Distortion

Jaune charged forward, leading his team of younger Knightingale members. If he had to follow the weird team naming method that Ozpin had put in place for the academies, he would've named them Team JSPR (Jasper). Pyrrha was a few steps behind him on his left while Ren and Velvet were a few steps behind her. Ren on his left and Velvet on his right.

Across from them and closing in fast was Team RWBY. Yang and Blake were leading the charge with Ruby and Weiss several steps behind them to back them up. No one knew which side would make contact first until Yang launched herself towards Jaune with the use of her gauntlets. She pulled her fist back and was about to drive it into his head. Jaune didn't even flinch when it came forward but Yang's eyes widened when she felt her arm get pulled to the side and miss his head by several inches.

Yang quickly looked over to see that Pyrrha had her shield arm raised and knew what that meant. Jaune didn't turn away from the others as his left hand whipped to the side and connected with Yang, using Distortion to launch her to the side an away from her team. Pyrrha quickly turned and chased down the blonde brawler, trusting her leader to deal with the other three.

It was a good thing that Jaune didn't take his eyes off his other enemies because Blake had cleared the distance between them quick and was going for a slice with her two blades. In response, Jaune threw his own flamberge forward to clash with her but it passed harmlessly through her Shadow. Blake was now above him and was bringing Gambol Shroud down and onto his head. Or it would if a thrust kick didn't connect with her ribs; curtesy of Ren who had jumped as soon as he saw Blake used her Semblance. He then followed up that surprise attack with an Aura palm to push her away from Jaune. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he raced after the Faunus to keep her distracted.

Jaune's eyes snapped back over to the two remaining members of RWBY and saw the two partners were readying their combo attack, named 'Ice Flower'. He crossed his arms and called Distortion to cover his body in the same black flame-like effect his Semblance always provided. Ruby started to fire bullets rapidly from her cherished weapon as they were being empowered by Weiss' ice Dust and Glyphs. They still bounced off his Distortion and struck random targets, freezing them, but the combo attack was making him use more Aura to do so. Luckily, he wouldn't have to keep this up for long.

With Ruby and Weiss so distracted with trying to get past the defenses of the Knightingale leader, they didn't notice that the last member of JSPR closing in on them from the side. They quickly noticed once Velvet slipped into the peripherals and started to swing her copy of Omen at them. The two quickly jumped back and broke off their attack. As soon as they landed, they each had to jump to the sides to avoid Velvet's second swing at them.

With the two separated, Velvet started to attack Weiss with extreme prejudice. The Heiress was forced onto the defensive and to keep using her Glyphs to create more distance between them. Ruby saw how dire the situation was for her partner and aimed her weapon at Velvet to give Weiss some long range support. Until Jaune planted the bottom of his foot against the side of her rifle and made the short go extremely wide.

Her eyes widened and she tried to jump backward but she didn't get far since Jaune managed to grab the end of her cloak. He quickly pulled her by the cloak and off her feet. She would've gasped if not for her cloak tightening around her throat and cutting off any chance of her getting any oxygen. He spun her around before throwing her in the direction he originally charged from. She tumbled across the ground before eventually coming to a stop. She pulled herself into a kneeling position and was gasping for air. She looked up to see that Jaune was slowly walking over to her, his blade at the ready and a purpose in his step. She took one more deep breath before forcing herself back onto her feet.

While that was going on, Neo had already slipped inside the airship. She had already used her Semblance to change her appearance. Her hair was a solid black and her clothes looked like a usual Atlesian uniform. The bullhead was bigger than the usual bullheads that Atlas used but that made sense, they were escorting a high value target with a good chance someone would try to liberate him.

It took Neo a bit of time before she was standing before two soldiers who were guarding a massive metal door with a glass panel in the center of it. They raised their rifles at her with one shouting, "Hands where we can see them!" Neo did so with a smirk on her lips. They took in her appearance and lowered their weapons, "Thank Oum, you must be our backup. How's it going out there? Have the Branwens been taken care of?"

She just nodded as she lowered her hands and started to walk towards them. "Wait, where is everyone else? There should be two more squads." By then, Neo was close enough and reached behind her to reveal Hush. The soldier's eyes widened as he saw the weapon, "Shit! She's not-" His words were cut short, literally, as Neo closed the distance and drove the hidden blade at the end of her parasol into his throat.

