Unraveling the Knight
Professor Ozpin was sitting in a specialized room in Beacon Academy. It was rare but not unheard of for some students to fall off the moral path and use their skills and abilities to do horrible things. These rooms were devised to hold them until a proper punishment or sentence was figured out. The room was ten by ten; the walls, ceiling and floor were a stark white. The entire room was sealed with two feet of solid steel, making even the most powerful of people have a hard time breaking out. The only way in was a single door directly behind him, which only opened from the outside and only by the professors of the academy.
In the room itself was a single metal table, bolted to the floor and two metal chairs also bolted. Ozpin was sitting in one with his cane beside him and, unlike the norm, his usual mug was nowhere in sight. Just behind and to his left was Goodwitch, her arms were crossed and had a conflicted look on her face. They were both looking at the student in the chair across from them. He was sitting with his back hunched forward and his head looking down at the table. His hands were on the table with a pair of aura cuffs on his wrists, suppressing his aura and Semblance. His usual blonde hair was changed now, it was now almost stark white besides the tips of them.
"Mr. Arc." Ozpin said in a kind voice. The student in question didn't even move. "Please, talk to us."
The boy didn't even move. For thirty seconds, he just sat like that. He did speak after but his voice was devoid of all emotions and sounded broken. "I've told you everything that I need to, Professor. I killed Team CRDL, three nights ago. I killed Blake then Yang two nights ago. And earlier today, I killed Nora and Ren."
"But, why?" Ozpin asked but Jaune stayed quiet. He then sighed, "Mr. Arc…Jaune, Glynda and I are both aware of who you are. You are a kind boy with a good heart. You are someone that, even with your short comings, will always push yourself to be better. We know you would never do something like this unless you were pushed to do so."
Jaune didn't say a word, he didn't move. He just kept looking at the table in front of him. Ozpin leant forward just a bit, "Please, Jaune. We can't help you unless you talk to us."
With that, Jaune slowly looked up and met Ozpin's eyes. The Headmaster saw nothing in Jaune's blue pools. There was no emotions and looked so broken. "You can't help me. No one can." He looked back down. "The only thing left for me is to be imprisoned or killed. That's how you can help me."
Ozpin went to say something else but felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to see Glynda giving him a sad look. She knew as well as him that there was nothing they could do for him. He was dead set on not saying anything else. He sighed and slowly stood up, taking his cane. "Very well, Mr. Arc. We will need to talk with the Counsel to figure out what to do. You will be staying here." He just nodded slowly. Ozpin sighed again as he and Glynda went to the door. It opened a few seconds later and closed behind them.
When they left, Jaune finally let his mask fall and he started to cry again. For the friends he lost. For the ones he killed.
"So, this is your plan?" Jaune looked up to see the Ghoul sitting in the chair opposite of him. He was leant back in the chair with his arms across his chest. He also had his legs resting on the table. He just stared at his other half for what felt like an eternity before that smirk stretched across his face. He just turned away and looked at the door. "We'll see how well that works out." Jaune blinked and the Ghoul was gone. That didn't reassure him in the least and a chill went up his spine.
Pyrrha was sitting in her dorm with Ruby and Weiss. All three young women were just in shock. But all things considered, that was a normal reaction. The three of them along with Ren and Nora had gone to find Jaune. And when the three had found him, they saw him standing over the corpses of the two of them. After he admitted to killing them, Professors Port and Oobleck escorted him back to the bullhead at gunpoint and kept watch over on him in the same way. When they arrived at Beacon, Professor Goodwitch was waiting for them. She had placed aura cuffs on him and the three professors had escorted him to the holding room. The entire ride to Beacon and even when he was escorted away, he never looked at them. As if looking even in their general direction was considered taboo.
The three had no idea on what to do now. So, they just sat in JNPR's dorm and just waited. Pyrrha was on her bed and was just looking down at Jaune's scroll, like at some point it would go off and answer every question she had. Sadly, it didn't. Weiss was sat down at one of the desks, it just so happened to be Jaune's. She had her chin resting in her palm and was turned sideways to stare out the window as the sun was slowly setting, with a thousand yard stare. Ruby was sitting crossed-legged on Jaune's bed and had Jaune's pillowed pulled to her chest as she hugged it. She had her nose buried in it as she had such a lost look in her eyes.
