Spectre: 4000 views, the highest I received so far. And for that, I give you a fan-favourite franchise a shot, and also a favourite of mine as well!
Inspiration: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Battle Tendency
Chapter Four: Splendid as Bubbles
"What was that for? I was watching that!", Yang called out, she wanted to see themselves kick some Atlesian asses.
"I can't show it all of a sudden, can't I?", Flit sassed to them. "We can go back to this universe if you wish"
Yang nodded with a smile though Blake and Ruby were down that they didn't see the full fight. "Anyways, how's that?", Flit asked.
"Coordination and synchronization of planning, saying it wasn't good is like saying the sky is red", Mercury praised with a thumbs-up.
"I have to agree with Mr. Black here. Her tactics and her skills are much to be praised here", Glynda noted.
Blake was jotting down notes on their performance for her future work while Ruby finally spoke with stars on her eyes but was speechless on her portrayal, obviously marveled on how she looked like and how she operated.
"Anyways, we can continue with the rest or take a small break. The choice is yours", Flit said to the audience.
"I go with viewing", Roman said, raising his hand as did Neo.
"Us too!", Team RWBY, JNPR and CVFY raised their hands as Flit smiled at their enthusiasm.
"Very well then", Flit called out with a wave of his hand and the screen once again flashed white before them.
The scene opens up with a flashback with Ozpin's voice narrating. It showed a young Jaune, surrounded by his family, with his father and sisters. "Jaune Arc was the son of Jonathan Arc, considered the best furniture maker in all of Vale. Jonathan was a proper man of his day, thoroughly dedicated to his family. To Jaune, he was the ideal man."
Everyone in the audience smiled at the happy sight, even the villains as they couldn't really deny the happy nature shown here. Salem lets out small smile on her face, seeing herself when she was still with Ozpin.
Pyrrha and Ruby were both awed at how cute Jaune was as a child, and both thought it was adorable of how much Jaune idolized his father.
The adults, however, were more rather surprised on how many siblings he had. "Just how many times did Mrs. Arc had to go through this?", Glynda questioned.
"I know right!", Summer responded. "I can barely handle one while she had gone through at least 8 times".
The Arc Couple present scratched their heads sheepishly at the comments while Jaune is embarassed of himself. "I thought Uncle Jack was the furniture maker of our family", he said to his father, not wanting to make this moment a bit awkward as it is.
"Apparently, I do make furniture at my spare time, son", Jonathan Arc said to his son.
The scene shifted to one of Jaune and his sisters watching an open door. "When Jaune was ten, Jonathan suddenly left without so much as a word. Having lost their mother years before, they were alone. Distant relatives stole what little they had." It then showed Jaune hitting another child with a stick and then to him sitting on his bed, his eyes ablaze with anger. "Jaune became a delinquent, growing to hate his father and what had done to them."
"None of our relatives are like that!", Jonathan protested but immediatley calmed himself as he remembered this was an alternate reality.
Jaune yelled out just as his polo shirt was ripped out of nowhere (Causing a few members of the audience to laugh), "I bet he's living carefree with some hot young woman! I'm gonna find him and then kill him!"
Jonathan Arc gripped his wife's hand, he'd never leave his family behind as per family tradition, but remained silent as he hope there is a reason why he had to leave his family behind.
Phyrra, Ren and Nora were surprised at the sudden outburst of anger that Jaune possessed here, always seeing him as a great friend who would try and put up a smile at their faces if they had a bad day or if they had finished a mission.
Nobody else on either team said a word, not knowing how to respond to his words. No one else felt that strongly about their parent, except to some people.
The screen now showed an older Jaune, dirty and wearing ragged, stitched up clothes, leading a small gang behind him. "He threw away his youth and his future. He committed theft, arson, assault, anything short of outright murder. Even the local Mafiosos feared him."
"Mafiosos?", Ruby questioned at the new word to her.
"If I'm correct, likely a group of criminals working together, just like I did during the early years of my career", Roman said to the younger Rose.
"I can confirm that his statement is accurate, Ms. Rose. So there is no need to doubt", Flit confirmed as he focused back at the screen.
A member of the mafia approached Jaune. "Hey you're that guy named Jaune, aren't you? So what's your last name?"
"I don't have one!", Jaune responded with malice.
The man laughed. "So that means you're not Vytalian. Vytalians are proud of their surnames", he taunted as he ignited Jaune's anger. Quickly pulling out a wrench, he slammed it into the mafioso's head, and then punched him in his jaw. However, sparks of light flashed when Jaune smacked the mob member.
"What was that?!" cried out Ruby, as the others were surprised at the mysterious light emitted from Jaune's hand.
Flit turned to explain. "That energy is called Hamon. It is a technique that is used by practicing an ancient martial art as well as proper breathing. The energy created is identical to that of the Sun's, allowing it to be an effective tool against creatures of darkness. It is similar to Aura, as it does grant more strength, speed, and vitality to an individual. However, the most important use of the Hamon is it can be used to manipulate substances by inputting the energy within. This allows for many different attacks and styles to be created, as Hamon has hundreds of different uses.
