Knox: 33 pages!

King: This took a while.

Knox: Why didn't you break it up?! You've done multi-parters before!

King: I didn't want to.

Knox: ARGH!

King: While he has his moment, I want to thank you all for your patience. I hope you're all feeling well in these crazy times and maybe that this will help in some form. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Thank you.

Inspiration: Bleach

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Things started to settle down after significant work to convince Nora that hugging someone hard enough to crack their spine was a bad idea. Less about lack of empathy and more about the excitement that she probably could pull it off. Eventually, the screen had to start the next viewing.

Let's have some fun.

Darkness remained over the screen for a moment as they heard Jaune speak through the speakers, "Do you truly believe that?"

Things came into form and showed Jaune standing in a massive hall with a tall ceiling. He seemed slender, if slightly muscular, beneath his white coat. Said coat hung to his form with a collar reaching halfway up his throat and a set of tails reaching down to his ankles. He also wore a pair of white hakama, black sash, and black footwear. The left side of his head was covered by a bone-white, helmet-like item with a long, slender horn. His face seemed set in perpetual indifference, complete with thin teal markings falling from his eyes over his face.

Opposite him was the stunned form of Blake Belladonna. She was dressed in a long white dress with black accenting along the seams.

Yang tapped her foot against the ground. "This is giving me Psycho-Jaune vibes."

Blake seemed uncertain of what she was hearing, "What?"

Jaune didn't seem affected by her state, "I asked you, if you truly believe you will be saved. Are you not afraid? After all, you will die here alone. No one can overcome what stands between them and you. You're 'friends' will die. And you will be alone."

Blake's eyes fell slightly, but she shook her head. "No. I'm not afraid. I left them… to keep them safe. I hoped that my leaving would save them."

Blake felt that one a little more than any other version she'd seen. She'd been running for so long. She knew that her past was catching up to her, and it scared her. But she cared about these new friends she'd made at Beacon. A part of her thought that, when her secret was out, that running was the only option. Now she knew that she didn't need to take on things alone like that.

Blake continued, "But they followed after me. At first, I wondered why they did. But then I understood. Because they want to do the same. To keep the people they care about safe. My heart is already with them. We share this need to protect each other."

Blake let out a sigh, ending the exhale with a smile. It was a sentiment she had come to know very well. And she was happy to have it in words.

Jaune still had that same face, almost unimpressed, "It is impossible for people to truly share feelings. That is simply a human delusion."

"Wow." Yang voiced, a bit insulted on behalf of people. "That's just sad."

Blake closed her eyes and shook her head, "Maybe we can't experience the exact same feelings. But we can care about each other. Our hearts can draw us closer. That's what it means when we say our souls are as one."

Jaune was silent for a moment, the words hanging over them in the hall. Soon, Jaune finally spoke. "Heart, you say? You humans throw that word around so callously. As if it were something you could hold in the palm of your hand."

Sienna raised an eyebrow, "I mean… Can't you? Technically? It's a physical organ in the body."

Gira shook his head, "I think that may be too literally minded. I believe it's more about the feeling. The sense of togetherness. Perhaps it would be better to say that 'heart' in this case would be more akin to the soul."

Sienna nodded, understanding what he was saying in this case. "I suppose that would explain it."

Jaune took a step toward Blake, "If this eye cannot see such things, then it does not exist. That is the assumption under which I've fought."

Neptune rolled his eyes, "Evidence is the most important thing when creating an outlook, but not all evidence is tangible, let's say. He already knows people reference the soul or the heart. If we never see it, does it exist? That doesn't allow for things people deliberately hide."

Eyes were turned to Neptune, a little surprised.

Neptune tapped the side of his head, "Intellectual. Remember?"

"What is a heart?" He finally stopped, just out of reach. He raised his arm with a finger pointed forward over her chest, the rest of his hand not bothering to tense together.

This made Blake tense up, however. Jaune was a powerful being that could fire a powerful blast of energy from that very finger that could blow a hole through the human body with no resistance.

This got everyone to tense up as well, uncertain what was about to happen.

Jaune, not caring about her inner fears, continued, "If I tear a hole in your chest, would I find it?" His hand moved up to float in front of her face, "If I crack open your skull, would it be there?"

Blake shook as it began to look like he was about to kill her.

Suddenly, the wall blew open, forcing both of them to look toward the new presence. Stepping in through the wall was Sun Wukong, dressed completely in black. His long coat was torn at its base and his attire clung to his form for full range of motion and minimal likelihood to catch on something. In his hand was a solid black katana with a small length of chain off the hilt.

Coco looked over the style for a moment, finding a nice blend between the style that Ms. Belladonna seemed to have, and something more like her husband's style. She had to admit it looked good. Of course she did the same for the Jaune on screen, finding it to be good for what it was. The weird half helmet and makeup notwithstanding. It made him look kind of depressing.

Sun was glaring daggers toward Jaune, "Get away from her. Now."

Jaune kept his same face and turned his back to Blake. "Odd. I distinctly remember shooting you through the chest. But if it calms you, I am only tasked with protecting Hueco Mundo in Lord Aizen's orders. I have no intention of killing her. But you are different. She does not pose a threat to Hueco Mundo. You, however, are. Killing you would be to the benefit of the Espada and to our home." Jaune brought his hand to his side and onto his own katana at his hip. He slowly drew the blade from its scabbard.

Sun moved to a ready stance. He had fought Jaune before, but calling it a fight would almost seem too generous in his favor. Jaune had crushed him and blown a hole in his chest, all without drawing his sword. It was further sobering to find out that Jaune, the strongest person he'd faced up to this point bar none, was not the strongest of the Espada force. He was the Cuatro Espada. He was only number 4.

