Force.

Also in the next chapter that has a teaser at the end, I really, really want more reviews for this story before I release it. I know it sounds selfish but let me expalin my reasons. One, this chapter is very special, to me it's the best I've made since the first chapter, I haven't even finished the whole scenario and it's nearly 20k+ words. Second, I need to improve my writing, so I need more reviews. Three, the review to favorite to follow gap is really, really big by now. It's like people have no opinion of my story.

Warning: Someone wanted me to do dark… ok. It gets pretty dark in the second scenario. Like I let my inner emo back when I was fifteen control me in that moment. I actually dreamt about this… I think I need help. Have fun with the despair!

Editor Note: He really went all in...

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So to answer the main suggests or questions from the reviews, also very special because not only am I answering but also The Exiled Darkness.

Question 1: Why do Arkos if Pyrrha is portrayed like this?

Shady-kun: Because for me it's the most underdeveloped in this community, I also want to improve my writing by creating a romance that in the start breaks what makes it a romance. To be fair, Rooster Teeth can't create Arkos because Pyrrha was a throwaway character, she couldn't be improved upon because her purpose was to die. Memento mori in its finest, you can actually see this best in Season 3. I feel like Pyrrha was a stepping stone for Jaune to go with Ruby but they went for Oscar… because I guess they like pedophilia.

Darkness-san: To do Arkos is hard, Pyrrha was mainly a throw-away character who was meant to die. As rude as that sounds, that was one of her end purposes. If you want to show a reality where she is actually shown to have a chance with Jaune, then you could potentially do Restart by Masseffect-TxS.

Shady-kun: I agree in the sense where you really need to do a restart fanfic to accomplish this but I believe it's because of the communities' own constraints on how to do Arkos that makes this the only viable option. Darkness-san, is Pyrrha really in love with Jaune or in love with the idea of the normal falling in love with the abnormal.

Darkness-san: I think a lot of people don't get Arkos. They always define Pyrrha as a hapless maiden in love with Jaune being the dense idiot who can't take a clue. I believe that if Pyrrha didn't die, then we would have eventually had a genuine Arkos relationship. But they would've drifted apart because they weren't compatible enough. Plus, Pyrrha was holding Jaune back from his growth. I feel that Pyrrha only likes the idea of Jaune not being aware of her fame, and while later on genuinely loving him, I don't think Jaune would feel the same. His motivations are purely to become a huntsman and romance second. Hell, his infatuation with Weiss was more of a joke than a real courting process. Monty, Miles, and Kerry even said so.

Question 2: Should Jaune be this dense?

Shady-kun: Honestly, in the anime, he really is socially awkward and dense. They try to explain it because he's a farm boy but in fanfictions like this one… it has to be exaggerated or blown out of proportion to create drama or fluff.

Darkness-san: I believe that Jaune isn't dense. I believe that he chose not to believe that Pyrrha had feelings for him because of his social awkwardness and his low confidence and ignored it believing that it was a trick or something. I actually think that Jaune is more focused on becoming a huntsman rather than a boyfriend or anything else. His attempt to go out with Weiss being a gag joke rather than anything serious.

Question 3: Do Erased?

Shady-kun: Let me be clear, why would I touch a piece of shit that ate a piece of shit and dumped a piece of shit that showed itself as complex but was still a piece of shit. When Jojo is a better mystery anime than you, you shouldn't exist, suffer Diavolo's endless deaths. Get the fuck out of here. If you didn't exist, the netorare genre in anime wouldn't have become so popular. I blame you for Love and Lies, Domestic Girlfriend and Darling in the Franxx episode 11, 12 and 17. The fuck would anyone want to get purposefully cucked like that. I will never do the five anime I truly hate: Akame Ga Kill, Erased, Charlotte, Evangelion, and Yuri on Ice.

Darkness-san: Screw Erased. I tried watching that anime but it was so boring.

Shady-kun: This is why I got an editor like this. A man of true culture and high IQ. He also puts up with me, way better than my last editor.

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Ruby and Yang ran towards the newly revived Summer and hugged her tightly while crying out loud. The silver eyed huntress smiled since she had utterly missed this. She rubbed their backs with her hands while softly whispering. "My babies! I'm so proud of you for what you have done. I'm sorry for everything I've done but I'm back for now. Maybe we can have more time to be together."

The two sisters stopped crying and looked at their actual mother and nodded as they said together. "Welcome back, mom!"

Summer was grateful to the entity for giving the opportunity for her to reunite with her family and her friends. She looked to see Raven who still had a stunned expression on her normally stoic face. She then shook her head and decided to look away. Summer sighed since her death would of course change her and her relationship to the team.

She then noticed Jaune Arc who was staring at her as soon as she entered the room with those two other boys. He then shyly turned away when he noticed that she was directly looking at him with a gracious smile. 'So he's the reason why I get to spend this amount of time with my daughters and my wonderful Tai. I should thank him later.'

Neptune whispered to Sun who was looking at the warm family reunion whilst staring intensively at the black cat faunus. "Bro… where the hell did we go?"

Sun shrugged his shoulders. "Well I don't know why we're here. But I ain't complaining."

Neptune countered his critique since it seemed like he had other concerns. "Oh, come on. You're only happy because she's here. In case you don't notice I have an iffy relationship with the Schnee going on."

Sun laughed at his friend's distress over the awkward actions that the blue haired teen committed at the dance. "Don't worry about it. Hey Blake!"

He turned his attention to his totally not so obvious crush who only looked at his direction before turning back to the warm family scene. 'Yes! She looked in my direction, definitely an improvement considering there's no White Fang to act as a starting point.'

Summer was able to say her piece to her daughters, then she gave a huge bear hug to Qrow and Tai who were still stunned. "I missed you guys."

The two older men beamed at this and hugged the recently deceased mother of two tightly, they had wished for a scene like this to happen. Now it was here and they didn't want to let it go.

The Creator coughed loudly to get everyone's attention. "Now that everyone's settled down I guess. With our new arrivals, our room has become too crowded to maintain."

"Why can't you extend the room's capability?"

The Creator grimaced from Weiss' question. Better speak the truth this time. "Because I'm lazy and I want everyone to be able to react without it being too bloated. So some may leave for now but they could always come back when they least expect it."

Roman and Neo suddenly disappeared along with Adam which caused Blake to release a sigh of relief from the loss of her ex-boyfriend slash mentor. It meant that things were going to be safer and more orderly around here.

The Creator then looked at Glynda. "I would ask for you to go as well, not because you're not needed. But I must inform you that Mr. Port and Mr. Oobleck are now currently creating a golden lemur statue from your-"

Without a word, Glynda growled and disappeared. An awkward silence fell in the room until a loud cough from Ozpin disturbed the silence. "Well, if my deputy is gone then who shall-"

"How did I get here?" A beautiful fair skinned woman appeared as her platinum blonde hair and blue eyes shone towards the men. Most of her hair was in a half-bun style, with a small bun on the top, and the remainder of her long hair hanging at the bottom. Most of her bangs were tied back, barring several large locks that framed her face to her left.

She wore a white, two piece dress consisting of a sleeveless, diagonally overlapping white pleated top with a raised, pale blue collar adorned with an aquamarine colored rhombus-shaped crystal on the clavicle, surrounded by two smaller white rhombuses. Her long, high-waist skirt was white with a faint purple tint - adorned with white diamond emblems and white wavy lines near the bottom hem, ruffled around the waist and completed with a purple sash. For accessories, she wore gray, circular earrings and a pair of dull brown bracers, and her long fingernails were painted pale lilac.

While the rest of the men were currently staring at the goddess that had descended on the mortal realm. Ozpin had a face of regret and anger but he couldn't stop looking at her. Especially in her human form.

On the other hand, the Creator simply went to the newly arrived woman and whispered in her ear. A look of amusement was seen in her face before becoming stoic again. She then sat down next to Ozpin to where Glynda was.

She gave a charming smile and raised a hand for a handshake. "Hello my name is Juniper. Nice to meet you, I guess I'll be staying here for a while."

Ozpin looked at her hand and quickly looked away. In response, the blonde woman started to tear up as James sneered at his comrade. "Oz?! How dare you ignore this woman's try?! I'm sorry for my friend, my name is James. And you are?"

She looked to James and gave a smile that could have warmed his metal heart. "My name is Juniper. I'm pleased to see all of you."

Juniper or Salem was obviously amused at Ozma's reaction to her, did it- No! She curb stomped that thought before it could be formed. She also noticed that Cinder had not realized that she was there. Well to be fair, she had not seen her in this form.

She was not amused to find out she had been whisked away by another god to do his bidding. This time it was to watch… that would be boring but he assured her that there will be times where she would be excited on what would be shown on screen.

Cinder couldn't shake off the feeling that the new girl was somehow very familiar and she was really curious as to Ozpin's reaction. It was like him staring at a rattlesnake about to bite him… perhaps ex-lovers. She looked at the Creator. "What is next?"

The Creator smiled. "Well for Summer, I decided to get something special. And for the other one… it will be interesting."

The screen turned on to show Yang who was fidgeting nervously whist in her group of friends. She didn't mean to ditch her baby sister. Frankly, she'd rather spend time with her than the 'friends' she took off with. Not that she didn't like them or anything, but Ruby would always be her number one priority over anything else. It was both a genuine feeling and an excuse to reject some of the boys that couldn't 'no' for a hint. Nah, the peeps she ditched Ruby for were not exactly the kind she'd expect to always watch her back. To party with, on the other hand…

Yang gulped nervously as she was expecting Summer to scold her for doing such an action in the first day of Beacon. Summer instead rubbed her head gently and chuckled. "It's ok Yang. Never forget your own life. Ruby's a grown-up girl, she needs to spread her wings to find new friends."

Ruby complained by giving a cute pout, those were horrible memories of an explosion. "But mom! She left me!"

Her reason for ditching her cute, adorable, and absolutely socially awkward baby sister was that the girl needed to actually socialize.

Summer gave a smug smile to the fidgeting Ruby. "You shouldn't make your whole life about killing Grimm. You need to go out and get more friends."

Ruby sighed since she knew she couldn't beat her mom even with her puppy-dog eyes. "Fine. I'll try."

Summer hugged her biological daughter tightly and gave her a small kiss on the forehead. "That's all I ask."

Sure, she had a 'gang' back in Signal, but Yang checked up on them and knew they weren't exactly close—though Ruby probably thought they were. Nah, those folks just cozied up to Ruby at first because she was Uncle Qrow's favorite niece and they would do anything to get on his good side. Of course, they stayed with her because Ruby was super cool, but by that point Yang crossed them off her list of people to keep around lil' Rubes.

Was she being overprotective and a little bit controlling? No way. At least, she hoped she wasn't. Ruby never seemed to complain except when she handled her a bit roughly. Not her fault she was so small!

Still… Ruby's lack of social skills when it came to making friends out of strangers did concern her a bit. Big Sis Yang was not always going to be around even if she always wanted to. Ruby needed to fly on her own and who better to give her the shove out of the nest than momma bird herself?

Blake muttered. "Big sis? More like overprotective mom."

Summer laughed at Yang's response being a growl as animalistic as a faunus could get. But she couldn't shake off the sadness of where it was her death that caused this. However she could at least spend this time with her loved ones even if the one responsible for her death was sitting to the guy who gave her the suicide mission in the first place. 'They really do kind of fit as a couple.'

Besides, it's not like she'll latch on to a creep at the slightest show of kindness. Ruby was a bit naïve, but not that naïve. She drilled into her head never to accept sweets from strangers no matter how tempted she would be. Gods know that was struggle.

Weiss laughed. "Well I don't think you could remove cookies from that equation."

"Yo, Yang, what's up?" One of the boys asked her. She forgot his name, but she knew that he was in her class last year. Never really talked to him much, but she did faintly remember him saying he was planning to go to Beacon. Looks like he got accepted despite her pummeling him every time in the ring.

Yang grinned up to him, leaving her worries behind. "Nah, I'm cool. What'd you guys do for Spring Break anyway?"

Most of the boys and some of the girls in the group smiled and started bragging about their vacation. She had a feeling they were trying to impress her, but she couldn't care less about it. Least they were predictable, shallow though they were.

Conversation flowed au natural from there. They were too busy talking about themselves to notice Yang only talking to make a token response of how 'cool' or 'awesome' they were for doing whatever it was they did. Her mind was elsewhere, after all.

Was it really right to abandon Ruby like that? What if Ruby got lost? Worse, what if she exploded? That wouldn't be possible, right? Worst of all, what if she already did something to expel herself?

"She did. She sneezed on dust and created a crater. That's why you're still Crater Face." Jaune taunted as Ruby pouted.

She yelled out. "At least I don't get sick every time there's a moving vehicle, Vomit Boy!"

"I already told you! It's more common than you would think!" Jaune argued.