Ruby, Yang, Nora and the rest of the students were in awe of the energy, and thought it was pretty amazing. The adults were amazed, thinking if such power exists in their world.
At age 16, Jaune saw his father once again, walking the streets of Vale. "I can't believe it! It's no mistake, it's really him!" From that point on, Jaune felt that he would murder his own father.
Jaune felt like he was shot in the gut at the thought of him murdering his own father, he would never thought of something like that, as he idolized him as it was him who inspired him to become a Huntsman. Elena Arc gripped both Jaune and Jonathan's hands, wishing that such occurence would not happen.
"No Jaune! Don't!", Nora called out at the screen.
"Kid's got serious revenge issues", Qrow muttered as he took another chug of his flask.
He followed his father to a construction site and found a secret entrance, leading to a large stone wall with three individuals carved into it. He noticed a diamond in the hand of the carvings and reached to grab it, but stopped when he heard, "NO! Boy, don't touch that stone!"
"Jonathan?!", Elena Arc called out to her husband.
Jonathan Arc ran to him, only to be too late as Jaune's finger brushed against the diamond, causing the wall to glow. Out came dozens of hooks, flying towards Jaune, ready to pull him in. Only for his father to push him aside, the hooks digging into him instead. "Stay back. This is all a trap" Jonathan pleaded with his son, unknowingly.
"Dad!", Jaune called out at the screen.
"What's going on here?!", Glynda asked Flit as he turned to explain the nature of the Pillar Men on how they were ancient-super humans with unbelievable strenght and intellect where their Stone Masks had given the ability to turn a human into a vampire and that they are only vulnerable to Hamon and Sunlight.
Jaune watched on helplessly as his father was slowly sucked into the wall. "He did not know that 50 years prior, his grandfather, Roman Arc had died while on an expedition. Jonathan took up his father's torch and trained with Hamon to prepare, discovering the ruins soon after. He began a worldwide search for a way to defeat the monsters within and unlock the treasures they hide, but Jaune knew none of this" Ozpin narrated.
As he was slowly being sucked into the wall, Jonathan begged the young man who he did not was his son. "Young man, I beg you a favor. Make your way to Vytal, and speak with a woman named Raven. It's a matter of life and death. She is the only one who has any chance of stopping them."
"His father was simply trying to stop a bigger threat. He only wanted to protect Jaune" sniffled Pyrrha.
"He didn't know that. He felt abandoned. He was alone" said Ruby in a monotone voice.
Jaune tried to reach to his father, but was frozen from shock. He watched as his father was slowly consumed by the wall, his dying pleas to find Raven. As the final bit of his father was devoured by the wall, all Jaune could do was stare longingly at the stone. "Father...", he muttered.
The flashback ended with the scene changing to an older and muscular Jaune, wearing a blue jacket, light pink scarf, and white pants, with a long thin headband with a row of checkered triangles and two feathers, standing in front of a large iron gate in the snow.
"It looks like he's grown at this one, but why is he alone?", Yang asked though no one answered at the moment.
Elena Arc was crying earlier at the sight of her husband being sucked on the wall, and the Arc patriarch could only hold a hand on her shoulder as a gesture of comfort.
Jaune walked through the gate, walking slowly up to the abandoned and closed up mansion. "A set of footprints leads into the mansion," he said just as the front door suddenly opened. Gusts of wind came from the door, revealing briefly a figure. "I swear I saw someone there. Am I hallucinating?"
But then he saw the figure slam his foot down onto the stone pavement. "There it is! It's not an illusion! What the hell is that!"
The mysterious figure called out "Jaune!" before rushing at him, only to disappear once more. Jaune looked around and surmised that it was not Cinder who was out here. She couldn't survive out being in the sun, especially when it was so bright.
Cinder perked up at this. Apparently, she was the main foe in this universe. She called for Flit and asked for an explanation.
"Here, in this universe, you are the creator of these stone masks. It was you who was imprisoned in that stone wall. Emerald and Mercury were also imprisoned in the wall as well. All of you are known as the Pillar Men, ancient beings capable of taking over the world."
Cinder smiled at this information. "It is fitting that I am above the others. And to hear that this version of me is trying to reach a perfect form is beyond satisfactory." The fact that another version of her was trying to reach unimaginable power made sense to her. If she was another Cinder Fall, then her ambitions would be just as large as her own.
Mercury and Emerald looked at each when they heard that they were associates under Cinder. "So, even in another universe, I'm stuck with you. This sucks big time."
"The fact that I am stuck with you in another reality isn't a reassurance for me either," shot back Emerald.
Jaune instinctively goes to the cat stance, ready to dodge any attack that was coming. However, a new voice called out to him. It was his instructor Bartholomew Oobleck, who walked up beside him. "Stay back instructor! Something is hiding just inside the entrance of the building."
