Silver

by Imyoshi

Forced to admit that Crocea Mors didn't feel right in his hands—no matter how he held it—Jaune Arc struggled to overcome this obstacle through the insane idea that Aura could become more than just the armor that protected him. Barriers broke as he pushed past the limits of what Aura was capable of, creating and forging his very own weapons from the manifestation of his soul.

19. Porpoise

Disclaimer: I own nothing of RWBY.

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Porpoise

By: Imyoshi

Kurochō?

Nora Valkyrie couldn't recall the last time she heard that name. It seemed like such a long time ago. And the village—her village—why was it in such a disarray? Neither Ren nor Nora even recognized the village when they walked right through it. Kurochō used to be such a nice place, filled with happiness and joy. Every building and home had love and cared carved into it. Now it was all in shambles, including the wall before them. Sure, they might've been children when they left their home, but during some part of their lives, this place had still been their home!

Now it was falling apart.

Moving forward, Nora peeked over to Ren, haunted by his cold, emotionless exterior. "Is it really home? We haven't visited our family's home since the day we left."

Ren didn't answer her. He knew she remembered the symbol of his broken clan. There was no doubt in either of their minds. Nora used to love drawing the raincloud on the pavement during the warm summer days when they were just kids. It was almost kind of funny in its own right. Too bad the punchline missed its mark.

Finding the energy to remove his fingers from the wall next to impossible, Ren took a step forward and dipped his head, obscuring his vision from the world by the bangs of his hair. His forearm held him up as he gently breathed in, shutting his eyes off to the world around him. The broken stones pricked his hand, digging into the skin, but he didn't notice any of it. He was too busy controlling the diversity of emotions bubbling deep inside him. All of which proved to be an unbearable task for the Lie.

The façade he was resting on was crumbling around him and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. Not him. Not his leader. Definitely not Nora.

Not anyone.

Unlike Nora, who was also feeling a generous amount of sadness, this place still haunted his memories till this day. His personality—his life began here! Everything that was beyond this wall was what defined Lie Ren, and what shattered him. There were no good memories here. None at least he wished to remember. Such miracles elude him. Such enjoyment he didn't deserve. A monster deserved nothing but pain and sorrow.

Watching from the sidelines, Jaune clicked his teeth together from the sudden way the cloak's Lore was affecting Ren's Aura. The dangerous Dark Energy was doing something unknown to the Lie, entangling new strands of darkness from the deepest depths of the Grimm stitches. All the emotions Ren was feeling must be tampering with the Lore? It was, after all, the power of the Grimm, monsters that could sense negativity, and there was zero doubt in his mind that both Ren and Nora were grieving in their own special way. However, the implications of such an emotional trauma were untested. Lore was such a strange power with its own agenda. High levels of negativity were dangerous.

The effects of prolonged exposure of Lore on an unguarded mind was currently unknown.

On a personal note, he wasn't totally sure how to react to all of this. Ren and Nora's past was still somewhat of a mystery to him. A detached part of the Arc knew they haven't revealed everything, probably too hurt from the memories themselves. He got that. By all means, Jaune didn't understand the vacant feeling in their hearts, but on some level, he did understand where they were coming from. He just couldn't relate to the feelings hovering around, and he wasn't the only one with mixed feelings about all this.

Sir Scrabbles was worried for its caretakers, sensing an unrivaled amount of depression and anger coming from both of them. The male the Grimm could understand, truly it could, but for the female to feel this amount of untapped sadness far exceeded the Grimm's expectations. Such sadness made the Grimm wonder if the emotions would attract others of its kind. Perfectly enough, the redheaded female made an attempt to calm them down, grabbing the orange-haired female by the shoulder with a calm, reassuring smile, with eyes bright and lusher than the forest around them.

"Are you both okay?" An honest question that was normally followed with a dishonest answer.

That was not the case this time. Nora was unnaturally quiet. "No... No, we're not fine."

"We could leave if you want?" Jaune lamely added, unsure how to go any further.

"Ren?" Lore was consuming Ren, but Nora's voice snapped him out of it. "What do you want to do?"

The answer she received was Ren placing his hand on the ancient gate. The gate was taller than all of them, towering an impressive ten feet into the air. Old age had done little to break down the wall, but it was impossible to miss the wear and tear across the stone structure entirely. A testament to the clan's once unfortunate power.

Pushing the rusted gate open, Ren entered first, not missing the slight breeze that passed by his feet. The metal creaked, almost falling apart at the seams, then it did when Nora pressed slightly too hard on the aged iron. Pyrrha felt broken as she witnessed the gate fall apart, unable to stop the comparison of rust between the gateway and her old weapons. All of which have been left to rot, forgotten in a period of time that had long since passed. Just like the clan compound in front of her.

Jaune was the last one to enter, observing Ren's Lore with his own. How much courage did a person need to return back to their old home after such a tragedy? He couldn't even imagine what Nora and Ren were going through. Worst of all, the Lore from Ren's cloak was capitalizing on that. Instead of containing his Aura like a prison, it mingled and occasionally darkened the hue of pink, but it always bounced back at the last moment. If it got any worse, he was going to have to intervene and remove the cloak from Ren's person. For now, however, the Arc would remain behind as an observer.

If Team JNPR thought the village was in shambles, Ren and Nora's clan compound was worse for wear. The plant life had reclaimed the complex almost entirely. The stones beneath their feet were fighting for dominance with weeds and flowers, the building, while a more variant color of silver, were dulled and flaking. No sound could be heard except for their feet clicking on the rocks. Not even birds or other animals intruded this desolate place. Everything, outside the plant life, was just so dead and barren.

Passing by a few of the buildings, Pyrrha noted how almost all the structures inside looked identical. Each block and rectangular home lacked any real accessory to make them standout, except for the variants of colors for decoration, but they were all relatively matching in style. Occasionally, she saw Ren's clan symbol on the side of a building, however, some of the clouds have thunderbolts that oddly resembled Nora's pajama thunderbolt, maybe indicating possible Valkyrie homes? She didn't know. And speaking of the loudest member of their team, Pyrrha smiled sadly for the unusual quiet girl.

Nora was acting exceptionally strong to be walking in a place like this. The champion wouldn't know if she could muster up the strength to accomplish the same feat. Her invincible armor might not be enough. It might crumble underneath the pressure. Maybe even possibly hold her down. She was forced to shake her head to rid herself of such inklings.

They then turn a corner and all of them felt their blood freeze up. Their hearts all skip[ed a beat, but it was only two of them gasping at the devastating sight. In front of them was a row of tombstones with black butterflies occupying a variety of them. Age was evident. Slabs of concrete were broken in corners and the floor was taken over by Mother Nature. On some of the headstones, they could see the beginning names of Lies or Valkyries etched in. Some were eligible, others were simply not, and some had no names at all, forgotten to even the people of the village below. Unknown during their demise.

"Oh my..." Pyrrha gasped. Ren momentarily closed his eyes and Nora clutched his arm. "I'm sorry."

He opened his eyes again and gave a sad smile of his own. "It's not your fault... it's mine." Ren didn't wait for Pyrrha to say anything. He broke away before she could and started to move past the headstones, searching for any evidence of his parent's headstone. He couldn't find them. "I'm the sole reason this happened. This is wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been around."

Nora detached herself from his arm, pulling Sir Scrabbles off of Ren's neck so she could hug the little guy. She long since had given up this battle. Telling Ren he wasn't a monster was as impossible as getting him to stop eating healthy food. It wasn't ever going to happen. Not in her lifetime.

Lady Luck would have to shine down her luck upon her to make such a thing happen.

Catching up to Ren as he ventured deeper into the compound, Jaune studied the waterless raincloud, curious to its origins. "I have to ask, why is a raincloud your clan's symbol, Ren? I kind of expected, oh, I don't know, dice or anything else than some weird raincloud. It doesn't even have water!"

Coming to a halt, Ren sighed and hunched his shoulders for a bit. He looked over his shoulder to address his leader, turning his body partially. "There are two parts to my Semblance. I've told you about my bad luck... but not of my family's name. I am, after all, from the Lie clan. There's a meaning behind that name. It's not just for show." Bringing his hand out, Ren held it under a symbol of his clan. "Lies and bad luck... they go hand-to-hand together. And the raincloud is probably the biggest symbol that's universally known. Everyone knows that a raincloud can ruin a person's day, but it's their unpredictability and misfortune that draws the person's attention away. They come at the best times, where it's all sunny and cheerful, raining misfortune with its lies."

Jaune looked at the symbol, skeptic, questioning the influence of a raincloud. "Really? A raincloud says all that?"

He shrugged and pointed to the sky. "I'm pretty sure you've heard of the expression to rain on someone's parade. It may sound silly, but the raincloud is the greatest form of lie and bad luck. It's unmistakable and unparalleled in the grand scheme of bad luck and misfortune." Ren sighed and waved his hand halfheartedly in the air. "Truth be told, I never really understood what that actually meant. My parents didn't teach me the secrets about our clan's full name. The accident happened before they could. And it never really seemed important to bring up."

The more he knew, the more Jaune wanted to know. "So what? You never tried to incorporate the raincloud into your setup?"

His answer came in the form of a long silence. Jaune was almost afraid he asked the wrong question, but Ren was pulling out his weapon and tossing it to Jaune. "The Lotus flower is a sign of good luck. It's the flower in StormFlower; however, the storm in my weapon's name represents the dark cloud. The good and the bad balance each other out."

Jaune blinked once, inspecting the weapon with a critical eye. "Do you really believe that?"

Ren laughed quietly. He didn't know what to believe anymore. He grabbed his weapon and hid them back in his sleeves. "I don't know, at least I don't know anymore. Who knows if my superstitions worked?" Looking at the clan's symbol, Ren traced his hand alongside it. "A lot of us weren't fighters. So very few of us controlled the power of Misfortune to a high-degree, but the power was never different. In some way, shape or form, bad luck was part of a Lie's power. It was a curse we lived with since the day we were born."

Sensing the need to be alone, Jaune placed a comforting hand on Ren's shoulder and shoulder bumped the Lie. He waved goodbye and went to go find Nora and Pyrrha, leaving Ren alone to deal with the demons plaguing his mind.

Thanking Jaune silently for the understanding, Ren continued his journey to the place that held the most memories for him. Each step flashed back some pleasant and heart-crushing memories of his past life. Each one of them hurt more than the next, but he waved them off, used to removing such thoughts away with relative east and haunted by the feeling of his Semblance lurking all around the compound. Finally, he reached his destination, knowing full well which one was his old home, even if he'd been missing for roughly twelve years.

Entering his old home, Ren narrowed his eyes as memories flashed before him. Some were about his mother and others his father. They were blurry at best, but their voices ring true. Dried blood covered the walls and he actually found an old toy of his on the ground, dust-covered and rusted. Inside he ventured deeper into his old room and hardly remembered any of the things inside. Toys he had no recollection for covered the floor, dust-covered and meaningless to a teenager with self-doubt problems. He soon found the home cold and uninviting, so he left in pursuit of one more place of interest.

Going a little bit deeper into the compound, a harsh wind breezed through his cloak, guiding him toward his next destination. Not like he needed the help, this Lie still recalled the overall foundation of his old home, but his attention was still grabbed when a new black butterfly fluttered past him, heading the direction he was already walking toward.

Glaring with interest, he followed and turned a corner, coming face-to-face with the clan's most guarded compound. It stood on a podium-like platform, separated by stairs. He soon found himself traveling up the stairs, reaching the old door blocking the entrance. Forcefully pressing the wooden passage to move, the wood broke apart from the sudden force, opening up his path to inside the compound's most treasured sanctum. As a child, he wasn't allowed any deeper into the sanctuary, forbidden to travel deeper by the adults. Ren vaguely remembered it had to do with innocence, but the real reasoning was long gone to the sands of time.

This time there was nothing stopping him from venturing deeper into the sanctuary where the secrets to his clan were held. Apparently, only a Lie could maneuver deeper into the temple, hence why none of Nora's family ever got to go deeper. Just another thing Ren never understood about his clan as a young child.