Gods, she was a horrible sister and…

No, Yang, she whispered to herself, slow down. They were in Beacon Academy, their headmaster was the chillest guy around since he let Ruby in early, and no matter how disastrous Ruby was in all social endeavors, she wasn't bad enough to do something as stupid as exploding or being expelled like in those anime Ruby liked to watch.

Still, she worried.

Summer giggled at Yang's embarrassed expression. "It's alright Yang, you got that from your father. It also means you love your sister very much."

Yang mumbled nervously, something uncharacteristic of her normally loud and proud behavior. "I can't help it."

"Sorry, guys, I have to cut our chat short. It's almost time to meet up in the auditorium."

Actually, she didn't know if it was at all, but her 'friends' didn't seem to mind and they all started walking over to that place or whatever you call it where teachers make boring speeches that they think would inspire you. Ozpin seemed to be the sort to do something like that. He got that wise man thing going on with the coffee and cane motif he was going for; at least that's how Ruby described him.

As luck would have it, many other students were making their way into the assembly hall too. Man, could she guess them or what? Still, there was no sign of a red hood anywhere, but maybe her sis just had the runs. Some kid vomited on the airship earlier, and it wasn't the first time sheer nervousness made Ruby run to the bathroom. Granted, she was six at the time, but, like, it still counted. A big sister never forgets!

"Oh my Oum! Just stop, don't tell them anymore!" Yang's overprotective nature made a lot of the audience just laugh out loud especially when they revealed more secrets that the red reaper did not want to have anyone else see.

Mercury murmured. "So what the hell is the sex god going to do now?"

Some chick next to her was talking to her. Was she flirting? Yang didn't know and she didn't much care. Smile and nod, and people would think you're a bonafide listener. She was busy searching for Ruby in the crowd.

Just as worry started to fill her heart, she saw her super adorable sis rushing in. Yang beamed.

"Ruby!" Yang called out, waving her hand that signaled her to come over.

Weiss grumbled. "Not as adorable as Zwei."

Nora laughed. "Aww, I knew Yang loved Rubes this much. I didn't expect her to be like Renny for me."

Ren simply sighed at the accusation. "I am not."

The girl called out looked around confused for a bit before her silver eyes settled on her. She started rushing over. It was then that she noticed that she wasn't alone. For some weird reason, Ruby was holding some blonde noodle's hand. Wait, wasn't he the kid that puked on the ride over? Of all the people to befriend…

Ruby finally raced over with a big smile on her face. "Yang! This is Jaune!"

The blond noodle waved, giving off a stupid, hapless smile. Rubes sure knew how to pick'em. Now, she was never one to judge a book by its cover, but, honestly, this guy was just screaming harmless. If it wasn't for the fact that she didn't go around punching random people without due cause (and Ruby was a big girl with a giant scythe so she could handle herself if push comes to shove).

Yang laughed. "He's the blonde noodle after all."

Jaune pouted. "I'm trying to gain some muscle you know. I want to scream danger."

Pyrrha smiled at her leader's insistence to be someone more threatening. "I don't think that's possible. To be fair Jaune, you have a really cute baby face." Jaune pouted even more at hearing Pyrrha say that but his teammates laughed instead.

"Sup, Jaune. I'm Yang. Rubes' big sis." She greeted him politely enough, grinning up at him. Tall, blonde, and a noodle—any girl with a maternal instinct would want to just nab him up. Herself included if she didn't like her dudes… well, not likely to die on his first mission, is somewhere in the ball park.

Summer giggled. "Oh, Yang. You can't do that. How will Ruby find herself a good man if you will just traumatize him?"

Yang grumbled. "I can't help it. What should I do?"

Summer smiled. "Encourage him to make grandbabies for me and Tai." The remaining Xiao-Long and Rose family were shocked, how she could even propose that off the rip. Raven simply sighed because she knew who Summer as a person really was, she didn't care about what others deemed as normal.

He waved. "Hi. Like Ruby said, I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc. Nice, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it." He winked, but Yang had a feeling it was more of a joke than an attempt to flirt. Nice. She liked guys with a sense of humor.

"Do they?" She challenged, raising an eyebrow.

Ruby giggled. "I do! He's my boyfriend!"

… Mercury then prostrated himself to the floor. "The Sex God is back! He even got a girl without even being cool, they just met!"

Jaune blushed heavily especially when Summer looked at his direction and giggled. That meant he had… flirted and got a girlfriend after her dust accident. Shouldn't he feel a bit weirded out that Ruby still wasn't legal? 'I think these scenarios are messing with my rational thinking to replace it with desires. Also how am I a sex god?'

… "Wait, WHAT?!"

Yang growled. "My thoughts exactly."

Blake simply laughed at the timing of these events. "I guess it all started with a crater."

Glynda glared at her colleague who had refused to even bother helping with what had happened earlier in the auditorium. The structural damages were going to be a pain in budget. "I warned you."

The headmaster nodded. "You did."

Ozpin was amused from the nearly identical back and forth that Glynda would do when she was right. "It is funny to see."

Juniper giggled. "Yes, quite so. It seems you are still incapable of making the right actions up till now. You need others to clean up your messes, since you're lazy."

Ozpin's response was to clench his fist and actually destroy the coffee mug causing his special brand to fall to his legs but it didn't affect him. He directed all his attention at Juniper with a glare so fierce that all the others in the audience shivered in fear. Juniper simply responded with a smirk while Raven commented. "Whoever this girl is… I like her."

"Yang Xiao Long—while a remarkable fighter—tends to be overzealous in her emotions. Especially when it comes to matters regarding her sister."

"Temperance will be gained with time. Need I remind you of a similar young, blonde woman with a fierce… personality back in her youth?" Ozpin simply smirked when he saw Glynda's hands tighten around her riding crop.

James sputtered with a cough as Ozpin directed his attention to deliver a smug grin at his old friend. "We… Well she was fierce indeed."

Even though with scarlet blushing on her cheeks, she still kept her composure. "Ruby Rose. Qrow taught her well, but, in many ways, too similar to him but lacks the maturity to rein in that recklessness to be an effective Huntress. I recommended against her placement, but you invited her nevertheless."

Ozpin sipped from his coffee mug without a care in the Remnant. "I have explained my reasons."

This time, she did not even bother stopping herself from rolling her eyes. "Last and very much least is Jaune Arc. You and I both know his transcript is a forgery. Must we allow him to play his charade?"

Ozpin chuckled at his colleague's insistence to have the young blonde removed. "Yes, and, for now, we will see how he fares. If he proves himself, what is the harm of having another Huntsman amidst us?"

Juniper chuckled. "So this is how you pick hunters nowadays, Ozpin. Such carefulness. I wonder why the Grimm haven't been beaten yet?"

The sarcasm definitely was dripping since Ozpin grimaced and faced Juniper with a snarl. "I don't expect you to understand how to manage other people, Juniper."

The two stared at each other as lightning escaped from their eyes. None of them realized that they had released a lot of aura to intimidate one another that it was causing the room to feel very uncomfortable. Luckily the Creator was able to solve that problem but the two still glared at each other.

Coco laughed. "Honestly, I feel like if we take our eyes off of them. They'd hate fuck each other."

Juniper chuckled at the suggestion. "Oh but only if he could. If I remember anything from my time with Ozpin, is that he always had a problem of getting up."

Ozpin slammed his fist on another coffee mug that broke instantly while he looked and saw the smug look of Juniper who was definitely enjoying the opportunity to ruin his image.

She sighed, her hand running through her face. "Ozpin, with all due respect, I comply with many, if not all, your more questionable judgments, but do excuse me if I have trouble accepting that their enrollment in Beacon is a boon of any sort."

"Glynda." He called her name in that really infuriating calm voice of his. "I am not a seer. I could not have foreseen Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc to enter into a romantic relationship within minutes of meeting each other."

Pyrrha giggled, she was getting used to that maybe she wouldn't be able to see a situation with her and Jaune. Also Ruby was better for Jaune than Weiss anyways. "I didn't know you were that smooth."

Jaune shrugged his shoulders. "That other me must have been really, really good to impress Ruby like that."

She exploded. "Miss Xiao Long destroyed the entire auditorium!"

"It is a commendable feat. Also credit to you for fixing everything." Ozpin clearly did not see the way Glynda had grinded her teeth and wished to use her semblance to flick him out of his tower.

"Sometimes, is Glynda simply your handyman or your deputy?" James asked to which Ozpin shrugged his shoulders.

"She's whatever the situation calls for, I guess."

"How so? Nearly every passing Huntsmen has the ability to destroy the school twice over if they just so happen to wake up moody."

Ozpin chuckled. "Ah, but am I referring to Miss Xiao Long? No, it is a commendable feat for Jaune Arc to have managed to duck and weave for as long as he have against a formidable Huntress-to-be."

Everyone looked at Jaune as he nervously grumbled. "Why are you all looking at me like that?! Ask him." He then pointed to the screen as if that would help.

Yang groaned. "There's no way I could miss a punch against Lover Boy. I must have been taking it easy then."

Nora pointed out the contradiction. "But Yang… you destroyed the auditorium and it took Pyr and Weiss to stop you."

"… He must have been really lucky then." Yang answered with a frown.

Glynda opened her mouth to oppose, but stopped. She had watched the chaos unfold firsthand and it took her time to calm many of the panicked students. If not for a Miss Nikos and Miss Schnee to assist, she expected the damage would have been more severe. Nevertheless, she reviewed what glimpses she seen of the so-called 'fight' between Miss Xiao Long and Mister Arc. Though the latter never struck back, his movements in dodging the former appeared refine, meaning he did have experience and practice.

Though that posed a certain question: If Jaune Arc was as skilled as she saw, why go to the trouble of forging transcripts? Beacon did have an entrance exam that need not required previous enrollment to a combat school even if prospective students rarely used that option.

"None of this makes sense." She remarked though it came off as more of an indignant grunt than anything refined as one would expect from her.

Ozpin chuckled. "Love never does."

Summer chuckled. "I can attest to that." Tai felt a bit ashamed when Summer when she said that because he knew that his second love never felt anything bad about being the rebound after a week since Raven's departure.

The love of two teenagers who decide to be together after just meeting or the love of a sibling whose concern for their own caused mass rioting and wanton destruction? "I still want them in detention after initiation."

Ozpin sighed. "Glynda… You have to let it-"

She interrupted him. "Two weeks. At the minimum."

James chuckled. "No wonder you made her the deputy."

Ozpin was able to get his coffee and he noticed that Juniper was not going to add anything so he was safe… for now. "Yes, she says she hates work and then wants to have more. Sometimes I can't understand Glynda."

Well he couldn't stop her when she was this insistent about detentions. Less paperwork for him to deal with.

Whilst reading her adult literature, she had come to a conclusion about her new life as a huntress-in-training. Upon reflection, her expectations for Beacon were blown away by reality. Literally.

She expected awkward teenagers. She expected that, even amongst such a diverse group of students, there would be some that may hold biases against Faunus, e.g. the Schnee heiress—why she decided to enter Beacon when Atlas was a better choice for the girl, she couldn't care less to know.

Weiss hmphed at the mention of her 'bias'. "That isn't true, I-"

Ruby chuckled at Weiss' insistence of being fair to faunus despite her previous experiences. "Weiss, you did make Blake go away when-"

"I learned from it Ruby!"

What she did not expect was a whirlwind romance happening within minutes of the airship landing on campus grounds, a protective sibling dueling the paramour, and a finale with sister fighting sister with the younger one fighting to defend the love of her life. For better and for worse, this was exactly the plot of her second favorite series, Knight of Lancaster.

"Hmmm… I've never really read it but I heard it was very popular. Maybe I should read it." Blake talked to herself.

Jaune was confused. "Lancaster… what a weird name for a couple."

Blake knew life was not exactly a bouquet of roses. She understood firsthand the injustices that occurred in the world. How there were many that fought for their lives every day to get a minuscule amount of respect. She watched as others suffered and she, in turn, suffered as well. The world was not kind, but… but…

For just one brief moment, life was like the fantasies she lost herself to. Who knew the boy who puked on the airship and the kid with the rattling knees could illicit such emotions from her. It was almost criminal.

Yang wiggled her eyebrows teasingly at the embarrassed cat. "Aww, you're such a romantic at heart, partner. Who woulda thought?"

Blake growled. "I will end you."

Though it wasn't entirely too bad, Blake couldn't help but think. Try as she might, even as chaos descended upon her as the blonde attacked the other blonde and the younger girl fought back against her sibling, she stood there (in the shadows in safety) morbidly enthralled by it all. Gods, what did that say about her?

"That you are like your stalker, Sun." Weiss drew a comparison between the two faunus as the monkey one stood up to defend his honor.

Sun growled. "Hey, I wasn't stalking, I was just keeping a close eye on Blake. Totally different, guys." Or not… everybody sweat dropped at that lousy defense of one's actions.