Oobleck looked at the open doors and saw nothing. Until a single footprint appeared in the snow! "He must have jumped! He must be coming at us from above!" yelled Jaune.
The invisible figure came close enough to Jaune for him to recognize who it was. It was Mercury, the Wind User. And before Jaune could anything, Oobleck's arm was cut off, with Mercury quickly dragging the rest of him into the mansion.
Ozpin and Glynda winced at seeing their colleague and friend hurt so badly, and with such ease. Hearing him scream was a stark contrast from his usual self.
Up in the villain's section, Mercury leaned forward at seeing himself on the screen with interest. "He's way more flexible than I am. Even without these legs, I could barely do that."
Cinder and Emerald paid close attention, waiting to see what other abilities this version of Mercury had, and if any more information could be gathered.
Jaune fell to his knees, crying out in shame, his right arm squirting out blood from the quick attack. It made no sense to the blonde fighter. "How could Mercury come out during the day?"
Before he could come to a conclusion, Mercury once more reappeared, his figure constantly phasing in and out. This Mercury was also taller and more muscular, wearing clothes suited for the desert and having a gold lip-ring. "Where is she, that infuriating smart-talking upstart? I hear that Yang has learned quite a bit. Where is the woman who killed Master Emerald?" he demanded to know.
Mercury groaned at what he learned and on how he looked like here. "Master? What, that means I follow her orders in this universe. And what the hell is up with my clothes?! I look like some kind of stripper! And a lip-ring!? The universe hates me, I know"
Emerald smirked at her partner. "In both universes."
"At least my ass didn't get killed", Mercury shot back.
Down in the hero section, Yang was pumped her fist into the air. "I'm in this universe as well! And not only do I still have my fabulous sense of humor, but I also defeated one of the bad guys!"
Blake lifted her eyebrow. "He called you infuriating and a smart-talking upstart.", she said as Qrow sighed.
"Pretty sure that's the Raven in you."
Jaune remembered the special ability of Mercury's. "He can control the wind. That's why he's so difficult to see." He noticed the pipes upon the the Pillar man's chest, which pumped air out. It took him a moment, but Jaune suddenly realized Mercury's trick. "He's cloaking himself in the vapors that's he's generating from the air, and then he's pumping it out of those pipes. It's refracting light like a million tiny prisms. It's a suit that bends light around him, protecting him from the sun's rays, thus allowing him to be outside. That's why he seems to be transparent."
Ren knew that his leader was strategic and, in battle, could pinpoint flaws or weaknesses quickly, but the fact that his friend could discover Mercury's advanced technique after only seeing for only a moment or two was incredible. "Jaune made observations and was able to deduce the function of the wind suit in such a short amount of time. He shows his capabilities as a leader in each universe."
Pyrrha smiled at Ren's compliment. "He may have a low opinion of himself, but Jaune is extremely capable as our leader. His lack of training and skill still irritates him, but he's been gifted with a strategic mind. Something that most hunters or huntresses lack."
Nora cheered for Jaune. "That's our fearless leader! Always making the plans!"
Ozpin and Glynda were watching Jaune with pride as well. While Glynda did have her doubts about her student, she nevertheless felt pride at seeing this other version of Jaune use his wits, instead of only his brains.
"Is this what you meant by his potential, sir?" she asked Beacon's headmaster.
Ozpin chuckled a bit. "Not quite. While I did notice his skill at leadership and tactics, it was something that caught my attention."
Team RWBY and JNPR turned to listen to what Ozpin had to say.
"You see, it was quite simple. Mr. Arc is a simple young man with a good soul. And I believe that in these times, we need more individuals like him. Miss Rose is another example" he explained.
Mercury addressed his opponent calmly. "You are the bubble user named Jaune, aren't you? Simply by looking into your eyes, I can see that you've also learned much through your ordeals."
Recognizing Jaune's strength, he decided Jaune to be worthy of killing, and rushed at him.
Jaune took a pose, and felt his anger burning within. "I feel like I did back then, when I was naive and poor, back when you viciously took the life of my father. And now, I'll use my viciousness to destroy you!"
Mercury sat back, relaxed. "This is going to be over real soon. That sucker doesn't stand a chance" he snickered.
Emerald rolled her eyes, not bothering to start another fight.
Mercury sent a blast of air at Jaune, only to have the Hamon user use it to create bubbles. "Some bubbles go right through the wind. Bubble Cutter!"
Jaune threw out his hands, releasing a swarm of bubbles that looked like saucers with a blade like ring surrounding each one. The bubbles spinned furiously towards Mercury, the wind doing nothing to stop them. "High-speed rotation turns the bubbles into a salvo of deadly disks. Hamon ensures they won't pop along the way."
The bubbles traveled directly to Mercury, finding him with ease. "The wind protecting you is nothing more than a pocket of empty air to them. Instead of defending you, it'll suck them in." The spinnings rings on the bubbles cut through Mercury's air as if it was butter, lining him with multiple cuts.