Entering the old building, his pink eyes shined in the parallel darkness, reflecting back all the false truths around him. Inside, he couldn't make out much. Broken statues of their clan's symbol etched over the walls and the vegetation hadn't gotten too deep within. Nothing of real significance resided within; being a circular room didn't allow such hiding spots to exist. And except for the tattered remains of paper and furniture, added with the broken statue of Lady Luck with her face shattered, nothing really stood out to make Ren question the importance of this building.

How a person could go any farther than one room was a bigger mystery to Ren than the Grimm clawed around his neck. He didn't see why he was forbidden from this room until he grew of age. There was nothing to see, nowhere to hide anything of great importance, well, at least as far as his eyes could tell. What could his clan have hidden here?

"There's nothing here."

A black butterfly then moved past him, venturing deeper into the singular room. Without so much as a sound, the creature landed on a wall with his clan's symbol carved into the stone, tempting Ren to follow once more. And he did, walking over to the wall to trace his fingers on. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until he pushed the wall, testing its weight, revealing a passage when the section turned against his nudge.

Ren sighed and dropped his head as he walked into the narrow passage. "I should've known nothing was what it seemed. I am from the Lie clan after all. Deception is part of the package."

Light somehow ventured inside. Upon closer inspection, Ren saw that the light came from some outside source and was being reflected on hidden mirrors. They were cracked and even broken. Not the entire hallway was filled with hidden sunlight, but it was enough for him to safely venture inside. Unlike the rest of his compound, time didn't seem to have targeted this place. There was no vegetation or cracked stones. Everything was clean and polished, hardly showing any age.

The walk to the endgame was short, real short. At the end of the passage was a single scroll on a stone tablet, partially hidden from the light. Picking up the scroll, Ren unrolled the parchment, glaring weirdly at the random scribbles written within. His hand ran through the aged paper, looking for anything eligible, and found only one thing that was clear as day, written on the top for anyone to see.

"Only a Lie's eye can see through the deception? Aura is the key? What does that mean?" Lowering the parchment, he found his eyes scanning over the carved paintings, lost and in need of a key.

A picture on a wall told a story, one Ren couldn't read, but he could make out the Evil Eye within—their clan's eye. The eye itself was outlined with three orbs embedded within both sides of the eye. The Evil Eye was the known source of power for the Lies. Aura was a second contender to the story. Mystical and powerful, the strange power entrapped their clan's eye in a protective barrier. Then the eye shined a light and a hidden word was unearthed, and personally, Ren had never attempted to add Aura solely to his eyes before. Aura had primarily been more of an instinctual power, always there. He understood using Aura to improve a person's strength in like their arms and legs; he understood that, but never before had he thought to only supply Aura to his eyes.

It was so crazy to consider, which was why he was contemplating doing it because Team JNPR was all about the insane. Insanity had pushed them this far, maybe it could push the Lie a little further.

Concentrating, he found the action surprisingly difficult, even with all the Aura training he received from both Jaune and the Aura notebook. Adding Aura to only eyes was not a technique Huntsmen train in, very less thought of. Aura in eyes just had no practical use. But over time, thanks to all the training he received, Ren managed to somehow pull it off. The sensation was a weird one, yet, he felt no change whatsoever to his eyes. All he knew was that the Aura was getting redirected there.

Confused, he looked down at the scroll in his hands and his eyes widened. "How?"

There! Written on the parchment, the words have all changed. They were pink in hue, appearing before him as readable text. And to test the likelihood of all this, Ren canceled the channeling of his Aura, suddenly finding the wording becoming unreadable once more, lacking the pink hue from before.

"Incredible!" Narrowing his eyes, he gripped the paper and focused on his Aura once more, going over the text. "Let's see. What's so important my family had to hide it here?" He began to learn. Began to read what had been lying in wait for over twelve years.

The Lie Techniques

Narrowing his eyes, even more, he pressed onward.

The pink eyes of the Lie can have the power to see through fantasy. Nothing is hidden behind the Lie's power. No false truths can be told and no illusions can be set. For a Lie's eye can see the pink glow surrounding a false truth around them. The Evil Eye cannot be tricked.

The Evil Eye is all knowing.

Bad Luck and Lying come together like the forces of light and darkness, forever bound together by Lady Luck's infinite design. The power of lying and misfortune coexist together in perfect disorder. Such as the Doppelganger and it's subtly of lying to a person while cursing them with bad luck. Mirrors, too, can distort their reflections and tell a lie, even more so when the mirror has cursed an individual with seven seconds of bad luck. Even weapons, such as the umbrella, is one big lie and beacon for bad luck to converge on at the oddest of time.

The greatest symbol of a lie is the raincloud. Unpredictable by nature, it lies about the day's purpose, surrounding everyone in a layer of bad luck.

The Lie clan's Evil Eye is not only the source of their power but a mirror as well.

The eyes are the mirrors of the soul and reflect everything that is hidden within; and like a mirror, they also reflect the person looking into them. But a mirror can be distorted and morphed, lying about the appearance, changing Fantasy into Reality, the greatest of all lies. Mirrors and doppelgangers are all potential signs of bad luck, but they're also signs for lies. A broken mirror doesn't reflect what you're actually looking at. And a doppelganger is a person, but not the person you know. They're all lies.

A curse given by the Evil Eye works differently, in order to use such a curse, one must throw away an ability first to properly set one. Such as sight, taste, touch, hearing, smell, or even the ability to speak. One must be thrown away first before a curse with the Evil Eye can be done. And if shall the curse bearer die, so shall the curse, unless a new Lie continues the game of deception.

However, control over deception doesn't come without a steep price. The greater fear is felt, the more the power in the eyes lessens. Emotions rule over a lie, and losing control can weaken a lie's ability to play with false truths. Pink loses its shine until it steeps to a soft pink and then clears to white.

Ren gripped the edge of parchment, confused. "But I have two Evil Eyes. How does that affect me?"

In order to utilize the full power of the clan's eyes, a Lie must do the special hand sign of the Lies. Where truth is altered to become False, the reality is replaced with Fantasy, and where fortune is replaced with misfortune. The special hand sign is...

"Wait!" Ren paused, rereading a certain passage he read in the beginning. "What was that I just read?"

The pink eyes of the Lie can have the power to see through fantasy. Nothing is hidden behind the Lie's power. No false truths can be told and no illusions can be set. For a Lie's eye can see the pink glow surrounding a false truth around them. The Evil Eye cannot be tricked.

Rereading over the line of text for what felt like a lifetime, he put the scroll down and thought long and hard behind the words written down. Memories of seeing his Semblance over his family's dead bodies strike him, or, it was his Semblance and not something else talking to him.

Was it?

The confused Lie recalled the time Jaune and he had a heart-to-heart in Emerald Forest, during the night both Pyrrha and Nora were out of commission. Something he said, something he believed, didn't sit to right with him now. Not after reading that passage.

It was the first time Jaune had ever heard Ren laugh, and it was hollow and dead. "Of course at the time, I didn't know it was a curse. I didn't know, but by the time I did, it was already too late. I had been using my Semblance far too carelessly and it spread too much. Eventually, disaster struck. Both Nora's and my family fell ill to misfortune, and I knew it was my fault. I could feel and even see my Semblance all over their remains. They said it was a freak accident—but I knew!"

Catching his breath, he fell onto the back of a wall, sliding down effortlessly. He clawed his hair, only thinking about the Evil Eye's ability to see through all the lies.

It was a freak accident, wasn't it? That was what the elders of the village told him. They had no reason to lie. It made no sense. Of course, that had to be the truth. What other explanation could there be? That just had to be the truth. It had to be! He set his whole life to the idea he took away everything from Nora and him. But what if, what if what he felt and saw wasn't his Semblance, but his Evil Eyes telling him something was amok?

Could it be true? Could he have been lied to? Lie Ren didn't want to believe it. He didn't even want to take a chance because it would ruin everything! But not doing anything would be irresponsible. It would be shameless and disrespectful to both his and Nora's family. And if there was even the slightest possible chance that it had all been a lie, some fabrication to hide the truth from him, then he would want to know.

Who wouldn't?

Testing his luck, Ren put the scroll down and took the deepest breath he'd ever taken, ready to push his luck to the limit. On one hand, he was hoping for his version of the tale to be true, however sad that may be. On the other hand, part of him wanted to believe he wasn't a monster walking around in human skin. He wanted to be the person Nora always believed him to be. She deserved that much.

She deserved more.

Walking out toward the graveyard where everyone he knew lied, Ren took a moment to appreciate the karma justice of a clan believing too much in the power of the Evil Eye. It was ironic. Lies, as arrogant as they may be, were also ignorant bliss in a monster hungry world, shielding people from the harsh truth of reality. Meanwhile, the truth was anything but pleasant, terrible and gut-wrenching in the face of the people who couldn't handle it, who preferred to live in a lie, who preferred to live in a fantasy. Those were a false set of beliefs people set up for themselves, barriers that couldn't withstand even the gentlest of winds.

"They were all fools in the end." Ren said easily enough, speaking ill of the dead. "All of them."

Standing at the edge of the graveyard, he saw nothing, but he felt the remnant of his Semblance lurking about. Concentrating on his eyes next, Ren still saw nothing, but that was probably because he had yet to push his luck. Part of him was scared. He was scared to be tricked—scared to be lied to—but he was even more scared of the possible truth lying in wait for him.

Glancing over to the Raincloud of Misfortune, the sight of a passing butterfly gave him the wordless strength he needed to perceive. Carefully, without hesitation, he glared over the graveyard, Aura charged and eyes fierce. A harsh wind blew past his cloak and sent a trail of goosebumps up his body.

"Mine and Nora's family died because of me. The elders of the village told me the truth. No one killed mine or Nora's families. The Valkyrie and Lie family perished due to a strain of unrestricted bad luck!"

The pink hue was impossible to miss.

Evil Eyes precipitously burned with an unparalleled fury.

...

Slam!

Lie Ren shoved the doors to the elders' council meeting, hard, caring not for the damage done to the wall or hinges. Cracks covered the entire concrete wall from the sudden force, partially due to Aura enhanced muscles and Misfortune leaking out by his own discord, other by Lore's influence over Ren's emotions. Eyes of pink burned with a fury unrivaled by the Grimm, and they were directed at the men and woman sitting across from him, unguarded and emotions burning. Luckily and unluckily for them, Glynda Goodwitch wasn't here to protect them. And it wasn't their fault Lie Ren just happened to remember where the elders met up. His memories of his hometown weren't that bad. In fact, they were all coming back to him.

The elder's leader stood up, angry. "What is the meaning of—?"

"Who killed my clan?! Who killed Nora's family?!" Ren moved forward and grabbed the leader at the center of the circle, crushing him into the nearest wall with only one hand. His eyes shined brightly in anger. "And don't lie! I'll know if you do! Now tell me! What happened that day?! Tell me!"

The elder looked to the others for help, but they remain seated, losing their courage instantly. Lie Ren was angry. There were no two ways about it. The only difference was the Lore surrounding him had amplified his unguarded emotions, fueling to channel his negativity on the people that deceived him and Nora. Pain was etched throughout the room. Rage pushed him forward without a path to follow except for their untold destruction. Just like a Grimm, except he was ten times worse than the beasts lurking outside the village walls.

They all knew this was coming the second they heard of Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie's return.

Why else were they having a meeting?

When the elder finally rested his eyes on the pink ones glaring back at him, full of despair and need, a quick flash of his memory replaced the face with a younger, more emotion-driven version that had a smile larger than life. When the flash disappeared, the old man finally recounted the man pinning him to the wall with a sense of longing. He was happy and tired at the same.

It appeared his number was up. Now was the time to come clean and return back to that truthful day where it all began. "I knew this day was coming. Pushing our luck that it wouldn't was childish to even consider."

Ren increased the pressure on his throat. "What?!"

