Chapter 17 – Round 2

Neo

She was sitting on the sofa, one leg resting on the arm of the couch, kicking it back and forth absentmindedly, staring up at the ceiling. She was alone for now, only with her hallucinations to keep her company. She huffed, rolling her eyes out of boredom. The Pink Haired Neo suddenly appeared on the floor underneath her.

"I'm booooored." She groaned, making Neo roll her eyes. "Can't we go kill something?"

"Stop it. We gotta be good for now. Can't get Little Red if we start causing trouble now, can we?" Roman asked her, standing beside the sofa, leant against the back and gently touching Neo's arm. She smiled, but couldn't feel the warmth of his hand like she remembered so fondly, oh how she missed him.

But then a dark chuckle emerged from the corner, getting her attention. "Oh, crap… not him…" Roman actually sounded afraid when he saw the dark silhouette stood in the darkness, his head hanging down with his hat hiding his face. Neo turned and rolled around, not facing that dark corner which watched her. Roman walked around and sat down on the edge of the chair, protective of his cherished little Neo.

The Pink Haired Girl, on the other hand, rolled around and sat upright, crossing her legs together and resting her arms on her knees. "Hey creep, get the hell out of her head, why don'tcha? This is a place for those who actually care about her… not a monster like you." She hissed.

He remained silent, but did not leave, until he chuckled once again, lifting his head slightly, revealing his blood-red eyes. "Oh… I'm a monster am I?" He asked, his voice terrifyingly familiar to her, and to many… Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long most of all. He did not move as he stared at her, but Roman tightened his grip on Melodic Cudgel, never breaking his glare. "Well, I guess it takes one to know one, doesn't it? Trivia Vanille?" asked Jackdaw Branwen.

He emerged from the shadows, taking off his top hat and bowing theatrically to her, a mad grin carved across his face.

"Gods I hate him." The Pink Haired Girl sighed, rolling her eyes.

"And yet here I stand." Jackdaw said, flipping the hat around and putting it back on his head with little effort. He held his metal arms behind his back as he approached her, walking around the Deacon's Office. "Fine threads this Deacon has… and he clearly has taken some inspiration from me, hasn't he?" He said, touching the cybernetic forearms. "Grave Dust Printers in his arms, the whole nine yards. Of course, I never needed a mask to get by… merely a coward's way."

"Say what you're gonna say and leave her alone." Roman demanded.

"Y'know, Trivia, how long are you gonna hide behind these illusions? You know that the two of us aren't really here, right? We're both looooong dead… and this one? Your cherished Imaginary Friend given life? Well… that might just be the saddest one of them all. You're alone… filling your life with nothing but violence." Jackdaw said, walking back and forth, forming his bladed feathers from his arms, letting the light reflect off their sharpened edges.

Neo refused to face the shadow from her past, but he also refused to leave her. "How long will you keep on killing people and claim it is justice? You slaughtered so many men and women because you believed it was honouring your dead lover?" He mocked.

"So did you." Roman replied harshly.

"True… I did… and then I took the blame for a murder which wasn't even my own… because I never would've harmed a hair on Summer's head… for she was my best friend." Jackdaw stated, clenching his hand into a fist. It was clear that she had been thinking about Jackdaw a lot recently, perhaps even more considering all the people she had been killing.

Jackdaw walked around the large sofa, and stood behind the back of it, staring down at Neo, who was pressing her face into a cushion, trying to push him out. "I saw it in you when I found the two of you little runts all those years ago… my legacy. You can ignore me as much as you want… but you do not differ from me, Trivia. You and I are both wild killers… and nothing you can do will ever change that." He whispered directly into her ear.

She suddenly grabbed Hush on the floor beneath her foot, extending the blade and driving it through where his throat should've been.

But he was gone, just dust in the air.

The same went for Roman and the Girl, just dust in the air.

She sighed, and sat back on the chair, dropping Hush on the ground and pinching her brow. It took her a moment to hear the door opening, and she turned to see the Deacon stood there, looking directly at her. "Trouble sleeping?" He asked her.

She rolled her eyes, then closed them, shaking her head. The Deacon set down some files he was given. End of the day, the Legion was still his company, despite Amara trying to take full control of it away from him. Which meant… paperwork… lots of paperwork.

Especially after what has happened in the last few hours, including the reports regarding the deaths of all those soldiers. Plenty of families had just lost someone they loved, which meant he had to prepare packages and apologies for them all. He pressed his hand against the side of his head, then glanced over at Neo, who was clearly very distressed. "Can't help but notice you're not using your weird illusions to talk to me."

She looked at him and sighed, pulling out her scroll, typing in a message to be played by a text-to-speech app.