Blake sighed, closed her book, stood up, and promptly left. As she exited the hall, Blake held a private prayer for the vomit boy and the socially awkward girl. She had hoped that they would still be able to live out her fantasy after the fight with the girl's sister.

A quick walk would ease her pounding heart, to wall those intrusive thoughts of romance from entering her head. "Come on." She gasped, "The world doesn't operate on fantasy logic."

Neptune spoke his thoughts out loud. "Wouldn't this world count as a fantasy… I mean we have supernatural abilities against monsters. What's next… magic?"

Ozpin coughed out loudly as something got stuck in his throat while Juniper simply snickered at seeing his situation. Cinder's eyes widened as she stared more intently at Juniper who looked behind her and gave her a frightening smile. '… Mistress?!'

As she passed by a door, something caught her eye. The door in question appeared close, but upon inspection she noticed it was not fully shut. Curiosity had her reach forward to see what lied inside.

She froze when a soft, feminine moan reached her ears from the other side of the door.

Emerald groaned in pain. "Another sex scene that we won't get to see. By this point, it's actually softcore."

Nora giggled. "Yeah I wonder who it is. Doing it so late at night when everyone's supposed to go to sleep before the initiation."

"Ruby, shush, you can't be too loud!" It was the blonde noodle! Was he doing what she thought he was actually doing to the girl?

"…Way to go Ruby!" Summer enthusiastically cheered of the new actions. Her daughter was definitely following her example on how to pursue a relationship.

"MOM!" Both sisters were embarrassed especially when a lot of the audience started laughing and… Mercury started praising in Jaune's name while bowing to the floor. Jaune on the other hand had started pounding on the floor as tears fled from his eyes.

"N-No… not this time… the F.B.I is gonna get me."

"I doubt anyone will come around here. You worry too much, Jaune!" It was definitely the younger girl!

"I-"

Summer interrupted Yang and grinned. "You watched her as a girl, now you get to see her become a woman. I also heard you helped in one of those scenarios."

Yang blushed as memories of that time where the two sisters made out with Jaune had flooded her head. She was sane enough to make one complaint. "Wait… you're supposed to be the protective mother? Shouldn't you-"

Summer giggled. "Priorities change when you die. Now that I'm back for a little while, I want to now see my beautiful daughters get many grandbabies." She then looked at Jaune who had gotten out of his fear and blushed. "Maybe with a blonde knight."

She laughed at their tomato red expressions that littered on their faces. 'Was it like this for Raven and I with Tai… probably not.'

Oh Gods. What were they doing there? Didn't they just meet? Wasn't she fifteen?

"I think I'm way past worried." He half-shouted, but then realized his own mistake and lowered his voice. "I mean… you… laid it out there bare…"

Blake gulped, leaning closer to the door. B-bare? She could barely hear him, only capturing bits and pieces.

Blake's head released a cloud of smoke. She fainted with a nosebleed and a dirty smile on her face as she mumbled. "Bare… and out there…"

Yang simply made a face palm. "Great the closet pervert is out cold."

"I dunno why. It just… clicked to me, I suppose." The girl, Ruby, replied cheerfully.

Wasn't that… sweet? Naïve? How could anyone be able to form a bond of trust so quickly? So easily? It was impossible and, honestly, just plain stupid. She was fifteen. He was seventeen. Both just started in Beacon. Give it a few months and the two's romance would end in nothing but heartache and tears.

She didn't envy them. She didn't envy them at all.

"Ruby…" Jaune's voice dropped even lower and once more she strained her ears to hear. "…this is your first time."

Ren laughed. "I hope you are very gentle with Ruby, Jaune."

Jaune growled. "Of course I would, it's Ruby… ah!" He then blushed since he revealed that out loud didn't he… He looked behind him to see an equally embarrassed but relieved Ruby Rose but she couldn't look at him. 'Did I hurt her that bad?'

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. N. O. NO!

Blake had enough of this. She pulled out from eavesdropping and turned away, rushing out as soon as possible. Blake refused to be privy to that. She ran silently through the halls, a fierce blush overtaking her light features. Blake needed to find the older sister. Yang, was it? She couldn't be the one to interfere, but family had authority. She just needed to find her, point her in the right direction, and all would be well. She wasn't envious of their romance at all!

Mercury chuckled. "If emo bull were still here, he would doubt that completely."

Emerald laughed. "Even if he was the biggest maniac, the cat would still love him regardless."

Gods, how was she going to tell dad? What was she going to tell dad? 'Sorry, pops, Ruby got a boyfriend five minutes upon arriving and I let the temper get the best of me and destroyed the auditorium?' Dad was tolerant, gave her and Rubes a lot of freedom, but this was beyond the scope of getting home late from a party or beating up a bad guys' lair. She trashed his alma mater and he probably wouldn't even give her a hesitant high five for beating up the creeper creeping on Ruby because she didn't beat that blonde bastard up. Plus, he dodged all of her moves! Who does that? Jerk!

Weiss laughed at noticing Yang's rapid changes to embarrassment to anger and back again. It became a periodical cycle by this point. "Is daddy's girl afraid?"

Yang's eyes and hair glowed red and looked to Weiss with murderous intent. But she was stopped by a revived Blake who held the brawler with all of her strength. She lost that anger when she saw Ruby was laughing openly. 'Was her character becoming… stale and predictable.'

Worst of all, though, was that her sweet, baby girl of a little sister, pure-and-innocent-cinnamon-roll Ruby Rose fought her badass bombshell of an older sister for… for… for a blonde noodle she just met! What was the old adage? 'Blood is thicker than dust' and all that?

"ARGH!" Yang shouted, spitting out the remains of her toothpaste. She inspected the mirror and caught two girls eyeing her warily. Yang snarled, a fierce glare bearing down on them.

They refused to leave. "WHAT?" She challenged, but the force of her voice sent them scurrying out the bathroom.

Yang could hear them whispering as they ran off. Great, she thought, they're gossiping about me already.

She was no stranger to peeps gossiping about her. It came with the territory of being the most bombastic girl in Signal. More than once she had to deal with the monthly rumor where she put out to some guy looking to score dude points with the bros. One match in the ring made sure they recanted whatever they boasted. She flirted around, not slept around.

"Damn right!" Yang shouted out loud. 'Seriously why are there so many scenarios where I'm either a loose woman or a sexual deviant?'

What sucked though was that the source of the gossiping and her soon-to-be plummeting popularity was because of her temper. Her so-called 'friends' she ditched Ruby for decided she was not cool enough to hang with them anymore after her little spar with her sister. Yang couldn't fix this mess by punching someone out.

Even if she so desperately wanted to Deck that noodle right in the schnozz.

Jaune feared for his life based on his alternate self's actions but when he looked at Yang, he got a teasing kind of a smile. "Don't worry Lover Boy. I'm not gonna hit you that hard." Never mind he was dead after they left this dimension.

Yang walked out of the bathroom with her stuff, and made her way to the little area she reserved for herself and Ruby. All the good spots were gone by the time she and Ruby came back from their lecture from Goodwitch, ending with the two of them getting two weeks detention after initiation was over and done with. Jaune, the bastard, somehow, was not punished because 'he didn't start or continue the fight.' Started the fight? Nah, that was putting it lightly. He started a war.

"Damn, you rubbed the wrong side of Yang. Is this why you're still the fearless leader?" Nora asked.

To which Jaune have a wan smile and simply replied. "Among other things."

As she dropped down atop her sleeping bag, some black-haired girl in a black bow came running up to her. She was panting. "Y-Yang, right?" The girl asked. She had this mysterious beauty thing going on. "Ruby's sister?"

Okay, what? She eyed her with an eyebrow raised. Was she about to walk into some mean girl trap or whatever? However, by how red the girl was in the face and the utter desperation in her eyes, this wasn't some alpha bitch tactic. "Yeah, that's right. What about it?"

The girl smiled, and man was it a cute one. Was she going to be having some competition on campus? "Okay, good, come with me. Quick, it's about Ruby and t-that boy. They're…"

"Don't ruin the chance of true love!" Summer argued.

Qrow tried to reason with his old teammate and crush. "Summer… they only just met. Aren't things going too fast?"

Summer shook her head. "No, they've been on a reasonable path. I remember it only took three days of continuous action to give Yang a baby sister."

Her entire family wanted to hide now from the embarrassing secrets that the matriarch was bringing out.

"Yang!" Seeing only a glimpse of red petals, she felt her entire body lurch forward as a small girl crashed into her stomach to wrap her in a fierce hug. The result forced her to the ground.

"OhmygoshYangI'msosorryIdidn'tmeantogetusdetentionandyouleftsoquicklybeforeicouldapologizeandexplainaboutwhathappenedandIjustwanttoletyouknowthatI'msupersorrybutIstillreallylikeJaunesoyouhavetoaccepthisokay?"

Warmth spread around her chest as she felt her little sister snuggle against her stomach. Probably would've scored more teasing points if she nuzzled her breasts, but she wasn't about to ruin the moment. Honestly, she wasn't upset with her. Nah, her anger was reserved for that boy.

"Aww! You guys made up." Nora cooed from the showing of sisterly love.

"Alright, alright, slow down, kiddo. Geez, let me go already." Yang laughed as Ruby let go of her. "I wasn't… upset with you. You just took me by surprise."

"Dad said to be honest upfront right away to avoid misunderstandings. So… that's what I did."

Yang frowned. "Wait, wait, wait. You're not apologizing for pranking me to making me believe vomit boy was your boyfriend and making me flip out?"

Ruby cocked her head in that cutesy way to get out of trouble with dad. Too bad it never worked on her. "Um…"

She chuckled nervously. "No?"

Tai chuckled. "Hmm… whatever that Ruby sees in this version of Jaune must be really special."

She felt ready to burst again. No, Yang chastised herself, focus on one thing at a time. "Ruby Rose, what are you thinking? I told you to make friends, yeah, but I didn't say to go run off with the first boy you meet!"

"Yang! Jaune's cool! He's great! You should give him a chance! Besides, I'm a big girl. He's a good guy and, y'know, I wanted to snatch him up before another red-haired girl with a polearm weapon sinks her claws onto him!"

Pyrrha pouted. 'You don't have to kick a girl when she's already down. I'll probably never have one with me and Jaune. Am I really alright with that…'

Yang rolled her eyes at the obvious exaggeration. What other red-haired girl could use a scythe like hers? She sighed. "Okay, tell me honestly, Ruby. Did Jaune do anything to you?"

"What? You mean, like, hypnotize me?"

Yang nodded, it must have been like a semblance to capture her poor, innocent baby sister.

Ruby giggled in response. "Pft, right. Jaune's cool, but not that cool."

Another arrow pierced Jaune's heart of easily destroyed self-ego. 'You don't have to kick a Jaune when he's already down.'

Ruby rushed forward and grabbed him by his wrist, pulling him back. "Jaune! Wait! Don't go! We're sorry! How about we wash up your hoodie? It's our fault you got dirty. We did get kinda dumb back there."

"Ruby! I'm being serious here! Did he or did he not do anything to you?"

Ruby giggled, not taking it serious at all. Gods, why did she get stuck with such a flighty sister? "Well, to be completely honest with you, Yang. You should be more worried about me doing something to him!"

She gasped. "Ruby!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! He's the bees' knees, Yang. Give him a shot." No… no she did not just do what she thought she did. Did Ruby really give her the puppy dog eyes? Dammit. No. Gods. Dammit.

Weiss smirked at Yang's weakness. "Didn't realize-"

Yang fired back. "Oh like you don't get your icy heart melted when Zwei and Ruby do it to you."

Weiss fidgeted her fingers and looked away as red flooded her cheeks. "I… I concede."

Yang growled at her baby sister, infuriated at her situation. "This is stupid. This entire day has been stupid. Fine, whatever, but I'm giving you two a month. Two months tops before you both break up, and I'll be the one jumping up and down and saying, 'I told you so'."

Her sister laughed, and as much Yang didn't appreciate it right now, she did feel a big happy that she made her sister happy. She would keep a close eye on Jaune and if he did anything untoward towards Ruby, she'll be breaking his sword. And no, she didn't mean the one he kept in that sheathe.

Jaune held his crotch and whimpered. "No, not my Juan de Arc. Not him."

"Oh, hi Blake!"

Who was Blake? Yang looked up and found the girl with the blushing face and black bowtie's eyes widening in alarm. She immediately excused herself.

"You know her, Ruby?"

"Nope! But as you and Jaune's mom say, strangers are just friends you've haven't made yet!"

Ruby nodded. "Great advice for someone as socially awkward as me!"

Curiously, it was Nora that pointed it out. "Hey Ren, have you seen Jaune all day?"

Ren was surprised at the fast change of scenery, just a while ago they were in the auditorium and now they were in their dorm room. "That's strange."

