King: 8000+ words! Dear God, I'm a madman... But, I promised this was the finale of a three chapter set. So, here it is~! In all its mad cap glory! Hope you enjoy the madness!

/\

The screen returned to form.

And nothing changed. Jaune still had Ruby by her collar was was repeatedly punching her in the face.

Each hit got the group to recoil, not sure how long its been happening given the break.

Oscar turned toward Summer, "Summer…"

"Just trust me, Oscar. Ruby's got this. All she needs in an opening and then she'll…"

Jaune then proceeded to kick Ruby into the ground. He floated back to earth and smirked, "You're actually quite the treat to knock around, kid. But if you think the only way to win is to not play… Then I've got news for you, you're playing the wrong game!" Jaune forced her back with a beam and proceeded to chase her down with a long-range assault.

Oscar shouted from their cliff, "Ruby! Dodge-!" But she already was! The one thing, the one God damn thing she never picked up in their training, was being put into practice.

Tai groaned, more than remembering a similar situation with both his daughters. Ruby was easy to teach that skill to, given her speed, but Yang was still having difficulty internalizing that she's not supposed to get hit! That damn semblance of hers just made that difficult.

"The little one is finally growing up. You must be so proud."

Ozpin nearly dropped his mug hearing his voice come out of nowhere like that.

Oscar, having combined forms with the old guardian of Earth, Ozpin, now constantly heard him in his thoughts. I mean… Yeah… But she could be dodging better.

Ruby turned toward Oscar and Ozpin, about to ask a question, but her timing proved to be quite odd. She'd caught Oscar as the future Ozpin was in charge. The two sat almost identically, save for the cane and the coffee mug. It was honestly a little weird to her. She just turned back to the screen, her question forgotten. Or perhaps answered?

One dodge attempt found Ruby with her back to Jaune, his palm open, "Game over, kid." A blast of pressure sent Ruby careening into a nearby mountain. Jaune stood normally again, turning his head toward the rest of the fighters, "So… Which one of you wants to try to explain the word "filicide" to Summer? I'd ask Ruby, but… Well, she's been filicide-ed."

Ruby's head tilted, "What does that mean?"

Salem's arms were shaking. She knew. She was about to answer and go off on another tirade but was cut off.

Oscar was beyond angry with Summer, "It means Ruby's dead! And it's your fault Summer! You hear me?! She's dead!"

Summer grinned, "Come on Ruby! Stop hiding your power level and get serious already~"

Ruby groaned inside the mountain crater she formed. A second later and the mountain burst as Ruby stepped out, unaffected by the assault.

Salem was still mad at this Summer, but her confusion at Ruby being, not only alive, but perfectly fine(!), was a little too startling to say anything.

Yang's mouth hung open in shock. Her Ruby was a tough kid, sure, but this tough?! Damn!

Jaune groaned, "Oh… goody…"

Ruby walked back over to Jaune. "Can I say something?"

"I've been humoring you the entire time anyway. So, why not? But if you're looking to exchange barbs, I'd suggest cutting your teeth on that embarrassment over there…"

Mercury, who survived Jaune's attack, was hiding behind a rock, uncertain of what to believe seeing these people who defied all logic, "Leave me out of this!"

Ruby continued, "I know why my mom sent me out here to fight the biggest wolf in the woods…"

Jaune smirked, "Oh trust me… I'll huff and puff and blow you down."

Neptune felt it best to remind him, "SHE'S ELEVEN!"

"I'M SIX!"

Tai slammed his fist into his chair, "That doesn't make it better! He's an artificial being created in an adult form! His actual 'age' doesn't matter!"

Ruby seemed to just let it pass, "It's because, when I get backed into a corner, something snaps. Everything goes red and I lose control of myself. I hurt people…"

"Well… what do you to 'em?"

"All I see is the person I want to kill. The rest of the world stops mattering. I bet my mom knows that, if I snap here…"

"Let me guess. You'll kill me?"

"You said it, not me."

Blake was scared now. She'd seen what this mentality did to people… Turning them into spiteful monsters. If Ruby ever turned out like that…

Jaune let out a slow chuckle before bursting into laughter, "Well! Threaten me with a good time~!"

"What?"

"What?!" The audience was just confused. No one really getting why he got excited at that.

"At first, you had my curiosity… Now, you have my erection~"

Cue a few laughs from the shameless.

"Don't you mean 'attention'?"

"You all know what I'm about!" Jaune pointed a finger toward Ruby and shot out a beam of energy from said finger. A concentrated beam like that would rip through the body without much issue. Thankfully, Ruby was able to dodge the attack.

"That's Cinder's move!" Neptune was scared before. Now, he was panicking.

This got Cinder's attention. That was her technique, eh? This gave her a few ideas for when finally gathered the maiden's power.

Neptune continued, "The one she killed Raven with!"

Cinder grinned, this just keeps getting better~

"Remember that Raven?"

Raven groaned, "I was there…"

"Should really watch out for that."

"Didn't she blow you up?!"

Another beam was used to distract Ruby, allowing Jaune move in and grab her in his arms, crushing her. "So, when you break, I die? That right?"

Ruby was straining under the pressure, "That would be the course of events, yes."

"Well then, let's see what breaks first~" Jaune squeezed tighter, causing Ruby to yell out in pain.

Tai recoiled, "This is hard to watch."

