Endless Pages Lead to Endless Worlds

by LordHellPhoenix

In the grand scheme of the Multiverse, many of these worlds are greatly effected by Jaune Arc. So a bored Writer decides to bring some of those closest to the Knight to witness some of these worlds firsthand. What effects will this, once in a lifetime, chance have on these few? Only one way to find out: Take a look into the Phoenix Roost. (Reaction series. Coverart: Khor Evik)

24. Avenger

Source Material: Naruto- Episodes 127-134

---

Phoenix was still standing with his red tome in hand with an excited grin on his face. He was about to show the viewers one of his favorite worlds across the Multiverse after all. Without giving the audience any time to ask questions, he had already opened his tome and pulled from it a fireball. With the fireball in hand, he snapped the book closed before turning to the audience. "The world you are all about to see is more ninja-centric world."

"Ninjas?" Blake questioned with her ears sticking up underneath her bow.

The Writer nodded, "Although not exactly like the ones you know of. They use the nature energies in their bodies to perform borderline superhuman feats and supernatural abilities called Jutsu. And this innate energy is known as Chakra."

"So it's sort of like our Aura?" Ruby asked.

"Kind of. A few differences here and there but it is a good parallel. Anyways, we pick up with this worlds Jaune abandoning his village in the pursuit of more power. Power enough to accomplish a goal he dedicates his life to. But to do so, he is aligning himself with a more villainous shinobi. The village has sent out other younger ninja, like himself, to bring him back. Before it is too late."

"I'll explain more when needed but let's jump into this. And fair warning, this is going to be an emotional ride. I apologize now." He tossed the fireball into the screen and quickly retook his seat before the screen came back to life.

The world opened up to reveal a massive waterfall that fell into a valley. On either side of this waterfall were two massive statues carved from the rock itself. Both wearing traditional armor similar to what a samurai would wear. Each was facing the other with one hand raise and their index and middle fingers sticking up.

The one of the left was a woman with her hair in a half up-down bun style with a small, simple bun on the top, and the remainder of her long, straight hair hanging at the bottom. Most of her bangs were tied back, barring several large locks that framed her face to her left. The one on the right was a man with a simpler messy hair style.

Ozpin's hand tightened around his mug of coffee as he stared at the screen in shock. If it wasn't for the weird enchantment on the mug he probably would've shattered it with how hard he was gripping it. It had been an unfathomable amount of time but he would never forget what he looked like in his first life or the woman that was once the love of his life.

He came back to reality when Glynda put her hand on his shoulder. He turned to her in shock, "Are you okay, Ozpin?"

He closed his eyes and sighed, "Yes, Glynda. Just old memories." That was all he said a she took a sip from the mug he nearly broke.

Suddenly a figure jumped onto the massive fingers of the woman before jumping onto the head, the image too far away to get any proper details. But soon a second figure came to a grinding halt on top of the other statue's head. It was revealed to be Nora, wearing an orange and blue jacket with a white collar, a white swirl with a tassel on the left side, and her emblem on the back. She also wore orange pants with a shuriken holster on her right knee and blue sandals. A blue headband went over her forehead with a leaf emblem carved into it. Only real difference between this Nora and their own were three whisker-like marks on her cheeks. "Jaune!" she shouted.

"It's me! They sent me to retrieve our Fearless Leader!" Nora shouted in excitement with her hands in the air. No one could blame her, she hadn't seen much of herself in the other worlds so she was overjoyed to finally see herself. That made Ren smile and Pyrrha giggle at her teammate.

The screen panned over to the now named Jaune but only showed his back. He wore a navy blue, short-sleeved shirt with a high collar with the Arc emblem on the back and white shorts. He also had blue sandals with similar colored leg warms up to his knees which were wrapped in white wraps.

He just stood there for a minute or so before going to take another step forward. That caused Nora to shout, "Are you gonna run off again!?" That caused him to stop and slowly turn to face her and when she saw his face, she gasped. He had a neutral look on his face but he now had black flame-like marking of the left side of his face with the same eye having a black sclera and yellow iris.

Pyrrha gasped when she saw that, "What happened to him?" Most of the other students had similar thoughts and expressions as her.

"His eyes are so cold…" Ruby said quietly as she looked at him.

Ren turned to Phoenix, "I'm taking that this isn't something normal in this world, right?"

He shook his head, "No. Something happened to him. I pretty sure it'll be explained. But if not, I'll elaborate later."

"So it's you." He said evenly. "Hopeless little knucklehead." The two just stared at each other before he spoke up again, this time with a hint an aggravation to his tone, "She sent you, huh?"

Nora's eyes narrowed slightly as she remembered the words Pyrrha told her while breaking down into tears before she left, "I did everything I could. I tried, but I couldn't stop him from leaving the village. At this point, there's only one person who can stop him. Only one that can save him. Nora, it's all up to you."

"Nora. This is a once in a lifetime request. Bring him home. Please bring Jaune back to me."

"Is Pyrrha liking Jaune a universal constant or what?" Yang asked with a smirk. She was trying to lighten the mood since it was already feeling tense and they just started.

That did get Pyrrha to blush but aside from that, the mood barely improved any.

Jaune just looked at her with that same look on his face. Unmoved by Nora's appearance. "Like I already told Pyrrha. It's over. Just leave me alone."

That made Nora grit her teeth as he moved his hands to rest on his hips as he chuckled. "What's with you? What's with the angry face?" He asked mockingly with a grin now on his lips.

"What is with him?" Weiss asked. "He's never acted like that before. Right?" she asked as she turned to his teammates. "Right?"

They all shook their heads, "Never." Pyrrha said instantly.

"Something is definitely wrong with him." Nora said with narrowed eyes but didn't look away from the screen.

"We don't have the full story." Ren told her.

She just stared in shock as all the memories they shared came back to her. Herself, Jaune and Pyrrha being placed in the same team. Him giving her food while on their first training session with Qrow. Him asking her on advice when they were both struggling with advanced chakra control and eventually mastering it. Him nearly sacrificing his life to defend her's while on their first real mission. And finally, him telling her to save Pyrrha when they were fighting against an enemy neither of them were prepared for.

"Why?" Nora asked heartbroken as she clenched and unclenched her fist. "Why are you doing this to us, Jaune?" That seemed to shock him as she threw her arm to the side. "I don't get it! What happened to make you like this?! Why are you doing it?!"

"Yeah!" Nora shouted. "What gives?"

"People change, Miss Valkyrie." Ironwood said from the row behind them. "Sometimes for the worse. And that can be more so when you see battle and war."

"Especially when they don't accept help." Glynda added, remembering a few of her ex-students that went down similar paths.

There was a silence before he answered, "Why should you care what I do? It's my concern, not yours." She just stared at him in shock again. "I have my own path to follow now, and neither you nor anyone else can steer me from it." She grit her teeth again in anger. "I will tell you this much: My days of playing ninja with you kids at the Leaf village… Are done."

"All of our friends, they all risked their lives. And why? To save you!"

He just raised his arm dismissively, "Well wasn't that nice of them?" With that, he turned his back and started to walk away.

Yang's eyes turned red with that, "Okay, this Jaune is an asshole."

"I kinda agree." Blake said quietly.

He only stopped when he noticed a shadow below him starting to grow bigger. He quickly turned to see an irate Nora had jumped the gap at him. "Not so fast!" she shouted. "You're gonna tell me your comrades risked their lives for nothing?!"

"Get him, me!" Nora shouted.

"Knock some sense into him!" Yang added.

He looked unmoved as she tackled him to the ground. Once she was on top of him, she pulled her left fist back and punched him as hard as she could across his cheek. She was panting as she pulled her fist back. He had blood falling from the corner of his mouth as he turned his head to look at her properly before spitting blood onto her cheek. That pissed her off and she grabbed the collar of his shirt to pull him up. "My comrades, huh? If I'd stayed with comrades like you, I'd never had gotten this strong. Now I'm going to where Merlot is."

"Merlot?" Weiss questioned. "Who is that?"

"A madman, Miss Schnee." Ozpin said with an angry undertone as he glared at the screen. "A once brilliant man that gained an obsession with the Grimm. He tried to experiment with them and was one of the many factors that lead to the fall of Mountain Glenn."

That made a chill go down the spines of all of Team RWBY, having seen the destruction of the settlement firsthand. And the thought of Jaune trying to align himself with a man like that was unsettling to say the least.

"Are you out of you mind?" she asked, afraid. "Merlot killed the Third Hokage and did everything he could to destroy the Leaf village! Whatever it is that you're expecting of him, you think he's gonna give it to you for free?" He just stared at her impassively. "All he wants is to use your body like a new suit of clothes! There'll be nothing of you left! You'll never get out of there alive! You'll think I'll stand there and let you throw away your entire life?"

"Wait, he wants to do what with Jaune?!" Ruby said in a panic.

"That is just flashing me back to that horror movie we watched for movie night." Yang added with a grimace.

"Let me clarify." Phoenix said as he sat a bit more forward. "Merlot in this universe is one of the Three Sannin, a group of three legendary ninja from the Leaf village. In his quest for further power, he started to experiment with Forbidden Jutsu and eventually perfected his Immortality Jutsu."

"He's immortal?" Goodwitch aid in worry. The thought of that madman with eternal life was horrifying to say the least.

"In a sense." Phoenix added. "His soul cannot move on but his body still decays and dies. So every so often he needs a new body to possess and carry on with. That's what he wants with this version of Jaune."

"But why him?" Pyrrha asked.

"The Arc clan are well known for their abilities. Merlot hopes to add that power to his own by taking Jaune as his new vessel." That made all the viewers, for the most part, worry for the Jaune Arc of this world.

There was a long drawn out silence before he spoke again, "None of that matters now." He looked at her with a determined look on his face. "The only thing that matters to me is achieving my goal. If you insist on getting in my way, well, then it can't be helped." With that, he reached up and grabbed her by her collar with one hand.

