"Then I won't hold back either!"
They didn't hesitate to charge each other once that promise was made. Korruption swung Brutal Thorn at him. Ever the acrobat, Ren hopped up, planting one foot on the black blade before kicking off over the Grimm woman. His pistols aimed and fired, a few shots bouncing of Korruption's twisted aura and the rest blocked by a spin of the scythe. She swung at Ren's landing position, making the man raise his arms and pad his aura. He was knocked back some, but landed on his feet.
Already, Korruption was charging Ren again. She brought her blade around, and Ren threw it off course with a block from his blades. He then brought both blades across her face. Korruption brought her scythe back, and the ninja easily ducked under its swing. The next swing he jumped over, cartwheeling in the air. Instead of bringing the scythe back again, Korruption spun with it and brought it up, intent to bring it down on Ren's position.
Ren backflipped away, and Brutal Thorn's blade dug into the ground. Korruption frowned and pulled the trigger. Ren dodged the shot easily and ran in a crescent curve. Korruption yanked Brutal Thorn from the ground and ran in a similar manner, the two fighters meeting at the center of the room. Ren raised one of his pistols to fire. Korruption slammed her left foot down, planting her for a spin. As Ren's Stormflower came within range, Brutal Thorn came flying in from the right.
The man barely managed to hang on to his gun as the scythe struck his wrist, taking a chunk of his aura. With her spin, Korruption was able to follow with her free left hand grabbing Ren's wrist. Unable to escape her vice-grip, Ren was pulled into the air like a rag-doll. Korruption slammed her opponent into the ground and then threw him to the far wall. Somehow, Ren was upright when his back connected, and he landed on his feet.
Another semblance was twisted and tainted to serve a new master as purple flames erupted around Korruption's fist. She sped forward, black petals falling to the ground. Ren barely managed to pull his face out of the fiery fist's path, the force cratering the wall on impact. The ninja retaliated, pushing both barrels into her gut and holding the triggers. The recoil made a trail of gunshots go all the way up, and Korruption jumped back and twisted to avoid any bullets striking her face. The last rounds bounced off her shoulder.
Ren darted forward again before she could properly recover. Dancing around the Grimm girl, Ren made a series of strikes that whittle the tainted aura away. Korruption felt the sting of a thousand cuts all over her body. Ren would attack her legs, her arms, her neck, and her torso, never forming a pattern for her to counter. Korruption tapped the speed semblance again, trying to anticipate Ren's moves. His next strike ended with both of Stormflower's blades hooked around Brutal Thorn's shaft.
Korruption immediately spun and threw her scythe, ripping Ren's pistols from his hands in the process. All three devices skidded across the ground. Before Ren could react, he felt a hand around his throat. Once again, the vice-grip locked him in place as he was lifted from the ground. Ren took a considerable amount of aura, but unwittingly charged the semblance that was once Yang's in the process. Korruption felt a rush from the energy pumping through her, enveloping her body in dark flame.
Her eyes locked on Ren's, and her monstrous smile returned. She began to focus all her energy into her free fist, a fireball building there that was soon bigger than Ren's head. Korruption laughed as she slammed that fist into her opponent's face, sending him bouncing along the ground. His aura flicker with each impact until a final crash against the wall shattered it.
He managed to find his feet, barely, while Korruption picked Brutal Thorn back up and strutted toward him. Ren looked at her, and she stopped. They both stared at each other for a moment. Ren knew how this was going to end, and he knew Korruption still had too much aura for him to do a 'take her with him' act. He just wanted to see someone, one last time.
Korruption moved, bringing Brutal Thorn back and making the blade straighten almost like a massive spear. Then a thrust forward officially ended their struggle.