She jumped onto him before pushing off his chest, freeing her weapon and launching herself towards the other soldier. As the first Atlesian was crumpling to the ground, the second raised his rifle and fired at the diminutive assassin. The bullets impacted her form but it just shattered like glass. He looked down to see that Neo was crouched down with her arms crossed over her chest. She shot up as she deployed her hidden blades. She threw her arms to the side and slashed his throat with both her blades.

The poor soldier quickly grabbed his neck while he started to choke on his blood. He only stood for a few more seconds until he crumpled like a house of cards. Neo looked over her two kills before she nodded, retracting her hidden blades, and stowing her parasol. She then walked back over to her first victim and pushed a button on the wall. There was a small hiss of pressurized air before the metal doors in front of her pulled away from each other and slid into the walls. With that, Neo could now see her fellow Knightingale member, Vincent Ostium.

Attached to the wall by four large restraints, one on each forearm down to his hands and shins down to his feet. Along with that was an aura dampening collar around his throat. He was five foot ten inches tall with a toned figure. He had a tanned complexion and his Faunus features shined with the light inside the bullhead. Black snake scales that covered the top of his chest and the sides of his neck. They also traveled over his shoulders and down his shoulder blades. She couldn't see them now but she was told that the same scales cover the outer part of his forearms and the back of his hands. Along with the front part of his shins and the top of his feet.

His outfit was a sleeveless green shirt with armor reinforced pants and combat boots, both black. His hair was brown set in a wild and untamable look. He slowly looked up to look at Neo with his bright yellow eyes. "So, you here to kill me?" he asked bluntly, Neo seeing that his canines were more like fangs as he spoke.

Neo just shook her head as she let her disguise drop to reveal her usual clothing. She then reach behind her and showed him her Griffon mask. His eyes widened slightly before he grinned, "Ah, a fellow Tribesman. Well, it would be rude of me to turn down help from my Chief. So, will you let me out now?"

Neo nodded before she pressed another button on the same panel. Right after that, the restraints and collar all unlocked and Vincent pulled himself from the wall and landing on a single knee. He took a deep breath as his sickly yellow aura surrounded his body before vanishing from view. He stood up as he popped his neck then his wrists. He sighed in relief, "Now that feels better." He then walked out of his containment and over to the other wall. He pressed a button there and a small panel opened up to the side of it. Revealing a pair of weapons and a mask.

He pulled out his weapons, Hydra, a pair of gauntlets that covered his entire forearms with a metal protrusion on each. They were painted black and Neo saw five different Dust containers around the bottom of them. As soon as he put them on, the Dust canisters rotated around his arm before the fire Dust ones were locked into place at the bottom of the protrusions. That was when those protrusions ejected two silver blades that were about as long as shortsword blades. They then caught fire from the Dust that illuminated his face in an ominous light.

He smirked before the blades retracted back and were extinguished. He then pulled out his Branwen mask, the King Taijitu. He placed it on his face before he turned to Neo, only seeing his yellow eyes through the eyeholes. "Now, who do I get my revenge on?"

Yang was flying backwards until she reoriented herself. Her boots dug into the ground below her as she started to slow down. She didn't have a chance to deal with her momentum because she saw a familiar shield coming at her. She quickly crossed her arms to protect herself and to deflect the shield away from her. As soon as she did that, she saw she was running out of ground and was nearing the edge of the island quickly. She threw her arms back and fired two rounds from Ember Celica, launching her towards the Champion.

With a shout, the brawler came down with her right fist but Pyrrha jumped back without much of a problem as her attacked cratered the ground slightly. Pyrrha took advantage of this and quickly went for a downward slash with Milo in its xiphos form. Yang caught it on her left gauntlet before she responded with an uppercut from her right hand. With a wave of her hand, Pyrrha deflected the blow before it could even touch her.

Pyrrha jumped backwards again while shifting Milo into its rifle form and fired at the bawler. She just crossed her arms to tank the hits before punching the air and sending her own volley of ammunition at the champion. She easily rolled to the side to avoid the shots Yang fired at her. When she was in a kneeling position, Pyrrha waved her hand at her opponent again.

Yang braced herself to feel the near oppressive power of Pyrrha's Semblance. But she was confused when she felt nothing of the sort. That is when she realized there was something else she could be reaching out for. She then quickly ducked down as Akouo flew over her head, slicing through a few strands of her hair. Yang looked up in time to see that the shield flew back to its user and was now attached to its usual bracer.

