Distortion

Jaune and Raven were standing opposite of one another in the clearing they found within the forest. It had been a few days since the massacre of the bandits and the two decided to spend a few days in the forest. Until they got more leads from their informants that is. The forest had few Grimm and any that did show up were easily dispatched by these two.

Today they decided to practice their swordplay. No other weapons, just swords. The two stood, staring at the other with their swords drawn. With an unspoken signal, the two shot off towards the other before they clashed. Their blades were blurs as they made contact repeatedly, the two were even until Jaune was slowly getting pushed backwards. He may have improved indefinitely under Raven's tutelage but she had three advantages over him. First off was experience, Raven had fought with a sword longer than Jaune had been alive. The way of the sword was like breathing to her at this point. On top of that, she was faster. Jaune could barely keep up with her swings at this point and finally, her sword had him outmatched in reach. With all of this stacked against him, he had no choice but to play defense.

Raven had her advantages but so did Jaune. Raven had him hone his tactical mind and instincts, which allowed him to come up with strategies in almost an instant and fully capitalize on them when the time came. So for now, he'd have to bide his time until he could think of something. Tourmentage Tordu's blade was sending vibrations through her arm with every swing that made contact but that did little to discourage her. Raven never let up and she was able to get past his defenses and score a few hits on him. Jaune jumped back but his back met a tree and his eyes widen for a second as his strategy came to mind.

Raven went for a horizontal swing for Jaune's chest at that moment. Jaune waited until the last second, before he ducked and spun around the opposite side of the tree. Raven cut through the tree like a knife through butter but soon jumped back. She wasn't sure what Jaune had in mind but she didn't want to get caught up in it. As Raven jumped back, Jaune charged aura into his left fist before punching the tree and sending it flying towards her. At the same time, he jumped into the air with help from his aura and used the tree to hide himself from his wife. Raven reflexively used a backhand swing to slice the tree in half and as the pieces fell away from each other, she saw Jaune coming down with a two-handed swing. Raven had barely enough time to bring her blade back to block the hit but the force behind it created a crater under them. The last advantage he had over Raven was his strength, Raven made his whole body pure muscle and it packed quite the punch.

The force of the hit and the vibrations had Raven's arm shaking. Jaune pressed his advantage by pushing Raven backwards and delivering a series of diagonal slashes, keeping her on the defensive with the force he was mustering behind each swing. Raven was now the one being pushed back but she was about to remind Jaune of her tenacity. Raven blocked another swing with her sword before swinging at Jaune with her sheathe. Jaune managed to duck under it but this gave Raven the time to restart her assault. Jaune quickly jumped back after blocking a dozen or so lightning fast swings before slamming another aura fist into the ground to create a smokescreen from the dirt. Raven got into a defensive stance and kept her eyes roaming for any sign of movement.

Jaune burst forward with his aura for a frontal assault. Raven raised an eyebrow at this, 'Why would he create a smoke screen for a frontal assault?' she thought. Jaune was going for a two handed, swing from his right, so Raven went with a similar swing from her right. That's when Raven's eyes widened as she realized what the purpose behind the smokescreen was. His sword's blade had his aura flowing through it and most likely, using his sword as a medium for his Semblance. As their blades met, Raven's sword was pushed back by what felt like a swing twice as strong as her own. As she was defenseless now, Jaune continued with a backhand swing from his left for a decisive hit but Raven used her sheathe to block the hit. Similar to her sword, her sheathe was forced back as soon as it hit his blade which was what Raven was planning on. She used that momentum to spin and bring her blade towards Jaune's face. He was barely able to avoid the swing but it was too late. As he recovered from the attack, Raven had her blade against his throat. Jaune looked into Raven's eyes before sighing, "I concede."

Raven took her blade away before sheathing it, "Good performance. Anyone else most likely wouldn't have stood a chance. But you were sloppy using your Semblance like that." She scolded him.

Jaune shrugged as he sheathed Tourmentage Tordu. "It was a risk but it almost paid off. The only reason it didn't work was because you know about my Semblance." He stated matter of fact.

She gave him a glare, "Speaking of which, I thought we agreed to not use our Semblances?"

Jaune smirked at her, "Whoops."

She got closer to him and jabbed him in the chest with her finger, "I thought an Arc never goes back on their word?" she asked annoyed.

Jaune wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, "They do but I'm not an Arc anymore, Beloved."

She was still glaring into his eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "Maybe so, but you should know better than to spite me."

Jaune just leaned closer to her, "I have. But there's a good chance you get feisty when I do and that is completely worth it."

She was silent for a while, "You're so lucky I love you." She stated with a small smile as her gaze softened.