Ruby groaned, it was even worse for her given she was seeing herself be crushed. "Yeah…"

Oscar was berating Summer again, "In this endless pile of hay, Summer, this is the last straw! If you don't go out there, your daughter, your flesh and blood, will die! No ifs and or buts!"

"But…"

"No buts!"

"I get what you're saying, but this is what I've been planning out this whole time."

Salem's rage boiled hotter than the sun, "THIS WAS YOUR PLAN?! TO GET HER KILLED?!"

"You? Had a plan? What could you-"

"Os… I'm not going to be here forever. One day, death is going to… stick, you know? So, what then? Someone has to be here when I'm not… And in the time chamber, I realized that someone is Ruby."

While they hated to admit it, the teachers all understood her sentiment. It was the point of being a huntsman/huntress. You know what you're getting into and you know you won't be around forever, no matter how strong you are… Death will find you. You need to put your bets on the next generation to be able to pick up the fight. To protect what you can't anymore…

"Well… Seems you thought about almost everything. Unfortunately, you skipped one small detail."

"What's that?"

"RUBY DOESN'T LIKE FIGHTING, YOU MORON!"

Summer wasn't sure if she could believe what she heard, "Wait, what?"

"Have you ever in your life actually asked your daughter what she likes?"

"But… But she went into the chamber with for that year!"

"Because she wanted to spend time with you! Her mother! The mother who spends half her time training and the other half dead! Sometimes both!"

"Wait… Does everyone else…" Everyone, EVERYONE in the group was more than aware of Summer's situation with her family. "I've made a terrible mistake."

Qrow was still trying to piece all that together, "The hell's going on now?"

Raven, surprisingly, had his answer, "She's been acting under the assumption that her daughter would take her place. She justified all her actions so far as trying to help, without realizing her reality."

Qrow turned back toward the screen, "View must be great from that glass house of yours…"

Summer spun around toward the blue haired fighter, "Neptune! I need another Senzu bean!"

"No way! Not after last time!"

"I'm serious! I'm going to use it on me this time!"

Jaune swiped the pouch with the beans, "Quick update! These are now tournament illegal. Uh, thank you." Jaune sprang off the cliff and back down to Ruby. "I see now that all roads don't lead to Rome. I'll have to change up my game plan. Torture isn't working, so I'm going drag each of them down here and kill them one by one until you give me what I want!"

"What?! No!"

"Oh, don't worry~ I'll save your parent for last. You hear Oscar?!"

Oscar shrugged, "I mean… If you're just going to say it…" In some ways… most… okay, every way, Oscar/Ozpin was more a parent to Ruby than Summer ever had been.

Summer turned toward Oscar, "I don't get it…"

Ruby tried to lash out at Jaune, but just got kicked back down. "Sit down, this might take a while…"

"Enough!" Penny charged in behind Jaune and grabbed him from behind.

"16?! Really happy you're finally coming around, but your timing is less than ideal!"

Ruby jumped when Penny charged in, "What's she doing?"

Penny's head tilted to the side, mimicking what she'd Ruby do, "I'm not certain. I believe I am weaker than friend Jaune in this reality, so holding him down would be impossible for very long."

Penny clutched her arms tighter, "Inside my frame is a high-yield nuclear explosive! I intend to detonate and take Jaune with me!"

Penny froze for a moment, "A what?"

Ironwood groaned, "Seems Merlot was the paranoid type."

"Also… probably most of you… My bad…"

Jaune turned his head back toward her, "I do not consent to this!"

"Your compliance isn't a factor!"

"You had a chunk of your head missing, how do you remember that?!"

If Penny could gag, she would. That image was burned into her memory banks for eternity now.

"My countdown has started!" She started to count from 10 as her body primed for detonation. She was going to vaporize Jaune and leave nothing behind!

Yang's face went from shock to realization, "Wait! My dad removed the bomb when he was making repairs!"

Penny froze in place, "WHO GAVE HIM THE RIGHT?!"

Jaune smirked and started to loosen the now distracted automaton's grip. "Zero~" He fired a blast back into Penny, shattering her body into pieces.

Good news, Penny didn't mind the first image as much anymore. Bad news, she'd just seen herself explode into pieces! That will haunt her.

Jaune chuckled to himself, "Guess I have to thank Taiyang for removing the bomb… Honestly, poor 16. Penny, was it? I wanted you to be the wind beneath my wings. Now you've just taken the wind out of my sails… I don't even feel like killing these fools anymore…"

Ruby had a certain confused hope hearing that, "You're not?"

"No. They are…"

"The implication being…?"

Jaune's wings raised up and a series of pods grew beneath them. A flew later and the pods fell to the earth, growing into stubby, almost chibi-esc versions of Jaune.

Everyone was more than a little shocked to see that. Thankfully for them, this wasn't the original version of events, so they were spared that.

Jaune took in a pained breath, "That's going to hurt all day… Summer! Since you saw it fit to send your daughter to fight me, I've decided to respond in kind. Now kids, remember to share your toys, don't leave daddy's sight, and bring me the bodies~ But most importantly, have fun!"

Their orders relayed, the Jaune, Jrs (for lack of a better term) flew off to start their fight with the veteran warriors on the cliff. Each, though small, was just as capable as Jaune. Weaker, but faster and more nimble.

Jaune just laughed, "Aren't they precious? My own little family~ Now I'll have someone to keep me company as a trounce about the stars."

