Distortion

It had been about a month and a half since Knightingale had infiltrated Beacon along with both RWBY and the remainder of CFVY being made aware of the truth of Salem. During that time, those seven students had thrown themselves further into their training, trying to improve themselves as much as possible before they graduated. CFVY had agreed to join Ozpin in his fight as soon as they graduated but everyone knew it wasn't just for the betterment of the world but to find their wayward teammate and bring her back. Along with planning something less than great for Jaune when they found him.

RWBY had similar mindsets, wanting to stop Salem and trying to help their once friends from doing something they'd regret, except for their leader. Ruby would've probably been the first to sign on to save the world but with everything that had been happening with Jaune, she couldn't help but question all of this more and more. She wasn't the naïve girl from her second year, Jaune's apparent death had change that about her. So, the black and white mindset she had was long gone. So, she couldn't help but question if what Jaune was doing was completely wrong or not. Yes, he was doing things that she would never think of but, in the same token, he was trying to stop Salem. End a war.

She never brought any of these thoughts up to her team. She knew they wouldn't understand, mostly because they made themselves very clear on where they stood on the Jaune front. They weren't like the General, who wanted him dead. But more like Ozpin, they just wanted to stop him from continuing what he was doing. Ruby herself still wanted to save him. But, if he didn't want to be and even said he didn't need to be, what was she to do?

So, she kept training. Kept pushing herself. That way, when the time came where she would finally have an answer to those questions, she'd be ready to make that decision.

That lead to this very day. Ozpin had called her team along with CFVY to his office to discuss something. As they were making their way to their destination, her team was just talking with one another. Yang was the one speaking as she slowly came back to reality, "Think this has anything to do with Jaune?"

Weiss sighed, "It wouldn't surprise me. It seems that everything has changed since he resurfaced. Especially now that we were told everything. A part of me is still trying to accept that it is all true."

Blake nodded, "Honestly, I think we were going to find out about this eventually." As her two teammates looked at her she continued, "Professor Ozpin has always given our team and JNPR special attention. I'm pretty sure he wanted to recruit us for a while now."

That made the two think before Yang turned to her sister, "What do you think, Rubes."

She was quiet for a while until she eventually sighed, "I think we should just talk with the Professor." She said simply and neutrally.

Yang just kept looking at her, "Ruby, I know things have been hard and things are even more complicated…but you can talk to me."

She sighed again, "It's just hard for me to fully trust him, Yang. He pulled Mom, Dad, Uncle Qrow and even your mother into this whole thing and look what happened to them because of it. Look what happened to our family." She glared down at the ground as her fists tightened. "And now he's doing the same with our team…" Yang was just staring at her sister, stunned by the anger she was showing. "I get that Salem is dangerous, more than any of us probably realize. But I don't want us to just wind up being sacrifices."

They were all quiet but Blake had to add her own vie won the subject, "Wars always have sacrifices."

Ruby just leveled her teammate with a glare, "And you're saying you want to be one?"

Blake shook her head, "No, I don't. But, from experience, I know that sometimes there are no choices."

Ruby kept glaring at her, "Would you be saying the same if it was your mother that died." She practically hissed.

Blake's jaw dropped at that and Weiss gasped. "Ruby!" Yang shouted in shock. The younger girl just kept eye contact with all of them before she just shook her head in anger and walked ahead of them. Yang tried to reach out for her but she just used her Semblance to slip through her fingers and create more distance between them. The three of them just exchanged looks, none of them sure on what they were supposed to do next.

They eventually all reached the tower a few minutes later with Ruby waiting in the elevator for thirty seconds or so before the other three walked in as well. They shared a silent and tense ride up to the Headmaster's office. The remaining members of CFVY were already there and so was Ozpin who was typing away at his desk. When they walked in, their seniors looked over at them and greeted them in their usual ways: Fox and Yatsuhashi nodded to them while Coco lowered her sunglasses, "Great, you're here. Now we can find out why we were asked to come up here."

With that, Ozpin stopped his typing and looked up at them. He had a tired look in his eyes as he looked at all of his students. "It seems that James has had an update on the Branwens." With those words, the students had similar facial responses, shock turning to anger for CVFY and confusion coming from RWBY. "And he wanted to discuss this break through with all of you. So, let's see if the General is ready." With that, he pulled out his scroll to select his contact before placing it on his desk.

As the connection was made, a holographic screen with the General's face appeared before all of them. Although, they all noticed that he had grown stubble around his jaw and his hair was slightly messier then when they last saw him. The man took a moment to look about everyone who was there as Ozpin was moving around from the other side of his desk. "Well, that was quicker than I was expecting, Oz, but thank you for the haste."