This, naturally, got Yang thinking. "Who do you think are the top three then?"

Nora tapped her chin before listing off her thoughts, "Ren is 3, I'm 2, and Pyrrha is 1."

Yang thought for a moment before nodding. "I could see that."

Pyrrha just sighed at the fact that she was stuck with the stigma of the invincible girl. Though she did still like the idea of being the best, it was lonely once she finally was. No one could even challenge her, really. She had to handicap herself and refrain from using her semblance in most fights. Even when she does these days, it's for small movements that can pass off as simple redirections with her hand. No one had challenged her enough to force her to take a fight seriously enough to need her semblance at full power.

Jaune was still, his blade held in one hand and held in place ready to react. Sun's attention was placed on the blade, ready to block, only for Jaune to raise his off hand and fire a bright green beam toward Sun. That snapped the camera outside the castle to show Sun flying over a vast desert. Sun spun his body around in time to block and parry an attack from Jaune. The two flew across the sky with sparks flying from their blades as they traded blows. Sun unleashed a wave of dark energy, but it was swiftly cut apart and rendered useless. Sun was tense, his face set in a determined and defiant gaze. Jaune, however, remained subdued. Another swing and the two separated again, the two seeming to land on the air itself as they looked toward one another.

Tai blinked for a moment, "How on… How the hell are they just flying like that?"

Sun cracked his neck as his mind went back to his previous fight. The screen fading back to the past for a bit of context.

Sun was floating over the same desert with pillars across the landscape. Flying opposite him was the grinning form of Yang Xiao Long. She had dressed in a similar style to Jaune, though with a shorter jacket. A strange bone-jaw set seemed plastered to her human jaw line on the right side. Her coat was open with a short black top over her bust. This also showed a hole in her gut as the camera tracked around to show her from behind, revealing a 6 set on the right side of the other end of the hole in her gut.

Yang blinked, a little surprised. "Only number 6?! Come on! If I was part of that, I should be higher than that! Who the hell else is ahead of me?!"

Yang laughed as she held her blade up with one hand while the other started to drag across her now glowing blade. "Now for a real fight! Grind! Pantera!" The screen was suddenly covered by a bright blue light and a burst of smoke.

Rather than see the results, however, the screen cut back to the present with Sun and Jaune floating in the air. Sun adjusted his stance and glared toward Jaune. He needed to finish this fight fast. If he allowed Jaune to his Resurreccion ability, then he would find it difficult to beat him.

Jaune, however, saw the wheels turning in Sun's head. He saw the defiant hope behind Sun's eyes. Jaune raised his hand toward Sun, the green blast charging in front of his finger before firing toward Sun. As Sun dodged to avoid the blast, Jaune had closed the distance and kicked him into the air. Sun was sent into the sky before seeming to shatter the very sky apart.

This caused the crowd to jump. It made no sense that something like that should have been possible. Then again, they all assumed that the fight truly was outside.

Sun spun around in the air and landed on a curved roof. The world around them was dark as night and dead as a desert, the true state of Hueco Mundo, land of the Hollows. As Sun shook off the attack, he saw Jaune fly up to the top of a tall pillar in front of him.

Jaune looked down toward his opponent with the crescent moon at his back. "There are two things forbidden within the confines of Las Noches. The first, is the gran rey cero. The second is the Resurreccion of any Espada of level 4 or above. The release of such power would tear Las Noches apart from within. As such, in order to unleash this power, I first had to remove you from within."

Sun's eyes widened. Yang had been powerful once she released her power, but the idea that Jaune's could be forbidden inside the fortress or it would be destroyed is unnerving. He knew that holding back now would only make his situation worse. He reached to the upper portion of his face and pulled downward as a white mask with dark red markings over the right half formed over his face.

This got people to jolt up again.

"Woah!" Sun gasped, "What the heck is that thing?"

Blake could see some similarities to a Grimm mask, but on a human level. It actually reminded her of the Project Balor they saw in the future viewing. Though this mask had markings where Balor's mask was solid white.

Jaune continued, "Now, you will understand your situation." He raised his blade toward Sun, pointing the tip toward his opponent's chest. "Imprison, Murcielago." Jaune was suddenly surrounded by blinding green energy. This was Resurreccion, the ability for those like Jaune or Yang to merge with their blade and restore their latent power to their bodies.

Ruby gasped, "That's a thing?! The power to fuse with your weapon would be so cool!"

This got her family to roll their eyes. Though, Yang did like the idea. Qrow didn't really care one way or the other. Meanwhile, Tai hasn't used a weapon for years, so he wasn't too impressed.

The energy flew off for a moment before falling to the ground like a rainstorm. When the smoke cleared, Jaune stood before the world more powerful than before. His coat was gone and replaced with a long robe that reached to his ankles, the top of which hugged to his frame for full range of movement. The center of the robe had a long black streak down the front with a black hole over and through his chest. His 'horned helmet' had formed back over the entirety of his head while his hair became longer and less restrained. A pair of black, leathery wings stretched out from his back. The markings on his face became more prominent, like tears of emptiness stained onto his cheeks.

Sun watched on with a sense of shock and growing fear. There is a phenomenon called Reiatsu, or spiritual pressure. This is the power the people give off similar to an aura. However, unlike aura, it can be felt by others. This is the pressure that is exerted based on their power and can be used to gauge the power thereof. The greater the pressure exerted on others, the more powerful the user is. And right now, Sun felt like he was being pressed hard enough to shake his entire body from the strain.