"Sometimes there are faces I'd rather not get in my head like that." Neo admitted, which made the Deacon curious.

"You mean you can't control them?" He asked.

"Not always. My imaginary friend and… Roman… I choose them every time. But there are others… faces I wished stayed dead." She admitted, clearing what she just typed into the app, sighed. The fact the only sound she could audibly make were sighs and breathing noises admittedly saddened the Deacon.

He would bet a lot of money that she would have a beautiful singing voice.

"I guess I kinda know what you mean… at least mine don't make physical manifestations, though. Just… hallucinations." He admitted, writing his signatures on the documents. She looked in the mirror and saw Jackdaw's face staring back at her. Neo winced, then got up from the chair, walking over to the Deacon.

"I need to do something. If I stay in here for a second longer, I'm gonna lose it." Her app spoke.

"You're sounding crazy right now. You know I'm not risking that." The Deacon stated.

"I'm not going to cause any trouble. I just need a breather. I need to do something to take my mind off things." She clarified, then typed in more. "Besides, you clearly don't know where Cardin is. I can go looking for him." She offered.

"Is this really you wanting to help clean up my mess? Or are you trying to get Ruby?" The Deacon asked her, then she narrowed her eyes as she typed in something else.

"I dunno. Are you going back on your word with me?" Neo asked, and the Deacon sighed, knowing he had to be careful with her.

"Alright, give me your word, and I'll continue to honour mine." The Deacon stated. She sighed, then turned and walked to the chair, picking up Roman's hat, holding it delicately in both hands as she approached him. Then she held it out to him.

"You're giving me his old hat?" He asked, then she typed one-handed.

"It's my only memento I have of him, the most important thing in my life. I intend on coming back for it, so if I give it to you, it means I'm trusting you to look after it for me until I get back. Deal?" Neo asked him, raising one of her eyebrows. He looked at the hat with his eyes behind the helmet, then up at her.

It was always hard for Neo to gauge what the Deacon was plotting without being able to see his face like this.

She hated it.

But at the end of the day, he was still the best shot she had at getting the vengeance she so sorely desired.

The Deacon sighed, then accepted the bowler hat with his metal hand, carefully holding it and setting it down on the side of his desk.

"Alright then. Deal." He agreed, and Neo nodded her head.

She turned and walked away, and opened the doors, jumping and opening Hush, floating down to Vale to find Cardin Winchester.

Jaune

Purple flashes pulsed in his eyes, and every nerve was on fire.

He groaned as he walked, feeling like he was fighting against something deep inside of his mind, tugging at every string. He pressed one hand against the side of his head, feeling the migraine worsening, his eyes flickering between blue and purple, with his old scars around his eyes echoing the purple embers even more. "Stop… you're dead… you're not real…" He winced, shaking his head, looking ahead to see Salem standing before him, leant against the wall with a sinister smirk.

"My loyal knight. I always knew you would find your way back to me." She cooed with a cunning grin on her face. He squeezed his eyes shut, pressing the back of his head against the wall.

"She's not real… she's dead… you saw her body… she's not… real." He whispered to himself.

"I'm more real than the person you pretend to be. Look in the mirror, I see those purple eyes… you are nothing more than an animal. Believed to be tamed by a spartan, but no beast shirks their innate instincts." Salem stated with an unnerving laugh. Jaune pushed himself off the wall as he stumbled, grabbing onto the walls as he walked, feeling his grip tighten and teeth grit together, but not from his command. He felt so much anger in his veins, from the Deacon threatening to hurt his family, to seeing Cardin taking so much enjoyment from hurting Pyrrha, and to Neo.

A lunatic, a serial killer who had already slain so many?

Has the Deacon been hiding the truth of who they are this whole time? An absolute madman hellbent on revenge, just like all the other enemies they've killed?

Or… was he really the monster?

He couldn't even remember the brutal killings he just did, his hands covered in drying blood, but his wound still ached as he walked, grabbing at his shoulder, torn clothes drenched in blood. Jaune hadn't felt that kind of rage in a long time, not since he was merged with Thaddeus, turned into a wild beast against his will.

Thaddeus was gone. He had to be… right?

Salem refused to leave his mind, watching his every move as he stumbled, softly chuckling whilst following him. "Your determination to prove the opposite is admirable. It truly is. But it does not change what you are." She whispered. He collapsed to his knees, pressing his hands against the damp floor and staring at himself in the reflection, not seeing her face beside him. But it sounded like she was right there.

But that was not what frightened him, it was his eyes. They were glowing purple, and those embers were trailing from his face, and a grinning face was staring back at him in the water. "You are nothing more… than a monster." She reminded, but he yelled and punched the reflection in the water, splashing it all over his arm and onto the floor.