Eventually, they were pulled back to reality as all three of their scrolls went off simultaneously. They checked and saw that they each had the same message from Professor Ozpin. It read as followed:
It is with a heavy heart that I send you this message. But as the partner and close friends of Jaune Arc, you have the right to know. With the overwhelming evidence that his unique Semblance matches the wounds of the victims of the murders from last few nights, he has been found guilty of murder of the eight Beacon students: Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. With him not willing to discuss this at all, the Counsel has come to the decision that he will be moved to the high security prison, Stalwart Heights, where he will be imprisoned until his execution date is decided on. He will be transported first thing tomorrow morning. That is all. My condolences - Professor Ozpin
The three just stared down at their scrolls. They couldn't believe this, it just couldn't be real. Pyrrha's hand was shaking as she held her scroll. Weiss was holding her's so tightly that it looked like it would break at any moment. Ruby dropped her's and it bounced off the bed before clattering to the floor. She buried her face into the pillow as she started to sob uncontrollably into it.
Pyrrha looked at the crying reaper and stood from her bed. She sat beside her and gently rubbed her back. Ruby pulled her head from the pillow and looked at the champion, who had the beginnings of tears in her own eyes. She then hugged her tightly and Pyrrha didn't hesitate to return it. "Why?" Ruby asked brokenly. "Why did this have to happen?"
Pyrrha just slowly shook her head as her own tears started to fall. "I don't know. I just don't know."
The two red heads held onto each other and cried for a few minutes before they were interrupted. "There's one way of finding out." The two turned to see that Weiss had risen from her seat and was looking at them.
"What?" Ruby asked, still too emotional to understand what her partner was saying.
"We can go try to talk to Jaune." She said and that got the two of them to stare at her wide eyed. "We can talk to him and find out why he did this."
Pyrrha looked away. "I don't think that'll work. Jaune has always kept secrets." Her mind went back to his transcripts. "I doubt he'll want to talk about this. Especially, if he didn't say anything to Professor Ozpin or Goodwitch."
Weiss shrugged, "Its either that or we stay here and constantly ask ourselves, 'why?' At least this way, we might get some closure." She looked back out the window, "Maybe even get something out of him to help him." She looked back at them. "Unless you two are giving up on him." She challenged.
Pyrrha, who was already stressed and her emotions were frayed, instantly glared at the Heiress, "Why are you so suddenly worried about Jaune? You made your feelings for him known to everyone."
Weiss looked away in shame, "Yes, I have. But even if I wasn't open to his advances, doesn't mean I want this to happen to him. Plus, if he really did all of this out of malicious intent, why would he go to such extents to make sure Ruby and I were okay? Or look so broken while being around us?"
That took Pyrrha off guard but Weiss made some very good points. She looked from the Heiress to the younger girl still in her arms, "What do you think, Ruby?"
She looked at Pyrrha then Weiss before looking down. She was biting her lower lip and had a contemplative look. She eventually looked up with one last sniffle, "I want to see Jaune." She said with determination.
Pyrrha just looked at her for a few more seconds before she nodded and let her go. She stood up and spoke, "Alright. Let's go see him."
The three women were walking down the single hallway that lead to the holding rooms of Beacon. Pyrrha and Weiss were leading them as Ruby was lagging behind them slightly. They were passing doors that lead to about half a dozen of these rooms before they saw Professor Port standing in front of one of the doors with his weapon close at hand. He was reading a book as he stood there. He eventually looked up and saw the three students walking over to him. "Miss Schnee, Miss Nikos." He then saw Ruby behind them, "Oh, and Miss Rose, what brings you three here at this time?"
"We were hoping to see Jaune, Professor." Weiss said in her best professional tone.
He looked at her before shaking his head, "I'm sorry, ladies, but that is impossible. No one is to see Mr. Arc, besides us professors, until his transport. Counsel's orders." His voice seemed to hold some disdain with that last sentence.
Pyrrha decided to give it a try, "Please, Professor, this may be the last time we see him."
He shook his head again, "I'm sorry. But the answer is no."
Pyrrha and Weiss turned to each other, unsure on what to do next. That was when Ruby walked past them and looked at the Professor. Her eyes had clear signs of crying and her eyes looked so lost. "Please, Professor Port." She asked in a shaky voice.
The Professor looked at the young girl and was at a loss. He maybe a Huntsman with many Grimm kills under his belt but he was still only human. He sighed and looked back at all three of them, "I can give you a few minutes but that is all I can do."
They gave him weak smiles before he pulled out his scroll and opened the door. He stood to the side and let them walk in and the door closed behind them as they walked in. They clearly saw Jaune hunched over the table with the cuffs still on his wrists. He didn't even react when the door opened, just kept staring down at the table. "Jaune." Ruby said hesitantly.
That did get a reaction from him. His whole body went rigid but he didn't look up. "You need to leave." He said in a very neutral voice.
