Chapter 28 – Malevolent Eyes
"I'll take care of Jaune!" Yang yelled. She used her gauntlets to blast herself towards Jaune, but was immediately intercepted by Jay who kicked Yang across the face sending her hurling towards the wall.
"Yang!" Ruby and her team yelled.
"I'll take care of her and Blake. I'll let you handle the rest Jaune and make sure to follow the plan. When you sense it tell me." Jay jumped towards Blake who drew her katana and thrusted it towards him. Jay pulled his knife just in time to block the attack.
"I need to be careful with that blade of hers. One wrong move and she can possibly slice off a limb."
"He's just using a knife, but his strength is something else. Something isn't right about this guy. I need to be careful… he might be hiding something."
From across the room Jaune was already engaging Qrow and Winter first. He swung his sword viciously and swiftly making it difficult for Qrow to continuously block the attacks. Winter decided it would be best to use her summoning to aid her with her attacks. Jaune knew he was outnumbered but even though he knew that, he didn't think about retreating. He jumped away from the two after Ruby and Weiss both jumped down to their level and were ready to help in stopping Jaune. Jaune felt Ren's aura approaching him from behind and quickly turned and used his semblance to redirect every dust propelled round he shot towards him towards Ruby and the others. Ren placed his weapons away and decided to go with his hand to hand combat instead. Jaune dodged and blocked every punch and kick Ren threw at him with ease and managed to push him back. Before Jaune could react, red pedals circled around him in great speed causing the oxygen to deplete. Ruby planned to keep this up until Jaune fell unconscious. However Jaune detonated a black flame explosion underneath the trail Ruby was running causing her to lose her footing and slide away from him. Jaune rushed towards the fallen former teammate and swung his sword, but in a brief second, Ozpin appeared in front of Ruby and used his cane to block the attack.
"What the hell!?" Ozpin pushed the sword to the side and delivered 10 quick and precise hits at Jaune that pushed him back towards the main entrance of the school.
"What the hell just happened? I only blinked twice and it already feels like Ozpin attacked me at several different spots in a span of 2 seconds. Just what kind of semblance is that?"
Ruby got up and was prepared to attack again, but was held back by her uncle.
"Listen Ruby, you're going to stay back and let Winter and I handle this."
"But I…" Ruby was cut off by Qrow's speech.
"This isn't the same guy you first met in Beacon Ruby. He is an entirely different person. The one you knew fell into darkness and this is what he turned out to be. Whether you want to believe it or not it's up to you. However if you do not attack with the intent to kill then there is no chance of winning this fight." Qrow rushed ahead leaving Ruby to think what she should do.
"I don't know what to do. Why did things have to turn out this way?"
As the fight was digressing, the students in Beacon were being evacuated and led elsewhere to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. The battle between Blake and Jay escalated outside of the school and Yang managed to catch up to the two.
"Blake!" Yang yelled.
"Is everything going well inside?"
"It's hard to say, but I think they can do it. I thought it would be best if I joined you here."
"Alright let's go ahead and take this guy down. If we can do that quickly then the fight against Jaune will be no problem."
"I hear you. This ought to be easy then." Yang punched her fist together and took her stance.
"I don't know who the hell you are, but you're going to regret coming here." Jaune snapped his fingers and Neo teleported next to him surprising Yang and Blake.
"You!" Yang exclaimed. Neo smiled and bowed to her challenger.
"Like I said before… don't kill her." Jay whispered. Neo simply rolled her eyes and readied her umbrella.
"I will be sure to make you feel the humiliation I felt when we fought in the train, but unlike before… you won't get away!" Yang and Neo rushed each other and both were already going at it. Following behind was Jay who jumped over Neo and pinned down Yang by holding down both of her arms.
"Get off!" Yang kicked Jay in between his legs causing Jay let go and roll to the side. Neo used her umbrella to stop Blake's attacks and push her away from Jay.
"Blake!" Yang yelled. Blake moved to the side and from behind Yang punched Neo, but her umbrella absorbed the impact and only managed to push her away. Jay got back to his feet and rushed towards Yang. Before he could reach her he activated his semblance just in time to go pass through Blake's katana that nearly made contact with Jay's shoulder. He went through the blade and roundhouse kicked Blake across the face, but Blake had activated her semblance and left behind a stone statue that quickly crumbled due to the force behind the kick. Jay quickly took this time to attack Yang from behind, but Yang had no problem grabbing his fist as it was about to collide with the back of her head. Jay kneed Yang right in her stomach and she loosened her grip on his fist and allowed Neo to used the handle of her umbrella to sweep Yang's leg of the floor causing her to trip over and fall. Jay turned Blake and used his knife to stop her katana from slicing through him. Meanwhile, Neo used her semblance to teleport behind Blake and use the same trick twice, but Blake was no fool. She used her semblance to leave behind an explosive clone which detonated immediately. Jay used his semblance to protect herself whereas Neo used her umbrella as a shield. When Jay turned towards Yang she sprung up from the ground and uppercut Jay and followed up with a kick to the stomach which made him roll away. She then pulled her focus onto Neo and used her speed and strength to quickly side step and punch her umbrella off of her hands. The punch was strong enough to send it across the pavement. Neo flipped away from Yang and went straight towards her umbrella to retrieve it, but this is what Yang anticipated. She pulled a gun out of her coat and aimed it towards Neo. Jay saw the weapon she pulled out and immediately recognized what it was. It was his single shot pistol that he had left in the engraved box he had kept hidden. It seems Yang had been using it since his disappearance and now intends to use it against her.
