Chapter 20 – A Dark Game

"Amber, can you hear me?" Jaune asked through his earpiece.

"Amber! Ruby! Sun! Anybody!?" Jaune yelled. A weird static noise was heard through the earpiece which Jaune could not tell who it was.

"Hello! Can you hear me!?"

"*BUZZ* J…ne? *BUZZ*" Jaune could not tell who it was that was responding to his call, but continued responding as he arrived closer to the medical facility.

"The reactor must be jamming the communications in Mistral. I'm going to need to shut it down fast so that I can quickly call for an airship back to Beacon as soon as possible."

"Whoever is responding, I'm on my way towards your location. Just… stay alive while I get there." Jaune looked back and stared at Pyrrha's body, not knowing what he was going to say to the others when he arrives. He looked around him and noticed that the forest was swarming with Grimm and he knew that he needed to hurry back before his friends get overrun.

"The Dark aura is attracting even the Grimm from all the way over here? Just how far does the Dark aura reach?" Jaune wondered.

"*BUZZ* Ruby… *BUZZ* others… *BUZZ* uncon… *BUZZ* beam! *BUZZ*" After minutes of flying towards the location, Jaune noticed a large amount of vehicles heading towards his team's location. Jaune knew that it was all of the law enforcement in the kingdom heading over here. He knew that if his team doesn't leave the kingdom soon, they will be stuck there until this whole problem is resolved. What's worse is that they could possibly be blamed for the attack and could be jailed or even worse… executed. Jaune landed next to the facility and readied his sword in hand, just in case if he has to fight his way in. Jaune turned to the Nevermore and stared at the bird without saying any words. The creature knew what Jaune wanted it to do and listened to his request and flew around the area to keep an eye on the incoming officers. Jaune ran inside and tried to take the elevator down, but noticed that the elevator was completely destroyed. He ran towards the stairs and begun his descent to the ground floor where he last saw Ruby and the others. On his way down, he noticed a white fang soldier standing still and unresponsive. He looked at the front of the Faunus and noticed that he was covered in some sort of paralyzing field. Jaune proceeded to touch the soldier and that gave him an electric shock that somewhat paralyzed his hand. Still confused, Jaune proceeded towards the ground floor and made it to where he left Ruby and the others. Upon passing through the door, he saw a large number of White Fang soldier the same way as the one he saw at the stairs, paralyzed. Jaune noticed Sun, Neptune, and Winter's team crowded around in one side of the room.

"What's going on?" Jaune asked as he walked closer to the group. Upon reaching them, they moved to the side and noticed Ruby holding Amber's hand. When Jaune to a closer look, he noticed that Amber had a deep cut in between her chest. She had lost a lot of blood already and her chances of survival were slim.

"What happened?" Jaune asked Ruby who had tears streaming down her eyes.

"She jumped in front of me to save me. One of the White Fang soldiers would have killed me if she…" Ruby said, trying her best to keep her emotions together.

"Yang would have gotten upset if *cough* something happened to her baby sister on my watch." Amber said, coughing up blood.

"Relax Amber. Everything is going to be okay. We're going to take you to a doctor and you're going to be fine." Ruby said.

"We don't have time to go to a doctor Ruby. Every law enforcement officer in the kingdom is coming this way and a giant force of Grimm is going to invade the kingdom.

"What? What are you talking about?" Winter asked.

"That black beam is attracting the Grimm and I'm not sure if we take it down, it will stop them from attacking the kingdom." Jaune calmly said as he looked towards the reactor.

"We'll grab Amber and quickly get out of here." Weiss stated.

"Amber can't come with us; we're going to need to leave her behind." Jaune said.

"What are you saying!? We can't just leave her here!" Ruby yelled. Jaune walked over to the Reactor to figure out a way to turn it off without having to destroy it.

"If I destroy this thing, it will probably cause something a lot worse than a beam shooting towards the sky. The only way is to absorb it from the core. If I can do that it should completely stop. However…" Jaune thought carefully about what he was going to do and decided that it would be best to absorb it rather than destroy it.

"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!?" Ruby yelled. Her emotions were getting the best of her and she could no longer hold in any of it inside her.

