Wraith

Chapter Twenty-six

Beta: Smithrooks

Death is the Road to Awe

Beacon, many years ago…

"Your attacks are powerful, but inefficient."

Jaune panted from his position on the ground, sweat dribbling down his brow as he trembled on the spot.

"You waste too much of the flame Dust starting the spark - that energy would be better used controlling or expanding an existing flame."

When Jaune had demanded that Ozpin train him personally he knew it would be tough, he knew that it would be possibly the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life. But what he didn't expect was the frustration. Ozpin was Headmaster for a reason; he was the oldest living hunter for a reason.

The man was a beast.

He never raised his voice, never did more than calmly point out ways Jaune could improve. But when they fought - God, it was always an absolute slaughter. They'd started just over a week ago, and only once had Jaune managed to make the elderly man even the slightest bit inconvenienced.

Hungry.

It had taken an entire week for Jaune to make enough progress for the elder man to actually use his secondary weapon - gravity Dust.

Ozpin was obscenely quick even without using Dust, but with it? The man was so fast he might as well have been teleporting.

"Are you listening to me, Mr. Arc?"

"Yes," Jaune groused as he pushed himself to his feet, his body screaming its protests as he did so. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said," the utterly unfazed man replied, "unlike combatants such as Miss Schnee, you do not have the luxury of using a blade in tandem with your Dust - so you can ill afford to waste your primary weapon on something that could be avoided."

Jaune gestured to the room around him - they were in some kind of sub-level of Beacon, and aside from something truly horrific deeper within this basement, there was nothing here. The terrible… thing… was a person, apparently. Something had sheared her soul in half - Jaune had been, and still was, utterly disgusted when he'd first 'seen' her.

Hungry.

But Ozpin had explained that she was a huntress, and that he was using all available resources to figure out what exactly had happened, and how it could be fixed.

"What flame am I meant to take control of?" Jaune demanded a touch rudely, "There isn't any down here, and it isn't like there's going to be a convenient fire nearby every time I have to fight."

Ozpin's forest-green aura shifted slightly in what Jaune took to be some kind of smile. "True, but you are using up nearly a quarter of the energy within your flame Dust crystals on only the initial activation. What I suggest is you inscribe your rings with powdered Dust. Make it so your aura is what gives the starting power, not the crystal itself."

Jaune frowned. What did that mean? Was Ozpin saying that he should use his aura to… create the spark, and the crystal to do the actual leg work?

Ozpin chuckled lightly, "Here, Mr. Arc. Give me one of your rings and a fire Dust crystal, I shall show you my meaning."

Jaune removed the ring from his right hand and passed it over to Ozpin alongside a small, warm red crystal.

The two hunters were silent for a few minutes while Ozpin quietly worked on the ring - the crystal having been ground into powder under Ozpin's impressive strength.

Quickly, the work was done and Ozpin gave the ring back to its owner. To Jaune's blind eyes, it looked slightly different than it had mere moments ago - where before the metal had been saturated in Jaune's own white aura, now there were red… lines? Glyphs? Covering the ring all the way around. It even felt warmer on his finger, like there was a contained heat within the metal itself now.

"Go on then, Mr. Arc," Ozpin intoned, "Flex your aura to create the spark, and then use your own Dust to expand and control the flame."

Jaune thrust his hand out like he usually did, but…. nothing happened.

"Your aura must react against something, try pouring it into the ring."

That… didn't sound like something Jaune was interested in doing. That would mean that the finger the ring was on, or more specifically the space between the skin and the metal, would be where the spark took place - and Jaune had tried the whole burned hands thing, he wasn't keen on doing it again.

Hungry.

Could there be another way to do it? Ozpin had said that his aura needed to react against something, but why use the ring for that? The ring was the 'focus', but it would be more accurate to say the ring was where the excess energy was sent rather than where the energy came from. And if he needed his aura to react against something - preferably something non-flammable - could he just… make it react against itself? Click his fingers, make the aura in each grind against the other?

Theoretically it made sense, but would it work?

Jaune held his hand before him, focussing on the sensation of the aura in his fingers. Slowly, almost cautiously, he brought his fingers together and clicked-

An explosion tore through the air before the two men, Jaune being thrown off his feet from the power while Ozpin stood his ground.

"Unorthodox."

