King: I swear I'm alive guys!

Knox: Are we?

King: Don't start. Any who, I won't keep you too long. I hope you enjoy as usual. God, this took forever...

Knox: It's more based on the series than any specific version. Keep that in mind. Also, there's a note at the bottom of the chapter for anyone that cares.

Inspiration: Persona Series (RWBY)

/\

Everyone finally returned to their seats, with a few odd seating arrangements. Ilia had moved closer to the main crew, more or less cementing herself within the group dynamic. Sienna had moved over next to Tai, causing Qrow to give a knowing grunt and move a seat to the side. Then there was Tyrian, who was huddled up a seat further from Salem, chanting that he'd failed his goddess over and over under his breath.

King made his procession down the aisles as Knox hopped up to his usual perch. King reached the area before the screen and turned to the others, clapping his hands. "First things first, welcome back everyone. Great to have you. Second, Glad to see everyone's enjoying themselves so far. Anyone need anything before we continue?" After no one spoke up, he nodded. "Alright. Let's go." He snapped his fingers and disappeared to his own balcony seat, actually using the chair unlike Knox who lied on the rail like a cat.

The scene opened to show Ruby, but clearly of a different stripe. For starters, she was dressed in a tight red tank top with her symbol stitched onto her chest in black. This was coupled with a pair of loose black pants and red flats for shoes. She had a red duffle bag hanging over her shoulder as she walked along through the streets of Vale.

"Well that's an interesting look." Coco did actually appreciate the shake up in Ruby's style for a bit.

Ruby continued to walk before a ringing came from her pants pocket. She took out a device similar to a blockier scroll.

Yang tilted her head, "The heck is that?"

This was Oobleck's time to shine, "It appears to be a previous version of a telecommunication device. If I had to guess, it is a later variant of the Cellular Phone. This likely puts the technological levels to be around two to two-and-a-half hundred years, before even the Great War."

"But Vale still looks pretty modern."

"It could be that the technology is simply older while the city remains as we know it."

Ruby answered her phone saying, "Hello?"

The voice on the other side, however, was one she only heard every so often. "Hello again, Ms. Rose." Ozpin.

This got everyone on edge. They didn't know if this was good or bad.

Ruby was silent as Ozpin spoke.

"Please make your way to a suitable location. It's time we speak in person once more."

"No offense, but this sounds kind of sketchy." Blake's eyes narrowed.

Ozpin nodded, "There is no offense in pointing such a thing out."

As the line went dead, Ruby changed her course. She moved behind an alleyway and found a strange ethereal doorway. Standing next to it was Oscar, dressed in a pair of blue pants, a white shirt, and a blue tie. "Hey again, Ruby. Right this way." The door opened as Oscar stepped to the side.

"I… what is going on?" Weiss was just more confused than anything.

As Ruby entered the door, a bright flash transitioned the scene to a massive library. She looked around to find the man in question standing in front of a tall shelf with a book in hand. He noticed her and grinned and he closed the book. "Welcome back. To the Velvet Room."

Velvet's ears perked up, "The what?"

Ruby took a seat at a table nearby. "Mind if I ask why you wanted to see me in person?"

Ozpin nodded once and took a seat opposite hers. He placed the book between them, revealing it to be called [Nibelungenlied]. "You've come a long way from your beginnings. Three tales have been told and I look forward to seeing how this fourth will end. You and your bonds have grown and I am certain you are quite ready for what is to come. At least, for a while. Will your story be a triumph? Or a tragedy?"

"I'm just trying to help people."

"Admirable." Ozpin took the book back up and opened it to a page near the middle. "Now, the final chapters will be written." He grinned and placed the book down again and steepled his fingers. "Now, for the reason I called you here today." Ozpin paused a moment before continuing, "Your powers have grown. And I believe there is no greater time to say this."

The viewers leaned in, not sure what to make of everything.

After a light pause, Ozpin smiled. "You are a human worth observing."

"That's it?" Yang felt a little jipped. She figured it would be more important.

Ruby blinked. Ozpin always addressed her as a non-factor. Someone he helped to alleviate his boredom. He says he only ever 'observed' four humans in all of history.