Grabbing him by the wrist, the elder met his glare. "You probably don't remember me, Lie Ren, but I used to watch you when you were just a baby. My name's Shiragiku." Ren released the old man when his eyes found no deceitfulness in his words, taking a small step back. Shiragiku calmly checked his throat before addressing the Lie. "So, you've figured out the truth? Or at least partially I'm guessing?"

Ren fought the urge to grab the man once more, taking in his appearance instead. He was an aging man with liver spots and dark brown eyes. His skin had a brownish complexion, most likely from the sun beating down on him. His grey hair was missing on the top and spiky going out all directions around his dome. He held no contempt for Ren, that much he could see, but there was pity in those worn out eyes of his.

Pity for him and him alone.

Tilting his head, Ren pushed his anger back a step. "What do you know? Tell me!"

The elder dusted off his robe, undeterred that he almost got choked to death. "I don't need to tell you, Ren, that those eyes are special, you know that, and so did some other unsavory individuals, a group of bandits that are known for robbing and pillaging weak villages for their supplies. They attacked us twelve years ago, but not for riches or supplies..." Shiragiku sighed, moving up to meet the broken man. "They wanted those eyes of your people. Special eyes, powerful eyes! And they came without warning, aiming to steal the power of Bad Luck out from our hands, and they almost succeeded..." Shiragiku smirked, immensely proud of young Ren's accomplishment. "It had seemed some misfortune fell upon them and all the eyes of the Lie Clan they killed suddenly lost their light. They were useless. All of them. Every. Single. One." He laughed, reminiscing the past. "You rained on their parade."

Ren was confused which led to anger. "Why didn't you tell me?" he roared, releasing a large amount of Aura. "Why did I have to figure it all out now?! Why now?"

Anger was redirected with calmness. "We thought it would be safer for the village, and you two, if you didn't know until you got older. The bandits already thought all of you Lies were dead, so they had no reason to come back. If we had told you, you might've tried to extract revenge, which would've surely ended up with you punching your own ticket and letting them win. We didn't want that to happen. Not until you were much older. Against what you might believe, we always had yours and that Nora girl's best interest at heart."

"Were you ever going to tell me the truth?" Ren missed the irony of his words. "Was I going to live a lie my whole life?"

Shiragiku coughed. "You two left before we could figure out a way to tell you."

He scoffed at his claim. "So it was either let me live a lie or tell me the truth when I was ready? Was that it?!"

The old man glared, meeting Lie Ren's heated glare with a burning one of his own. His tone and voice cut the tension in two. "The lie kept you alive. The truth would've killed you—both of you." Shiragiku dropped the glare when Ren did, fixing the youngster with a query. "But now you know the truth. What's your next move? What is Lie Ren going to do? Do you aim to kill an old man? Because maybe I deserve it. I can't even imagine the guilt you've lived with all this time."

Ren seemed lost. If he was younger, then revenge would be his go-to answer, but he was far too wise to follow such a path blindly. His eyes could now see the lies hidden beneath such an idea. Maybe—no! If given the chance, he would hold nothing back and extract revenge for both Nora and his family, but his heart wasn't set in stone. He didn't want to be consumed by such an idea. He was okay executing the idea when the chance presented itself, no other way about it, but it was not going to consume him.

But he had questions. And they had the answers. "What can you tell me about the bandits who killed my family? Who killed Nora's family?!"

The elder sighed heavily, moving away from the wall to walk toward Ren. He waved his hand dismissively. "Unfortunately, not too much, they left as soon as they came. The fighting couldn't have lasted more than an hour, and a lot of us were hiding when the battles began, but I could tell you about the one in charge of the operation. She was a strong woman with raven black hair, eyes as dark as blood, and a katana just as dark that reached for the sky. She was ordering the bandits, coordinating their attack and crippling the village's defenses in a matter of minutes..."

Shiragiku remembered the day like it was yesterday.

...

Bouncing back twelve years ago, on that very fateful day, a younger Shiragiku hid behind a broken stonewall as the sound of battling stopped only minutes ago. Nonetheless, fear gripped the aging man's heart, but he forced his fears down in order to keep the Grimm away.

"Why are your people's eyes dying?! Tell me!"

Shiragiku peered up from behind the stonewall, unable to see the tattered Lie's face from such a distance. The random Lie then smirked when a sudden raindrop splashed on his nose—during possibly the hottest day of summer. Soon more droplets began to fall, suffocating out the nearby infernos in a stroke of bad luck for the intruders—the village would survive this attack and stand as a testament to the bandits' failure. He began to laugh, not stopping even when he coughed out a spray of blood. Only when she struck him did he stop, still, her strike did absolutely nothing to his resolve or pained smirk.

Chuckling, he shrugged painfully. "You're just unlucky, I guess."

Her eyes narrowed as she dug her red katana deeper into the Lie's abdominal. "If you don't tell me what I want to know, your people will die here and now."

Coughing out more blood, the Lie shook his head, smirk permanent on his bruised face. "That's a lie..." he laughed weakly. "It is your people who will suffer. The curse of the Lie Clan will forever blind you to the truth. You'll never be able to see past the lies in front of you... and that'll be your undoing."

Ding–dong! Ding-dong!

The man's eyes widened. A tired, victorious smile spread across his face as the sudden rainfall washed away the blood from his body. Blind arrogance shielded him from the woman's glare. Arrogance and sheer luck—a Lie's true ace hidden in their sleeve. The slow ringing of the bell, in the middle of battle, sounded like a timeworn sympathy to the man's dying ears. Slow and rhythmic, it was enough for the Lie to laugh and praise his enemy's ill-fortune.

"Do you hear that? It's The Bell Witch, and it's tolling for you. I would give up now. Your future is set. Your life is forfeited. And when it rings again, your clock's up." The Lie smirked. "For whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

Her blade pierced deeper. "That's just the gibberish of a dying man."

"Hehe... what's wrong? You aren't afraid of the Evil Eye, are ya? It can see your fear. It can't be tricked."

Her glared could burn metal. "You Lies and your damn arrogance! It's those damn eyes of yours. They've filled your heads with nonsense."

He coughed out more blood but ignored her quip. "Say what you want. But unlike you, I know your future. And it's riddled with lies. After all..." he trailed, allowing his pink eye to shine in the rain with his fading Aura. "My eye can see past the fantasy, yours cannot. And you want to know something... they never will."

Narrowing in both anger and patience, she pulled her blade out and quickly slashed the man's chest, cutting directly into his rib cage and heart, ending their tirade and tired of his cryptic messages. Even so, as he fell back from the finishing move, his Evil Eye glowed with knowledge, with understanding, with the truth, and with reality.

"I can't wait to see those red eyes of yours bleed the same color as mine. And trust me... it's coming. We're all looking forward to it. It's coming."

The Lie dropped dead, a smile on his face, wet with rain. Rain clouds thunder in the background with a harsh wind passing through, ruining the woman's raven mane. Her blood eyes zeroed in on the destruction around her. Most of her men have been either killed or heavily damaged. At this point, the village people could finish them. They have no choice but to retreat. The mission was a failure. Nothing could be gained now. And returning back would prove to be a fruitless and pointless endeavor.

Cutting her katana in the air, an ominous portal of red and black opened up from nothing. She huffed once more, taking a quick peek around, silently hoping she missed no Lie. No such luck! Now she was forced to retreat with nothing to show for it. What a waste of her time and resources. The woman didn't even care if the village fell to the beasts or not.

When she entered the portal a second later, it closed just as fast. Another ring of the bell echoed throughout the cooling village, vibrating a song that started a small coughing fit for the Lie resting on the ground. Shiragiku was afraid to move, unsure of himself, then the Lie turned his head and glared at him with his Evil Eye, a small smile plastered on his face. He reached out weakly toward the scared man with a shaky palm, begging him to come closer.

"Shiragiku, hurry up." It was only when Shiragiku heard his voice again did he recognize the Lie lying on the ground. His feet couldn't move him fast enough.

Sliding up to the fallen Lie, Shiragiku kneeled down and placed the head of the Lie clan's leader upon his lap, panic and relief marring his features. "Amaro! I for sure thought she killed you!"

Lie Amaro, the head of the Lie clan, a man with pitch black hair, a sleek cheekbone, eyes full of life, and a single streak of pink flowing down between his brows. He was always laughing, seeing the irony in everyday life with a happy challenge. Like most Lies, their body frames were more lithe than muscular. Movement and speed was their ally in battle, not power. That was what the Evil Eye was for. To supply them with an indescribable amount of luck on the battlefield and weaken the enemy forces.

That was the power of the Evil Eye.

The dying man chuckled. "Call me lucky, the old kicker's giving me another few minutes." The easygoing smile vanished from his face. In its place was a stern yet concerned look. "Listen, Shiragiku, I'm not going to last long. I need to know... have they found Ren." He shook his head and Amaro sighed happily. "Good. Then there's still a chance for our clan to survive..." Amaro then smirked with his Evil Eye glowing a hefty shade of pink. "And still a chance for our clan to get revenge on the damn Branwen family and their damn blessed powers."

Shiragiku knew exactly what Amaro meant. Branwen's were known for their blessing and good luck. Occasionally, the head of the Lie clan would even summarize that the Branwen's red eyes could see into the future—the truth. A power that would grant the Branwen's the possibility to foreshadow the future. Foresight was their gift. That meant the Branwen's didn't have the power of good luck, not officially, but they did have the power to create their own luck. With that in mind, having the power of good luck and bad luck almost seemed too good to be true.

And it was.

Just looking at all the destruction around him, all with the goal to acquire a single Evil Eye, which ended up as a brilliant disaster, Shiragiku bit his lip in anger and sorrow. "I'm afraid if I tell him now, he'll go after her. Ren will only end up getting himself killed."

Amaro did a weak laugh. "Then don't. That kid won't follow in our footsteps. Not yet." The Lie smirked one last time. "He's not arrogant like the rest of us. He's got two Evil Eyes, not one, and a good head on his shoulders. Their bad mojo cancels each other out. Lie Ren is the pride of the Lie clan. He'll pull through. I can feel his Semblance all around me. I can see it. He's the very reason the bandits failed."

His friend paused. "Ren? He stopped them from winning, but how?"

A flash of thunder bounced across the town, hiding the disbelief. Amaro simply grinned in victory. "Don't you get it, old friend; his bad luck stopped them before they even had a chance. His eyes are just that powerful. I'm actually glad this happened. Now he can rebuild the Lie clan with even greater strength."

Shiragiku brushed his wet bangs away from his eyes, taking some time to stare up at the falling rain. "What if she finds out about him? There'd be no stopping her."

"... She won't."

"B-But—!"

"Shiragiku... Trust me, she won't." Amaro's Evil Eye glowed in the rain and nothing else. A strike of thunder passed by as the bell's ring vibrated throughout the broken village. Then the pinkish glow slowly dissipated, silently cursing a particular individual before she could make her leave, forever losing its light in the denseness of the heavy rain. "Have I ever lied to you before?"

The man didn't know how to answer such a question. In every way, shape, and form, it felt wrong to either say yes or no. And even if he could find the truth hidden beneath the lie, it no longer mattered. His old friend had already perished, dying with a smile fit for a king.

What a bittersweet way to die.

...

Lie Ren couldn't keep the twitch in his eyes under control. They glowed with a pathless fury, misguided and lost in the midst of a calm chaos. The elders looked down with both with pity and sympathy, but never contempt or anger for bringing a sense of misfortune down upon them. They didn't hate Lie Ren. No. They did not. Their empathy toward him was as real as Nora's laugh. So he couldn't fault them. Not with the truth pushed directly into his face. Not when he had asked so angrily for it.

It wouldn't be fair.

"They were murders and thieves, the worst of the worst!" Shiragiku sighed, full of anger of his own. "Those bandits wanted the power to control your bad luck, dear boy, but their plan failed. And here you are, the last Lie left. And not to mention you have two pink eyes. Not only are you the last one, but you're also the strongest. Greatness runs through your blood. Lady Luck shines down upon you."