Jaune pushed himself up, a wide smile on his maimed face. It worked! And it was incredible too! So much more power! If he just aimed better next time then it would be far better than his previous methods of using Dust.

"That was much better, Mr. Arc," Ozpin informed him. "An unusual way to go about it, but very effective if you use it properly."

Jaune could only grin, his blind eyes turning towards the modified ring. Unusual it may be, but Jaune didn't like the conventional way much - this was much more him. "Can you do this to my other ring too?"

Ozpin hummed, "I could, but then you would be unable to use any kind of Dust outside of fire."

Oh… did the glyph thingy prevent use of other Dust types? That was quite the drawback… but… no, Jaune didn't like the idea of only having one hand empowered. He'd get Ozpin to do his work on his other ring, and then he'd go back to the jewelery store in Vale and buy two more rings - that way he could use his current rings for fire Dust attacks, and the other two for everything else.

Jaune's grin turned into a full-blown smile. With this kind of power, he could easily become the strongest hunter ever in no time.

Hungry.


Vale warehouse district, present day…

Cinder Fall looked down at the black-armoured corpse her minions had brought her, the body ashen and barely even retaining some vague structure of the huntress it had once belonged to.

She had watched the 'battle' between this huntress and the Lord of Hunger intently, trying to see any signs or hints of ways she could manipulate Nihilus into her service, and by extension, the service of her master. She'd heard the words the two had spoken before and during the fight, and she was pleased this… Jaune, as the huntress had called Nihilus, was utterly disillusioned to hunters and the current way of life in general. But now she just needed something… more. More personal, something that she could use to make him do as she wished.

"Cinder?"

Emerald, such a good little pawn. She had fooled the police into thinking that they had collected the body, while in truth it had been little more than an illusion to allow Mercury to bring the charred remains to her.

The ashen remains of the dead huntress inside were of little consequence or use, and as such they would be disposed of - dumped in a sewer or the ocean somewhere, it didn't particularly matter which.

But the armour - that was important. If she were to even have a hope at bending this Jaune, or Nihilus as he liked to call himself, to her side then she would first need to be capable of surviving his mere presence.

Like the armour Cinder had pried off the rotten and ashen corpse of the last huntress to confront the Lord of Hunger, this set was damaged. Like before, the helmet was missing, but like the other huntress foolish enough to directly fight Nihilus the gauntlets and arm plating had survived.

With little ceremony, Cinder divested the corpse of the salvageable chunks of armour, a small smile on her face in knowing that she was one step closer to being the most powerful person on the face of Remnant.

Either Nihilus would join her, and they could rule together - or Nihilus would die, and Cinder would rule alone.


Beacon, present day…

Ruby stepped into Ozpin's office quickly, utterly lacking in her usual armour - to anyone who'd seen her, they would probably just assume that she was an elder sibling or the mother of the Ruby from this world.

Ruby stepped into the room, the elevator door barely getting a chance to open before she thundered past it.

The old Rose stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the hunched over figure of Pyrrha Nikos in a chair before Ozpin's desk, the sound of sobbing a jarring noise that forced Ruby to slow down.

Pyrrha was probably crying because Jaune was dead, Ruby reasoned. Ruby wasn't exactly sure how things would have panned out in this world, but considering that they were partners they had probably been close - and even closer due to whatever horrors Nihilus would have made them live through with him.

From the other side of his desk Ozpin subtly beckoned Ruby closer, the elder man's tight grimace showing for only a moment before shifting back to a comforting look. "I know this must be difficult Miss Nikos, but this is important." He paused for a moment to let the girl compose herself, "I understand that the Lord of Hunger explained to you who he was?"

Ruby quietly stepped closer, careful not to allow Pyrrha to see that she was here. Just seeing the red-haired girl brought back so many memories; reminders of a sad, if simpler, time when she'd comforted her version of the spartan girl after initiation. Of seeing Pyrrha laugh and smile alongside the horribly scarred visage of Jaune. Of seeing the girl's horror at the events of the Vytal Festival doubles rounds.

The thunderous sound of Crescent Rose firing on that snowy day, hearing the pained cry of a little girl… of hearing, feeling, the absolutely agonised scream of horror from Jaune…

Ruby shook her head. Now wasn't the time to break down again.