"I'm going to absorb the Dark aura to stop it from releasing into the sky and while I'm doing this, I want you all to get far away from here as possible. Head back to the city and…" Jaune was immediately cut off by Ruby who was now angry at the knight.

"Are you listening to yourself? What is wrong with you right now? You want to leave a friend behind and you want to let this disgusting aura overtake you like it did back in Roland!?" Ruby yelled.

"This is the only way you guys can get out of here before this whole kingdom gets locked down! Don't think for a second that I'm doing this for myself because I am not! Look at Amber and tell me she will not slow you guys down! If they find out we were involved in this, it would trace back to Ozpin and who knows what could happen to the school if Ozpin is to be blamed!" Everyone in the room got quiet. They looked at Jaune with a bit of discomfort and looked back at Amber.

"I would use my semblance like I did to Cinder, but I don't know whether it would kill her or not! I suggest you calm down and think about this critically like an actual leader and not like a little girl!" Ruby at this point had nothing to say. Not only was she was being scolded by the person she loved, but also had to deal with a friend dying in front of her eyes.

"Ruby… Jaune is right." Amber said.

"NO! No he is wrong! We can carry you back to…"

"This wound… it's really deep and I've already lost a lot of blood. Even if you took me by an airship, I won't make it to the nearest hospital."

"But…"

"Ruby… you are the kindest girl I've ever met. You remind me of someone I knew years ago who was a maiden like me. She was always cheerful and enjoyed the company of her friends. The power you showed earlier… *Cough* tells me that you may have that same gift she had when she was still alive." Jaune was listening to her and he already knew what she was talking about. He looked at Ruby's silver eyes with a slight annoyance, yet he himself did not notice.

"I understand that you would do anything to help a friend out, but sometimes there are some things that cannot be fixed no matter how hard you try." Amber said. All of a sudden, the speakers in the room turned on and loud popping noises were heard that startled everyone.

"Is this thing on? *Tap* *Tap* Testing 1 2 3."

"Where the hell is that coming from?" Sun asked.

"I don't know, but that voice… it sounds familiar." Jaune said.

"You don't recognize my voice Jaune? You should since you were one of the many who were eavesdropping to our group conversation back at Roland.

"Rhett?"

"That's right my boy. It seems you were able to finish off dear old Adam Taurus. What a shame, he seemed like the type of person to turn out like me. Oh well what can you do right?"

"You've already lost Rhett. So I suggest you turn yourself in and maybe they will give you a lesser sentence, unless they decide to kill you." Jaune said.

"You killed Adam?" Blake asked. Jaune ignored her question and continued listening to Rhett.

"I lost? Sorry to break it to you, but I haven't loss yet."

"What are you talking about? I'm about to stop this reactor and everything will be over."

"But I thought…" Sun said. Jaune quickly placed his finger in front of his lips to signal Sun to stay quiet.

"Let's say it does work, I'm still alive. In my books, that's neither a win nor a loss. Besides, I have two things that would guarantee my survival."

"And what would that be?" Blake asked

"Why don't you say something to the listeners James?"

"Why won't you just kill me?" James asked. His exhausted voice went through the speakers and everyone's heart skipped a beat.

"Jay! Are you alright!?" Jaune asked.

"Jaune? Where's Yang?" Jay was severely beaten up and had trouble staying awake.

"I'm right here Jay." Yang was heard as well, but they weren't in the same room.

"Yang! Ruby, Blake, and Weiss yelled.

"How the hell did he get Yang?" Jaune asked.

"I… I wanted to help Jay because none of you wanted to even attempt to save him." Yang said.

"I thought I told Ren and Nora to…"

"I fought my way over here. I couldn't let something happen to him."

"Why Yang? Why do you insist in throwing yourself in front of danger for me?" Jay asked, nearly passing out.

"I do what I want. If something happened to you I wouldn't be able to forgive myself knowing that I could have saved you." Yang didn't want to endure the same pain she had when her mother left her. By watching Jay go, it felt like she was reliving that moment once again and did not want to stand by and do nothing.

"Yang! Are you alright?! Are you hurt?" Blake yelled.