This got Yang to pause, "Wait, what?"

Qrow sighed and shook his head. Huh… Bit on the nose there.

Ozpin chuckled, "Now, I believe you have some business to attend to. Good luck, Ms. Rose."

The bright light returned to show as Ruby entered a room. Sitting around a table in the center was Weiss, Blake, and Yang. Weiss looked very similar to the viewing version. Blake had a simplified version with a black vest, white shorts, and black ankle boots. Yang had a gold tank top, brown shorts and yellow stockings to go with her brown boots.

Yang tapped her heel on the ground as Ruby arrived, "So, time to finish this?"

Blake sighed, "We've reached the final area. And today is the day we have to finish our time in the Forest."

"Forest?" Nora asked.

No one had an answer. Not even an idea, really.

Ruby took a seat at the table, "Blake's right. The Forest will close off after today. We need to deal with the Grimm today, or we lose the chance."

"So, it's a huntress mission?" Pyrrha asked no one in particular.

"Sounds like a plan." Yang kicked back with a smirk. "Let's do this."

Three people let out a cheer, which was noticed by Blake. She turned to their final member, seeing Weiss looking down toward the table. "Weiss? Are you okay?"

Weiss remained quiet a moment before nodding. "Yeah. Let's just go."

Ruby knew why Weiss was acting that way. But right now, they had to move. Now.

The screen began to warp and twist around before the room fell away to reveal a dense forest covered in snow.

"Wait! What happened?" Sun burst on in shock.

King kept his mouth shut for now.

The camera hung low before a boot fell onto the snow. The camera then tracked up to reveal Ruby now dressed in battle gear. She was dressed in a red jacket with tails and a pair of dark pants with black boots. She had her hooded cape back again with a black half mask with a red rose pattern. "Okay. Here we go." The camera pulled away to reveal the others.

Blake was dressed in a black catsuit with a purple coat. A pair of thigh-high black boots were distinguishable by the white accepting at the tops. Her mask resembled the face of a cat over the upper half of her face, a white base with black lines to resemble whiskers and a scar over the left eye. "I'll never get used to this place."

Yang's gear resembled that of a school uniform or modified military style. She wore a yellow uniform with a black coat covered in designs of a golden dragon. Her uniform was fairly basic as a school uniform, skirt, blouse, vest, and all. Her mask was shaped like a dragon's head with her hair flowing down her back as though it was the dragon's body. "Alright. Time to kill this Grimm!"

And finally was Weiss. Dressed in a long white dress with light blue layering. She looked like a princess out of a storybook. Despite the steps clearly being taken, the dress seemed to glide just off the ground at all times. Her snow-white mask came with a built in tiara seemingly made of ice. Like before, she was quiet.

"Is that supposed to be our combat gear?" Ruby looked on, trying to get an idea how they could fight, but didn't see any weapons. "Where's our weapons?! How are we supposed to fight a Grimm without them?!"

Coco cringed a little, but ultimately had to just calm down. "They could've been worse."

Ruby took a step forward and looked through the forest. Beyond the treeline was a massive castle in the middle of a vast field. It was a beautiful piece of architecture, with a darkness within. It was also their target. Ruby turned back to the others, "Alright. Be careful moving forward. Shadows are going to be more violent than usual." She paused as everyone took in things. It was mostly a word for Blake, who was the most recent addition. But then the leader's eyes met a certain member, "Weiss? Are you okay?"

Weiss jolted a bit as she seemed to snap back to reality. "Sorry. Just…"

And Blake caught on the issue. "It's because Jaune is the victim this time. Right?"

Jaune blinked, "I am?"

Weiss glanced away before nodding. "He doesn't deserve that."

Blake placed a hand on her shoulder, "Neither did you. So, let's go save your boyfriend."

Weiss instantly jolted and turned indignant, "Would you stop saying that?!"

Yang burst out laughing, "And she's back."

"So, what is up with her then?" Nora asked.

"Guess we'll see." Blake chuckled to herself.

"Let's move." Ruby turned around again and the cape covered the scene for another transition.

"This is a lot of set up." Harriet's leg was bouncing in place, showing how ansty she was getting.

"You have no idea." Knox snarked.