Jaune looked down toward Sun, "Do not panic. Do not lower your guard for even an instant. The moment you do, you will die." Jaune was instantly in front of Sun with a glowing spear threatening from behind Sun's neck.

Ruby was amazed at the speed that would require.

Sun winced seeing a glowing spear almost run him through, saved only by pure luck.

Sun's eyes went wide before the shock was pushed out as he pushed through the attack with a dark energy. Sun flew back and rolled across the roof of the fortress's dome. Sun was able to land on his feet after said roll, but it was shaky.

Jaune floated back onto the roof in front of Sun. Jaune glanced toward his opponent, "You instinctively used your Getsuga Tenshou. A wise move. If not…"

The camera snapped up to show Sun's face, a section of his mask sliced off.

"...I'd have sliced off your head."

Sun jumped seeing the damage and the implications had he not countered in time.

Jaune flew off to meet Sun in a clash again. "Fire Getsuga."

Sun was taken aback at the sudden command.

"That is when you are at your most lethal. If that is your ultimate technique, fire it at me right here and now. I'll prove to you which of us is stronger."

The clash ended as Sun parried the clash and jumped back. Sun grit his teeth behind his mask, "You don't need to tell me. I was going to do that anyway!" Sun raised his blade upward as dark energy surrounded the sword. The energy swelled and raised up as a swarming cloud of power. "Getsuga! Tensho!" Sun swung the blade downward and the energy flew toward Jaune. The energy exploded around the Cuatro Espada. Sun was breathing a little heavier now, his strongest attack requiring a tremendous amount of spiritual energy to fire.

Sun whistled, impressed by the display, "Damn! That was awesome!"

Yang agreed with a massive grin, "That was crazy! That's some serious power."

The camera hung on the smoke as it began to fade. Soon, they could see a faint green glow.

Yang's eyes went wide, "No way."

The smoke fell away a bit more to show Jaune, floating in the sky, no worse for the ware. He just looked down toward Sun, his face unchanged.

Sun shook from the shock, "You're… not hurt?"

"I see. You're black Getsuga is indeed similar to our Cero blasts."

"Se-ro?" Nora's head tilted. "Jaune."

Jaune turned to her, a little surprised he was dragged into this, "What?"

"What's it mean?"

"It's not the same language I know."

Knox appeared after a moment to explain it for Nora, "Cero translates as Zero, as in the number. Similar to how Cuatro is the number Four."

Nora had a moment of realization, "Oh! Wait, so he shoots numbers at people?"

King formed to address them again. "The Cero is a powerful blast of energy utilized by beings in this reality called Hollows. Cero represents the culmination of this energy focused into a single point, amplifying the power past their number rank."

"That sounds confusing."

"Because there's a lot of context missing up to this point."

Sun placed his blade in a ready position again, "Like a Cero? Don't compare it to something like that."

Jaune took a breath, "I see. You haven't seen it yet. As a parting gift, I'll show you this power only a released Espada can achieve. A black Cero." Jaune raised a finger toward Jaune, "Cero Oscuras." A blast of black energy flew off toward Sun, resembling a pointed version of the black Getsuga.

As the blast enveloped Sun, the mask covering his face shattered apart, ending his power boost. The blast sent Sun flying, unable to withstand the blast. As he fell, Jaune was suddenly in front of him and kicked him into a pillar nearby. Sun winced from the attack, his body starting to give out from strain under the rubble.

Sun cringed with sympathy for his counterpart, "This is hard to watch."

"Now do you understand?" Jaune seemed to walk across the sky toward the pillar holding Sun. "No matter how you try to copy our abilities, they remain as different as heaven and hell. I understand why humans and soul reapers would seek to mimic Arrancars to increase their power. But we will never be equals."

Ilia wanted to get made at those words, but she was a little distracted by the beating that Sun was getting. It was hard to watch, even if she didn't know him.

Sun tried to stand up again, both hands on his blade, "Getsuga…"

Jaune saw this, and his visage finally fell apart. His usual calm gave way to anger, "I told you! It's pointless!" Jaune slammed Sun through the other side of the pillar and through the next. Jaune followed and threw Sun up toward another pillar and grabbed his shihakusho to pull him upward. "Why won't you drop your sword?"

Sun tightened his grip around his blade, unwilling to release his grip.

"Even faced with such insurmountable power, do you truly believe you can defeat me?"

"Insurmountable power?" Sun grinned as his blood fell over his face, "What about it? You thought I'd give up because you were stronger than me? I knew you were stronger than me from the beginning. But that doesn't matter. I'm going to beat you Jaune."

Sun grinned, "I like that. You might not be as strong as everything you have to fight. Heck, one for one, a Beringel could probably put most of us through a building without much effort. It's about how you fight it that matters."

Port laughed, "An excellent observation and outlook!"

Neptune chuckled and lightly punched his friend's arm, "Well, he is our team leader."

Jaune's face calmed again, releasing the sleeve and dropping Sun to the ground. "Nonsense. Those are the words of one who doesn't know true despair." The viewers could hear a heartbeat ringing through the speakers. "I shall teach you."

The camera moved away to show Sun's face, horror and shock appearing on his features. The spiritual pressure he felt before had changed. Before, it was a powerful force that would cause him to shake from its, for lack of a better word, pressure. Now, however, it felt like there was nothingness while being further overwhelming. A crushing emptiness.

The camera finally pulled back around to show as Jaune emerged from a black energy. His upper body was bare and an extremely pale white. His lower half resembled a demon's covered in dark fur, complete with a sharp, pointed tail. His arms were also covered in the dark fur and his fingers now ended in sharp claws. His hair had grown out as his helmet had disappeared, however his horns had remained. His Hollow hole had expanded slightly and dark, blood-like markings seemed to flow from the emptiness in his body.