Ruby watched as her friends and loved ones struggled against the forces before them, "Please! Stop this! I take back what I said about the hidden power! I don't want to fight you! This is my mom's fight, not mine! So please! Just stop them! Give my mom a Senzu bean and…"

"And there it is!"

"What?"

"That right there! That is why I despise you…"

Yang tried to figure out the method of his madness but wasn't sure. "Why though? Before he was complaining about mom sending Ruby in. Now he's complaining about her trying to give him the fight back? I don't get it."

Kali placed a hand on her cheek, "It does seem a little odd."

Jaune motioned up toward the fighters, "You know what they all have in common? The Saiyans might be fools, the humans might be weak, and Oscar might not belong, but they're still out there fighting! Fighting not just for their lives, but for this worthless rock of a planet!"

Neptune got punted to the ground. A counter appeared in the lower corner of the screen reading [Neptune Own Counter: 37].

"See?! Even Neptune is trying his best!"

Neptune groaned as one of the mini-Jaune's kicked him in the side, making the counter increase to 38.

Jaune glared back toward Ruby, "But none of them… Not a single one! Shares that trait with you! You, Ruby, are a coward…"

"No! I'm just a pacifist!"

"So, a coward patting herself on the back! Tell you what, you can stand proud next to the bodes!"

Ozpin's grip around his mug threatened to snap the ceramic. In the past, one of his hosts used the same argument against others. They refused… He tried everything he could, but the Grimm overran them in time.

The screen moved back to show Mercury with the camera crew. The caster turned toward Mercury, "Mr. Black! Do you have a plan to deal with these sinister spawn?! These… prepubescent predators!"

Mercury nervously chuckled before putting a brave face back on for the camera, "Come on… Those aren't kids. They're just short actors brought in to look like kids!"

"Sir… We saw them be born."

"No. We saw a signal for them to pop up from preset trapdoors. Honestly, what makes more sense? Kids or actors?"

"You have a point…"

"Excuse me…" This voice caused all involved to jump.

Including many of the viewers.

The screen panned to show Penny's head lying on the ground in front of the crew, "I seem to be without a body. Could you lend me yours?"

Penny was thoroughly freaking out on the inside. Her internal systems shouldn't be able to do that, like how a human brain can't function without the rest of the body! Seriously, what is this robot horror?!

This, naturally, got Mercury and the crew to scream in fear.

"Why are you screaming?"

The caster was first to answer, "Because you're a talking head!"

"So are you."

Qrow broke out into a fit of laughter. Many of the adults also had to stifle their chuckling.

"That, ma'am… is cutting…"

"Listen, I need one of you to help me. I need to get close to Jaune and Ruby, I feel I know a way to end this madness."

"Are you nuts?! What makes you think we're going anywhere near that warzone?!"

"I'll do it…" Mercury took a step forward and picked up Penny's head.

Emerald was caught aback by that. "Since when do you care?"

Mercury just kept silent.

Emerald's eyes narrowed. Something's up with him…

"Sir?"

Mercury paused for a moment, "I have a son, Jimmy… no older than the girl out there… And I have a way to end this? Save the world? And all I have to do throw this robot's head in spitting distance to that killer bug monster? It might sound crazy…"

"Oh, it's definitely crazy. Larry?"

The cameraman shook, "I have been finding God this whole experience, sir."

"Well… Who better to leave it to than the world martial arts champion?" Mercury took a breath and started to run off, assuring himself, "Besides… this all just a bunch of tricks."

Penny, however, set that straight. "It is not. You could die."

"Do you have a mute button?"

"I did."

Penny was just confused now. The head on screen seemed to have most of her neck… where else would a mute button go? She is by no means an engineer or claimed to understand the finer nuances, so she didn't have much to go on.

The screen cut to show Scarlet getting repeatedly kicked by one of the mini-Jaunes.

Jaune, himself, hadn't moved from his spot, Damien sure is kicking the shit out of Scarlet. Man, he doesn't deserve this. But… It sure is funny~ He turned toward Ruby, who seemed to be trying to force herself into anger, to no avail. "Seriously… How hard is it to piss off an eleven-year-old?! You should be a stomping mess from me taking your toy away! Meanwhile, your friends and family are being beaten into mulch and the only thing you can do is…"

A droplet fell onto the ground at Ruby's feet.

"Cry? She's crying?! Are you serious?! That's it! Kids! Put your toys away! We're leaving! To be clear, I mean kill them all so I can blow up this shit whole and find something better to do. Waste of my fucking Sunday…"

Ruby tried, with all the mental might she could muster, to get well and truly mad. "Hold on! I'm one step closer to the edge! I'm about to…"

"Everything! You say to me! Is pissing me off. You had your chance, kid. And in the end, it didn't even matter."

Yang snickered, despite the scene, "Now their quoting songs at each other?"

"Wait!" Penny's head tumbled into view between them.

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "Well damn. I'm surprised your still… I was going to say 'kicking' but…"

But she ignored him, "Ruby…"

Ruby was just surprised to see Penny still active. "What are…"

"Grow. Up."

Everyone in the audience was surprised. Eager to see how this would 'end the madness.'

"Huh?"

"You act like you're the only one suffering. But I believe Yang has some stories for you. Many of which, no doubt, end with 'and then he died, too.' And before you start whining about your mother, and I get it, but consider that my father literally created me as a soulless killing machine to kill your mother. And neither of us begins to compare to the complete travesty of parenting that is Raven."

