"The effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death." -Monty Oum

RWBY x Red vs Blue Crossover:

"Metastability"

Chapter 1: Mental Meta Metal

"Augh... Ahh... Hey Meta... Settle a bet, would you? Does that thing kind of look like a big cat to you?"

The hulking figure clad in white armor turned his head to his left to see what the red armored man in his hand was babbling about. He saw two more armor clad idiots, one fat in orange armor while the other was slim in maroon armor. They were both pushing a large military class vehicle known as a Warthog to the side of the snowy cliff.

"C'mon!" the maroon armored soldier shouted. "Push, Grif!"

"I AM PUSHING! DON'T RUSH ME!"

Quickly the Meta looked down. Attached to his breastplate was a hook. Attached to said hook was a steel wire. He followed it, and let out a hiss of horror. It was attached to the Warthog that was about to be pushed off the cliff. By then it is too late. Simmons and Grif shove the jeep right over the edge, and just as the cable tightened, Sarge grabbed the capture unit from the Meta's back. As the Meta was thrown off his feet, Sarge fell to the ground and the unit rolled up, landing next to blue-armored soldiers. With a roar of terror, the Meta is dragged along the ground towards the cliff, his arms he was dragged across the snowy ground, he grabbed the leg of the fat, orange soldier. Either out of an act of desperation or to drag the idiot along with him, he wasn't sure anymore.

"Waaaaaah!"

The maroon soldier, Simmons, whipped his head around and lunged for his friend. "Grif!" Just as they reached the edge, Simmons dived forward and grabbed Grif's outstretched hand. The sudden stop causes the Meta to lose his grip. His body went right over the edge, the wire pulling him away and dragging him down. Was that it? Defeated by a bunch of simulation troopers? Though Sigma was long gone, he could still feel it. The red flames enraptured around a figure, eyes cold and calculating while watching. He could feel his gaze boring into him. Life-signs flashed across the bio readings in the helmet, though it was of no use now. Unless he could somehow fly, he wasn't getting out of this.

'Distance to impact, twenty meters.' came the automatic reply of his armor's warning system, though it fell on deaf ears.

What little was left of the man they called Agent Maine recalled his life up to this point. He remembered being the good soldier he was, working for Director Church and the others. He remembered meeting that upstart faker called Texas. He remembered the mission where his throat was pumped full of lead. He remembered Carolina giving him Sigma in order to communicate. After that...things became murky. Faces of people he knew, used to know, didn't know, flashed by. Blood was streaked across their armor and helmets, their bodies left limp. His own white armor was splattered with blood. After meeting Sigma, it seemed like his life from there got dark, like he couldn't remember the details. The only thing he remembered were those voices...echoing and screaming and whispering to his ear.

Take it

Kill them

Get them

Take their AI

Make us whole

Be human

Be complete

Take it from them

'Distance to impact, ten meters.'

What...what happened to him...? So many voices in his head. So many, each one speaking to him before their voices blurred into noise. Was this...was this all he was reduced to?Before, he was Agent Maine, given a new life by the Director when he had nothing...now it was all gone. His life. His friends. His family...all gone...He was no longer Maine...only the shell of the Meta.

Wait...did he even have a family anymore? It was so hard to think...all he could think about, even now, was taking the Alpha AI. Leonard L. Church. Epsilon. If he could take it...he would be human.

'Distance to impact, five meters.'

...He WOULD be human...right? Wait...why did he need an AI to be human again? Wasn't he already one? He couldn't think right. All he heard were the whispers. All around him, he saw them. The AIs he took. Sigma. Theta. Omega. Beta. Gamma. Delta. Eta. Iota. They were surrounding him, staring at him. Whispering. Shouting. Screaming. Telling him things that only made him more and more confused, irritated, angry, and everything else.

What was going on? How was this happening? How could he have lost? Did he lose? Wait, what was happening to him? Oh, right. He was falling. A red simulation trooper hooked him to a jeep and he went over the edge. He looked up. There was an orange simulation trooper hanging from the edge, clinging to something desperately. He thought he recognized the soldier, but the thought vanished as soon as it came. He didn't care at this point. His eyes then fell to what the sim was holding on to, and grew angered. What the hell? Why did he have his weapon?! When did he grab it?! Then he remembered again. He stabbed it into the wall to prevent him from falling when the ice started to collapse during his battle with Texas.

...wait, what? Texas? Who was that? Was it the black armored soldier he was fighting? His head was growing more and more rattled. What little was left of Agent Maine was beginning to feel it. Everything.

It terrified him.

'Distance to impact, five meters.' the alert told him. Then, it said something strange. 'Time Distortion Unit now active.'

Time Distortion? How was that possible?! He couldn't activate it without an AI, and he didn't even initiate it in the first place! Was it a glitch?

'Time Distortion Unit activating.'

This was bad...Sigma or any of the AIs he took weren't here! He didn't have that faker's AI either! If the unit activated now, he was going to die! Then again...he was dead anyway. It was just the matter of whether or not it was him hitting ice cold water or the stress of the enhancement killing him.

He was now just a second away from crashing into the freezing ocean. Looks like this was it...he was going to die.

'Time Distortion unit active, transporting now.'

...wait...TRANSPORT?! This made no sense! The Time Distortion Unit was made to slow down the flow of time around the user, not transport them from place to place! This confusion gave way to relief, but then...nothingness. Why was he even thinking about this? His survival was all that was needed. If this transportation function saved his life, he could chase down the Alpha and the fake Beta units.

The last thing that the Meta, Agent Maine, felt when he hit the cold water was still nothingness.

"...an energy fluctuation? At the Forever Fall forest?"

Glynda nodded. "Yes, Ozpin. It's strange, no doubt. Bartholomew only picked up on it by pure accident, since it was so low. In honesty, I have no idea what it is." She pulled up her Scroll, and showed the statistics. "It grows, then drops, and then spikes up again. Almost at random. We've pinpointed it to near the entrance to the Forever Fall forest."

"I see..." The headmaster of Beacon Academy rested his chin on his folded hands. This was a strange phenomenon. Energy Fluctuations do not simply occur naturally, especially in Forever Fall of all places.

He leaned back, crinkling his brown in thought. "Which teams are available to investigate among the second years?"

"Team CFVY had left not too long ago, and they were the best in their standing," the blonde teacher responded. "If need be, we can ask one of the first year teams."

Ozpin gave a nod. "Very well...please send for Miss Rose and Miss Nikos," he said, causing Glynda's eyes to widen. RWBY, he could understand...but why that team? She knew he had not forgotten what had befell them recently...so what was going through his mind? "We'll have them investigate the energy fluctuation, if they accept."

"Sir...are you sure that's a good idea? After all, they haven't..."

"I am well aware...I'm simply hoping that it can help put their minds away from that," he said wistfully before closing his eyes. "At least, that is what I wish for."

When the Meta woke up, he found himself surrounded by red.

It wasn't red from his own blood. No...he saw red because that was the color of the foliage all round him. From the grass, to the bushes, as well as the leaves on the tree. As he lay there, the leaves fell, mimicking the visual of falling red snow. He let out a hiss as he slowly rose to his feet, holding his armored head in his hand. What happened...where was this place? He remembered that the Time Displacement Unit had activated suddenly, and that he was being transported...but this scenery was unfamiliar. What planet was he on? No, that wasn't important.

Where was the Alpha AI?

His head turned as he scanned his surroundings, trying to get a read on his motion sensor. But he found nothing. Only static. Growling in annoyance, the former Freelancer trudged on through the forest, completely intent on finding the Alpha and obtaining it. If he had it...he will finally be complete. He will be powerful. He will be whole.

He will be human.