Pyrrha, still seemingly unaware of Ruby's presence, began to speak. "Yes," the words were slightly strangled, "h-he said that he's an alternate version of Jaune…"

"No," Ruby finally announced her presence to the younger woman, Pyrrha turning around to look at her face. "He used to be be Jaune Arc, he's not anymore. Jaune Arc died when his semblance surfaced."

Maybe if she kept telling herself that, Ruby might even begin to believe it…

"Who…?" Pyrrha asked quietly, "You look like-"

"Ruby Rose," the elder woman announced, "I believe you have met my younger counterpart from this world?"

Pyrrha practically flinched backwards, "You-" green eyes widened, Pyrrha's face twisting into caution, "You're Ruby… you're the armoured huntress that fought Nihilus when we got back to Beacon?"

Ruby nodded, not sure where this was going.

Pyrrha flew upwards, an enraged look crossing her usually calm features. In a flash she crossed the distance between them, her sword already drawn and ready to strike at Ruby.

Ruby barely had time to blink before the attack was stopped, the wizened hand of Ozpin clutching Pyrrha's wrist tightly enough to stop the student from attacking the elder woman. "That's enough, Miss Nikos."

Pyrrha struggled mightily, but her strength was a mere pittance compared to that of Ozpin's. "Let me go!" she yelled, righteous fury alight in her eyes, "She's the one that killed Jaune!"

Ruby just sighed, she knew this was going to come up sooner or later… "Actually, I only did half the work. Blake was the one that struck the killing blow."

Pyrrha snarled and struggled harder. "You ruined him!"

"I did what had to be done," Ruby muttered, the intense desire to just run away and cry being pushed away like it usually was. "I killed a boy who could have become the greatest killer the world has ever known. Thanks to his death, and Blake's sacrifice-" suicide, "-many lives have been saved."

Pyrrha finally stopped struggling, a bitterly agonised look crossing her face. "No…" she slumped down weakly, Ozpin gently guiding her back to her seat. "You didn't kill him. Nihilus… he… revived Jaune."

The words were like a punch in the gut. Ozpin had said as much when he called her here, but for the girl to confirm it...

But Pyrrha continued anyway, either uncaring or not noticing the growing look of horror on Ruby's face, "Nihilus did something, his body collapsed to the ground and this… light came out. And then Jaune was just alive again."

Ruby knew what Pyrrha meant, knew what that 'light' was. But to use that power for something other than death and destruction wasn't something she knew Nihilus to be capable of - to create life, to revive the dead… just what the hell had Jaune done? All those years in prison, all those years steeping in his hatred and self-loathing…

"I will never forgive you. I will never forgive any of you!"

That shouldn't be possible.

And it meant that Blake's death meant absolutely nothing. Nothing at all - not a sacrifice, like Ruby had told Weiss, but just… nothing.

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but a shrill alarm ringing out from Ozpin's desk terminal cut her off. The aged headmaster looked at something on the screen that was unseen to both women in the room, his face paling rapidly.

"What is it, Ozpin?" Ruby demanded quietly.

"Jaune," the male in the room muttered, "Nihilus and Jaune have arrived at Atlas Academy."


Atlas Academy, present day…

Atlas Academy, the central military power for the entire kingdom, and hunter school second only to Beacon itself.

Jaune couldn't help but think the building looked ugly.

Squat, grey, and probably about to be destroyed by Nihilus. The structure looked like it was little more than a bunch of rectangles assembled around an open courtyard. A few windows dotted the exterior, but overall the building seemed designed to be utterly utilitarian, built by someone expecting it to be attacked by an army.

But Nihilus was more than that. Nihilus was far, far worse than an army.

More powerful too.

After spending several hours being carried by Nihilus across the ocean, Jaune was just happier to be back on solid ground, and also quite happy that the voice had stopped speaking to him. That Pyrrha had stopped speaking to him. When she had spoken to him, it was… unsettling. At least when Violet had contacted him he'd had the benefit of never having actually met her alternate before - mainly because she simply didn't exist in this world. Whereas Pyrrha, Nihilus' Pyrrha… that just made it seem more real, more likely that what happened to Nihilus could happen to Jaune too.

Nihilus laughed quietly from beside Jaune, the robed lord happily waving his arms around as he spun in circles. "Lovely to be back!" he cried, "As ugly as I remember!"