"Well, if you aren't going to listen to reason, then I'll do this by force if I have to!" That just made him smile and start to chuckle.

"What have you got to laugh about?" she asked angrily.

"I remember you laughing the last time we met."

That made her eyes widen, 'The last time.' The memory of them on top of a hospital building, ready to fight came to her for a split second.

"We fought? Why?" Nora asked.

"Maybe it was more like a spar?" Pyrrha tried to alleviate her teammate's worry.

"Remember how thrilled you were at the thought of beating me to a bloody pulp? What's wrong? Where's your smile now?" he taunted.

"Shut up! That was different!" she denied. "Maybe I felt that way at first, but you were different then." She remembered the fight and how far it nearly went if it wasn't for Qrow intervening. She was shaking as she spoke, "I didn't mean- I never really wanted that kind of fight. Even now, I still don't."

"From the few flashes we just saw, I don't think that was all that was going on." Ren said truthfully. "Something else is going on here." That did not make his teammates feel any better.

"Why did Uncle Qrow intervene?" Ruby asked.

"The Qrow in this world is one of the more powerful and recognized ninja in the Leaf. He was assigned as the teacher of Jaune, Nora and Pyrrha's squad. It's his job to prepare them further for their career as ninja." The Writer explained.

"So I'm training them." Qrow asked. "Don't know if that is a trade up or down from Ruby." He said with a smirk.

"Hey!" Ruby shouted as she turned to her uncle. She knew he was joking but still. And Yang's laughing did not help things.

"I couldn't give a damn what you want." He told her seriously. With that one hand still on her collar, Jaune started to push her off him. And once he was on his feet, he kept raising her above the ground, still with one arm, effortlessly. She tried to struggle but his grip was like iron and he raised her above his head.

"He's that strong?" Blake asked. It wasn't the greatest feat of the strength any of them had seen before but in the context of this world, it was impressive.

He grinned and let out a malicious exhale. He dropped her but before she could touch the ground, he swung with the same arm and punched her as hard as he could in the stomach. They could hear some of her ribs crack as she coughed up blood before she was launched away and into the waters leading to the waterfall.

"Holy crap…" Yang said, stunned.

Taiyang nodded, "I agree. That's up there with your strength, Yang."

"And I'm guessing that isn't exactly normal here?" Qrow questioned the Writer and his answer was to just shake his head.

As she fell, Jaune looked down to his hand in shock, 'What is it? This sudden burst of power radiating from within me.' The then felt a twinge of pain as the marking on his face started to glow red before receding from his face. The markings retreated to the three tomoe mark on his neck and his eye reverted back to its usual color.

He started to chuckle again, "So this is the power he was talking about. I can feel it growing, flowing through my body. If that's what I'm capable of now, wait til I unseal this curse mark." That made him laugh again. "Imagine the power!"

"Curse Mark?" Weiss asked.

"Merlot branded him with that mark on his neck. It's infused with… A unique kind of power. He gave it to Jaune in hopes that he'll seek him out for even more power." Phoenix shrugged sadly. "And he was right."

"A classic manipulation." Winter shook her head. "So many fall from the right path because of it."

Qrow nodded, "On that, I agree with you."

The screen cut to Nora, sinking into the water, 'Incredible.' She thought to herself. 'He's changed. He never was this strong before.'

Jaune just stood there, staring down at the spot she fell into. He grinned when he saw her swim back to the surface and pull herself from the water in a crouch.

"I can stand on water?!" Nora asked in awe. "How?"

"Most experienced ninja can use their chakra to keep themselves from falling into water. It's a must have ability to help perfect their chakra control." The Writer quickly explained with a sip of coffee.

She just stared at him defiantly before she took off running across the water at him. "You're crazy, Jaune! Wake up, will ya!? Before it's too late!" She jumped when she was close enough to land on the statue's fingers before jumping at him again. Jaune had already taken to jumping down at her in that time. As they were about to collide, Nora tried to punch him but he effortlessly weaved out of the way before kicking her in the face.

As she was falling, he grabbed the pouch of ninja tools from the back of her belt before landing on the statue's fingers again. He just stared at her as she fell, more blood falling from her mouth as she crashed back into the water. "I have woken up. Don't you see? That guy who dreamed of a happy future full of peace and friendship…" He paused as Nora pulled herself from the water and back on shore. "He was the one who was asleep. That's why I left the village. That's why I've gone in search of power. It's not the future I dream of anymore."

"Only the past…" the screen showed his emblem on his back again. "That's where my dream lies."

"What does he even mean by that?" Blake asked.

The screen transitioned, showing a wooded area with a much younger Jaune crouched behind a tree. He looked over to the side and swallowed nervously as he looked at an older blonde woman with her hair tied back in a ponytail for convenience. Her eyes closed in concentration.

"Who's this?" Ruby asked.

"It might be one of his sisters." Nora pointed out. She then turned to her teammates. "Right?"

Ren nodded, "I think it makes sense. They look similar and she is entirely too young to be his mother."

Pyrrha was rubbing her chin in thought, "It might be Saphron. She looks a bit like how Jaune described her." She looked to Phoenix who nodded.

The next second she vanished before appearing high in the air, flipping over to be upside down with eight kunai held between her fingers on both hands. Her eyes still closed. The next second she started to throw all the kunai in quick succession and with extreme precision. When she landed on the ground in a crouch, all eight kunai had embedded themselves in eight different targets set up around the area. Each one dead center.

She kept her head down until she looked up, her eyes finally revealed to the audience. They had a deep red iris with three comma-shaped markings equidistant from each other around the pupil.

There was silence before Qrow let out a long, drawn out whistle, "That was impressive. I know several fully fledged Huntresses and Huntsmen that couldn't pull that maneuver off. And she's even younger than Ruby here."

"What is with her eyes?" Raven asked from her seat in the back. "There is something very unusual about them."

"That is the Sharingan." Phoenix answered. "They are eyes only achieved through the Arc Clan bloodline. It's why the entire clan is so well known."

"What do they even do?" Yang asked.

"May things honestly." The Writer started to count on his fingers. "See chakra, extreme perception, copy Jutsu, put someone under hypnosis through eye contact." He looked over to see everyone staring at him in shock.

"That would explain how powerful she is." Ironwood said after adjusting his collar slightly.

"The Sharingan only amplified what she could already do. Saphron was a prodigy long before she gained those eyes. She's only around thirteen in these memories and she's already a full-fledged shinobi, which most don't reach until their twenties at the earliest." Phoenix added.

"I don't know whether to be impressed or terrified." Tai joked slightly.

"The answer is both." Phoenix answered with a serious tone of voice that unnerved everyone.

The screen showed Jaune staring in awe as it shifted to show the entire clearing. The targets lining all over the boundary and one even behind a massive bolder. "Wow, Saphron. You nailed every target. Even the one in the blind spot behind the rock."

"That's just showing off." Ruby crossed her arms in an adorable pout.

"Jealous?" Yang asked with a slight shoulder bump. A huff was her only answer.

Jaune stood up in excitement with two kunai held in a reverse grip in hand. "Alright! Now it's my turn."

"No, Jaune. It's time to go." Saphron told him.

That made Jaune look at her with a pout, "What happened to the new shuriken Jutsu you promised to teach me, huh?"

"It'll have to wait til later. I have an important mission in the morning and I need to prepare for it."

He turned away with a huff, "You're such a big, fat liar."

Saphron looked at him with a small smile, her eyes reverted back to their normal blue, before it grew just slightly and motioned for him to come closer to her. Jaune gained a smile of his own and ran to her. "Sorry, Jaune." she said, smile still on her lips. "Maybe some other time." She then playfully flicked him in the forehead when he finally reached her.

That made Yang grin, "Reminds me of when we were younger." She threw her arm around her sister for a side hug. "Right, Sis."

Ruby grinned slightly, "Yeah, kinda."

"Ow." He said before he stared up to her. She gave a confused hum and he brandished his kunai again. "Ok, just watch this." He said confidently before taking off running.

The screen panned up to the sky as Saphron shouted, "Hey! Be careful!"

"Whoa!" Jaune shouted before they heard him tumble. "Ow!"

That made Nora laugh, "Okay, now that reminds me of the Fearless Leader we know and love."

Pyrrha giggled, "That's mean, Nora."

Yang smirked, "She's not exactly wrong though."

"Yang!" Ruby tried to reprimand her older sister but she herself was trying to stop herself from laughing too.

The screen then showed Saphron carrying Jaune in a piggyback as he chuckled. She turned to him, "How come the one who twisted his ankle is the one who's laughing? Or maybe you were just looking for a way to get out from walking home." She said with a grin.

"No way. That's not it." Jaune instantly denied. "It's just that I can't stop thinking how I'm finally going to start the academy tomorrow. Saphron turned back to watch where they were going as he thought, 'I'm gonna give it nothing but my best.'

Weiss smiled at the two, "The two seem very happy together."

Blake cocked her head to the side slightly, "But what changed?" Everyone just looked at her. "You don't just go from that to doing anything for power. Besides, why wouldn't they send Saphron to bring Jaune back instead of Nora. She's probably closer than Nora to him and she is definitely more experienced. "

"That's a good point." Ren agreed with a nod. "Guess we'll have to wait and see."

The screen then shifted back to the present, where Jaune was still staring down to Nora. She reached into her thigh holster to pull out a shuriken before running at him again. She threw it at him while she was still in motion. But Jaune jumped to the side and out of the way before throwing a kunai directly at her.

She quickly jumped to the side and got behind a boulder for cover. With that, Jaune pulled out two kunai and jumped into the air. He threw one at an angle that would cause it to fly over the boulder but while it was still in flight, he threw the second one at it. The two collided in air and sent the first one rocketing directly down at Nora, who gasped in shock.