"Only two rounds left. I need to make it count."
"NEO! LOOK OUT!" Jay yelled. The shot rang out and it flew towards her stomach. The bullet pierced through her aura and into her body. Just like every vanquisher's signature weapon, it was designed to bypass a person's aura no matter how much they had. Once the attack is connected, the body becomes paralyzed and the bullet starts eating away at the person's aura until he or she bleeds out and dies. Jay had to act fast and remove the bullet before it ultimately kills her. He rushed towards Neo to help her, but was immediately stopped by Blake who swung her katana at him and managed to hit Jay on his right arm. The cut was deep enough to make it impossible for him to use it efficiently. He kicked Blake away and noticed Yang reloading the gun and ready to shoot it again.
"If I use my semblance they'll know who I am, but if I don't Neo will die and I could be next. I have no choice…"
"This next one is going between her eyes!" Yang yelled. Jay punched through the air causing a massive force to push Yang away and miss the shot. He sped towards Blake who was ready to slice at his other arm, but to her surprise Jay used his semblance and went through her attack. Jay followed up with a powerful uppercut to the stomach picking up Blake into the air and elbowing her. Blake dropped to the floor trying to gasp for air and Jay kicked her towards Yang causing the two to collapse onto the floor.
"That semblance… it's just like…"
"That trick won't work the 2nd time. I need to act quickly if I want to stand a chance."
Jay rushed to Neo's aid and placed his fingers on the bullet hole.
"This is going to hurt Neo." Jay started searching for the bullet lodged inside which was extremely painful for Neo. Although her screams of pain could not be heard, it was clear to him that the pain was excruciating. It only took a few seconds until Jay found the bullet and was able to remove it.
"Stay awake." Before Jay could bandage Neo up, Yang ran towards the two leaving golden trails of flames behind. She swung her fist towards the unsuspecting soldier. The punch managed to connect and send the fighter sliding away holding the front of his face. Although his aura managed to absorb much of the pain, the rest could still be felt. Yang looked down where Neo laid and luckily for Jay, she teleported away to safety.
"Just who the hell are you?" The mask that Jay was wearing broke into small pieces and he had no chance to reveal his identity.
"So she's using the gauntlets I made her. This isn't good for me."
Jay let go of his face and turned around to stare back at the woman who pulled him out of his misery. The look that Yang had was similar to that of a person who had witnessed a ghost. She is witnessing someone who was supposed to be dead. This was something that Jaune knew very well how it felt to see someone return from the grave where you sent them.
"Jay?" Before Yang could ask him a question he was already on his feet and rushing towards her. His first attack was a kick that Yang was prepared to grab, but Jay anticipated this and the kick went right through her. He followed up with a right hook and expected it to land, but Yang knew this is what we intended to do. In a quick motion she managed to grab onto the punch and redirect to elsewhere. Jay activated his semblance again to avoid getting struck and slid away from her.
"How are you alive!?" Jay made no response and continued his barrage of attacks. Blake managed to get back on her feet and head towards Yang to aid her against Jay. She slashed at the fighter, but the attack was pointless since Jay would always activate his semblance once she attacked. Jay dodged Yang's punch and used the momentum to kick her off her feet, but Yang anticipated this and used her hands to jump away from him and land back on her feet. Blake followed up by dual wielding her two Katana. Jay used his knife to block one of the katana whereas he would use his semblance to go through the other. When he found an opening he thrusted his knife towards Blake's abdomen and managed to make contact. However Blake had used her semblance to leave an earth statue and it managed to trap Jay's knife into it. Jay punched the statue to retrieve his knife back and from behind came Yang who fired several shots towards Jay to which he used his semblance to go through every round and try to get a jab on Yang but she managed to grab his fist. He used his other hand as well and Yang did the same exact thing. Jay was now in the hands of Yang with no way to get out. His semblance could only work if he wasn't held on to and if he did activate his semblance, the two would have intangibility and take more aura than it already does. Yang looked straight at Jay's eyes in hopes to find some sort of answer to her question.
"ANSWER ME!" Jay did not respond to her and simply tried to overpower her, but the two were equal in strength.