The reflection returned to normal, and he felt the presence of Salem's Hallucination disappear… but his anger did not fade. He still felt that tug, then his eyes turned to the street, hearing nearby laughter. And a familiar booming voice, a very, very recently familiar voice.

He got up, picking up Ira Red, which fell from his hand before he collapsed, dragging the blade behind him. The more he walked, he felt his aura healing the damage done to his arm, and he rolled it, seeing through the window into the bar. There were a bunch of soldiers inside, Legionnaires, without a doubt.

And they were playing a game of cards with Cardin Winchester.

He was laughing, guffawing in fact, drunk with a huge tankard of ale in his hand, slamming it down on the table. Seeing him having such a good time after what he and the Deacon just did to his family? Uncertain if they were okay?

That rage… it came rushing back to him, and his vision flooded with purple hate. His teeth gritted together as he stared at them, then he tightened his grip on the sword and pushed the door open, pushing past the last occupant, clearly frustrated with the group of loud-mouthed drunks. They were the only ones left inside now, and Jaune stared at Cardin directly as he approached.

Cardin slapped down the cards. "Rotten luck boys!" He laughed, leaving the Legionnaires defeated, handing over their Lien Cards to him. He grinned, shovelling all of them into his hands. Suddenly, an almighty crunch collided against Cardin's jaw, knocking the saliva and remaining drink from his mouth, spattering it across the floor and wall to his left. It was Jaune, jumping towards him and barrelling his knee directly into the side of Cardin's face.

He crashed to the floor, and the table that all the cards were on split in two as Jaune landed on it. The soldiers stumbled backwards with shocked, wide eyes. Cardin massaged his aching jaw, then looked ahead with disbelief to see him. "Jaune?" He gasped, only for Jaune to kick him in the mouth, knocking him on his back, then grabbing Cardin by the hair and pummelling him against the wall with gritted teeth. His eyes were flaring with purple energy, and embers trailed from the cracks in his flesh.

"You're gonna regret coming after my family like that." Jaune snarled with anger, and he could see the fear on Cardin's face, for he was acting a lot like the Salem Knight of old. Then… his fear transformed into rage, gritting his teeth and eyes turning wild.

"You had your chance to come peacefully." He snarled, suddenly kicking Jaune with the back of his heel, dropping Jaune, and loosening his grip. Cardin suddenly spun around and performed an uppercut which launched Jaune into the air and crashing onto the floor. He chuckled as he approached, rolling his mechanical shoulder. "I thank you for surprising me like that, though. Now I can finish what I started in Forever Fall all those years ago." He snarled, raising his hand at Jaune who was getting back up.

Then he said it.

"C'mon then, Jauney Boy."

Jaune sprung upwards, swinging Ira Red at him whilst the other soldiers fled with fear, but Cardin raised his mechanical arm and deflected the incoming crimson blade, then grabbed onto his wrist, pulling Jaune right up to his face. "Still just a scared cat in a tree, after all." He laughed, head-butting Jaune extremely hard in the face, then punching him in the gut with immense force with that heavy titanium arm.

The impact smashed Jaune against the wall, and he gasped for air after being winded by that. He swiftly caught his breath and ducked to evade Cardin's metal fist scraping across the wall above him. He swung with Ira Red once more, but he caught the sword with the metal hand and yanked it from his grasp, tossing it aside. "I don't even need my mace to kill you." He mocked, causing Jaune's eyes to flare even more purple.

He suddenly punched Cardin really hard in the face, so hard it knocked him back a couple of steps, then he repeatedly threw punch after punch at the Fallen Huntsman. Two landed across Cardin's face, then Cardin swung at Jaune, but he pushed the fist aside and swiftly nailed Cardin in the gut. Jaune dashed to Cardin's left and threw three hard strikes into Cardin's flank, all before jumping and smashing both fists down against the top of Cardin's head, a strike so heavy it forced him to his knees.

Jaune spun around and roundhouse kicked Cardin across the face, tossing him across the bar, crashing through multiple tables. He snarled savagely, glaring at him and grappling onto a wooden chair and tossing it towards Jaune. The chair broke apart against him, stunning Jaune for a moment, and Cardin blasted towards Jaune with his thrusters, grabbing Jaune by the throat, and together they crashed through the wall and into the street outside. He slammed Jaune against the ground twice before tossing Jaune against the side of a parked bus.

Jaune grunted as he crashed against it, rushing along the side of it as Cardin suddenly extended the chained mace towards him, smashing it through the hull of the vehicle. It tore itself free as Cardin retracted it and blasted against Jaune with immense force, making him grunt in pain as Cardin shoulder charged him. He gritted his teeth with anger, lifting Jaune off the floor with his metal arm by his throat, then spun around and threw Jaune against the tarmac with all his might.