Ozpin just nodded his head, "You made it seem like this was important. Plus, I was also interested to see what this development was."

He nodded, "Well, since you are all here now. I'd like to inform you that a member of the Branwen Tribe was captured in Vacuo." That got the interest of everyone in the room, including Ozpin. "His name is Vincent Ostium. He is a snake Faunus that has been attacking numerous bandit groups in the deserts, looking for someone apparently. He ran into a group of Huntsmen and they were able to capture him with two heavily injured but alive. When they found out he was most likely affiliated with the Branwens, they contacted Atlas immediately."

"That is quite the development, James. But what do you need from me and my students?" Ozpin asked, knowing there was a reason why he was calling aside from just an update.

"I have a few soldiers and Knights already escorting him by bullhead to Atlas. But there is no doubt in my mind that his capture will reach the rest of his group. So, I would like to request these seven students to act as back up, in case they plan to liberate him before he can arrive at our border." The General finished.

"Us?" Weiss spoke up in shock. "But why? Not to be rude, General, but you have an entire army and some of the best Huntsmen in the world at your disposal, including my sister. Why do you need us?"

Ironwood took a deep breath before he responded. "Right now, my hands and resources are tied. Recently, a new criminal has been attacking Mantle and Atlas." That was news to all of them. "Whoever they are, they've been attacking different locations in both areas and even a few of the Dust mines away from the Kingdom. Because of that, the Council is strong arming me to keep most of our army close, to help protect the people from the rise in Grimm because of the panic and guard any high value targets. I've even had to put my top Specialists, the Ace Ops, on the search for this terrorist but they've had no luck."

"I would personally go out there but my new prosthetic are not ready for active combat. I'm confined to my desk and I need Winter to help me take care of several important issues in my stead. Including updating the CCT security so nothing like that virus the Branwens are using can be as dangerous." He closed his eyes and sighed as his gloved hand came up to massage his forehead. "I'm out of options and Ozpin trusts your two teams. So, you are our best bet."

There was a silence for a bit as they were all thinking this over. "You have my team ready to help you, General." Coco said with a voice of complete conviction. Her two teammates nodding alongside their leader in an equal show of determination.

He looked at the trio and nodded with a grin, "Thank you, Miss Adel. I appreciate your team's assistance in this matter."

Weiss, Blake and Yang were looking at each other. They weren't against this mission. Especially, if it meant putting a stop to Jaune before he could do anything worse. But, they still needed Ruby to agree to it. They all slowly looked to the reaper. She was looking down and was in deep thought. She eventually looked up, "Can I ask you a question, General?"

"Of course, Miss Rose." He said instantly.

"Why don't you send Penny?" she asked. "I know she still technically a student and all, but she is as strong as any Huntsmen I've seen. Wouldn't it be a good idea to send her as well?"

Ironwood just looked at her and a forlorn look came to his eyes. He closed them before he took a deep breath, "I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you this." He opened his eyes and looked back at her, "The truth is, Penny was killed in action several months back. I'm sorry."

Everyone in the room slowly turned to Ruby, the girl in question was just staring wide eyed at the General. She was frozen for a while before she took a shallow breath, "W-what?" she asked in a weak voice.

He just gave a weak sigh, "She's gone, Ruby. I'm sorry. I know you two were friends and I can't thank you enough for that. But as regrettable as it is, she's gone."

Ruby just kept looking at the General before her eyes lowered to the ground. Her eyes started to water as she began to take choppy breaths. "P-penny…" she said sadly before the tears began to pour down her cheeks. She fell to her knees as she began to breakdown, her hands going up to cover her face. Yang quickly made her way over to her sister, she knelt down and held her close in a feeble attempt to comfort her. As the younger girl was having her emotional scene, no one else in the room said a word. Out of respect for the young life that was taken away.

It took Ruby several minutes before she was able to regain control of herself. She pulled away from Yang and started to wipe away the remaining tears before she looked back up at the General. "Can I ask, what happened?" she asked in a raspy voice.

"Someone had broken into one of our research facilities and she was the first one on the scene. She tried to stop the intruder but they were too strong." He told her simply.

Ruby looked down sadly and Weiss had to ask the next question for her. "Do you have any idea on who did this?"

Ironwood nodded, "After new information had come to life and reviewing the security footage once again, we've come to realize the intruders were Raven and Jaune Branwen."

That made the entire room freeze and Ozpin turned to the General, "Jaune and Raven? James, are you sure?"

He nodded and soon security footage took the place of his face. It showed Penny using her swords and lasers to fight against a familiar figure in black, wearing a Wyvern mask and using a just as familiar sword and shield. They all watched the fight go on until Jaune deflected all her swords with the help of his Semblance before closing the space between them and plunging his sword through her stomach. Penny went limp right after and the footage closed to show the General once again.