Yang stood up and saw the strands of hair falling in front of her. Her eyes widened before she saw red. Her eyes shifting to the usual blood red but she grit her teeth before it was too late. Her whole body shook as Yang used everything she had to not jump at Pyrrha in her anger. Pyrrha was strong before but with her new abilities that were similar to Jaune's, she was so much more dangerous. Yang closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again. they were the usual lilac.

Pyrrha, still wearing her Leviathan mask, just tilted her head. "I'm surprised, Yang. When I was still at Beacon, you would've snapped at that."

"Why are you doing this, Pyrrha?" Yang asked, trying to not focus on her just controlled anger. "I understand you took Jaune's fall the hardest but why join him? Why side with him?"

Pyrrha just shook her head, "Because Jaune and Raven are right." Her words holding a serious edge to them. "To Ozpin and Salem, people are just pawns. And both are willing to sacrifice as many as needed to win. Ozpin took especial interest in me and your entire team, Yang. I will not be just another pawn for his greater good."

Yang was honestly stunned by the venom in her tone, "Pyrrha, do you hear yourself right now? You wanted to help people by being a Huntress. This isn't you!"

"Or maybe it is!" she bit back. "For my entire life I was placed on a pedestal. Untouchable. I was sentenced to a lifetime of solitary. I'm tired of being the pleasant and polite champion who has to put up with the normal masses trying to just use me." Her negative emotions fed into her Negative aura and the dark red energy rose to encompass her form like a flame.

She took a deep breath, "But you are right, Yang. I thought my destiny was to be a Huntress, to protect the world. And now, after everything… I know I was right. I will help to protect this world. But not as a Huntress, as a pawn. I will protect it as a member of Knightingale. And we will take the fight to Salem."

She leveled a cold look at Yang. She almost took a step back from the coldness in her usually warm emerald eyes. The Grimm mask shadowing them added to the intensity of the stare. "So, what is it going to be, Yang? Are you a fighter or a pawn?"

Yang would be lying if her words didn't resonate with her. But she remembered the pain that Ruby had been enduring from everything that has happened. She hated that Ruby was in so much pain and she wasn't letting anyone help her. She wasn't going to just sit around and let her go through any more suffering. Her resolve came back in full. She narrowed her eyes and got back into her boxer stance. Pyrrha just shook her head and got into her own stance, shifting Milo into its javelin form.

Blake flipped backwards and back onto her feet. As soon as she got enough traction, she tried to push forward to renew her assault. But she was intercepted by Ren. The blades of StormFlower easily locked with both halves of Gambol Shroud. The respective ninjas stared into each other's eyes, although Blake was slightly unnerved by Imp mask that Ren wore, it just seemed to make his pink eyes glow from within.

That moment of hesitation was enough for Ren to throw her arms away from him and start to fire at the Faunus with his submachine guns. Blake luckily used her Semblance just in time and by combining it with the fire Dust in her gun, left a fire Shadow where she was. Seeing this, Ren pumped his aura into his legs and took off to the side before the clone detonated.

As he stopped, Blake had shifted her katana into her kusarigama and had thrown it towards him. He leant backwards and fell onto his back to avoid it the attack that would've hit him in the head. While in that position, he attached his firearms to his legs before pushing off the ground to flip back onto his feet. It just so happened that that flip was perfectly timed to miss the follow up slash that Blake had followed up with. With his feet back on the ground, he charged back at Blake as fast as he could. She immediately resumed trying to hit him with her weapon but Ren was able to twist or bend out of the way of her weapon. Once he was close enough, he jumped high into the air and above her, where he reached back for the other weapon in his arsenal.

Seeing him above her, Blake pulled her weapon back into her grasp and aimed up at him with her pistol. She was about to fire when her eyes widened from seeing what weapon Ren had just deployed: Magnhild. The weapon of his dead partner. With the warhammer now in his grasp, he fired off an explosion that sent him into downward rotation eerily similar to how Nora would use it. She quickly created a Shadow to help get away before Ren brought down the hammer exactly where she was. Shaking the ground around them and forming a crater that Nora would usually leave.

As the dust settled, Blake saw that Ren was standing tall with Magnhild's head still buried in the ground. The two just stared at each other for a few seconds before her amber eyes were drawn back to the weapon. "You're using her weapon." She said out loud.

He nodded, "I know she'd want me to carry it on in her stead."

"How did she die?" Blake asked before she could stop herself.