"If you won't answer me…" A bright yellow flame flickered outside of Yang's eyes and then a powerful surge of aura went through her body. Yang pulled Jay's arm towards her and let go of his fist while still holding the other. Her fist turned to a bright yellow flame could be seen coming straight towards Jay's stomach. He had no way out of this. The hit connected and Jay felt a powerful burning sensation as if his stomach was on fire and in addition to that, the shotgun rounds added to the damage she was producing. Yang continued her devastating punches not allowing Jay to dodge or block any attack. Each punch and kick was quick and powerful which quickly depleted Jay's aura. After receiving several hits from Yang his aura was starting to fade away and he would have nothing to shield him and he wouldn't be able to use his semblance. Jay was now on the floor trying desperately to get back on his feet.
"Why didn't you tell me that you were alive? You've been dead for more than a year and you decided to show yourself now, with the intention of killing innocent students!?" Yang asked. Blake didn't want to interfere with their affair and thought it would be best to let Yang handle it. Yang walked closer to Jay and punched him several times till he dropped again to the floor.
"I never got over your death in Mistral and it continued to eat away at my soul every day." Yang kicked Jay in the stomach which pushed him away from her.
"I blamed my friends for letting you die." Yang kicked Jay again.
"Yang I think you shou…" Blake was cut off by Yang again.
"You decided to team up with that bitch who tried to kill me." Yang kicked Jay once again.
"YANG!" Blake yelled.
"No Blake! He deserves this. He never told us he was still alive and here he is now trying to kill innocent people… trying to kill us. He's no different than Rhett now." Yang's eyes turned crimson red and her hair turned bright
"You left me by myself. I told you about my troubles and you still went ahead and made them worse." Yang picked Jay up from the floor and stared at him dead in the face.
"If it weren't for Blake… I would kill you myself." Jay looked at Yang's crimson red eyes and smiled slightly. Yang saw his smile and quickly looked where his hands were and it was her gun that originally belonged to Jay in his hand and aimed towards her stomach.
"It's not even loaded." Yang said to his face.
"You're right… it wasn't loaded… but now it is." Jay pulled the trigger and the bullet bypassed Yang's powerful aura and was now lodged inside. Jay and Yang dropped to the floor unable to move.
"YANG!" Blake yelled. She rushed towards her and looked at the wound. Although the bullet was inside, Yang was still able to slight move around and get back on her feet. Jay was surprised that even though the bullet was absorbing her aura she still managed to get back up.
"I'm fine Blake." Yang was losing blood, but that didn't bother her one bit. She stumbled her way towards Jay who was still on the ground unable to move. His muscles were worn out and he had several broken bones. He tried to use a flask of aura that he was able to pull out of his belt, but Yang kicked the flask out of his hand and stepped on his arm dislocating it. With no hesitation, she used her fingers to pull out the bullet lodged inside her. Jay was shocked to see that Yang had the strength and willpower to remove something deadly lodged inside her without hesitating one bit.
"How's that possible? She shouldn't be able to move."
After several seconds Yang managed to get a hold on the bullet and pull it out.
"You know what… I don't care what happened that day. What you showed me right now is that you're somebody completely different." Jay looked at the crimson eyed girl.
"Your team isn't the only one you lost now… you lost me too." Yang walked away from Jay and went towards Blake who quickly looked at her wound and bandaged it. Jay grabbed his arm and placed his dislocated bone right back in its place and crawled towards the flask.
"Just stay down and be grateful that you're still alive." Yang said. Jay grabbed the flask and opened it. The aura floated to his mouth and entered inside. Yang stood back up and walked towards him.
"You still intend on fighting me even though you know it's useless."
"Maybe so, but there's something that I wasn't using before."
"So now you decide to talk? What exactly were you not using?" Jay pulled out a ring from his pocket and placed it on his right hand.
"Is that…"
"I told you before what this ring did, but there's more to it than that. Although it won't be enough to beat you it will be enough for me to hold you off." Jay's aura glowed and thanks to the flask his wounds slowly healed, but it wasn't enough to completely heal his fractured bones.
"Well before I end this quickly, tell me how you survived that day. Everyone deserves to know the truth and you know it."
"You're still on about that? I thought you didn't care."
"Just shut up and tell me!"
"If you really want to know that badly… then I'll tell you after we're done here."
"Damn you!" Yang rushed towards Jay once again enraged by his refusal to tell her what had happened to him and both engaged in another intense brawl.
"Just a little longer! I know she'll be here soon!" Jaune managed to cripple Qrow when he was caught off guard by the sounds of Yang's yelling outside. Jaune took the opportunity to break his mentor's leg and wound him. However this wasn't enough to keep the rest of his former friends away. They continued their attacks to which only some connected, but Jay was mostly concerned about Ozpin and Ruby who's semblance were much more dangerous than the others. Jaune's sword and Ozpin's cane were attempting to overpower the other, but with no avail.
"You brought them here hoping that it would deter me from doing what I might regret… but it's the other way around." Jaune overpowered Ozpin and kicked him away from him to stop the attack from behind which was Ruby with Crescent Rose. He managed to stop her attack and look through her silver eyes.