The ground shattered around his body, making Jaune cough up blood as his already weakened aura burst once more. But Cardin was not done, grappling Jaune by his head and pushing him against the floor, transforming his cybernetic arm to extend his mace, slamming it by the side of his head, making him stare at it. "Can't wait for your family to try and recognise bits of you stuck to my dirty girl here." He hissed, only angering Jaune even more.

Jaune suddenly punched both fists into the road, so hard it created a purple pulse of energy, freeing himself from Cardin's grip, and as Cardin stumbled off him, he spun around and punched Cardin so hard in the face the strength of that impact sent him tumbling across the road. To tell the truth, that shocked Cardin to his core, not expecting such a powerful punch to come from someone who had just lost their aura.

Jaune turned to a parked car and tore the door clean off and launched it towards Cardin, shattering against his chest and throwing him into an alleyway. Jaune sprinted after him, jumping off a dumpster to punch Cardin in the face, then grabbing him by his ginger hair and smacking his head against the wall, and following up with a brutal headbutt. Stunned, Jaune took his opportunity to punch Cardin swiftly in the gut with six fast punches, then kicked Cardin's leg to trip him. Jaune finished the punch with a brutal uppercut, knocking Cardin onto the ground ahead of him.

Jaune kept his bloodied fists raised, blood leaking from his nose and mouth, having to roll his old shoulders, panting. He felt pain rushing around his body, but the adrenaline from this rage was blocking it all out, forcing his veins to press against his skin. Cardin dragged his heavy arm across the floor, scraping it along the tarmac, tracing golden sparks behind his knuckles.

Jaune gritted his teeth and charged towards Cardin, and drop-kicked him in the face, sending him crashing through the chain-linked fence and onto the road of the street on the other side. Cardin groaned on the ground, only for Jaune's boot to slam down beside his head, and Jaune grabbed him by the throat, fist held above his face. "Don't you ever come near my family again." He snarled.

"You idiot… we never wanted to hurt your family. You were our target." Cardin stated.

"Says the man who destroyed my home, attacked my wife and nearly got my daughter killed. I don't even know if she's okay because of you…" Jaune growled, his eyes glowing purple. But Cardin stared back with fear in his eyes.

"There you are… there's the real you… not the mask you've been wearing…" Cardin stammered as he saw the purple. Jaune's eyes widened, and he felt the rage pass when he heard that, and his grip loosened, and the blue flickered back, trying to push the darkness back inside his soul.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp, agonizing puncture in his side. His eyes widened, and he inhaled, looking down to see the pointed blade of Hush protruding through his gut, blood leaking from the opened wound. Cardin looked past Jaune and saw Neo with one hand on her hip, holding Hush inside of him, then Roman popped up from behind her shoulder. "Ouch, that doesn't look like it's good for ya, blondie." He needled. Then she yanked the blade free and kicked Jaune off Cardin, causing him to tumble on the floor, blood leaking from his open wound.

The Pink Haired Girl appeared laid on the floor beside Cardin, hand supporting her head, then she poked his nose. "Now, where have you been? Getting into trouble, huh?" She teased, and Neo pulled him back up from the floor.

"Wasn't intending to." Cardin admitted.

"Weeeeell you're needed back, so c'mon." The Pink Haired Girl said, gesturing as she walked away.

But Cardin stared down at Jaune, his metal fist clenched.

"Hey, you got dirt in your ears? Come on, you're needed back at base." Roman added.

"He's right there…" Cardin growled, transforming his arm and ejecting the Executioner, catching it in his hand. And just like the Deacon, all he could see was the monster, and the faces of his teammates that he never saw again. He couldn't save his brothers in arms, but maybe he could avenge them, or at the very least get close enough to vengeance with Tyrian being gone.

Neo walked back over to his side and snapped her fingers in her face to get his attention. "Not here, big man. We gotta go. She made a promise, and she's keeping it." The Pink Haired Girl said, then he glared down at Neo.

"If this was Ruby, you'd be exactly where I am right now." He growled, glaring down at her. She narrowed her eyes as she stared back at him. "The Deacon can yell at me all he wants… but I'm not giving up this chance." Cardin snarled.

He suddenly brought his mace above his head to crush Jaune's skull, until a fireball exploded against both his and Neo's chest, blowing them both away, far enough down the street that they were far from Jaune. On the floor he gasped, looking at where that fireball came from, and saw Weiss Schnee standing her ground, Myrtenaster pointed at the street.

"W-Weiss?" He wheezed weakly, holding his blood inside as best he could.