"I'm fine. I'm blindfolded so I can't see where I am. Where are you guys?"

"Yang…" Amber said quietly as she lost consciousness.

"Listen Yang we are going to get you and Jay out as soon as possible so don't worry." Blake said.

"You shouldn't make a promise that you know you will be able to keep." Rhett said with a sinister chuckle.

"Rhett, if you do anything to Yang I will…"

"You'll what? Untie yourself and come kill me? You can barely stay awake my dear James."

"What are your demands to let Ruby's friends go?" Winter asked.

"Demands? I don't have demands. I simply want to see everyone's true colors when it comes to deciding one's fate."

"Deciding one's fate?" Winter said.

"Guys… Amber is… gone." Neptune said. Everyone pulled their focus back at Amber in shock. Jaune however, wasn't fazed of the predicament they were in.

"Amber…" Ruby said, her eyes swelled up with even more tears and couldn't hold back her whimpering.

"I would pay attention over here if I were you, or else you'll lose two more close friends." Rhett said.

"Like I said, before I was rudely interrupted. I enjoy watching someone reveal their true nature when facing their potential deaths or their friends in this manner."

"You sick bastard!" Jay yelled, already knowing what Rhett was planning on making the team do.

"Looks like you already know what I have planned." Rhett said.

"He's making us choose who will survive… and who will die." Jaune said calmly.

"What!?" Ruby and the others yelled. Ruby covered her mouth in shock, Blake's body shivered in fear knowing that her close friend Yang could possibly die. Weiss looked at Winter in hopes that she had an idea, but alas she did not and had the same worried look as she did. Sun and Neptune were walking back and forth trying to comprehend what was going on. Everything was going too fast for them, this was their first time having control over someone's fate.

"Jay and Yang are being held in a storage room armed with explosives that are set to blow in 4 minutes. I will give you two minutes to decide who lives and who dies. Once you tell me your answer I will tell you and show you the person's exact location and you will have two minutes to go get him or her."

Everyone was now yelling and asking questions to Rhett. Yang and Jay were yelling at their friends to choose the other in hopes that he or she will not have to need to live a life without their loved one.

"Choose Yang. Please choose her." Jay said.

"YOU HAVE TO SAVE JAY! DON'T CHOOSE ME!" Yang yelled in fear.

"Why should we believe you? You will probably kill them both either way!" Sun asked

"I'm a man of my word. Whether you believe me or you don't, it doesn't matter. None of you are in the position to think that I'm lying. The countdown starts now!" A 2 minute countdown appeared in a monitor near them and now they had no idea what to do. At this point, everyone was now yelling at one another.

"CHOOSE YANG! DO YOU ALL HEAR ME!? Jay yelled.

"NO DON'T! YOU NEED TO CHOOSE JAY! IF YOU CHOOSE ME I WILL NEVER FORGIVE ANY OF YOU! Yang exclaimed with a fierce voice.

"Man! What are we going to do!? Who are we going to choose!? I can't choose who lives and who dies!?" Sun yelled.

"Well, we have to choose or both of them will die!" Blake at this point had already come up with her decision. She wanted to save Yang, her teammate, her close friend.

"We have more than a minute to choose. Everyone will need to calm down and come up with a decision. We'll do majority vote." Jaune said. Ruby looked at Jaune with a confused expression. How could Jaune be so calm in a situation like this? Amber just died and two of his friends' lives are on stake. She expected him to be a bit terrified knowing that one of them will die, but he was calm and collected, as if he didn't care what could happen. While they were thinking carefully about their choice, Jay took the time to tell Yang a few things before either of them leaves this world.

"Yang listen… you and I both know you are going to be chosen, but I want you to know… I rather have it that way."

"IT'S THEIR FAULT FOR LETTING THIS HAPPEN! If they would have gone along with me… then all of this… all of this wouldn't have happened." Yang at this point was already broken. She began to cry knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop this from happening.

"I've lost people and walked around this world… lost in a never ending nightmare of seeing my team dead. I didn't see myself with any other team… any other person and that's how I always wanted it to remain. It's hard replacing someone you loved with another person, but I finally now realized something. If you trap yourself in darkness that pushes anyone you ever knew away… you'll come to see what it is like… to be truly alone in this world." While everyone else was deciding who to choose, Jaune listened to what Jay had to say.