Ozpin was impressed. "Mr is skilled, that's for sure. Especially for someone for uses bubbles. You'd never expect someone to be so deadly" he grinned as he took absip of his coffee.
Weiss thought that the move was brilliant. "Amazing. He knew that the suit of air creates a sort of vacuum, and that by firing his bubbles, they'd automatically be drawn to the pull of it."
Yang elbowed her slightly. "Oh, is that some praise from Miss Schnee? And to Vomit Boy of all people? I thought you were constantly annoyed by him? "
"Shut up! Aside from some of his other annoying qualities, Jaune does have some strong characteristics. His aptitude for strategy being one of them. He's a good friend, and he has my respect at all times!"
Seeing that Jaune was more than he expected, Mercury turned and fled back to the mansion. Not wanting to see his opponent regain his strength, Jaune quickly let loose another stream of bubbles. "Gliding Bubble Cutter!"
These bubbles were like the last volley, only that they flew low to the ground, hitting Mercury in his legs, knocking him off-balance. Jaune smirked at this, and jumped into the air, wanting to finish this with a Hamon kick.
However, Mercury instead of falling all the way, bent over backwards, and attacked. He kicked at Jaune, using him as a springboard so that he could leap back into the shadows! Missing the door, and out of desperation, Mercury slammed through the wall of the mansion, making it out of the sunlight.
"Damn it, he managed to escape inside," Ruby said.
"Strategically it was the better thing to do. He knew that outside he was on losing ground, so he had to try and turn the tables somehow" Summer commented.
"Yeah, but isn't he supposed to be an expert though?" asked Yang.
Blake responded to her partner. "Even if they are an expert, they can obviously tell if they are going to lose. Better to run away and fight again."
Raven's eyebrow raised at the skill shown by both. Both fighters were clearly strong, but more than that, they were smart and tried to end the fight quickly. Neither one was wasting time with pointless theatrics or useless moves.
Jaune was catching his breath, thinking to himself of what Mercury just did. "He's not just an immortal with incredible strength, with senses like that, he's a fighting genius."
Mercury's face broke out in a grin at Emerald. "Hear that Emerald, I'm a fighting genius. And I'm alive."
Emerald smirked back. "You're also getting your ass handed to you."
Mercury flipped her off, his good moment ruined at her words.
Jaune approached the large hole in the building, and slowly entered inside. He saw that in front of him was a large imperial staircase, and all around him was mists and shadows. "My nerves are honed to a razor's edge. I can feel differences in the air. My breathing is relaxed and normal. I'm not sweating. Perfect Hamon conditions."
Taiyang was getting more intrigued about Hamon. "This Hamon sounds somewhat similar to some Martial Arts styles. Both focus on breathing, believing that it allows for one to store internal energy when inhaling and releasing it when exhaling."
Winter nodded to Weiss. "When singing, one must have proper breathing in order to not to be short of breath. It is quite easy to see how breathing can be an essential part of martial arts."
He heard a groan nearby and saw that his teacher was still alive. "Instructor Oobleck!" But before he could rush over, he felt the gaze of Mercury upon him.
Mercury stood at the top of the staircase, bleeding and angry. Jaune's attacks inflicted serious damage upon the vampire. Jaune cockily posed and taunted him. "I see you've taken off your coat and made yourself ready, Mercury."
"I could never pose to something like that!", Jaune protested to the screen before he noticed his mother taking pictures at the scene. "Put away that camera, Mom!"
Nora and Ruby copied the pose, giggling.
"Come on Ren! Do the pose!" asked Nora to Ren, who is not so enthusiastic in doing it while Yang chuckled at seeing her sister like that.
Pyrrha noticed that this Jaune has more confident that the one she knew. "Is this what Jaune would be if he got more confidence?"
Ren shook his head. "This Jaune is prideful rather than confident. I don't believe that Jaune would be so arrogant as to taunt his opponent during battle."
Outside of the old mansion, Yang and Raven walked through the gate, following Jaune's footprints, when they noticed something lying in the snow. Yang was wearing her usual outfit with a black jacket and yellow scarf to fight against the cold. Raven was wearing, instead of her usual red armor and white mask, was wearing a form-fitting red overcoat and skirt, a black scarf and cloak, and high heeled boots.
"No. That's his- that's Oobleck's arm" Raven said scared of the implications.
Yang looked impressed at her other self. "Man, I look kinda buff at this one. But still pretty hot. Maybe I should start working out a bit more." She flexed her muscles a bit, checking them out.
Qrow just grinned at what her sister was wearing. He turned to where his sister was, and said, "Didn't know you liked being so fashionable. Never saw you as the type. Especially for the snow."
Raven was flabbergasted at what her counterpart was wearing. This other version of herself was about to go into battle, and instead of wearing something sensible, dressed like some sort of model. "What am I doing there?" she asked herself.