"Looks like Saphron did teach him after all." Weiss said as she cringed.

"Move me!" shouted a panicked Nora.

When he landed he just saw a puff of smoke pop from behind, signaling he didn't hit her. He just scoffed before pulling a spool of wire to his mouth and pulling a length of it with his teeth.

Nora jumped from behind the boulder with a shout as Jaune threw eight shuriken, they all missed but Nora noticed each was tied with a wire. The shuriken went around the boulder and with a pull, the wired bond Nora to the rock, giving her no way to escape. She glared up at him as he just looked down at her, that one wire still in his mouth. "I'm warning you. You're making a big mistake."

"Like I said, a future with you guys isn't what I want anymore." he said, keeping the wired between his teeth. Nora gasped as she saw him weave several hand signs together.

"What's he doing now?" Blake asked, feeling unnerved.

'Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!' he commanded mentally and fire burst out from around him. The torrent of fire traveled down the wires, directly to the restrained Nora. She screamed as the flames consumed the boulder.

"Holy shit!" Yang yelled in shock.

"Mr. Arc can breathe fire?" Glynda asked in shock.

Phoenix nodded, "It's a Jutsu. Jutsu in this world are broken into three categories: Taijutsu, which is hand-to-hand. Genjutsu, which ensnares someone in an illusion. And Ninjutsu, which allows someone to create a technique based on one of the five elements: fire, water, wind, earth, or lightning. There are few exceptions but we won't worry about those now."

"He's not pulling any punches…" Blake said as she paled.

"Jaune…" Nora said in shock as she saw her other self being struck by the fire.

He just stared down at the fire he had created, impassively. That was until another fireball rocketed out from it and at him, which shocked him. The flames extinguished to reveal Nora had gotten free and was renewing her assault.

"How did you get out of that?" Pyrrha asked her teammate in shock.

"Get him, me!" Nora shouted with her fist extended, angry and annoyed by what this version of Jaune just tried to do.

She pulled her arm back with a shout, "Jaune!" She then punched him across the face again but that lasted only a second before she gasped. He just slowly turned back to her, unaffected. That just angered her further and punched him again. But still, he seemed unmoved.

'W-what's with him?' she questioned mentally as she resumed her assault of punches. Blood falling to the ground as she did. 'Why? Damn it!' Is all she thought when she stopped, knuckles covered with his blood.

"That the best you can do?" he questioned. He just grinned, not bothering to turn back to her "I thought you were stronger. Well, if that's all you've got, I guess I won't need it." He said as he nonchalantly wiped the blood from his lip.

"What is with him?" Weiss asked. "He just seems… Disconnected?"

"Power High." Said Raven and everyone turned to her.

"What?" Weiss asked in confusion.

"Some people after gaining power, allow it to go to their head. Almost like how some people act when they drink or use drugs. If he did get a great increase in power from this world's Merlot, it would explain everything. So consumed by his own strength that he feels invincible." Raven said with a shrug. "Whether he actually is, is up in the air though."

Everyone was silent for a bit before Phoenix nodded, "She's right. There's a couple more factors as well but she is right."

"What?" she questioned.

"Oh, come on. You haven't realized yet?" He finally turned back to her to show his still blue eyes. "I'm not using my Sharingan."

"So he has it too?" Ruby questioned.

"He is an Arc, Ruby." Yang pointed out.

"I know but we hadn't seen it yet, so I thought…" She stopped and her eyes widened. "He's been holding back… He's done all of this and he still isn't completely serious?!" she question in a mild panic. That made a chill go down everyone's spine.

"Don't mock me!" she shouted and threw another punch.

This time, Jaune caught it with his eyes closed. "You don't have what it takes, not the strength or the desire." He said as he opened his eyes again.

His mind went back to not all that long ago. Where he finally met up with his sister again. She was now wearing a black coat with red clouds and she grabbed him by the neck and held him against a wall. "You're still too weak." She said coldly. "You don't have enough hate." She leant in closer to whisper into his ear, "And you know something? You never will."

"What the hell?" Yang questioned. "What was that about?"

"A falling out?" Blake questioned.

"I think it's a bit more severe than that." Ren said, still analyzing the screen to try and finally figure out what was going on.

Back to the present, Jaune was just staring at Nora, "If I'd just kept palling around with you guys…" He effortlessly threw her back with the same arm before jumping after her. He flipped around and started delivering a barrage of thrust kicks into her stomach. "I would never have been able to gain this much power!" With one last kick, he sent her blasting into the stone below.

When she hit, she kicked up quite a bit of dust and he landed gracefully just outside the radius. He then threw the bag of ninja tools he stole from her over his shoulder. It landed just outside the small crater she was laying in. "So, now I know what is needed of me." He slowly looked to the sky, "Only through hatred and power can I hope to surpass my sister."

"He just wants to surpass Saphron?" Weiss questioned with an indignant tone. Sure, she could understand that to a certain extent. She would love to eventually be at Winter's level or above. But there were some lines she would never cross to obtain that.

"There has to be more to it." Pyrrha said with a hard tone, trying to believe in the Jaune she knew was still in this version of himself.

He was just staring for a couple minutes in thought before he looked down again. Nora was pulling herself from the crater before picking up the bag od ninja tools. "I hope that woke you up." Jaune said condescendingly. "Now you know I'm not messing around." Nora just attached the bag to her belt without speaking. "We had a bit of an interruption that day. But that won't happen this time." Nora just clenched her teeth again with a growl.

"Let me show you the true power of the Sharingan." Jaune said as his eyes shifted to a deep red but with only two tomoe in each eye.

"Wait, why are they different?" Ruby asked. "They're not exactly like Saphron's."

"They aren't fully matured yet." Phoenix explained. "When they are unlocked, they usually have one tomoe, the comma-like design, in each eye. But as the user and eyes mature, they gain more until each eye has three."

"So they aren't at full strength." Ironwood surmised. "Which makes him overconfident or shows how strong he is even at this incomplete stage."

"If Merlot wants him, I'd assume the latter, James." Ozpin made his point known with a slight edge to his voice.

"Ok." Nora said, trying to sound confident. "I guess that means I can stop going easy on you. Go ahead and fire up that Sharingan of yours. I don't want you to miss a thing when I hit you with my Way of the Shinobi." She said as she pointed her thumb to herself.

That just made him scoff as she crossed the index and middle fingers on both her hands together. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" she shouted before ten exact copies of herself appeared around her.

"I can make clones of myself?!" she shouted in shock and awe.

The Writer nodded, "Yes. It's actually a very difficult Jutsu to learn and not only have you mastered it but you can use it at a level very few can."

"I need to learn that." She said with a steely determination.

"Please, no." Glynda said, less asking and more demanding. "I already have to clean up enough of your messes with only one of you, Miss Valkyrie." That made the girl cross her arms with a pout.

Jaune just chuckled before running at them. With each hit, the clones would pop into smoke. None of them able to withstand Jaune's strength as he took them down with ruthless precision. "What good will that do you? Ten times zero is still zero."

Once the last clone was dealt with, he appeared right beside her, holding her fist so she couldn't attack. He just smirked, "Thanks to the Sharingan I knew which was the real you all the time. I played along for old time's sake." He chuckled again, "But now, playtime's over."

With that he delivered a devastating uppercut to her chin to force her into the air. He followed that up with a spin kick to her stomach to send her flying away again. He made several hand signs before inhaling, 'Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!' He exhaled and released a massive fireball at his former comrade while she was still in the air.

Jaune watched until the fire died out, leaving a charred section of forest in its wake. He then turned to the side, "Is that really you've got?" he question on untouched section of the woods. "Come on. After all that big talk, that's it? That's your way of the Shinobi?"

"Why is he antagonizing her?" Ironwood asked as he rubbed his chin.

"What do you mean, sir?" Winter asked.

"If his objective were to stop Miss Valkyrie and get away to meet with Merlot, he would just need to incapacitate her and go. But instead, he keeps egging her on so she'll keep fighting him. It's just counterintuitive."

"Maybe he has something else planned, James." Qrow said, not taking his eyes off the screen but they did narrow slightly. "I have a bad feeling about this and I'm hoping I'm wrong."

Nora was shown kneeling in the bushes, trying to regain her breath after that last close call. Once her breathing was back in order, she stood up and walked back into the clearing. Jaune turned back to her, "You still think we're on the same team, don't you?" He grinned and looked down slightly, "If you're not convinced yet, I'll just have to spell it out for you!" he shouted as he raced towards her again.

He punched her hard in the chest but she use that momentum to flip onto the tree behind her before kicking off of it to gain space between them. He jumped after her for another punch, "What are you waiting for?" he questioned. "I wanna see what the number one, hyperactive, knucklehead ninja has got." He shouted as he kept sending punch after punch at her.

"You know, besides the ninja part, that is a great descriptor for Nora." Yang said with a smirk at the resident hammer wielder.

"Hey!" Nora said indignantly before standing up with her bucket of popcorn above her head. "This is a declaration of war."

"No, it's not." Phoenix said. "You make a mess, you're cleaning it." Nora just glared over at the Writer in a star off until his lips curled into a smirk. She huffed and fell back into her seat, stuffing a handful of popcorn into her mouth defiantly.

Nora crossed her arms to defend against his onslaught until Jaune used a spin kick to break her guard. He then landed a hard punch to her chest, hearing more of her ribs crack. She coughed up blood before being sent plummeting into the waters below once again. 'No matter what darkness may await me, I will meet it head on. And whatever happens, I will get that power.'

As Jaune thought back to the past, the screen showed the memories he was reliving. It was back to the younger version of himself, running home as the moon was now out, 'It's getting pretty late.' He thought to himself.

As he was moving he saw what looked like a person crouching on top of an electric pole. But when he stopped to look properly, no one was there.