The thoughts in his head outweighed the vestiges that was left. He doubted there was anything left of him anyway...not until he found the AI. However, as he moved through the forest, he was hit with a sense of nostalgia. He was confused. He had never been to this place before, yet it felt so familiar. He looked around, finding the scenery to be almost calm...yet he couldn't help but feel apprehensive. His hand moved to his waist, only to stop the motion. There was nothing on that side of his body, except maybe ammunition. Strange. An abnormality that needed to be corrected. He felt slightly irritated when his hand moved behind his back, only to find his Bruteshot missing. He then remembered that it was in the hands of that orange simulation trooper.

When he finds his way back, he will snap that bastard's neck and take back his weapon. Odd as it was, he felt naked without it.

'Motion detected,' the warning system in his suit announced. His motion tracker went wild, showing several moving figures. He looked around, finding the brush to be rustling. Red eyes peered out from the darkness, followed by the sound of howling and growls. He let out a hiss, and turned to face whatever was coming to face him. Something in the back of his mind recognized such animosity. A part of him even welcomed it. When the movement came closer, he rammed his fist into his palm, cracking his neck and knuckles. Any obstacle in his way would be eliminated.

Then, they emerged. He recognized them almost immediately, despite having never seen such creatures before. They were bipedal, shaped like wolves. Their fur was pitch black, with smoke rising up from around their bodies, almost like vapor. Their claws were long, curved, and sharp. Obviously made for slicing through armor and skin alike. Their heads were narrow, shielded by white bone in the shape of a skull. Red vertical lines followed symmetrically around its face, while bloody red eyes peered out with hate and hunger. In its jaws were two rows of sharp fangs that could bite into flesh and rip apart easily. They were many such creatures, moving out and leaping into the clearing.

Beowolves, he recalled. The most common of Grimm. He didn't question why he knew what they were, or what species they belonged to. He only knew that they were enemies...and they were going to be eliminated.

One Beowolf let out a cry and lunged at him. He gave a hiss, and lashed his arm out. Easily, he grabbed the creature by it's neck. It was broad, armed by strong muscle, yet that muscle quivered beneath the grip. Already, the creature felt its breath being strangled. In seconds, one could hear bones creaking. The Meta growled, and lifted the black monster up further, and slammed it back down to the ground. The force of the impact, along with the grip, caused its neck to shatter, killing it instantly.

Another Beowolf tried to flank him after it killed its comrade, but Maine saw it coming due to his motion sensor, and spun around, ramming his elbow into the creature's face. He then grabbed it by the arms and smashed it into the body of another Beowolf that was about to pounce. Another rushed right at him in the front. Once it was close enough, the former freelancer tumbled backward and kicked the Grimm into the air once it was above him.

Without losing momentum, he whirled around, and delivered a solid roundhouse punch once it was in front of him. Its body smashed into another one of its comrades, though the Meta wasn't about to let it go with just a punch. With incredible speed, he rushed up, and delivered a lariat to its midsection, catching both Grimm in his strike, and threw them further away, crashing into a tree. They broke apart into black wisps, signifying their death.

The other Beowolves let out a growl of rage. Meanwhile, he stood among the center of his carnage, and glared at them from beneath his helmet. He gave a hiss, and clenched his fists.

By the time he was done, every last one of them was going to be nothing but black mud on his boots.

The ride on the VTOL was quiet. More so than what Ruby would have liked. Yang and Nora had tried to strike up a conversation, but it failed. Miserably. Weiss had busied herself by reading a book, as had Blake and Red, though the blonde and chipper-haired hammer-wielding girl were uncomfortable with the silence as much as she was. Pyrrha stared out the window, a listless look on her face.

The red hooded girl couldn't blame her friends for the silence. The somber atmosphere was to be expected. After all...it hasn't been that long since they all lost Jaune.

Even now, the incident was still unknown. The members of NPR refused to talk about it, no matter what they tried. She understood how they felt. She lost her mother after all, so she knew how bad the pain was. Red had remained passive, but even she could tell how much he was hurting. Nora had cried for days on end. Pyrrha...well, she didn't know. She tried to hide it, but the subtle hints in her body language told her everything. To this day, they still knew nothing. They never said anything, either. She wanted to respect their privacy.

Hopefully, Ozpin was right in that it would help distract them. Deciding to break away from the gloomy atmosphere, she turned to her partner. "S-so...what do you think this whole energy going out of whack thing is about?"

"That's why we're out here," she responded. "To investigate."

"I-I know that, I'm just asking what you think."

"I don't know, Ruby..." The heiress shook her head. "There's a lot of things it could be. Dust exploding at random intervals, new emergence of Grimm activity...though I doubt it's one of those two."

The girl blinked and cocked her head. "Why's that?"

"For one thing, the energy reading that Professor Ozpin told us was unlike either scenario. The magnitude was just too great. That," she continued. "And the way it kept fluctuating was too abnormal. If I were to take a guess...it's malfunctioning equipment." She paused, then placed a hand to her chin. "Though I wonder what kind of machinery can make energy signals like that."

"Well, we'll find out once we get there," Yang said, now listening to the conversation. "You think we'll find some Grimm?"

Ren shrugged. "Who can say?" he said before looking at the red-haired girl beside him. "Pyrrha," he said, gently tapping her, causing her to blink and turn to him. "It's almost time to head out. You ready?"

"E-eh?" she said, obviously not paying attention. She gave a brief nod. "Yeah...sorry. I'm just preoccupied is all."

"I know...I just want to make sure you are still with us." The teen from Mistral spoke softly.

Nora nodded in agreement. "C'mon Pyrrha, get with the program!" she said with a wide grin. "You know what that song says! "Wake up, get up, get out there!" So lets get out there and break some legs!"

"What is it with you and breaking legs anyway?!" Weiss asked, clearly baffled. Ruby let out a weak chuckle. After so long, now she asks that question? "Can't you think of anything else?!"

"Yes I can! Like pancakes! ...and Renny too!" She paused, then added. "But not that way! We're friends!"

For the first time in a while, Pyrrha smiled. "Alright, enough you two," she said, some mirth in her voice. "Ren's right. We're almost at the drop point. Let's get ready."

Team RWBY, as well as those from NPR, smiled. Finally, she was acting like her old self again. How long was the question though? Maybe this mission would do them some good after all.

The Beowolves were afraid of him now.

In only ten minutes, he managed to kill so many of their kind with his bare hands. He didn't even show any sign of exhaustion. He simply stood tall and ready over piles of smoking corpses and black mud, awaiting more foes to fight. The Meta just glared at them all, challenging them as the ever imposing figure his opponents made him out to be.

If they wanted to get in his way to find the Alpha? Then fine. He would raze all of them to the ground.

These appeared to be the last of them, given that his tracker showed no signs of any new enemy. With that in mind, he rushed in towards the first of his last targets. The Beowolf let out a roar, knowing that it would not make it out of this fight alive, and ran straight at him. It tried to bite off his head, but he evaded at the last second, letting it fly over his shoulder. His arm lashed out, grabbing it by the ankle, and throwing it to the side. It skidded across the earth, scratching its claws against dirt before it lunged at him again. A fist struck it across the cheek, sending it back to the ground.

He then grabbed the beast by the throat and lifted it up. He used his other hand to grab onto the upper part of its snout and ripped it off. Black blood splattered across his armor, staining it further. It let out a wine, clawing to get out. He glared back at it, growling before throwing it to the ground. Before it had the chance to get away, he lifted up his boot, and slammed it straight on its skull. The head gave in from the strength of the boot, leaving only black mush. Its body began to break down into black mist shortly afterward. Grunting in satisfaction, Maine turned his attention to the second.

It took one look at him before it turned around and ran for its life. The Meta gave a hiss, and charged after it. There was no way he was going to let it get away. Nothing would escape him. Nothing would hinder him. Any and all threats that would prevent him from reaching metastability would be eliminated. No exceptions.

In a matter of seconds, he caught up to the fleeing beast. He leaped and tackled the Beowolf to the ground. The two rolled before Maine rolled on top of it and proceeded to beat it to death with two, heavy fists.