Unlike before, where they had to rely on what they could see, this was different. They all felt this pressure. Actually felt it! The power flowed through the screen and they could all feel the same thing Sun was. It felt like an unyielding emptiness, as if they were alone in all the universe. It was beyond unnerving. Both the feeling and how it was coming through the screen. Times like these were rare, but this time it was something they'd prefer stayed beyond the canvas.

Jaune stretched his demonic wigs further, casting a shadow over Sun in the moonlight, "Resurreccion Segunda Etapa. Of all the Espada, only I have achieved this second release state. Now do you understand your situation?"

Sun strained and tried to rise to his feet, defiant and still willing to fight. One could still see a sense of fear, but not an unwillingness to fight back.

Jaune retained his composure this time, however. He closed his eyes and took a breath before opening them back toward Sun. "So be it. Then I shall show you my true power." Jaune widened his stance before flying forward toward Sun. Sun tried to prepare and block the attack, but Jaune was instantly at his side with his hand wrapped onto the side of Sun's head. The moment cut out with the sound of a body slamming through pillars of stone.

This shook everyone watching.

Even Cinder shook from the feeling coming through the screen. He desires for power and might. All seemingly meaningless. It was as if nothing mattered anymore, that it was all futile.

Emerald wasn't fairing better, though on a different level. She felt like she'd given up on everything she'd known, but this made her feel empty. Now, it felt like all hope for a better future, all the hope she'd been given through the idea of redemption, was gone. There was nothing left. She shook, looking around at anyone else, hoping for some kind of light in this empty darkness. Unfortunately, there was no hope to be found in the teachers, the Atassians, the students… wait a second. Jaune seemed… pained. It wasn't hopelessness, it was empathy. He felt pain for his counterpart. How can he not feel this? Is it because he's the counterpart? Or is it something else?

The camera moved to the hole in the roof with a bright glow moving closer. After a moment, Blake appeared atop a glowing golden platform. Neptune was also standing on the platform, dressed in a white uniform and mantle with blue accenting. He also had a bow of energy formed around his hand while the other held back an arrow of energy.

Neptune raised an eyebrow, but the sense of emptiness from before made speaking difficult.

Neptune looked around, his usual ability to better track spiritual energy being overwhelmed by the emptiness. "Where did they go?" He scrambled around, trying to find them. But then he noticed the look on Blake's face. Her eyes were wide with horror as the darkness around her seemed to cast over her eyes. The camera zoomed in to just show her eye with a reflection cast against her pupil.

The camera moved off to show Jaune as he turned back over his shoulder. "So you arrived." The camera moved away to show Jaune was holding Sun up by wrapping his tail around the other blond's neck. "Just in time for the end." Jaune turned back toward Sun, raising a finger toward Sun's chest. "Now watch as this man whom you pinned your hopes to is about to die."

The black Cero charged in front of Jaune's finger. Blake tried to cry out for him to stop, but the Cero was fired and erupted through the sky in front of him. The camera showed Jaune with finger pointed toward it. Soon, the camera moved back to reveal flesh around it as blood began to fall from the hole. It was then shown to be a hole blown through Sun's chest.

Cue another jump. This time, however, some of the group were knocked out of that sense of emptiness. They cared about Sun, and that reminded them that life wasn't as empty as that aura made it seem.

Jaune's tail whipped off of Sun's neck and dropped him onto the ground again. Blake charged toward Sun and brought a hand to a hair clip that seemed to shoot out and fly toward Sun. As the two pieces reached him, they created a field around him attempting to heal his wounds. It wasn't the first time this had happened and she'd healed it before! She could fix this! Right?

Sun winced again, "I don't like the idea I've had a hole in my chest before."

Neptune, meanwhile, lept into action with his energy bow. He fired a blue arrow toward him, but Jaune just knocked it away with his wing. Neptune, still in the air, pulled back as his bow began to glow brighter, "Light Regen!" Neptune unleashed a storm of arrows, the amassed energy temporarily causing the area to light up in the darkness of night.

Neptune, however, could notice a pattern, one that he didn't like stating, "That's not going to work… is it?"

The camera pulled away to show Blake as she tried to fix Sun's wounds. But that hole in his chest seemed unhealable. She fell to her knees, trying to focus her power again. Tears began to fall as she pumped more power to try to heal him. But it fails each time. Blake begins to shake as she starts to lose hope. She was pulled away as Neptune flew to the ground nearby. Her eyes went wide seeing he'd lost a hand to the battle. Unable to use his bow, Neptune tried to keep fighting using a special blade, but to no avail as Jaune knocked him aside. Blake tried to use her abilities to create a shield, but it was quickly shattered as Jaune drew closer. Blake's breathing was becoming heavier, panic filling her mind. Everything was collapsing down around her. Her friends were falling. Sun was dead. Her powers were useless, unable to protect her or heal her friends' wounds. All she could do was scream as fear of death filled her mind.

Kali hid her eyes, peaking through out of some hope that her daughter would find a way out of this. But the emptiness was still consuming, so it was hard to hope.

The camera snapped away as a hand slammed onto the stone. The angle and position of the hand showed the body had previously been face down on the ground. The fingers tightened onto the stone and the muscle strained, giving the indication of the person standing up again.

When the hand slammed onto the stone, everyone jumped for a moment.

"Wait, hang on…" Neptune's eyes were wide. "But how could…?"

Sun blinked, following his friend's logic to figure out just who was getting back up. Considering Neptune had lost the hand in question and Blake had been kneeling so the position didn't add up. He knew he'd been on his back at the time, but a quick flip of the body would fix that easily. But that just made him wonder, how was he alive?