"Oh, that isn't good." Yang cringed.

"Classic horror movie vibe." Ruby agreed but was nervous with what was about to happen next.

'What was that?' he thought. 'I could've sworn there was someone there.' He looked back down to the street and his eyes widened in realization. 'The light… It's too early for everyone to be in bed.' He took off down the street again but slid to a stop as he was about to head down a side road, "What is this? W-what is going on?"

The street was completely littered with the corpses of all his clan members. Whether they tried to fight or run, they all laid in the street, brutally murdered. Streaks and pools of blood everywhere.

"Oh my gods…" Blake said in shock, just staring at the carnage.

"Is it really the entire clan?" Pyrrha asked looking to Phoenix. His response was a sad nod.

"Who would do this?" Nora asked in shock.

Phoenix's response was to close his eyes for a second before turning back to the screen. All the adults in the room had a sneaking suspicion with that response. Each one looking at each other with barely hidden worry. All except Raven, who just glared at the screen, 'Did she do it? And if so, why?'

"Oh no." he realized. "Father and mother!" he panicked and quickly raced down the street. It didn't take him long to get to his home and slide open the door. "Father? Mother?" he called into the house but when he didn't hear them, he slowly started to make his way inside.

He carefully looked in every room finding nothing. That was until he heard a noise coming from one of the other rooms and rushed to find out what it was. He finally reached his parent's door but before he could open it, he felt this chill go up his spine and he stopped, 'Somebody's in here…'

"Don't open the door…" Weiss said weakly.

"We all know he's going to." Yang said in resignation, ready to shield Ruby if the worst happen.

He stood there shaking in fear before he started to command himself to move. And with shaky hands, he grabbed the handles of the door before opening them, "Father! Mother!" He shouted as he walked in. But stopped when he saw their bodies lying on top of one another in the center of the room. Dead like all the others.

He heard someone slowly walking from the other side of the room but couldn't see them from the darkness. He instinctually took a step back in fear. Only when the figure stepped into the moonlight did he see who it was. Dressed in their full ninja garb with their Sharingan active was none other than Saphron.

Silence filled the theater after that. Phoenix turned back to see the shock and heartbreak on all the students faces, not fully expecting this turn of events. Meanwhile the adult's had more of a grim resignation.

"Why?" Ruby asked shakily as her eyes began to tear up. "Why would she do this?"

"Big sister!" he shouted. "Saphron… Father and Mother are both… I don't understand. Who could do all this." He stopped when a shuriken whizzed past his shoulder and dug into the door behind him. A second later his shirt split showing a cut on his shoulder.

He grabbed his wound on instinct, "Wait a sec… What are you…" Realization finally sank in and he stared at his sister in utter confusion. "What have you done? Big sister!"

She just stared at him coldly, "Foolish little brother. I almost pity you." She closed her eyes before opening them again. "Mangekyo Sharingan!" With that command, the tomoe in her Sharingan shifted until a three-point shuriken-like design was now on her eyes. As soon as she made eye contact, all the events that has transpired that night filtered into her brothers mind.

"What Sharingan?" Qrow asked. "What the hell happened to her eyes?"

"I'm more concerned for the kid, Qrow." Tai said with a slight edge. "A child is witnessing the slaughter of his family… There's no telling what this'll do to him…"

All the students just stared at the screen in fear and shock for the younger version of their friend and/or crush.

He screamed before gripping his head, "Stop it! Saphron, why are you showing me all this?! Why… Why did you do this, sister?" He screamed again before vomiting onto the floor and collapsing beside it. With that done, Saphron's eyes shifted back to their normal blues.

As he was lying on the ground, he looked back up to his sister, "Why did you do this? Saphron, why?"

"To test the limits of my ability." She said coldly.

"That's why you did this?" Jaune questioned. "You're telling me that was why you butchered them?"

She just closed her eyes and kept speaking in that cold tone, "It's of great importance."

"That's why she did this?" Raven said angrily.

"Careful there, Raven." Winter said dismissively. "That almost sounded human."

"What do you know, you pretentious, little soldier!?" Raven shouted, shocking everyone. Even Phoenix looked on in confusion. "You think you know anything about me, about any of this!? Just from a few things you heard from your superior! You may be a soldier but it looks like you kept that damned Jacques Schnee arrogance!" She stood up from her chair as she was shouting.

Qrow quickly stood from his chair and made his way over to his sister. Arms up in a placating manner. "Whoa, Raven. Calm down."

She ignored him but kept staring at the stunned specialist. "Yes, I am a leader of bandits but my tribe is the one thing I care about most. Every decision I make is for the betterment of them, to make sure they survive. So, yes, it does infuriate me to think of someone betraying everyone around them just for the sake of power."

Her eyes snapped over to Ozpin, "And you!" She said threateningly as Qrow got himself between Raven and Ozpin. "So quick to paint me the villain. Well excuse me when I get upset when I find out that my teacher was just grooming me and my team to just be another set of pawns in his unwinnable war. Let me make this clear to you, Old Man-"

"That's enough, Raven!" Qrow said with an edge. She was just staring into his sisters eyes.

Raven just glared at him before pushing him back, "You're a damned fool." She said evenly but still with an edge. "You'll sacrifice everything you have, everything you are for him. Well, fell free to do that. But keep me out of it." She then turned around and walked out of the theater.

Everyone just stared on in shock, no one expecting that. Winter looked down slightly, no entirely sure on how to react after all that had been said. Ozpin had closed his eyes and taking a long sip from his coffee. He couldn't really deny what Raven had accused him of, as much as he wanted to.

Qrow sighed and ran a hand down his face. He slowly looked to the Writer, "I'll go get her." He said in a weak tone.

Phoenix shook his head, "That's alright, let her go. I think she needs some space." Qrow eventually took his seat again and the screen continued from where it left off. Phoenix looked at the door for a few extra seconds, 'Wasn't expecting that, honestly. Wonder what'll come from it?'

"What are you saying?" he questioned as he tried to push himself up from the ground. He shouted as he rushed his older sister with tears down his eyes, "You're out of your mind!" She punched him in the stomach as hard as she could once he was close enough. Knocking the air from his lungs before he collapsed to the ground in pain.

He slowly looked back up, trying to comprehend what was going on and as he did, tears started to form in his eyes. He looked down and started to cry but was stopped when Saphron took a single step closer to her little brother. He looked up at her in fear before pushing himself away and to his feet, 'I'm scared… I'm scared!' He then ran away as fast as he could while screaming. The entire time, she just watched him go. Not even batting an eye at his terror.

"This is so hard to watch." Ruby said brokenly, tears starting to escape her eyes. She buried her face into her sister's shoulder.

Yang reached up and gently started to run her hand through her hair. "I know, Rubes. I know." She was just as heartbroken but she was giving a red eye glare to the older sister on the screen.

He was running down the street, frantically trying to get away as tears poured from his eyes, "Please! I don't wanna die!"

He came to a stop when Saphron reappeared in front of him, blocking his path. That cold look still on her face. He just stared at her, breathing erratically from the sheer terror he was feeling in this moment. "This is a lie. This isn't like you, Big Sister. It can't be."

"I have acted like the older sister you desired for one reason." She interrupted him callously. "Because I wanted to discover how powerful you were." That got a startled look from him. "I needed to find a worthy opponent to test the limits of my own abilities. You have that unique potential. Now I've made you hate me. Now you have the desire to defeat me… Which is exactly why I'm going to allow you to live."

Ren's eyes widened, "That's it…"

"Ren?" Nora turned to her partner with a raised eyebrow.

"That's why this Jaune is going so far for power. He wants it to defeat Saphron."

"Not defeat…" Winter said with a realization and hard look in her eyes. "To kill."

"Don't you see?" She asked rhetorically. "It's all for my own benefit. Like me, you may be one of the few who can use the Mangekyo Sharingan."

At that moment, the wind started to pick up and the screen looked to the full moon above. "But there is a catch." Jaune just stared at her, fear still holding tight to him while Saphron bore into him with an intensity that was intimidating. "Take the life of your best friend. You must kill them."

Jaune's eyes widened at that, "That's a lie…" he barely managed to whisper.

"Kill them. Just like I did." She told him.

That jogged his memory, remembering a few of his clan members questioning Saphron on the death of another Uchiha, Terra. "You're saying that was you? Saphron, you killed Terra?"

"I did." She said without a beat of hesitation. "How else do you think I obtained these powers?" That just shook him even further, this pit of fear he was in was more than most people could take. "If you discover how to activate it, you will be the third person to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan, including myself. To ensure that happens…" She chuckled slightly, "That's enough reason to let you live. Well, that's all."

"I can't believe this." Pyrrha said weakly. "This is nothing like the Saphron Jaune told us about."

"Things here are different, Pyrrha." Ren said with that monotone voice but those that knew him could hear the slight forlorn tone to it. "We've seen how different people can be in these worlds. This is just one of them."

"Were those eyes even worth it?" Nora asked, a mix of anger and sorrow in her voice.

Phoenix shrugged, "They are very, very powerful, Nora. I won't go into all the details about what they can do but they can do everything the originals can do but far better. Whether they are worth it or not is up to the person who has them."

She shifted her foot to walk away but that was enough for Jaune to jump back slightly in fear. She just gazed at him with that intense glare, "Oh, don't worry. You're not worth killing, my foolish little brother." She said dismissively as she closed her eyes. "If you wish to kill me one day, in hate and revenge, surviving in such an unsightly manner as this, by all means, flee. Cling to your wretched life and then, one day, when you possess the same eyes…" She opened her eyes, revealing her Mangekyo Sharingan once again. "Come back and face me."

She activated her technique and Jaune passed out, collapsing to the ground.

Tai gently massaged his forehead after witnessing all of that. "No wonder why the kid is so messed up. After all of that, I'm surprised it took this long for him to break."