Jaune smiled, "I know." They soon kissed each other passionately. Jaune still couldn't get over the feeling of his wife's lips and his mind went back to the moment where his path in life changed; for the better.

Jaune slowly awoke. His whole body was in pain and it felt heavy. 'Must've gotten my ass handed to me in a combat class.' He thought before he looked around and noticed he wasn't at Beacon's infirmary. It appeared to be a giant tent, big enough for at least a dozen people to stand in and not be crowded. There were very few personal items, only a chair or two, a small table, similar to a coffee table, and the bed roll he was laying in. Jaune slowly sat up and his head spun slightly. He brought his right hand up to his head, 'Where am I?' He looked at his arm and saw bandages wrapped halfway up his forearm all the way up his arm. He looked down and saw he was shirtless and that bandages were wrapped around his chest and stomach, along with his left arm. He lifted the blanket that was on top of him to see that he only had his underwear on and more bandages wrapped around his thighs. 'What the hell happened to me?'

"Good. You're awake." He heard a woman's voice say and he looked up. His eyes widened in disbelief. There standing in the entrance of the tent was a woman that was the spitting image of Yang, except that she had black hair and red eyes. He watched her as she walked in and sat down on a chair close to where he laid. She placed her weapon at her side by her feet before she handed him a canteen, "Drink. You're dehydrated." Jaune just kept staring at her until she spoke coldly, "I'm used to people staring at me but that doesn't mean I like it."

Jaune quickly looked away, "Sorry." He said in a raspy voice before he started coughing. His throat felt dryer than a desert. He took the canteen from the woman and took a few big gulps before he pulled it away with a satisfied sigh. He turned back to her, "Thank you." He said with a smile before he turned away and sheepishly spoke again, "And sorry for staring. You just look a lot like someone I know."

"Let me guess, Yang Xiao Long?" she asked.

Jaune turned back to her in shock, "You know her?"

She nodded, "I should know my own daughter."

His eyes widened as all the information came flooding to him. "That explains a lot." He turned away from her slightly, "She's been looking for you for years."

"I know."

He turned to her in disbelief. "You know?" She nodded. Jaune became angry with that. "So why haven't you gone to see her?! Talked to her!? Anything!?" He hissed in pain as he grabbed his chest. At that the memories from the day before flooded back to him along with the pain of the last few months.

She waited for him to calm down before she spoke again, "I left her because I had a duty and being her mother would've interfered with that. Plus, this isn't the best place to raise a child. I knew she'd be safe with Taiyang and I am going to contact her when she is ready. She isn't yet." Jaune sat there and just listened to her words, not sure what to do or say. "Although, I'm surprised you know about me. As far as I knew, she didn't trust many people with my identity. So, how do you know?"

Jaune thought for a second before he decided to answer her, it seemed fair. "Yang came to me one day when everything was too much for her to deal with. She told me about you along with a few other secrets and made me swear to never tell anyone. She trusts me enough with all of that." He looked down and sighed sadly, "Or at least, she used to."

She just looked at his dejected form. "I did notice that you, her and her friends were avoiding each other. What happened?"

He looked at her with an eyebrow slightly raised, "You know about us?"

She nodded, "I've checked in on her from time to time. So, what is going on?"

Jaune looked down, "I wouldn't want to bother you with my issues."

"I'm the reason why you're alive right now. Think of it as payment."

Jaune thought it over before he took a deep breath and told her everything. How he faked his transcripts to enter Beacon. How he became a leader of his own team and made friends with her daughter's team. How he was blackmailed by Cardin and how he eventually started to train with Pyrrha after the incident blew over. How he improved and eventually he was content with his life. He told her how Cardin told everyone about his transcripts at the beginning of his second year and how everyone despised him. And eventually, his friends abandoned him. Which pushed him to go into the Emerald Forest and try to prove himself. She was just listening to him stoically the entire time. "That's about it. I guess I was mistaken from the beginning to even try to attend Beacon."

There was a silence until she spoke, "The only mistake you made was allowing the opinions of others to destroy you. You put too much stock in what others think."

Jaune looked at her shocked, "What?"

"You think you got into Beacon on false transcripts alone? Ozpin isn't stupid. He probably figured your transcripts were fake from the beginning and that's why he didn't expel you when it was finally brought into the light."

Jaune was just stunned, "But why would he accept me?"

"Most likely he saw potential in you and I would agree with that." Jaune was dumbfounded. "You have high reserves of aura, the largest I've seen. And from what I saw, you have a natural tactical mind and good instincts. Your physical skills may be lacking and you need real training. But if you hone those skills and get some decent gear, you'll be a force to reckon with."