Blake and Yang dropped down from the nearby building and Ruby dashed across the road, stopping by Jaune's side. "Crap…" Ruby stammered, and the Relic of Knowledge glowed brightly, forming Jinn, who was beside Jaune as well.

"It's not too serious a wound. He can recover, if given time." Jinn assured.

"Definitely feels serious, Jinn… also hi guys, wish this was under better circumstances." Jaune groaned.

Ruby turned to the end of the street, seeing Cardin and Neo getting back up, staring at them. Cardin was furious, not wanting to lose his chance, especially after getting so close. Then Ruby's eyes met with Neo's… and Neo's focus on getting Cardin back suddenly vanished, and her lust for revenge came flooding back. She tightened her fist and walked towards Ruby with Cardin at her side.

"Jaune, stay somewhere safe and keep your hands on the wound. We'll deal with them." Ruby promised.

"Sure… I'll just be here." Jaune groaned, crawling to a safe corner, holding on as best he could.

Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang walked down the street, weapons at the ready, and Yang slowly clenching her hand into a fist.

Cardin activated his helmet, making it form and climb over his head, connecting and its golden visors glowing brightly. And Neo scowled at Ruby, gripping Hush ever so tightly, feeling Jackdaw's bloodlust running through her.

Ruby stood her ground.

She still felt the fear of Neopolitan's glare, never forgetting how close Neo once came to slitting her throat.

But she was not a child anymore.

She was a Huntress.

Ruby

Cardin attacked first, blasting off the ground towards Blake and Yang, immediately swinging the Executioner towards Yang's face, but she stood her ground and caught the mace with both her hands, creating a powerful shockwave upon impact, causing car alarms to blare, then she fired Ember Celica against his chest, using the recoil to gain some distance from him, landing and shooting a pair of homing missiles at him. He darted aside to dodge the first, then pushed himself against the next, using his shoulder to take the hit.

His Hardlight Dust Shields shimmered whilst the explosion erupted around him, then he turned and fired missiles from his shoulder cannon at Yang, which exploded at her feet after she leapt away. Blake suddenly attacked, jumping towards him and spinning through the air, slashing across his body with blade and sheath. He blocked the incoming blows, then brought the huge mace down towards her head, only for an Earth Dust Shadow to take her place, lodging him in place. She suddenly reappeared behind him and kicked him in the back of the head with both feet in a perfect spiral.

He crashed through the rock towards Yang, who launched herself towards him and punched him in the face with immense force. Sparks flew from the impact of steel against steel. He snarled savagely, blasting into the air, channelling more fire dust into the head of his mace, and then descending with great speed, slamming the mace against the ground with enough force that it detonated an enormous explosion, breaking the road apart and shattering windows of nearby windows.

The blast knocked away Blake and Yang, but skilfully rolled back onto their feet.

Ahead of them, Ruby and Weiss faced off against Neo, who was walking towards her. "You ready?" Weiss asked.

"This has been a long time coming." Ruby reassured, launching herself towards Neo and slashing Crescent Rose at her. But her adversary shattered into shards of glass, and suddenly appeared behind her, kicking Ruby in the back of the neck and knocking her against the floor. Weiss did not wait another second, darting towards Neo and jabbing her sword at her repeatedly, but Neo effortlessly dodged everything she threw at her, smiling the whole time as she avoided them all.

Neo then pushed Myrtenaster aside with the tip of Hush's blade, suddenly drawing her dagger and slashing it across Weiss' face. Her blue aura shone as it cut across it, but she ducked all the way back, nearly falling on the floor. Then she skated away from Neo, and formed multiple glyphs, all of them firing icicles towards Neo. She responded by darting from side to side with terrifying speed to avoid them, and blocking the last few with her umbrella, opening it and smiling, keeping her back to Weiss.

She looked ahead and saw Ruby firing Crescent Rose behind her to get closer to Neo, and spinning through the air with a defiant yell, only for Neo to stamp on the scythe and pin it to the floor. Ruby gasped, turning to her left to see Roman Torchwick standing there. "Hello again, Little Red!" He greeted, firing Melodic Cudgel at her, the explosive force of the projectile sending Ruby flying through the window of a clothing store next to them.

She tumbled along the floor, hearing civilians screaming in terror inside, taking cover behind whatever they could find, covering their heads with their hands. Ruby pushed herself back onto her feet, using Crescent Rose to support her weight, looking around for Neo, but she could still hear her outside, battling against Weiss.

Suddenly, the hooked handle of Melodic Cudgel collided across her face, knocking her across the room and crashing against the wall behind her, toppling over multiple mannequins. She gritted her teeth and dashed towards Roman, who was standing there, his cane resting on his shoulder, smirking at her. He stepped aside, effortlessly avoiding her rose petals, forcing her to land behind him.