They all looked at each other, Pyrrha was the one to voice their thoughts, "Please, Jaune. Talk to us. We know there's more going on here than what there seems to be."
They saw Jaune clench his fists tightly on the table and he started shaking. "You need to go. Now." His voice had a hard edge to it and it sounded like he was struggling. Like every word was a labor to get out.
Weiss just narrowed her eyes, "We aren't leaving until you talk to us."
He stopped shaking and his hands unclenched. That's when he started to chuckle and that made them uneasy. That's when he finally raised his head and they all took a step backwards. He had a twisted grin across his face and his right eye was now black and red. It was similar to a Grimm's but held something much more sinister, an almost manic light. He then spoke up in a distorted version of his voice. "It's good to finally meet you three in person."
"Jaune? What are you talking about?" Pyrrha asked, uneasily.
His eyes shifted to her and she notice that his left one was still blue and just looked cold, dead. "Sorry, but I'm not Jaune." He leant back in his chair and rested his legs on the table. "Think of me as his other half."
He noticed their confused looks. His smirk fell and he sighed, "I've had to explain this too much." He raised his head and his smirk came back, "But since this is the last time, I guess I can suck it up."
"You see, Jauney here has been through more than you could imagine. When he was sixteen, he was kidnapped and sold to this crazy doctor. His name was Watts. He was trying to bring back an extinct species back to Remnant, known as Ghouls, and he used Jaune as one of his many guinea pigs. He injected him with vials upon vials of different chemicals that nearly destroyed him, but to no success. Eventually, he lost his patience and decided to surgically implant some organs they managed to clone from the last known Ghoul. And it finally worked. That turned him into the world's first and only half-Ghoul." He smirked at them.
They each had disgusted looks on their faces, "What was the point in all of that?" Weiss asked.
He shrugged, "Don't know. Maybe the advancement of science. Maybe he was paid to or was under orders. Either way, it all comes down to one reason why anyone would want to do this: they wanted a way to make an army of beings more powerful than any Huntsman or Huntress out there." The smirked more at their shocked looks. "Oh yeah, Ghouls were in a-whole-nother league. Their bodies were a lot tougher, able to endure much more punishment and they had a healing factor that let them recover from almost anything. Along with that, their senses were greater than a Faunus and their speed, strength, reflexes, you name it, were pushed to the levels of superhumans. And on top of all that, they could use an organic weapon from their bodies because of a unique organ in their bodies. A Kagune. Trade off was that Ghouls bodies were incapable of producing an aura or Semblance." He looked up at the ceiling. "But half-Ghouls have all the benefits of both: enhanced physique and senses, healing, Kagune, aura and possibly a Semblance."
"So, you showed up when Jaune became a 'half-ghoul'?" Ruby asked a she tilted her head.
He chuckled and looked back down at her, "No. That wouldn't be as fun." He shook his head, "No, after Watts was convince that he had succeeded, they needed to test him. So, he handed Jaune over to this other bastard named Tyrian. For months, that Faunus tortured Jaune every day. He would cut deeply into his body with his bladed weapons, shoot him from point-blank to mid-range with his guns, rip off his appendages from finger and toes to arms and legs. And if he was feeling particularly sick, he would inject him with poison from his stinger, causing him unimaginable pain. But no matter what, Jaune would just heal up and be ready for it all over again. He was in the definition of Hell."
He looked back over to see all of them looking sick. He didn't give them a chance to recover, "That was until that one faithful day. Jaune's fragile and cracked mind finally broke. And all that trauma created me." His smirk grew again. "And I did the only thing that was right. I killed those bastards Tyrian and Watts. I ate them and slaughtered anyone else in the facility before burning it all to the ground."
"You…ate them?" Pyrrha asked just over a whisper. She was showing both disgust and horror.
"Right didn't explain that. Ghouls can't eat regular food. They can only eat the flesh of humans, Faunus or even other Ghouls. Although, they don't have to eat as often. Maybe every few weeks or so." He shook his head, "Anyway after that, I gave the controls back over to Jaune and we made our way back to his family. They were so happy to have him back and he, them. That was until they found out what he was now. And that made them afraid of him. That fear just kept building until that all lead up to another faithful night."
"W-what happened?" Ruby stuttered out, afraid of what she'd hear.
He looked to her with an evil gleam in his eye, "They tried to kill him in his sleep." That shocked them all. They all heard how much his family meant to him and to hear that they had tried to do such a horrible thing was huge. "So, I did the only thing we could do. I took control and slaughtered them. All of them, even his younger sisters."