Jaune found his voice, "What do you mean by good instincts?"

"You were able to react and counter very quickly. Also, you were more effective when fighting on instincts alone." Jaune looked confused and she sighed, "You said Pyrrha Nikos trained you?" He nodded. "She taught you her fighting style but that style doesn't completely suit you. I saw you forcing yourself to fight that way but as soon as you stopped and started fighting without thinking, you became that much more deadly. It's good to learn from others but you must create your own style, a style that is natural to you."

Jaune looked down and just thought about her words, "So, you're saying I could be as good as the others?" he asked hopefully.

"No." she said and his heart fell. "You could be so much more." He turned to her in shock before seeing her stand with her weapon in her left hand, undrawn. "You have two options. Go back to Beacon and hope to reach your true potential. Or train under me and I'll push you to your full potential and you will show all who looked down on you, how wrong they were. My training will be harder than anything you can imagine but it'll be worth it. So, what do you choose?"

Jaune thought about everything. He didn't know much about her but if she could make him strong then who cared. He could be broken everyday as long as he could prove them all wrong. RWBY and his team most of all. He gripped the blanket tightly before looking at her with nothing but determination. "Make me strong. Stronger than any of the others." He said with full conviction.

She smiled at him and held her hand out to him, "You have a deal. What's your name, anyways?"

He took her hand and gripped it tightly, "Jaune Arc."

"Raven Branwen." She told him and released his hand. "I have one last question before we begin: Does your hair have something to do with your Semblance?"

Jaune raised an eyebrow confused, "My hair?" He reached up to his hair and as he looked up, saw that his normally blonde hair was black besides the tips. His eyes widened, "What happened to my hair?!" Raven facepalmed and sighed at that.

The two separated from the kiss. Jaune rested his forehead against her's as they tried to regain their breath. They were standing there peacefully until they heard a cawing. Jaune cracked open his eye before looking over at the crow sitting in one of the trees. He sighed, "Should we get to it and address this?"

Raven sighed as well, "That would probably be for the best." The two separated as they turned to the bird. "Enough games, Qrow. Come on out so we can get this over with." The crow took flight before going behind the tree. There was slight rustle from the bushes as a man stepped out behind the tree and walked into the clearing. He stopped a couple meters away from the couple. At that, Raven spoke up, "Hello, Little Brother."

"Raven." He replied evenly before he turned to Jaune. "And you must be Jaune."

Jaune nodded, "That would be right. A pleasure to finally meet my brother- in-law." He grinned.

Qrow's eyes widened, "Brother-in-law? You can't be serious." Jaune promptly took off his left glove to show Qrow the tattoo on his ring finger. He stared before he sighed and turned to Raven, "Really, Raven?"

She shrugged apathetically, "Jaune is the love of my life. He's been so much more than I thought possible. So, it doesn't matter whether you agree or not."

Qrow just grunted and pulled out his flask to take a drink. "Looks like she has you tied around her finger, kid. Be careful, she has a habit of leaving." He said with an edge.

Jaune just glared at him as he slipped his glove back on, "Maybe with other's but I'm a bit different from them."

"Really? And how's that?" he asked unimpressed.

Jaune looked over to Raven and she nodded. He turned back to Qrow. "Do to…circumstances, Raven's and my own auras have become fused. At least half of our own aura has mixed with the other's. We have a bond that cannot be broken besides with death, along with it giving us the ability to know what the other is feeling and location."

Qrow seemed shocked before drinking again, "Impressive. Never heard of two people fusing their auras before."

Raven smirked, "That's because his aura is a bit, different."

"Care to elaborate on that?" Qrow prodded.

Jaune just shook his head, "I would but you'd just tell Ozpin and I'm not ready to reveal myself fully. At least, not yet."

Qrow looked him in his eyes, "That obvious?"

"Well considering my little visit to Beacon wasn't long ago, yeah. How'd you find us so quickly?" Jaune asked.

Qrow chuckled, "Just dumb luck. I was in this forest when you came through the portal. I was trying to find Raven anyways, so it was very convenient."

Jaune gave a small chuckle in return, "Especially considering your Semblance." Qrow glared at him. "What? Raven told me about her twin, especially considering what you're involved in. Let me guess, Ozpin asked you to find me and 'save' me?"

"Something along those lines." He said plainly.

"Well don't worry. I'm not being forced into anything or in any danger. So, I don't need saving. Plus, what me and Rav have planned is nothing for you and your little inner circle to worry about." Qrow gained a dangerous glare before Jaune continued, "Don't worry. She didn't tell me any secrets, mostly because I don't care. And I don't plan on returning to Beacon, so the other students are safe." He gained a noticeable edge to his voice and a cold glare when he spoke next, "That is, as long as he doesn't send any after me. NPR and RWBY, especially."