Tai, Qrow, and Yang… three voices. Three laughs. All laughing at the 'travesty of parenting.'

This, of course, pissed Raven off, "You want to come up here and say that?!"

"I am a head!"

"Then why don't you quit while you are!"

Yang blinked for a moment before snapping her fingers in defeat, "Damn… I have to give it to her, that's a good one."

Penny turned her attention back to Ruby, "Jaune was right… You think you're better than everyone else. Yet, here you stand. The 'good man' doing nothing. While evil triumphs, and your rigid pacifism crumbles into blood stained dust, the only victory afforded to you is that you stuck true to your guns. You are a coward, to your last whimper."

Ozpin's grip on his mug loosened, but only from sheer shock.

Raven grinned in her twisted way. This was something she could get behind.

Penny continued, "Of fear and love, I fear not that I will die… But that all I have come to love will die with me. So please, Ruby…"

Jaune walked up next to the severed head. His foot raised.

"Stop holding back!"

Jaune brought his heel down and caved what was left of Penny in. Wire and what appeared to be blood splayed out from the impact. A single chip fell to the ground with a a fading light.

Penny was stock still. The scene was haunting. She'd just witnessed her dismemberment followed by her death!

Ruby was shaking. Everything about this was wrong. A tear fell and something inside her snapped. Greif turned to rage. True, unadulterated hatred. Endless fear taking hold. Ruby roared out as the stone beneath her shattered, the wind grew heated, and lightning crackled around her body. Her tears now glowed and flew upward as her aura expanded beyond itself. Her golden hair not stood on end and toward the sky. She had surpassed even her mother with a form ascendant to that of the Super Saiyan.

Everyone in the theater was in shock. Seeing the transformation and hearing the song (that I didn't transcribe due to the fact that I still have TWO MORE of these to go through!)… It was just so… It was hard to explain. Somber at Penny's death. Triumphant at Ruby's newfound power. Hopeful that the world may yet be saved.

Jaune grinned, "Dear lord of Oz, finally! And here I thought killing 16 was harder for me than it was for you. I'm confused though, were you friends?"

Ruby's face seemed to default to anger. Then again, she was beyond pissed. "The murder of one's own child or children."

"What?"

Ruby moved with blinding speed to steal back the Seznu beans, "You wanted me to define filicide." Her voice had lost its usual cheery emotion.

Team RWBY was scared. Beyond scared! They'd never seen Ruby this mad before. Almost… emotionless…

Ruby was suddenly in front of one of the mini-Jaunes. The mini jumped at her only to have its head sliced off by a side chop from Ruby. On impact, the world took on a muted blue tone as the body of the mini exploded.

Everyone was in shocked silence. The look of apathy on Ruby's face… Unnerving didn't begin to describe it. Even those that didn't know her could see something was very, very wrong here.

Raven shook, feeling the pure power coming off Ruby, "Okay… Anyone want to explain, THE FUCK?!"

Oscar groaned, "I kind of don't want to because I think that would mean giving Summer credit."

Ruby moved like lightning to a pair of minis standing over Neptune. One of them picked up the blue haired fighter and threatened to kill him with extendable claws. "Really? You're using Neptune as a hostage? He's died twice already, go nuts. His death is a day trip for us and a free ice cream sundae for him."

One of the minis ran off, leaving the last to try to fight. The mini fired a barrage toward Neptune and Ruby, but failed. Ruby was too fast, able to save Neptune and return to kick the mini hard enough to cause him to explode, causing the blue effect to return.

Ruby shook in her chair, "Yang… I'm kind of scared."

"We're all scared, Ruby…"

Jaune watched in astonishment. Before, he'd only believed Summer to be his match. Yet, here was another, more brutal and decisive! He shook as a grin spread across his face. Before, it was blood lust. Now?

Ruby dismantled each of the minis one after the other. One of them tried to call out of him, "Dad…"

"I ain't no helicopter papa. Sink or swim, bitch~"

Eyes turned to Raven, if only for a moment.

The mini tried to fly off, but Ruby was there again, upper-cutting one of them in half. Another bisected by a kick. Another got his head punched off. The last exploded on impact with Ruby's foot after being thrown to the ground. No mini-Jaune's remained.

"Gimme… gimme! Gimme! Gimme!"

Ruby turned back toward Jaune and tossed the pouch with the Senzu to Yang, "Yang, try to remember your only half Raven and don't fuck it up."

If Yang had a drink, it would be coating the back of the chair in front of her.

Jaune chuckled a bit, "Look at you! I'm going to call you Whooping Cough because you just decimated my children. I'm just glad that yarn you were spinning turned out to be true. My final challenge-"

Ruby's fist was then buried in Jaune's gut, "Careful Jaune, your Raven is showing." She then jumped up to kick Jaune back into the dirt and stone.

Jaune groaned. "You know, you're not wrong…" Being made of primarily of the cells of the world's strongest fighters meant he took on more than a few of their traits. Summer's battle lust, Raven's pride, Cinder's superiority complex, you name it… He tried to stand, but only planted his rear on the ground, "Oh man… nothing like a concussion, to really get the blood flowing…" Speaking up, he coughed up a bit of his lime green blood.

Ruby was amazed on some levels. She'd not the strongest among her friends, not by a long shot. But seeing her being the one to not only save the day, but be the undisputed strongest person there? That felt kind of cool.

