All for One, One for All

Part 2: Heroes United

Chapter 7: A Light Against the Darkness

Thor landed relatively lightly thanks to his bioelectric Aura. Actually, it had nothing to do with his Aura; he's just so magnetically charged that he can use said polarity to his advantage, not unlike right now. He created a reverse gravitational field strong enough to slow his descent yet weak enough to keep him going down. Even so, he had to pull out his hammer to clear out a landing zone due to the number of Grimm in his area. With Ragnarok Mjolnir in hand, he clobbered an Ursa so hard it went soaring into another Ursa… and another, then a tree, and finally stopping at a boulder. Charging his Semblance, Thor drew energy from the Dust in the air and started sparking with electric energy. Unlike Nora's Semblance, he was unable to use that lightning in any way other than what it was in nature: lightning.

He swung his hammer down, charged with the white-hot electricity, and struck the earth with such a force that the shockwave reverberated through the earth itself for several hundred feet. Ursai left and right were vaporized in the blast radius, others were flung away, and still others were simply killed from the shockwave.

Thor stood up to survey his damage. Sure enough, his LZ was cleared. Well… almost cleared.

"Don't you think that's a little overkill," said the familiar mild Russian accent he'd come to adore. He turned to face Nadiya, slinging his hammer over his right shoulder.

"Nah, overkill is completely subjective," he replied. The pair instantly heard a massive explosion, followed by a sonic boom shortly after. "Though there is a bit of a limit to how subjective it can be, I suppose."

His lover giggled at this. That sound made him happier than a child at Christmas.

"Is that how it works," said she, stepping closer to the hammer-wielding man. "Well then, I subjectively love you."

She pulled the tall dwarf to her and planted a kiss on his lips. The two shared a passionate moment together before pulling apart. Moments afterwards, the duo heard two roars: one was unmistakably that of a Grimm, probably an Ursa; the other was more of a cross between that of a Beowolf and a T-Rex. Almost instantly, the Ursa they heard went flying at least a hundred yards in the air before being engulfed by a fireball from wherever the other creature was.

"Well, I think that escalated rather quickly," Thor commented. "Now, where were we?"

"Please no more," pleaded a voice from out of nowhere. Turns out, it was none other than Ventus Zephyro. "You two looked like two elephants fighting over a peanut. Seals fighting over a grape, birds fighting over a seed, you get it. Right?"

"Aww, look at him," Nadiya giggled, leaning against Thor. "He looks like a kicked puppy."

Ventus just looked on with an unimpressed stare.

"Well, I'm going to go figure out what the heck that was that roared," the Liaison stated. "Behave yourselves, not everyone in Beacon is 'married' like you two are."

With a skip and a hop, he literally took off at the speed of sound, leaving behind him a trail of dust and a blue cone of broken wind.

There were only two things in Remnant that Ventus did not like: bullies and PDA. Bullies were like Communist Dictators—overbearing, rude, and uncaring for others. Public displays of affection were a different matter altogether; it actually made him sick to his stomach, the mere idea of romance, and PDA reminded him of just that. He figured that if someone wanted to display some form of romance, they should simply find a room and finish what they started.

He had a very good reason for detesting love: the White Fang took the only chance he had. When he was younger, before the Fang branded him, he actually had a crush on a young Faunus girl. One of the Fang members decided that she was a traitor and hired a mercenary to kill her. Ventus had no chance of saving her, despite his best attempts. From that moment onwards, he vowed to never try for love unless it was either his time to leave this world or the one he found was 'the one'. And even then, he refused to think about romance, love, or anything related to the subject.

In the midst of his thoughts, Ventus ran into Solis at a little under Mach 1. Ventus toppled to the ground, somehow leaving Solis standing. The older teen held out a hand after a few moments, which Ventus gladly took.

"C'mon," Solis muttered, walking off and leaving Ventus confused.

"Wait, we're not even partners yet," Ventus yelled after him as he darted up.

"Well now we are," said Solis, grinning like a madman. "My rules are different. Deal with it."

Despite being in Grimm-infested territory, Jaune was lucky enough to not run into any. This left both him and Sentinel worried and confused.

"Well, it doesn't seem like anyone's around here," Jaune noted.

"Or anything, for that matter," added Sentinel. "At least we don't have to defend ourselves that much."