More black stains appeared on his armor, and staining the ground. The creature let out a whine, but he didn't relent. He continued to pummel it until it was nothing but black paste. Each strike thudded against the ground, and black muck bloodied his hands. Had anyone seen him, one might have thought him to be some sort of homicidal maniac who liked to rip and tear apart any poor unfortunate Grimm in his path. He delivered three final strikes. The first destroyed whatever was left of the mashed up head of the poor creature. The second broke the ground apart. The third was a hammer strike with both hands clasped. It left behind a small crater in its wake, destroying bits of earth.

The Meta growled, relishing the kill. His target was finally eliminated. However...he still had no idea where he was. Wherever his unit had brought him, there had to be some kind of intelligent life. He needed information. All he needed was to find the nearest terminal, look for the nearest planet that had any sort of connection to the Alpha, or those simulation troopers, or at the very least contact the Director, and find the Alpha. It would be easy. However, as he rose to his feet, his motion tracker went off. There were new targets, counting four in all.

They were right in front of him.

"What the heck is that thing supposed to be?" came Yang's blunt and obvious question when they encountered the white armored figure.

They had arrived in the Forever Fall forest only a few short moments ago, and already they saw the black smoking remains of Grimm rising from the air. Whenever Grimm die, they vaporize into black mist, which proceeds to rise into the air, providing the illusion of it being a smoke signal or something along those lines. They followed it, believing that someone was combating the Grimm in the area, and perhaps having information on whatever was causing that energy flux.

What they found was...a disturbing sight.

The armored figure was on top of a Beowolf, continuously pounding away at its head with his fists, refusing to relent for even a moment. Even when the Grimm's head was mashed up to the point of being a black paste, he still continued. He kept punching until there was nothing left of it.

The armor was high advanced, and quite bulky. Its helmet was mostly a golden visor that covered the top of the head, with only the rear and jawline covered by the white armor. Eventually, it had ceased beating the ever loving hell out of the Beowolf, or what was left of it, and let out a low growl. It sent shivers down the Huntress' and Huntsman's spine. It sounded like the growl of a predator after having taken its pray. Slowly, the armored figure stood up to its feet. However, its head jerked upward.

Ruby let out a small inaudible squeak. She felt the eyes of whoever was underneath that helmet glaring back at them. "U-um...hello," she said with a quiet voice, afraid of the man before her. "A-are you...a Huntsman?"

"He looks Altesian, going by the armor," Weiss supplemented. She wasn't sure why, but the figure before her sent shivers down her spine. "I've never seen armor like that before...but he's quite the brute."

Yang could only nod in agreement. While she certainly had given brutal deaths to the creatures of Grimm, she had never seen quite the brutality that was displayed before her. No, it wasn't brutality...it was animalistic rage tuned up to eleven. A creature acting on impulse. "So...who wants to talk to tall, dark, and creepy?" she asked. "I dunno about you guys...but he is SERIOUSLY creeping me the hell out."

The armored figure did not make a response, as he stared silently at the group. Eerie silence continued.

"See?!" Yang emphasized her point.

Blake, sensing the danger, cautiously slid her hand down towards Gambal Shroud. The others were slowly reaching for their weapons as well, in case things went hairy. "Um, hello there," Ruby said slowly, her smile shaky as she slowly inched towards the man. "M-my name's Ruby. Me and m-my friends are investigating something weird here. H-have you seen anything we-"

That was as far as she got before she found a fist colliding with her face, and throwing her past her teammates. "RUBY!" Her friends cried in horror as the young girl smashed into a tree. She grunted before falling flat on the ground. Yang turned to face the attacker, her eyes red with rage. "You Bastard!" She rushed in for a straight punch to the face. But as soon as she was close enough, the armored man grabbed her fist in a single hand and applied pressure to his grip, slowly crushing her hand. He then twisted her arm into a painful angle without so much as reacting.

Yang let out a pained cry. If it weren't for her Aura, her hand would have been crushed, and her bones snapped. However, the armored figure obviously had no intentions of letting her go as he pulled his arm back. A strike was delivered, and she was sent flying. She quickly regained her balance and skidded to a stop, grinding Ember Celica to stop her retreat. She winced, feeling her arm aching. The grip was worse than a vice, like her hand was caught in something a thousand times stronger than a grinder. It felt like he was trying to crush it. She looked up, and found the armored figure slowly walking toward her, cracking its shoulders, neck, and knuckles. The gesture was clear. It was looking forward to this.

"Yang, you okay?!" Weiss shouted, whipping out her weapon. "Hold on, we're-"

"No, check up on Ruby!" she shouted. "Blake, go get Pyrrha and the others!" She stepped back up to her feet. Her blonde hair was set aflame, red eyes burning with them, and smashed her fists together. "This guy is all mine!"

Strange...that punch should have knocked her head clean off. The Meta stared at the blonde woman in confusion before clenching his fist. Nothing seemed wrong with his strength, and going by the readings on his biometric readings, all the natural enhancements were working perfectly...so what went wrong? Well, not that it mattered. It must have meant that she was stronger than the average obstacle. He turned his attention to the other females. It seemed that the blonde had tasked with with looking after the first female he struck, and the other went off to get help.

Useless. It wouldn't have mattered. He couldn't be stopped. Not here. Not when he had an AI to find and take. Once more, he found himself surrounded by the phantoms of the AIs he had taken.

"Go on," Sigma urged, a cold smile veiled by the red flames cloaking his body. "Take it."

Those words set something off inside of him. A growl rumbled from his throat, and he once again cracked his joints, stalking towards her. Yes, that was right...he had to take it. The AI. Anyone who stopped him was an enemy.

She was no different.

[Play - Red vs Blue OST: Extraction]

The blonde female struck first. Her hair began to glow as if set on fire, and her lilac eyes became bloody red. Her weapons, which were golden bracers, covered her hands and turning them into gauntlets. She then fell into a stance. Going by her form, she specialized in close quarters combat. He also took note of the red shells he spotted around her wrist, hidden by her weapons. A firing mechanism. Interesting. He would have to look into her weapons, and perhaps take them, if only to substitute for the loss of his Brute Shot.

Yang threw two punches, each one shooting out a shot gun blast. The projectiles impacted the Meta's body, but like the red simulation trooper's shotgun blasts, they had little effect on his armor's overshield. Using her moment of hesitation from this discovery, he charged straight at her. Yang was quick to dodge the first blow, and followed with a jab to the head. It didn't even faze him, barely tilting his head back. She then threw a hook, striking him in the face once again. Unlike the jab, it had a powerful kick, courtesy of her weapon. It actually stunned him, but only for a few moments. She was about to throw a third strike, but he caught it with ease. Maine delivered an uppercut, disorientating her.

The strike caused her to bite her tongue as her head snapped back. The Meta then grabbed her by one arm and leg and spun around as if he was about to perform a hammer toss. Once he built up enough momentum, he threw the blonde brawler into a tree. The power behind the throw was enough to break the trunk in half.

"Oof!" Yang grunted as she hit the ground. Damn that bastard hit hard! It felt worse than when she was fighting those two twins from Junior's club. She got back to her feet, shaking off the damage and then charging back at him. Because of his attack, she felt her Semblance beginning to kick in. Strength was starting to build up. Now it was time to dish out the damage! "My turn!"

She rushed in again with her fists raised. The Meta fell into a defensive stance of his own to counter her attacks. But he was surprised to learn that the girl's punches were much stronger than before. Was she holding back? Had she taken some kind of supplement? No, unlikely. Her strength was natural, not artificially induced...curious. But overall, worthless. She came in hot for a strike to the side of the head, but he countered, parrying and delivering a jab to her face. She was knocked back, and he continued. He delivered an elbow strike, but Yang countered it. She brought up her arms, defending against the strike, and then delivered a shotgun-powered strike to his chest. He was knocked back a bit, but remained firm.

He was growing tired of this squabble. The longer he stayed and fought her, the longer it would take for him to find the Alpha. If he spent too long, he could lose him entirely. He refused to let that happen!