He chuckled, turning to look at her, holding his cane behind his neck with both hands. "You've gotten weaker in your age, Little Red. Slow." Roman challenged, making Ruby scowl and she slashed her scythe at him repeatedly, but he deflected the incoming slashes with his cane, then kicked her in the leg and spun around to smash the weapon down against the top of her head, knocking her against the floor. "This world of peace you've enjoyed so much? It's made you oh so weak, Red…" He said, crouching down to stare at her, arms resting on his knees.

She rolled back and fired at him, but he deflected the incoming bullet, then fired a shell at her chest, blowing her across the room and into the wall, spreading cracks along it. "And if we've learned anything? It's that chaos is all we have to keep our wits sharp." He said with a grin. Ruby scowled back at her long dead enemy, yelled and blasting towards him so fast the wind carried the objects around her like a storm. She tackled him but he shattered upon impact, and she tumbled outside, dragging the blade of Crescent Rose into the floor, staring down Neo who was still fighting against Weiss.

By the looks of it, Weiss still hadn't managed to land a single hit on her yet. Neo dodged the next three, making Weiss angrier and angrier, until Neo spun around and kicked her in the face, sending her flying out of view. Neo turned and stared at Ruby with a mad scowl, suddenly launching her knife at Ruby, but she swung her scythe and deflected the incoming blade. She fired multiple bullets at Neo as she darted towards her, but they only made her shatter, and suddenly she was above Ruby, stamping on her chest and pinning her to the floor.

Neo pushed Hush towards Ruby's heart, and Ruby grasped the blade with both hands, silver eyes wide as she held it back, feeling the blade puncturing her aura, whittling it away. And all she saw in those pink and brown eyes was undying hatred.

Along the street, Yang and Blake continued to fend off Cardin together. Blake flipped backwards, being caught by Yang, and launched right back at him, and she slammed both feet into the side of his head. As she slid past, she wrapped Gambol Shroud around his throat and slammed him against the ground, allowing Yang to jump on top of him. She punched him again and again in the face, cracking the road underneath his head with every single punch thrown.

Cardin's mechanical hand suddenly raised, and he caught her fist in his, staring back at her, and yanking her down towards his head, slamming his helmet against her face. She grunted, then was tossed away, but Blake threw Gambol Shroud once more and wrapped it around Yang's arm, swinging her around and throwing her back towards Cardin. She yelled with fury, redirecting the damage that Cardin inflicted into her aura, and punched him in the face with all her might, creating an explosion of fiery energy. The blast tossed him backwards, smashing against a car driving past and causing it to crash. Cardin snarled as he climbed out, not even paying attention to the driver who was injured inside.

Weiss gasped and darted to the side of the car, pulling the driver out and helping him get to safety in the background. As they fought, Yang turned and saw Neo still pushing Hush towards Ruby's heart, eyes wide with madness. "BLAKE!" She called out, and her wife swiftly launched the hooked blade towards Yang, and they repeated the attack they did earlier. She swung Yang around and threw her towards Neo. Yang swung her fist towards Neo's face, only for the pink and brown-haired girl to shatter out of existence, suddenly appearing ahead of Yang.

"Argh… thanks sis." Ruby groaned, getting back up and grasping at her chest.

"Been a while since we've fought together. Let's see how we fair?" Yang challenged with a smile, making Ruby smirk back. Neo walked towards them, her eyes not even focusing on Yang, staring directly at Ruby. But Yang fired herself towards Neo, swinging relentlessly at her, swing after swing, but Neo effortlessly dodged her fists, even playfully gasping and yawning between her punches to avoid them, smirking all the while. She held Hush over her shoulder, almost dancing as she avoided her attacks.

But as Yang kept swinging, Ruby suddenly shot to Neo's left, firing at her, but she still blocked and avoid the incoming bullets. She parried the incoming punches with her free arm as well, swinging her leg around and kicking at Ruby, but the skilled Huntress slid across the floor, slashing at her back, only for Neo to shatter into thin air. She appeared behind Ruby and kicked off her back, holding Hush above her head and driving it down with all her might.

Only to pierce a lone rose petal on the floor as Ruby escaped. Suddenly Neo formed Roman and the Pink Haired Girl at the same time, all of which attacked Ruby, firing projectiles from his cane and she launched her knives at the Huntress. Ruby deflected the incoming blades, then dashed aside to avoid the incoming fireball fired from Roman. In that moment, Yang rushed forward, swinging again and again in a ruthless skilled combo, which Neo tried to avoid.

And then.

BANG!

Her cybernetic fist connected, hitting Neo in the cheek so hard it shattered the illusions she just conjured, making her see stars. She stared at Yang with disbelief, like she wanted to say the words: You… actually hit me!