"Ruby you know there's no saving me so why don't you just let me go?"
"Do you remember my nightmare?" Jaune remembered when Ruby had told him about her nightmare on their way back from the Abyss watchers.
"Wake up Ruby." Jaune shook the girl who was lying on her bed, tears streaming down her tired face. She opened her eyes and quickly sat up. She looked towards Jaune and hugged him tightly.
"It's just a bad dream." Jaune said.
"It seemed real… too real."
"There, there. Calm down and tell me what it was about." Ruby placed both of her hands on her laps and didn't want to make eye contact with the student.
"We were in the woods and you weren't yourself. The dark aura surrounded you and I could see your eyes turning red and glowing. To me it looked as though you lost control over yourself." Jaune wrapped his arms around Ruby and whispered to her ear.
"I'll never change who I am. If I ever become a nuisance, I'll be sure to stop myself." Ruby grabbed him and pushed him away, but held her grip.
"No! You are not going to do anything like that. I will make sure of it. If it comes down it I'll be the one to pull you out of the darkness just like I did before. I will be the beacon of light that you can follow to return to your former self."
"Ruby…"
Jaune pushed Ruby away and decided to step away from everyone to regain his composure. He couldn't believe that Ruby is continuing to attempt to redirect him to the path she always hoped he followed.
"This aura… it's time." Jaune turned towards the door and ran outside where Jay and Yang were fighting. He looked where Blake was and sped towards her catching her off guard and managing to connect a dangerous blow towards her chest. The strength behind his attack was so powerful that it managed to shatter the ground.
"If Jaune's outside… then that means…"
"Blake!" Yang yelled. Jay exhausted saw the opportunity to use his one shot pistol and fired it toward Yang's leg. The bullet landed and Yang collapse onto one knee. Before Yang could turn and fight back, Jay had already loaded another round into the chamber and fired it towards her arm. Knowing that her aura is more than any other ordinary person, he loaded it again and fired it. The bullet was now lodged in Yang's other leg. The rest of the teams rushed outside where they witnessed Yang and Blake injured.
"YANG!" Qrow yelled.
"Jay? How are you…" Ren wondered how Jay was still alive. They had told him he died at Mistral.
"Get away from them!" Weiss yelled.
"How is Jay still alive!? Jaune please stop!" Ruby yelled.
Blake opened her eyes and noticed Yang badly wounded and unable to move. A tear started streaming down her eye as she watched her friend being held as a hostage.
"I should have killed you when I had the chance." Qrow growled.
"You had the chance and you squandered it." Jaune walked towards Jay leaving Blake behind to watch as her friend was getting close from dying.
"Yang… I won't let them…" Blake struggled to get back up but her broken ribs made it difficult. Weiss rushed towards Blake's side to help her.
"Just stay down Blake we'll get them."
"I can't… I won't stand by and watch this happen in front of my eyes. Yang has always been on my side, but when Jay was captured I didn't stand by her. I wanted to take out Adam myself, by I couldn't. I was afraid of him… afraid enough to run away from another problem that I could have stopped, but not this time… not again." Jay grabbed Yang by the hair and aimed the barrel of his gun to her head.
"Let her go!" Blake yelled. Everyone looked towards Blake's direction and saw black aura seeping out.
"This is my fault. Had I sided with Yang and went to help Jay this would have never have to happen. Yang would be happy, Jay would not become a serial killer, and maybe Jaune would not have turned out like this." The wind picked up and the current removed the ribbon off her head revealing her cat ears. Blake saw images of her past when she was discriminated for being a Faunus. She was tired of running away from her problems. This time however, she plans on running towards them and ending fixing it. The dark aura formed a cat like shadow that surrounded her entire body. The aura formed claws on both hands that could easily leave deep cuts that can kill any ordinary person. The scene was astonishing to everyone at the area. This was something that no one would think would happen.
"That's not possible!" Jaune yelled. Jay unable to move or react to what he was witnessing. He couldn't believe what was in front of him.
"That's…" Weiss said.
"I'll get Yang back Ruby… Weiss. Don't worry." Blake rushed towards Jaune and Jay who held Yang onto the floor.
"Blake." Yang quietly said.
"How did she manage to awaken the dark!? Let alone be conscious of her surroundings!?"
"Jay, stay where you're at and hold Yang down. I'll deal with her!" Jaune activated his dark aura and held nothing back.
"If you think you can beat me now that you're like me, you're sadly mistaken!" Jaune grabbed his sword and rushed towards Blake whose pupils turned vertical like how a cat's are. Ruby was ready to assist Blake, but was stopped by her uncle who placed his hand on her shoulder.
"We don't know if Blake's conscious right now. It's best to wait it out for now."