Atop his bed, Ren peered from a book he checked out from the library. It chronicled the various ways towns and villages operated outside the protected shelter of each kingdoms' cities, providing examples and anecdotes that described how they thrived on their own terms. Though Nora thought it was a boring read on account of the author being rather dry in his writing, Ren believed it to be a fount of knowledge. If more people understood and applied some of the things this book described, then…

Nora groaned. "Who'd read something so boring?!" Ren glared at her but of course she didn't notice.

"Renny, hello? You there?" Nora asked, waving her hand right in front of him with her ever-present manic grin.

Ren shook his head, and answered her first question, "No, I spent my morning reading. He was already gone by the time I awoke if that helps." He was not too concerned. Jaune could take care of himself, after all. He wasn't the leader of the team for nothing.

Nora crossed her arms and grumbled, falling face-first into the open bed beside her longtime companion. In a muffle, she said, "I don't know, Renny; I have a bad feeling. Am I just being paranoid?"

The taciturn Huntsman-to-be immediately closed his book. In all of his experiences he accumulated, one important lesson he learned early on in his friendship with Nora was that her 'bad feelings' always held some substance. It would not be right for Ren to dismiss it.

"We should look for him."

However, before either Nora or Ren could rise from the bed, the door leading into their dorm was kicked open. A ferocious growl could be heard on the other side and rushing through the doorway was none other than an angry Yang Xiao Long with her semblance activated.

Sun whistled. "Damn, that's a lot of power. So Yang becomes a berserker, huh? What do you think-… Um, buddy why are you like that?"

His compatriot was shivering in fear. "I tried to flirt with that… I'm lucky to be alive."

"Where is he?" Yang growled. "I swear I will tear him from limb to limb and…"

"What did I do now?"

Blake chuckled. "Maybe you two married in front of her."

She stalked in circles in the dorm, not noticing the two that sat worried on the bed, clutching on to one another like a life preservative. If Yang hadn't been so upset, she would have made a joke over how it was about time Nora and Ren found themselves in bed touching each other intimately. Unfortunately, the only thing on her mind was murder.

"You two!" The blonde shouted, finally taking note of the pair and pointing a finger at them accusingly. "Explain this!"

Yang stalked up to them and pulled out a crumpled note from one of her pockets, practically shoving it into Nora's hands.

"'Dear team, I apologize for the abrupt notice, but… WAIT, WHAT!" Nora shrieked.

Nora laughed. "Must have been something that made me mad."

Ren and Yang winced at the high-pitched wail. The former beckoning Nora to tell him what was making her so upset. Instead of replying, she shoved the note into his chest.

"'—but Jaune and I can't waste any more time in Beacon. We're off to save the world. Love, Ruby Rose. P.S. This was my idea, not Jaune's. I hope you all won't be too upset! Come find us if you want to help!'" Ren narrowed his eyes at the letter. "Did Jaune and Ruby just drop out?"

Yang growled. "They just didn't dropout. They fucking eloped! And why is my old man so chill with this!"

"WHAT?!" Jaune and Ruby both yelled out with Tai and Summer giving their appreciation for such a well thought-out action.

Yang on the other hand growled, so this is what would happen if she let her sister take advantage of her generous nature. Weiss groaned in pain from such an immediate backlash. "Oum, these two idiots would be the death of me."

"I'm afraid you lost me." From what he read, the two merely dropped out. While that was concerning subject all on its own and it took all of his strength not to panic as the two women before him were doing, Ren failed to see how any of that was linked to the two eloping.

Yang wanted to throttle Ren. She knew she shouldn't. She knew he didn't know the intricacies and quirks of her little sister. It wasn't his fault. It still didn't stop her from wanting to wring his neck for not getting it and even trying to defend their decision (which, in hindsight, he was not—he tried to remain calm and passive as always).

"Before our mom died, whenever she and dad went out on a date, she would often tell Ruby that they were off to save the world." She remembered those memories fondly. She would smile and laugh if she wasn't so angry. "Ruby always wanted to come with them. So mom told Ruby that when she grows up, she'll find someone she'll love to help 'save the world with.'"

"So, does that mean—"

"It's also a euphemism for sex! My little sister just went off with that little fucker to go fu-"

Ruby looked at her mother. "So every time you and dad went off-"

Summer immediately nodded and rubbed her daughter's head. "Yup. Your father and I have to sometimes go out and do it without mentally scarring you guys."

Ruby found reason in her mother's excuse but had to ask. "Is that why you brought Zwei's leash and the whip."

Tai sputtered red while Raven and Qrow slowly backed away from the blonde bear in disgust. He had to regain his honor. "Well… I like it when Summer's a bit… rough." Both daughters wanted to go back into the ditch and hide to preserve their dignity.

"FOUND IT!" Ren and Yang turned to find Nora wielding Magnhild in her hands and a determined scowl on her features. She said, "No one just runs away from family like that. They better have a good reason to do what they just did. Otherwise, I'm breaking their legs so they'll never leave."

"Yeah what she said! You thinking about running away Jauney." She threatened her fearless leader who immediately cowed into submission.

He grumbled. "I don't think I'd last a minute with you chasing after me." He shuddered as visions of a Beacon Civil War passed through his mind. 'Whoa, freaky…'

Yang smirked, looking pleased. "Hey, go ahead and break Jaune's legs for all I care, but leave Rubes to me. No one abandons Yang Xiao Long." Tears took to her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. Underneath her breath, she muttered, "Never expected her to be the one to do it…"

Ren looked from one Huntress to the other. "Ladies, I feel that we need to remain calm. We should report this to the Headmaster. I doubt this is the proper way to withdraw from school."

"We don't have time! I don't know where they're going, but they should still be in Vale proper! I know a guy who could tell us if he saw a bunch of kids like them running around!" Yang argued. The flames and red eyes of her semblance began to fade. Burning rage no longer consumed her. In its place was a cold, hardened resolve.

"And there goes sanity out of the window." Blake commented.

"Ren and I will look at places where they'll hide. We know a thing or two about not being noticed." Feeling like he lost all control of the situation, Ren had no other choice but to accept his fate. He nodded when Nora looked to him for support. He would never abandon her, and neither would he abandon the friends that just fled.

As plans were made and assurances secured, Weiss peeked into her dorm with reservation. While she did not condone her partner dating Ruby Rose on account of it being rather irresponsible when they both should be preparing for a life as Huntsmen, Weiss didn't like it when Yang often intruded into their sanctuary whenever she was feeling paranoid about the couple. Pyrrha also joined her in order to report this to the headmaster, surely they would know how to handle the situation.

Everyone looked at Ozpin for an answer but he simply said with a stone cold face. "I would congratulate them on their marriage."

To her surprise, Weiss and Pyrrha found their other teammates and Yang looking ready to go on a manhunt.

"Umm… what is going on?" She asked with trepidation.

Ren, being reliable as always, answered, "Jaune and Ruby eloped. We're going to go find them."

"Wait, what?!"

Weiss looked to Pyrrha who was unusually silent and then after much intense staring from Yang and Nora. The undefeated champion caved in. "S-Sorry… they named me the godmother… I was just so happy."

Pyrrha was elated to know that Jaune would consider her becoming a godparent to his kids. Although she would have preferred it to her being the actual mother to his kids. Beggars can't be choosers.

Jaune held her hand and smiled. "You'd always be the first option for me."

With new resolved strength instead of shying away like a certain type of 'dere' from this conversation. She smiled back to him. "Thank you Jaune. I appreciate the gesture."

The Creator appeared and had a very grim expression on his face. "I didn't want to show this but the higher ups insisted. Fair warning to you all, what you are seeing could be a potential future for your world. It is also very horrid to watch, so I understand if you might not be able to watch. If so, then I can simply bring you out and bring you in when it's over and done."

The people in the room were confused but also curious to see this apparent scenario that could happen in their future. Seeing no objections or comments, he started the scenario and some of them visibly let out their shock.

James was shaking along with Winter in anger or was it something else. "What… happened?"

Atlas was burning, its skies were blood red and black with smoke. Its people were screaming while the droves of Nevermores and Wyverns surrounded the skies. A majority of its infrastructure had turned into rubble while the streets were littered with blood or dead bodies. The once proud cybernetic army along with the airship battalions of Atlas lay in waste across various areas of the capital, riddled with dust bullets or Grimm type damage.

In the amphitheater where the normal occurrence was to bring its people hope with the displays of its impressive Paladins and airships. However the people who were being crowded into the center by a company of human soldiers wielding tommy guns wearing bear masks that has half of its face divided into two parts by the center. The right side is white and has the classic expression of a blushing teddy bear. The left side is black and shows a much sinister appearance where the red horizontal and jagged eye was glowing red with an evil smile.

Ruby was unnerved by the bear masks especially with its sinister appearance. Summer was there to comfort her daughter. "What is with that design?"

No one was able to answer the red reaper's question as James looked like he was about to smash something. How could this have happened under his watch? To see the proud army he helped construct, laid in pieces, was really depressing.

The people were men, women and children who had looks of despair. Mothers held their crying children and babies close while fathers begged for the men to let them go. The only exception for the group were the prideful and incensed looks of Jacques and Whitley Schnee. They were both forced from their mansion by these bear-wearing hooligans to apparently meet one of their leaders of the Ultimate Despair.

Weiss was shocked and frightened. "Father… Whitley… how? Where's mother?! What happened to our security?!" Winter was also visibly concerned at seeing the state of her family, she might not love the patriarch but it didn't mean she could still feel.

Ozpin growled in an unusual fit of anger. "Those cowards."

"Please, don't kill us!" One of the people shouted out to the unmoving motley crue of gun-wielding bear masked men. Suddenly they moved to salute as loud but proud footsteps rang out through the area.

What shocked the crowd including the Schnees was the red-eyed and manic-wearing smile of the Schnee Heiress. Weiss was adorned in a golden dress that extended to her ankles, her classic high heels, and a golden crown atop her head. Next to her was Neptune who wore the same manic smile and had a camera on his hands as he pictured everywhere around the area. More men wearing the same bear masks were marching behind them and only stopped when Weiss had raised her hand.

Everyone was either slightly surprised or shocked at the visible differences of their Weiss and the Weiss on screen along with Neptune. "What?" Weiss was simply flabbergasted at seeing another version of herself but this time it was different. This one felt wrong… and evil.

Neptune stood up in surprise. "What the hell am I even doing there?!"

Having enough with this situation Jacques had stood up and shouted angrily. "What is the meaning of this tomfoolery?! Weiss, I demand you to-"

Out of nowhere one of the men had walked up and smacked the patriarch of the Schnee Family on the stomach with his tommy gun. Jacques fell to the ground in an embarrassing way as he threw up some spittle and groaned in pain. Whitley tried to intervene but after one of the bear masked men pointed a gun to his head, he decided to kneel down with his arms up in surrender.

The man who had hit Jacques with a gun fell to the ground bleeding with a hole in his chest. It definitely shocked the crowd who were aghast at seeing the Weiss heiress with her revolver out and smoke coming out of the barrel. She did a little curtsy bow as Neptune had taken a picture. "Nice shot, Weiss! This will definitely bring out more despair. Seeing our troops get killed by their leader without hesitation will definitely bring up the guys' morale."

"What is going on?! Weiss Cream would never do such a thing!" Yang exclaimed as said girl shuddered under her alternate self's lack of humanity to shoot an ally. Why was she acting like a princess?

"Wha-"

Weiss coughed loudly which brought everyone's attention on her. "I shall say this in words that you will all understand. Atlas is now safe from all problems and is filled with the warm embrace of despair. In the name of our Glorious Salem, I, Weiss Schnee, will give out despair to all those who love me and want to oppose me."

"How?!" James was unnerved yet shocked to find out that Weiss Schnee was now working for Salem.

Ozpin coughed loudly to get the general's attention. "James! We will get our answers anyways, in the meanwhile… I have to remind you that this is simply a prediction of the future."

Whitley had enough of his sister's weird behavior. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Weiss giggled from her brother's outburst. "Nothing is wrong with me Whitley. My lord and savior Salem had simply showed me how great despair was for everyone. So as the rightful ruler of Atlas, I will give all of the people despair. Starting with all of you."

She snapped her fingers which caused the men behind her to go into the group and grab all the children and push away all the protesting parents. Whitley was left in the group of adults where Weiss grinned. "Now-"

Summer frowned since she could tell where this was going. She didn't know if she should shield her daughters away from this but she trusted that they could handle this. Tai and Qrow felt the same but Winter wanted to cover Weiss' eyes. 'I have a bad feeling about this.'

She turned to the crying children. "Do not cry, soon you will feel despair. Neptune, my darling be ready with your camera. The Ultimate Photographer should not miss such a spectacle like this."