"How long did this take?" Coco asked.

"This particular series of events took about a month and a half. This is their fourth run in the Forest."

"Okay, what is that Forest anyway?!" Whitely shouted. "What's going on in this one?"

King just brought a finger to his lips, indicating that he won't tell them.

The red of Ruby's cape flew away having become a red tapestry hanging in the castle's hall. Blake jumped back to avoid a large blade. The creature before her was a large angel with a sword. It brought its blade down, only to be intercepted by Yang with a metal bat. Yang knocked the weapon back and gave Blake an opening. She pulled a knife and stabbed the angel between its plate armor. She pulled the knife and black blood erupted before the creature disappeared.

Meanwhile, Ruby was using a collapsible scythe to tear into a large horse-like creature. As it tried to attack her again, it was knocked off balance by a heavy burst of icy wind. Weiss was standing to the side with a rapier and running forward and crashing into the creature blade first. She pierced through its shoulder before pushing it to the ground. Weiss ran up and jumped onto the creature, pulling a revolver from her hip and unloading four shots into its head and causing it to disappear.

"Yeah! Team RWBY is too awesome to lose to those… whatever they are!" Ruby cheered.

This time, King explained, "They are called Shadows. They are creatures of the collective unconscious. Darkened forms of the human condition. They're more often conceptual than truly formed, but they exist within the Forest." King held up his hand to interrupt the inevitable, "And now I'll explain it. The Forest is the collective unconscious of humanity. It represents the combined desires and fears of life. The Forest is both provider and destroyer. Within are the Shadows, aspects of humans unconscious personalities."

"That's confusing." Nora complained as she held her head.

King just shrugged, "That's just what they are."

As Weiss brushed herself off, she looked to the end of the treeline. Beyond the trees was a large wooden fence with spikes covering the upper section. They knew better than to try to approach from the air as a psychic barrier kept them out. If they were going in, they had to do so from the front door.

Raven groaned to herself, "That would come in handy."

As the crew made their way to the fence, the opening came into view with a light glow. This was a Camp, a section of the Forest where the personality has torn into the unconscious. It was here that Shadows become Creatures of Grimm, a more powerful Shadow representing the inner evil of the person.

"Wait, then why would Jaune get targeted?" Yang just tapped her heel against the floor, "Even if you get him mad, I don't think he'd be evil."

King shook his head, "That's not how it works."

"It's the inner evil," Ozpin reasoned, "the momentary thoughts we all have. 'Can I get away with this?' What if I just let go?' As with good, we all hold darkness within as well. And that Camp represents the culmination of these thoughts. Is that correct?"

King gave a so-so gesture, "It's hard to explain really, but that's a pretty good way to put it."

The team moved through the entrance and found the Camp fairly empty. The only thing that was there was a wooden platform with a large stake at the center. Unlike last time, there was something tied to it. Jaune was tied to the wooden stake, still in his hoodie and jeans as he let his head hang down toward the ground. The team started to run toward the platform to try to get him down. Then the ground between them and the platform exploded upward.

Ruby got into a ready stance, "Here comes the Grimm!"

There was silence for a moment. Then laughter started to echo over the Camp. "Grimm?" The voice held a reverb that made it feel inhuman, and yet still so familiar. THe smoke started to clear before showing Jaune, his hair having faded to a more silver color and his eyes turning a bright gold. His jeans had turned black and his hoodie was discarded to show a black tank top. "Is that what you were expecting?"

Pyrrha felt herself shrink into her chair, "W-what's going on?"

And once again, King was silent.

The false Jaune chuckled as he took a step toward the group, "Sorry, but things don't work like that. This isn't some fairy tale. There's no knights. No kings. No gods. Nothing to save you from the evils of the world. Sucks, doesn't it?"

"What's going on?" Blake glanced toward Weiss. Weiss had been Jaune's friend a few back, as they learned fairly recently. They knew the Camps are extensions of the owner's mind, so Weiss has the best possible chance of knowing what was going on.

But that's not something she could answer, "I don't know. How could I know?! There's supposed to be a Grimm, right? I thought Grimm were all based on monsters!" Weiss practically screamed at Ruby over this.