Ruby glared toward Jaune, "Jaune… You don't get it. I hate this. The vibrations through my fists on impact. The taste of blood in my mouth. The sound of my heart in my ears… I hate this. But right now, the only thing I hate more than it, is you."

"Put that on a Valentine…"

"Because you were right about me. I was a coward. Scared of what would happen if I snapped. That I might finally kill someone. But I'm not scared anymore Jaune."

"Well… Glad I could…"

Before he could finish, Ruby kicked him clear across the field. "There's no use being afraid of the inevitable."

Jaune was actually scared. "Oh fuck this!" He took to the skies and began to charge another massive beam attack, "I could have just done this from the beginning! But, no! Figured I'd hold a tournament, have a little fun, but fuck you!" He launched the attack down toward Ruby. Ruby responded with her own beam and pushed Jaune's energy back at him.

After the assault, the sideline fighters started to dig themselves out of sand created by the force of the beam.

Oobleck was caught just before he adjusted his glasses, "The sheer amount of power that would be required for something like that is… Is…"

Neptune groaned as he sat up, "Any one else got sand in their…"

"YES!" Everyone responded in unison.

Yang was the only outlier, "Everywhere!"

Yang groaned, "I hate that feeling…"

Oscar looked up to the sky, "Uh… guys?"

"HOLY SHIT!"

Jaune voice rang out over the wastes, "HEY KID!"

Mercury's legs fell back to the floor as he leaned forward, "He's still alive?!"

Jaune floated in place, his left side destroyed by the attack, his crown halved, and his legs blasted apart. "You missed a spot!"

Ruby, for the first time since she transformed, smiled.

The smile did not put anyone at ease. It actually made things worse.

Summer grinned and called out from the cliffs, or what was left of it, "Alright, Ruby! Time to bring it on home!"

"Hold on… I'm not done ripping the wings from this butterfly."

Oscar tensed up, "Red flag!"

Tai felt a similar effect hearing that, "Oh… that can't be good."

Ozpin, and by extension the future version hiding away in Oscar, saw this sign too many times. The sign of a person without empathy, lacking in morals. A psychopath. The Ruby on screen was likely being deliberate in using these words, knowing their implications.

"Uh… Ruby? I understand your angry, but…"

"But what? Now you're going to be a parent? Give me advice? Let me guess. I should let him go so he can be a better fight later," a jab at Summer's actions when Raven arrived trying to kill them all. "Or I could let him power up to 100% and teach him humility," referencing Summer's handling of her fight with Cinder. "Oh! I know! How about I give him a God damn Senzu bean and let you fight him!"

This made Summer more than a little nervous. "I… uh… I see what you're getting at here, Ruby."

"Then shut up and back off. You're in the splash zone."

"Is that also a red flag?"

Oscar nodded, "Crimson."

Ruby was actually afraid of herself. It was an odd feeling, to say the least. She'd read stories, mostly from Blake's collection, of people who felt the same thing. Difference was, they usually had a reason to: demonic possession, multiple personalities, and so on. But Ruby didn't have that. Instead, she had a vision of herself, lacking in empathy and more powerful than anything that had come before. It was sobering.

Ruby smirked, "You done getting your shit together up there? Cause I'm getting bored."

Jaune regrew his limbs and flew down to put that little brat in the ground! Only have a foot lodge itself into his gut. The viewing group could practically feel the impact. Jaune was pained, groaning in agony. Then his cheeks puffed. A moment later, and the camera cut away as he puked up one of the other androids he'd adsorbed for his perfect form.

Blake shivered in her seat, "That's just wrong…"

King chuckled to himself, "Funny you should say that."

Lying unconscious on the ground was the prone form of Blake Belladonna, callsign Android 18, covered in a slime-like substance of Jaune's vomit.

Blake froze in sheer disgust.

Ruby smirked, "It's a girl… Mazel tov."

Neptune's eyes went wide, "Blake!"

Oscar had to stop him from rushing over, "Later!"

"But…!"

"I will get a hose!"

Sun raised an eyebrow and turned to his friend.

Neptune raised his hands, telling him he was just as confused here.

Jaune, didn't take that well. "FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCKKKKK! FUCK! FUCK! SHIT! FUCK! No No NO NO! FUCK!" Without both androids in his system, his perfect form couldn't sustain itself. He started to steam and revert back to his previous state. When it was done, he appeared less human and more bug. Like some half-and-half creature.

Ruby was grossed out by the 'perfect form' but this form was even worse. "EW! EW! EW!"

Ruby kicked Jaune into another bolder and smirked, fully intent on having her fun.

Jaune was none to pleased. Damn it! Damn it! This isn't supposed to happen! I'm supposed to be perfect! I was… Then she took that away from me… She took everything away from me! "So, I'll take everything away from you…" His voice was gravely, far from the smoother tone of his 'perfect' form. Jaune's body started to blow up like a balloon.

Ruby scoffed, "What's this supposed to be, then? Make yourself so grotesque I won't want to touch you. Going to be honest, it's working."

"Oh… Little Ruby… I finally realized what I've inherited from the cells from you~ Your explosive temper."

Eyes peered toward Yang, the walking time bomb with a temper.

Oscar was the first to see where this was going, "God damn it…"

"In sixty seconds, my body is going to burst, taking you, and this wretched world with me!"