He hissed as he grabbed one of her fists, and then struck harshly. The first blow came to her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. The second struck at her solar plexus, causing her to lose strength in her knees. The third made her body go limp, spit flying from her mouth. He clenched his fist, and struck her in the face. Her body slid across the ground, retreating from him until she smacked up against a smalls tone. She let out a groan of pain, feeling her head throbbing along with her stomach as she rolled unto the flat of her chest, and pushed herself up. "W-what?" she asked weakly. She tried to act confident, smirking in spite of her injury. Damn he hit hard. This was gonna be tough. "That the best you-"

She stopped when she saw it. Something floating past down her face. Something that caused her world to screech to a halt.

A strand of hair...her blonde hair.

Suddenly, Maine felt strangely uneasy. There was something wrong. He could feel it. The woman's bangs now covered her hands, fists clenched, and her body shaking. He assumed it was out of fear or resignation, but he knew that wasn't it. Something wasn't right. From here, he felt it. Killing intent. He cautiously slid into a combat stance, waiting for her to strike.

"Y-you...you...!" Yang snapped her head up, and the Meta found himself staring back at what could only be described as the face Agent Carolina had when she was very, VERY pissed. "YOU MONSTEEEER!"

Faster than she ever moved previously, she closed in on the former Freelancer and pounded away with powerful, fury-filled fists. Maine's guard broke as each punch impacted his body. Not even the overshield functions were able to block out the force behind the strikes. With each strike, he found himself staggering back. He felt the momentum of those hits. Confusion and anger formed. What in the hell was this?! Where did she get this strength?! Was she actually holding back?! Why?! What for?! And why did she only now decide to go in full throttle?! What purpose was there?! Did she actually consider him a threat now?! He would have thought more, but a strike to his head caused him to reel back. Yang didn't stop there. She continued to deliver harsh blows to his armor. The overshield was reaching critical. This was bad. Any second, he would be overwhelmed.

He checked the readings on his enhancements. Everything seemed functional, though his unit was still fluctuating power. Either way, if it was only for a few seconds...he would get the edge he need.

'Active Camouflage Unit, engaged.'

Almost immediately, his armored form faded out of view. Yang paused in her assault to process what had happened. Where did her opponent go? He was just here a second ago! She received her answer when she was grabbed by the legs, lifted into the air, and slammed back to the ground multiple times. Then, violently so, she was thrown away like a rag doll. She used one shot to reorientate her, and land back on the ground. She looked up, and immediately found herself struck in the face. She was nearly knocked to her feet, but she quickly shook off the damage. However, he was nowhere in sight. "Oh come on!" she complained. "Invisibility?! Really?!" She let out a scowl. Talk about a coward! Okay, fine, if that's how he wanted to play...!

She smashed her fists together, her aura blazing wildly like a raging fire. If her opponent was invisible, she would simply have to flush him out. With that in mind, she let loose in every direction. Everywhere around her, shot shot bullets. Every tree, every bush, every spec of dirt...everything around her was shot up with lead and Dust. Eventually, she ran out of rounds in her gauntlets. Quickly, she ejected the used casings and grabbed the ammunition she carried in her belt. But seeing this brief opening, the Meta took action. Charging in like a bull, he tackled the girl to the ground.

"Oof!" Yang hissed. She found herself pinned, one knee at her stomach. The Meta was on top of her, form imposing. She was about to lash out, and strike out, but his hand grabbed a fistful of hair, and pulled her head up. Yang could only let out a cry of pain, feeling her scalp erupt into agony, but that pain soon spread to her face as the Meta began to bash his fist against her skull. His grip was like iron on her hair, not allowing her to fall back in the least. The punches were fast, hard, and swift. Each time, she felt her facial features grow numb.

Punch, after punch, after punch, after punch...he wouldn't stop. By now, her Aura must have depleted. She knew that when she felt a tooth get knocked out of her, her cheek start to swell, and blood spitting out of her mouth. Some of that blood mixed in with that of the black muck on his visor. The Meta raised his arm once again, ready to deliver the final blow. The blonde knew it was going to the final punch, the one that would end her for good.

She glared back, remaining defiant. "...do your worst, asshole."

Maine was more than happy to oblige...until he felt gunfire erupt on his back. He stopped, and looked over his shoulder. Silver eyes glared at him, while a red scythe sat in the ground, blade jammed deep into the earth and a muzzle aimed right at him.

"Let go of my sister, you jerk!"

Clenching his fist angrily from being interrupted, the Meta slammed Yang's head back into the ground before rising to his full height. He wasted no time rushing at her. However, just as he reached her, she knocked her scythe out from its place, and began her assault.

[Play - RWBY OST: Red Like Roses PART 2]

Maine barely had any time to block the scythe blade that was aimed to cleave through his shoulder. He was now straining his overshield to its max output. The girl was fast and erratic. Every time he tried to strike, she would use his movement to her advantage, utilizing the length and size of her weapon to its fullest. It was hard to actually hit her, especially when he tried to smash her head in. When he went for a straight hit, she used her scythe as a pole, and used the recoil to knock herself into the air, and then strike from behind.

He had to admit...this girl was a pretty skilled fighter. But he refused to fall here...he needed to find the Alpha!

As she landed behind him and prepared for a strike, he snapped around and grabbed the scythe's sharp edge. A bullet was fired, but he pulled the muzzle away, instead grazing the shoulder armor rather hitting him actually. The girl's eyes widened, especially when he tugged and pulled her forward. He reared his arm back, ready to deliver another punch. He then threw it a right hook...

...and hit nothing but air.

The scythe was still in his hands, but the girl was gone. All that was left of her was a flurry of rose petals. What? How in the world did she escape? So quickly...and why were there rose petals? Sure, the foilage in the area was colored red, but those were simply leaves, not rose petals. His motion tracker showed more activity, and it was...from behind?

He whirled around, and found a red blur flashing past him with rose petals, and the scythe yanked from his hands. The Meta was bewildered by this, and quickly turned around. Ruby had reappeared, and was far away from him. She gave a cold look, clearly angry about the blonde female's state, and pressed a button on her weapon. The scythe contracted and folded in on itself, forming into a rifle of sorts. She then proceeded to open fire. The high velocity rounds stung as they nearly penetrated his armor. He hissed. How annoying...first that blonde female, and this tiny girl? How many obstacles must he deal with? At this rate, the Alpha would be out of reach. That can NOT happen. However, his movement was limited. This girl's accuracy was impressive, as was her speed. He needed to fix that. He looked at the readings, and found that his energy shield was still capable of use. Though he didn't have an AI at the ready, it was still functional. With that in mind, he clenched his fist, and activated the unit.

'Energy Shield Unit, engaged.'

He slammed his fist down, and a dome formed around him. The sniper rounds that Ruby shot out were deflected when they came in contact with the glowing barrier. Some of them came close in hitting her and Yang in the process. "Whoa!" Ruby yelped, one of her own bullets straying near her head. She quickly ceased firing. "W-what? An energy shield?!" Okay, that was cool...but she had to focus. This guy had seriously hurt Yang! She had sent Weiss to go with Blake, though she hoped that they would get out of here. Whoever this big meanie was...he clearly meant business. He was worse than Torchwick in terms of killing edge. He had every intent to kill them...and it would be with his bare hands. She narrowed her eyes, and braced herself, switching her baby back into scythe form. All she needed was the right moment, and she would strike. Once the shield comes down, she'll take him down!

Maine, however, could already see what she had planned. So she intended to strike when his shield comes down? Not a bad tactic. Ultimately futile.

'Active Camouflage Unit, engaged.'

Just as the energy shield dropped, his form faded out of existence, disappearing from the girl's line of sight. Ruby's jaw dropped. He could turn invisible too?! That was so not fair! However, she had to take the chance. She braced herself, and charged. Since he disappeared, he still had to be somewhere close. All she had to do was swing in a close range. Thus, she shot forward, propelled by her Semblance, leaving behind several rose petals. As she reached where the white soldier created the energy shield, she swung her blade in an arc.