Inside, Jaune launched another barrage of bubbles at Mercury. The Pillar Man dodged them, and launched small cyclones at Jaune, forcing him to evade them.
Just as Jaune dodged the last cyclone, Mercury sent out four more directly at him. Trying and almost failing to stop the cyclones, Jaune instead launched more razor blade bubbles at Mercury, forcing him to stop the cyclones.
"I can make a suit of air, and cyclones. Man, I pack some real heat in this universe. Too bad, you didn't though, Emerald, otherwise, you'd still be alive" Mercury spoke aloud to her as said girl rolled her eyes.
Cinder watched the battle with a close eye, detailing the moves and actions that both fighters took. "If any of those masks exist, I'd like to get one myself."
The battle raged on as Mercury and Jaune kept on throwing cyclones and razor bubbles at each other. Each one having to defend or dodge from the other's attack. However, Jaune was able to cut Mercury's legs again, making him tumble down to the top of the first staircase.
Having enough, Mercury was about to bring out his ultimate attack. "Divine sand-" But Jaune interrupted him. "Wait a minute, Mercury. Stop and look around."
Mercury looked up and saw that floating all around the room were Jaune's razor bubbles.
Ironwood and Ozpin were impressed at what Jaune had created throughout the battle.
"It seems those bubbles he had fired were not careless. He was slowly trying to trap his opponent into the corner, and then finish him there" Ironwood thought out as the others nodded at this.
Ozpin closed his eyes and nodded. "Indeed, but the question is how he will do it, though. The building is still mainly in darkness, giving Mercury the advantage and I'm sure that those bubbles have a limit to their durability. Even if Mercury is injured, he is remains strong. This attack of Mr. Arc's will be his greatest, or else he fails."
Qrow chimed in his opinion. "That Mercury knows this as well. He was about to do his ultimate attack or something close to that, but he got distracted. That will cost him."
"My bubble cutters are now bubble lenses, and they're floating in the air all around you." Jaune then pointed to the hole in the wall, "And that enormous hole you knocked in the wall earlier is just like the open shutter of a camera on a bright summer day. Those lenses, they focus the sunlight, into the hotel!" he said, while the sunlight was bouncing off of the bubbles, going from bubble to bubble.
Everyone in the audience were impressed Jaune's planning of operations.
"Incredible. Both are formidable as fighters and tacticians," gasped out Ironwood.
Weiss was thinking to herself. "I wonder if I could do the same with my semblance? Trap an enemy with multiple glyphs?"
Ozpin raised both eyebrows. "So that is how he will defeat his enemy. Very astute of him to use the bubbles as a lenses. I can see why he chose Bubbles as his weapon now. If applied correctly, he can use them for many different situations and environments such as this. Very fascinating."
Mercury, however, didn't think so as he whined to his alternate self. "C'mon, kick his ass. You can't lose to him!"
Cinder watched her subordinate tense up at the scene. "I told you so Mercury. A battle is never decided until one is dead, and the other alive, victorious."
The bubbles reflected while also focusing the sunlight onto Mercury, acting as lasers, burning through his skin at multiple places. Mercury cried out in pain, frozen at the spot, he tried to release his vapors to recreate his wind suit.
However, Jaune saw this and leaped up to stop him. "Trying your vapor barrier again? Not this time. Now, Mercury, I'm going to finish you off with a direct Hamon blast!" he said arrogantly.
Almost all students for Jaune to finish off Mercury, except for the adults and Pyrrha who could foresee the consequences of his action.
"He's letting his pride take control. This move is going to be his grave mistake," observed Glynda as she gripped her crop.
Pyrrha hated to see her partner do something so reckless. "He's about to repeat his earlier mistake. He should have stayed low, and let the sunlight continue to burn him."
Ozpin and Ironwood agreed silently, able to guess what was about to happen. Raven, above, narrowed her eyes and scoffed. "He was in control of the fight, and had his enemy corned and distracted. It was reckless of him to waste his chance.
The students stopped cheering, now worried for their friend.
At one point, at one moment, a tiny blind spot appeared. Jaune's body created the briefest of shadows amid the blazing wall of sunlight. Mercury didn't waste his chance. He showed Jaune once again that he was a fighting genius and a genius of strategy.
Mercury held out his hands, and uttered, "Wind power, Divine Sandstorm!"
Mercury was nervous for a moment. He honestly thought that he would have to see himself die. But it seems that he wouldn't have to. "Guess I was worried for nothing. I mean I'm a sort of superhuman after all"
"Dodge it Jaune!" yelled Ruby.
"Keep going! You can take it!" Nora yelled out!
Yang clenched her fists. "Don't stop now Jaune! Hit him before it hits you!"
Ren, Blake, Weiss, and Pyrrha were silent, knowing that it was useless. Jaune was just too close to Mercury to stop his attack and it gave the Pillar Men an advantage due to his shadow covering the damahe. Jonathan and Elena Arc were also silent but in despair.
Two powerful tornadoes burst from his hands, catching Jaune directly while also destroying the entrance of the hotel and it severely wounded most if not all of his body.