"Alternatively, we don't have a partner."

"Oh, come on. We don't need them. Why would we when we have each other?"

"Because you're as much a part of me as I am of you. Remember, we were split apart at birth. You yourself reminded me."

"Oh yeah. Yeah, I don't think I count as a partner anymore. But I could, ya know."

"Now you see where I'm coming from. Now where are we?"

"Erm… Ya know, I haven't the foggiest clue. Or the muddiest. Or the smallest. Or—."

"Yeah, I get it. Which way's North?"

"Need some help," called a familiar voice. Jaune and Sentinel both turned to see Pyrrha Nikos standing on a tree branch.

"Yeah… no," responded Sentinel.

"Yes," corrected Jaune.

"No."

"Yes."

"No, not really."

"We need at least a compass."

"No we don't."

"And maybe a partner."

"We're fine on our own."

"And a map."

"We're not lost, are we? No seriously, are we lost?"

Jaune's hand clapped his forehead. Of course his other side would not only be the more courageous side, but also the one that didn't think before acting or speaking.

"Yes, Sentinel; we're lost. Anymore redundant questions you want to ask?"

"Just so you know," Pyrrha interrupted their argument, "I am also in need of a partner."

Jaune looked up to see Pyrrha's face. Her green eyes met with his blue ones. Sentinel groaned as he took a visible form and made eye contact with the Amazonian Spartan.

"There, we've got a partner," Sentinel griped. "What now? It's not like she has a compass on her—."

"Actually, I don't need one," Pyrrha cut him off once more. "I believe we are heading in a Northerly direction right now."

Sentinel's metaphorical jaw dropped, revealing a row of razor-sharp teeth that should belong on a shark.

"Okay, that was pretty cool," Jaune admitted. "How'd you do that?"

"Well, my Semblance is Polarity," she explained. Both Jaune and Sentinel cocked their heads to the side and made confused grunting noises. "Do you know what a Semblance is?"

"If I remember correctly, it's a form of superpower linked to one's Aura. Whatever that's supposed to mean."

"Do you know what an Aura is?"

Both responded negatively.

"Hmm… How should I begin?"

"So let us get this straight," Sentinel 'thought' aloud. "An Aura is the manifestation of the connection between the soul and body of any particular thing. Outside of a Grimm, of course."

"Correct," said Pyrrha.

"And our Aura is currently locked. Because the halves of our soul are currently divided, half floating on some astral plane where our body is, I'm guessing."

"Well, that's just one theory. Another is that an Aura can unlock when one goes through a stressful event."

"So Auras can act as a shield and a minor healing agent, correct?" Pyrrha nodded. "And even as a battery for our Semblances, whatever they might be? Sounds cool. Neat-oh."

"And they can regenerate, right," Jaune asked. Pyrrha nodded.

"So can you unlock our Aura? Or is that even a thing?"

"Well, I haven't tried it yet," Pyrrha began. "But perhaps I could do so now."

"Actually, hang on a sec." Sentinel 'turned' to face Jaune. "Buddy, I think it's time we came together."

"What," Jaune muttered in confusion. "What do you mean, 'come together'?"

"I mean, I know we're two halves of the same whole. I know it may not sound like a good idea to you, but I think it's the only way to help you get around to being the real you."

"What 'real me?! We're one and the same, remember?"

"Well, thing is Jaune, I'm only half of one whole. You're the other half of the equation. Add us together, and BAMMO, you've got a full Centurion. Really, I'm kind of holding you back. If anything, we shouldn't have been apart for this long. Think about it: when two halves of the same soul are separated at birth, they keep drifting further apart until both halves dissipate into nothingness. We're seventeen: really, if we stay like this, we'll be lucky if we survive our eighteenth."

"But, what'll happen to you," Jaune almost whimpered. Sentinel chuckled.

"You yourself said it: we're one and the same. Think of it as a permanent merge: you get everything that I am, and I become a voice in your head. It's a win-win situation."

After a bit of thinking, Jaune finally gave his answer.