"They are! At least, that's what I was told."

The fake Jaune laughed, "Oh, they are! There is that old cliche about humanity being the real monster among itself. But I'm not that fucking predictable. You want a Grimm? He's right there!"

Jaune pointed back behind the platform as a shadow started to form. It increased in size to at least fifteen feet in height and maybe twenty to thirty feet long. A massive pair of dark wings sprung out from its back as its white mask began to form on its face. Soon, the shadow began to form into the familiar form of a Grimm. It was a massive dragon Grimm that slowly twisted its neck around and over the captured Jaune to face the intruders. It let out a roar as the fake Jaune laughed maniacally.

"Oh, that's not good." Coco winced.

"But wait," Harriet interjected, "if that Grimm is supposed to be Arc's shadow, than what's the extra one for? What's up with the double vision?"

It seemed like Yang had the same idea. "But what's with the second Jaune?"

The fake Jaune laughed, "What? Don't tell me this is the first time you've seen something like me." After a moment of silence and no response, he just started laughing again. "Are you serious?! None of you had a hidden truth or anything? You all must be one dimensional as hell!" He placed a hand on his chest and held the other out to the group in a dramatic pose, "I am a true Shadow. The aspect of Jaune Arc he hides from the world and from himself most of all."

Team RWBY couldn't help but get annoyed by that one-dimensional crack.

The captured Jaune grit his teeth, "Stop it…" His voice was weak and seemed off.

The fake Jaune dropped the pose and sighed as he turned back to the original. "See? That's the shit that got us into that mess with Cinder. You're willing to take a beating, but HEAVENS FORBID someone else gets bullied." The fake waved his arms, animatedly exasperated. "Frankly, it's gotten old and I've gotten tired of just taking it!"

Eyes turned to Jaune, knowing too well that's how he was. Even with Cardin, he put up with it. But, as they learned later, it was Cardin threatening Pyrrha that pushed him to act out. Yang had made a joke about him being a masochist, the constant rejection from Weiss didn't help his case.

Blake jumped forward with her knife drawn and ready for a kill, only to find the dragon intercepting her. She was knocked away and into the wooden wall. The cat-themed girl got to her feet, albeit a little unsteadily. "Did it just…?"

The Fake laughed. "You think the dragon is just some beast?" He leapt onto the head of the dragon, leaning his hand onto its horn, "I am its master! Grimm might be strong Shadows, but they can easily be controlled by a True Shadow like me!" The Fake grit his teeth, "it's the only thing I could control. But that's gonna change!" His maniacal grin returned, "I'm gonna destroy it all! Starting with that weak version of me! Then I'll get my revenge on all of those pricks! Cinder! Cardin! I'll make them pay! They'll burn! DO YOU HEAR ME?! BURN! BURN! BURN!"

Cinder just rolled her eyes. But at the same time, she could appreciate the… passion. Okay, it was mostly the method he was hinting at. She was a pyromaniac, and she was more than aware of that. As far as she was concerned, it was simply who she was. Fire was hypnotizing and was why she requested the Fall Maiden's powers rather than any of the others. She still wanted the others, but the fire of the Fall powers had to be her first.

Yang growled and tightened her hands around her bat. "If this is what Jaune is like on the inside, he's got some serious issues."

The Fake laughed and pointed toward Yang, "Start with the blond bitch!"

The dragon roared and raised its front claw before crashing down onto the ground to attack Yang.

Yang leapt from the area and avoided the attack, but the shockwave sent her backward. "Damn it!" She pulled off her mask and tossed it forward lightly, "Ursa Major!" The mask disintegrated before a being appeared behind her. Before she could crash into the wall, a humanoid creature caught her and leapt back onto the ground. As Yang returned her feet to the ground, they could see the being behind her.

It was a large female humanoid seemingly made of muscle and armor. It seemed like it had a bear-skin hood with the pelt wrapping back around to tie over its chest. Its body was doll-like, meaning the mostly exposed lower half wasn't explicit, despite only having a loincloth. It more resembled a body-suit effect with star-like designs along its body. The being took up a position behind Yang.

And Nora gasped, "Is that a Stand?!"