Ren scoffed, recounting his clan's scroll. "Greatness is just another word for arrogance. It blinds people."

The elder glared. It was just like Amaro said. "True, Lies are arrogant in nature, always setting their mind to a goal or conclusion and sticking to it, but that doesn't mean they don't hold a spec of truth. The bigger the power a Lie holds, the bigger they are."

"And the harder they fall."

The man waved a hand, breaking Ren's argument in two. "That's where that pesky bad luck of yours comes in. You Lies could always spin a tale with just a spec of luck on your side. All those lies your people make up, with just enough time and stubbornness, turn out true in some way or another. Like Bell Witch..." he remarked. "It hasn't rung since that fateful day. It's waiting for that woman's life to perish."

Ren raised a brow, not believing a word the old man just said, even if his Evil Eyes spoke a different tale. "You can't be serious. A bell that doesn't ring, there's no such thing."

Laughter filled the room, hollow and dry. "You would think, but what is a bell that does not ring? Tell me that, dear Ren. To hear it ring once more means a life has ended. Everyone else and I in the village have come to believe that. The day those bandits die, it shall ring once more."

Ren didn't believe him. He quickly turned around and walked outside, pulling StormFlower free from his sleeves, aiming to prove this man crazy and release some of his pent-up frustration. Without warning, he took aim and fired a few rounds at the Bell Witch, waiting for the audible clink of bullets and the loud, boisterous sounds of ringing. Only when he ran out of his magazine did his eyes widened, shock with disbelief as the village bell remained mute all this time.

He lowered his guns, hands shaking in place as his emotions remained completely scattered. The pink in his eyes dulled, unable to see any lies afoot. The ninja didn't even need to turn around to know that the elders have followed him outside, waiting for Lie Ren's final verdict. And when his shoulders finally stop shaking do the elders prepare themselves.

Turning around with a practiced grace, the collar of the Lore cloak closed up and hid Ren's mouth from view. His Evil Eyes glowed with a haunted look, deeply knitted to the idea of self-sacrifice and revenge. All of his emotions have been stripped away and he moved forward, standing directly in front of Shiragiku with an air of calmness and death.

"You said their names were Branwen? What else could you tell me? I want to know everything."

Waving his hand back toward the meeting room, the elder urged him to follow. "They create their own luck. Their eyes are as red blood. They care for nothing else but their own goals, using others as they see fit."

Ren peered off the soundless bell, questions building. He was remembering that name like a disease. "I still don't understand. How can a bell remain mute? It makes no sense."

"Sorry, lad, I don't know how you Lies work. But I do know you should've thrown logic out the window a long time ago. That's not how your people lived. It easier to believe in the concept of magic in this village."

Ren didn't bother questioning the truth of the story, able to see through all deception now thanks to his eyes being able to see through all illusions, fantasy and lies apparently. All the anger he felt was erased from his soul. Some invisible weight was lifted from his shoulders, not all of it, but some. And for the first time in twelve years, he truly let go of every emotion he locked away in a cage. No longer was he afraid of himself. That monster he saw himself as was starting to fade away, but parts of it still linger around, clawing at his exposed soul.

Stopping before he could walk in, Ren calmly waited patiently for the older man to notice. All the elders stood around him, wondering why he stopped. The collar of his cloak opened up, showing a sad frown that was pulling all the attention away from his depressed eyes. His shoulders this time were slouched, unable any longer to support another weight he'd been holding all his life. And when Shiragiku finally noticed his wavering emotions, he stepped forward, arms ready to either lift or drop the burden from his tired muscles entirely.

Now it was all or nothing.

Throughout this entire ordeal—his entire childhood—he was still reeling over one question. A question that robbed the Lie the ability to mask his sadden and heartbreaking emotions. "So I'm not a monster? It really wasn't my fault mine and Nora's family perished?"

A cold silence filled the air, broken and lasting. Then Shiragiku laughed in an instant. He laughed harder than he had in years, clasping Ren by the shoulders with a grin that rivaled or even surpassed Nora's. That old, angry man from before had long since left the village. Now Ren was dealing with a man who held his emotions on his sleeve and proudly displayed them for all to see.

"Of course not!" Shiragiku announced with such conviction that Ren was suddenly surrounded by happy faces. "A monster wouldn't prevent nasty people from getting their hands on destructive power." The old man smiled gently, making sure to stare at Ren's desperate eyes. "A monster doesn't feel guilty. A monster doesn't protect. And most importantly, a monster doesn't love. I have a feeling that none of those apply to you. You're not a monster, Lie Ren. You're a hero to everyone in this village. If it wasn't for you, everyone would've died that fateful night. I guess what I'm trying to say is... thank you. Everyone here is in your debt. Your parents would be proud and you know that."

Taking a step back, Ren lost his balance, hit too hard by the truth, but he was suddenly held up by hands of the grateful elder. They were fearless of his Evil Eyes. They push him back up effortlessly and surrounded him in a sea of belief and gratitude. The worst part about it—the worst part—they all reminded him of Nora. This was the same unconditional love he was given every day of his life. The same he kept at arm's length all this time.

This entire time he had been lying to himself.

What a fool he turned out to be.

"Nora was right all along." Free from his burden, Ren broke off from the group, heading toward his family's compound with a renewed vigor. "If you would excuse me... I have some wrongs to right."

None of the elders stop Ren as he made his way back to his family's deserted compound, better than when he first broke in. Only now did he see an eye symbol carved into the bell, watching over the hometown of his village with a malevolent glare meant not to curse them with bad luck, but any intruders that happened to invade.

Such was the power of the Evil Eye.

...

Ren's walk back to the hidden room was broken when a horse-like Grimm emerged from the outskirts of the woods, appearing before him with a sinister power in the center of his fallen home. The top of its body featured a skinless humanoid creature with curved horns, an almost sew shut mouth, weapons of forgotten memories skewed to its back, an exposed rib cage and mocking red eyes. The forelegs of the creature resembled claws. Arms attached to the humanoid upper-half were almost elastic. Overall, a fearsome Grimm to run into.

Then it screamed with a broken wail that was waking in absolute power.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Ren almost scoffed. The damn thing must've picked up on his conflicting emotions. His anger. His sadness. His betrayal. All of it. And now it was here. Here to observe the creature with such contention. Here to pry and judge without reserve. Here to discover and destroy. And sadly enough, it didn't know how to react to the broken man when it finally confronted him, confused, immensely so. The sloth's power protected Ren from attack, shielded him—hid him in plain sight. But no human should honestly turn their back to a Grimm. Lie Ren wasn't so naïve to be the first.

How troublesome.

Lacking passion, he brushed off the Grimm's presence with a mere glare. "Go away. You don't interest me at the moment."

It screamed again, louder even. The Grimm apparently made up its mind, telling Ren to suddenly get interested in its appearance. The only problem, the Grimm abruptly found Ren's fingers pressed inside its exposed rib cage, right where its heart was beating quickly. Without moving another muscle, Ren paused, flicking his eyes away from the Grimm's chest to glare at the red eyes glaring back down at him. A tiny bit of bad luck escaped the tips of his fingers, entering the Grimm's heart before it could react, then a mini explosion happened on the left side of the Grimm's chest, pressing down an invisible weight of pressure and pain upon the Grimm's heart. But just as fast as it came, it went away, but not because it got lucky. Ren simply removed his hand and jumped off the body of the Grimm before his bad luck could take hold, sparing the Grimm's life.

Now Ren turned his back toward the Grimm. "Leave. Now."

The Grimm screamed once more but made no move to follow Ren. It lacked any urge to further push its luck. Not while the human wore garbs worthy of sloth royalty. How such a human came into possession of a Grimm's power remained a mystery to the Grimm. What it did know was to leave and forgo the concept of trouble altogether. Some battles were best left unfinished.

Ignoring the Grimm with relative ease, Ren returned back to the compound, noticing that none of his friends realized he had left yet. They were digging around the abandoned compound, looking for the disturbance caused by the Grimm and its loud screech. Ren opted not to bother them, well, at least not Jaune or Pyrrha who seemed eager to burn some calories and energy. He instead searched little to find Nora, who was lost exploring her old home with Sir Scrabbles attached to her neck. Unlike him, she showed no sadness on the outside. Nora remained the constant ray of light piercing the dark cloud of what he called his life.

Determined to make things right, he made no move to conceal his movements, purposely clicking his feet down to draw her attention. When Nora turned around, her confusion was instantly replaced with happiness and she ran up to him, stopping just inside his personal bubble. The second she spotted his sadden expression; Sir Scrabbles peeked up from behind, sensing Nora's contemplative emotions.

"What is it, Ren?"

Ren grabbed her hand, pulling her close. "I have something to tell you." He led her to the nearest stone staircase and quickly sat down. "You might need to sit down."

Humoring Ren's sudden weirdness, Nora sat down with her knees pressed against her chest with Sir Scrabbles latching onto his neck. It hid within his cloak while the Valkyrie waited for him to get started, wondering what her childhood friend had to say. He was silent for a moment, catching his thoughts as she wobbled in place, mentally trying to find the right words to say.

"So?" Nora stretched, trailing for Ren to catch up. "What's got your hairs twisted up in a bunch, huh? I know you like being Mr. Quiet, but you gotta say something—!"

"Our families weren't killed by my powers, but by some bandits and thieves after my family's eyes." Ren cut in, releasing a strangled breath. He said it as quickly as he could. "My bad luck stopped them from achieving their goals. Turns out the village was waiting to tell us when we got older, but we left before they could."

Nora blinked dumbly when Ren took in a huge gust of air, catching his breath after saying that all so fast. She leaned over, eyes wide with exhausted hope. "Really? Do you mean it? Do you really, really mean it?"

The collar of his cloak opened up. He was completely vulnerable under her scrutiny. His emotions and feelings were all left bare for her. "Yes."

She held back her excitement, being the clear thinker in this messed up conversation. "How do you know they weren't lying to you?"

He smirked, eyes glowing with the telltale sign of victory. "While exploring my old home, I learned that my eyes could see past a fib. If you're lying to me, I would know. You can't lie to a Lie. You could only tell the truth. And all I need to do is add Aura to my eyes."

She didn't believe him. "Prove it."

Adding some Aura to his eyes, he leaned forward. "Okay then. Try to lie to me."

She crossed her arms, sliding away from his all-knowing smirk. She had one of her own. "It won't work if you know I'm lying, dummy."

"Humor me, Nora."

Nora pursed her lips, still not believing he could read through all lies. Kicking her feet out, she hummed her next fray of sentences. "Hn. My favorite color is pink. I think Pyrrha's new weapon is the greatest! Professor Goodwitch is my favorite. Pancakes are the greatest food in the world. I hate it when you and Jaune don't invite me and Pyrrha for some fun. And—!"

"That's a lie." Ren stopped her, building up his smirk a little more when she let her mouth hang open. The pink radiating around her was as clear as day to his Evil Eyes, catching her in the act. Who knew Aura could solve some of his problems? Never worked before. "Hn? So you do like it when Jaune and I exclude you and Pyrrha from hanging out? Now, why is that?"

She squirmed in place, cheeks puffed and fists out. "That's not fair!" Ren didn't say anything, so she puffed out air. "Fine! You got me! A girl needs some girl time every now and then. You and Jaune cramp our style."

Ren pretended to take offense to her claim, pointing at himself. "We cramp your style? Jaune and I? Us?"

"Hey!" she cried, poking him in the shoulder. "You two are always so mopey! So sensitive! Even Pyrrha needs a break from you two sad sacks! And..." Nora whispered, looking away. "I don't want you to get... bored of me."

Ren lost his smile, knowing that Nora wasn't lying. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, making sure to touch her forehead with his own. "What are you talking about? I could never get bored of you." Sir Scrabbles peeked out from his shoulder, picking up on the unrivaled happiness leaking out of the Lie's body. "You mean the world to me, don't you know that?"

Nora swiftly shook her head, cheeks reddening quickly in embarrassment. It was the most blatant lie he had ever seen, even he didn't need his eyes to tell him that. He decided not to call her out on it. She still tried to divert his attention by bringing up old news. "See, silly, I told you weren't a monster! You should listen to me more!"