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

Sentinel hovered over to Jaune and touched his forehead. Sentinel seemed to slither into Jaune's body in half a second. With the reunion complete, Jaune was glowing a bright white with the eyes of a Centurion. His Aura wrapped around him almost like a snake and wrapped around his pieces of armor along his body. The armor snapped open, unleashing a quick red whirlwind of particles that surrounded Jaune. The particles molded to his form and, in a matter of seconds, disappeared to reveal an entirely different Jaune. He looked like a modern Roman Centurion, complete with armored shorts, a steel-plated vest with red and blue accents, and a red cape attached at the shoulders. On his left arm was a steel Scutum, and his right hand held a rather long steel spear; both weapons matched the armor in that they all had red and blue accents.

It all disappeared in seconds, leaving Jaune back in his original clothes as the Centurion armor returned to within the armor. That was the first time Jaune neared entering his full Centurion state, but he almost wanted to do so again. His shield transformed into a full-on Scutum, and Crocea Mors extended into a bladed spear instead of into the Riot Shield and Cannon he was so used to. It was almost exhilarating, the feeling of pure power.

"Well," Pyrrha knocked him out of his thoughts. "I suppose that's one way to unlock one's own Aura."

"Yep," Jaune said, totally not paying attention to his partner. "It is. I guess."

"Which friggin' way is North," griped Solis as he paced around a clearing. Ventus hovered overhead, feeling for the direction of the Sun. Sadly, it was only 1:30 in the afternoon. Suddenly, Ventus fell from the air and landed feet-first.

"Well, West is somewhere near the Sun," the Liaison began, figuring things out in his head. "So North has got to be around 90 degrees from where the Sun is heading. Judging by that and a bit of quick thinking, I believe North is—," he turned and pointed South, "—thataway."

"Tell me the truth," Solis rolled his eyes. Ventus sighed in defeat.

"We passed it a few hundred feet back," he stated bluntly. "We now need to head South."

"Well, that's just great," growled Solis, ripping a stick out of the ground. "I'm apparently getting rusty. Either that or you just want to go back and sight-see."

"Chill out, dude. Everyone needs some help sometimes, even Grimlocks or Liaisons. Besides, it's pretty much high-noon; solar clocks won't help now."

"Remind me again, who has the training as Pathfinder? I don't need a 'solar clock'; I just need a reference point."

"Or a good vantage point; one which, by the way, I don't need because I can fly. Also, we really just plain need a compass or a map."

"We don't need a map; I'm pretty much a walking map. So why would we need a compass if we have a walking map?"

"Because we passed it while you were out sniffing the air. I should know because we walked in circles around it."

"Well if we passed it, then why didn't you tell me a damn thing?"

"Because you were too busy pulling the 'I'm Daniel Boone, I don't need a map' card to listen to me telling you the same dang thing five times a minute."

"I'm not Daniel Boone; I just have actual training. Something you don't have."

"Dude, I saw Cardin and his guys laughing at us as you walked us around the clearing, like, five times."

"So now it's five times, huh? You had plenty of time to mention it to me, and yet you didn't."

"I did, you just pulled that stupid 'Pathfinder training' card."

"Well, that's just great," the arguing duo heard Weiss grumble. "Wrong clearing, once again. Way to go, you dolt."

"Hey, you were the one dragging me around," cried Ruby as she folded her arms in protest. The heiress and Grimlock both rolled their eyes.

"I think I know what you're going through," muttered Solis, pointing at Ventus behind him. Said Liaison growled at the self-proclaimed Pathfinder and sliced under his nose with his thumb, effectively dissing Solis.

Thirty minutes later, Ruby and Ventus were sitting down in the shade of a tree. Ventus was leaning against the trunk of the tree and staring up into the sky while Ruby picked at fallen leaves in boredom.

"I mean, it's this way," Weiss mumbled, pacing around the clearing. "It's gotta be this way. Or this way? It's definitely this way."

"It could be over there," Solis pondered aloud as he, too, paced back and forth. "Or over there. Maybe we're standing right on top of it? Or is all this just a big joke by Ozpin? Maybe we're supposed to dig? Or fly up there? You know what, Ventus? Fly up and get a good vantage point, find our bearings for me, would ya?"

Ventus growled at Solis.

"I did," the younger teen grumbled. "Thirty minutes ago while you were trying to make a solar compass and whining about how we were lost or turned around."

"Whining? That's all I'm hearing from you, young'un."