Alarms began wailing as Nihilus continued his happy little spins, no doubt they would be attacked soon. What had Pyrrha said? Distract him? Nihilus would probably distract himself in all honesty, dancing around like a lunatic while murdering anyone that got in the way of getting to Ironwood.

But Ironwood wasn't here, apparently. Jaune wasn't sure just how omnipotent and far-seeing an invisible dead woman was, so he was willing to take the not-his Pyrrha's words with a grain of salt.

"Ironwood! Ironwood! COME OUT HERE!"

But apparently Nihilus just hadn't figured it out yet.

Machines began flooding the courtyard, human-shaped mechs with rifles in their hands and small blades attached to their arms. They didn't really look like any model of Atlesian Knight that Jaune had seen before - too new, too advanced. But it really didn't matter. The hundred or so that began to surround the two Arc men may have been intimidating to anyone else…

But Jaune knew Nihilus. Jaune knew just the barest fraction of what Nihilus was capable of doing - the fire and gravity Dust rings were just two small pieces in the much, much larger whole that was Nihilus' full power. With those rings and enough Dust, Jaune could probably wipe a city off the map, but compared to Nihilus? That was nothing…

"Oh?" the false lord smiled, "Such empty things! So devoid of any actual life… and yet-"

Nihilus stopped.

The false lord's mouth hung open, his sickly yellow eyes widening in some bizarre rendition of horror.

One of the machines stepped forward, shiny metal glinting in the weak Atlesian sunlight. This one looked different though; black metal plates instead of silvery grey, a bigger gun in its hands… "You've realised?" a feminine voice escaped the machine, the sound vaguely familiar to Jaune, "He's already left."

Nihilus said nothing, his yellow eyes beginning to twitch and his face morphing into an expression of pure anger and rage.

"You failed, Jaune," the droid raised its rifle, all the other machines around it following suit and pointing their weapons towards the two Arcs. "This is where your path ends."

"Says who?!" Nihilus finally spat, "A broken girl hiding in the shadows? The vaunted honour and pride of the Schnee family must have finally run dry! Come and face me!"

Schnee? That meant - Weiss. That was why Jaune found the voice familiar, Weiss Schnee was here somewhere. She must be remotely controlling the metallic knights, she was probably far away in some command bunker somewhere-

The sea of droids parted, and out stepped a black-armoured huntress.

-Or maybe she was foolish enough to actually be goaded into facing Nihilus directly. She may have an army with her, but Jaune couldn't exactly see that doing anything other than drawing her death out.

"Make no mistake, Arc," Weiss announced, her rapier pointed directly between Nihilus' eyes. "this is the end of you, I won't allow you to leave this place. Ironwood underestimated you, but I shall not."

"Ironwood, Ironwood, Ironwood…" Nihilus muttered, "He's not here. HE'S NOT HERE!" The false lord pulled himself up to his full height, a fraction taller than Jaune. "Tell me where he is Weiss, don't make me find out myself!"

"Oh, look at that," Weiss growled, "some of that lost sanity is coming back to you already. All the more reason to end you!"

Jaune stepped back, a stab of fear seeping through his heart. Nihilus was prone to anger, that was undeniable - but something was different now. A strange golden light surrounded the elder Arc, a feral snarl twisting his alien features. The gold light wasn't his aura; it couldn't be, as Jaune knew his aura to be white - and he knew that Nihilus' aura was white too, having seen it intimately when the false lord resurrected him.

This gold light was… something different, something else.

"I saw your fight with Ozpin," Weiss taunted, "I know how powerful you are. I know what you're doing! Go on then, Jaune! Use them all, your army versus mine!"

Nihilus sneered, the golden light around him growing more intense. "You know nothing. You know nothing but your own arrogance!"

"Look at that delightful expression," Weiss spat, "like a ravenous wild dog. You were a hunter once! Fight me!"

Nihilus snarled.

Jaune staggered backwards as the golden light fanned outwards, sliding off of Nihilus and forming a… barrier, behind him. Like a vertical rippling pond of molten gold, the light stood behind Nihilus, eddies swirling around and disrupting the flow.

Weiss stepped backwards quickly, disappearing into the crowd of machines as Nihilus gave a feral shout of anger.