Yang and Raven felt the wind from the attack even from outside, and when Yang saw the destruction caused, she felt a spike of fear. "That's Mercury's Divine Sandstorm! I'm sure of it."
Raven's eyes widened. "So that means Jaune is..."
Raven was growing to dislike her counterpart more and more. "How can this be me? First it was those clothes. Now I'm worried and acting scared. How can this be me?"she thought.
Mercury was in awe of the power that his vampire self possessed. "That was my ultimate attack. And I say it's way better than Hamon!"
The scene came back inside the mansion, showing Jaune's battered and bleeding body lying unconscious on top of the rubble, with Mercury standing triumphantly above him on the staircase though bleeding heavily. The Pillar Man chuckled slightly in respect. "You had grown so much in so little time. I'm satisfied. I haven't had a fight like that in ages now. Warrior of Hamon."
Mercury fell suddenly to his knees, the pain finally reaching him. "And it was a close one as well." He was panting, his breath short from the fight, and sweat beading down his forehead. "If the wind of my Divine Sandstorm hadn't had the strength to blow your bubbles to oblivion, I have no idea how I would've stopped the light before it destroyed me."
His body was slowly falling away in some places, truly showing the extent of the damage from Jaune's last attack. "Even if the mighty Lady Cinder, who cannot use wind, had been the first one to notice your presence and confront you as I did, and face your power-" Mercury grunted in pain, as he forced his body to regenerate. "If she had prevailed, she most certainly would've been in far worse shape than I find myself in now."
The students didn't say anything, but were holding each other close. They had just watched Jaune took a mortal blow.
Pyrrha was being hugged by Nora and Ren, not wanting to see her partner's broken body on the screen.
"Jaune can't go down like that!" claimed Ruby. "He's got to get up and fight!"
Weiss shook her head. "Ruby he took a direct blast from two tornadoes. Even if he does have any Hamon, the damage is too much. And the loss of blood had wrecked his body."
"You don't know that. He could still be alive!" Ruby said back.
Jonathan Arc was holding his wife, who sobbed at her son's current state. Jaune remained silent, his eyes focused on his alternate self.
Mercury felt a presence and his eyes widened at who he saw. Below him, walking up the stairs slowly, was Jaune. Blood dripping down his face and almost everywhere else, his breathing heavy and slow, he looked half-dead. Yet Jaune's blue eyes held an indomitable spirit, despite how close to death he was.
Everyone in the audience, heroes and villains alike, were shocked at seeing him stand like that, except Ruby. "I told you! Jaune won't ever stop!"
Pyrrha looked up and let out a gasp. She then started to cry a bit. "Jaune, don't do this. You tried your best. Just run!"
Glynda pushed up her glasses. "How is Mr. Arc still standing? He should be dead by all accounts."
Mercury slowly rose to his feet, and cautioned his foe. "Enough, you will not fight again, for you have nothing left to fight with. My Divine Sandstorm has shredded your body beyond any chance of survival."
Jaune continued to breathe heavily, until he let out a yell, and flailed his arm at Mercury. The Pillar Man sighed and blocked the weak blow. "Stop the battle is over. You have no more Hamon to continue with. See? You've almost completely bled out." The camera slowly panned down the staircase, showing the large stream of blood dripping downwards.
Mercury felt confused at seeing his other self sound so… honorable. It was out of character for him, and it made him having doubts about himself.
Emerald watched both Mercury's, confused at how one could have some sense of honor and integrity while the other was a such an idiot.
"Emerald, Mercury. Remember. No pity or hesitation on our mission. Nobility could be the end of you" she instructed the pair.
Jaune weakly punched Mercury a few times, before tripping on his own blood, slowly falling backward. Mercury turned away from him, departing with these words. "Goodbye. Your life, and all you once were, has ended."
But Jaune's foot slammed onto a step and with his all of his willpower, he leapt into the air. Mercury turned around, surprised at Jaune's action. This gave Jaune the perfect opportunity to grab the lip ring from him, and pulled it out. With that, he fell to the ground.
Mercury was confused at this. "My lip ring with the antidote, why did you take it?"
Jaune, unable to stand and lying in his own blood, said weakly, "I-I'm not afraid to die here…"
(Queue Il mare eterno nella mia anima)
"But I am a proud member of the Arc family, so you see, it's in my blood."
Jonathan Arc took pride to what his son had said at the screen and would be proud of him, but he was anguished at his son's current condition.
Everyone was focused at the scene. The music and the passion within the words capturing their attention. Even those of the other side paid close attention to detail.
Nora and Ren gave support to Pyrrha, who was close to tears. "Jaune. Please, no" she whispered, praying that Jaune would survive this but her other teammates know where this is going.
Nora hugged Pyrrha and let her lay her head on her shoulder. Ren squeezed her shoulder. Neither one said anything, for they had nothing say. Not when they were watching their friend die.