Jaune thrusted his sword forward aiming for Blake's chest, but Blake slashed the sword elsewhere allowing her to use her other hand to claw at Jaune's chest. Her attack connected and Jaune jumped away from the black cat that did not pause for a second. She continued to claw away at Jaune who managed to avoid every attack. He found an opening and quickly capitalized on it. He swung his sword towards Blake's legs to sweep her off her feet and thrust his sword straight toward her stomach. Right when he was about to do that, Blake aimed her grappling hook at Jaune's face and launched it. It managed to his face and dazed him for a few seconds allowing her to kick his sword away and throw her katana towards his direction, pinning him to a tree. Without thinking she ran straight towards him planning to claw his guts out, but Jaune anticipated this.
"Wait Blake stop!" Weiss yelled. Jaune had used his polarity to slightly move the katana so that he would still be able to grab it and use it against Blake. He swiftly grabbed the katana and thrusted it towards Blake, impaling her.
"I'm sorry Blake." Jaune then realized that Blake's body turned to a fiery state and exploded. The explosion sent him rolling away, but he managed to regain his balance. He scanned the area for Blake and his sword and noticed the black aura traces heading straight towards him.
"I know what she plans to do and I will definitely not fall for it again." Jaune ran towards his sword to pick it up, but he sensed Blake's aura coming in close. Although he was just a few feet away, he used his polarity again to retrieve his sword. However, Blake was already next to him. He looked towards her direction and everything seemed to slow down for Jaune. He saw two clones appear in front of him. The one on the left swung her katana horizontally, the middle one's katana came straight down vertically, and the right one swung it horizontally as well. There was no escape for this unless he had a way to redirect each blade slightly elsewhere. Luckily for him, Blake did not know he had obtained the same semblance that Pyrrha had and at the same time the attack was coming, his sword finally returned to his hand. He took two steps forward and lunged towards her with his dark sword in hand. He slightly made the katana on the right and left higher than usual that would allow him to duck underneath and strike Blake. His plan worked and his sword damaged her aura severely. He used the momentum to continue his successful attacks and depleted her aura to half of what it was already at. Jaune finished his attack with a diagonal slash and a strong kick. She went sliding away towards her team and Jaune returned to Jay's side. Exhausted by the battle he signaled Jay to hurry with the plan and he nodded with agreement. He placed the barrel of the gun to the side of Yang's head and Jaune called out to someone.
"I know you're out here right now! Show yourself!" Everyone but Jay and Jaune wondered who he was calling out to.
"If you value your daughter's life you will show yourself right now!" From the darkness appeared Raven.
"Raven!?" Qrow said.
"…Mom?" Yang said, struggling to keep herself awake.
"Jaune… let Yang go. You don't have to harm her." Raven said.
"I will do so until you take me where Salem is being kept."
"Salem!?" Ozpin and Ruby yelled.
"I see… you planned on using Yang to lure me here and reveal myself, but how did you know I would be here?"
"Months after the incident in Mistral, Jay had been keeping a close eye on you and your activities. He noticed you watching the school for some time now and saw you and Yang communicating with one another."
"Jay… was watching us?" Yang murmured.
"After seeing your face when you appeared with Salem and Jay telling me about you keeping a close eye on the school, I realized you're identity. Qrow had mentioned to me how your ways of doing things were questionable and the fact that you looked similar to Yang made me understand that you are Yang's mother and we all know how mothers are when their child is in trouble."
"Why exactly did you plan on Raven being here?" Ozpin asked. Jaune looked over to Jay and signaled him to tell everyone about their plan.
"Like Jaune said before, we planned on baiting Yang's mother out here to take us to Salem so that we can kill her. Ozpin, do you remember when Jaune told you what he planned to do? Well he knew that you wouldn't allow such a thing to happen and would bring huntsmen and huntresses to defend the school from him. We hoped that you would bring Qrow so that we can use him, but instead of just him and a few strangers you decided to bring team RWBY and what is left of team JNPR."
"Then killing one of Vale's government officials to make Vale look innocent and the plan to kill the students here was just a lie?" Ozpin asked.
"Killing the government official wasn't a lie. We actually took part in the assassination. However, the plan to kill the students here was a lie. We knew you would inform the teams and send them to guard the school. We took a gamble on Qrow, hoping that you would tell him about our plan and he would tell Raven about the plan as well since he has had some communication with her, but it seems we didn't have to worry about it since you decided to bring these people instead and we were certain that Yang would tell her mother about this gathering." Everyone stopped to look at Raven who kept her eyes on Yang as her aura depleted.
"Now you're going to take us where Salem is currently being kept or else I'll place a bullet right through your daughter's head." Jay said.
"Jay!" Jaune was shocked that Jay would say something like that. He knew that Jay's personality changed, but he never thought it would escalate to this. He saw the condition Yang was in and he couldn't believe that Jay didn't show a sign of remorse or guilt.
"Fine I'll take you. However I want you to let my daughter go first."
"That's not going to happen. She's our insurance if you decide to take back your word. We're taking her with us." Blake, Raven, and Qrow gritted their teeth in anger. They couldn't believe that Jay would stoop that low and hurt someone who he used to be connected with. The sight of seeing Yang injured and defenseless was enough for them to give themselves a reason to kill Jay.