Her weapon felt no resistance, meaning that he was no longer there. However, out of nowhere, a rough hand grabbed her by the cape, and yanked her back. Her eyes widened in terror as she was pulled, seeing the menacing form of her opponent right above her, a fist raised. He brought it down straight to her face, crashing her back to the ground. Pain erupted all over her skull, both from being punched in the face and from hitting the ground so violently. However, he was far from done. The Meta grabbed her by the head, his fingers digging into her skull, and proceeded to smash her straight back down.

She grunted as a new wave of pain washed over her, and the process repeated itself again and again as the Meta continuously slammed her head on the ground, gradually draining away her Aura. Eventually, the thrashing ceased. Ruby whimpered in pain, though she could see that the hulking figure had his other fist raised. She tried to get out of his grip. She kicked and punched, trying to pry off his fingers from her face, but it was all useless. He wouldn't let go. Slowly, he raised her up into the air, and reared back his arm.

Then, he struck, straight into her stomach, destroying her Aura. Blood spat out from her mouth, untold pain spreading across her body. Her body became limp in his hand. The Meta let out a hiss, feeling no resistance anymore. Had that blow killed her? No, he felt breathing. She was still alive. For such a small little woman, she was quite tough. Shame. He would have made good use of her. He threw her aside like trash, her body crumpling to the floor. He then turned his attention to where that black-clad woman had run off too. She couldn't have gotten very far.

He was about to proceed to catch her when suddenly, a cold chill erupted down his spine, and his feet ceased to move. He looked down, and found ice forming around his feet. "It's one thing to hurt my friends in such a manner," Maine looked up, and let out a hiss, finding the white-clad female, Weiss, standing not too far from his position, her rapier's tip at the ground. "But...what you've done is a new low." Her eyes hardened as she spun around, taking the weapon out and falling into a stance. Her feet were parted away from one another both hands at the handle, and the sword level with her shoulders. "I don't know who you are, but you are going down!"

The Meta growled in annoyance. He raised his fist and smashed it against the ice trapping him, cracking the frozen shackles. He forced his feet to move, eventually breaking free from the ice. Now free, he charged at the girl like a speeding train. He pulled back his fist to strike her across the face, but she had quickly sidestepped him. While his arm was outstretched, she drew a glyph in the air forming a layer of ice over his limb. In tandem, she struck her foot out, catching his leg and causing him to tumble. He was quick to recover though, and looked at his arm. What in the hell was this? How was she creating ice? No, wait, he knew. It was her Semblance...but how did he know that? No, that isn't important. What is important is removing any and all obstacles. Though mobility was slow, he forced his frozen arm to move, and then swung it at the ground, destroying the ice. He then stood back up, and readied for another charge.

The girl formed several more glyphs all around the armored man. She then charged in herself with her rapier poised to strike. She entered the first glyph, and her body shot right at the man.

Maine didn't expect her to move so quickly, and she struck fast and quick against him. He swung his arm, hoping to backlash at her, but she dashed away with another glyph beneath her feet, swiveling around to get behind him and delivering a flurry of attacks, causing him to hit the ground. He turned his head, and immediately rolled out of the way, avoiding being hit by icicles.

She was moving too quickly. He just couldn't keep up. Not like this. If he used the Time Displacement, he could have an edge...but that was risky. Without an AI to properly handle it, it might kill him. He can't seek the Alpha if he's dead. He moved back up to his feet, thinking of possible variables to slow her down. Based on her movement and her previous actions, she seemed to move quickly because of the glyphs she drew. So her had to stop her from making more. But he had to catch up to her first.

He looked around, and his eyes lay on the scythe that red female had. That was it. He had his solution. jumping out to the side, he grabbed the red and black weapon before rolling back onto his feet. But as he did, he noticed the unbalance of the scythe, with the blade being heavier than the shaft. It was no Brute Shot, but it would have to do. He whirled around, and took aim. The white clad female was shocked to see him using her comrade's weapon. True, the weapon was unusual, but it somehow looked familiar. A high caliber sniper scythe. He didn't question how he knew it, and then opened fire.

Weiss jumped to the side quickly, barely missing the sniper round. However, she was not out of the woods yet, no pun intended, as she had to keep moving to avoid the incoming high velocity bullets. The Meta continued to fire, all the while advancing towards her. The recoil was impressive, but it was hardly anything to worry about. The recoil on the Brute Shot when he first acquired it was troublesome before he had gotten used to it. Compared to his favored weapon, this sniper scythe wasn't anything to worry about. He pulled the trigger again, only to find an empty click. He silently cursed. It was out of ammo.

Oh well, at least he had other uses for it. Weiss stopped her retreat, glad that the weapon had run out of bullets. That had surprised her, however, using Ruby's own weapon against her. Talk about irony. However, just as she was about to go back on the offensive, she found her weapon knocked out of her hand, yelping in pain as she felt something sharp strike at her hand. Her eyes widened when she saw what hit her. It was Ruby's Crescent Rose.

'He actually threw it at me?!'

She turned around, only to find the Meta right in front of her in mid-charge. She didn't have time to conjure another glyph, as his wrapped around her waist, feet lifted off the ground, and being carried and crushed by the grip. The Meta rampaged straight forward, feet crushing at the ground and charging forwards. He broke through several trees, leaving Weiss' back to take the damage. Each time, she felt unreal pain scream across her back, coupled with the fact that she was being strangled. They broke through the last tree just as her Aura receded from the multiple heavy blows she experienced. But the Meta refused to stop as he threw her body right into a nearby boulder. The heiress landed on her side, right on top of her sword arm.

The sound of bones breaking could be heard easily, as had her screams.

Weiss crumpled to the ground, cradling her broken limb as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. The Meta slowly marched up to her while cracking his knuckles. It was time to end this.

"Get away from her!"

His motion tracker went off the same the shout came in earshot. He turned his head, and found his head jerking back from a sudden strike. He stumbled back slightly. His visor was slightly cracked, though it didn't impair his vision. He looked to see who attacked him.

It was the black-clad female. Her golden eyes were lit with rage, and her poise, ready to strike.

Hpmh, good...she saved him the trouble of looking for her. At least now he could kill them all at once.

Pyrrha needed to finish this. And fast.

When they landed, she and Ruby decided it would be best if they separated in order to cover more ground. Of course, another reason was also because of the Grimm activity. This part of Forever Fall as known for regular activity, so she thought it might be best if they eliminated the more congested groups in case things went south. It was relatively easy, and they weren't having much trouble, though the number of Beowolves and a few Ursai had made things difficult. It wasn't anything they couldn't handle, though even now, she felt it. That lingering sense that something was amiss. And she knew why.

It was because he wasn't here with them.

Jaune Arc, their fearless leader and friend, was no longer amongst them.

The thought nearly caused her to stumble as she vaulted over a Beowolf, severing its neck in mid-flight. Nora let out a whoop as she smashed her hammer against an Ursa, causing it to smash into a couple of other smaller Grimm. Ren ran past her and jumped, landing on the back of a Beowolf before stabbed the blades of his guns into its neck. Everything seemed to go well...though had you asked someone from Team RWBY, they could tell you that they were not a strong as they used to be.

They lacked their tactician, their leader. While admittedly, his combat prowess was not on par with the rest of the team, he made up for it with his strategies and true leadership. Pyrrha's eyes would occasionally flicker to the corner of her field of vision. She bit her lip. Even now, she was still seeing him standing their with a smile on his face, sword and shield at the ready.

"Pyrrha, to your left!" the spartan warrior was thrown out of her thoughts and quickly swiveled around on her feet, slicing through a Beowolf's chest and severing it from it's torso. "Behind you!" She ducked under a heavy swing from and Ursa and changed her weapon to its rifle mode. She aimed the barrel beneath the Grimm's head and pulled the trigger. A decently sized hole pierced through its skull, leaving it to fall to the ground, and begin to break apart into black smoke. A stillness fell upon the group, as the sounds of battle and growling had ceased. They remained tense, waiting for even the slightest bit of movement. However, only silence greeted them.

