While they were putting Jaune in the bullhead, one of the soldiers forced a bag onto his head.
Once Jaune regained consciousness, he found that the bag had been taken off. Jaune was disoriented from the effects of the taser, but he managed to make out a table and chair in the dark room. Soon after his awakening, a stern-faced Ironwood entered the room. A bright light flashed on, blinding Jaune, and making the room look like an integration room.
He sat down across from Jaune then slowly, so the disoriented blonde could understand his words, he said, "You're fighting for the wrong side."
Jaune tilted his aching head. His Aura was quickly removed the taser's after-effects, but even so he thought he must've heard wrong. "Excuse me?" He asked.
"Beacon is unwilling to give up the criminals that belong to the Atlas military, it means war. Which side are you on?" Ironwood said, straightening himself out, he meant business.
"Beacon." Jaune didn't hesitate. It was the side his friends were on. "It's the team Ruby would have fought for." He sternly told the general, who raised his chin.
"Is that so?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, the only hint of surprise on his face. Jaune nodded.
Perseus' decimated helmet hit the table with a thud, and Perseus herself stepped out of the shadows, revealing her smirking face to her blonde friend. Jaune froze in shock, then smiled, tears pricked at his eyes.
"You're alive." He said softly. "You're a bad-guy, but you're alive." Ruby tilted her head, in an all too familiar manner. "We're not the bad guys." She said, stern-faced. "We know the truth. Weiss and Pyrrha tried to kill me, and as you can see, they failed."
"Pyrrha wouldn't…" Jaune instantly said, trying to stand, but failing as his restraints forced him back down.
"I've got this, General Ironwood." Ruby said, saluting, giving him the cue to leave. Once he was gone, Ruby slammed her hands down on the table, causing cracks to splinter across the wood. Her eyes glowed an ominous white, and the table froze around her hands.
"Were you there, Jaune!?" She yelled in anger, voice getting louder with each word she said. "Did Pyrrha take YOUR fucking arm off?!" As she said this, she tore the armor off of her metallic right arm, showing him the permanent damage Pyrrha had done. "I was just a kid!" She yelled, slamming her head against the wall. "I had the whole world going for me…" She spoke, quieter, but raised her voice soon after, "But Pyrrha and Weiss took all that away!"
"Ruby…" He said in shock. "I understand... why you're angry—hell, I would be, too—but revenge isn't the answer…"
"Then what is?" She asked, so quiet he could barely hear her. Her fingers slowly curled into a fist, shaking from barely concealed rage.
"Prison." He told her in a gruff voice. The fact that not only Pyrrha of all people, but also Weiss had done something so horrible… And to the sweet and innocent Ruby to top it all off.
"That isn't enough!" Ruby yelled, turning back around. "They need to suffer! They need to know what it's like to be cut down in cold blood, and have their loved ones lied to about what happened! Did you even suspect that Weiss was lying?!"
Jaune shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Ruby. You were—still are—my friend. Those first few weeks after… everything happened, were the most painful of my life. You cared about me, and I cared about you. You were my best friend. I loved you like a sister. If you come back to Beacon and testify against them, you'll get your life back, but if you kill them, I don't know if the same will happen." He tried to convince near to stop, but he already knew what her answer was going to be. His best friend had changed, for the worst.
"No, Jaune." She softly said, anger still present in her voice. She glared at him, wanting him to see her reasoning, but knowing he was to kind to do so. "I can't go back. Not after all I've done." She looked down at the ground and whispered, "Mom would be ashamed."
Jaune slammed his hands down. "No!" He yelled defiantly. "You said yourself! You were just a kid! You still are! Of all people, your mother wouldn't be ashamed of you! I never met her, but if I had to guess, it probably tears her up inside to see you like this. Wherever she is. Your mother probably wants to tear Weiss and Pyrrha apart just as badly as I do, but we both know it's the wrong thing to do." He looked down at the ground. "I've made a lot of mistakes, Rubes. But I won't let that stop me from trying to help you. I don't support killing, but I do support bringing them to justice." Ruby tilted her head in his direction, but only slightly. "And it doesn't seem like Beacon will let that happen, so I will gladly fight and die for you."
After recovering from shock, Ruby walked over to him and ripped his handcuffs off, setting him free. She then hugged him, a soft smile spreading across her face. "It's so good to see you, Vomit Boy." She smugly told him, voice soft.
"You too, Crater Face." He shot back.
[Beacon Academy, Vale. 0200 hours before initial battle]
"Mr. Arc has been captured." Ozpin told The remainders of RWBY and JNPR, who were being debriefed in his office.
"Captured?" Weiss asked, still worrying about the stability of Remnant.