"Quit calling me young'un! We aren't turned around; you're turned around."

"Fine then, which way?"

"As I've been telling you for the past half-hour: South, two to four-hundred yards."

"That's just a big kiddy playground. Old ruins, ya know."

"And in those 'ruins' are the relics Ozpin mentioned! By now, they're probably all gone, no thanks to you!"

"Well how about we just prove you wrong, shall we?!"

"Sounds like a plan, Dirtbag! I'd love to see more relics there."

As Ventus and Solis marched off, Weiss and Ruby stared at each other, still confused about what just happened.

"Maybe we should follow them," Weiss suggested.

"Yeah, good plan," agreed Ruby. The two proceeded to follow the enraged duo ahead of them.

"So what did Ozpin say again," Pyrrha asked Jaune as the pair walked through the woods.

"Something about an abandoned temple with the relics," Jaune responded. "At least, that's what I remember outside of the 'Northern end of the forest' thing."

"I thought so," Pyrrha muttered. "Did Sentinel tell you that?"

"No, he didn't. And besides, he's a part of me now, in case you forgot."

"I didn't; I just wanted to be certain about it."

"Well, now you know. By the way, where are we?"

"Still going North."

"I mean, where are we in relation to the temple-thing?"

"I honestly have no idea. I don't know the lay of the land."

"Okay then, can we get some sort of vantage point? Could you maybe, like, send me up with your Semblance, give me a good aerial view?"

"Perhaps. Brace yourself."

Pyrrha then touched the front part of his armor gently, making him think she took it the wrong way; the next thing he thought was regret for thinking that thought as he went flying twenty yards up. He was literally holding onto his chestplate for dear life as he looked around for anything resembling a temple. He finally found it, around 150 yards to the East.

"I found it," he yelled down to his partner, who was growing tired from holding him up. The black glow around his armor and Pyrrha faded, and Gravity immediately took hold and pulled him to the ground. He landed with a loud 'oof' before Pyrrha apologized to him. She was apologizing to him far too often at this point, and it was kind of driving him batty.

"Are you okay," she asked as she helped him to his feet.

"I'm fine. Just don't apologize too much over it. That's been getting kind of annoying, no offense to you."

"None taken. So where is it?"

"To the East, 150 yards. In the middle of a large clearing. There's a flock of Nevermores heading West about a half-mile away from the temple itself. I also saw a large cotton ball thing just outside of the clearing."

"Well then, to the East it is."

"See? Nothing here but a stone structure at the far end. Let's go—."

"Hold on, you dolt. That's the temple Ozpin told us about."

"And how would you know that, Ice Queen?"

"Because Ozpin told us to find a temple at the Northern end of the forest, and so far I've only seen one. Not that you'd remember anything about it, what with your misplaced trust issues."

"Hey, I've been trained to look out for these sorts of things and I didn't see it."

"And yet it was right in front of you and you totally missed it."

"Well you passed it too, Princess."

"Actually, we kind of went around—."

"Can it, Red Riding Hood."

"CUT IT OUT," Ventus shouted as he entered the clearing, followed by Solis, then Ruby and finally Weiss. "We can strangle each other later. For now, we need to just get a relic and get outta Dodge. Can we all just do that?"

Solis rolled his eyes and growled while Weiss scoffed, folding her arms and looking away from Solis.

"Alright. Let's just get what we came for and get out. C'mon guys."

Finally at the temple, Solis and Weiss kept an eye out while Ventus and Ruby looked at the different 'relics'.

"Chess pieces, eh," Ventus griped. "Way to go, Ozzie; I'm falling asleep here. I thought they were going to be real relics, not some chess fan convention or huge dangerous lesson about the pawn and whatnot."

"Well, we'd best pick one—."

Ruby was almost strangled under her older sister as Yang practically tackled the scythe-bearer. Ventus almost died of laughter before getting zapped by familiar lightning. His hair stood on end in its spiky state as he turned to glare at the perpetrator: Thor Lochlannach.

"Tag, you're it," Thor joked. A powerful gust of wind smashed into his face as Ventus rolled his eyes at the jokester.

"Very funny, Viking," Ventus muttered, flattening out his spiky hair. Now that he was turned around, he could see the same cotton-like object Solis was keeping a close eye on. "Hey, hang on. Is that what I think it is?"