They soon relaxed, and lowered their guard. "Hopefully that will thin out any that come after Ruby and her team," Ren said, panting slightly. "I hope they're doing okay." As if to break that brief moment of peace, they heard a series of gunshots deeper into the forest, soon followed by a series of pained screams.

Pyrrha's eyes widened. "What the?!" Her Scroll suddenly went off, causing her to panic. What was happening? Did something happen? She quickly took out her Scroll. It was from Blake. "Blake, what's happening-"

"Pyrrha, you need to get over here! Quick!" came the panicked and quick reply. "Someone's attacking Ruby and the others! Yang's trying to hold him off, but I don't think she can handle him! Help!"

"What?!" Team NPR collectively screamed in shock. Someone was attacking them? Who?! "Where are they now?! We'll head over at once!"

The black clad female crumpled to the ground, battered and beaten, as her weapon was slid away from her. Standing over her was the Meta, victorious.

"Take it" he heard once again. "Take it. Take them all."

The former Freelancer grunted in accomplishment. He knelt down and reached for the girl's neck. His motion tracker went off. A hiss of annoyance. What now? He craned his head to the side, as three new arrivals stood before him. One male, and two females-

What? No...that couldn't be...how...? That wasn't possible...he had killed her before. Taken Iota and Eta. How was she even alive?

"Don't even think about it," Agent Carolina said with narrowed eyes. No...now that he saw closely, it wasn't Carolina. The resemblance was strong, however. She bore the same fierce green eyes, and the same fiery red hair. "Who are you?"

The Meta could only growl in frustration, signifying his confusion and rage. How many more will stop him from reaching the Alpha?! Now he had some lookalike in his way! He let out a hiss and began moving towards them. These would be the last obstacles to stand in his way. After this, he would find the Alpha, and take it.

[Play - Nickelback: This Means War]

Ren and Nora came in hot, the more sane of the two letting off a few rounds during his charge. Nora came up from behind, her hammer at the ready. Seeing how much power he had left, the Meta decided to take the risk. He slammed his fist to the ground, and the dome energy shield materialized once more. The girl's hammer impacted the dome and repelled her into a tree. The boy's bullets bounced off. The two's eyes widened, but they didn't look the least bit lowered. In fact, it only appeared as if their resolution had grown stronger. As they were about to resume, much to his displeasure, the dome energy shield began to flicker. His suit was starting to run low. He growled. Of course...he had been using it without much care to deal with the four females. Oh well, it was of no consequence. Armaments or no, these obstacles would be destroyed.

"Ren!" the Carolina lookalike shouted to the green male. "Get ready! When his shield drops, strike from behind! Nora, do you have a clear shot?!"

"I do!" The hyperactive ginger nodded as she transformed her hammer into its grenade launcher form.

"Right! On my mark!"

The Meta frowned underneath his helmet. What were they planning? He braced himself for action. Soon the shields dropped as a result of too much energy being wasted.

Then they struck.

Nora pulled the trigger of her weapon, Magnhild, firing a stream of Grenades one by one. Ren moved in quickly and around the former freelancer, flanking him. The bullets did little damage, but the damned explosive rounds that orange haired female hurt like hell. He was forced to try and avoid them, rolling to evade and taking cover behind a tree. He would have used his Active Camo unit, but he couldn't afford to risk anymore energy. He probably had enough for one more use. The orange haired female opened fire on him again after reloading, and the green male moved in to try and limit his movement. They had good chemistry. If he were to compare movements, they were like the Dakota twins...whoever they were. He couldn't quite recall them, only their purple armor and their AIs. North had Theta before he took it from him, leaving him dead in the snow, and South had Delta until he found a blue sim trooper in possession of it.

However, no matter the teamwork, they were still weak. The green male was quite agile, and given his fluid movements, he appeared to specialize in martial arts. As for the female with the hammer...she looked erratic and wild, though somehow he knew to avoid letting her get electrocuted. Not to kill her...but to avoid getting stronger. He didn't question how such information was with him, instead deciding to use that to his advantage.

The Carolina lookalike however...

She fought like a warrior. Her stance was excellent and her movements were quick and efficient. She had chosen to provide covering fire, her weapon being some sort of spear that could become a rifle and a sword. The shield complimented such weaponry well. A thing of beauty, Miló and Akoúo̱.

...wait, how could he have...?

His thoughts of confusion were interrupted as he felt a grenade detonate only a couple feet away from him. Ren emerged from one of the trees, letting loose a steady stream of bullets. Growling, Maine decided that it was time to step things up. Using of his armor's more natural enhancements, he turned and dug his fingers into the bark of the tree behind him.

He shifted his feet into a firm stance on the ground before he pulled upward. Soon, the tree followed his motions as it became uprooted from the earth.

The three fighters stared with slack jaws. He pulled the tree out from the ground with brute force alone?! Unfortunately, Ren soon realized that the soldier was looking at him, and he had a weapon...a LARGE on. "Renny!" Nora cried as she rushed forward. The Meta lifted the tree above his head, and threw it straight at him. Ren was thrown to the ground just in time, as the tree smashed straight to the floor he once stood upon, piercing into the earth as if it were a spear. "Are you okay?!"

"F-fine, Nora," he told her as they quickly got up. "Let's-" He couldn't finish his sentence as the Meta delivered a solid punch to his face, causing him to stagger back. His Aura prevented any damage, but he certainly felt a lot of pain. Nora tried to defend him, but as soon as she swung her hammer, the Meta tilted his head back, and grabbed the shaft.

Her face was inches away from his helmet. Nora gulped, realizing just how intimidating this soldier was up close. "Um...hi?"

His response was to deliver a knee strike to her gut, then follow up with an elbow hammer down on her head. Her grip slackened over her weapon, and he pulled it out of her grasp. As Nora tried to regain her breath, she looked up, and her eyes widened. The Meta held the hammer with both hands, and swung, the flat side colliding directly with her face. Additionally, somehow, Maine had figured out how to increase the force of the attack with an additional grenade for extra damage. As a result, Nora felt like she was hit by a truck, and was thrown flying. She crashed right into Ren, and were thrown to the ground, tumbling through the foliage.

The Meta looked down at the weapon in his hands. It wasn't as good as his Brute Shot...but he definitely loved it. He also appeared to be familiar with it, and used it to his advantage. He shifted it back into his firearm form, and as the two tried to shake off the damage done to them, he let loose.

The martial artist was the first to react as he pulled his friend away from the incoming salvo of explosives. The Meta refused to let them escape. He was going to take them out here and now while he could still fight. The two had begun hiding from him, using the trees as cover. His motion tracker knew where they were, making it easy for him. No matter how much they tried, they would not escape him. He aimed at the spot the two were concealed by the foliage and pulled the trigger. A pink grenade whistled as it flew through the air and impacted the two teenagers.

The two let out cries as they were thrown to the ground. They weren't given the chance to get back up, as the Meta let it rain grenades.

The fiery, pink explosions engulfed them, draining their aura with each blast until there was nothing left. "No!" Pyrrha cried. The Meta had managed to avoid her line of site and take down her friends. This was like a repeat all over again. A repeat of back then... "Get away!" With eyes set ablaze, she charged right at him, changing from a rifle to a spear. The Meta turned, and raised his stolen weapon to defend. The blade of the spear met with the shaft of the hammer, straining under the force behind the Spartans attack.

Then he became acquainted with her Semblance. The weapon became thrown out of his hands, leaving him to avoid her attacks. He tried to evade each swing and stab, but on occasion, he would get struck but the sharp edge of her weapon, slowly whittling away what sliver of his overshield he had left.