"So, what you're saying is, I have less than a minute to kill you."

"Ah! Ah! Any attack could set me off. A punch, a kick, a wafer-thin mint. So why not saver the time you have left before I got pop. HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE VYTAL FESTIVAL! BYE, EVERYBODY! GO FUCK YOURSELVES!"

Yang punched into her chair, "That's a dirty move you piece of…!" She couldn't finish her thought as went off on a wordless tirade.

Ruby grit her teeth as her mind processed the situation. "Damn it… Damn it! I pulled a Raven and fucked everything up!"

Yang's tirade came to an abrupt halt to laugh at the reference to her mother. It was short lived, though.

Summer smiled somberly, "Guess it's time to fix my mistakes…" She reappeared in front of Ruby in a flurry of white petals.

"Mom?"

"Ruby… I'm… I'm sorry… But, fighting makes me happy. I always strive to be stronger… I just thought it would make you happy to. I'm sorry I never realized…" Summer took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. But I want you to know, that the year we spent in the time chamber, was easily the best year of my life. I'm proud of you… Guess this goodbye again."

"Wait… What are you…?!"

White petals fell as both Summer and Jaune disappeared.

It was a sobering moment. Despite it all… Summer was never a bad person. She wasn't exactly a great parent, mind. But she genuinely believed she was making her daughter happy. Right up to the end. To Ruby, it hurt even more. It was like watching herself lose her mother again.

The screen cut to show a version of Glynda Goodwitch, dressed in a flowing black robe. "Summer… You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the ones you love… I'll see you soon, my friend…"

Summer suddenly popped into form on Glynda's mini-planet, "Hey! Ms. Kai! I couldn't think of anywhere to get rid of Jaune!"

Glynda's face plastered with a fearful smile, before twisting to anger, "YOU ASSH-"

Jaune exploded soon after arriving, taking Summer and Glynda with him.

Glynda seemed to have a similar reaction to her onscreen counterpart, just with less swearing.

Ironwood used this moment to gain some distance from Glynda before she decided to toss something. "Well… Seems that's over…"

Glynda was able to calm herself, "Quite… Hard to follow that…"

"Um…" Oscar leaned forward, "It's still running."

Eyes turned to the screen.

Showing Ruby on all fours, punching the ground in frustration, "Stupid, selfish, impulsive, hypocrite! All you had to do was power up and kill him! But no, you had to emulate Raven of all people and fuck it all to hell!"

Neptune was by Ruby's side in moment, "Ruby, listen to me…"

"What?!"

"Dragon Balls."

Ruby's self-loathing subsided. In the moment, she'd forgotten about the all-powerful wish granting orbs with the power to revive the dead. "Oh…"

"Yeah."

"But… I still screwed up."

"And now you're one of us."

Raven scoffed, "Given what we've seen, is that a good thing?"

Qrow finished a swig from his flask before replying, "Weren't you one of those screw ups in this?"

"Shut it."

"Nope."

The screen showed as Neptune picked Blake up off the ground, making a joke to himself, "Guess this gives new meaning to picking up chicks…"

Yang made a thumbs down motion, "Boo… To obvious."

Weiss rolled her eyes, "By that logic, you were never funny. Which might as well be true."

"Hey! I'm funny."

He passed by Raven, who raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing with that?"

"I'm taking her to a… Doctor? Mechanic?" Being a cyborg made that distinction difficult. "A Tai. I'm taking her to a Tai."

"You put that RealDoll down this instant."

Blake's eye twitched, "The fuck did you just call me?!"

"Yeah… How about no."

"I can rip you in half!"

"I know you can."

"… When did you get the balls?"

"If I said it had nothing to do with holding a beautiful woman in my arms, I'd be a liar."

Kali giggled, "He certainly knows how to choose his words~"

"Mom!"

The world was suddenly awash with a golden light. Power flowed through the area as wind burst outward. Then, they heard signing, "P is for Priceless~ The look upon your faces~"

"Jaune?!" Ruby jumped in her seat.

Pyrrha clutched her chair, "How?!"

"E is for Extinction, of all your puny races~R for Revolution, which has been televised~ F is for how Fucked you are. Now allow me to reprise~"

A beam suddenly shot out from the clouds and straight through Yang's chest.

Yang jumped and clutched at her chest, "Holy shit!"

"Oh shit! That was meant for Ren. My bad." Jaune was in his perfect form once more and standing before them yet again, "It's hard to parse your power levels anymore. You're all so weak~"

Ruby shouted up toward the screen, "How… How is he still alive! He blew himself up!"

Jaune chuckled, "I can see by your faces that you're confused on how I'm back and better than ever! And it all begins, right here." He tapped his head. "A single nucleus so small but so durable. It survived my little kamikaze. The important part to this tale being that my inherited Saiyan biology -thanks moms- meant that not only did I return to my perfect form, but I became more powerful than ever!"

Ruby's eye twitched as her power swelled again, "You know what, I'm not even mad you're still alive. I have some shit to work through."

The screen moved to Raven's face as her shock changed to anger. But her features fell when she heard something. Someone speaking, pained and weak.

"Help… help… me…" Yang still yet lived. But it won't last long.

Yang groaned. It was bad enough to that she'd been shot like that, but to survive it? She was going to die! Why did she have to suffer on top of it?!

Scarlet rushed over, "Yang! It's okay! I've been where you are! We can still… she's dead…"

The world started to ring as the camera pulled closer to Raven slowly. The voices of everyone else fading.