Yang smirked at Neo, raising her fists as she stared Neo down, then jumped towards her, firing a missile at Neo's foot, the explosion pushing her away. Ruby flew across the air above her and spun like a saw blade, cutting across Neo's back, then as she landed she hooked her leg, tripping the dazed assassin up, then Yang blasted towards her and punched Neo in the face, sending her crashing against the floor with great force.

Neo winced in pain, then Yang grabbed her by the throat and launched her into the air, firing three shells at her, and Ruby launched to meet her, slashing her scythe multiple times across her body, then hooking it around her and throwing her against the floor, causing her pink aura to flicker from the heavy damage done to her.

Cardin skated across the road, using the thrusters in his armour to propel him, then he extended the chain of his mace, electrifying the spiked ball and rotating it above his head to try to hit both Weiss and Blake. Weiss darted into the air, bouncing off her glyphs, then forming a conjured giant white sword over Myrtenaster, coming crashing down with an icy explosion, and Blake slashed multiple times across his side, then left an electrified shadow behind, stunning Cardin in place.

He growled in anger, knowing he and Neo were now on the losing foot, feeling his shields weakening more and more.

Suddenly, as Yang went to punch Neo in the face, she shattered, and reappeared beside Cardin. Grabbing onto him and she snapped her fingers.

Together, the two shattered and vanished.

"Crap… where'd they go?" Weiss gasped, looking around, only to see the two fleeing much farther away, heading towards the Legion Skyscraper.

"Leave them… we need to help Jaune get patched up and get home." Ruby said, collapsing Crescent Rose back down, and rushing over to his side.

"I got him." Yang assured, lifting Jaune up, holding his arm over her shoulders and walking him along. Weiss also helped stop the bleeding in his injury as best she could. Ruby looked back at the tower, exhaling nervously, feeling her wrist shaking.

"Hey… you okay?" Blake asked.

"I always knew we'd meet again. Me and Neo… I just always hoped I was wrong." Ruby said.

"She still blames you for Torchwick, doesn't she? Even though it wasn't your fault." Blake asked.

"Whatever she's been through these past thirty-five years… it's done a number on her sanity. She was always a bit unhinged… but now… she's almost as crazy as Tyrian was." Ruby stated, and Blake nodded, holding her hand.

"Well, when she shows her face again. We've got your back." Blake promised with a smile, and Ruby smiled back.

"Thanks Blake." Ruby sighed, feeling a great relief in her body. "Gotta say I've missed having Team R.W.B.Y all together."

They walked together, helping bring Jaune back to his family.

A family who was no doubt very worried.

Pyrrha

She couldn't help but keep tapping her foot on the floor, bouncing her knee as she waited for any sign of her husband's survival. Oriana was sitting in the corner, hugging her knees, with Misty sat closely beside her, holding her hand. Winter kept her eyes open for any signs, eyes like a hawk's, as she examined every inch of the area. The same was said for Oscar, who was pacing around the house, checking for anything out of the ordinary.

Penny, on the other hand, crouched down and gave some little snacks she put together for Oriana.

Pyrrha sighed, standing up and calling Milo and Akoúo into her hands, catching them and walking to the door. "Where do you think you're going?" Winter asked, not even turning to look at her.

"It's been too long." Pyrrha said with worry in her voice.

"Trust in Team R.W.B.Y, Pyrrha." Winter stated.

"You don't understand… I know my husband… if he thinks that we're dead…" Pyrrha stammered nervously, Oriana lifted her head with confusion as she stared at her.

"What do you mean?" Oriana asked, making Pyrrha close her eyes with regret, wishing she just kept that to herself.

"Your mother's just worried, honey." Penny assured.

"There!" Oscar called out, pointing out the window to see Team R.W.B.Y returned with an injured Jaune. They made a makeshift bandage around his wound, and by the looks of it, they cauterised the wound as well. He winced in pain as he walked. The door burst opened and Pyrrha sprinted out with Oriana hugging him tight and giving him a long loving kiss.

"Are you okay?" Pyrrha stammered, but he winced, holding his side.

"Been… better. Thank you all… so much for saving them." Jaune panted, looking at everyone here.

"Don't mention it. We're just relieved you're okay." Winter said as she walked outside, then Oriana suddenly hugged her father tightly but accidentally making him wince from the pain in his side.

"You're hurt!" Oriana gasped.

"Looks worse than it is… Neo got me, wasn't paying attention." Jaune explained.