"Hard to believe that when you destroyed another Team." He said with an edge.

Jaune shrugged, before Raven stepped in front of him, "Jaune went there because I asked him to. I wanted to send a message to Ozpin to not get in our way. Nothing more or less."

"Although, it wasn't part of the plan to have my way with CRDL." Jaune spoke up with a smirk. "I just couldn't resist because of how much I hated them."

"And what about my nieces and their friends." Qrow asked as he got in a stance that would give the impression he was about to draw his sword.

Jaune just looked him in the eyes, "If I hated them, I would've done the same if not worse to them before I left." He sighed, "I don't hate them Qrow. Honestly, I'm indebted to them in a twisted way. If they never abandoned me, I wouldn't have been put on the path that led me to my true potential and the real me." He smiled. "Or my beloved."

Qrow relaxed slightly, "Kid, I know they hurt you but what exactly did they do to you?"

Jaune was quiet for a second, "They all came to me to talk about whatever bothered them. I was their confidant. They even told me their darker secrets for whatever reason. I don't know whether they just trusted me or they thought they could force me to keep my mouth shut, but I believe it was the latter. I never judged them or even looked at them differently but what did they do when my darkest secret came out?" He let a silence linger before he continued. "They abandoned me when I needed them the most and saw me as nothing but something insignificant. After everything I did for them, they betrayed me without hesitation. That's what they did."

"They made a mistake but they cared for you." Qrow defended them.

"As I said to them before, 'We were never friends.' They threw me away when they didn't have a use for me anymore." He said coldly.

"They mourned you, kid." He said getting annoyed.

"So? They would've mourned anyone that they believed got killed because of their actions. Whether it was someone they didn't know or someone they hated. That doesn't mean they cared about me, just that they regretted the weight that now weighed on their consciences."

"Why are you so blind!" Qrow finally shouted. "Ruby cried her eyes out and tore her heart out because of you! Yang was shaken to her core and almost shut down completely! And I can almost guarantee that the others were effected similarly."

"Were they?" He asked coldly. "Listen to me, really listen. I don't care or belief that!" he shouted back. "Nothing they can say or do will ever make me believe they cared for me. They made it clear what our relationship really was over a year ago." Raven placed a hand on his shoulder to both calm and comfort him. Jaune gave her an appreciative smile.

The two turned back to Qrow as he spoke. "What do you plan to do with them?"

Jaune thought for a second. "Nothing." Qrow was stunned slightly. "As I said, I don't hate them but I don't trust them anymore. So, they can do whatever they like and I won't care. As long as they stay out of our way. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to end them." Qrow looked angry before Jaune spoke again, "Although, I have adopted Raven's policy. I'll save each of them once, but only once. I guess I owe them that."

"Wow. That's real noble of you." He said sarcastically.

Jaune just shrugged. Raven spoke up next, "He has nothing to prove to you or anyone else. I suggest you leave."

Qrow just looked at them. "The person Ruby used to tell me about had a good heart, was kind and stood up for what was right. What happened to that person?"

"He no longer exists." Jaune said simply. "He lost everything. So in the end, he had to choose between holding onto the light and die or survive and live as someone else. Something darker." He lifted his right hand in front of him and channeled his aura into it. "I made my choice and never looked back."

Qrow took a step back reflexively. "And what about your family?"

Jaune chuckled. "Please, I was the embarrassment of the Arc family. I probably did them a favor by dying." He stopped channeling his aura. "And just so you know, I can only siphon aura in close proximity." He smirked. "But that's all you're getting from me." He turned to Raven. "Ready to go?"

Raven nodded before turning to Qrow. "Good to see you, Little Brother." Was all she said before she placed her mask on her face and opened a portal.

Jaune turned to Qrow. "I hope you have enough on that recording." He smiled. "Oh, remember what I said about my step daughter and her half-sister. Their friends too." That's all he says before he put on his own mask and pulled up the hood. Qrow stared wide eyed as he followed his wife through the portal.

Qrow sighed shortly after before taking his scroll out of his pocket and stopping the recording. He started it when he grabbed his flask. "What are they planning?" Is all he asked himself before he turned to leave. "Aura Siphoning. Semblance Stealing. Ozpin was right, there is something that just isn't right about this. Plus, that kids aura." He shivered slightly. "Something isn't right about it. It's too cold, too dark." Qrow transformed into his bird form before flying off to Beacon. There were a few things that they had to talk about and maybe warn his nieces as well.