As that was being said, most of the siblings were going through their own mental struggles. Ruby was still crying, not even wanting to think about a situation that would make her hate her big sister to any extent, let alone that. Yang was just horrified at the thought of what she would have to do to make her baby sister want to kill her.

Weiss was going through much the same, she couldn't fathom wanting to ever kill Winter. But then she thought about Whitley and the possibility of him not only hating her but wanting her dead. Their relationship wasn't great but it wouldn't get that bad, would it? Winter was also thinking of the possibility of her siblings hating her that much and it hurt her in so many ways. And the realization of how bad her relationship with her only brother was through this lens made it hit even harder.

And Qrow just sat in silence about his own strained relationship with Raven. He always held onto the hope of Raven coming back or at the very least, stopping what she was doing. But in the back of his mind, he knew that if she ever got too far out of line, he knew it'd have to be him to stop her. One way or the other. And that still made a chill climb up his spine because despite it all, she was still family. She was still his sister.

Jaune came back to reality when Nora finally pulled herself from the waters below. As she crouched over the surface of the water, she thought to herself, 'He really wants to kill me. I can't believe it.' She just glared up at him as he just closed his eyes for a few seconds. "What am I to you now? We were comrades. Or have you just forgotten all about that? Are you telling me that all the things we did together in Squad 7 mean absolutely nothing to you now?"

"No." he said simply but intensely. "They weren't meaningless. One thing was worthwhile. Our friendship." He opened his eyes, revealing his Sharingan again. "We became best friends."

"Damn it." Qrow said angrily as he took the second to last shot from hi flask. "I knew it."

When he said that, realization started to wash over the viewers. Nora's jaw dropped, "No…"

Nora managed to stand up and look at him in shock, "We became best friends?" she asked. Never expecting those words to come from Jaune in a million years. "Then why are we fighting?!"

"I just told you." He cut her off. "Because we're friends, there's far more meaning in killing you."

"I can't understand that." She told him simply. "But what I know is that for some reason, you want to kill me. Right, Jaune!?" With that they both took off, Nora running vertically up the statue he was on while Jaune was running down it at the same speed. Once they were on each other, both went for a punch but the other managed to catch it with their other hand, ending it in a deadlock.

"I know I said this already but be honest with yourself." Jaune spoke up. "You've been waiting for this moment too. Qrow and Pyrrha aren't here now. Nobody is going to stop us like last time."

"You lousy..!" Nora shouted and spun but stopped when she felt Jaune reach into her bag. He pulled out a kunai as he let gravity take hold of him and he fell from the statue.

"This time we settle it, once and for all!" he shouted to her as he was falling. "It will be the end of you!" He threw the kunai at her but she was able to throw a shuriken just in time to deflect it. But with that diversion, he managed to get a hold of the statue again, close the distance and kick her in the chin. The force was hard enough to send her falling once again.

"Is it just me or does everything feel so much more tense now?" Yang asked, the hand that wasn't around her sister was shaking slightly.

Blake shook her head, "No, you're right. We now know what this Jaune wants. We know what this fight is really about…"

"How is this going to end?" Ruby asked, still shaking against Yang's side as the occasional tear escaped her.

He jumped to the side before performing a few hand signals. He then extended his left arm and gripped the wrist with his other hand. Lightning started to crackle around his hand in a display of power as the air was filled with sounds that almost sounded like birds, "Chidori!"

"He has lightning too!?" Nora shouted in shock.

Phoenix nodded, "This Jaune can use fire and lightning pretty easily. It's an achievement that someone his age has mastered two of the five elements. Most top ninjas usually have only two or three under their belts."

"How powerful is this technique?" Ozpin asked.

"Very. The user condensing the lightning into their hand and then races at their target at a heightened speed. That allows them to strike through most targets. But because of the sheer speed, it's too dangerous for anyone without the Sharingan to use."

Nora stared wide eyed at the screen as she heard that but snapped out of it was she felt Ren gently place his arm over her shoulder. She looked at him in shock before leaning into his side, trying to take comfort from her partner.

Nora managed to flip and land on the water this time, regaining her balance to stand on it. She then looked back up to him, "You idiot. Right back at you, pal! I'll beat you into oblivion if that's what it takes to bring you back home!" She crossed her finger again, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" This time only one appeared on her right.

Jaune jumped from the cliff, landing in the water with a massive splash. Nora had her right hand back while her clone made several circular motions over it. Tendrils of whipping chakra were forming and wrapping together with the two's effort until a sphere of rotating chakra was in her hand, "Rasengan!"

"What is that?" Weiss asked in curiosity.

"The Rasengan." Phoenix said with a grin. "This Nora's strongest Jutsu. So complex to use and difficult to learn that only two people besides Nora can use it. Three if we count the creator but he is gone."

"How complicated is it, exactly?" Winter asked the question most were thinking.

"Very." Phoenix raised his hand and fire erupted from it to feel the air in front of the screen. "First, the person must learn to rotate their Chakra erratically." The fire started to move until it became numerous trails of fire, rotating very quickly. "Second, they must release an intense amount on chakra from the hand as well." More flame started to come to life from the center of all the rings, threatening to burst out. "Finally, the user must control and condense it all together." All the fire started to shrink to form an orb half the size with fired spinning exactly like the move on screen. "By doing that, the technique stabilizes with the rotation and power increase many time over."

A few seconds after the explanation, the visual aid extinguished itself. Ozpin turned to the Writer, "And this Miss Valkyrie mastered it?"

"Somewhat. Usually someone would form it in their palm and control it all mentally but this Nora uses a Shadow Clone to cover half of the steps as a shortcut."

"What does it do?!" Nora asked excitedly after hearing that but staying tucked into Ren's side. Phoenix just motioned to the screen.

Jaune took off at her at top speed while Nora's clone spun her around to gain speed before throwing her at him. The clone disappearing once it did its job. As the two were about to meet, the kunai from before landed between them, sinking into the water.

"That's how fast they were going?" Pyrrha muttered to herself.

The two attacks clashed, dead even with one another as power erupted around them. The two just stared at each other while the water around them was being pushed back from their attacks. Eventually the buildup was too much and they were both sent flying back from the sheer force of their attacks. Jaune had his arms crossed in front of him and he slid back on the water. Meanwhile Nora was tumbling end over end on the water. Before coming to a stop and sinking.

"That's what those attacks did?" Ironwood asked in shock.

"Who even taught them that?" Glynda asked in shock and anger. Whoever taught them such dangerous techniques was going to be in for it if she ever met them.

Phoenix grin took on a more mischievous look, "Well, Qrow was the one that taught Jaune the Chidori, he was the one to develop the move." That made Qrow pale as Glynda leveled him with a glare. "And Port was the one to teach the Rasengan to Nora."

That made her facepalm, "Of course he would…"

Jaune swam back to the surface before pulling himself up to crouch on the water. He just looked over to where they had collided as he was panting, 'Damn it. She was able to counter my Chidori at its full power.' He watched as Nora slowly but surely rose back to the surface, just lying there and staring up at the sky. 'Nora…' he thought angrily. 'I can't waste another blow, it would be pointless. All we'll do is cancel each other out again.'

Meanwhile, Nora was still laying in the water, staring at the sky with a heartbroken expression on her face. 'That's it. There's no mistaking it now.' She slowly turned her head to look at him directly. 'You're dead serious about this, aren't you?' She turned around before slowly pulling herself from the water to crouch on it as well, 'You really mean to…' that heartbroken look was now directed at him. 'Jaune.'

All the students turned to Nora in worry. She was just staring at the screen, her face mirroring the look of her variant on screen. The big difference was that tears were pouring from her eyes but not a peep came from her.

'I'll have to use some of my faster Jutsu to create an opening. ' He thought to himself. The mark on his neck started to glow and spread across his body. 'And then, I'll hit her with Chidori.' He just looked at her with a bloodthirsty grin. The patterns of his Curse Mark going across his face now. When they stopped, he that those same flame-like patterns across most of his exposed skin.

"It appears that Mr. Arc is done with toying with Miss Valkyrie." Ozpin said with a grim tone to his voice. He gently placed his coffee mug down on the cup holder before sitting up a bit straighter in his seat. "He is completely set on completing his goal."

That made all the students tense. Ren's arm held Nora closer to him while Pyrrha took her teammate's hand in her own.

"You know what they say, don't you, Nora? When two shinobi are powerful enough, they are able to read each other's thoughts simply by an exchange of fists, without ever uttering a single word. Get it?"

Nora didn't respond, just kept looking at him brokenly. "You've always been naïve, Nora." He continued. "Tell me, do you know my thoughts?" She glared at him, "Can you tell what's on my mind?!"

He performed more hand signs before breathing in, 'Fire Style: Phoenix Flame Jutsu!' He breathed out a volley of smaller fireballs directly at her but Nora jumped into the air to avoid them. But when she did, he was already in the air. He punched her across the face again, sending her back to the water below.

Everyone tensed at that first blow. The power he had been using was still there but there was now a savagery or brutality behind it that put them further on edge.

'Jaune, I always knew that you were alone.' She thought to herself. 'At first, when I realized there was someone else like me around, I was relieved. And happy too. To tell the truth, I wanted to approach you right off the bat.' She crashed into the water below.

'But I just couldn't work up the nerve. You were always able to do everything, and everyone was always fawning over you.' She managed to stand up as Jaune landed behind her, delivering another powerful punch to her stomach.

'You were so far ahead of me and didn't want to admit it, so I started to see you as my rival. I didn't want to lose to you. And with everyone calling me a loser, it just made things worse. Even when we became Squad 7, I never stopped feeling that way. I was stubborn and I couldn't express what I really felt.' She took another strong punch to the jaw.