"We weren't sure on his identity until after I was able to fight him. But I have no doubt that it was Jaune Branwen." Ironwood said with certainty.

Everyone was just standing there stunned. Just processing what they had just witnessed and the truth of the whole scenario. Ruby, still on her knees, spoke up weakly, "J-jaune... killed P-penny?" The whole thing just seemed impossible but she had just seen it with her own eyes. Her first friend, the one she had been trying to figure out how to save, had killed her other friend. And she was further out of her depth than ever before.

"I know this is a lot to process, Miss Rose, but I do need a decision soon. The bullhead is already on route to Atlas and will stop by Beacon to pick up whoever has agreed to accompany my soldiers back to the Kingdom." The General informed the young reaper.

Ruby just sat there and was deep in thought, thinking about everything she had learned and everything up to this point. But despite all that she soon came to a decision, whether it was for better or worse. She looked up at her team, before her eyes moved to the Headmaster and the General to tell them what she had decided.

Back at Vytal, Jaune was currently in one of the training rooms watching Neo sparring with Velvet. Over the last few weeks, the Faunus had grown to learn how to control her Negative aura almost completely. Because of that, her aura wasn't being siphoned anymore and she could now have it doing the same to the Positive aura around her. Having her fight Neo now would help her learn how to have it absorb aura more instinctively and gain more mastery over it.

He watched as Neo deflected Velvet's weapon, which was currently a copy of his own sword and shield, with Hush before the smaller woman got in range and kicked her in the chest. Velvet was sent sliding backwards and her aura had taken some damage. He notice her eyes narrow in concentration before her aura would manifest and start to siphon Neo's own aura to replenish her own.

She came to a stop and Neo was already bringing her parasol down. Velvet brought her sword up to block and Neo just flipped forward to deliver a kick to the small of Velvet's back before she reached the ground. As she was stumbling forward, Neo deployed the blade at the end of Hush and started to deliver a series of stabs at her fellow Knightingale member. Velvet tried to defend herself but soon, Neo hooked the handle of her weapon around her wrist and pulled her arm away. She stepped into the Faunus' space before deploying one of her hidden blades and positioning it at her throat.

The two stopped and Jaune removed himself from the far wall, "Alright, that's enough for one day." He said with a small smile as he walked closer and the two separated from each other. "Looks like you've gotten use to your new weapons, Neo. Glad to see that you're enjoying them so much." Neo just smiled up at him and gave him a thumbs up. He then turned to Velvet, "As for you, Vel, you're getting better but you still haven't got the siphoning down to a reflex yet."

She looked down as her copied weapons faded from existence, "I know. I'm sorry I haven't got it under control yet."

His hand fell onto her shoulder and she looked back up at him, "It's fine, Vel. This part of Negative aura is always a bit difficult to get it under control. You're nearly there, you just need a bit more real life experience is all."

She just looked up at him for a bit before she smiled, "Thanks, Jaune."

He just nodded back, "Now, let's head to the living space. Ren and Pyrrha should be done cooking by now and I'm sure you two have worked up quite the appetite." They nodded and the two placed their weapons in their respective lockers before all three left and made the trek to where the only other members of Knightingale were at.

As the trio made their way into the living area, they could see both Pyrrha and Ren at separate pots on the stove. Pyrrha turned to them with her usual smile, "You are just in time. The curry and rice are done, so let's dig in." With them agreeing, the five soon made their plates with their preferred amounts of rice and curry. They all sat down and started to eat while having light conversations. Jaune couldn't help but smile at this. It had been too long since so many members of Knightingale to be together for any extended period of time. Not since the destruction of the Branwen tribe.

Things had been looking up for the group as a whole recently. With Valter Moonstone now working for them to attack Atlas and Mantle to draw attention, they could move more freely without the Kingdom's army breathing down their necks. Although, Aaeron still didn't trust the Beast of Mistral as far as he could throw him, not that any of them really did, so he had elected to keeping an eye on him. And with the former Specialist back there, he could point Valter at ideal locations to attack while keeping his ear to the ground for any information on what the military was up to.

With that taken care of, Raven had chosen to go back to Mistral. Using some of her old contacts, she started her search again for the Relic of the Branwens. All the time in Atlas had eliminated the entire continent of Solitas as a possible location for it. Onyx had agreed to go with Raven on her journey this time. He knew some details about the relic but not nearly enough, so he was hoping that this would help fill in some blanks for him. Gil had decided to go back to Vacuo. Along with looking for more possible clues, he was hoping to get in contact with Vincent once again. He may not want to admit it but he was worried for one of the only still living members of Branwens and wanted to make sure he wouldn't get in over his head.