When Nora booped him on the nose with an added small twirl with her skirt, before she ran off to in both embarrassment and to find Pyrrha, Ren allowed his eyes to follow her every step, her every move with subtle and not so subtle interest. Not a single move was missed, nor was the happy smile traced perfectly across her face, all directed and meant for him.

All the missing pieces of his life were starting to come together—all the pieces of their life.

That monster hanging onto his soul was running out of strength.

A perfect smile blossomed across his face. Pink radiated like a warm winter's morning. His chest felt lighter, much lighter than it had in years. Everything was beautiful and alright in the world, and it was all thanks to Nora's unwavering belief in him, the belief he wasn't the monster that stole her parent's lives away from them. And the best part about it was that she turned out to be right! After all this time, she was right! She was able to see past the lie that was Lie Ren's life, and that made the Lie happy. A joy that was unparalleled by any other emotion he ever felt, overcame him.

Nothing could possibly compare.

Seeing her skip away, he couldn't hold back his goofy smile anymore. "I was so scared to what was really standing in front of me all these years. Well, not anymore."

Appearing out from a corner of a broken building, Jaune noticed Ren sitting down and walked over with his hands hidden in his hoodie, interested at the rare smile on his friend's face. "Whatcha up to, Ren, you seem happy?"

Throwing his leader a carefree glare, Ren shrugged nonchalantly, indifferent to his mood. "Oh, nothing, just learning about the truth to mine and Nora's family's untimely demise. I also discovered that my eyes can see through all lies, so there's that. You?"

His Fearless Leader wasn't even surprised. Not one bit. It was a testament to Team JNPR's experience in the field of strange and unreal.

So the Arc sat down next to him instead, kicking away some lone stones with an equally impassive mood. "Me? Same boat? Well, not with the whole truth thing, but I'm good." Jaune waited. Ren said nothing. "So? What actually happened to your family?"

Ren hummed, stretching his legs. "You wanna know? Get Pyrrha first. I'm not repeating myself a third time." Jaune blinked once, surprised at how easy Ren was opening up. Or maybe, maybe they've really grown closer throughout the entire ordeal. "Now would be great, Jaune."

"Oh! Right! Uh, I'll be right back!"

Ren leaned back, laughing lightly to Jaune's scurry. A black butterfly—the same one from before—was crossing his path. Its wings fluttered in the air, flying within his center of vision before flying off to some hidden tombstones in the grass that he didn't notice before. Curiosity quickly grabbed him. His feet pick him up. And he was walking toward the forgotten sight with a casual stride.

Soon a second black butterfly had joined in the mix, both landing on separate tombstones that were right next to each other. When he finally reached the area, there was more than just a couple of graves, but far less than the grander scale in the center of the compound. Nonetheless, they were just as important and Ren found himself kneeling down to get a better look at the aged worn names scripted on the stone. And when he did, his emotions got the better of him.

The pair of black butterflies landed on his mother, Lie Fa, and father's, Lie Hau, gravestones. They were both tattered with age, broken on some parts, and illegible with whatever inscription that had once been inscribed. The gravestones weren't even standing up straight, slaves to the forces of Mother Nature and the harsh elements. Still, Ren couldn't help but feel his happy emotions washed away.

"Mom... Dad..." Falling to his knees, he felt his heart break into a million pieces. He didn't know what to say. "Hey, uh, it's been a while, huh?" No answer. "Yea, that sounded stupid. Why'd I say that?" A harsh silence filled the void. He sighed miserably. "Sorry for not visiting. It kinda still hurts. I don't think the pain will ever truly go away. But that's no excuse, I know. I hope you're proud of me. I know you're expecting a lot of me and I'll try not to disappoint you."

Crying with silent tears, Ren shut his eyes and bit his lip. His dead emotions rose to power and the Lore cloak did all it could to hold back his Misfortune. He just managed to muster up enough courage to keep himself from collapsing right then and there. Still, the pain never really went away. Now it was just easier for him to channel.

Pink eyes suddenly glow with a fury, contradicting the tears washing down his cheeks. A fist was formed and a deep frown came to life. "I promise you... I swear I will find who did this and bring them down. I swear by the forsaken name of the Lie Clan. Misfortune shall fall upon them." The Lies were always a clan that expressed very little and said even less. Why should his family's mourning be any different?

Expressing a smile full of promise, Ren leaned down, grabbing the headstone with care. He wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his cloak. "I must leave now, but I want both of you to know that I love you very much. You both meant the world to me. And I promise to protect Nora with everything I have."

The two black butterflies fly off from the tombstones and land on his shoulder, appearing interested in his intent. They remain there when he finally stood up. They didn't leave when he went to meet both Pyrrha and Jaune. They did, however, make their leave when his friends reach him, flying off to join the other butterflies littering the no longer forgotten graves.

There they wait.

Running up to Ren, Pyrrha had to ask. "Can your eyes really tell if someone's lying?" Ren simply looked over to Jaune, wondering why his leader couldn't wait for him to spoil the surprise.

Jaune held his hands up in defeat. "Don't look at me! I'm still waiting for you to prove it!"

Ren shrugged. "Fair enough. Give it your best shot, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha fidgeted in place, unsure what to lie about. "Uh? My hair's green?"

Ren sighed. "No. It doesn't work if I know you're lying and already know the truth. You have to tell me something that I can't possibly know both ways."

Jaune was about to open his mouth, but Nora suddenly crashed right into him, pressing him down with her arms as she leaned over his hunched body. "Hey, Jaune-Jaune, since you have seven sisters, have they ever made you dress up in silly outfits?! Like maybe a dress?"

Their leader was instantly on the defensive. "What? No! Don't be ridiculous!"

Ren smirked the moment a layer of pink washed over Jaune. He devilishly poked his Fearless Leader on the shoulder. "You're lying."

Knowing his secret was now exposed, Jaune glowed with an impressive mass of white Aura, pointing both his hands toward Ren and Nora with Shooting Stars locked and loaded in just mere seconds. His angry smile was tense at the corners with an ominous amount of danger breaking off his Aura. Nora and Ren barely have time to react before Jaune was pressing the tip of his fingers at their chests.

"Now..." Jaune ordered, warning his teammates with a humorless laugh. "We aren't going to say anything, are we?"

Nora met his challenge head-on, smile teasing. "Or what?"

Jaune removed the barrel of Shooting Star away, but his sudden smirk made her feel hopeless. He glared over at Ren with sadistic intent. "You can't make pancakes for Nora anymore, Ren, Fearless Leader's orders."

Nora gasped, hugging Ren's arm. "He won't be intimidated by such cowardly threats! Right, Ren?!" Ren reluctantly nodded his head, but that only increased Jaune's smirk.

"Oh? Really, Ren? And here I thought you loved reading my Aura notebook, my mistake." Jaune then pulled out an Aura shard, holding it out for Nora to see. "And how else is Sir Scrabbles going to eat without any more Aura shards?"

Sighing, Ren glanced over to Nora, shrugging his shoulders in defeat. "He's got us there, Nora."

"What?! No!" Nora cried, shaking his arm. "We're not licked! Not yet! Maybe if we—?!"

Ren grabbed her arm, stopping her endless shaking. "Nora... he's got us." Nora pouted in defeat. She shook his arm more, mad she couldn't use her new blackmail material.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was left gasping straws. Sometimes the NPR of Team JNPR forgot how truly powerful their leader was. Here was one such example. Then her leader was looking over at her with a smug smile, easily pointing to the Ice Dust shards behind her back that he gave her. Without another word, Jaune claimed victory with his tactical genius and left the trio behind to dwell in their defeat.

Pyrrha blinked. "What just happened?"

Nora threw her hands up, angry once again. "Our dumb leader cheated again! Ah! It's so unfair!"

Leaving Nora to deal with the unfairness of the real world, Ren returned back to where he first discovered the fault of his life, the graveyard of the fallen Lies. Jaune was already there, reading some inscription of either a Lie or Valkyrie. His eyes were glazed over, probably recounting other moments of family deaths outside their time together. Ren wouldn't put it past him.

Noticing the flock of sudden butterflies littering the tombstones, Ren didn't find it coincidental, he didn't know what to make of it, but he didn't find it odd. The black butterflies? He didn't exactly know what to make of them. As far he could remember, they've always appeared around the compound whatever the weather may have been. And their numbers flocked whenever any individual died, more so when a Lie perished. Could they be part of the Lie clan?

He would deny it. The idea sounded completely ridiculous. What would black butterflies have to do with lies and bad luck? Ren couldn't find a correlation, but he wouldn't shut the door to such a possibility. Life already had thrown him way too many curve balls for such an idea. Monty forbid he missed this next one because of his foolishness.

Spotting the opening to the vault through the main building, and knowing that the clan's secret Lie techniques lie dominant inside still, Ren waved his hand. "I'll be back in a minute."

He didn't wait for a confirmation. He simply ventured inside and went to grab the parchment, knowing its uses would be better spent with him than collecting dust, better spent to utilize their full potential against the one who took everything away from him. Now wasn't the time to be soft-hearted and forgiving to people who didn't deserve it. Such things would prove weak in the current world. He couldn't afford to be weak. Nora couldn't afford to have a weak partner.

Passing the Evil Eye story inscribed on the wall, Ren took a moment to find the irony in the pictures, realizing that their arrogance in believing in the power of the Evil Eye also led to the Lie clan's ultimate demise. Went to show what too much pride could do to a person. Too much of any of the seven deadly sins could destroy a human from the inside out.

Luckily for him, he was protected from such arrogance because he had two Evil Eyes. They act as a diffuser between the two, apparently, a talisman of sorts. He didn't take pride in his bad luck, he limited its influence outside the real world. If anything, Ren was more of a humble person since the day he lost his and Nora's family. He always gave and gave some more, even sparing the lives of others that society would boo at him for, such as Sir Scrabbles or the Sloth King. The sloth Grimm had done more for him than humanity ever had, and judging by all the death and destruction around, more than humanity ever would as well.

Reaching the hidden room, he quickly grabbed the secrets buried inside and closed the passage on his way out. He didn't look back on his way out, but he did stop when he noticed the scripture before him.

Humph, Ren sighed happily. "Now I get it."

On top of the wall, leading to the outside, was a stone carving of a black butterfly with a pink pattern that represented the Evil Eye on the top of both its wings. There were symbols of skulls around the butterfly, signifying its importance in watching over the passage of the dead. It was just a fluke that he ran into. Ren didn't even take another moment to stop and enjoy his lucky streak, throwing away curiosity for ignorance for a change. The Lie didn't even notice the other creatures etched onto the other corners of the room, like the crow, the black cat, the scorpion, or the owl—all creatures relating to bad luck in some way, shape or form.

Exiting the compound, he put the scroll away, concentrating completely on his Aura to influence his eyes. They roam over the graveyard before him, revealing the pink of the lie he lived in. His friends were waiting for him to make a move, and Ren didn't disappoint. He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing the truth to wash over him.

No longer was he living a lie.

Eyeing the pink shade surrounding the graveyard, a technique only Ren and not even Jaune could do, he felt the remains of his Semblance all around him. And not only that, he felt other traces of bad luck as well. Aura of his past brethren and family littered the corpses of the almost forgotten. Scars where their eyes were supposed to be, were maimed by the bones, and now he knew the pink glowing wasn't only his Semblance, but his eyes telling him what he believed to be true was nothing more than a haunting lie. Fabrications meant to protect but blind him from the truth.

Well, not anymore!

Standing in the middle of the graveyard, he thanked Monty he couldn't discern the pile of graves between Nora's parents. Saying goodbye to his folks was one thing, but he wasn't ready to apologize to them yet. So he was glad that they all looked the same. Ren was perfectly fine with that. It was time to move on. But not before checking to see if everything the council said was true.