'The truth is I really just wanted to be like you. You were… You were everything I aspire to. That's why…'

She remembered a conversation not long ago, 'You're one of the ones I want to fight the most.' He told her with a competitive but happy smile.

'You have no idea how happy you made me that day. It was the first time you ever said anything acknowledging me.'

"Man, this is not helping." Yang said as she rubbed at her own eyes. They had started watering as the Nora on screen started to bare her soul unknowingly to them all.

"Now we know why she is going so far for him." Pyrrha said as she gently dabbed her own eyes with a napkin.

She was being held by the front of her shirt as Jaune raised her into the air. His left hand holding a Chidori again. 'You and I don't need to come to blows to know each other's thoughts anyway. Ever since that day, even though we've never said it, the truth is you and I are friends.

'It's not insignificant to me.' Jaune thought with an edge. 'There's no question… You are my closest friend.'

'But now, you're seriously trying to take me out.' She thought as this orange chakra started to envelop her like fire. 'And I don't really know if you meant what you said before or not.' Her canines started to elongate and sharpen while her whisker-like marking got thicker and more wild looking. Jaune's eyes widened in shock. 'Maybe I was the only one who thought…' He finger nails grew out and sharpened, like claws. 'Who thought we were friends.'

"What's happening to her?" Blake asked in worry. She didn't know why but something about this was putting her on edge.

"Jaune's not the only one with an ace up his sleeve." Phoenix said cryptically.

Jaune just tsked, "I told you, it's too late, Nora!" He threw his arm forward and Nora's eyes, which were now blood red but with a slit pupil, widened. Blood fell into the water as they all heard the attack land.

"What happened?" Ruby asked in a panic, tears still forming. "Did he actually do it? Is she…"

Nora grit her teeth as blood fell from the corner of her mouth. 'If that's the case, then… Then how stupid am I? I.. I can't help it. I don't know why. I don't know why, but… But I… I just can't bear the thought of seeing you taken away by someone like Merlot.'

The screen showed that Jaune's arm went through Nora. The marks on his body were receding as he spoke up, "You managed to divert the blow with your left hand at the last second. But in the end, it doesn't matter, does it?" He pulled his arm free, revealing the massive hole on the right side of her chest. "You can forget about hand signs and that Jutsu of yours." He grabbed her by the throat. 'This is the end.'

"She's gotta do something, quick!" Nora said in a frantic tone.

Nora's left hand snapped up to grab his wrist, that same chakra erupting around her again. Jaune shouted in pain before jumping back. Nora landed on her feet as that chakra kept pouring out of her. He just stared at her as he held his wrist, 'What is this red chakra? Where is she getting this kind of power?'

His eyes widened in shock as he got the mental image of a massive fox with nine tails standing behind her, ready to attack. 'What is this?' He questioned, as her massive wound was already healing completely. 'The wound in her shoulder… It's vanishing. I don't believe it.'

"What is going on? What is that?" Blake asked wide eyed.

"The Nine-Tailed Fox." Phoenix said with a dark tone. "In this world, there are nine massive creatures of chakra. Each recognizable by their number of tails, ranging from one to nine. Each one equivalent to a natural cataclysm. The more powerful villages over the generations have been capturing these beasts and sealing them within people, in hopes of keeping them contained and to use their power. They are known as Jinchuriki."

He turned to the viewers, "When Nora was just born, the Nine-Tail Fox was sealed within her to stop it from destroying the Leaf Village. Her isolation within the village is because of the fear of a child holding the power of the arguably strongest Tailed Beast."

They all felt nervous by just the tone in which Phoenix was speaking. Ironwood cleared his throat slightly, "So she is using that Beast's power then."

"Just the smallest bit." The Writer added.

She finally looked at him with blood falling from her mouth and tears in her eyes. "Jaune." she said, her voice holding a rougher quality to it. "I'm not letting Merlot take you away! Do you understand me?" Her arms were crossed over her chest with her clawed hands facing him. "I'll break every single bone in your body if that's what it takes to stop you! You're not going anywhere!"

"You sound almost feral…" Pyrrha said nervously.

"Her anger is tied to her transformation." The Writer explained. "When she reaches a certain threshold, that is when the Nine-Tail Foxes power starts to manifest."

"Good thing Yang doesn't have it then…" Weiss said seriously.

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" she tried to deny but no one was close to believing that.

With a scream, she punched the air in front of herself. That send a wave of air towards her best friend. Not expecting that, Jaune was knocked backwards off his feet. That gave her enough time to clear the distance between them and land her own devastating punch to his stomach, knocking the air from him. She followed that up with four more punches in rapid succession, each one pushing him higher into the air before she finished the combo with a vertical thrust kick to his chin. That sent him flipping backwards and even tumbling across the water before he righted himself.

"Looks like she has leveled the scales a bit." Ren said as he still held his partner but loosened his grip just slightly.

"Show him what you got!" She shouted to her other self, there was a good deal of anger in her voice but also excitement for her other getting back in the fight. "Kick his butt and bring him home!"

He quickly looked around when he was back on his feet before looking up in shock. Nora was already above him with both fist clasped together and brought them down on top of his head. That sent him rocketing into the water below with such intensity that the water stayed displaced for several moment before filling the empty space once again. Nora just shouted into the air after that assault.

"How did she even do that?" Qrow questioned.

"That Fox increased her strength by that much?" Tai asked with a whistle.

"Mr. Arc maybe in trouble now." Goodwitch added, slightly worried about what kind of shape he would be in after this intense assault.

That moment of reprieve didn't last long as Jaune rocketed out of the water to charge at her again. She met him head on with that amazing speed she has displayed before. She jumped into the air and caught him with a roundhouse kick he just barely defended against.

He landed on the water off balanced as Nora landed another thrust kick to his chest and a follow up punch that kept him on the back foot. She went for another punch but he ducked under it. That was when she hit him with another before kicking off his chest. That sent him onto his back as she was propelled to the cliffside behind her. She jumped off that to get above him yet again.

Learning from the last time, he quickly formed some familiar hand signs, 'Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!' Launching the massive ball of flame as she was coming down. The flame was about to overtake her as she let out another scream. The air displaced from it snuffed out the fire and pinned him to the water's surface from the pressure. With no way to dodge, Nora stomped on him with both legs and sent him into the water.

"I think Nora has this!" Yang said with a grin. "Now that she isn't holding back, it looks like she is more than match for him."

Blake nodded, "Maybe he was just being overconfident."

"I wouldn't write him off." Ozpin said while watching the screen closely. "This is just a slight shift in the battle but things could easily change to be back in his favor. This won't be over until one of them is incapacitated."

While underwater, Nora managed to hit him twice more with her insane speed before both jumped from the water and into the air, yet again. Nora kicked him again before grabbing both his legs. She flipped them both in the air several times before throwing him with a shout. He crashed into the cliffside and the impact shattered massive boulders that tumbled into the waters below.

Nora landed on top of him, standing horizontally on the cliff as she reached down to grab his shirt, "Now let's go. Enough is enough. Snap out of it already." He still had his eyes closed with a look of pain on his face. "If you don't come back to your senses then I'm just going to have to break every bone and drag you back to the village. So get up, Jaune."

He slowly opened his eyes and spoke in a rough and emotional voice, "Just shut up for once. What the hell do you know about it? It's not like you ever had a family in the first place."

With that one sentence, it felt like some of the warmth was pulled from the viewing room.

That got a shocked look from her as he glared at her, "You were on your own right from the beginning! What makes you think you know anything about it, huh?!" A picture of his family filled Jaune's mind in that moment. "I'm suffering now because I had those ties. How on earth could you possibly understand what it feels like to lose all that?!" With that, he forced his way to his feet and tackled them both from the cliffside.

All of the students turned to look at Nora but she was just looking down to the ground, her hair hiding her eyes. Even though it wasn't her and it wasn't her Fearless Leader, the barb dug deep. And it truly hurt. She had Ren and her team now but aside from that, she still had no one who cared for her. Aside from them, she was still alone in this world.

They fell before crashing onto the rocks, rolling off to continue to the waters below. The landed on the water but coincidentally, two logs were floating in the water. With their skills, they managed to get them to stand vertically while they stood on the tops, facing each other.

Nora just looked down sadly as Jaune continued to glare at her. 'It's true. I have no idea what it's like having parents or a sister. But… Whenever I'm with Oobleck Sensei, I wonder… I wonder if that's what it feels like to have a father. And, when I'm with you… I wonder if this is what it feels like to have a brother.'

That made Nora slowly look up to the screen, eyes a bit misty. That was something they had in common. She may tease and pick on Jaune, but if she was being honest, Jaune was definitely her brother. Even though she never told him that. 'Maybe I should… It's not like I'm a shamed of it. Plus, it would be nice if he saw me like a sister.'

Jaune just looked down, "Why, Nora? Why would go so far for me?"

"Because this is the first time I've ever had a bond like this." She answered with a smile. "That's why I'll do anything I can to stop you."

"Come on, reach him." Nora said just loud enough for the students to hear her.

Jaune just closed his eyes for several seconds before pulling something from his pocket, "It's too late, Nora." He started to tie it around his head, "It's just too late." He looked at her, showing he now had his headband on. "I can't turn back." He said in resigned determination.

"No…" she said brokenly, knowing now that it could only end one of two ways and she didn't want to see either one.

He then stomped down on his log, splitting it into pieces. As he landed on the water, he grabbed a piece of the falling wood and threw it at her log. It stuck in before splitting it as well. She fell on the water but barely kept her balance.

The screen then focused on his eyes which showed the tomoe in his eye shifting as a third one manifested in it.

"What happened to his eye?" Ruby asked. "It changed…"

"His Sharingan has reached full maturity." Phoenix said as he took a sip of coffee. "The Sharingan's development is tied to strong negative emotions. Now that he has calmed down, the full emotional impact of what he is about to do is hitting him."