With that, it left the three newer members, Neo and Jaune left in Vytal. Jaune would've volunteered to go with Raven but he wanted to help Velvet finish her aura training along with helping Pyrrha and Ren refine their own control over their Negative auras. Plus with them being found out at Beacon, it was better to keep their newest members out of the field until some of the heat died down. Especially considering Pyrrha and her fame. Neo could've gone back to Vale but they felt like they had gained all the information they could from the CCT at this point in time. That and Neo had been away from Jaune for too long, in her own opinion, and didn't want to be separated from him for quite some time. Much to Raven's extreme annoyance.

Another change was that Raven and Jaune had agreed to make Velvet a full member of their organization. Before she went back into the field, the had performed the ceremony and Velvet had then been allowed to find her mask. She ended up with the Creep mask, which was a stark contrast compared to the two fluffy, and in many others' opinion, adorable ears that stuck up at the top of her head.

As they were enjoying their meal, Jaune's scroll started to go off. He looked and saw that it was Gil. He quickly answered and put it to his ear, "What's going on, Gil?"

"Jaune we have a problem." Gil said urgently. "Vincent was captured by Vacuo and he is now on his way to Atlas."

"What!?" Jaune shouted and stood up abruptly, making the other four at the table jump in shock. "When did this happen?"

"Earlier today. I don't know where the bullhead is now but we have to stop it before he gets back to the Kingdom." Gil said with a hint of frustration to his voice.

Jaune took a deep breath, "Alright, I'll call Aaeron and see if he has any information. If we can figure anything out, I'll have myself or Raven bring you along."

"Don't worry about me. You just worry about getting him back, so don't waste your aura bringing me along." The bear Faunus said in a tone of finality.

Jaune thought it over for a few seconds, "Alright, if that's what you want. I'll give you an update as soon as I can." With that he hung up and looked at the table, "One of our members has been captured and is being flown to Atlas." He told them all and they all looked floored. "Go grab your gear and get ready to move out immediately." The four of them agreed, finishing the remains of their meal before leaving the room to go retrieve their weaponry.

As they were leaving, Jaune was already trying to get ahold of Aaeron. He finally picked up, "I think I already know what you're calling me about." The Atlesian said as soon as he picked up.

"Any idea on how to find where Vincent is?" Jaune asked.

"I'm using the backdoor I left in Atlas' systems right now to see if I can get any sort of clue." There was a lull in the conversation and he could here Aaeron typing away in the background. "I don't feel too bad about using this now. Atlas was planning on upping their security in the next week or so and would've found it. So, two birds."

Jaune sighed, "Yeah. I guess you have a point. Still a shame we couldn't save it for a rainy day."

"I got it!" Aaeron shouted. "Looks like the bullhead made a stop at Beacon for backup. With that delay, they are still somewhere within Anima. And from there last check in… they should be arriving in Lake Matsu within an hour."

Jaune grinned, "Good a place as any for an ambush. Thanks, Aaeron. While in their systems, see what you can find, will you?"

He heard him chuckle, "Already on it. Get our boy back, Chief."

"Was already planning on it." Jaune told him before he hung up. That's when he started to make his way to the locker room and was calling Raven as he was doing so.

She picked up almost instantly, "I'm assuming you know where to find Vincent?" she asked.

He was surprised for all of a second before he realize that Gil must've called her while he was talking to Aaeron. "Yes. Aaeron just told me the bullhead will be showing up in Lake Matsu in the next hour or so. Everyone here is ready to go, so you can open a portal if you can get there."

"Don't worry. I've been there a few times and know of an ideal spot. Onyx and I will go there now. Be ready for my portal." She said simply.

"See you soon, Love." He replied before he hung up. He quickly went to his locker to throw on his coat and weaponry before grabbing his mask. He walked into the training room to see Neo, Pyrrha, Ren and Velvet, all armed and ready with their respective masks on.

Jaune just grinned at them as Raven's black and red portal appeared behind him. He placed his Wyvern mask over his face before he said to all of them, "Let's remind the General what happens when he messes with Knightingale." With that, Jaune walked through the portal with the other four following right after him before the portal snapped shut behind them.

A/N- This chapter is a bit shorter than the usual chapter but considering it is set up for the next big fight, I'm going to say its okay. As a quick note, Vincent Ostium is an OC created by Jauneforever a long time ago and I'm so excited to finally introduce him into the story. You'll all see him fully in the next chapter. And as per usual, Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh was the Beat for this chapter. And thank you all for getting Distortion to be over 1k followers, this is my second story to ever do that and I'm grateful.With all that said, I hoped you all enjoyed and I'll see you in the next update!