Ren sputtered, blood coming out of his mouth. The Grimm parasite within the girl was elated. She took down a nearly full-fledged huntsman. His body started to weaken and fall, and Korruption kneeled with him, her blade still in his torso. "Tell me how it feels… The darkness… the cold… let me hear it all…"
Ren looked the monster in her cold, red eyes. "I'm sorry, Reaper… I tried… my best…"
"Your best was never gunna be good enough." Korruption teased, ignoring whatever reply Reaper had. "And if you're the best Humanity has to offer, then this is gunna be a piece a' cake…"
"You will be stopped." Ren promised. "You cannot win."
"Save your breath, human." Korrupton smiled. "You don't have very many left." She pulled the scythe out of his gut and grabbed one of his guns. "I could kill you… but I think I'll give you a chance to see your friends again." Ren looked up at her, and her dark smile only grew. "Their hope at seeing you… then realizing they can do nothing but watch as you fade away… Ohhh… feeding off such sorrow…" The Grimm put on an 'innocent' face, "It makes me feel things no innocent girl should feel…" The expression broke as the creature started laughing.
Korruption continued laugh as she entered the elevator and left the room. Jaune busted the door down soon after and the two teams rushed in. Pyrrha was the first see her team mate. "Ren…"
All eyes turned, and Nora's burst into tears. "REN!" She jumped to his side, eyeing the gash in his stomach. "Oh no… Ren, stay calm… we can get help, we can save you…"
"Nora…" Pyrrha reached out.
"NO!" she knocked her team mate's hand away. "He'll make it… he has to…"
Weiss couldn't look away either, though a very different emotion stirred in her, charged by her grief. "Where did she go." She demanded of Ren.
Ren looked up at her. "Ozpin's office." He managed. "Weiss, it's not her."
The heiress stopped listening after 'Ozpin's office' and stormed to the elevator. "Weiss, wait!" Blake chased after her.
"It's okay, Ren, it'll be okay…" Nora tried to assure herself more than her closest friend. "Just stay quiet now, save your strength…"
Weiss charged right up to the elevator door. Blake's cat ears twitched, and her expression showed fear and desperation. "Weiss, no!" The faunus grabbed and pulled the heiress away just in time for the small explosion of the falling elevator hitting the bottom floor. Weiss looked up at the mess of twisted metal. "She must have cut the lines." Blake noted.
"I'll climb up the fucking shaft if I have to!" Weiss shouted.
"Weiss, hold on!" Blake held her still. "Look…"
They both turned back to Ren, who just took Nora's cheek in his hand. "Nora…"
"Ren…"
The man smiled. "I'm sorry we never…"
Nora placed her hand over Ren's on her face. "Me too…"
"You be good… Nor…" His body started to slack and his hand lost its grip, only held in place by Nora's.
"Ren, no…" Nora starting crying all over again. "Don't leave me…" She buried her face in the crook of his neck, holding him close. But it was over. Lie Ren was gone.
Neo looked up the elevator shaft, her face set. She had seen death before, and even watched Reaper deal it. But this was different. This was their friend. And whatever was going on, Neo was going to get to the bottom of it. She focused on the appearance of Ozpin's office, and vanished in a flash of light.
When Korruption arrived in Ozpin's office, the first thing she did was cut the elevator. She had until Neo decided to use her teleport to do what she had to do. She then turned Ren's gun around and began checking the rest of the room. "Where does this guy sleep?" Korrupiton wondered aloud. She didn't see a bed in here, or a door that could lead to a bedroom.
She was slightly frustrated that Ozpin appeared to not be in here at the moment, after all her effort to get here. She sat in his chair, looking over Vale. Her Grimm eyes glanced toward Ozpin's desk terminal, then back at Vale, then back at the terminal again. "I wonder…" She brought up the display and began various searches, hoping to find anything to further her cause. She smiled.
"What are you doing?"
The voice made Korruption jump out of the seat. She brought the green gun up immediately, pointed right at Ozpin. "Where the hell did you even come from?"
Ozpin didn't answer the question, instead staring at the girl's eyes. "You're a Grimm?"
"Yes and no," Korruption began to regain her composure, "I'm glad you made it. I couldn't wait to kill you."