Knox shook his head, "Not quite. It's called a Persona. Same effect, but representing the inner self. It's kind of hard to explain, really."

"Persona are meant to be the metaphorical masks we wear. How each of us change how we act around others, correct?" Vine asked.

"Pretty much."

"Who cares about the specifics! It looks so cool!" Yang was having a field day over this.

Ursa Major slammed its fists together before punching the ground and creating a pillar of lighting flying at the dragon. As the dragon reared back, Blake swung off her own mask, calling to her Persona, "Atalanta!" The figure was revealed as a woman with a pair of cat ears and a corresponding tail. She was dressed in a dark set of coat and pants with leaf designs and some black markings under her eyes. She looked like a hunter ready to kill, complete with a compound bow and leather quiver at her side.

Blake blinked in surprise, but it was kind of cool how her Persona was formed.

Ruby grabbed her mask and crushed it in her hand, "Fates!" The being that formed from Ruby's mask was an odd one. It was a trio of chained women; one red, one blue, and one purple. The chains balled together in the center mass with a strange aura of deathly blue flowing out from the ball. The three women all had collars with tags reading [Past], [Present], and [Future]. The chains snapped tight as the three let out a cry of understanding, of pain, and inevitability.

Ruby was taken aback by that. "What the hell?! They get cool Persona things and I get… that?!"

Knox shrugged. "It makes a certain sense. The Fates are said to be a trio of women that know all. Birth, Life, Death. They see and cleave lives to be shepherded to the after life. So yeah."

There was silence after that. How could they follow that?

Weiss had to admit, she was curious what she would receive here.

Weiss grit to her teeth, she hesitated a moment, but ended up pulling her mask. It disappeared and the Persona began to form. "Artemis!" The being forming was a tall woman in a dress with leather strips crossing over the lower section and up her back before wrapping over her neck. She held a bow with a moon-like pattern near its center. Small sections on her arms and shoulders had fur from a hunt. The archer created an arrow of ice as she pulled back her string.

"So, that's where the ice attack came from." Yang pointed out.

Ruby was still annoyed that all the others got something that looked half-way normal, rather than her 'horror show looking weirdness.'

The Fake Jaune just growled before he smirked with a laugh again, "Oh, who cares?! You're all gonna die anyway!" The dragon reared back before unleashing a breath of fire. Artemis fired her arrow and intercepted the attack, causing an explosion of ice and fire to prevent the attack. But the dragon swung its forward claw to attack the intruders. This was caught by Ursa Major before Atalanta used a wind attack to create cuts along the scaled arms. Fates moved and the rattled chains created a shockwave of curse power. This caused the dragon to reel back and off balance.

The Fake clutched onto the dragon's horn and just got more pissed, "You're weak to Curse?! Are you fucking serious?!"

Yang heard this and turned to Ruby, "We got a weakness! Hit him harder!"

Ruby swung her hand forward shouting, "Eiga!" Fates flew closer to Ruby and rattled its chains as the glow at the center began to get brighter. This time, the dragon was knocked off its feet and forced to its side.

"Booyah!" Ruby celebrated her heavy hit. "I take it back! That thing is awesome."

The Fake Jaune rolled off the dragon and growled as he started to stand again. He glanced to the side before he smirked. "Dragon! Get that weak piece off the board and you'll have enough power to crush them!"

The dragon shook its head a bit before firing a breath attack at the Jaune on the platform. Weiss saw this coming and had Artemis fire an ice arrow to intercept the attack and created a wall of ice.

"Thank you, Weiss!" Ruby hugged her partner for her counterpart saving the other Jaune.

"Get off me you dolt!" Weiss tried to push her leader off her, but they both ended up pushed off the chair with Weiss landing flat on the floor.

Weiss ran over to the real Jaune and internally cursed herself for not getting a knife from Blake. A rapier wasn't exactly a helpful item for slashing, much less for cutting rope.

Weiss took her seat again and brushed herself off, also knowing her counterpart's pain.

So, she had to try this the old fashioned way. "Don't worry, Jaune. We'll get you out of here."

Jaune groaned, turning slightly toward her, "Weiss?"