Concentrating on his Aura, the shade of pink around him became somewhat clearer, and he calmly breathed in. "Mine and Nora's family... weren't killed by me... but by a tribe of thieves and murders after our eyes. My Semblance didn't bring misfortune to my clan... it brought bad luck to the people who murdered them. Someone else killed our clan! I rained on their parade!"

And just like that, all the pink Ren saw vanished without a trace before his very eyes. What remained was the feeling of his Semblance slowly creeping toward him, desperate to return to its host from the fractured remains of his family after such a long. The Aura around the corpses, which oddly felt like Penny's Aura to Jaune, gravitated to the Lore that surrounded Ren. Inch by inch, the pink Aura condensed around him, being absorbed partially by him, and the other half by the Lore. The Outer Space around Ren grew in pressure, pushing down a new amount of force for Jaune to feel.

Unable to hold the weight of pressure building down upon him, Ren was forced to kneel down, barely noticing all the black butterflies fluttering about. They reach his cloak and literally dissolve into it, creating a new hue of color in his cloak—a hue of pink that was a mismatched blob at first.

A shape was being born on his cloak.

The rest of Team JNPR held their breath as the unknown process happened. The only reason none of them ran to help Ren up was that Jaune held them back, observing the phenomenon with acute fascination. He was making mental notes of the Lore interaction with Ren's Aura, keeping tabs on each little change happening within his field of knowledge. And he was holding them back because he didn't know what'd happen if he broke the process, whatever that may be, midway.

Then a glow of pure pink bloomed just as bright as Jaune's Excalibur, forcing even the leader of Team JNPR to shield his eyes from the sudden explosion of light. When the flash of light dissipated, none of the three know what to say.

Nora couldn't believe her eyes when Ren finally stood up. In the front and bottom corners of his cloak was his clan's symbol, pink and anew, clashing terribly with the black of the Sloth King's fur. And not just there, but a few areas of his outfit had the same symbol, covering a good portion of his Lore cloak. Not only that but when he turned around, Nora could spot the pink coloring lacing the inside of his cloak and one final cloud on his upper back.

It was the birth of a new Lie Ren.

Jaune stepped forward, still holding somewhat a breath. "Ren? Buddy? Uh? Are you okay? How do you feel?"

Ren breathed in the air around him, smiling softly. "Like a missing part of my soul has finally come home."

And he meant every word. It felt like the world wasn't bearing down upon him. Everything about this new power felt like a dream. Semblance completely returned. No longer were his emotions haunting him. No longer was he incomplete. There was no empty feeling in the pit of his soul. He could feel.

He could feel!

Filled with happiness, Ren walked across the graveyard, being the only one not to hold his breath as he passed by the final resting place of the Valkyries and Lies. All that was left was an empty compound and broken bones, no longer haunted by the memories and restless spirits of the people murdered here. It was all just memories now.

Now Ren knew the truth about what happened that fateful day. Even if he was filled with contentment, for now, he couldn't and wouldn't let go of the hate dwelling inside of him. He allowed it to grow. To manifest the name he hated more than anything, Branwen. But for now, just now, he'd misplace it to share in the joy Nora was suddenly having. She was oohing and aahing the newest addition to his outfit, curiosity eternally peaked. And it wasn't only her, but Jaune as well. He was inspecting his cautiously through Outer Space, eyes half-closed to concentrate on the newest additions to his outfit.

They were so used to miracles that it wasn't even funny anymore.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum, Pyrrha shuffled in place, eyeing every headstone with even stronger sadness than from before, maybe even stronger sadness that the others felt ever since Ren revealed the truth to Nora and his family's demise. To think, people did this, humans like this existed, and all for food and supplies. They attacked their fellow human and acted worse than the monsters lurking in the woods. She then peered over to Sir Scrabbles attached to Ren's head, getting even more confused with her inner feelings and desires. And supposedly the Grimm was humanity's biggest threat?

Pyrrha Nikos wasn't so sure anymore.

But now she knew for sure was that humanity could be just as cruel, if not crueler. She had now seen the worst of humanity. Enough at least to make her heavily consider Ozpin's offer to become the next Fall Maiden. If such power fell into the wrong hands, she didn't even want to think of the implications behind it. She couldn't allow such a future to possibly happen, not while she had the power to stop such a problem from happening. She wouldn't allow it.

Never!

Making up her mind, Pyrrha glanced over to her Fearless Leader, believing in those calculated eyes of his. They've solved all problems thrown at him. Perhaps they could solve her problems as well. If only she could tell him what was eating away at her, but a Huntress was nothing without their word, and Pyrrha Nikos refused to be anything less. Just looking at the graveyard before her only reinforced her will to be a better person than the people who murdered in cold-blood.

But first Pyrrha needed to blow off steam. Just the thought of humans doing this kind of destruction started some fire in the pit of her stomach. It was hot and everlasting. It burned with fury and regret for her fellow human. It fueled off her desire to protect and serve. And sadly enough, she failed to see a reason to hunt down Grimm and exert her pain and ferocity upon them. They've done nothing to entice her undying wrath.

They were innocent in this crime against humanity.

No.

She needed a real challenge. Not some two-bit Grimm that was way in over its head. Someone who could give her and her bloody weapons a run for their money! Someone to push her! Someone to make her forget about the filth of humanity and remind her what a kind heart could accomplish in this damned place they called their home! And someone to test her newfound training with what she called her Blood Work.

Walking up to her leader, she grabbed him by the arm. "Jaune? When was the last time we sparred?"

They were all taken by surprise from the sudden question, none more than Pyrrha's partner. He tried to count the days since they've last fought, instantly remembering the fight that ended up with Pyrrha's weapon destruction. Even then, he couldn't exactly remember how long ago that was.

"Uh..."

"Too long!" Pyrrha smiled, pulling out Caliburn and Moirázo from her back. The Ice Dust glowed powerfully between her fingers. The blood looked menacing next to her happy smile and flowing hair. "C'mon, partner. We can't let those nights of practice get rusty now, can we?"

Jaune still wasn't sure what'd gotten into Pyrrha, but it had been a while since he'd last fought all-out, or even trained physically with his Aura. Plus, his partner did catch him in a good mood, so he was all for it. And he would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to push and test the limits of Pyrrha's bloody weapons. Something just stirred in his soul at the implication of using Excalibur. Maybe it was just boredom or restlessness, but he was game.

"I guess not..." Jaune smirked, losing all interest in Ren's recent development like the flip of a switch. "Are you ready to lose, Pyrrha?"

"If I remember correctly, the compound does have a training ground." Ren offered, just as interested as Nora to see them square off. "It might not be in the best condition, but it is away from prying eyes."

Pyrrha hardly heard any of it, blood pumping. Puns were so easy. And she was still stuck on Jaune's words. "That's my line."

Sighing to himself, Ren waved them toward the back of the compound, taking the time in the walk to inspect the newest addition to his Lore cloak, the pink undertones, and pink clouds that have appeared fascinate him. The clouds looked exactly like the Raincloud of Misfortune, and the pink was the same shade of pink in his eyes and streak of hair. Not to mention he felt completely in sync with his Semblance now. It was no longer a suppression feeling, but a soulful one.

Jaune and Ren would just have to figure out the secrets later.

They finally reach the training ground and it was faring no better than the rest of the compound. The area was fully composed of vegetation and dirt. A large wall hid the entire area with a rectangle-like shape, being about ten feet tall on its own. There were cracks in the wall, vegetation and vines sporting through said cracks, and the sun was shining down upon them with forgotten graves resting on the edges of the field. In all, it was larger than Professor Goodwitch's class.

Jaune started to stretch his arm as he made his way to the center of the arena. "This will do."

Pyrrha followed suit. There was a glint in her eyes that spoke more than just a simple sparring match. Not to say Jaune was clueless, he knew that much as well. The confident strut and stretch of his muscles spoke of the same confidence.

Watching from the sidelines, Nora jumped on Ren's back, acting very sloth-like, being a terrible role model for Sir Scrabbles. She rested her head on one shoulder of Ren's with her tongue out while Sir Scrabbles came out from his cloak and rested on the other. Ren simply lacked emotion when it came to them and Nora's antics.

Grinning, Jaune waggled his finger in Pyrrha's direction. "Last chance to give up, Pyrrha. I am your Fearless Leader." Pyrrha struck Caliburn into the air and pointed her weapon at Jaune. "Don't say I didn't warn you! Atone, Excalibur!" Holding the Aura weapon with appreciation, Jaune couldn't recall the last he used his weapon. "It has been a while, hasn't it? Let's go!"

Pyrrha smirked and held Moirázo to her chest as she charged at Jaune with a greater enhanced speed. Due to her increase control over blood, the Invincible Girl was slowly learning to increase blood flow and circulation throughout her entire body, supplying her body with an indefinite amount of blood, oxygen, and nutrients as before. It was still a learning process, an idea she picked up from that medical book of hers, but it was one she was going to take full advantage of.

Jaune created a few Aura spheres before absorbing them into his palm. He then charged at Pyrrha, meeting her head on with Excalibur to Caliburn. They clash with forces trying to press the other through the unorthodox substance they called metal. Excalibur burned Caliburn, but Caliburn remained to be cut in two like Miló, fighting heat with cold.

Excalibur burned with the intensity of a thousand suns. Caliburn smothered like the ninth inner circle of Hell. They were both hot in their own special way, but even Jaune's sword's special property to cut through all Auras had hit a wall. Aura kept the blood strong and resilient, but it was her Semblance acting as a shield against Excalibur's might, forming a barrier over the Aura compared to before. Excalibur couldn't cut through a Semblance. And not only that, but Jaune saw her Semblance over every inch of her body, and not just the parts of her body that was covered in metal. Might explain her sudden new found physical strength, her physical power was far greater than the last time they clashed together, but he'd only grown as well.

"You've gotten a lot stronger since the last time we fought, Pyrrha!" Jaune grinned, flicking them both back with a swipe of his Aura blade. He aimed his gun at her, still maintaining that foolish grin of his. "I don't know exactly what you're doing with your Semblance all over your body, but I do know this still hurts. Soar, Shooting Star!"

Pyrrha smiled at the ball of power coming toward her. She held up her bloody shield to intercept the blast, already thinking of a way to contain the force of the explosion and staying power of Shooting Star without causing herself any harm.

Shooting Star collided with Moirázo, but unlike with Akoúo̱, it held up with her Semblance acting as a barrier and she willed the blood to wrap around the orb of Aura, condensing the second-after explosion with a wall of iron that splattered across the battlefield. She had transformed Caliburn into a second shield, protecting her from the blast momentum and explosion.

Sadly enough, Jaune couldn't revel in the power of his Aura-based attack; it was just a waste of Aura at this point. Pyrrha was simply reforming the shield back to the way it was by willing all the spilled blood to condense back into her shield. He couldn't even marvel that before she was charging at him, doing a quick swing with her sword to his chest.

He held up Excalibur to intercept the strike but was taken back when Pyrrha's swing managed to push him back a foot. Then, midway into the swing, her shield had turned into her Spear of Destiny and she was thrusting it forward, right for his opening with Excalibur still holding back Caliburn. Jaune was forced to bring up his other hand and crash a sudden Supernova to blast the weapon away with both him and Pyrrha taking the full brunt of the aftermath, except he was unaffected by his Aura abilities and ended up getting a better footing on the ground.

Pyrrha got neither.

She flew through the air, using her Semblance a moment later to flip herself in midair and use a nearby grave to bounce herself back into the spar. She formed Caliburn and Moirázo back together, flying through the air with a velocity fitting for a speeding bullet. And then she brought up her sword and aimed to bring it down on Jaune's shoulder.

When her Fearless Leader managed to parry the move, his eyes widened when he got pushed down into the floor, forming a small crater beneath his feet from Pyrrha's strike. Her swing was out of this world! By concentrating on not only the iron in Caliburn but her own blood as well, Pyrrha managed a slash surpassing her old one by miles. It didn't hurt that her control over her Semblance was far greater than what it once was.