Ruby looked panicked before Yang gently gripped her shoulder, "Relax. Nora has this. Doesn't matter what his eyes do."

"Come, Nora!" he shouted as he got into his stance. "If that's how it is, I'll just have to sever that bond."

Nora just closed her eyes, "Sever it just like that, huh?" She opened her eyes to glare at him, "Then why do you even bother wearing that headband anymore?"

He grinned slightly, "I'll admit it. You're definitely strong." That shocked her and he grew deathly serious, "It's because you know the pain that solitude brings, just as I do. It's that very pain that makes you and I stronger, Nora. Which means if I can just break that bond, I'll be able to achieve even greater strength. It's time you and I had this out as equals." He then pointed to his forehead with his thumb, "But you're still not going to be able to lay even a single scratch on my forehead. I know that hasn't changed at least."

"Fine." Nore gritted out. "Guess there's no point in talking anymore. Jaune." she growled out.

"Enough." He cut her off. "No more words! From here on out, we stick to fighting. Come!"

"No more backing down now." Qrow said seriously. "This is going to happen. I guess it'll come down to who wants this more and who is willing to do anything to get what they want."

"Let's hope Nora is the more willful one then…" Winter added, concerned for the two people on screen.

Everyone else went on edge as they waited to see how this would turn out.

With that, she took off in a blur again. He just kicked up a piece of wood and threw it at her. She easily dodged it but it caught fire with how quickly she moved past it. She went for a punch but he was easily able to stop it with his hand before he flipped her over himself with ease. 'I can see.'

She went for several more attacks that he was able to deflect and defend with minimal effort. He then jumped back onto the cliffside and settled back into his stance. Nora flipped onto the cliffside and raced after him once again. 'Her moves that were too fast for me before, I can see them now. I can see.'

"What the hell?" Yang questioned. "He was on the back foot…"

Ozpin nodded, "Like I said, the scales are tipping back into his favor. This must be the power of his fully matured Sharingan." He turned to Phoenix for confirmation.

The Writer just nodded, "It'll be explained shortly so I'll leave the screen to it."

He deflected and dodged several more of her attacks before kicking her back. She landed in a crouch, 'His moves, they're totally different from just a few moments ago.' He got back into his stance. 'Not like it matters. I don't care what his deal is. I can't afford to lose here!' She took off in another blur with that thought.

At that moment, the Curse Mark on his neck started to glow again. 'It must be the influence of the Curse Mark again. With every step, every subtle shift in her momentum, the image of her next move becomes vividly clear.' He thought as he easily tracked her movement. He managed to counter her every attack before delivering a combo of his own, sending her back. 'As long as I have these eyes, I don't need to expend any chakra. The Curse Mark would eat up too much of it.'

'With vision like this, I can make out the image of Nora's every move before it even happens and time my attacks accordingly.' Nora charged in one last time for another assault but Jaune easily got within her guard and punched her right in the face. There was enough force behind it to send her flying into the waters below.

As she sank deeper into the water, she could only think, 'This isn't good. He's totally reading my movements. What do I do?'

Ozpin gently rubbed his chin, "So before he could see her moves but could not react in time. But now with his new visual prowess, he can predict what she is about to do and start a counter before she even throws her punch. I can see now why this Sharingan is held in such regard."

"And why someone like Merlot would want to possess it." Ironwood added grimly.

Jaune leapt down and was standing on the water with his eyes closed, waiting for her to resurface. That's when a salvo of her clones erupted form the water but he dealt them with minimal effort, deflecting and counter their assault as easily as he breathed. With that distraction, Nora grabbed his legs from under the water, "Jaune!" she shouted. Dozens of clones were holding each other by their legs, forming a human roped. And with their enhanced strength, they were able to whip Jaune around like a weight on a string.

They twirled him around the air several times before slamming him into the top of the cliffside with devastating force behind it. It broke the cliff and covered the cliff in dust.

"Looks like that is a major weakness to his eyes." Winter stated as she kept watching. "Can't counter an attack you can't see."

Ironwood just shook his head, "What kind of attack was that? Who would think of something like that?"

"Miss Valkyrie would." Goodwitch said as she massaged the bridge of her nose.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" he shouted as a massive amount of fire erupted from the dust. It then traveled down the human chain of clones until they were all engulfed in it. As the bodies started to burn away, the audience got a look of a massive red eye beginning to open.

Back up at the slightly melted cliffside, Jaune was sat back and breathing heavily in shock. He just kept staring at the fire burning in front of him. When they died down, it revealed a very injured Nora. He kept staring in horror as Nora slowly looked up to him, "J-Jaune…" she said hoarsely.

"How did she survive that?" Tai asked stunned. Especially seeing how the clones had held up against the same fire.

"It's not over yet…" Qrow said gravely.

He just kept staring until the grim determination came back to his eyes, "It's too late, Nora." He stood up before pulling her up by her shirt. "It's too late now!" He then threw her off the cliff. "Nora!" he shouted as he jumped after her. He locked his ankles below her chin as his arms wrapped around her waist. With their combine weight, the fell to the ground at high speed and when they hit, Nora's head smashed into the rocks below. Her body was just twitching until it flopped into the water like a ragdoll. Her body slowly drifting away in the water.

Everyone just stared in shock, no one expecting that grisly end of this fight. Even the seasoned adults were stunned silent. "Holy shit…" Qrow just managed to say.

Ruby leant forward, starting to gag and cough over the visual she just saw. It was a miracle that she held her meal down and it didn't decorate the floor below her. Yang was trying to ease her by gently rubbing her back but that did little to distract her from the similar sick feeling settling in her gut. All the students were reeling, no one more so than Nora. She was just staring at the screen, almost catatonic with tears pouring from her eyes.

As that happened, Jaune walked a few feet away from the spot before collapsing to the ground and vomiting.

As her body laid there, the light around her started to dim until only darkness was left. And instead of a cliffside, the only thing behind her was a massive cage door. From within, the same red eyes from before snapped open before looking down at her. And a deep voice sounded out, "You runt. You really are weak." It then gave out a cruel laugh.

That made the students shiver at the tone, "What is that?" Ozpin asked.

"The Nine-Tailed Fox." Phoenix elaborated.

"The Beast can talk?" Ironwood asked in shock.

"Of course it can. Just because it is a beast, doesn't mean it isn't intelligent."

"You better be grateful to me and your beloved Fourth Hokage, who sealed me inside a twerp like you." He said with angry undertone as it's eye began to glow red.

Back at the cliffside, Jaune was just starting forward with a pain filled expression before he turned back around to her body. That's when he saw more of that red chakra bubble up from her body. Much more than previously and covered her body. Jaune started to walk out across the water while staring in shock. "Wha… What is…"

The chakra began to pull her body back to her feet and when she was standing again, she gave him a full powered punch to his face, sending him flying back. She then just stared down at her body in shock and pain. As the chakra fully encompassed her body, the amorphous look to it solidified around her, forming a translucent red foxlike shroud around her body. Along with claws around her hands and feet, long ears and a singular tail all made from chakra. To complete the look, she was now standing on her hands and feet while growling slightly.

"What happened to me?" Nora asked weakly.

"The Fox gave you more of its chakra. Saving your life and giving you the Nine-Tails Cloak. This Nora's first true taste of the Fox's power." The Writer explained. "This fight has reached an even more serious level."

That didn't make any of them feel any better.

As Jaune was getting back to his feet, she crossed her arms before throwing them outwards. The air pressure that formed pushed a large amount of water at him as a distraction. As he was trying to stay on his feet, Nora had already closed the distance and flipped through the air. She came down with a more clawing motion swing that caught him. He was sent tumbling across the water before he got back to his feet.

'What was that?' he thought to himself. 'I can still read her movements but this chakra, it's… It's almost like it has a mind of its own.' He just stared in shock, possibly fear. 'Even my eyes can't follow it. That red aura, that's no ordinary chakra.'

He shook himself before he ran back into battle. As he did he was firing off a series of smaller fireballs at her. Nora was now running on all fours and was dodging those fireballs with ease. As she moved to charge directly at him, Jaune made a familiar hand sign, 'Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

"He certainly uses that move a lot." Weiss said in mild annoyance, recovering slightly from the near death of her friend's variants. As the silence persisted she turned to Yang with a raised eyebrow.

The blonde turned to her, "What?" she asked in curiosity.

"I was just expecting you to make some sort of joke or pun." She told her honestly.

Yang shrugged, "This has been an emotional rollercoaster. Don't really feel like it."

"That's fair." Weiss conceded. "Very fair."

As the massive fireball came at her, she ran into it head on. The flames exploded outwards and evaporated the water around. But as the steam faded, she was standing there, no worse for wear. 'Theat chakra is protecting her.' He took a breath, 'Calm down. As long as I keep my distance, I'll be fine.'

As soon as he thought that, Nora raised her left arm before swinging it down and the cloak of chakra around her arm rocketed out to try and grab him. Seeing this, he quickly jumped into the air to avoid it. He had to keep flipping in the air as it tried to grab him several times. As soon as he landed, Nora started to race around him, creating a miniature cyclone as her arms kept erupting from the sides. He just barely managed to dodge them and get away before he tried to create more distance.

Nora used her tail to pull her to the cliffside to see where he was going and after seeing that, launched herself at him again. She threw her arm forward and the chakra arm stretched out once again. This time it hit the water, creating a wave to hide from him before it erupted from the wave and grabbed him. It then kept going and slammed him into the other cliffside with a tremendous impact.

"Man, that Cloak really is a game changer." Tai said in awe. "Her speed and strength went even higher, along with giving her protection and some range. Can't believe a kid her age has that kind of power."

"I see now why the Village kept her at arm's length…" Qrow added

As he was getting back to his feet, the Curse Mark started to spread its markings across his body, 'What is she? All I can do is dodge.'