Weiss paused a moment. "Yeah. Sorry I didn't keep in touch." Might as well talk while she gets these ropes off.

Jaune let out a good natured, albeit a pained, laugh. "No worries. I know your dad never liked me anyway, so it was probably his fault."

He wasn't wrong. Her father didn't like Jaune because he was unremarkable. And the man locked her down from speaking to him at the time. After that, it was hard to keep in contact.

Weiss grit her teeth and clutched down onto her chair. He would be why I lose a friend…

Weiss finally got the ropes away and caught a falling Jaune. "Let's move!" She jumped down as the ice wall finally came down, via UBM: Ursine Ballistic Missile.

Ursa Major was tossed by the dragon, revealing the crew was having trouble. Blake and Atalanta were being forced away to avoid flames. Even Ruby and Fates were being kicked around by physical attacks. Yang, meanwhile, was just trying to keep Ruby from being turned into a Rose-themed barbeque.

Weiss cursed and readjusted Jaune, "Come on. Let's get you somewhere safe so I can help."

"Good luck with that." The Fake Jaune snuck around and sucker punched Weiss, causing her to drop Jaune.

"Crap, I forgot about him." Yang groaned.

With a similar reaction from everyone else.

The Fake landed straddling the real version's chest as he wrapped his hands around the real one's neck. "Like hell I'll let you get away! I'll kill you myself if I have to!"

Weiss got to her feet and ran over to kick the Fake away. "Not while I'm here!"

"Yeah!" Nora leapt to her feet in solidarity to protect Jaune.

Weiss just pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Fair enough." The Fake smirked and raised his hand. A fire pillar shot forward and knocked Weiss away. Thanks to Artemis' ice element, she was weak to fire attacks. "Would you look at that? Not here anymore~" The Fake turned to the real version with that maniacal grin. "Time to die!"

Jaune was trying to push himself up, his motion clearly trying to reach toward where Weiss was sent. This just made the Fake mad, causing the false Jaune to kick him.

"Focus on me you ass! I'm done being ignored! I'm done taking the hits and betrayals. Least of all from you!" The Fake stomped onto Jaune's chest. He reared back his hand with a fireball forming over him. "I'll kill you! Then I'll go out there and do what you never could!"

Jaune groaned and reached up, wrapping his hand onto the Fake's ankle. "I won't…"

"Shut up!" The Fake kicked off the hand and stomped down again. "Just die!" The Fake sent his hand downward and the flame with it. This created a pillar of fire upward from the explosion.

Cinder felt a certain kinship with this version. Good way to finish off a problem. She gleaned toward Mercury, Emerald, Roman, and Neo. If only I'd dealt with them properly.

The fires faded away to show the Fake with an annoyed face. Beneath his heel was Jaune, now dressed in a white tunic with gold accenting, a pair of dark slacks, and a mask resembling a dragon's face.

"What the hell?!" The Fake tried to stomp down, only to find Jaune's fist to knock off his balance.

Jaune slowly stood up and reached up for his mask. "I won't let you hurt someone. Because I'd never hurt someone like that." He clutched the mask as he continued, "You're right. I take the hits meant for others. I take on their bullies and curses. And I admit it hurts. But that's just who I am."

A voice rang out in the Camp. "To take on the needs of others. The desires of others. Rarely thinking of your own wants. It can be a painful life, but one you accept as a part of your reality. For I am thou. Thou art I. Call my name and I shall answer!"

"Wait, who's that?" Sun asked.

"If I had to guess," Neptune offered, "his Persona."

Jaune slammed the mask away and shattering it on the ground. He screamed out with all his might, "Siegfried!" A pillar of fire erupted behind him before forming into a humanoid being.

The Persona was a knight-like man with armor depicting a dragon. A pair of dragon wings sprouted out from his back and a tail that flickered side to side. He held a greatsword in one hand that he began to lift over his head. As he slammed the sword down, it created a shockwave of fire around Jaune and sending the Fake back.

Ilia looked toward the Persona then to Knox, "There's a story there, isn't there?"

Knox nodded. "Seigfried was a legend of the past, said to have killed a dragon and gained strength from its blood and heart. He put the desires of others ahead of his own and eventually was sent to die at the order of his king for fear of his power. A hero of the common people, as it were."