"Been there too, I guess. Honestly, the afterlife part isn't so bad. It's the dying part that's… haunting. Everything just slows down as you feel yourself leave your mortal coil. To this day, I still wonder if I've really been brought back, or if I'm still in the process of dying…"

Silence accompanied the words. It was a sobering sentiment.

Neptune, who's died twice, mind you(!), spoke up, "Oh my God! Someone finally put it into words!"

The ringing stopped as Scarlet continued, "Is it any easier the second time?"

"Believe it or not, it's actually worse."

No one -NO ONE- in that room was ready for what happened next. It just seemed like the kind of thing that would never be said. Never expressed. Perhaps never even felt. In their world, that may just be true. In the reality behind the screen, however, we hear it. Loud and enraged. The voice of a mother.

"MY BABY GIRL!" Raven roared as she shot forward in a furious rage toward Jaune.

Qrow, for the second time in his life, actually did a spit take with alcohol.

It was the appropriate reaction. One that Raven would never show. And yet, there it was. A mother in angry grief, lashing out against the person who killed her child. From anyone else, this would be expected and understandable. From notoriously terrible mother Raven Branwen? This was madness.

Ruby tried to call after her, "Raven, No!"

But the princess didn't care, "RAVEN, YES!" She unleashed a massive blast of energy that, in any other circumstance, would have atomised the opponent. Unfortunately, this circumstance proved to be a bit tougher.

Jaune flew up through the cloud of dust and smoke left behind, "Raven, no." He back-handed the Saiyan princess to the ground again and readied his own blast. "Goodbye, Raven. And when you get to hell, tell them to make some room."

Raven glared toward the screen. First, she acted, in her mind, out of character. Then, she got slapped down for it. This is why connections and bonds are meaningless.

Ruby tightened her fists and became a blur. As the blast hit, smoke and rock flew up on impact. When the smoke cleared, Ruby was standing over Raven, having shielded her from the blast. This, in turn, messed up her left arm beyond reason and rendered it unusable.

Jaune shook his head, "For Raven? Really?"

Ren, who made it no secret that he didn't like Raven, had to agree, "Yeah! Really?!"

Ruby ignored them, standing up as best she could. Blood gushed from a wound on her upper arm and fell down the appendage to the ground. "As long… as I'm still breathing… you won't kill anyone else."

Raven rolled her eyes. "She'd have been better off letting me die."

Tai groaned, "Don't ruin the moment…"

"The moment will be ruined when they're all dead."

Jaune chuckled, "Alright. I can free up five minutes." He placed his wrists together in a now familiar hand formation. "Or how ever long it takes to charge this~"

Oscar turned to Neptune, "Neptune! Senzu, NOW!"

Neptune didn't move toward the pouch, "Uh… You know we only had eight beans, right?"

"Yeah? And?"

"And how many of us are here?"

"… So, we're out of…"

"WE ARE OUT OF SENZU BEANS!"

Ozpin's eyes narrowed, "That does not bode well…"

Jaune adopted his technique's charging stance, "I want you to know Ruby, that this blast isn't just meant for you. This one goes out to the entire planet! My swan song to this wretched world!"

Ruby glared toward Jaune, but addressed woman behind her, "Raven, you brain-dead idiot! We could have easily brought back Yang with the dragon balls, but no. You pick now to be a parent?! Guess I'm not much better. Could've just let you bite it! Now I'm monoplegic and Jaune's going to kill us all!"

"I…" No excuse came from her mouth. No expected words. Only two words, so simple, but never spoken by her mouth. "I'm sorry…"

The family of the Bandit leader were all in shock. They'd never heard those words from Raven in their lives. Then again, that seemed to be a pattern for the last few minutes.

Ruby, who likewise understood the princess to be a self-centered, egotistical ass, was shocked to hear any kind of apologetics from Raven, "Oh God, we are fucked…"

Jaune grinned, "Honestly, Ruby, the best part about all of this is that, since I am unburdened by the evolutionary failure of aging, I will live forever! Free to roam the stars at my leisure! Going to have to pick up a hobby though… I'm thinking metal work. Make some nice pieces in a forge made of stars~"

Ruby gasped, "That… actually sounds awesome!"

Ruby on screen, who wasn't a weapon nut and in the middle of something, didn't see it that way. "So this is how I die? Down an arm and killed by an android… Why does seem familiar?" She was unaware, but there were parallels to how her future counterpart died in Yang's future.

"Ruby!" Oscar roared out toward her as she hadn't yet moved, "Snap out of it! Your mother wouldn't sit there and take it, and neither should you! If you want to do right by Summer, then don't let that bastard scare you!"

Jaune laughed, "That's right, brat! It's just like you said! No use being afraid of the inevitable."

Ruby clenched her good fist, "Yeah… Good point." She reared her arm back and began to charge her own blast, "KA! ME! HA! ME!"

"Magnificent! One last stand against me! A climactic showdown~!" Jaune let out a roaring laugh, "Give me what your momma couldn't! Before I send you home to her!"

Tai pinched the bridge of his nose. Part of him hoped the innuendos toward his wife and daughter were over… Tough luck, Tai…

Both roared out, "HA!" Two massive blue beams started to approach and collided in the center of their battle. Beam struggled against beam as neither side gave an inch. The world, itself, shook as their energies poured out.