She raised her left arm as the others pointed their guns at the innocent civillians, Jacques saw the situation and tried to bribe the men with his riches but they were unmoving. "As the Ultimate Princess, I declare… execution!"

She lowered it as the screams of the children, the snapping of the camera and the gunfire sounded off in the area. The bear masked men had repeatedly emptied their clips within the tommy guns on everyone. No one was safe from the execution, after a minute, the group's bodies were riddled with holes including her family members.

Weiss screamed in terror as she saw her family be brutally murdered in front of her. She was terrified about her alternate self's enjoyment of committing such a horrid atrocity. Her elder sister immediately moved to comfort her in a hug. "Weiss, listen to me. You are and never will be like that. It's ok I'm here."

The heiress of the Schnee Dust Company decided to cry in her sister's arms, her teammates were also flabbergasted at what had just occurred along with Team JNPR, Sun and Neptune, Coco and Velvet.

Weiss moaned out loudly in pleasure upon seeing her dead father and younger brother. "The pain! The agony! Oh, seeing my beloved family gunned down in front of me is so… so, so despairful!"

Neptune had not stopped taking pictures of the gruesome event and had even moved in closer to take pictures of the victims. "This is great, Weiss! Salem will love this! This will bring out so much despair to all of your enemies."

James had slammed his fist on the armrest next to him which exploded into tiny bits, he was outraged on what he saw happen to the citizens he promised to protect. Ozpin frowned from the show of unnecessary violence yet the swirling pupils that seemed to have turned on when despair occurred, intrigued him. 'Perhaps it is some sort of brainwashing. There is no way Ms. Schnee and Mr. Vasillas would do this in their own free will.'

Cinder and Juniper were intrigued by these actions, had they done something to cause such hunters to turn to them. It was a plan for sure but it carried to many risks in order to succeed, plus Ozpin would become suspicious no that he has seen this.

Weiss smiled and turned her attention to the kids and babies that her men had acquired. "Separate the babies and the kids into two different groups."

The men nodded and separated them without difficulty even if the kids had decided to fight back against the soldiers that were following Weiss' orders. The babies that were crying constantly and the kids who were either fighting back or on the ground crying their eyes out as their wills were broken and eaten by despair.

She looked at the men who had the babies in their hands. "It's time for even more despair. With this, even my enemies will stop to fight against my peaceful nation. Men, ready your knives."

"No stop it!" Ruby yelled out, wishing those men would stop doing this. But everyone who was good in the room simply frowned since they were powerless to stop this. They were observers after all.

Yang growled. "If I ever get my hands on them, I'll-"

Blake calmly refuted through gritted teeth. "Yang, you can't… we don't even know who those people are."

The men got their knives as they started laughing, the kids on the other hands had looks of pure terror and stopped fighting or crying. Unable to look away from the atrocious event that was about to unfold before their very eyes. Weiss started laughing while Neptune took even more pictures in a frenzy.

"Ready!" She cheered as the men threw the babies up in the air. "GO!"

With a thunderous roar, the bear wearing men then impaled the babies wherever knife met flesh. Some died instantly, some choked on their blood, while others cried before silence. The men then started waving the arm that held the dead babies around in a frenzy as if saying hello to Weiss.

Weiss started crying, she was begging this to stop. She could never do such a thing, this was truly traumatizing to watch. "Stop, stop! Make it stop!"

Winter once again pulled her into a deeper hug, tears were also going down the sides of her face. She couldn't imagine her beloved sister doing any action like this. 'Whoever forced this to happen to Weiss will pay dearly.'

They cheered her name in reverence for leading them to her new nation. She bowed to them in response. She licked her lips as the blood from the dead babies splattered across the space from the actions of her men.

She then turned to Neptune who was smiling in absolute joy from picturing what had just occurred. He was even drooling in hunger as he looked to Weiss. "Oh, Weiss, we need to do more. Despair has to-"

She put a finger on his lips and giggled. "Don't worry… we still have these kids here. I was thinking along the lines of a garrote." She then maniacally laughed as the kids were filled with despair. Different colored swirls started forming in her and Neptune's red eyes as they embraced the darkness.

The Creator informed the group. "That is all for Weiss and Neptune. It's time to see what has happened to Vale." He then looked at Winter who was silently pleading for him to stop. "I cannot stop this scenario… however like I said. I shall bring you out in order to compose yourselves."

With a snap of his fingers, Weiss and Winter instantly disappeared which surprised many but some could understand. Seeing one's death was one thing but seeing oneself doing the things that Weiss did was another.

Ren was walking through the streets of Vale, his red eyes highlighted the large snake wrapped around his neck like a scarf. He was followed by troves of different Grimm stomping next to him as if he were their master. One of the hunters who noticed him, instantly gained a look of horror upon seeing him.

Ren grimaced at the reaction of the hunters towards him, I mean who wouldn't be scared by a mean looking man wearing a large snake like fashion apparel. While being accompanied by droves of different Grimm. Nora held her hand and gave her him a warm smile. "It's gonna be alright, Renny. I'm still here."

"NO! He's here. Everyone run!" He was talking about the group of innocent civilians who had heeded the huntsman warnings and decided to run away. There were three hunters blocking his path. One of them pointed his pistol at Ren who remained unconcerned to what was going on. "This is the end for you, Lie Ren! The Ultimate Grimm Breeder, you-"

Ren simply snapped his fingers as the three hunters were attacked from behind and held down by massive Nevermores. They screamed and tried to escape but despair was seeping in and reminding them of their futile attempts. Ren walked slowly and then nodded towards his grimm as they walked to the hunters that were trapped. He then smiled when his grimm began to devour the ones on his left and right.

"Oh no, Ren's also got affected by this thing with despair." Jaune frowned.

Nora nearly puked out her lunch and she wasn't the only one, Pyrrha grimaced at what her teammate was doing to the poor hunters. Ren shivered in disgust, he swore whoever made him like this would pay.

The one who was all so confident in the middle was powerless to fight as his compatriots were eaten slowly. Their screams flooded the area while the once arrogant hunter who challenged him had a look of utter despair on his face. That made Ren smile as his eyes spiraled into different colors of madness.

A severed arm from one of the hunters that were devoured was given to him by one of the Beowolves. He in turn rubbed the head of the cute Beowulf that decided to give him a meal. He kneeled down to the lone hunter and started eating the arm that was given to him. He made sure to show him the process since he opened his mouth and gnashed on the flesh. The lone hunter started screaming in fear.

"That's fucking gross." Neptune yelled out which a lot of the audience nodded to. It was horrid to see a human eat another human.

Ren smiled at him and looked at the Nevermore who cawed at him. Ren gave it a signal by tilting his head to the side, the Nevermore then flew up with the hunter in his claws. It flied towards the bay and started to drop the hunter but before he could fall into the water below, the Nevermore caught him again. This process repeated itself three times more where the once confident and now horrified hunter who continued to scream till his throat was sore.

Out of nowhere, a Sea Feilong jumped up the water and snatched the hunter and swallowed him whole. Back to Ren, his large snake went back to its place on his neck like a scarf. He then heard some loud cries in the distance and walked towards the source. It was time for more despair to be unleashed with his beautiful Grimm that he bred.

"Get me the fuck out of here, please!" With that, Neptune also disappeared since the Creator allowed it to happen. He looked at Ren who shook his head, of course as long as Nora was with him then he'll be alright.

A man was tied from head to toe to a metal table, he looked around his surroundings to where he was. He noticed a very dirty clinic with other people who were also tied down like him. He looked to what was in front of him and he noticed Blake who was wearing a white nurse, her right arm and left leg was bandaged. She wore an elbow length medical glove on her left arm, as well as a glove on her right hand that only goes up to her bandaged wrist. She was holding a large syringe with pink liquid in it.

Blake shuddered in terror, she didn't know what her despair addicted self was going to do. Why was she even wearing a nurse's outfit?! 'Look at the size of that monster.' (Editor's Note: Shady is really, really scared of needles.)

On her back was a large wheel that had several pictures of body parts on it like it was part of a game show. The man noticed a camera and a large group of people in the bleachers cheering but they were all wearing on their faces a bear mask. A red eyed Blake turned to them as she jumped up excitedly from the cheers. "Hello everyone. It's me Blake! The Ultimate Nurse of Despair. Are you all excited for this week's episode?!"

Yang snarled. "Oumdamn! What is with all this despair?!"

Jaune glowered as he had a feeling where this was going to. "I don't think any of this is going to end… will you be alright, Blake?"

Blake lowered her head, she didn't want to see her alternate self commit the same atrocities like alternate. "I don't think I'll be."

The crowd loudly cheered as Blake started to moan and cry tears of joy. "Thank you everyone! You just fill me with so much despair, just like that time I had to carve out my lover Adam's heart from his chest." She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a heart. "Isn't it so romantic?!"

The black cat nearly puked the contents of her stomach, she couldn't believe she could do that do her former mentor slash boyfriend. Emerald only scoffed. "That is simply disgusting."

Mercury chuckled. "Looks like the stalker met his match."

Some emotional 'awws' were heard amongst the live crowd along with more elated hollers. She bowed. "Now everyone, let's get this show on the road. First, we have to spin the wheel for our first participant."

The man in question started struggling as the wheel started spinning but he couldn't get out. After a minute, the wheel stopped its momentum and landed on the picture of an eye. Blake giggled. "It seems today's special is going to be a sight to see."

She walked slowly towards the bound prisoner, further increasing the anguish of the situation at present. She then went on top of the man's hips and started moaning out loud. "Oh mister. I'm going to be injecting you with a special form of despair. This one is so beautiful. It gives off so much pain that you'd be screaming for hours."

Summer frowned. 'Does Salem over there have a device or a grimm that can cause hunters to become like this? This is just sick.'

Blake was steadily losing the battle to retain her composure. "I'm never getting that book called Danganronpa."

She rubbed her thighs closely as much as she could. "Would Mistress Salem love me for that? Well here goes nothing."

She slowly inched the syringe closer and closer while maintaining a grip with her left hand on the prisoner's eye. The needle going closer and closer towards its intended target, large red swirls appeared on Blake's eyes as drool started to come out of her lips. She was salivating at how much despair the man must have been feeling.

She jabbed the syringe onto the man's pupil as he screamed violently from the pain, the crowd cheered even louder. Blake then injected the special poison onto his eye as it immediately turned black with his veins bursting in blood. She cooed at her work as the man vehemently tried to get out of his bindings while screaming his lungs out in pain. Blake got out of her position and moved back to the wheel to address her live audience.

"Fuck!" Mercury cursed out and simply closed his eyes. He felt like he received that… but the eye… 'Damn… even I'm not that brutal when killing people.'

"Oh there's still more to come, don't worry. He won't die as fast as you guys might think. The poison will slowly and slowly kill him and inflict more and more pain no matter what. He'll be screaming for ten hours before his heart stops. Which means more despair for everyone!"

She then turned the wheel again and gave a maniacal smile. "Which one should we do next?!"

Blake looked at the Creator with a pleading look, she wanted to leave. The Creator nodded thus the cat disappeared, Yang growled since she tried her best but she couldn't really help her partner with what they just saw her do.

Sun raised his hand like it was still school. "Um… may I ask to… you know-" The Creator sighed. "Sometimes you just have to just say you want to leave."

A giant mechanical bear like those seen on the masks of the subordinates of the despair-driven students of Beacon who now follow Salem is seen levelling the streets of Patch. The fires have caused the once quiet village to burn. Dead bodies littered the streets with bear masked armed soldiers around the area looting the now abandoned homes of the people.

Signal Academy is left in ruins with dead hunters all across the campus. Grimm ate some of their corpses while some of the bear masked men had come along to defile them. But nonetheless, the giant robot bear was still terrorizing the village. No weapon or armament was even able to create a dent in its hide. The bear continued to fire missiles, bombs and machine gun fire anywhere and everywhere no matter when because that would create more despair to the survivors.

Qrow nearly crushed his flask and Tai consciously released his aura, Signal was like a second home to them. To see it in that state nearly caused them to lose their shit. However Summer was able to calm them down. "It can be stopped, remember that."

The bear stopped its movement when it noticed a mother running away from the destruction with her child in her arms. The giant bear's red eye glowed red as there was laughter coming out from its mouth. It then jumped and was able to land ahead of the running parent and child stopping them in their tracks.

Juniper was a bit perturbed. 'Is that the mascot I chose to showcase my domination… It's probably from Tyrian. If he ever proposes that, I shall end him. I will not have something so tacky to represent my image.'

The mother turned her back from the mechanical monster and placed her kid in her arms as if to protect her. The monster then opened its mouth and talked. "Upupupupu, I see two new wonderful dead people, how should I-"

"Please! You can do whatever to me but leave my little baby alone!" The mother tightened her grip on the hold while the kid started crying. The monster shook his head back and forth as if to suggest the refusal to the mother's wants but then stopped for a second and tilted its head to the side.