"The Atlesian Military has all but declared war on Vale." Ozpin said. "Negotiations will start soon." As if on cue, Ironwood stepped off of the elevator, receiving dirty looks from WBY and NPR.
"Oz." he said. "The boy is now in our custody on his own accord. He is operating within Project Pegasus."
"Pegasus?" Ozpin asked, in shock from the sudden revelation. "Does it have any relation to Perseus?" Much to his dismay and growing dread, James nodded.
"Perseus is in charge of Pegasus. I'm simply speaking on the behalf of Perseus. Hand over the prisoners to their respective Kingdoms, and there will be no trouble."
"Prisoners?" Ozpin asked, hope becoming dread. "As in plural?"
"Yes. Ms. Nikos is also a suspect." James explained. "And Mystral has decided to side with Atlas in this affair. Failure to return the prisoners to their respective kingdoms could result in a civil conflict."
"I will not send them away against their wills." Ozpin said, standing.
"They're minors, Oz. What they want doesn't matter." James angrily said. "Hand them over, or Perseus will begin her route through Beacon."
Ozpin quickly pulled out his scroll, sending a fast message to the teachers of the school. "Don't let any Atlesian personnel on campus." He said suddenly, looking over to WBY and NPR. "Eliminate Perseus if she tries to enter the school." He said darkly. The two teams ran off, and Ozpin returned his focus to Ironwood. "If she enters this school, it will be war. You need to call her off, James!" Ozpin said, raising his voice. He stared at his old friend, hoping, but Ironwood just stared back, then turned and left.
"Perseus." He said, while knowing Ozpin was still in earshot. "Move in."
"Yes, sir." Perseus said in answer, dropping from a bullhead onto Beacon grounds. She hit the ground on her toes, one hand on the floor to balance her. Jaune hit the ground face-first beside her. A muffled "Umph!" came from him, while Perseus let out a small sigh, face-palming.
Jaune wore something similar to what Perseus wore; black armor. His armor was the same as Ruby's except he didn't wear a mask, and he didn't have as many weapons as she did. He just had Crocea Mors and a handgun. The students of Beacon gave them odd looks, unsure as to what was happening. Perseus soon made their purpose clear, lunging forward, she sliced the throat of one of the students, splattering blood on the ground.
"Anyone want to tell me where Weiss Schnee is?" She said darkly, facing the students. An ominous smile came to her face, projected onto her mask, and frightening some of the students.
"I'm here." Weiss said confidently, sauntering into the circle. NPR, and the remainder of RWBY were close behind her.
When Pyrrha saw Jaune, she readied Miló, "Traitor." She said, gritting her teeth. A look of disgust spread onto her face. Jaune looked at Ren and Nora. He wasn't angry, but it looked like he was pleading them not to fight. "Ren." He said. "Nora. If Pyrrha was truly innocent, why would she so strongly oppose being tried? Now, I'm going to let you decide… You're either with her, or you're with me. There is no neutral." When Ren and Nora didn't immediately decline, Yang glanced at them, shocked. The two looked at one another, considering their options. Ren knew that he was the one making the actual decision, because no matter what he chose, Nora would be right beside him.
"I trust your judgement, Jaune." He finally said, approaching his leader. "You have yet to prove me wrong. So don't start now." Much to everyone's surprise, Nora did not follow. She stood in the space in between Jaune and Pyrrha. It took her a few minutes to decide, but soon enough, with a saddened glance at Pyrrha, she walked to Ren's side.
"Both of you?" Pyrrha asked, looking hurt.
Jaune unsheathed his sword, and pointed it at Pyrrha, before unhooking his shield, extending it to hold it in front of his face. "I've got Nikos." He told Perseus.
She responded with, "I've got Xiao Long." Within seconds, all the students had cleared out, fearing what would happen when Yang was angered.
"I'm excited to see what new government gadget you've got now." The blonde teased, extending Ember Celica.
"Nothing today, sorry." Perseus shot back, entertaining the brawler. "Just fists."
"Ooo~." Yang said with a smirk. "Kinky."
Perseus began to quickly move towards Yang, leaping in the air, fist raised above her head. She came down on top of Yang, who caught her fist and slammed her into the concrete. Perseus immediately got to her feet, swinging punches and blocking Yang's attacks. Soon, the cybernetic soldier had the blonde pinned to the ground by the throat.
"You don't have to fight us." She told the blonde. "We're not doing anything immoral. We're not doing anything that will insult your sister's memory. We're taking them to court, where your sister herself will testify against them."
Yang threw Perseus off, shouting, "Liar!" Her semblance flared, lighting her hair on fire and turning her eyes blood red. Yang screamed in rage and charged Perseus, firing off rounds from Ember Celica as she went.
Edited by DemonFoxBK201