Jaune opened his mouth to speak, but words failed him as the veritable army opened fire, their rifles shooting off what must have collectively been thousands of bullets towards the two iterations of Jaune Arc.

Something rushed out from behind Jaune at a blinding speed, even faster than the bullets heading towards him. In the blink of an eye, Jaune suddenly found that there was a stone wall between him and the army of bullets, Nihilus with his hands knuckle-deep in the stone of the courtyard, having created the wall just in the nick of time.

But Jaune didn't have the time to stop and wonder as the golden wall of light behind the two Arc men… erupted.

Things came out. Elongated spear-like golden shapes, all traveling as fast as any bullet, launching over Nihilus' new wall and towards the legion of machines. The sound of rending metal was hard to miss, the screech of torn machinery acting as a violent undercurrent to the hail of bullets and gunfire.

The golden spear lights were wrong though - looking at the spear-like weapons created a sense of deep discomfort in Jaune he could hardly describe, it was like some kind of gut instinct just telling him that whatever the golden things were, they were unnatural.

Jaune staggered towards Nihilus, mindful to keep his head underneath the makeshift wall Nihilus had made. "What's going on!?" he howled in his counterpart's ear over the cacophony.

Nihilus growled and shoved Jaune aside, a thin silver blade skewering though the air where Jaune's neck had been moments before.

Jaune quickly regained his footing and dropped into an alien fighting stance that somehow he knew to be familiar. The rings helping him, no doubt.

The alternate Weiss quickly retracted her blade from the failed attack and turned towards Nihilus. She must have snuck around the hastily-made wall while Jaune was busy gaping at the unnatural golden lights.

A slash meant to divest Nihilus of his head was deflected by the false lord, white aura shining on the palm he used to push the strike away. With his free hand Nihilus lashed out with a flame-coated fist, the attack aiming to smash Weiss' faceplate in.

Jaune watched as, like any skilled fencer, Weiss danced out of the way of the attack and gained some distance in the process. She made to attack again, but with grace Jaune knew he would never be capable of, she suddenly jumped to the side.

One of the golden lances smashed into the ground where the black-armoured huntress had stood a mere second before, the stone of the courtyard burning and sizzling from the heat of the spear-like… thing.

Before Jaune's wide eyes, the lance that had nearly hit Weiss faded away, its golden light vanishing in an instant.

Weiss charged in again, her thin sword leveled to stab Nihilus through the chest, but this time the elder Arc was expecting it. With just a twitch of his fingers, lightning gushed outwards and poured over the attacking heiress.

Weiss caught the pale blue electricity with her sword, however barely. "Fight me, damn you!" she snarled as the energy arced from her sword onto her armour, "This is a mockery! Fight me with all you have!"

"Fight you?" Nihilus sneered, the output of power from his hands increasing, "I still have plans for you! Your form is suitable enough for the time being - You, Weiss Schnee, will serve as a suitable host for my daughter!"

Jaune could only watch in awe as Weiss was finally able to redirect the chaotic lightning elsewhere, the bolts of energy crashing into the side of the nearby school building. With a twirl of her rapier, balls of fire and ice hurtled towards Nihilus at breakneck speeds - speeds that Jaune was only able to follow thanks to the poisonous power and skill granted to him by the rings.

Jaune's other half battered the attack away with a look of pure contempt on his ghostly pale face, but he made no further effort to attack. Instead he let the now silent courtyard-

Silent?

Jaune looked upwards; the wall of rippling golden light was facing downwards. The sound of gunfire was absent, the hasty wall Nihilus constructed was gone, leaving the devastated courtyard in full view for Jaune to see. Charred and scorched remnants of the war-machines scattered the ruined plaza, all now silent and dead after having faced but the briefest glimpse of Nihilus' true power.

The golden wall of rippling light faced downwards, spear-like protrusions aimed towards Weiss threateningly.

Weiss lashed out with her rapier again, this time in the form of a charge. "She's dead!" Weiss barked as she attacked, her sword alight with fire Dust.

Nihilus stepped to the side, allowing the thrust to pass him harmlessly. "Her life may have ended, but her existence did not!" with an idle slap Weiss was thrown backwards, her rapier clattering against the ground as it left her hand.

Weiss rolled to her feet, her black armour sparking across the ground as she came to a stop. "You're insane."