"Rhett really messed your head up huh." Jay's calm look turned to a vexed look when she responded to him with that comment.
"Rhett? Jay what is she…"
"How do you kno… you know what… it doesn't matter. Just shut up and take us to Salem." Raven nodded and slashed through the air opening a dark red portal. Jaune and Jay carried Yang into the portal and Raven followed behind. However the other teams wouldn't let them out of their sight and acted quickly to enter inside.
"I'm not leaving Yang with the both of them!" Blake's aura shrouded her and she managed to speed her way inside the red portal.
"Blake, wait!" Weiss used her glyphs to throw her into the portal.
"I'm not letting her to take you Jaune!" Ruby used her semblance to rush inside the portal before it closed. Ozpin had used his semblance to follow behind Ruby and entered inside as well.
"I'm not going to make it!" Ren yelled. However, someone from behind grabbed him and it was none other than Nora who wrapped her arm around him and used her hammer to blast the two inside.
"I thought I told you to stay at home!"
"How can I do that when our fearless leader needs our help?" Qrow and Winter were the only ones who could not make in time especially when Qrow's leg was injured.
"Dammit! Why did I have to mess up my leg? Dammit." Qrow said.
"You shouldn't worry. Team RWBY is capable of taking those two out no problem." Winter said.
"That's not what I'm afraid of."
"What do you mean?"
"Raven is someone who can't be easily fooled. Something tells me she knew about someone has been watching her and something tells me that she knew about Jaune's plan."
"What can possibly make you think that?"
"I know my sister enough to know that she wouldn't put her daughter in a situation that could possibly get her killed. Ask yourself why would she appear late into the battle and not appear when it began? The only thing we can do now is hope that Ozpin can keep them safe."
Everyone appeared inside the dark woods where the abyss watchers were stationed. Although they teleported outside their small village, it wouldn't take long to reach it on foot. Everyone quickly got back on their feet and maintained their guard. Jay got down on one knee and started to remove the bullets off of Yang, but Blake was still upset at what he had done.
"Blake calm down. I'm going to remove the bullets in order to save Yang." Jay said.
"No! I can't trust you after what you did. Leave her there and I'll do it instead!" Jaune nodded at Jay and he agreed to leave Yang to her. Jay stumbled to get up due to the injuries he sustained when fighting Yang. Jaune helped him up and they both headed towards the small village.
"We're going to follow Jaune, make sure Ms. Xiao Long recovers quickly because we are going to need her assistance soon." Ozpin said. Ren and Nora followed the professor.
"Don't worry Yang I'm here. Just hold still okay, this is only going to hurt a bit." Tears were streaming down Blake's face as she started to remove the bullet from her leg and her arm. Seeing Yang wounded and miserable made her upset. It's as if it was her fault that she ended up like this.
"So… he was using me." Yang said.
"I'm sorry Yang… I couldn't help you sooner." Blake cried. Yang placed her hand on her cheek and gave a small smile to comfort Blake.
"It's fine. We're alive aren't we?" Blake smiled and wrapped her arms around her.
"Blake it's hard to breathe when you're squeezing me."
"Is Yang going to be fine?" Ruby asked.
"She lost a lot of blood, but it isn't life threatening. Her aura is slowly healing her injuries, so it's going to be a while until she is able to move again." Weiss said.
"Thank goodness." Ruby looked to where Jaune and Jay were walking and she couldn't stop herself from following them. She got up and marched towards their direction.
"Hey wait! Where are you going Ruby?" Weiss asked.
"They're heading to Salem. They say she is powerful and is someone to be feared. If they are going to stop her, then I should be there to help them and make sure Jaune doesn't get himself killed." Ruby started running towards them, leaving her team behind to take care of Yang.
"Mom… who's Salem?" Yang asked. Raven got on her knees and placed her hand on Yang's head.
"Yang… I want you to know that what I'm doing is for the both of us. Please don't think wrong of me."
"Mom what are you trying to say?"
"Take care of my daughter… please." Raven said to Blake. Blake was puzzled by what she was saying. Raven got up and walked towards the village.
"Mom…. Wait!" Yang tried to get up, but collapsed again.
"We need to follow her." Yang said, desperately trying to get back on her feet.
"You need to rest Yang. You're body hasn't fully healed yet."
"Damn it!" Yang punched the ground in frustration. She hoped to quickly recover and join the others, but it seems that it will be a while till she can join up with them. Blake stood up and held out her hand.
"I'll help you get there. Let's go."
"But if something bad happens, you will not fight. You need to wait until you're fully healed." Weiss stated.
"Yeah… no problem."
"By the way Yang, what did you mother mean by taking care of you?" Blake asked.
"I don't know, but it doesn't sound good."