He looked over to see that she was now on the same shore as himself. As he started to stand, another chakra arm erupted from the rocks below to grab him. With a yell and a single movement, the arm burst out from underground and reeled itself in, pulling Jaune with it. He could do nothing as she hit him with another destructive right hook, sending him back into the cliffside once more.

Jaune stayed imbedded in the cliff for a few seconds before he pulled himself free with a chuckle. He collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees, "Oh well, no getting around it now, I guess." He looked back up at her in anger, "Once I go ahead and let this power take over I… I'm not all that sure what'll happen to me in the end, but you're not leaving me a lot of choice here, Nora."

"What does that even mean…" Pyrrha asked, feeling numb from this all.

"I just want this to be over." Ruby said quietly.

He managed to get back to his feet. As he did, the Curse Mark started to glow again and began to cover every inch of his body, turning his skin dark-grey and extending his fingernails into claws. His hair grew out and turned dark blue. As it covered his face, his sclera turned black and a black four-pointed star mark formed across the bridge of his nose. "There no question that your special. Unfortunately, you're not quite as special as I am." He smiled with a chuckle.

"What just happened?" Blake asked.

"Jaune allowed the Curse Mark to advance to its Second Stage." Phoenix explained in a neutral tone. "By allowing it to cover more of his body, the boost to his physical attributes and chakra increases further. But by doing so, the Curse starts to eat away at his very being."

"No wonder he didn't want to use it until now." Ren added as he kept an eye on his near catatonic partner. She just kept staring at the screen, not looking away even for a second.

"So you're special, huh?" Nora said with rough nearly growl-like tone to her voice. "You won't be so special when I'm finished with you."

That just made Jaune chuckle again. He looked down at his hands as he clenched them into fists. "There's no way I'm going to lose." He said dismissively.

With a shout, Nora took off. As she was running, her right hand was carving up the stone below her. Jaune didn't even flinch when she hit him with that clawed uppercut. She slammed him into the cliff behind them, obscuring them with the dirt and dust they kicked up. She then dragged him horizontally across the cliff before slamming him into the leg of one of the statues.

When the dust started to clear, Nora was still staring down at him but was shocked to see what looked like a massive dark-grey hand covering his body.

"What on Remnant is that?" Winter asked.

"A hand?' Goodwitch questioned.

It twitched slightly and she tried to jump back. Sadly, she was too slow since it back handed her away, sending her flying across the water and into the leg of the other statue. She was covered by the dust and debris that was sent flying. But when it settled, she slowly sat up in pain from the assault. She then gasped as she looked at him.

He was crouched on the ground, just looking down but it was now shown that the massive, webbed hand had grown out from his left shoulder blade. He started to groan in discomfort as the skin of his other shoulder blade started to shift and distort. His shirt tore as another hand erupted from it to complete the pair. "Jaune…" started to speak in shock. "You're a monster."

"Ew!" Weiss and Ruby said at the same time.

"Are those wings?" Ren asked while looking at them. Phoenix just nodded.

"Why are they shaped like hands!?" Pyrrha asked, very disturbed by the imagery. Phoenix just shrugged.

He just looked over to her and for a split second, they saw a visage of Merlot looking at them from behind. That was until he grunted again in pain, nearly doubling over. 'My body. I guess I can't waste any more time.' He thought as he narrowed his eyes in determination

Nora managed to get back up to her feet but soon looked down to her left arm in shock. It was hanging limply at her side as the chakra around it bubbled more erratically. 'My left arm… I can't feel it anymore.'

"They've both reached their limits." Ozpin said grimly. "This battle will be coming to an end very soon."

With the Headmaster's words, all the students were mentally rooting for Nora to end it before it was too late.

"That power of yours, by using it, you're taking a risk, aren't you?" Jaune asked with a smirk. Nora didn't bother to answer him. He just looked up with that same smirk. "Look around. You know where we are? It's called the Final Valley, the perfect setting for this fight. Isn't it, Nora?"

She didn't speak, just turned more to face him fully. "Well?" he asked before closing his eyes. "Oh right, of course. I said there'd be no more talking, didn't I?" He gained a near manic expression on his face as he continued, "In that case, I guess we're at the end. The end of this fight and all the fights up to now."

Jaune quicky formed hand signs before lowering his left hand, gripping the wrist with his right, 'Chidori!' He shouted as lightning gathered in his palm. He pulled his arm to the side and the usual blue lightning shifted to black and light grey.

"The color's different. Why?" Nora asked, not turning away from the screen.

"The Curse Mark is strengthening it and because of that, shifting its coloration." Phoenix explained.

Nora's chakra tail shifted before raising her right hand. Red bubbles of chakra started to gather in her hand until it solidified into the familiar blue orb. Only this time it was a much darker coloration and slightly bigger. 'Rasengan!'

"Similarly, the Cloak is taking the place of Nora's clone. Because of it, the Rasengan is denser and more powerful." Phoenix explained and sat forward. "These two are about to throw absolutely everything they have at one another. This will end with this exchange of attacks. One way or the other."

The viewers all tensed as they gave their full attention to the screen. Seeing this through to the end.

The two stared at each other for several moments before they began their charge. Jaune jumped before using his hand-like wings to fly across the valley. Nora just leapt, the power of the Fox strengthening her to clear the distance in a single leap. As they neared, time seemed to slow as they threw their hands forward, both shouting, "Chidori/Rasengan!"

As they collided, blue chakra and black-grey lightning erupted behind Jaune as red chakra did the same for Nora. That was until the energies started to spin together, enveloping the two in a dark blue colored orb of power.

"What is happening!?" Nora shouted as she stood from her seat.

Inside the orb, Jaune's hand kept traveling until in plunged into her chest. She grit her teeth in pain before swinging her hand across his head band, leaving a cut across the metal.

On the outside, the orb expanded to be about five times its original size before shifting to black and growing more destabilized. It kept growing larger as the rabidly shifting orb started to break the cliffside and even pushed the water coming from the waterfall back up and into the skies above.

A deep blue light appeared in the center of it before it faded. Glowing white cracks started to stretch out from the center of it to the edges as a white light started to spread from the center. When the entire orb was white, the screen was then pulled into the center of it.

Inside, Jaune and Nora were just floating there. Each one staring at the other with gritted teeth. That was until they were engulfed by that same white light. That was when two hands stretched towards each other until the index and middle fingers of each gently gripped the other, like a sort of odd handshake. It was then revealed to be both Nora and Jaune as children, smiling happily at the other.

Light overtook the screen again but when it faded, it showed Nora lying unconscious on the ground. Jaune was back to normal and was a foot or two away from her head, just standing.

"No…" Nora said weakly as she fell back into her seat.

The sunlight around them started to fade away as the storm clouds above started to block it out. Jaune just kept staring down at his friend, an undecipherable look on his face. The knot of his headband came undone before falling from his head, clattering to the ground beside her. He didn't react and just kept staring at her.

"Nora." He said quietly as his eyes narrowed just slightly. "I'm…" He jumped when he felt a drop of water hit his head. He looked up just in time for it to rain before devolving into a complete downpour. He just kept staring up with that saddened look on his face. That was until a jolt of pain erupted across his upper left arm. He gripped it in pain before his legs gave out from underneath him. He collapsed to his knees as he coughed up blood.

This brought him to the perfect position to stare down at the face of his best friend. He just kept staring for several long seconds. Before the screen cut out.

"Is that it?" Pyrrha asked. "Is it over?"

"He looked so sad there." Ruby said, tears still in her eyes.

Nora turned to Phoenix, "Does he do it?" Does he… You know?" All their host did was motion to the screen.

It came back to life, showing a forest now. It was still downpouring and showed Jaune slowly trudging away. He was still gripping his upper arm and had a beyond exhausted look in his eyes. As he was walking, he couldn't stop the memory of his sister telling him the secret to obtaining the Mangekyo Sharingan.

He came to a stop and the rain slowly started to fade. He stood there for the longest time, just looking down. That was until his head snapped up and looked forward, 'No, sister! Just because you say it, doesn't mean I'm going to listen.' He started to slowly walk again, 'I will get my hands on that power but not the way you want me to. I'm going to surpass you but I'll do it my way. I will.'

And with that, the screen went black.

There was a since before Ozpin cleared his throat, "So, this version of Mr. Arc continues his journey into the darkness. For revenge."

Phoenix sighed, "It is a very complicated situation. I will not defend his actions but I can understand why he is doing this. Losing everything you know and love to the person you cherished most… I can understand that thirst for vengeance."

There was another silence. "There is still hope." Everyone turned to Nora who looked at the screen with a hardened look. "He could've killed my other self and guaranteed himself even more power… But he didn't. He's still in there and my other self will get him back."

Phoenix just smiled, "Good to see that didn't knock the wind from your sails. Why don't you all take a short break. We need to get Raven back before we begin." His expression turned serious. "And as much as I hate to do this, we will have to view another Dark Multiverse world. I can feel the Black Flames growing stronger and I don't want to push it off any further."

With those words, the students left to process. Along with Qrow to try and find his sister. But all of them preparing for another look into the Dark Multiverse.

---

A/N- It has been a LONG time... I have no excuse. This one took a while, had to decide what was completely necessary for this chapter and what I could trim away. Otherwise this chapter would've been twice as long as it already was.

And for the inevitable question of 'Why I made Jaune Sasuke when Naruto fits him better?' Because I could see an argument for both. So this chapter and a future Naruto based chapter will have Jaune as Sasuke but I also have two other chapter planned afterwards with him as Naruto. Hopefully that'll make everyone happy and I'm curious to see who can guess what those chapter will be.

And yes, the next chapter will be the Origin of the next Dark Arc: Black Claw.

With all that said, I hope this chapter was worth the wait and you all enjoyed. And see you again in the next update!