Ruby slowly felt tears running down her cheeks, her best friend and fellow squad leader was clearly on the verge of death, Yang and the rest felt a pang of sadness within them.
"Something like this might mean absolutely nothing to a demented, inhuman monster like you.", Jaune told Pillar Men, who looked almost remorseful at him. Flashbacks then show Jonathan Arc saving Jaune and that of Roman Arc. "My father didn't recognize me, but he sacrificed his life to save mine anyway. My grandfather gave his Harmon energy to save Yang's grandfather right before he died."
Jaune was on his knees but quickly fell, coughing out blood. "It's tradition. I have to do something. I-I can't let my life's flame just sputter out to darkness." Jaune pushed himself to his knees, holding out the ring in his hands. The ring glowed in the darkness, shining brightly, as a golden aura surrounded Jaune before images of Roman and Jonathan Arc appeared behind him. "This is the Arc family spirit, handed down from the past to ensure the family's future. It's the human spirit!"
Ruby finally cried as Jaune declared those words with outmost pride. Velvet and Coco looked away from the screen, not wanting to see how this goes.
Jaune took off his headband and tied the ring around it, as the mansion's ceiling slowly started to crumble. His Hamon began to shine and spark around him as if it was a beacon. He clenched his hand around it, as well as his eyes, anguished but determined. With the ring and headband in one hand, he shouted at the top of lungs "YANG! THIS IS THE LAST OF MY HAMON! TAKE IT FROM ME!"
Tears began to drip down a few faces. Yang pulled Ruby into a hug, her shirt getting wet from Ruby's tears.
Pyrrha felt Nora tighten her hug, her body shaking as she felt her tears drip down her face at the sight of Jaune's inevitable demise.
Ironwood closed his eyes in respect, remembering several comrades who gave their lives to complete the mission for Atlas. It still haunts him to this day.
Ozpin, however, held a look of firm determination. Despite being so young, you truly understood the what we are all capable off. Huntsman or not, you held all the qualities of one" he mentally said to Jaune's alternate self.
Outside, Yang and Raven saw the glow of Jaune's Hamon, and heard his desperate cry. Yang was in shock "Did you hear that? It sounded like Jaune screaming." Raven was fearful of what happened to her student. " Yes, I heard it. Oh, no. Jaune can't…."
"WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE?!", Nora shouted out with tears drenching her face. "HELP HIM!"
"Jaune needs you...", Phyrra tearfully muttered.
The screen showed a large chunk of the ceiling falling slowly, as the light around Jaune also slowly faded away. "JAUNE!!", Yang yelled as she decided to go after him but just as she did, the large stone fell onto Jaune's kneeling body, crushing him. The melody continuing to play, the soft chords repeating themselves.
The audience were silent as Jaune was crushed. Elena Arc felt her world had just collapsed and sobbed loudly. The others who were having the similar feeling are trying to restrain themselves.
Mercury stood silently, watching it all unfold. He noticed a red bubble at the end of the room, shining in the soft light of the sun, carrying an object within. "He made a bubble from his blood. He must have used every last bit of his Hamon to make it. Before he died, he saved it for his friends rather than using it to try and destroy me." Mercury stretched out his hand, wind spinning around it, preparing to destroy it, but instead, he put down his arm and walked away. "I'll let it go, but not because I'm sentimental about him. His talent as a fighter was undeniable. He has my deep respect as a fellow warrior. I will hold you and last moments we spent together forever in my memory, Jaune. . . A man as splendid and as fleeting as the bubbles he conjured" were the last words that Mercury spoke as exited the battlefield.
"I'm shocked that he didn't pop the bubble" Emerald said.
Cinder mused, "Mercury, obviously is a warrior, and holds a sense of honor for battle. That honor must be why he is so different."
Yang and Raven entered inside the ruined building, noticing all the damage done by Mercury and his Divine Sandstorm. Both noticed the blood bubble, and Yang slowly went out to touch it. As she touched the bubble, it sparked slightly. "Inside is Jaune's bandanna. Also a ring, Mercury's lip ring."
Yang grabbed the bubble with both hands, the Hamon within the bubble transferring to her, popping it open and leaving only the ring and bandanna in her hands. She fell to her knees, her body shaking, as she spoke aloud. "You know, I haven't been able to bring myself to call his name since we made our way into this place." Soft music began to play again in the background, as Yang continued staring at her hands. "It's because I'm afraid there'll be no answer. If I came in here and cried out his name, there might not be any response in return. There might be nothing by a lifeless silence. That is what scares me. I couldn't accept it. So I didn't say his name." Deep and beautiful lyrics were sung, adding to the scene. Yang closed her hands, holding the bandanna and ring tight, and her face was full of rage and sadness. "But now I know he's gone. The Hamon contained in that bubble told me everything I needed to know. Right here, just a few moments ago, Jaune died."
Yang called out for Jaune, and began to dig through the rubble, the tears in her eyes being barely held back, "Jaune where are you! Where the hell are you sleeping? I'll find you, Jaune. I'll dig you up. Jaune!"