"Me, specifically?" Ozpin asked. "Interesting."
"Shut up," Korrution smiled, "I'm going to enjoy this."
"You think you can beat me?" Ozpin taunted.
"Are you willing to hurt Reaper to take me out?" Korruption shot right back.
Everything clicked into place for Ozpin at those words. "A parasite," He realized, "You're a parasite Grimm that's taken over Reaper's body."
"Someone give the man a cookie," Korruption teased.
A flash of light saw the arrival of Weiss, Blake and Neo. "Reaper!" Weiss drew her rapier.
"What's happening?" Blake asked Ozpin.
"Well, you've been proven wrong, Ms. Schnee," Ozpin informed them.
"What do you mean? How is that not Reaper?" Weiss questioned.
"Look at her eyes," The headmaster insisted.
For Korruption, this was getting a little crowded. She wanted to take Ozpin out, but she did want to survive the encounter. Having the others here didn't help her odds. It's not as though I'm suicidal… suicidal?
Korruption smiled and brought the gun barrel around to her own head. Weiss, Blake and Neo traded confused looks. "I'm not Reaper," Korruption assured, "I'm the Grimm parasite that's been slowly taking control for the past year. It's nice to meet you all for real."
"A Grimm parasite?" Weiss looked the creature in the eyes. "Since when have there been Grimm parasites?"
"You're new, aren't you?" Ozpin interrupted. New Grimm only meant one thing…
"Take one more step, any of you, and I'll blow your friend's brains out," Korruption informed them all.
"That would kill you too," Blake assumed.
"Maybe, maybe not, I don't know. Are you really willing to kill your friend and find out?" The Grimm girl tightened her grip on the gun.
Weiss began to raise her rapier, only for Neo to forcefully push it back down. A look of fear and worry filled the multi-colored girl's eyes.
"That's what I thought… now, if you'll excuse me, I have places to be." Korruption backed up to the winder and shattered it with her free elbow. She leapt out into the darkness, the night air swallowing her up. Neo and Weiss ran for the window the second she was out of sight, but they couldn't spot a single sign of her. She seemed to have vanished.
"What is going on?" Weiss asked the headmaster, "How can there be new Grimm? What happened?"
Ozpin was busy staring at the screen of his computer console. "A Grimm parasite has taken over Reaper."
"Why?" Weiss asked, "How?"
"How, I do not know how," Ozpin admitted, "As for why, I don't think the Grimm had much say in the matter, truly. It's what that Grimm is doing now that it is here that concerns me."
"What is she-… it, doing?" Blake asked.
Ozpin waved a hand over his desk console, throwing the image from his screen out into the rest of the room. It showed a picture the three girls recognized immediately, as would anyone who lived in Vale. It was one of the power stations that ran the Kingdom's Anti-Grimm defenses.
There were three along Vale's walls, housing massive Dust generators that powered the automated defense systems as well as the shield keeping out flying Grimm. All three had been running since the technology was founded, as all three of them were needed to maintain the shielding. It was possible to shut one down for a few hours if the other stations were informed to pick up the slack. But if one was destroyed…
It could mean the end of Vale.
"Which one is she going to?" Weiss asked.
"I have no idea," Ozpin lamented, "So I shall need all of you. You three check station one, and I'll check station two."
"What about station three?" Blake asked.
"JNPR's downstairs!" Weiss recalled. "Well…"
"Let them mourn. I have someone in town I can call," Ozpin informed them, "But we must leave now. We don't have time for more questions."
"Not even about what that thing is? How it has Reaper? How there can be new Grimm?" Weiss attempted.
"I will tell you all you need to know later," Ozpin promised. "But now we must hurry. We cannot let the parasite get too far ahead of us."
Weiss, Blake and Neo looked between themselves, nodding in agreement. "Very well, but I'm going to hold you to that. Once we win, we get answers."
"Then let us be on our way," Ozpin nodded.