It then opened a valve from its left hand which was a bathtub, it gently lowered it to the ground next to the frightened parent and child. It then opened another valve from its right hand and water came bursting out quickly filling in the tub. The bear then giggled and pointed at the mother and next to the tub.

"It wants the mother and the kid to take a bath?" Mercury asked.

Cinder shook her head slightly. "Nope, it's a trap… but in that scenario what else can the weak do but follow the strong."

"If you want to survive, then you and your adorable little kiddy has got to take the plunge." Hesitantly, the mother still kept her hold on her child and then slowly got into the bathtub. She then looked up with tears up to the evil smiling robot.

Ruby started to cry since she knew that this couldn't end well for the poor mother and child. "No, don't happen… Please…"

"I did what you want please-" She was interrupted with a single gunshot and she looked down with blood dripping down her lips. The look of despair made the robot laugh even louder especially when the mother's body slumped over to the bathtub while maintaining a tight grip on her kid who struggled to get out. The child tried to get out from her mother's grip when she was forced to submerge due to her mother's weight. The girl was choking slowly due to both the water and her mother's blood.

Yang's hair and eyes started to glow red especially when she heard her real mother chuckle at what happened. "You think this is funny!"

Raven gave an amused smile. "This only happened because she was weak-"

"Raven." The bandit leader stopped when the soft yet strict voice called her name, she looked immediately to the source and noticed Summer was glaring directly at her. It unnerved her due to those silver eyes that looked like it was peering into your soul. Raven quieted down and Summer helped Yang calm down as well.

The robot then 'awwed' at the despairful sight of the struggling child who was drowning slowly. "Don't worry kid. I did you one a favor, I became stronger when my mother died."

Ruby piped out. "No…"

In the control panel, a swirly eyed Ruby Rose gave a warm but off putting smile at the scene. She then pulled a lever that caused the giant bear to continue its mayhem across her homeland. "I got stronger because of that. I had to engineer that for you as the Ultimate Mechanic. Well off to cause even more despair!"

Ruby started crying since she saw what her alternate self, her whole family moved to console her and tell her that it didn't mean she killed that mother and child. Meanwhile Qrow just drank a large portion of alcohol again. Worst thing he could see was one of his little nieces cry their hearts out over seeing a horrible situation.

Ruby was able to stop crying and her elder sister gave her a bear hug that would make Tai proud. "Don't worry Ruby, if you ever stray, I'll be there to bring you back."

What she didn't expect was another strong hug from a certain blonde knight. Ruby immediately blushed, she was now more aware of the blonde's muscles since he wasn't wearing his armor. Jaune whispered to her ear. "That wasn't you. You're still the hero I know you are."

Ruby reciprocated the hug, she was able to calm down totally and returned to her seat. Summer whispered something to her ear that made her yell out. "Mom! Jaune is my best best guy friend!"

Summer teased her still. "Tai was for me too~"

Pyrrha on the other hand was thinking of Jaune getting closer to all his female friends. She didn't know whether to be jealous or glad that Jaune was still Jaune. 'Do I even own him? I'm his partner, I should realize that he wants to help anyone at any time… Maybe that's why he helped me… I'm not special as I think I am to Jaune. I'm just simply Pyrrha Nikos, his partner, to him. Maybe I should stop being jealous when Jaune has a romantic moment with another girl.'

In a certain bar that was once destroyed by a certain blonde.

Yang protested. "Hey, I was a hero for ruining a criminal's establishment."

Summer giggled which caused Yang to blush in embarrassment. "THat's still destruction of personal property. I swear when you get hot headed, you become too much like your father."

It now was filled with people who were holding glow sticks while cheering for the two women on stage. In the stage, on the right, she was wearing a sailor uniform with a black pleated skirt and ripped thigh highs where the right one is pink while the left one is blue. She wore piercings on both of her ears and under the left side of her lip. She had a black and pink glove-like sleeve on her upper left arm and a brown beret. On her hands was a pearly white Fender Stratocaster while playing some intense metal music called Enter Sandman.

Coco was surprised not only by her skills but her alternate outfit. "Even though I look fabulous… I didn't know I could jam like that."

On her left, was a faunus who proudly displayed her two bunny ears to everyone. Her hands had fans which had bunny motifs on them. Her hair was tied to a single ponytail while her outfit which consisted of a purple kimono with a pink-rose outline and a yellow obi sash outlined her figure. Her feet had brown wooden sandals on as she danced elegantly to the beat of the music being played by her partner.

Velvet was embarrassed at seeing a more confident version of herself dancing in front of that many people. Coco whistled. "Damn, you look good in that bunny. I see those hip-"

"Coco! Now's not the time. I think this is going to turn at any second." Coco instantly sighed since she knew this was too good to be true. There was nothing normal with what they've witnessed so far.

Coco started shredding on her guitar while Velvet danced her heart out. The song's climax was almost there where the crowd started going crazy like a mosh pit. Their eyes just like the performers' swirling to indicate their descent into the ever enticing despair.

The crowd was absolutely mesmerized by the duo's performance on the stage but when it finally ended. They grabbed their knives and started stabbing one another in a frenzy, friend hurt friend whereas family wounded family. This was due to following the message that Coco's new hit despair track called 'Stab Another for Despair'. Coco and Velvet simply laughed and carried onto a new performance that was sure to surpass this bloody one.

Velvet groaned after watching their performance. "Good thing ours was short. I don't know what would have happened if I saw myself do more."

Beacon was in a similar state like in Vale, the once proud Academy in a pile of burning ruins. The gardens were covered in ash, offices covered in blood, and the entire campus was littered with the corpses of Atlas soldiers and hunters from all the academies.

In a certain area, where a certain headmaster used to reside in. A group of bound hunters were forced into a line by another group of bear-masked Despair soldiers. The chair swiveled to their direction to reveal Cinder Fall, the Ultimate Underground Mastermind, where she was decked in a formal suit with her appearance being the same save for an eye patch for her right eye.

On her left side stood Emerald with a katana strapped to her hip who changed her attire to the normal Beacon Academy uniform. Both of the women's eyes were swirling with despair and they both were maniacally smiling at seeing the bound hunters who they have imprisoned.

Emerald was happy that she was still with Cinder however she was confused that her boss had the same swirling madness in the eyes along with her. "What the hell?"

Cinder simply frowned at her alternate self. 'Was I also brainwashed? But why, I am completely loyal to my mistress along with the cause.'

"Is this all of them?" Cinder asked Emerald who nodded but then one of the hunters stood up defiantly before being shoved to the ground by one of the men.

"Oh? It looks like they still have some life to them. But Salem told me that I should focus on spreading despair to our enemies. How shall I do it to the four of you?" Cinder mused as the rowdy hunter once again stood up and shouted.

He even spat blood in their direction but it did not land on the two women. "You're never gonna win the war, bitch. Professor Ozpin's gonna-"

All of a sudden, that hunter's head went over his back since it was separated from his body. The cause was the long bloodstained nodachi of Emerald who appeared in the other side of the room in a flash. Certainly the now deceased hunter's teammates shivered in fear whilst Cinder sighed at her partner's display.

"I did not ask you to intervene on my behalf-"

Emerald bowed instantly when she raised her head up, there was drool leaving her mouth as if salivating what action Cinder would do to her for disobeying her orders.

Mercury laughed at Emerald's reaction to what Cinder could have done. "Jesus, Em… your obsession is becoming even worse. This might actually become your sex-"

"I'll kill you in your sleep." Cinder ignored her minions' arguments towards each other. However what was disheartening was Emerald's obsession seems to have intensified especially when Cinder decided to ignore her. This in turn gave Emerald more despair… this despair was getting old really quick.

Cinder instead ignored her and stood up to walk to the three remaining captured hunters. Emerald in response squeezed her thighs together and squirmed uncomfortably while smiling. "So much despair is being given to me. I am not worthy of you."

Cinder ignored Emerald's praise and lifted one of the hunter's heads so that she could see eye to eye. "Well we have to give the old man a gift. Why not three young dead hunters?! I can't wait to see the despair in his face."

Ozpin growled. "This is horrible to even fathom how we could have lost so much… This cannot happen ever."

The Creator smiled. "But it can doesn't mean it will."

On a dilapidated building overlooking the entire vicinity of Vale, on the highest floor where there was nothing left except for a burnt floor. There was a man with long flowing black hair with red eyes, he looked unconcerned or bored from all the anguish that the innocents and survivors have underwent in Vale. His Beacon Academy uniform was tattered as it revealed the numerous scars and bruises across his muscular yet athletic body.

"Who the hell is that?!" Yang exclaimed, all of the despairful stuff that was being shown on screen was just too much to handle by this point. He also looked very menacing and had an aura of an unstoppable force.

Jaune eyes winced as he looked at the man. "He looks very familiar."

Pyrrha also looked at the new individual and her eyes widened with shock. 'No… it can't be… but why does he look like that?'

He turned his head to see what was behind him. Lo and behold it was a battered Cardin Winchester who had seemed to lose his weapon. Lazily, the brooding teen lifted an eyebrow in surprise and went back to what he was doing.

"Oh no. You can't do me like that Jaune."

"What?!" Ruby yelled out aloud since she couldn't quite imagine the blonde knight or noodle looking like that. He didn't look an ounce like Jaune but she was still shell shocked on what her counterpart did.

Jaune was shocked. "How am I that guy?!"

Cinder immediately noticed this 'new' Jaune and shivered in delight. 'Yes… that kind is one who I can definitely work with.'

The figure known as Jaune sighed in disappointment before standing up. "I've told the people of Beacon numerous times. Jaune Arc is dead. All that is left is the body that he left behind. I am the Ultimate Hope of Humanity, Michael. Leave before I-"

Ren bit his lip in anger. "Who in Oum is this guy? If he is the Ultimate Hope, wouldn't he have saved everyone from this horrible situation?"

Winter grimaced. 'But not all of humanity here want the world to be saved… he could also have been their hope.'

Cardin started walking away before even Michael had finished his declaration. "It's useless after all…I thought I could at least see something out of the old vomit boy…"

He then was out of sight but Michael was given superior senses that allowed him to see, hear and feel better than any human with aura. He was able to hear that last part of the statement. "… but I guess it died when he killed Pyrrha Nikos."

The room was shocked especially Pyrrha who started to hyperventilate since her heart started to hurt. 'There's no way Jaune could… but this Jaune is different.'

Jaune couldn't believe it either. "Wha- How?!"

Nora was crying at the mention of Pyrrha being dead, she was close to tears when she saw Ren commit those atrocities but… her family was falling apart. Without hestitation, Ren brought her close and tried to console her.

A name… it was all too familiar. Pyrrha Nikos, very close to Jaune. Partner in almost everything except romantically but…

Tears fell from his eyes as he immediately rubbed them out.

"Why the fuck is he crying, he killed her?!" Yang blurted out and immediately shut her mouth when it noticed that it greatly disturbed the duo of JP.

Pyrrha however was tangled due to the earlier display of Jaune or Michael on her name being mentioned. 'Did he really kill me?'

"That's right, I did kill her… but I also saved her. But I have also doomed her loved ones, I could have stopped the Tragedy from coming but I didn't because I was excited to see what would have happened but this-"

He looked back to the destruction of Vale and the spreading of even more despair across Remnant. "This is boring. But she wasn't. That's why I saved her. Maybe this needs more explaining."

The screen then turned to black as the Creator appeared and brought back the others like Winter, Weiss, Blake, Sun and Neptune. "He will explain what caused this tragedy to occur. The projector is simply loading it. Please wait."

Ozpin glared at his old friend. "James, don't tell me-"

James quickly interrupted the headmaster with a vicious glare. "Not a word, Oz." Juniper was curious though about what Ozma and Ironwood were about to share. She couldn't complain about her plan that worked to disrupt the kingdoms but at the same time all the despair was getting tedious to see.

'Note to self, if I think that these people were brainwashed. Perhaps despair is not the most exciting motivation.'

'She should be feeling despair but why is she struggling, she should be near death.' Michael, the Ultimate Hope of Humanity and the Greatest Weapon Forged to Fight the Grimm, walked slowly to the near death body of the once undefeated Mistrallian champion. She was steps away from saving her friends but the final trap had been sprung where sharp glass spears had pierced her body from every angle except for her head and neck.

"Pyrrha, NO!" Ruby yelled out as she started to cry. She saw the heartbroken look of her friend as she failed to probably save them from their despair addicted fate. She was a hero to her but did that world see her as one because she failed.

Pyrrha grimaced at seeing herself become a porcupine but she was distressed when she looked at Jaune. Her team leader was openly crying after seeing his partner go down like that. His heart also started to hurt but this one hurt more than the others. He wondered why?

Her blood was starting to pool across the unforgiving floor, but upon hearing footsteps, she weakly stirred and looked up to see him. "Jaune?"