"Jaune wait…" Jay said. Jaune halted and allowed Jay to rest for a bit. The injuries he sustained made it difficult for him to continue moving. He took the time to explain a few things to Jaune before they make it to the watchers.
"Jaune… you said that Salem knew you would return and in a way she is right, but what do you truly intend to do. You're not planning to help her are you?"
"I don't plan on it. I want to kill her so that we don't have to worry about her escaping."
"Then why don't we simply kill Raven. She is the one who is trying to free Salem and if we stop her then we wouldn't have to worry about Salem."
"You're right… but what's to say that she is the only one helping her. For all we know there could be others who are trying to free her as well. If we get rid of her, then we wouldn't have to worry about someone else freeing her."
"And if you can't kill her? What will you do then?"
"…"
"Don't tell me you intend to…"
"Jaune!" Ren yelled. The others made it to the two who went ahead of them.
"Why did you follow us? You should have all stayed behind." Jaune said.
"Why didn't you tell us about your plan? We could have helped you and not make this into a big problem."
"I didn't want involve any of you with this problem. Besides, you all have a future to look forward to… I don't. I'm a criminal on the run who is wanted from all kingdoms. I have no future." Ruby walked in front of him and slapped him across the face and kept her hand on his cheek.
"You'll have no future with that attitude. We can make things work out together Jaune. You aren't alone and you never were. You always had people behind you who are willing to lend you a hand whenever you needed it. We don't want to lose you."
"Ruby I…"
"She's right Jaune." Jay said.
"…"
"You can still help people in need. You just have to be yourself and stop struggling to find out who you exactly are. You're Jaune Arc, a proud knight who leads other people to peace and happiness. It may not seem like it right now, but like I said before… you have a voice that helps guide people to the right direction. The only problem is that you don't trust what comes out of your mouth anymore, but the people you led will help you trust yourself again." Jaune was struggling on what he should do. He doesn't see a future that he could live with. He believes that he would only bring despair to the people close to him. He can't guarantee that his friends will be fine with him being around. He was a moving bullseye that every kingdom intends to hit. There's no chance that he would be able to live a comfortable life and can't risk the possibility of someone close getting killed because of his actions. He doesn't want to feel the same pain he had when he lost Pyrrha.
"We're still a team Jaune." Ren said.
"You're our leader who isn't afraid to protect his teammates and that's one of the many things I still like about you. Well not like like…" Nora said.
"When this is over… I'll…" Jaune quickly turned to the direction of the watchers' village. He started to sense an abnormal aura that he once felt. It was a long time since he felt this, but it was still clear in his head of what it reminded him of. It was an aura, a presence that made him extremely attracted to it. It was Salem's aura no doubt. He could never forgive the feeling he got when Salem placed her hand on his cheek, but that wasn't all what he felt. He felt many aura's quickly depleting and vanishing. He could only think that whatever that aura belonged to... it was killing the abyss watchers that were guarding the Mausoleum.
"We need to get to the village quick!" Jaune bolted towards the village with the others trailing behind.
"What is it Jaune!? Why are you running all of a sudden!?" Ozpin asked.
"I can feel many aura quickly fading and I can only think that the aura that are being depleted belong to the abyss watchers!"
"The Abyss Watchers?"
"They continued the Abyss walker's legacy!"
"It's been so long since I've been there. How much aura does she have exactly!?"
"… more than I do."
"What!?" Jay yelled.
"That can't be possible! The only person who would have more would be…" Ozpin paused for a second and stopped running. Everyone stopped and looked at him.
"Why are you stopping professor?" Weiss asked.
"It has to be Salem."
"No that's not possible. You and I both know that she is locked inside the Mausoleum unable to get out unless…" Jaune paused for a moment.
"Unless someone got her out." Ruby said. Jaune and Ozpin's struggled to believe that someone managed to free Salem and the thought of Salem being freed was enough to make them forget to breathe.
"Where's Raven?" Jay yelled.
"She stayed behind with Yang." Ruby said.
"There's no stopping now. We're almost there just a few more seconds and we'll be there. Keep running." Jay said. Everyone rushed towards the village and when they reached it they found a something out of a horror book. The village was massacred and the homes had collapsed. Whatever did this did not hold anything back. Jay got down on one knee and inspected one of the many bodies that were scattered around the area. The body had several stab wounds and a leg completely sliced off.
"What kind of monster could do this?" Weiss asked, her hand covering her mouth trying desperately to not puke. The bloody sight made it difficult for them to continue walking towards the sound of blades colliding to one another repeatedly.
"We need to be careful. There's no telling what we will face." Jay said. Upon reaching to the sounds of blades colliding, they manage to find two abyss watchers lifted up from the ground by Salem who was just outside of the Mausoleum.
"To think all of you would continue his legacy to stop the dark. I have the perfect punishment… you shall become the very thing you tried to so hard to stop… just like him." She released her dark aura onto one of the abyss watchers and hurled him inside the Mausoleum and stared at the other watcher that was trying to her hand off of him.