Blake snapped to a realization as spiritual pressure surged behind her. She turned slightly to look back, not sure what she would see. But she knew she hadn't been expecting that.

The figure behind her stood taller than she was, skin as white as bone with black markings over his shoulders from a central point of a Hollow hole at his chest. He had a hellish mask with a pair of jagged horns that wrapped forward to point in front of him. His mask had a set of black marks that framed his eyes and another that seemed to form a circlet crown over his forehead. Wild blond hair spread down his back, almost as long as Yang's. And then, there was that tattered black clothing with familiar form and damage.

Blake's eyes went wide at the sight. "Is… is that supposed to be Sun?"

Sun had a similar reaction, finding it difficult to believe.

Jaune was shocked, though it only appeared in his usual subdued way. "That's not possible. You can't still be alive." His eyes narrowed toward the thought-dead man. "Who are you?"

Sun held his open hand out to the side. His sword suddenly burst out from its resting state and flew into the man's hand. His hand swung up and he brought his sword back down. The resulting force blasted the stone apart from the swing alone.

They'd seen stronger in other worlds, but the sheer force was still intimidating.

Without an answer, Jaune pressed further, "Can't you hear me? I asked you who you are."

Sun opened his mouth slightly before letting out a primal roar. The reverb effects and pure, unyielding rage made him sound inhuman.

A fact that caused the people to experience another sensation alongside the emptiness. Fear. It was more unnerving than a Grimm because it was once human. This was Sun Wukong, driven to become this creature.

Jaune let out a dissatisfied sigh. "It seems you can't hear me after all." He raised a finger and charged another black Cero.

Sun roared and lowered his head, pointing his horns toward the Espada. A small ball of red energy formed before expanding to rival the size of his head. Both fired their beams, colliding between them and bursting into black and red energy.

Jaune flew out of the way of the explosion, in shock at what he had seen. That was a Cero. One that could rival an Oscuras? No human should be able to discharge a Cero. His thoughts were cut off at the sudden appearance of the Hollow Sun behind him. Jaune tried to spin around to attack, but Sun grabbed the Espada's arm and ripped it off of the Cuatro's shoulder. As Jaune fell to the ground, the camera hung on to show Sun with smoke and fire at his back, still holding Jaune's arm by the wrist.

Sun felt a chill, but wanted to try to lighten the mood in some way. "If that's not a metal band cover, they're not creative enough."

Yang thought it over and saw what he was up to. With a slight smirk, she nodded, "Yeah. How did no one think of that yet?"

Jaune landed back on the roof, his breathing heavy. He looked over toward his arm and the camera moved to meet it. Suddenly, black protrusions shot out from the bleeding stump and formed into a new arm, completely indistinguishable from the previous limb.

It wasn't the first time they'd seen an ability like that. A previous Jaune had reformed the entire upper half of his body, so this was a trite in comparison. Still surprising, though.

As Jaune tested out his new limb, he looked up toward the floating Sun. "Did you think you could buy yourself time by ripping off my limb? Unfortunately for you, I still possess my High Speed Regeneration. Many Espada gave up this power to increase the might of their other abilities, but I chose to hold onto this strength." Jaune looked up toward Sun. He wasn't even sure that the Hollow-fied human could even understand what he was saying. He could likely explain the fact that his ability couldn't regrow his brain or internal organs, but he doubted it would matter.

When Sun made no move to attack, Jaune brought his hands together at the tips of his fingers. Between his hands, a bright green glow started to form. He snapped his hands to the side and a spear of glowing green fire formed in front of him. Tongues of flame were flowing along the blade to differentiate it from the previous spear, "Lanza del Relampago." Jaune spun the spear to the side, ready to toss. "Stay where you are. I'd rather not fire such an attack at close range." He hurled the spear toward Sun, who dodged the spear by tilting his head to the side. The spear flew through the dark night, disappearing on the horizon. After a moment, the sky was alight as green energy burst up into the sky with power comparable to an atom bomb.

"Holy crap!" Ruby jumped. The energy weapons before were cool. But for that weapon to also work as an explosive was just awesome. That said, an explosive yield like that would be more than a little excessive in her opinion.

As the shockwave ripped though the world, Blake used her barrier to protect both herself and Neptune from the shockwave.

Jaune seemed unaffected, simply looking up toward Sun. "I missed. It is difficult to handle." He held out his hand and another spear formed almost instantly.

"Woah! What?!" Nora shouted, "He can just fire those whenever he wants? There's not a cool down or something?!"

Sun noticed the new spear and threw Jaune's arm back at him.

Jaune swung the spear, incinerating the arm, "Did you think that would cause me to hesitate?"

Sun was suddenly in front of him with his palm at the end of the spear. Sun's hand snapped into a fist and destabilized the weapon, causing it to burst rather than explode as it had before. Jaune was in shock at the display, just long enough for Sun to slash down over Jaune. The blade sliced through his left horn and down his chest from shoulder to the opposite side. Through it all, Jaune never screamed, but his pain was immense. He fell onto his back with a painful breath.

Jaune groaned as his eyes tracked back upward to look toward Sun, "To be defeated by a human tuned Hollow. How comical."

Jaune thought to himself for a moment before nodding, "It does seem kind of ironic."

Pyrrha turned to her partner, "How so?"

"Well, if what we've seen follows a pattern, then these Hollows all have holes in their body like mine, the one we saw through Yang, and the one Sun has now. I think both Yang and I used to look more like Sun does now, less human. So, we became like humans while I lost to a human that turned Hollow."