Nihilus picked up her fallen sword, the fire Dust on the blade having faded the moment Weiss dropped it. "I waited," he whispered, "I waited in the dark for years. My hope crushed, my life ruined, and for what? For what, little Schnee? Revenge. I am not insane, I am righting what is wrong!"

The sword in Nihilus' hands crumpled to ash without a sound. In a single instant, the weapon just… died.

Weiss shouted in furious anger, though Jaune could hardly blame her. The loss of a weapon was devastating to any hunter, it was like losing a close friend.

But apparently Weiss wasn't completely defenceless yet; Jaune had hardly a second to notice the large red flame Dust crystals in both the heiress' hands before a massive gust of flame exploded outwards. The stream of fire was so large and so fast that neither Jaune nor Nihilus had time to dodge.

Had Jaune been faced with an attack like this prior to his… acquisition of the fire Dust ring, then he probably would have ended up down the majority of his aura - but this wasn't the case. A feeling of supreme rage passed over Jaune's mind so quickly, so absolutely that he didn't even question it - with merely a snap of his fingers the flame parted before it reached him, the burning heat of the fire rushing past him but not over him.

In moments the fire died completely, a pained grunt just barely making itself known over the sound of the flame dying.

Jaune's eyes blazed with anger, how dare that-

No, no, no… that wasn't him. Calm down.

"Do you recognise them?"

Jaune peered through the thin haze of smoke, his eyes immediately falling onto Weiss.

The golden wall of rippling light from before had disappeared. Instead, there were now only a couple little… pools? Spheres of the light were hovering around Weiss; all of them had a massively thick length of silvery chain protruding outwards.

And all the chains were bound around Weiss.

The armoured huntress struggled and fought fiercely against the bonds that held her, but they didn't budge. The chains held firm, not a single sign of even the slightest strain at holding the furious huntress in place.

Nihilus calmly walked towards Weiss, "I said, do you recognise them? Answer me!"

Weiss just fought harder, but still the chains didn't move.

"I suppose you would!" Nihilus cackled, "Your family helped make them, after all."

Jaune moved closer as Weiss' struggles began to wane, the alternate heiress huffing angrily from within her armour. "I won't give you the satisfaction," she hissed.

Jaune stood next to Nihilus now, a grim feeling settling into his gut. Weiss was going to die here - that much was certain. The robed lord swept forwards, looking much like he wasn't walking at all. Pale white hands gently ran over the cold black metal of Weiss' helmet, and despite the mighty struggles to shake his hands away, Nihilus didn't stop.

But he didn't kill her; slowly, perhaps even reverently, Nihilus' ghostly white hands traced downwards on the helmet. Finally he stopped, and then a moment later with a small hiss and a pop the metal came loose.

Nihilus dropped it to the ground.

This Weiss looked a little different to the one Jaune had known briefly just a over a week prior. This Weiss still had white hair and cold blue eyes, but unlike her younger counterpart this iteration of the Schnee heiress looked tired. Her eyes blazed with righteous anger, but her face told a different story - one of grief, one of loss, and one of pain.

It was only then, and only due to the lack of Weiss not dying, that Jaune finally noticed Nihilus' eyes.

They were blue.

Pale blue, not pale like Weiss', but the type of pale that spoke of blindness. This must be what his eyes really looked like, what they looked like without the power of his semblance oozing outwards.

"See them with your own eyes," Nihilus purred, using his hands to forcibly turn Weiss' head to look at the chains that held her. "You said you watched my battle with the Lord of Sorrow, and when dear sweet Ruby and I had those talks, you would have seen them."

Weiss didn't say anything.

"ANSWER ME!" Nihilus screamed, "Tell me you KNOW THEM!"

Nihilus' grip tightened, his long nails digging into her skin and drawing blood.

"Nihilus," Jaune started, "maybe she doesn't-"

"Your chains."

Nihilus' grip only tightened at Weiss' admission.

"Raven's Rock Prison," Weiss gritted out, ignoring the small trails of red that were beginning to drip down her face. "Over one thousand automated guards, protected by Atlas' first and only attempt to create artificial life that was fully self aware-" Nihilus grip tightened further, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from the heiress before she continued on, "-all there for only one prisoner - you!"