"We'll tell you more about it later. Let's just get him comfortable so he can heal." Ruby suggested, and Pyrrha nodded. They all helped Jaune inside, and laid him down on a bed, where Oriana refused to leave his side. Pyrrha didn't want to either, but she needed to hear what Ruby had to say. "Pyrrha… he lost control. He slaughtered a bunch of Legionnaires who were tasked with attacking him… the state of their bodies…" Ruby explained, shuddering.

"Then he attacked Cardin. That was when Neo snuck up on him and stab him from behind. He's lucky she went for a Non-Lethal blow." Weiss explained. Pyrrha smiled as she saw Weiss, wanting to hug her but considering how serious this situation was, there was no time for heartfelt reunions right now.

"Things are getting bad. With Amara trying to take full control of the Legion, and wanting Jaune dead and his family arrested to keep it quiet? Looks like this is gonna be a complicated few weeks, maybe longer." Winter explained.

"I'm sorry what?" Ruby questioned with disbelief.

"It's true. Amara tricked the Deacon with images of Jaune to set him off, to make him go after Jaune. All so she can get rid of Jaune… the last loose end of Salem's rule, as she described it. Dutch is working to undermine her and figure out what else she's been hiding from him. If anyone can take her down, it's him. He was Ex-Black Galllows after all, and he knew Killian very well." Winter explained, Ruby scoffed.

"I never did like her, so I guess I'm not surprised in the slightest… damn politicians. Of course, she would make a move like this, eventually. She's gonna want the entire Legion under her command to shape this world however she sees fit. No different from Killian… or Salem." Ruby stated, shaking her head.

"So what's our play? What about this Hound?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms.

"Leave the Hound to me. Penny and Oscar are coming with me to the Atlesian Wildlands. Check if anything else has suddenly escaped and find out why we weren't alerted. Then we're gonna keep tracking it. This thing is still a threat, after all. As for the rest of you? Keep your heads down." Winter explained. "Let Dutch work his magic. He'll be in contact with this phone." She walked over to an old phone in the corner, one linked to his personal secret line, one that cannot be intercepted.

"Old Black Gallows lines, clever. Didn't know any were still up after the Black Queen wrecked their whole network." Blake said, nodding her head.

"There weren't, but he knew how to set up a new one, completely secret and only connected with those he trusted." Oscar clarified.

"Crafty Dutch strikes again." Yang chuckled.

"I've also called Nora and Ren. They're already on their way to help us if anything happens. Hopefully, this will just be a big family visit in a super secret Safehouse for a while until everything blows over. But if Amara finds us, we'll be ready for her." Pyrrha assured.

"What about her? She's an innocent in all this." Oscar asked.

"She'd be in more danger if we sent her home. I wouldn't put it past Amara to interrogate a child." Winter stated.

"Yeah, we'll keep her close. Plus, she's helping keep little Ori calm, too." Ruby said, crossing her arms.

"Okay. We'll keep in touch." Pyrrha promised with a smile, hugging Winter goodbye. Ruby grabbed Penny and gave her a long kiss, and Yang gave Oscar a fist bump. Everyone said farewell, and Winter's team left to continue their search in the Atlesian Wildlands.

Pyrrha watched them leave, hoping that things will go back to normal soon.

And hopefully, the Deacon gives up his pursuit of vengeance.

Dutch

He had finally finished combing through his ocean of files, and found that primarily the only things Amara got her hands on were the files linking to Jaune, and not on his far more serious documents. Not the ones on his research into Dark Magic, in case his fears of Thaddeus still being out there came to be reality. And not the ones on the Horn of Darkness, either.

So now he was infiltrating her files, leaving no trace of his efforts, and his brow furrowed.

Most of it was just more of the same, signing international documents, trade agreements, reports on the Faunus Civil War in Menagerie, and of course this Hound.

Nothing worrying there.

What concerned Dutch was a single file, one that came from scientists in Heimdall's Lab… of a secret project.

He stared at the filename, but found it was heavily encrypted.

All bar its name.

"What the hell is Project P.N.K.O?"

Author Note - The questions pile up...

What is Project P.N.K.O indeeeeed? Hehehehehe.

Loved the start of this chapter with Neo, I doubt anyone was expecting to see HIM again! Can't wait to delve into Neo's past in this story to reveal her ties with Jackdaw Branwen. God I've missed writing Jackdaw he was such a cool villain. Plus I really enjoy the Deacon and Neo's dynamic since they're so similar with their revenge lust, but the Deacon is keeping his in check, but it's harder for Neo considering her deteriorating mental state.

And bless her she really did mean to honour her promise, but just like the Deacon and Cardin with Jaune, seeing Ruby tipped her right over the edge. But at least the family is back together, and now Winter, Penny and Oscar are returning to one of my favourite locations in this series. The Atlesian Wildlands.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review, follow and favourite!

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

- Matt