She was skilled an experience...but each movement seemed familiar to him. He didn't know why, but eventually, his body started to move on instinct, allowing him to dodge each blow more effectively. Her body spun around on the heel, her spear swinging with the momentum. In response to that movement, Maine tilted his body just so that the edge would barely touch his helmet. Her foot then followed that movement in a spin kick, which he defended against with his forearm. He wrapped his hand around her leg, and threw her, only for the Carolina lookalike to use her spear as a pole, piercing into the ground and spinning around to re-orientate herself. She then switched her spear into a sword, moving back in. This time, the Meta was able to counter her moves more effectively. To the corner, he found the phantom of Sigma smirking in approval. He knew why. The voices were chanting in his head again. This time, they weren't telling him to take the AI. To kill and take their weapons for himself.

Instead, it was "Plagam Extremam Infligere"...deal the final blow. He growled, feeling the impulses left behind by Sigma overtaking his combat senses. He parried a heel strike, knocking her back a bit. She quickly regained her balance, and went in for a stab. He caught the blade with his hand, and then pulled her forward, throwing a punch. It smashed against her face, causing her to tumble back. She was left dazed for a bit, the world spinning from the impact. Slowly, the Meta walked forward, a fist clenched. Pyrrha recovered, and moved to deliver a solid punch, hoping to use her Semblance and at least force him back. He caught it easily, and like before with Yang, applied pressure, bending her arm to an angle. She let out a painful whine, as the pain and pressure was forcing her to her knees. Strangely, the sight caused him to doubt what he was doing. What she was doing...it didn't suit her. He viewed her as untouchable. That was who she was. The Invincible Girl. So why was he beating her?

...no. That didn't matter. None of these thoughts mattered. All that mattered...was achieving his namesake. "Metastability." He slowly raised his fist, ready to deliver a solid blow that would render her unconscious, and allow him to end this fight once and for all.

However, as he brought it down, a sudden pink blast exploded, hitting him square in the head.

Nora was hurting like hell. Her Aura reserves were practically gone, Ren was hurt bad, and she got hit by her own grenades. It freaking sucked, but at least now she knew how people felt when she was on the receiving end of her attacks. Who knew being hit by grenades hurt so much, especially by your own hammer?

Even through her pain, she struggled to pull herself up and together. They were still in the middle of a fight, and their opponent was still standing. She lifted her head and gasped at what she was seeing. It was Pyrrha...being overwhelmed by the white armored individual. Her eyes widened in horror. "Oh no...!" This was bad...no, worse than bad! This was super ultra bad! How was he able to keep up with her?! Even after so many training sessions with her, she and Ren could never get the upper hand on her, and yet that big guy was able to keep up with her! No, it was more than that...he actually knew how she fought. Every move, he countered as if predicting it with ease. Every strike, every punch, every kick...it was like he knew her. Did that mean he had fought her before? No, wait that wasn't important! She had to save her, quick! She looked at Ren, who's groaning confirmed he was alive, albeit banged up. His Aura level was maintaining itself, but only barely. She, however, was all out. She had to get that guy away from her friend! Otherwise...otherwise...

She'd lose someone else important to her.

Her eyes darted around, looking for her trusty weapon. She found it not far from where she was. She wasted no time. She got up and grabbed it, scooping it into her arms and shifting it to it's launcher mode. She took aim, though the sight made her heart nearly stop. The man had Pyrrha's hand in one, and his other hand was raised, ready to deliver a blow. She didn't even need to know what that blow would do. She acted quickly, and aimed. She pulled the trigger, and let a grenade go flying.

It impacted dead on, blasting right at his head and throwing him away from Pyrrha. The red-haired spartan warrior tended to her arm, after having been put at an uncomfortable angle. "Pyrrha!" Nora cried, running to her friend. "Are you okay?!"

"Y-yeah..." she nodded, looking up at her teammate with a smile of gratitude. "Thank you...how's Ren?"

"He's not badly hurt, and his Aura's barely hanging, but he's okay!" she said quickly. She looked back to the soldier, who now laid face down on the ground. She found his helmet discarded as well, found far away from him. No doubt knocked off by the grenade. The visor was completely broken as well, nothing but a shattered mess. "Can you still fight?"

Pyrrha nodded, and slowly stood up. She activated her Semblance, and Miló returned to her grasp. She gave it a flick, and returned it to rifle mode. She quickly took aim while Nora reverted her weapon back to hammer form, and stood beside her friend, ready to attack. Meanwhile, the armored soldier slowly rose, letting a pained groan. He lifted himself up from all fours, and raised his head, giving them a full view of his face.

Both girls felt their hearts stop in horror as their grip on their respective weapons slackened. The armored soldier had a young face, around his late teens, just approaching twenty. He had a messy mop of blonde hair on his scalp, a few bangs hanging over his fiery red eyes. The eyes themselves held no spark. No shine. It was as if he was an empty shell of what he used to be. The most eye-catching feature about him was the massive scar running across his no visible throat.

But there was definitely no mistaking it...

It was...

"...J-Jaune?"

Jaune...Jaune...Jaune...

That name...why did it...hurt him so much?

Ever since the Carolina look-alike called him that, his head started to hurt even more than before. It was worse than those damned voices...what the hell was wrong with him? And these inconsistencies...what was causing them?! How could the pain be so fucking intense?! It was like someone was trying to rip out the AIs he had taken by force! He knew that feeling well, having done it before...but it felt even worse. He gritted his teeth. The chanting was louder, now more erratic, like a puppet master trying to keep his pawn under control.

Was that...was that what he was? A fucking puppet? Who's was he? Sigma? The Director? Dammit, why?! Why was his head hurting?! Who was Jaune?! Why did they call him that?! W-who was that woman?! Why did she seem to know him?! How does he know her?!

"TAKE THEM! TAKE THEM!"

Once more, instincts bubbled into his chest, and slammed his fist into the ground. He activated the unit that brought him here. This was his only chance. He needed to end this. He didn't give a damn about the remaining power in his unit. This needed to end. NOW!

'Time Distortion Unit, active.'

Electricity sparked across his armor in protest of the unit's activation with a lack of an AI. But he didn't care. Even if it kills him, we will end this! The unit activated, and time slowed down to a crawl. Pushing himself up, he made his way over to the gawking teens, his body straining from the burden of using this unit without an AI. pretty soon, it would deactivate out of loss of power or him passing out. But he refused to stop...he needed the Alpha. He ran straight forward, and delivered a lariat to the orange-haired teen. Time moved for her, as her body was arched back. When it would resume, she would be sent flying, and unless her Aura was still active, her neck would snap from the attack. He turned his attention to the Carolina lookalike. Seeing her face continued to set him off, like staring at her only made the feeling worse.

She was the cause of this pain...so her death would cure it. He curled his hand into a fist, and delivered a punch to her jaw. At that moment, the distortion unit ceased, and the power to his suit completely diminished. The female was sent flying from the lariat, smashing into a tree. She let out a pained gasp, but her body fell silent as she hit the floor. The Carolina lookalike let out a cry, hurtling to the ground. Her mind was left in a daze, but he wasn't about to let her go. He stomped forward and reared back his leg. She managed to shrug off the damage in time, and lean back to avoid it, falling into a backflip. "J-Jaune, wait!" He didn't. He hissed, and charged at her.

The gloves were coming off...she was an obstacle. And all obstacles would be removed.

[Play - Trocadero: Slingshot]

Pyrrha could barely raise her shield to protect herself from the Meta's charge. She was sent flying and crashed against the boulder behind her. Her back flared in agony, but she powered through it. She looked up in time to see Jaune rushing at her, fist reared back. She ducked and rolled underneath the swing, leaving him to only hit the boulder. It cracked apart heavily, nearly being obliterated by the brute force alone.

"Jaune, please!" she begged as she aimed her rifle, eyes pleading. "Stop this! It's me, Jaune! It's your partner, Pyrrha! Snap out of it!"