"I think so," Solis agreed, finally getting over the fact that he was wrong. "I smell Grimm, too. Probably a Death Stalker, King Taijitu if we're unlucky enough."

"Sounds like fun," muttered Nadiya. "Where's it all coming from?"

"The wind's messing with my senses, but I think it's coming from over—." The fluffy orb broke open just as Jaune and Pyrrha entered the clearing. Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie were all over the place, the former practically chasing the latter, almost getting trampled by the dark form from the orb. "There."

The form from inside what was clearly an egg of sorts was indistinguishable at the moment. By the time it had formed completely, a flock of Nevermores flew overhead, followed shortly by a massive Death Stalker. The twelve Huntsmen in training now had about 5 Nevermores, a large Death Stalker, and a three-headed Hydra to battle.

"Well, that's just great," Thor commented. "We're out-numbered, out-sized, out-gunned, and all-around out-matched. How're we gonna get through this one, Nadiya?"

"Well, don't look at me," his lover answered. "I'm not looking at all of them; just one of them."

"I'm thinking we should take the Hydra," Solis and Ventus said simultaneously, bumping fists because of their agreement.

"Either way, you guys should grab a chess piece before we get going," said Thor. Ventus and Ruby both took a random piece, Nora went crazy over the white Rook, and Jaune picked up a white rook that fell off its pedestal. So far, Ruby and Yang both retrieved the white Knight pieces, Thor and Ventus grabbed the white Bishop pieces, and Nora and Jaune got the white Rooks.

"Great," said Solis, staring up at the Nevermores. "Now can we make someone's life easier and take out some of those oversized pigeons?"

"On it," said Nadiya. Thor charged his Semblance and electrocuted the four arrows Nadiya drew from her quiver. With her bow, she fired off one by one at four different Nevermores. Each one hit its target, vaporizing the struck Nevermores.

"Why didn't you take out all five," asked Pyrrha. Nadiya grinned devilishly.

"Can't let you wimp out, can I?" Thor grinned widely, pointing at Nadiya with his thumb.

"I got lucky with this one, didn't I," he chuckled. Ventus, Solis, and Jaune all rolled their eyes.

"Let's just go," Solis growled.

While Ruby, Weiss, Blake Belladonna, and Yang all battled the last Nevermore, Jaune decided he'd had enough with the scary things and, drawing his Riot Cannon, fired two rounds at the Death Stalker. It sacrificed both pincers to stop the explosive rounds, which vaporized the armored bits they struck. He then went full Centurion and, with a single thrust of his pilum, broke through the armored head of the scorpion Grimm and killed the monster.

With Ventus and his temporary allies, on the other hand, the Hydra was impossible to beat. Every time one head fell, two more took its place. The quartet soon found themselves facing off against a ten-headed, roaring, purely enraged Hydra. Solis was about to give up and accept death before a memory resurfaced.

"Solis," echoed the dying words of Aurora Arc in his mind, "Please don't forget me. And for the love of God, don't ever lose yourself. I don't want to see you with me just yet."

Thanks to Jaune's transformation into his Centurion state, as well as the presence of the threat, Solis was starting to understand what she meant by that. She wanted him to remember her, but simultaneously not to go bat-shit crazy as he already did. Still, he knew it wasn't too late to change. The red in his eyes and hair faded away to reveal bright blue eyes and… spiky red hair.

"Thanks, Aurora," he muttered to the heaven-bound girl. He didn't want to have a repeat of her life at the hands of Grimm, so he started thinking as quickly as humanly possible. An idea formulated almost immediately, and he was determined to put it forward.

"Thor, Nadiya," he shouted at the two. "I'll distract it. Find a good angle and pin it down. Ventus, get ready for my signal. You get the kill shot."

"Gotcha," Ventus said, launching into the air and charging his Aura. His blue-tipped silver hair turned full royal blue as he curled up in a ball mid-air. The two whips on his back extended and locked onto his forearms as hardened steel blades.

While Thor and Nadiya worked together to set up the trap, Solis transformed into his Grimm state and literally punched the Hydra in one of its faces. That got its attention; now came the hard part: keeping it in one place. He hopped around like a rubber ball in a rubber room thrown by a baseball pitcher. All ten heads were practically tied up in a knot by the time the first of four arrows struck the ground near the Hydra's tail.