Ilia nodded. She liked that one.

The Fake yelled and summoned the dragon to his side. "DIE ALREADY!"

The dragon started to unleash its flame, only to have a curse effect hit its face hard. The distracted dragon forgot about Ruby's Persona which held its weakness. Siegfried seized the opportunity to swing its blade into the dragon's neck and cleaving a huge gash into the Grimm beast. This was followed by Weiss and Artemis, now recovered, firing an arrow into the gash and creating a ball of spikes inside the flesh and decapitating the Grimm.

"YEAH!" Ruby, Nora, and Yang were jumping up excited for the defeat of that thing.

The Fake watched on in horror as the dragon's body fell. "No. No! NO! DAMN YOU! WHY?! WHY DO I HAVE TO KEEP TAKING IT, DAMN IT?! YOU BASTARD!"

Jaune walked over and grabbed the Fake by its collar. After a second of silence, he slammed his head into the Fake's, causing the Alternate Jaune to pause. "Shut up and listen. Yes, it hurts, but it's not about that. Holding onto the pain will only make it worse. But it can still hurt. I know you aren't some outside force like the dragon. You're part of me. I won't just sit back and take it from now on, okay?"

The Fake's eyes were wide in surprise.

"But I won't let the hurt that does get through build up in me. Sound fair?" There was a glow before the Fake disappeared. Jaune tapped his chest over his heart with a light smile, feeling more whole than he had for a while. "I'll take that as a yes."

"So, they won?" Whitely asked.

"No fight though. Weak." Mercury groaned.

"And that's why you'll only ever be a punk." Roman retorted. "People all have something they don't like, and accepting that makes you a better person. Maybe not a good person, but a better one."

The Beacon crew and former Cinder crew turned to him in surprise.

The scene faded away to reveal Ozpin watching the scene from a book. He snapped the book shut with a grin. "A new type of enemy appears. You were lucky this time that Mr. Arc is so quick to accept himself. I look forward to seeing you face one that refuses to accept the worst of themselves."

King clapped once with a nod. "Alright, let's take things easy for the next one.

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Note: So, anyone who follows my Twitter knows I've been feeling bad that these take so long to come out. It's mostly about progress. I can only write this on my laptop, which I obviously don't have all day. I could use my breaks at work to write, but the formatting would drive me up a wall. Don't know how or if I can indent, and I don't feel like going through them all to fix it. It means nothing, but I'm very OCD about 164 Chapters having the same format and suddenly changing. Also, that's a lot to scroll through on a smartphone. And I need to do something where I'm progressing. So, I'm making a new story to work on when I'm away from my laptop. So, here's that announcement. It's already being worked on and I'm looking forward to getting it out there. Here's a sneak preview.

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The flower mumbled, but did answer, "You've got a lot of DETERMINATION. More than you should. Frankly, it's not fair. You're supposed to die. Maybe reset if you're DETERMINED enough. But no. I can't even kill you! It's not fair!" The flower was starting to sound like a child that just had its favorite toy taken away.

Jaune, obviously, felt far better about the flower's failure. But he was also confused about what it meant by 'determination.' And why he felt like he wasn't understanding the underlying power of that word here.

But, the flower just let out an annoyed roar. "Whatever! But this isn't over. This world is kill or be killed! I might not be able to kill you now, but I'll find a way! I'll figure out how to put you down for good! Until then!" The angry tone fell away a bit, "have fun. Be merry. Do whatever you want! But I'll be back soon enough. Bye-bye~!" The flower retracted into the floor and left Jaune alone in the room.

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That's right baby! We're crossing over! It's a what-if where Jaune is the one who fell into the Underground of Undertale. It got me thinking, what would happen? What would change with a new, older protagonist? That's the stuff I live for! I plan to take time with this. The first chapter will cover the Ruins and the story will play out from there. Also, remember, shipping is garbage and I'm a romantic trash panda. So that's gonna happen. But who could it be I wonder~? I know how the internet is, so don't lie to me saying you weren't thinking of it. Anyway, thanks for listening to my King-Talk. Until next time. And thank you for reading with me this far.