Jaune. Jaune. Jaune. That woman known as Salem also called him Jaune, is that who he was before the experiments by Ozpin and James Ironwood to craft him into a weapon. He knew the numerous procedures would destroy his memories but was that who he was? Was he important to her? Why was his heart hurting upon seeing her dying body?

Everyone looked at Ozpin and James who seemingly froze in fear. Winter looked at her commander who she looked up to as a father figure. "Sir, is this-"

"I can't answer that now, Specialist Winter… but the project was not intended for Mr. Arc." The admittance from the head of Atlas caused a fury from the Beacon people that was only stopped by the composed Ozpin and Creator.

Juniper only smiled at the aspect of Cinder's plan already coming into fruition. But she then looked at the Creator and frowned. 'I do not truly know how much he will remove from our minds. But will he remove this.'

"Jaune? I am Michael, the Ultimate Hope. How do you know me?"

Pyrrha chuckled lightly as she tried to get up in order to save her friends from falling into despair since she knew they were watching this. "Because you're Jaune… you-ve always been Jaune."

She then slipped and fell to the ground that was soaked in her blood. She started crying but tried to move forward however her power was waning. Her tears were pooling in her blood and she was making choking sounds, was it because of the blood going into her lungs or was it a normal reaction when being sad.

Nora certainly started bawling out along with Weiss and Ruby from Pyrrha's attempts. Ren couldn't help the tears falling from his eyes. Blake wanted to stop watching but the sounds of the champion would haunt her dreams. Yang started to also openly cry, she wanted this to end.

Pyrrha remained unmoved, it definitely unnerved her to see herself die. But at the same time she noticed that Jaune had also stopped crying and remained focused on the screen. 'What is he thinking about?'

Jaune was perplexed as to his other self's actions. 'He said an experiment of Atlas, which means I decided to do whatever they wanted. Knowing at the same time I would lose my memories but did it all for the sake of saving the world and my friends…'

He grimaced. 'I actually could have done that.'

"I failed them. In the end, when it mattered most. I couldn't save anyone, not even you Jaune."

"Stop calling me that. I am not Jaune, I am Michael. Why bother even trying to save people in your condition? No matter what happens, you will die. That is your destiny." Her tears became stronger as she was able to move a foot away from where she fell.

Those last words hit her very hard like a truck to an isekai protagonist. Her destiny or her purpose was already dictated to her by others. Was it to really die while failing to save the world? She had originally thought it would be to create victory no matter what. 'But if what on screen is my destiny…'

She started crying and immediately Jaune went to her immediately. He then comforted her with a tight hug while rubbing her back tenderly. 'I don't like this destiny… I wanted to be with Jaune.'

She fought regardless of this. "Do you believe in destiny?" She moved another foot but this time instead of going to where her friends were, she was moving towards Michael which surprised him a bit.

"Why are you going to him?! He will kill you and make you suffer even longer. That Jaune is a monster." Weiss screamed

"I don't wanna die. I wanted to be with Team RWBY along with Nora and Ren. I wanted to have more mundane and peaceful days. I… wanted to -ack- have more… training days with you. I- Jaune. I- Don't Want To Follow My Destiny! I just wanted to-ack!"

Ren and Nora were crying their eyes out, they didn't want to see their beloved teammate suffer like this. Cinder on the other hand was amused. 'Those spikes that pierced her were not metal. This just proves her semblance is only effective against metal. Looks like my glass will reach her.'

Team RWBY along with Sun and Neptune were also doing the same, Ozpin was hit with a lot of sadness but held it in. 'Should I still go with my plan to make Pyrrha Nikos, the maiden.'

She reached out and managed to touch his outstretched hand. When did he even commit such an action? Why did he go closer? Why was he sad? Why? Why? Why?

Pyrrha grimaced. 'So Jaune still is there. He just hasn't realized it because of the loss of memories.' She looked at him as he had hope in her eyes that Michael would save her. 'I will probably die but does this mean that Jaune cares for me so much. To try to even go towards me without the attempt to kill even without memories and being on opposite sides… Do I love him because of this or am I in love with the idea of Jaune.'

"I wish… I-I could be with-" She drew her last breath and her head unceremoniously fell to the ground. Pyrrha Nikos to the one watching along with her friends was killed because of her drive to save the people she loved. That caused them to spiral in despair and follow the mastermind. To Michael however it was a different story.

The good people were crying now and clenching their fists in anger or regret for the loss of Pyrrha. However said girl and Jaune remained undeterred, they couldn't quite say why but they felt this wasn't it. 'There's still hope.' Both of them thought.

The ringlet that covered her hair fell to the ground, he picked it up because he wanted to… Something was blocking his vision and was running down the sides of his cheeks after seeing the huntress-in-training go down.

Tears…?

Michael's fingers brushed the warm liquid running down his cheeks, surprise coloring the motion. He half-expected them to disappear at his touch, foreign as they were. But they remained, blurring his vision, obscuring the ringlet and the blood and the body of Pyrrha Nikos.

"Is Jaune coming back?" Ruby asked.

Yang shook her head and vehemently opposed the idea. "That Jaune didn't care to save us or Pyrrha from dying. He deserves it."

Blake bit her lip in anger, she was now seeing her knight become the villain. Even with those circumstances, it was hard to imagine her forgiving a Jaune like that. Especially with those reactions.

As he thought her name, snippets of conversations— "I'm sorry!" "…any spots left…" "…let me help you!" "…you're the kind of guy… who just saw me for me." —flooded his brain so fast it left him dizzy. Flashes of a spear pining him to a tree, him wearing a dress as he danced with the same girl before him. Memories? Impossible. His past self was dead. The experiments made sure of that. But he was remembering things that hadn't happened to him, seeing Pyrrha's smiling face and feeling his chest flood with warmth, and now he was looking at her body, and he was—he was—

"He's remembering… how? Those operations would completely remove the personality and memories of Mr. Arc from the body." James was astounded.

Juniper simply answered his query. "There are such things as dumb miracles."

His breath hitched sharply. Someone had taken a knife and carved a hole in his chest, while someone else had taken a hammer and driven a nail into his head. That was what these feelings were. Grief, hysteria, confusion, Logic supplied, and Michael felt his hands tremble. He'd known what they were called, but he'd never experienced anything like them before, and it was throwing him off guard. There was too much happening, too many things spinning around, and for once in his life he couldn't begin to make heads or tails of it.

Ren supplied what everyone was thinking. "He's changing, he's starting to care. But only for Pyrrha."

But even while part of his mind was distraught, overwhelmed by emotions and trying to understand what was happening to him, the other part was coolly analyzing the situation, examining Pyrrha's body with clinical efficiency. As if in a trance, he crouched, ignoring the blood seeping into his pants, and reached for her wrist. He noted her fading pulse, clammy skin, and bluing fingertips. Combined with her earlier pale complexion, dizzy confusion, and of course heavy blood loss, the diagnosis was most likely...

Class 4 hypovolemic shock, caused by massive exsanguination. Patient has lost consciousness and will be dead in minutes without treatment. Necessary steps: establishing airway to breathe. Applying pressure to wounds to stem further blood flow. Replenishing intravascular volume. Administering antibiotics to prevent septic shock and infection.

Sun was shocked, there was no way one person can look at someone and properly figure out what was wrong with them in a short amount of time. "What is he?"

Ozpin frowned. "If he is the Ultimate Hope like what he says. Then he has to embody every talent imaginable to show that hope to humanity."

Patient will be dead in minutes without treatment.

Pyrrha Nikos will be dead in minutes without treatment.

Pyrrha Nikos will be—

Pyrrha smiled, she didn't fully believe that she could be brought back. The extent of her injuries were severe, but at least Jaune came back. She was able to help him at least. But all of a sudden she looked at her partner who held her hand in his.

She blushed in his confident smile. "Don't give up on my other self. He'll bring you back like what I would do." Were these scenarios, tests for her? Designed to see if she truly loved the blonde knight. She was starting to fall out of love with the idea of Jaune Arc and slowly developing feelings for the real Jaune. 'Maybe I should also stop babying him. He's earned it.'

Before he could comprehend why he was doing so, Michael found himself yanking off his blazer. His eyes ran over Pyrrha's still form, pinpointing the most serious injuries as his hands tore the material into strips. Three penetrating wounds in her abdominal area, multiple penetrating wounds and cuts on her arms and legs, one penetrating wound in her foot, one laceration on her forehead…

It only took a few seconds to establish a patient airway by rolling her over, lifting her chin and opening her mouth. Then Jaune tore off her jacket, blouse and bra in one clean motion, paying no heed to her bare breasts. They were distractions from the goal he had set… but they looked good.

The two partners immediately reddened from that observation, the slight movement of eyes towards her chest made Pyrrha snicker. At least he was noticing her physique, so she decided to tease him. "Thank you."

Jaune looked away with a Ruby 'eep' as he tried to look everywhere but Pyrrha. "You-you… you… nice body."

The people in the theatre laughed at the nervous way of praise coming from the blonde knight, for the people downtrodden due to the experiences of despair. It was definitely a light for them.

Mindlessly, he wrapped the makeshift bandages tightly around her injuries, hands moving at a blur. Only one thought, one he couldn't even understand the reason behind, rang through his mind:

This shall not stand! He could not allow her to die.

"He's so fast, is he really about to bring her back?" Neptune added.

Velvet hoped that this version of Jaune could do it. "Of course he can."

Coco snickered. "Is it because your man is about to save the day?" Velvet's ears drooped in embarrassment and piped up her partner's name. However the fashionista simply laughed at her partner's behavior, she was still recovering from the actions of her alternate despair-addicted self. It would take a while for her to forget what happened in their concert.

Hypovolemic shock was reversible, if treated swiftly enough. Contrary to popular belief, one's brain did not shut down immediately after receiving traumatic injuries of this manner. There was a small window, the span of minutes, where it sluggishly slowed due to lack of oxygen as blood failed to travel to it. Slowed, but not stopped, and if quick enough medical action was taken, death could be warded off.

Three minutes. He had three minutes to treat her shock before her organs started taking damage. Each minute after that steadily increased the odds of permanent organic or neurological damage; with the amount of blood she'd lost, he suspected she would last no longer than ten minutes before dying. No—he probably had less than three minutes. How much time had he wasted, lost in his confused daze? No more than seconds, he suspected, but every one counted.

Ozpin was astounded at Michael's skillset. "He might actually do it. I can't even fathom how he knew the precise amount of time to save Ms. Nikos. This version is frightening to face against."

Unknown to most, Beacon Academy had an extensive underground complex that ran beneath the entire campus. Michael had spent most of his existence down here, first by order of the Ozpin and his Secret Order, then by order of Salem, to keep himself a secret from the academy. He'd long since memorized the web of tunnels and rooms. The one they were currently in wasn't too far from the rooms he'd been kept in as Ozpin tested him.

Ozpin shivered from the amount of killing intent being directed at him by his students. 'Why?! I haven't even done it!'

He bent and scooped Pyrrha into his arms in a macabre parody of a bridal carry. In normal circumstances, someone in her condition should either be moved via flat surface like a stretcher or not moved at all, but Michael didn't have a stretcher on hand, and it would be far too time-consuming to fetch the apparatus to save her and bring them back. Trying to jostle her as little as possible, he set off down the hall at a sprint.

The part of the complex he'd been held in was spartan, made up of just the lab where he'd been "born", a storage room that held food and other necessities, a clinic, and the room he'd stayed in when he wasn't being tested—he could scarcely call it a bedroom. The clinic was there mostly in case something happened to him during his transformation or during testing, and was stocked with anything related to medical care, from Band-Aids to vaccines to surgical equipment. It was here Michael arrived at seconds later, kicking the door open and laying Pyrrha down on the first cot he saw.

Michael's hand snapped over to the thermostat on the wall, raising it to warm Pyrrha before she experienced hypothermia. Now: assess and prioritize. He slipped an oxygen mask on her, not trusting her shallow breaths. Then he slid several pillows under her legs to elevate them, so blood would have an easier time flowing back to her heart.

Yang was shocked. "He's moving as fast but more precise than Rubes."

Ruby was also surprised. "And it doesn't look like he is even using his aura. What happened to Jaune?"

The Creator decided to answer that specific question. "As a last resort, General James Ironwood and Ozpin decided to have Jaune Arc partake in the Last Hope experiment. It took a month but the multiple lobotomies along with the nearly inhumane aura experiments caused this Jaune to have every talent becoming the ultimate weapon for any situation."

James and Ozpin frowned from this revelation given to them, would they really do that… Probably, but only if the situation was dire or maybe they were desperate for an outcome in an unending war.

Replenishing her blood volume was the next step. Jaune reached into a cabinet and began pulling down the equipment for a blood transfusion. With the amount she lost, she'll need multiple transfusions…what's her blood type?