"Huh…" Sometimes, she had to admit being impressed at how observant Jaune can be.

Sun's foot slammed into the side of Jaune's head, horns pointed down toward the Espada. The red Cero blast charged over Jaune as he looked up toward the mad Hollow. "No mercy, eh? Very Hollow-like. Go on. My life has no meaning now that I've lost to you." Jaune looked up toward him, "Do it."

Sun fired his blast and the energy erupted in a bulb of fire and death. This was the Cero of a Vasto Lorde, the strongest of all Hollows. Not as strong or directly devastating as the Lanza, fired at point blank would be more than enough to destroy the canopy beneath him. When the smoke cleared, Sun was floating in the sky with a mutilated Jaune being held up by his last wing. Jaune's entire left side was destroyed and his lower half was incinerated. All he had left was his right torso, arm, wing, and head.

"I'll be honest, I didn't expect anything to be left." Mercury groaned with a sense of sympathy. Not much sympathy, but enough.

Sun tossed the body back onto the roof. He wasn't moving, just lying there with half his body. Sun seemed to walk across the air back down toward the stone below. He made his way to Jaunne's body, looking down toward the Espada. There was silence; Jaune unspeaking and Sun unable to speak more than a roar. Sun moved his sword arm up and swung the blade around, pointing the tip of the blade down toward Jaune.

Mercury blinked, a bit shocked. "Wait, is he going to…?"

Before he could lower the sword, a hand grabbed Sun's wrist and held it in place. Neptune was on his feet, using his remaining hand to hold Sun's in place. "That's enough, Sun. He's beaten. There's no need to mutilate his body."

Mercury rolled his eyes. Not at the blue-haired guy's line, but the idea of mutilation of a body. He was raised to be an assassin, and assassins had one very important rule, leave no evidence. Mutilating a body makes it too obvious how they died and increases the chance that someone could figure out who killed them, especially with how many custom weapons exist in this world.

When Sun tried to push his sword downward, despie Neptune's grip, Neptune became angry, "I said that's enough, Sun!"

Sun, being totally Hollow-fied, responded to the anger by swinging his sword arm upward and toward him. His blade flew from his hand and buried the blade first into Neptune's gut and sent him flying backward.

Sun winced again, "That pretty much proves I've lost my mind."

Sun groaned, but something came through behind his mask. "...ect… er…"

Ears perked up, instantly taking in what was being said.

"Pro… tect… her…"

Ozpin nodded slowly, being the first to voice the clear answer, "I see. This form is an attempt to respond to Ms. Belladonna's fear. It would explain why, despite being completely out of his mind, he focuses on a single target. The figure that caused her to scream in fear."

Blake's eyes were wide, looking toward the headmaster and then back to the screen. It all adds up, but that also hit her with a realization of sorts.

The Blake on screen had a similar look and reaction. He became like that… because I… Her thoughts were cut off seeing the mindless Sun level a Cero blast toward Neptune, charging the attack. Blake jumped a bit and nearly fell forward to try to stop him, "No! Sun! Please stop!"

Everyone was tense, as if they were about to see Neptune end up like Jaune.

The camera cut to show Sun and the space over her left shoulder. Jaune had suddenly jumped with an energy spear in hand.

Nora gasped, "He's alive?!"

Jaune swung his arm and severed Sun's right horn, disrupting the Cero charge and causing it to explode against his head. As Sun fell to the ground, Jaune was blown backward and rolled across the ground, groaning in pain. Most of his body was reforming, but his left arm and leg were basically non-existent. He could stand with a wire-like leg, but that was all he had going for it right now. His breathing was heavy, but he remained composed. My body may be reforming, but it's all just for show. The organs he destroyed aren't coming back.

Yang, after a moment, noticed something. "Hey, hold up." Attention moved to her as she stood, "Is it just me, or did that weird, empty feeling go away?"

Everyone was a little confused, but soon caught up with what she was saying. Sure enough, there was no more emptiness being shoved into their souls.

Jaune flinched as he tried to balance his weight before he had to lean away from his left side. If that didn't finish him, I'd likely be the one lying dead.

The camera moved to Sun's hand as it flinched and clench against the ground. The hole in his chest was being reformed through the massive amount of spiritual energy being fueled into his body.

Jaune's eyes went wide at the sudden show of power, "Super high speed regeneration? No, it's more than that. It's as if he's pulling the Reishi out of the air itself and using it to heal his wounds."

Sun suddenly jerked upward and looked around, touching his chest and expecting a hole that wasn't there.

Jaune's eyes narrowed, a human, the blade of a soul reaper, the mask of a Hollow, and now this? What are you Sun Wukong?

Yang leaned back in her chair, finally free to relax, "That is a little weird, I take it."

King appeared with a sigh, "You have no idea."

Sun looked around, finding his own sword buried in Neptune's stomach. Neptune, as a Quincy, possessed an ability to halt blood loss and so the blade was more a pain than anything. That said, it still stung like no one's business. Jaune's sudden appearance and pulling the blade out didn't help. Neptune cried out in pain, but had to focus on keeping his blood from flowing from the wound.

Everyone winced with sympathy. Being stabbed definitely sucked, but having the object just pulled out would make things worse. The ability to block the bleeding, notwithstanding.

Jaune threw the blade to stand in the ground in front of Sun, "Take it. Let's finish this."

Sun, however, wasn't moving toward it. "Was I the one… that did that to Neptune?"

"That is not my concern."

"And what about your arm and leg? Was I responsible?"

Jaune was silent, not seeing where he was taking this. If he told him yes, it would certainly answer his first question. But could he say no? Sun wasn't exactly using his own mind in that moment. But that, too, would be a lie of sorts.