She was then using her still midair momentum to flip over Jaune's body, using the stun-collision between Excalibur and Caliburn to her advantage, which gave him barely a chance to defend himself as Pyrrha kicked his neck in midair, before turning Moirázo into a second Caliburn and slashing him across his back. He did counter, however, by using his free arm to create a second Excalibur, which he ended up throwing his arm back to land a sloppy cut on her forearm. The move stunned her just long enough for Jaune to turn around and land a quick Supernova to her Semblance protected body.

"Burst, Supernova!"

Boom!

...

Nora couldn't hold back her excitement. Her hands were thrown up high. "Whoa! Look at them go! Pyrrha stands a much better chance now!"

"She's like a Blood Demon..." Ren remarked offhandedly, watching as the Invincible Girl commanded the blood with almost practice ease to cushion the blow from the closing wall. She still had a long way to go before she mastered the ability, but it was undeniably levels beyond her past performance. How much practice did she get when they were gone? A little under three days couldn't have given her that much? "She's not giving Jaune a chance to breathe."

"Not like our Fearless Leader needs it!" Nora booped, unable to stay still on Ren's shoulders even for a split-second. "He's really, really strong!"

Ren didn't bother commenting, just as interested in the fight as Nora. Hard to believe those were the same two people from the beginning of the year. Funny enough, Pyrrha was probably one of the few people who could clash directly with Jaune and his Aura abilities without worrying about the repercussions of such collisions—Nora and he included. After all, only Team JNPR knew the weaknesses of Jaune's Aura abilities.

Everyone else in the Vytal Tournament better watch out.

...

Jaune watched as Pyrrha stood up easily enough from the explosion, having used blood as a way to cushion the blow at the last possible second. She really showed her improved, that much was obvious. Those few days when Ren and he were gone, she must've been practicing almost non-stop. Jaune couldn't think of anyone else who could show so much improvement in such a short period of time.

Not only that, the one cut he managed to land on her forearm didn't bleed, like at all. He could see through Space that the Aura wasn't reaching or reacting to that spot, so nothing was wrong with Excalibur, but he saw her Semblance hard at work on where the cut had occurred, making the cut as useless as common sense in Team JNPR. Meanwhile, his cuts were healed in no time due to his large Aura levels and control, but he was still overly impressed with Pyrrha being able to stop the blood from leaking out. And then there was her damn weapon.

For a weapon to be able to change its shape and state of matter in the blink of an eye, well, not even Jaune's Aura abilities could do that. And her cutting power was leagues apart from before. When it came to destructive force and power, Aura reigned supreme! When it came to velocity and speed, supposedly blood and Pyrrha Nikos reigned supreme.

Going on the offensive, he narrowed his eyes and charged first this time, lunging forward with Aura powered muscles. He gripped Excalibur tight in one hand and had a second Excalibur ready in the second. Jaune then grinned as he shortened the distance, glowing brightly in an armor of snow. Pyrrha glared and met his opposition head-on, clashing both her bloody weapons with his, holding them apart with wide arms to leave both their bodies exposed.

Smirking, he brought his foot up and kicked the shield of her hand, using the momentary distraction to raise the second Excalibur underneath Pyrrha's Caliburn. Before the champion could react, he was resetting his last attempt to cut through Caliburn, this time working both ways to cut her blood-soaked weapon. Time seemed to slow down as Excalibur traveled down and crashed with Caliburn.

Slash!

Jaune smirked largely as half of Pyrrha's weapon spun in the air, leaving her only with half a blade and no shield. He enjoyed the way her eyes widened, but his joy was cut short when Pyrrha suddenly smirked, throwing up the broken half of her sword to the other half of Caliburn in midair, effectively cutting off Aura to the Ice Dust shard and reconnecting the two pieces together with relative ease. Then she was calling back her shield, breaking apart and reforming the blood with the same level of difficulty, and he was forced to kick her stomach and jump back before she could land a solid cut on his torso from the surprising action.

Taking a step back, he glared through Space, watching as the cut he did to the Aura within Caliburn prove to be utterly hopeless. It didn't matter if he cut the Aura currently supplying Caliburn with power. Pyrrha could just rearrange the blood to replace the Aura cut like nothing happened. The white-hot, burning sensation she mentioned experiencing was all naught. First of all, that Ice Dust was keeping the heat down to a minimum. And second, it did nothing. The pure and relentless fire did nothing to Pyrrha's weapon!

It was impossible to break her weapon! No amount of heat could ever fully destroy Pyrrha's weapon.

How did one break a weapon with no true form?

Jaune didn't know and he wasn't given time to figure out the problem. She was charging at him with a relentless pursuit that would have any other Huntsmen-in-Training already forfeiting, but not him, not her partner and Fearless Leader! He had been through too much to be beaten like this, too much to simply give up when the going got tough. Truth be told, this was where Jaune Arc shined like a radiated star in the confines of space.

Charging forward, he skidded to the left and then right and then left again, confusing Pyrrha before she could properly react. By using two swords, he pressed each one to her sword and shield, effectively pushing them apart, allowing him to lean in to give Pyrrha a hard head-butt.

"Your blood control has really gotten better, Pyrrha." Jaune smiled during the head-butt. He then kicked her squarely in the stomach, still grinning. "I'm jealous."

Pyrrha smirked, swinging Caliburn from quite a distance. He barely realized what was happening before he was forced to bring up Excalibur to block her incoming whip of blood. The definition was gone from the sword, but what it lacked in sturdiness, it made up for in length and razor cutting edge. Then things take a turn for the stranger when the blood whips broke on the edge of his Aura blade and reconnected mid-flight, heading toward his defenseless body. The whip ended up cutting him on the arm before following through with a cut across his chest and back and then reconnecting at the base from the other side of his body.

After she landed such a hit, she willed the blood and refocused it back into a sword, grinning with a smile that would make Yang proud. "Thanks, Fearless Leader. I've been practicing while you were gone."

Jaune laughed silently, mumbling only to himself. "Damn blood is as hard as iron... but it flows like water." At least he now understood what it felt like to be cut by Pyrrha's weapon. Darn thing was so cold that it burned, but his Aura was already taking care of the damage. Too bad it couldn't do anything about the freezing sensation. It was outside of Aura's influence. Forming a fist, he ran forward. "Hn! But can you stop this?"

Jaune opened his fist to reveal a single Supernova and Pyrrha was confused. Of course, she could handle one Supernova, what did her leader take her for—?!

"Illuminate, Quasar!"

A bright light shined across the whole compound, blinding everyone but Jaune from the intense beams. He was running up to Pyrrha, who was busying holding her weapons up as a way to shield herself from the light, and then flicked away her defense with a practical ease before cutting her clear across the torso, except he was stopped midway when she grabbed the edge of Excalibur, using her below freezing blood—Caliburn—as a glove to grab the burning blade.

The cold kept it from evaporating.

Jaune was stunned from the tactic. It was the same one he used against her the first time they fought and she was taking full advantage of the opening by bringing Moirázo down, while still using the shield as a way to block out the intense light, and crashed the frozen shield right into his chin. The action pushed him away and offered her a small opening to deliver a messy cut across his torso. With the light messing up her vision, that was the best she could ask for. But her efforts were all in vain when she found his fingers pressed against her upper chest, where her heart resided. And even if she knew her Semblance acted as a barrier to shield her, she was not so sure she could take a point-blank shot from Shooting Star. Not to mention her leader's Aura control had only gained experience since the last time they fought.

The light show ended finally, so Pyrrha could see his head still tilted back, exposing only the light smirk playing his features. There was blood falling down his chin, coming from the base of his bloody smile. He laughed and put pressure on her beating heart with the tip of his index finger, willing away Excalibur to conserve Aura.

"It's my win."

Stunned for a minute too long, Pyrrha pouted. Now they were tied. Never before had her champion pride taken such a blow as this. Only worse since her Fearless Leader had such a smug grin and failed to remove it, even when he tilted his head to look back up at her. The damage to his jaw was already healed and he was wiping away his blood, throwing the excesses amount onto the floor.

Jaune's smug grin was wiped away when Nora jumped on his shoulder, hanging dangerously off his head as he fought to maintain balance. She was asking a million questions all at once, making it impossible for the Arc to answer anything without getting tongue-tied answering the first two. They were questions he'd answered before, but Nora had never been one to shy away and ask the big questions more than once. She'd ask until she ran out of breath and then some.

Laughing to herself, Pyrrha looked down at the blood of her leader and willed it to her shield. It made her happy. "Waste not, want not."

"You were training when Jaune and I..." Ren coughed, walking up toward her. "Were away at the beach?"

Pyrrha tilted her head, blinking once. "I thought it was a road trip?"

"Uh, yeah, road trip, that's what we did." Ren answered in haste, nervous for the first time in a while. The emotion was gone before she could truly spot it. "So you learned to control your blood at a much faster pace."

Pyrrha smiled, holding up her bloody weapons for Ren to see. She changed their shape with relative ease. "Pretty much. I'm still learning the ins and outs of it all, but I think I have the general gist down. It's not so hard once you figure out how to move the iron molecules. You see, blood has a chemical formula that's not exactly a formula and then there's hemoglobin, a red protein—!"

Ren held a hand up, smile warm. "Whoa, timeout, Pyrrha. Science isn't really my area of expertise. I'm more of a superstitious guy." Sir Scrabbles popped out of his collar, hugging Ren's neck. "I and logic don't mix too well."

Pyrrha laughed with her palm blocking the smile, hitting Ren on the shoulder. "You and Jaune both! Nora and I seem to be the science ones in the team."

If Ren had ever heard a haunting thought, it was that one.

"There you guys are!"

All of Team JNPR stopped in their rant to see Professor Goodwitch walking up toward them, not exactly angry, but exactly happy to see them. She was holding a file, taking each step that was filled with poise and purpose. She appeared uninterested with all the destruction, probably thinking it was there beforehand, but her eyes did land on Miss Valkyrie, so she already had some vague idea of what might've happened. Nonetheless, Glynda moved forward and gave them each a paper from the file she was holding.

"I've been searching all over for you. I had to have some civilians point you out. But now that I have found you four, this will be our mission." Glynda said, handing out assignments of cleanup duty. "Our mission is to get this village back up and running and clean up any damage too intensive for normal civilians work. Any Grimm we encounter along the way must be dealt with immediately. The elders have even supplied us a place to stay for the duration of the mission, which is where I found you. This broken down compound will be our residence for the next few days."

Nora sulked, dangling her arms from the top of Jaune's shoulders. "That doesn't sound like much of a mission."

Glynda hid a small smile. "Not all missions are filled with excitement and danger, Miss Valkyrie. Even the little things could make a difference. For example..." she threw the file at Nora and the bomber failed to react on time. That ended up with her falling off Jaune's shoulders from her sudden, ecstatic movements. "I used paper to bring you down. I hope you learned a lesson. Thank Oum there's no paper Grimm around or you'd be in big trouble."

Nora glared up from the floor, unable to forget Glynda's smug, teacher-like grin. "I hate learning."

Clapping her hands together, Glynda moved forward with her riding crop and began using her Semblance to clean up the broken stones and weeds from the floor. Ren was not sure if he should tell his professor that this was the resting place of Nora and his families, yet, at the same time, he honestly didn't mind too much. They didn't live here anymore, and the compound did still belong to the village. Maybe they'd use was for other families to live in one day.

Who knew? It no longer mattered to them.

Jaune moved closer to Pyrrha, whispering next to her ear. "Professor Goodwitch is a totally different person on a mission."

Pyrrha whispered back. "I think anyone would be happy to get out of that stuffy classroom and away from our Headmaster."

Her leader looked at her curiously, wondering where the spew about the Headmaster came from, but Professor Goodwitch was glaring at them to move it. So he forgot about it. Figuring that Pyrrha's humor could still use some work, never knowing the actual truth behind her words.

...

The rest of the day was spent up cleaning with trash while the professor fixed buildings with her Semblance. Even with four Huntsmen-in-Training and a Semblance that could levitate, they barely managed to break a dent in the amount of cleanup needed to be done. Easy mission? Nope! Nora was totally wrong. It was almost back-breaking labor. And Jaune and Pyrrha proved to be somewhat lazy after just sparring to their limits.