But Jaune didn't listen. He simply let out a predatory hiss and charged at her again. She cringed. She didn't want to do this, especially not to him, but if hurting was what it took to calm him down, so be it. She opened fire, letting off several bullets. Some of them struck the armor, but didn't penetrate, leaving only burn marks from the shell casings. When he got in close enough, Jaune threw a hook, pushing the gun out of the way and swinging his second arm, trying to deliver another hit. She dodged it and took aim with the intent of knocking him out, but he pushed the gun out of the way again, and slammed his leg into her torso, knocking her back. Jaune then attacked Pyrrha's head, but she blocked it and shoots at Meta's head. He countered and headbutted her, throwing her weapon away. Jaune then tried to hit the spartan warrior, but she dodged it and retrieved her weapon, switching it into its sword form.

"Alright, Jaune..." she said slowly. "If this is what you want...so be it!"

Both the blonde and Pyrrha charged at each other. Jaune tried to hit her but she blocked it and struck at him multiple times, knocking his him away with an air kick. He growled and punched his fists together and walked toward her, trying to punch her many times. Pyrrha dodged every one of them, and slashed at him once again, managing to stun him and kicked him down. Jaune growled again, fed up with this. By chance, he found Magnhild. He punched the ground in anger, and stood up, moving to grab it. Pyrrha saw what he was doing, and dashed forward. As he grabbed Nora's weapon, switching it to it's grenade launcher form, Pyrrha struck from behind, causing him to stagger, and vaulted over him, knocking him back a bit. He let out another growl, and began to open fire on her.

The Invincible Girl was quick to act. She moved all around the battlefield, using trees for cover, rolling away to avoid a blast, slashing and knocking away some of the grenades, and using her Semblance. A few came to close, so she activated her polarity, causing them to stop, and then threw them back. They exploded at Jaune's feet, throwing him back a few feet away. However, he was quick to get back up. His once blue eyes, now red, glared back at her with something foreign, something alien, and switched Magnhild to its hammer form, and trudged forward.

"Dammit Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled. "Wake up!"

Her exclamation was greeted with a hammer head closing in on her face. She quickly raised her arm and diverted its direction using her semblance, causing it to fly over her. However, Jaune was not done. With a surprising move of speed, he spun around from using the momentum and switched Magnhild back to gun form, and let off a grenade. She blocked it with her shield, but her sword was sent flying out of her hands. He fired off another grenade, but she jumped back to avoid it. Her head snapped up from her crouched position, and charged forward, both attacking in hand-to-hand combat. Pyrrha blocked Jaune's punch and retaliated, throwing several of her own. He blocked her last punch. and punched her into the face and into the crotch. They both once again began to punch each other, but Jaune threw several punches, did a backflip into her back, and kicked her away, throwing her to the ground. He then stood up, letting out a low growl, and slowly began to walk toward her.

Pyrrha shook her head, slightly dazed from the attacks. When she looked up, she found Miló not too far away. She moved to grab it, but Jaune grabbed her leg and smashed her down. Pyrrha kicked his face, got up and ran at him. When in range, delivered several kicks and a knee strike to the chest, but they didn't faze him. Jaune grabbed an incoming fist, reared his arm back, and threw it with all of his might, sending her flying.

The spartan soon crashed into a nearby tree, not too far from where Nora and Ren were. She gasped as she hit the ground, her back ached as her aura receded. She struggled to get up, but her body was weak. It had given up. She couldn't even stand up anymore. It hurt just to move. Jaune calmly walked forward, taking her weapon and switching it into rifle mode. He stood over her, kicking her. She let out a sharpy yelp of pain, and was flipped unto her back. She let out another cry when Jaune slammed his boot on her chest, effectively pinning her down. She looked up, and found herself staring back at the barrel of her own weapon, as well as the red, empty eyes of Jaune Arc.

Not far from them, Nora looked up weakly, her body unable to move anymore. Ren's body was in a similar state. Even though his Aura was still present, he could barely move an inch. It hurt just for even a single muscle to twitch. All they could do was watch...as their leader and friend was about to kill Pyrrha.

"...kill me...if you want..." Pyrrha said weakly, struggling to breath as looked back at her friend, eyes in sorrow. Part of her wondered if all of this was her fault to begin with. Was this her punishment for not being strong enough? Was this destiny's way of telling her that this was her fate? To be killed by his hands? If so...then she was fine with it. Her wish had been granted, she was able to see that stupid, lovable blonde that caught her heart...but he was so broken. He couldn't even recognize her or his friends anymore. And...it was her fault. It had to be...she let him die. "But...please..."

Her hand held the barrel, holding it firmly, and aimed at her head.

"Do it...as yourself. Please, just this once...just this once, Jaune," A tear fell down her eye. "Come back to us...come back to me."

She closed her eyes in resignation.

And then...

*bang*

"A brute. Strong, unrelenting, fearless. He had no qualms when being asked to do the unpleasant, the morally questionable, because despite what many thought of him he knew he was, at his core, a soldier, and his actions inevitably served the greater good." -Aiden Price

A/N: Is it just me, or does Jaune Arc usually become the ultimate badass or overpowered shmuck or penultimatum whatever in crossover fanifcs? Jokes aside, truth be told, I had not even THOUGHT of this crossover until I started watching Red vs Blue. The beginning was light hearted comedy with the occasional major oh shit moments, but then you hit Recollections and Project Freelancer and HOLY SHIT it becomes fucking good. Especially S8, where Monty Oum walks into the building. When we hit Project Freelancer, I found many favorite characters in the series; Church, Texas, Carolina, Washington, Caboose (I am convinced that bastard is either a Freelancer or a Spartan. Come on!), Tucker, Sarge...pretty much almost everyone of the Blood Gulch Crew and the good guys of Project Freelancer...but my alltime favorite was Maine. AKA Meta.

This is probably the first fic where Jaune is the Meta, and the situation about how he came to be in the world of RvB is one of mystery. At least to anyone who reads this. He was brutal, sure, but he cared about his teammates...except maybe Tex when she kicked his, Wyoming, and York's asses. Hell, he took a sniper shot for Carolina, and then ended up going mute from 9 POINT BLANK SHOTS TO THE THROAT! Even after that, he was still a motherfuckin badass. That said, Maine was also a tragic character. His spiral down into madness all started when Sigma got into his head and became obsessed with the idea of becoming human; becoming the Alpha AI once again.

Jaune as the Maine in this fic...he's broken guys. His mind is so fucked up that he is going to go through a lot before he can have at least some semblance of the life he once had. You'll understand in the chapters to come.

Now...let's discuss some of the things people might complain about. First, his use of enhancements when he doesn't have an AI. Its been established that unless you have an AI taking the load and calculating and processing it all, your gonna die from using your equipment. North Dekota survived by sheer luck, and that was a 1% probability of ever happening according to Delta, who is Alpha's logic. However, Jaune/Meta's equipment here is going through a rough patch. Its power is fluctuating, causing it to either become weak or strong...and this actually works to his advantage. He's able to use his enhancements, but because of his reckless fighting style, he uses that fluctuating power quickly. This is why he was able to use the Energy Shield and Invisibility to take down Team RWBY and NPR.

As for why Jaune looks only slightly older instead of being in his 20's or 30's, that will be explained later.

Well...that's it for me I guess. I wasn't sure if I would end this on a cliffhanger, so I made a poll. When it hit 5, I thought it would be better to resolve the chapter and end it there...but as we worked on it more, me and my co-writer, Daemon of Wrath, decided to make this chapter a cliffhanger. As for what happens, well...let's just say we're listening to Asura's Wrath OST: In Your Belief as we're writing it, and good GOD does it match the situation. That's all I have to say on the matter. It will also show just how fucked up Jaune/Maine is after being controlled by Sigma for so long.

With that said, I'm ending this author's note here. Later losers, and see you all next time!

P.S: Review this chapter with the utmost honesty, or I sic an angry Michael J Caboose on your ass.