Sun could tell he was dodging, and so continued, "If I did, then cut off my left arm and leg."

This got the viewers to jump.

"Why the heck would he do that?!" Ruby yelled.

Roman recognized the signs, though, "Kid's got an honor code."

Sun continued, "That person you fought before, I wasn't conscious. That Hollow took over and I had no power of my own. I refuse to fight someone unless we're on even terms."

Some of them could understand his stance, but thought it was really dumb during a deathmatch.

Jaune didn't seem that affected, just creating another spear, "I see now why Yang took such an interest in you. But if that's what you ask for, then that's what you'll get." Jaune moved his arm back to strike, but the camera cut to the tip of his remaining wing as it suddenly burst, slowly disintegrating into ash. Jaune stopped as his spear shattered. He turned back to his wing, calm as ever despite the situation. "I see. It seems this truly is the end." He turned back to Sun with one final command, "Kill me. I don't even have the strength to walk. If you wish to settle what is between us, this is your last chance to do so. So, hurry up."

Sun had clenched his hand into a fist, shaking, "No."

"What?"

"I said no! This isn't how I do things! I can't kill someone who can't even fight back!"

Tai couldn't help but smile. He liked to think he was similar, preferring an even match with a sense of honor.

Jaune sighed, "Even to the end, you still refuse to do what I tell you." His eyes glance toward Blake who was standing nearby. He had been tasked with guarding her within Los Noches, and as such he had many interactions with her. She had always seemed defiant and hopeful, no matter what he said or did. He glanced toward Sun again, seeing a man of purpose, who stood tall despite everything in his way. Jaune sighed again with closed eyes, opening them soon after. "And just when I was taking an interest in you people."

Velvet's eyes widened slightly, "That's why we can't feel that emptiness anymore… he found something to fill his own void."

Jaune raised his hand toward Blake as he had before, though she was out of reach. "Do you fear me?" It was question he'd asked before without a true answer.

Blake shook her head slightly, "No. I'm not."

"I see." I see now. This thing in the palm of my hand… it is a heart.

A Blake reached forward to take Jaune's hand, it dispersed like his wing. His body was finally giving out completely. The process began to pick up speed from his wing and arm, finally reaching his main body as he turned to dust and the wind took what was left of him. However, they could hear his final thought as he dissipated. One last glance toward Sun, got him thinking at the end.

I wonder… will we meet again in the next life? The last thing to appear on his face was a small smirk, almost unseen, I have to admit… I hope we do. The screen went dark to signal the end.

Yang fell back in her chair completely, now that it was over, "That was heavy…"

Ruby nodded, "No kidding."

"Still, it would have been nice to find out who else was on that list of… whatever they were called."

Knox flickered to form to answer, "Espada."

"Yeah, those guys."

King followed soon after, "Well… if you want a list, I technically have the set still running, so I can give you a roster as a final screen."

Yang perked up, "Really? Do it! I want to find out how I'm only number 6."

"Yang!" Ruby chuckled a bit, too used to her sister's style.

Knox turned toward the purple fire, "Just a name list or more… dynamic?"

King thought for a moment, "Dynamic."

The both disappeared and the screen turned white.

A black number 10 formed on the screen. Soon, the figure of Adam Tauras appeared, dressed in an open white coat. Lettering appeared over the side, [Arrancar Diez: Adam Taurus] They heard him shout, "Rage! Ira!" And his body changed to show a giant version of Adam with a more monstrous form, his number changing to 0. [Cero Espada: Adam Taurus] appeared soon after. This is the power to build up strength as he becomes more angry, turning him from 10 to 0. Though this power is only during release.

Blake couldn't help but snicker a bit. It fit Adam a little too well.

Another box appeared reading, [Fate: killed in battle by Court Guard Squad Captains Winter Schnee (of Squad 6) and Yatsuhashi (of Squad 11)]

"Woah! Hold up!" Knox popped in again, "That didn't happen yet in this! What's going on?"

King popped in to explain, "I'm just running it based on the ending. It's more interesting that way."

Soon, this was all replaced by number 9. He was a spitting image of Lie Ren. His coat was long, his collar was large, and his sleeves were much larger with both held together. [Noveno Espada: Lie Ren]. Like last time, they heard him release his power, "Devour, Glotoneria!" The being revealed its true form, a large mass of Hollow with Ren at the top. The power to devour his opponents and takke on their powers and memories. The most basic of all Hollow powers. [Fate: Killed in battle by Weiss Schnee of Squad 13]

The released form got many to wretch at how nasty it looked.

Ren couldn't help but wonder if it really fit with his personality. But then again, Jaune wasn't a Nihilistic person, so it wasn't too surprising.

Nora did groan a bit, "Looks like my guess was wrong after all…"

Cue the change to number 8. It showed Doctor Merlot, though much younger than the version the adults knew, with a white coat similar to a medical design. His mask piece formed what looked like a pair of glasses. [Octava Espada: William Merlot] "Sip, Fornicaras!" Merlot's body changed to seem to change like a cross between a man and a fruit tree with dark purple droplets falling from protrusions on his back and along his clothing. [Fate: Killed in battle by Squad 12 Captain Arthur Watts]

Ironwood's eyes narrowed. Watts… He was supposed to be dead, according to Atlas records. That said, the fact that the man appeared before them put Ironwood on edge. That said, the two smartest enemies of humanity fighting each other would be quite helpful to their cause.