His hands paused for a few seconds as he realized he didn't know. He could have transfused some of his own blood into her body, but his blood type was A—not O, the universal donor. If she were an A or an AB, she would be fine if she took his blood. If she were a B or an O, she would definitely die.

Fifty percent odds were unacceptable. So Michael went for the second option: blood substitutes. An academy full of as many talented people as Beacon would naturally lead many fields, including science, and over the years had created successful solutions that simulated the properties of real blood. They were no long-term replacement, but they were suitable for usage in emergency trauma situations, such as this one. There were several packets also in this lab, and Jaune grabbed one and returned to Pyrrha's side. Swiftly, he attached it to an IV and injected it into a vein along her elbow. As the IV fed the artificial blood into her body, he quickly fetched a crystalloid solution that would increase circulatory volume, helping the precious oxygen flow. This too was intravenously inserted into Pyrrha's unconscious form.

Blake was impressed at his skills. "He might actually do it. That's impossible."

Jaune countered. "Nothing's impossible if you can do it. Pyrrha's gonna come back."

Next, Michael checked breathing, pulse and blood pressure again, swiftly hooking her up to a digital monitor. His eyes narrowed minutely when he noted they were fluttering, fading. He administered a dose of norepinephrine to increase blood pressure and aid her heart's pumping. Almost impatiently, he stared at the monitor, waiting for the readings. Only when it informed him her vitals were weak, but holding, did he relax. He'd just barely clocked in under three minutes; there was always the risk of complications creating brain damage, but this gave her the highest chance of full cognitive recovery.

He paused long enough to catch his breath and run over what needed to be done next. Internal bleeding. He needed to check for internal bleeding and perform surgery if there was. With the location and approximate severity of her injuries…a supine chest x-ray and FAST ultrasound on the abdomen are the first priorities. The black-haired man hurried to fetch the appropriate equipment.

The radiography revealed three punctured organs—lung, spleen, and intestines. Michael paused only as long as necessary to put on the proper surgical equipment, and then he went to work.

Between treating the pneumothorax in her right lung, suturing her intestines and spleen, performing a head CT scan, monitoring her vitals, swapping her IVs when they ran out, changing her dressings when blood soaked through, and washing and stitching her wounds, it was more than six hours before the artificial Ultimate Hope was done. He was out of breath and up to his elbows in blood. His blazer was torn to shreds, the rest of his clothing was terribly bloodstained, and he looked more rumpled than he could remember ever possibly being. But he was successful, and his stitches as he closed the final incisions were neat and precise.

He felt drained as he went through the final stages of the treatment, giving Pyrrha a dosage of antibiotics to prevent septic shock and checking her vitals one final time. They were within acceptable parameters. And that was that—he was now gazing down at a weak but alive Pyrrha Nikos.

"Amazing, he actually closed all of her wounds and stopped the bleeding before three minutes had passed." Winter noted which drew dumb nods from the audience. They couldn't believe Michael's capabilities.

Thanks to him Pyrrha Nikos was alive, Pyrrha was astounded but also happy that Michael or Jaune went through such lengths. She wasn't sure if she could forgive him for causing her death to happen but she sure her other self would want to thank him for everything.

Ruby smiled. "Deep down I guess Jaune always wants to be a hero."

Exhaling, he dragged a hand across his face, leaving a red smear on his forehead. Miraculously, the spears had just barely missed anything that would have instantly killed Pyrrha, and she hadn't sustained any wounds beyond his abilities. To escape fatal injury, with as many wounds as she had...she was incredibly lucky.

Or maybe it wasn't that she was lucky, but that he was? That his luck had somehow worked in advance, before he'd even known he wanted to save her, to spare her from injuries not even he could have pulled her back from?

Could his luck do that?

Emerald scoffed. "Like anyone is really that lucky."

Cinder chuckled at her subordinate's observation. "With what we've seen just now. Probably so." 'Is this a warning towards me concerning the relationship of Jaune and Pyrrha if one of them is in mortal danger? Perhaps.'

He very carefully removed her remaining clothing—it was beyond saving anyway—and draped a thick blanket over her. He could dress her in a gown once her stitches weren't so fresh. Then Michael set about cleaning up the area, letting the brainless work keep his body busy as his recently-freed mind examined what had just occurred. Sorting and compartmentalizing, as it had been built to do. Making sense of the senseless.

Fact: Pyrrha Nikos had come within a hairs' breadth of being executed by Salem, and would have died without outside intervention.

Fact: He had been that outside intervention, saving her life.

Fact: He didn't understand his motive for doing so.

Jaune was surprised by his capabilities but hated that he had to sacrifice everything in order. "At least he saved Pyrrha."

Pyrrha was also happy that she was saved by Jaune. But inside she was confused, normally she would be elated but this version of Jaune truly unnerved her yet she also found herself wanting to love him. 'I have to ponder this thought. I guess this one is to test my feelings for Jaune.'

That was the crux of it. Michael was not a doer. He was an observer. He succeeded at whatever he did—even this, narrow as it had been, was a success—and thus had no motivation to act. Constant success became tiring, boring, and he had no connections to the world, no investments, nothing and no one to care about. Observing others at least allowed him to occasionally derive a spark of emotion beyond apathy, before it too faded away.

But for reasons he couldn't comprehend, he hadn't wanted Pyrrha to die. It was illogical. He'd only met her twice. There was no reason to care about her or her fate.

And yet there was something there, he thought as he attempted to work out why he cared so much. Some familiarity, some spark, something that drew him to her from that first meeting. Interested him in a way he'd only felt when Salem cooed about the promises of despair. But he'd only been curious about the concept, not Salem herself. Not like he had been curious about Pyrrha.

Yang smirked and leaned to the blonde knight. "Didn't know you were that interested with P-Money that much?"

Jaune blurted out. "Of course, she's my partner."

Normally, the students of Beacon would have a Pyrrha in the same color as Ruby but she simply gave a warm smile. What the hell had happened to Pyrrha, wouldn't she be celebrating at this point for getting Jaune's attention after all this time. She now seemed alright with everything. "And you are mine."

Maybe that was why he'd saved her. Because she was fascinating, complex, the only bright object in his world of monotonous gray.

But no. That was too clinical, too distant. Reminiscent of a scientist observing an insect in a glass box—which was an accurate description for him, most of the time. But not this time. Mere curiosity didn't account for the whirlwind of emotions that had descended upon him as he watched her bleed out, nor the tears he'd shed without realizing.

An emotional response to an emotional event. Which implied an emotional investment, an emotional connection. One that likely tied into his immediate fascination with her.

Michael frowned as his mind came to the only logical explanation left. A logical explanation that was most definitely illogical. Logically, it was Jaune Arc's memories and emotions influencing him. Pyrrha's reaction to seeing him implied she had known his past self, been close to him. If the sentiment had been returned, those feelings would be sufficient for Michael to feel like he should recognize her, become distressed upon her near death, and invest time and energy into saving her.

Emerald whispered. "Ma'am does this mean that the plan is-"

Cinder smirked. "The plan will continue, our target will be Pyrrha Nikos. I will just make sure that Jaune Arc doesn't reach her in time."

Just as logically, Jaune Arc's memories and emotions no longer existed. His personality had been erased and suppressed. Any feelings he might have had for Pyrrha Nikos were gone. But they were the only things that could have motivated him to help her.

Ergo, the memories and emotions that had been destroyed somehow still lingered, at least in regards to Pyrrha. Michael sighed uncharacteristically, turning off the faucet as he finished washing his hands. All this pondering and the only conclusion he'd arrived at was a paradox.

Paradoxes do exist in the world, though. Salem's love for destruction and despair-the most self-destructive of emotions-proves that.

Juniper simply chuckled, for her to even fall into such a state was unfathomable. 'Truly this version of me must have really wanted everything to be gone… could that happen to me?'

Tired red eyes looked over Pyrrha. She'd fallen into a coma and would need to be watched carefully, her wounds constantly checked for infection. After her spleen's rupture, her white blood cell count would be low, making her more vulnerable to illness, so he would have to sanitize everything. And he would need to monitor her blood pressure. It would be a round-the-clock supervision, a difficult task, no doubt, but not a particularly problematic one. Salem didn't particularly care much what he did with his time, so long as he showed up when she called for him, and Michael knew that once Pyrrha stabilized he'd be able to leave her alone for brief periods.

As if his thoughts had summoned her, his scroll—which Salem had given him for ease of communication after the slaughter of the student council—buzzed in his pocket. Jaune pulled it out and examined it to see a text from the penultimate woman.

Come.

Well, that hadn't taken long. He was a bit perplexed she hadn't checked on him earlier, but replaying the events of today helped him arrive at a conclusion. Ah, that's right—the purpose of Pyrrha's execution was to drive her classmates into despair. She had already broke her followers that invaded into Beacon. Salem was likely occupied by finishing the process of breaking them. Possibly celebrating her victory as well.

Ozpin's eyes widened in surprise. 'But how? I made sure that… it is her after all.'

Juniper smiled. 'You were oh so predictable. All I need is to plant that seed of doubt into you and then the next thing I hear is the student body being detained with Atlas.'

He eyed Pyrrha. He loathed to leave her side now—this was the time she'd be most vulnerable, the most prone to relapsing. If there were post-surgery complications, such as her blood pressure suddenly spiking or dipping, she would need assistance immediately. But not showing up to meet Salem was dangerous. Her followers were already suspicious of him and would take any chance she could to justify it. Having them investigate his whereabouts could potentially lead them to the girl he'd just battled to save, and if they found her, they'd make sure they succeeded in killing her.

Michael glanced at the machines Pyrrha was hooked up to. He was certain the academy had some state-of-the-art electrocardiography machines especially since it was given to them by Atlas that could send signals to scrolls. In the time Salem had given him, it wouldn't be difficult to locate them and connect them to his phone. That way, if Pyrrha's vitals fluctuated abnormally, he would receive a text alert to his scroll. And the office of Ozpin's wasn't too far for him.

Sun complained. "I know he's amazing here but sometimes I feel he is always flexing to our faces."

Coco laughed. "If I was that great then I'd do it whenever and wherever."

If he had to, he could utilize his ultimate stealth, break away from the meeting, and make it back here quickly. Salem wouldn't be too happy with him afterwards, but he was confident he could think of a good enough excuse.

Yes, that was an acceptable plan. And there were still a multitude of other tasks that needed doing. He would have to search the security feeds and wipe them if they'd caught what he'd done, dispose of Pyrrha's clothing, set up defensive measures around the room...

As he pocketed his phone, his fingers brushed against something else. Small, metallic, hard, oddly shaped. Michael paused mid-stride and withdrew the object. It was Pyrrha's ringlet, which had somehow made its way into his pocket during his mad rush to save her.

He stared at it, feeling a strange emotion swell within him. Contemplated throwing it away, then slide it back in. Pyrrha would probably want it back when she woke up, but until then, there was no reason not to keep it with him.

"He kept it… that's not good." Ruby whispered that last part, last thing the girls wanted was a more hyped version of Pyrrha trying to get Jaune. Worse, what if Jaune reciprocate her feelings, there goes her future of beautiful blonde kids. 'This can't stand!'

The Creator smiled. "That's it for this time. I think I'll show you the next one."

An event to determine humanity's survival. In an arena surrounded by both humans and gods, the third fight was under way. In the god's corner, he had used his powers gifted to him by birth to part the sea. He slowly made his way to the ring whilst looking down on everyone for they were truly inferior to Poseidon, elder brother of the King of the Cosmos and the God of the Sea.

"I don't like this version of Jaune either. It feels like he doesn't care and is constantly showing his superiority." Pyrrha noted.

But Yang had other ideas since she looked at his otherworldly physique. "Well he looks yummy to me."

In the other corner, a lone swordsman from the lands of Mistral rode the strong waves on a wooden boat. Once he stepped into the ring, he had removed his straw hat to reveal an old but very athletic man holding a very long katana. The humans were shocked that this was to be their next champion however he silenced the doubters by simply unsheathing his sword.

All of a sudden, the waters stopped moving and became serene. This peaked the interest of the gods as the announcer showcased who this man was. "Fighting for humanity's survival. The greatest swordsman, one who is still searching for his perfect state as a warrior! History's Greatest Loser, Jaune Arc!"

The consensus of the audience shouted out their surprise. None more so than Jaune. "WHAT?! Then who's the other guy?!"

---

AN: Yes, yes I know she's only a mother of one. But if you think about it, she was a mother to Yang more than Raven especially in those early years. In the Danganronpa, I wanted to add more but I felt it would be too graphic or too much despair that it will turn into a bad angst section of the chapter.

I would've liked to have my boi Nagito here but no one fit his personality… he is simply too unique. Also the preview shows the next main chapter but a short will come after this.

Where's Meeting the Parents you ask? ….

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