Mistakes on their part, but people lived and learned.

At least Ren managed to hide Sir Scrabbles from Glynda's prying eyes. Although that might be more because she noticed the change to his outfit more than they did, that was neither here nor there. And luckily enough, Jaune's Aura took care of his cuts and bruises while Pyrrha's Blood Work managed to up her healing process. Didn't hurt she still had a good reserve of Aura left to clean up any bruises or injuries.

Now that the excitement of the day was dying down, Jaune was inquiring again to Ren's backstory, needing more of the juicy details to satisfy his ravenous hunger. Both Pyrrha and Nora were in the same boat so they stayed up late and headed toward the nearest restaurant to get some food, leaving their professor behind in the room given to them by the elders. Ren told them everything, leaving no detail out, like the name of the family responsible for Nora and his parent's untimely death. He was angry, there were no two ways about it, but Nora was on a different boat entirely, appearing happy and not so bent on revenge like Ren was.

Pyrrha and Jaune decided not ask about it, and Ren didn't pry for now. The day was already stressful enough.

Returning back to the building they were staying at, the team abandoned most of their clothes to hit a nearby stream they found, interested in getting clean. Professor Goodwitch told them not to take too long, lights out was ten sharp, and the moment they leave, her eyes fall upon Ren's Lore cloak.

What followed next was the need to squash any impulse to go and touch it. She managed to last about half an hour before her need got the better of her, forcing her to put down the paperwork she had been working on to distract her nosy, hungry mind.

"Just one touch and I'll get it out of my system."

It would be a wasted lie to say she wasn't interested in the odd fabric. Whatever curious hunger she possessed previously had only been starved after spotting the newest addition of pink clouds on the outside and a pink undertone within the inside. The pink inside almost glowed in power, contrasting heavily with the pitch blackness. Then she was focusing on the black overtone entirely, running her bare fingers across the cloth, immediately realizing said material was anything but yarn or wool.

It was nothing like normal fabric that much she knew.

Fur clothing normally had a distinct feature of being messy, even when tamed. This had no such issue. Here, the hairs remained stuck together, flat and clean as a tailored shirt. It was smooth, slick to the touch, and Glynda saw no stitching of any kind to hold the hairs together. Gravity defied the hairs, pressing them down with an invisible force that she couldn't see, almost as if the cloak she was holding had its own gravity itself. The sleeves have a length that reached to his wrist with the bottom of the cloak moving just passed his knees. And then there were the pink clouds.

There was no hair or yarn at all. They were nothing more than pink clouds on a stitchless cloak. How they came to be, she didn't know and wouldn't be able to answer if asked. They were just there. Just another mystery, like how it possibly opened up. She found no zipper, but she knew it partially opened when she had cleaned up that food fight of theirs. So thinking it logically, there had to be a way to open it up, but the professor saw none.

Glynda wouldn't have even been able to tell the cloak was made out of fur if she hadn't actually touched the fabric. To her, and perhaps to anyone else not looking hard enough, the cloak was one black oddity with several pink clouds—one on the chest, three on the bottom half, and one on the back. If she didn't know better, she would think the article of clothing was messing with her. She wasn't too into superstition, but even she knew that five was considered both good and bad luck in some cultures. And Glynda felt like she was on the wrong side of the spectrum when glaring at the cloak as if she was on the receiving end of the bad luck while the wearer was protected from such a curse, surrounded by a cloak of good luck that pushed away the bad.

Of course, that was just an insane way of thinking on her part. There was no way that the article of clothing represented any symbolic attributes such as good and bad luck. It was just a piece of clothing for Monty Oum's sake! Nothing more and nothing less!

Then again, the professor would admit to some slight envy for Lie Ren possessing such a one-of-a-kind fabric. Her student owned a fur cloak that was smoother than ice and felt just as cold.

Just for curiosity sake, Glynda tried lightly to pull the cloak open, thinking perhaps there were buttons she couldn't see. To her dismay and eternal confusion, the cloak did not open up. It remained closed, even when she added more force. Nothing happened. And before she realized what she was doing, she was trying—with a considerate amount of effort—to pull or tear the cloak open, but again it did nothing. It did not budge. It did not tear. It didn't even stretch. Glynda was this close to believing that the cloak was being held together by an invisible force, by some powerful gravity that was unlike anything she'd ever witnessed. And before she could test her Semblance on the clothing, the door to their room was being jingled open.

Throwing the cloak back down onto her student's bed with a practiced grace, she wasn't surprised to find all of Team JNPR entering their sleeping corridors, appearing worse for wear. On the plus side, it appeared that they all look happy, especially Jaune and Ren. Those two had small smiles that were impossible to conceal. Then her inquisitiveness was peaked when Ren moved to grab his cloak.

Glynda watched out from the corner of her eye, completely enthralled by her student's movements, appearing totally nonchalant about everything. There was no way he was going—eh?!

Glynda Goodwitch allowed her eyes to widen. Lie Ren just casually opened his cloak without the slightest hint of trouble! Not a single move was wasted. The cloak just opened up. But what finally threw her off guard was the way it closed up when he fitted it on, all automatic and blasé. Only the collar remained open. And none of it made any sense to the seasoned Huntress. She'd never encountered such an odd piece of clothing. Weapons were one thing, but her nerves were all over the place when she glared at that ominous piece of wear.

And for a second, just a split-second, she swore the article of clothing glared right back.

What was going on?

She had questions, many of them, but with no way of asking them without sounding meddlesome.

Such a bothersome.

...

It was nearing lights out. Most of everyone had fallen asleep, Jaune and Pyrrha especially after their fight. All that was left was Ren and Nora, and she was busy humming in the darkness, feeling better about the whole monster thing, while Ren was still somewhat conflicted about the truth. Now that his teammates and professor weren't here to distract him, he'd given plenty of time to ponder over the fabrications he'd come to live his life by. After all this time, Nora's words were finally sinking in.

He wasn't a monster.

Sighing to himself for the unknown time, he peered over his shoulder to glare at the full moon through a broken window. A temptation pulled him outside. His feet received the memo first before his brain and Lie Ren found himself outside, basking in the glow of the moonlight shining down upon him. He didn't even know why he was outside. Temptation was a strong mistress.

"Whatcha up to, Ren?"

A quick turn revealed Nora hanging beside his person, hands hidden behind her back. She was swaying in place, a smile full of hope and innocence that made Ren want to take a picture in order to preserve the memory. How she managed to sneak up on him with her loud tenancies was a mystery he wouldn't ever be able to solve.

Enjoying her company, Ren smiled and looked across the compound with a newfound sense of belonging. "Nothing. Just enjoying the full moon tonight. You know it is Monday. That means it lucky. There's even a story that said Lady Luck herself was born under a full moon. Did you know that?"

Nora hugged his arm. "Of course I knew that, silly!"

Ren smirked, eyes full of wonderful mischief and a healthy glow. "You're lying."

She did a cute pout, crossing her arms in anger when she realized how he called her fib. "That's not fair! Those dumb eyes of yours are just like Jaune! You're both cheaters now!"

His eyes closed with a perfect smile. He'd been smiling a lot lately and he wasn't the only one to notice. Learning the truth could do that to a person. Who would've thought? Ren didn't really seem to mind it as much. Life had been both good and bad, the good times more than the bad, but the bad times were still there, lurking just in the darkest corners of his mind.

Throwing a cautious glance over his shoulder, he spotted the Bell Witch at the center of the village with the Evil Eye watching over the unfortunate townspeople. He lightly recalled the story behind its silence, soaking in the information with intense observance.

"What's wrong, Ren?"

Finding Nora catching him off-guard, Ren just now realized he had been staring at the bell tower with a pure look of hatred and expectation. He quickly looked away, wiping his own hair with his bangs. Then his eyes land on the pink strand hanging in front of his face, and he had little choice but to sigh, effectively killing the mood.

"I've learned that there's another Lie out there. The bell tower has been cursed with a Lie curse, effectively robbing it of sound. Only a living Lie could do that." Ren hummed. "And I know I didn't charm it."

Nora hugged his arm tighter, ecstatic. "That's great! More family!" When Ren failed to smile she stopped smiling. "This is great, isn't it?"

He broke Nora's hold, tearing his eyes away from the accursed bell tower. "I don't know. What if my presence jeopardizes their existence? I could end up causing more trouble if they're trying to live a normal life. It might not be worth even finding them. What if those bandits find them? What if—?!"

Angry with him, she frowned and grabbed his hands roughly, forcing them together before he could so much as give a protest to what she was doing.

Clap!

Her clap vibrated with the intensity of thunder. It echoed across the entire courtyard, silencing all the insects around them. It was uneven, a single clap with a clear sky right between his own hands. The pain was then numbed when her fingers found themselves gently holding his own.

"Every time you think badly about yourself, I want you to clap! Okay!" Nora demanded with fire in her voice. "Think of it as a good luck charm! Not bad luck, but good luck." She rubbed her fingers between his, smiling gently. "And I know you're scared, but you've always been scared. And I know you're mad. I'm mad, too. I'm really, really mad at the people who attacked our family. But I'm not mad at the village too weak to fight back, they did what they did to survive and protect us."

He was completely lost, unsure what to say. "Nora..."

"We don't have to find your family if you don't want to. That's fine. But I want you to promise me you'll be there for them if they ever need your help, like how you've always been there for me, but only if bad people are going to hurt them. Promise me." She gripped his hands roughly. "Promise me now! Because I know you'll beat yourself up if you end up turning your back on them. I know you will. You're so good at it! And I'm sick of it!"

He was taken back by her declaration, the tears in her eyes were only weakening his resolve. However, it wasn't like he ever stood a chance to Nora's demands, to begin with. She'd always been the syrup to his pancakes. The sugar to his sweet! The rhythm of his beating heart. Nora was everything and more. And Lie Ren wanted nothing more than wipe away the raindrops leaking out her eyes.

Because no raincloud was complete without its lightning bolt.

Smiling once more, Ren leaned forward and rested his forehead on hers.

"Thank you, Nora. I promise." Nora grinned like the sun and tried to break free out of Ren's hold, but found her fingers stuck between an interlock with his. She slowly looked down at them, and then back up to Ren's blushing face. "You know, Nora; I'm not as clueless as Jaune is. Do you think I don't see the way you look at me? Because guess what, I do, I've noticed it for years. You're a terrible liar. You always have been."

Sir Scrabbles popped out of Ren's collar, being lulled to awake by the female's scattered emotions. The Grimm then found its disbelief thrown out the window when it sensed certain emotions coming from the male! And it thought impossible! For a human to have hidden any emotions from a Grimm all this time was unheard of! How could the male have hidden in plain sight?

"Ren..." Nora breathed, knees starting to shake. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening! She was going to faint!

"Now that I know the truth about everything... I'm no longer afraid. And maybe, maybe I'm being a little selfish now, because you're still too good for me and I don't deserve anything you've ever given me, but I'm willing to try everything to make sure you're happy for the rest of your life." Ren carefully grabbed her by the waist, capturing her eyes in a sea of pink. Her favorite and most cherished color. "Nora Valkyrie... do you love-love me?"

Feeling all the blood rush up to her face, Nora squirmed pathetically in Ren's hold, answering the only way she knew how with eyes as large as the moon shining down upon them. "That's! Not! Fair!"

And he kissed her under the moonlight.

---

Author Notes: Don't expect the next chapter to be around 21,000 words, I just didn't want to break this chapter up into two. Also, in case if you didn't know, Violet, the adventures of Jaune, Ren, Sun, and Neptune as the Treacherous Quadruple, has been written, and this concludes Lie Ren's arc.

Jaune Arc – Arc Complete

Nora Valkyrie – Arc Incomplete

Pyrrha Nikos – Arc Incomplete

Lie Ren – Arc Complete

Cover Art – Exvnir

Edited - 5/16/2018