Jaune stared at Nihilus. What the hell was Weiss talking about? Had Nihilus been imprisoned? He could certainly see why, just not how.

The elder Arc leaned in closely to Weiss, his blind eyes boring holes into her skull. "And?"

"These chains-" Weiss hissed in pain, "th-they were forged by the Schnee Dust Company using-" the False lord's grip tightened, he was practically ripping her skin off at this point, "f-forged using an entire kingdom's worth of Dust and-" she cried out in pain, "-and made of Tartarus steel! ARGH!" Weiss was actively screaming now, such was the pain of having Nihilus stare into her soul, "T-They were meant to be unbreakable!"

Nihilus released his hold on her, Weiss' head jerking back as far as she could the moment she was free.

"I kept them," the dark Arc whispered, "I kept my chains. They are a reminder of my failure to ever achieve total retribution, just as my Guilty Thorn is a reminder of my failure to stop their deaths from ever happening in the first place."

Jaune stared at Nihilus. What the hell was going on? What the hell were the two of them talking about? Raven's Rock prison? Unbreakable chains? Guilty Thorn? None of it made any sense!

Weiss looked up, her white hair matted with blood and sweat. Quietly, she laughed, a dainty little chuckle utterly at odds with what was happening around her. "You're insane," she laughed, "sitting in silence for years - that's enough to drive anyone mad."

Nihilus stared at her; his face may have well been stone for all the expression he showed.

"But it's worse than that," Weiss nodded towards the false lord, "driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity. You hate your own existence!"

"And that makes me more dangerous than ever," Nihilus whispered, a hateful look in his blue eyes.

"Do it then," she smirked, "because we both know that you will never get what you want."

Nihilus snarled as his eyes flashed a sickly yellow, and a moment later Weiss died.


1


A/N

I feel I should apologise for the unfair rant I had last chapter, I was stressed and in a foul mood. So I am truly sorry.

That being said, let's get onto more cheerful things! Like Cinder cropping up again! Haven't seen her since Yang died, when she took some of Yang's armour… which she now has more of… nearly a full set even…

Oh, and Weiss died. Bummer for her? The only member of RWBY I feel the slightest ounce of actual affection for is now dead, leaving poor old Ruby alone to face Nihilus. Hmm… I won't say, but I suspect it won't involve a happy ending for all parties.

Well! Poorly hidden hints aside, let's look at the reviews:

Shaded Azure:

Thanks for reviewing.

More hungry goodness in this chapter.

Jaune's semblance is a forceful one, insidious in the way it twists the user - Jaune is hungry, but he will never be satisfied. Every time he 'eats', he will only want more.

Tobi14:

Thanks for reviewing.

Thanks for understanding.

Violet died due to a simple mistake rather than any malice on Ruby's part. RWBY simply didn't know that she existed - but Ironwood did, and is (partly) the reason Ruby hates Ironwood.

Oh, I think the Grimm make excellent SECONDARY antagonists - always in the background, ready and waiting to take their due. But they will - or should - always play second fiddle to the human (general term, includes Faunus) 'evil' of Cinder, Tyrian, Hazel, and Watts.

You have an interesting interpretation of how Ozpin see's RWBY, and one I would disagree with - if purely on the basis that RoosterTeeth seem set on making him a kindly old man that tries his best to do right by people.

Alternate Ruby has had a rough deal of things, that much is for sure. But she hasn't quite lost her faith in humanity - only in Jaune. Ruby will still go out of her way to help those in need and those who can't help herself. Jaune on the other hand, (SPOILER) never really got the chance to become the anti-hunter that Ozpin trained him to be. Jaune failed in achieving his dream, Jaune failed again and again... and eventually, he just stopped trying.

As for the Faunus; they are different, that much is true. But people said the same thing back when blacks were considered (officially) second class citizens in America - basically, the Faunus are going to hit a crossroads; either they follow a Malcom X style of equality (Adam), or they attempt a Martain Luther King Jr style (Blake). The former is going to end one of two ways - they lose (more likely) and they are right back where they started, or they win (less likely) and racism would continue - only now it would be in reverse. The path Blake wants would be slow and painful, but would work out better in the long run. It may not benefit the individual, but it will make things better over generations.

Death-The-Horsemen:

Thanks for reviewing.

Thanks! I try.