"It's time for you to feel what it is like not to die in a world where time does not end." She hurled the other watcher inside as well where they will both remain until someone else decides to set them free. The last surviving Abyss watcher was lying on the ground, attempting to stand back up by using his great sword as a cane.
"Do you think that weaklings like you can continue the Abyss walker's legacy? If he were here I'm sure he would be insulted." When Salem took a step forward, aura filled with embers slowly rose from the dead bodies around them as well.
"What is this?" Salem asked. The ember filled aura then entered inside the last Abyss watcher and when it did, the Abyss watcher's great sword ignited with a flame that could brighten the night and his entire body turned to ember.
"So it seems that you all had something up your sleeves. Show me how much this world has progressed over the years, show me how much this legacy means to you!" The Abyss Watcher got back to his feet and bent both of his knees. He lowered his hips close to the ground and leaped towards Salem with his flame great sword in his right hand and his dagger in his left.
"I think it would be best to stay here and wait until the other weakens." Weiss said.
"We need to help him. With that power we have an even bigger chance of winning against Salem." Ruby said.
"You're right. Let's go around her back and try to take her by surprise."
"Well, well, well… it seems there are other means of seeing someone's true colors hehe." Everyone turned to see the person who said that except Jay. Jay did not look nor did he bother turning around, but inside he knew who exactly said that. He could never forget that voice, that chuckle.
"Rhett!" Jaune yelled. Rhett stood at a safe distance from them.
"It is impolite to not greet your closest friend… Jay." Rhett said.
"Closest friend? Jay what is he talking about?" Jaune asked. Jay refused to answer.
"What is he talking about Jay?" Weiss asked.
"Don't tell me you still haven't forgotten what you did after you running away from me."
"…" Jay said.
"Running away from him? Jay what is Rhett talking about?" Jaune said.
"You haven't told them anything about it? You shouldn't keep secrets from your friends." Rhett said.
"…" Jay quickly turned around and fired his single shot pistol towards Rhett, but the bullet was nowhere close to the target. The shot was heard through the woods which caught Salem and the Abyss Watcher's attention.
"Dammit." Jaune muttered.
"It seems as though you returned… Jaune. I will be right with you soon, once I'm done with this pest." Salem pulled out a staff from a small black void that appeared next to her. This looked similar to Jaune's semblance when he awakened the Dark. From the trail arrived Blake and Yang who were recovering from the previous battle.
"It seems as though we are all reunited once again." Rhett chuckled.
"Why exactly are you here Rhett?" Jaune asked.
"Rhett?" Yang said.
"Well you see… my help was requested by a woman who apparently knows what I'm interested in. Apparently my skills were needed here to get someone out and of course the only person who was capable of doing it was me."
"You let Salem out!?" Jaune yelled.
"It was a complicated procedure that required a certain aura, but yes. I did and the reward for doing so will be fantastic!"
"There is no reward! She intends to wipe out humanity!"
"Exactly! Do you know how much I will get to know people? Know their true natures more!? I will know them better than their close relatives."
"You're insane!" Weiss yelled.
"Me insane? You should be telling that to Mr. Quick Killer over there." Rhett pointed towards Jay who didn't want to be the center of attention.
"I find it funny how you all think you know each other pretty well, but let's be honest here… you don't know anything about one another." Rhett said.
"Umm… Yang was it? You think you know you're mother pretty well, but did you know that she was the one who warned me when you were about to find me?"
"What? No that can't… mom." Yang looked over to Raven who was several feet away from her. Raven refused to look at her daughter after Rhett had revealed what she had been doing.
"She has been giving you information about my whereabouts that are true by the way, so that she can gain your trust again. When you were about to find me she would tell me to give me enough time to get away and be far away from you. It was pretty much a wild goose chase."
"You were…" Yang's eyes turned crimson red just like her mother's and all she could do at the moment is form a fist in anger and punch the ground.
"Why do I continue to be used like this? I don't know who to trust anymore."
"Jaunney boy you think that you know what is wrong with Jay, but I know very well why he is acting the way he is right now. Do you want to know?"
"Don't. It's none of his or anyone's business." Jay said.
"I've had it with all these lies!" Yang yelled. Jay looked over to Yang and noticed her eyes glaring back at him.
"I want to hear the truth about you…" Yang stopped and looked back her mother.
"… and you."
"I promised you that I would tell you the truth after we were done fighting. If you really want to know what happened after the incident... I would rather have you all hear it through my mouth and not..." Jay looked towards Rhett with a relaxed expression.
"... Through his."
Hey everyone it's been a while since I uploaded another chapter. I do apologize and I do wish I can upload these much sooner, but if you didn't know I do a lot of things on the side which tend to keep me busy and it's somewhat difficult to put in some time to type out the chapters when you need some free time for yourself other than make chapters. I hope that I can upload another chapter this week. I will see you all later.
Next Chapter will be called... "The Four Black Swordsmen"