Number 7 appeared on the screen. It now showed Sage in a pseudo monk's robes. [Septima Espada: Sage Ayana] Then, the release, "Suppress, Brujeria!" Sage now had a lower half of pink lotus-like bulb. [Fate: Killed in battle by 6th Squad Captain Winter Schnee]

Winter felt a certain pride so far, knowing she took two of them down. Even if she had help with one of them.

Number 6.

Yang tapped her foot fast against the ground. "My turn."

Yang appeared as she had in the flashback. [Sexta Espada: Yang Xiao Long] Soon, it showed the release. "Grind! Pantera!" Yang's body morphed, seemingly wearing white armor with bladed protrusions on her arms. Her legs, however, took on a very feline form. That and the claws on her hands gave off the idea of a large cat.

Kali gasped with stars in her eyes, "Oh! I get it now! Pantera means Panther! She became like a panther."

Yang waited to learn her fate.

[Fate: Incapasitated by Ruby Rose]

Yang blinked in surprise for a moment. "Okay, so I'm alive, but I got beaten by Ruby? I thought I was fighting Sun."

Neptune shrugged, "Maybe you won and he needed help."

The number changed again to 5. The next person to appear was Ruby Rose, dressed in a sort of jumpsuit with a massive collar behind her head and an eyepatch over her left eye. Her current stance had her sticking out her tongue to reveal the number 5 on her tongue.

Ruby blanked for a moment, "Wait! If I'm on Yang's team in this, why did I beat her?!"

"Why is the number on her tongue?!" Tai shuddered. He had a tattoo and knew they could hurt getting one, but on the tongue? Yikes.

Ruby's voice rang out, "Pray, Santa Teresa!" Her body changed again as her coat broke apart, modesty preserved only by a black tube top beneath. She also grew an extra set of arms, all four wielding a massive scythe.

And, of course, that distracted Ruby a bit. Though more in disappointment that it wasn't Crescent Rose. That said, she didn't like the idea that she was apparently the one that defeated Yang. Out of context it was bad.

(If she had the context, it would be even worse.)

[Fate: Killed in battle by Captain Yatsuhashi of Squad 11]

Ruby groaned, "And apparently, I'm dead."

4 appeared next and showed Jaune. [Cuarto Espada: Jaune Arc.] They saw his release, both forms, and moved on quickly. Especially given they'd seen it all already. Then, the fate box appeared. [Fate: Killed in battle by Sun Wukong].

No one had anything to say, given they'd seen it all.

3.

Nora was getting fidgety, "Okay! Top 3."

They saw Sienna Kahn appear on the screen with a half jacket with long sleeves. In this moment, the jacket was open to show her mask covering the lower half of her face and down over her chest. The number 3 was formed on her right breast, just in view of the camera. [Tres Espada: Sienna Kahn]

Sienna raised an eyebrow seeing the form.

Ilia shook a bit before shaking her head to her thought back to the situation at hand.

"Hunt. Tiburon." Sienna changed to show a cross between herself and a shark. Her attire became more bone-like with a skirt of bone, tall streamlined boots, and a massive weapon like a stylized shark head complete with a set of gills. [Fate: Incapacitated by former leader Salem]

Sienna admitted to herself, she liked the first style more over the released state. It wasn't even about the outfit itself, it was more the weapon and how massive it was. She preferred the more streamlined form as opposed to the released version.

This time, when the number 2 appeared, it was accompanied by a skull with the number at its center, over the third eye. Soon, they saw the man wielding this power. It was shown to be a very old man, but his face still held some recognizable features they'd seen since arriving. [Secunda Espada: Charles Arc] He was dressed in the usual white attire, however he also had a long coat with lines of black fur. His mask piece created a crown over his head. "Rot, Arrogante." Charles was surrounded by dark purple power and soon revealed a skeleton with a golden crown and a regal purple and black robe, like a king of death. [Fate: Killed in battle though his own technique, Rapid Aging]

Jaune looked on in surprise. His grandfather was the second most powerful of these Espada. And then to lose to his own ability, it was a little jarring. Even worse given said power was aging, likely past the rotting stage.

"Moment of truth." Yang waited to find out who was number 1.

Then, things swapped to number 1. The screen showed Roman Torchwick, naturally dressed in the usual white attire, though his coat was asymmetrical at the tails. His mask created a necklace resembling a lower jaw.

Roman couldn't help but smirk in his smug way, "Well, well, well~ Would you look at that."

Neo rolled her eyes.

Roman was soon joined by the familiar form of Neo at his side with her mask resembling a helmet with a section covering her left eye. Her attire was more free to change, having tall boots, shorts, and a top that covered her well, if showing a bit of skin.

Yang recoiled slightly, "Wait! Which one's number one?"

Neo seemed to glow as Roman spoke, "The release of power that most Arrancar split into their sword, we severed into two bodies. By combining together again, we can access this power. Give Chase, Los Lobos." Roman and Neo soon disappeared into bright blue. When they could see, they saw Roman now dressed in a white coat with grey fur at his arms, legs, and down his back like a pelt around his waist. Long bandoliers flowed along from his shoulders to his sides. His weapon now formed as a pair of ornate pistols, one brown and the other white. [Primera Espada: Roman Torchwick and Neo Politan. Two bodies born of one soul.]

Neo and Roman blinked in a bit of shock. It was true that the two always worked together these days, and always looked out for the other. In a way, they couldn't help but feel this was appropriate in a way.

[Fate: Both were killed in battle by 8th Squad Captain Peter Port with assistance by 13th Captain Bartholomew Oobleck.]

Port and Oobleck felt like they were a good team, and it was nice to know they remained such, even in other realities.

King flew through as the screen cut to black again. "And that's all of the Espada. The ten best of Hueco Mundo. On a side note, I think now is a good time for a break."