"That's it, twenty-eyes," Solis huffed through his Beowolf form. "Eyes on the prize, eyes on the prize. Don't lose me, not one bit."

The last arrow finally struck the ground, practically in a square if all four arrows were connected by lines. Thor, with Nora's help, sparked his Semblance and shot lightning at the square. Solis leaped out of the way just in time for a net of pure lightning trapped the Hydra, pinned down by the four arrows. Thor and Nadiya were so coordinated it wasn't even funny anymore, he decided.

"Ventus, now," Solis called to the hovering teen.

At this point, Ventus was glowing yellow, with seven glowing lights spinning around him. When Solis called him, the lights entered his uncurled body, and he turned a bright blond color, his clothes turned yellow, and the glow only intensified. He opened his eyes to reveal that they were now a bright red. That made Solis remember that Liaisons had three separate sides: light, dark, and neutral. He assumed that this was Ventus's greater light side, thinking that the blue side was his regular light side.

With the wind no longer blowing, it was a curiosity how Ventus was hovering. Still, the glowing teen seemed to transform into a spinning ball of spines and darted down on the Hydra at Mach 50. The blast wave was unbelievable, sending Grimm smoke everywhere. Nothing remained of the Hydra but a memory and a 20-foot crater. In that hole, Ventus had one foot on a rock that rolled into the crater, now a royal blue color with green eyes.

"What?" he called out of the crater. "That other side you see me in is my neutral side. What you just saw was my pure light side. I'm currently in my light-neutral side. What do you think, huh? Blue's not a bad color, right?"

"Nah, yellow was way cooler," Thor laughed like a maniac.

"I think your silver bit was better," Nadiya stated bluntly.

"I like it," Ruby shouted before getting slung to the cliff face to finish off the Nevermore. Solis and Ventus both smiled at the redhead.

"You do what you want," Solis told his partner. "Either way, I think it's agreed: we're getting on a team together." Ventus smiled as the quartet made their way to the cliff ahead of them.

"Jaune Arc," Headmaster Ozpin called to the stage after Initiation had ended. "Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white Rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR (Juniper), led by: Jaune Arc." Jaune snapped a sharp salute in two different forms: ordinary with the Atlasian salute; and the Centurion, with an arm hammering his chestplate as a Roman salute.

"Ruby Rose," he called out again as JNPR left the stage. "Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white Knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY (Ruby), led by: Ruby Rose."

"That's gonna get confusing," commented Ventus. Solis nodded in agreement.

"And last," Ozpin finalized, "But certainly not least. Solis Occasum, Ventus Zephyro, Nadiya Luchnik, Thor Lochlannach. The four of you retrieved the white Bishop pieces. As I'm certain everyone is aware, I normally name teams after colors. However, I am going to name this team as a virtue everyone deserves, especially this team. Therefore, from this day forward, you four will work together as Team SVTN (Salvation), led by: Solis Occasum."

The newly christened SVTN snapped a quick salute to the crowd and to Ozpin before throwing their hands in a pile and yelled 'Salvation' loud enough to be heard throughout Beacon.

End

A/N: That was fun to write. A bit long, but fun nonetheless. Either way, we now have Teams RWBY, JNPR, and the newbie to the world of Remnant: SVTN. And yes, I literally pulled the 'kill off a character you barely know' card. I'm actually going to keep Sentinel, but he's not going to be seen anymore. He's going to be one of a few voices of reason in Jaune's head. Also, I made Ventus kind of like Sonic the Hedgehog, simply because I can. And Ventus does lose a girl in canon to this story (not RWBY, 'cause he's an OC), but that doesn't affect him too much simply because he keeps on going nonstop (thanks to his buddy Ben).

Wanna know each character's theme songs? I know, I usually don't do songs. You know what? These songs describe each OC perfectly (and one for Jaune). I finally used the Riot Cannon (didn't describe it yet, but that'll come later), which is kinda like WWII artillery, a Gatling gun, and a Dust MG all rolled into one device made from Jaune's sword and shield. I've got something planned for the Mars Insider Project, as with one of Jaune's friends whom I will introduce later.

You readers know the drill, so I won't say it. Texas, out.