Everyone was dumbfounded. They'd never seen a beam struggle before, not knowing this kind of shit happens every other week in this world. But to them? This was like nothing they'd ever seen. It broke all the rules they understood.

Neptune watched the display, beyond any semblance of rational words. Only a joke to try to calm himself, "Really glad beams don't just explode on impact with each other…"

Jaune shouted out over the sound of the beams, "Tell me when that arm starts feeling numb, brat! Then I might actually start trying! Worst case scenario: you die and get stronger. It did WONDERS for me~!"

Ruby strained under the pressure of the assault as Jaune's energy started to push her back. "Any chance of you shutting the hell up?!"

"What was that, brat? I can't hear you! Try sign language!"

And now, to Neptune with a philosophical conundrum, "If a person with one arm uses sign language, is that a speech impediment or an accent?"

The audience watching was silent for a whole new reason now. Would it be an impediment or an accent? Why do we drive on parkways but park on driveways?! Ships are cargo! Cars are shipping! Shipping! Back to brainless fighting!

Ruby grit her teeth, trying to fight back as the beam threatened to engulf her, Damn it! I'm down an arm, about to die, and no one's shutting the hell up!

"Oh! Sorry. I'll come back later."

Mom!

This was enough of a shock to stop their mental breaking.

Ruby looked up toward the screen, "She's alive?! How?!"

Summer appeared on the screen, floating in the air with a halo over her head and yellow clouds behind her, "Hi Ruby~! Sorry it took so long to call in, Ironwood's line was the worst."

The screen moved to show a close up of a very angry Goodwitch with eyes closed and a vain popping on her forehead.

"I thought I skipped it and went straight to hell~"

Glynda's eyes snapped open as she turned her head. The screen pulled back to show Summer with her hand on Glynda's shoulder, using her telepathic abilities to speak to Ruby. Another note was the halo over her own head, "YOU SHOULD GO TO HELL!"

This got a laugh out of some of the audience. Some, rather, agreed with Glynda on screen given what they'd seen of Summer in this reality.

The camera returned to the fight as Ruby 'spoke' to her mother, Mom! I don't think I can do this! He's too strong! And it's all my fault. We're all… We're all gonna…!

"Ruby… I want you to listen to me. If you don't do this, Oscar is going to die. Your dad is going to die. Everyone! Is going to die! But before all of that… You're going to die. And you're better than that! You're better than him! You're better than me!"

Ruby found her second wind and pushed the beams back to center.

"You see! I'm nowhere near that strong!" Yet.

Raven grumbled, "Wow… really?"

"You are more than just my daughter. You… are Ruby Rose! Now, dig in your heels, clench your teeth, and show this guy what you're made of!"

Ruby roared as her power surged. She started to push Jaune back again, but he proved none to keen on the idea.

"I don't know where you're getting all this power, brat! But it doesn't matter! Behold! The power of two hands!" Jaune pushed her back again. "Take solace Ruby. Though you have fought alone, you will not die alone. That is my last gift to you! A PERFECT DEATH!" Jaune was suddenly struck in the back. He turned to see Raven hovering above him. "Oh shit."

"DO IT NOW!"

One last burst of power. The screen seemed to show Ruby and Summed standing together, both launching the blast toward Jaune.

"OH SHIT!"

Yang gasped, "Is this it?! Did she win?! Is the world safe?!"

A musical tune started to play. Jaune always had a flare for the dramatic. No one on screen heard it, but the viewers sure did.

Raven groaned, "Another pointless song…"

Tai shrugged, "I kind of like them…"

Qrow nodded, "Nice change of pace."

And now… The end is near. And so I face, the final curtain! My friend, I'll make it clear. I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.

The screen faded to a bright white before beginning to show scenes from Jaune's life in this world. From his beginning as his first form to his perfection. The lives he absorbed and the fights he led.

I've traveled each, and every highway! But more… much mare than this. I did it My Way~

The screen then showed his failings on his road. The first being getting repeatedly Ki-Koh-Hoh-ed into a crater by Lie Ren.

Nora was surprised, but got over it fast, "OH! That's why he didn't like you!"

Regrets! I've had a few!

Then there was the time he got his shit pushed in by Raven.

But then again, too few to mention. I did, what I had to do! And saw it through, without exemption. I planned, each charted course! Each careful step, along the byway~! And more, much more than this. I did it My Way!

The screen started to show moments they'd seen in previous sets and even this current run.

Yes, there were times! I'm sure you knew! When I bit off, more than I could chew!

Cue scene of Yang pushing Jaune's shit in when her mother decided to be a moron and let him attain his perfect form.

Yang glared toward her mother, who in turn ignored her.

But through it all~! When there was doubt! I ate it up! And spit it out! The record shows!

The screen returned to Jaune in the present, his body slowly disintegrating.

I took the blows. And did it…!

The blast finally pushed through as Ruby unleashed all hell on Jaune. His body dissipated to nothingness. No cells left to regenerate from. Nothing, not even an atom, was left of Jaune from this blast. But, let it never be said he didn't do it…

MY~ WAY~!

The screen closed once again, Jaune removed from the world. Yang would be revived, along with those killed by Jaune's assault on the planet. Summer, however, remained in the afterlife, not wanting to burden the word or her family with psychopathic android menaces or alien threats seeking after her. Summer smiled, knowing the world was in good hands with Ruby.