"Yang… there are people that are there for you whether you know it or not and whether you choose to forgive a friend for something they did is up to you. I just hope that you won't walk the same path that Jaune and I have been walking all this time because of someone we lost. What you will find cannot be expressed in words, but I can only hope that you will choose a different path to follow. A path that I wish I could have taken instead of this."

Thirty seconds have passed and all of them have already come up with their choice.

"I choose Yang." Blake said.

"Yang." Ruby said. Yang was now biting her lower lip in frustration.

"Yang." Weiss said.

"Yang." Winter said.

"Jay." Roy said

"Yang." Winter said.

"Yang." Neptune said.

"Yang." Sun said.

"So it's already decided." Jaune said.

"Wait… you didn't choose." Ruby said.

"My choice will not make a difference in the matter. Rhett! We've come up with our decision." Jaune said.

"You still have 30 seconds to choose. Well it seems it was a relatively answer for all of you. Who who will it be?" Rhett asked with his sinister smile behind the microphone.

"We're choosing Yang."

"Ah yes. The person you've been with longer and care for the most."

"No you're wrong. We care about them both!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Are you sure? You tell yourselves that, but are you sure you aren't lying to yourselves? You have chosen someone that means more to you than the other. Jay seems more beneficial to you all rather than your close friend who by the way is the reason why this is happening. Well in any case, Yang is located east from here by the Rain River. A map will be shown from the monitor next to you." The monitor turned on and the map showed Yang's approximate location.

You better hurry. You only have two minutes before the bombs go off." Rhett snickered and turned his mic off.

"Yang can you hear me?" Ruby asked, but there was no answer from either of them. They had lost contact to them once they told Rhett their vote.

"Ruby, you're faster than all of us here. Go get Yang and the rest of you get out of here. I can sense the officers and Grimm closing in. I will stay here and shut down the reactor." Jaune said.

Everyone didn't have time to argue and agreed to Jaune's plan. Jaune stopped Roy and asked a quick question before he left to hide.

"Do you know where Torchwick went?"

"He disappeared as soon as he saw the trap. I knew we shouldn't have trusted him." Roy said clenching his fists. Jaune let him go and walked over to the reactor, ready to absorb the dark energy that was concentrated in the center of it. He placed his hand on it and begun to absorb every ounce of energy it had. The beam that was shooting towards the air had begun to flicker and thin out. Jaune struggled to keep control of his body and mind and found it difficult to maintain his awareness. The Dark energy had slowly covered his entire body, but Jaune used every ounce of strength to fight back and not allow it to take him over. The force that surround Jaune managed to push the furniture away, make the floor crumble, and cause the whole building to shake. In an instant, a massive force sent Jaune soaring away against the wall and not only did the force manage to make everything in the room to be pushed away, it also managed to spread a mile away. Jaune successfully managed to stop the reactor and was able to successfully able to control his body and mind. He walked over to Amber who was in a sitting position against a wall. He stared blankly, not feeling any sadness or sorrow, but calm. Amber's eyes were closed and seemed like she died in peace. Jaune used his semblance to transport her to the black void so that he wouldn't need to carry anything that could slow him down. Right when he did it, 5 people entered the room and Jaune already had an idea who it was.

"SRT! Hold it right there! Keep your hands in the air and don't do anything unless you want to die!" One of the men yelled. Jaune was facing the other way which didn't give them a chance to see Jaune's face. He used his dark aura to create his black mask to avoid his identity from being revealed and slowly turned around.

"Yeah… that's it. Nice and slow now." The other man said.

"You really chose the wrong place in the wrong time to arrest someone." Jaune said, with an annoyed angry tone.

Here is another Chapter for all of you to enjoy. It's currently 2:36 am where I am at and I'm not even tired. Sorry for taking quite a bit of time when making these chapters. Dark Souls 3 has been keeping me busy as of late. Well anyways, the chapter is up and I do hope you continue enjoying reading them. I will try to upload two chapters this week if I can.