With those words Ruby was shaking like a leaf and tears were escaping her eyes. Pyrrha quickly wrapped her in a hug to try and help her. Weiss glared at him, "You bastard." She hissed.
He just laughed at that, "That's exactly what he called me afterwards." He then sobered up and had a serious expression for once. "He found a way to lock me away, deep within his mind after that. That's when he came here to try and be a Huntsman. To try to repent for what he did." He scoffed, "What a waste."
"But, Beacon turned out to be a blessing, for me. Being looked down on by everyone and being surrounded by so much disgust and hatred. Well, that wasn't good for Jauney's already damaged mind." He chuckled again. "All it took was one very bad day, his mental, physical and emotional limit to be reached. And he finally gave in and let me take control. So, I killed CRDL. To feel the trill of the hunt once again and to let us finally eat a proper meal."
"Okay. CRDL I can understand, but what about the rest?" Weiss asked. "They were Jaune's friends, why would you do that? You would know what that would do to him, better than anyone. This will all just break him."
He just turned to her then looked at the other two. And a different grin stretched across his face. "Exactly."
That caused them all to stop. Pyrrha was the first to speak, "What?"
"You seven were his friends. You were the only thing he cared for anymore. He believed that you all needed him and that he'd do anything for you. But because of that, he refused to eat flesh and caused our body to decline." He shook his head in disgust. "That fucking idiot would've killed us. And for what? You all?"
"I was created to help us survive. But, he is the greatest risk to that survival." His twisted smirk came back in full force. "So, I'm going to put a stop to that. I'm going to kill everyone he cares about. That shock, plus the fact that it was him that did it, will break him beyond the point of no return. And I'll be able to take control. To be the real Jaune Arc. For good."
He looked them all over one more time, "I am so glad you three are left. You three are the ones he cares about above all the others." That gave them a mild shock, "His crush, his partner and his best friend. Once I kill you, I win."
He stood up and they all took a few steps back from the sheer killing intent coming off him. "You three should enjoy the time you have left. They can't keep me here forever and when I'm free…" he pointed a finger at them. "I'm coming for you."
They all just stared at him in fear. But that was when Ruby stepped forward and glared at him, "We will stop you. And we will get Jaune back. I won't let you kill my first friend. Someone else I love."
Everyone was taken back from that. That's when Pyrrha stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder as she glared at him in turn, "I'll be right there with you." Weiss stepped forward and mirrored the champion but was silent.
The Ghoul just looked at them and chuckled in amusement as he sat back down, "I can't wait to see you try." He looked back at them with psychotic glee. He popped his right index finger. "That'll make this all so much more satisfying in the end."
With those words, the door opened to reveal Professor Port, "Ladies, your time is up." They nodded before turning and leaving. When the door closed behind them. The Ghoul chuckled one last time and relinquished control back to Jaune. He just shuddered and lowered his forehead to the table to cry once again. He just wanted this all to end.
It was a few hours later, it was dusk and Doctor Oobleck had just relieved Professor Port of his position. He had just unlocked the door to bring him some food. What he saw shocked him. Jaune was on the floor, his back to him and blood was pooling underneath him.
Oobleck dropped the tray of food and ran over to the student, "Mr. Arc?! What happened?!"
He flipped the boy over to show a deep gash across his stomach and the source of the blood. The Doctor quickly pulled up his shirt to get a better look at the wound but was shocked to not see even a mark, just dried blood.
That's when Jaune's eyes opened, his right glowing red. Two tails erupted from under him before the Doctor could react. The first slammed into his stomach and slammed him against the wall, driving the air out of him. That's when the second one hit his head and drove it into the wall. Knocking him out. The Kagune released him and he fell to the floor.
The Ghoul stood up and used his Kagune to break his aura cuffs, feeling his aura being released again. His Kagune retracted into his body and he cracked his wrists afterwards. He then leant down to the professor and took his scroll. He used it to unlock the door and he stepped out. He looked up the hall and saw no one. He started to walk away as the door closed behind him.
He then used the Doctor's scroll to send a message to three people: Meet me where the relics were.
He thought it poetic to end this where it all began. He smirked and released a chuckle as he crushed the scroll in his hand. He then dropped it and sneakily made his way to the Emerald Forest to wait. This would all end tonight.
A/N- Here it is. I have to agree with the Ghoul, mentioning the backstory so much was so annoying. Anyways, next chapter is the last, so prepare yourselves. Again, Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh and Jauneforever were the Betas, check them out if you've ignored me the last ten times I've written this. With that, I'll see you all in the next update!