"Yang!" snapped Raven, as she stood tall. "This isn't the time to search or grieve. We have work to do. There are two of them and two of us. The numbers are balanced. They're even" she said as she put a cigarette in her mouth. She looked towards the staircase, "That trail of blood leading up the stairs, tells me that Jaune significantly wounded Mercury. We're in the middle of enemy territory. Let's go finish this fight."
Raven was glad to see that at the very least, her counterpart was keeping a cool head and was focused on the mission.
Yang continued to focus on the version of herself on the screen."If that was Weiss or Blake, or Brothers forbid Ruby, I'd be way worse. I don't even know what I'd do in my grief"she thought.
Yang clenched her fist, angry at the fact that her teacher couldn't even shed a single tear for Jaune. However, she stood up and told her instead, "Coach Raven, your cigarette, it's backwards."
Raven slowly it out of her mouth, her body trembling a bit. The music continuing with the song in the background. Yang looked at her teacher, knowing that she has to keep a strong appearance. "I know that she wants to cry much more than I do. He treated her like a goddess, and knew her longer than I've known her. I have to try and hold my feelings back" she thought. Her fist closed once more around the bandanna, as she thought to herself, "Jaune, I know you always thought I was impulsive and self-centered, but sometimes I do understand the feelings of those around me. I might finally be learning." Yang said in a righteous fury, "I swear I will fight them both like the devil until there's nothing left of them. I'll avenge you, Jaune. Your spirit is with me."
Yang was sitting up completely straight, her eyes focused on the screen. While thoughts of her mother only briefly appeared within, she was more focused on how Jaune thought of her in this universe. And just how similar she was to her counterpart.
Weiss turned to Yang. "Even though, you may be annoying at times, at times when we're all emotional, you know how to handle these kinds of situatios."
Suddenly, the wood boards on one of the windows broke, letting in light that revealed blood, slowly coming from underneath the large almost cross like stone next to Yang and Raven. The music became louder and light was cast upon Yang who stood before the blood. "Blood. His blood. This is… where he fell. Jaune."
Raven's face slowly turned pale, and tears began to steadily flow. She fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands. Yang, shaking in grief, yelled out into the silence, "JAAUUNEEE!!!" as tears raced down her face, emotions let loose. She staggered, holding onto the stone cross, as she continued to yell out.
Ozpin's voice came on again, narrating the final bit. "They were deep in enemy territory. Cinder and Mercury were very nearby, but the two simply couldn't help themselves. Yang called out Jaune's name. Raven's tears flowed freely. But their heartbroken cries of grief were only answered by a cold silence. Jaune was gone. As they mourned him, they took solace in one simple fact." The camera now rested on Jaune's bandanna and the ring which lied upon the stone cross which was bathed in a soft glow of sunlight, the place of Jaune's grave. "Though his body had died, his soul would live on through them. Rest in peace, Jaune Arc." The screen slowly turned to black as the universe ended.
Everyone in the audience felt their hearts touched by the moving scene they had witnessed. No one candeny the soft echo of sadness that was deep within them. All just witnessed an example of heroism that is rarely performed. Flit sadly sighed, seeing this timeline to be among the most tragic.
Pyrrha was now sobbing loudly, crying for her partner, covering her eyes with her hands. "Oh god.. Jaune!."
Jonathan Arc and Elena Arc embraced at one another at seeing her son sacrificed himself to help his friend. Despite their initial disagreements for him in becoming a Huntsman, they knew that deep within, Jaune valued his friends more than anything else.
Nora was crying almost as loud, holding Pyrrha, as they both cried for their friend together. "Why did it have to end this way?"
Ren was keeping his hands on both of his teammates' shoulders. Normally he doesn't, yet small tears fell down his face after seeing the man who he began to see him as his brother perish.
The members Team RWBY was crying as well. The scene had stirred such feelings of sadness and loss within them. Ruby was huddled in her cloak, wrapping it around her for protection before Summer embraced her, her own tears flowing down as well. "Why? Why did the scene have to so sad?"
Yang couldn't even imagine the pain that her counterpart was feeling in that moment. "I was only watching the scene. I don't want to know how that other me was feeling.", she said as she embraced Taiyang.
Ozpin, Ironwood, and Glynda were thinking about moments when they felt the same way. Moments of loss that they could have prevented, sacrifices that were in vain, and other tragic moments within their lives. All they felt was both sadness and admiration of Arc's last act.
Flit looked around and saw the emotions were still high. "We'll take a break before the next screening. Take your time." He went said as he disappeared from them.
Team RWBY and JNPR sat together, helping Pyrrha, who was still crying.
Ruby looked around and saw the sadness on all of her friends faces and made a promise to herself, to never allow a friend to die, or for her friends to feel like this ever again.
Jaune who watched in complete silence this whole time, vowed to be stronger to protect his friends no matter what it takes.