Ren was silent for a few seconds before he decided to respond, "When we found Jaune, he decided to test us to see if he could trust us again. He set us up against the Grimm that destroyed my village and that haunted our dreams. Nora didn't make it out of that battle."

Blake just looked appalled, "Then why did you side with him?! Ren, it's because of Jaune that Nora is dead!"

"No he isn't!" Ren shouted back. That had Blake flinch from the sheer anger in his tone. He took a breath and spoke in the same neutral tone as before. "Jaune did set up that test so he does have partial responsibility but the blame doesn't just rest on his shoulders. But mine as well."

"We could've stopped at any time during that test. I had my 'rule of one' with him, so he would've helped us if I asked. But our pride stopped us. More so, my anger and hatred of that Grimm made it impossible for me to back down. It's because of that and my lack of strength, that Nora died. It is both mine and Jaune's fault."

"Then why work with him then?" Blake asked, still baffled by this.

"Because he isn't wrong." Ren answered back. "Salem and the Grimm must be stopped. And Jaune's method has a better chance than what Ozpin has been doing up until this point." He then hefted Magnhild free from the ground and rested its shaft across his shoulders. "I will help Jaune accomplish this. And until that day or I die, I will wield her weapon and wear the same mask as that Grimm. As a reminder of how much I've failed."

With those words of self-hatred, his dark pink aura came to the surface, covering his body like water running off a stone. It eventually settled back into his body and he shifted the warhammer into its grenade launcher form. Blake quickly shifted her gun back into her katana while trying to figure out how to fight against Ren now.

Weiss was being pushed further and further back from the unrelenting assault by Velvet. Her Semblance had copied Raven's fighting style perfectly and as strong as Weiss was, she wasn't prepared for this level of fighting from a fully fledged Huntress. Seeing Velvet come in for another sword slash, Weiss placed another Glyph under herself and launched herself further back.

She was expecting Velvet to follow after her but she didn't. Instead, Velvet sheathed her copy of Omen before she let go of the handle. Weiss raised an eyebrow before they widened as the entire sword was fired from the sheathe, handle first. Not expecting the unorthodox attack, Weiss had no chance to put up any sort of defense. The handle of the weapon buried itself into her solar plexus and forced the air from her lungs. Weiss fell onto a knee as she tried to force herself to breath, the hard-light copy faded away as she did.

Velvet used this opportunity to close the space between herself and her opponent. Using Anesidora, she created a copy of Hush before pulling the hidden blade from the parasol. She then leapt towards the still struggling hieress to try to drive it into her. Weiss was able to look up in time to raise her hands and conjure a black Glyph. Velvet's blade scrapped off the makeshift shield and she quickly jumped from the Glyph before Weiss could try anything else with it.

Weiss just looked through her Glyph at Velvet as she finally started to get her breathing back in order. It was hard to comprehend what she was seeing right now. But the Creep mask Velvet was wearing was all the proof she needed. Although she had to admit there was a jarring contrast between the long rabbit ears on her head compare to the unsettling mask on her face. Velvet just tilted her head while she kept the copy of Hush in hand. "Do you have something to say?" she asked.

Weiss just took a deep breath to steady herself as she rose to her feet, keeping the Glyph between them as she did. "Just trying to wrap my head around how the charming woman I knew at Beacon has become a common criminal."

Velvet just giggled, "Sorry, Weiss, but I don't think there is anything common about what me and the rest of Knightingale are doing."

"This is serious." Weiss said louder.

"I'm well aware of that." Velvet replied easily.

"Velvet!" Weiss shouted before she calmed down just the slightest bit. "I still can't believe your siding with Jaune after everything he has done and what he'll continue to do. Why are you going along with this?"

"Because Jaune has been the only one outside of my family to trust and care for me. Genuinely." She replied in a serious tone.

Weiss was taken aback by that, not expecting the answer in the slightest. "Velvet, that's not true."

"It is Weiss." The Faunus nearly hissed back. "Most of the people at Beacon saw me as nothing more than an inconvenience. Or they were like Cardin and his team. They would just insult me, harass me, or even hurt me. The Professors did next to nothing to help me, besides hand out their pity to me. Hell, even my own team didn't trust me to hold my own. They always thought I was helpless or I wasn't trustworthy enough to tell the important things to."

"Jaune has been the complete opposite to all of that." She continued. "Respect and trust were given to me in spades. And if I was considered weak, he helped to push me to knew levels of strength that I didn't even know were possible for me." She looked at Weiss with a smirk under her mask. "And Knightingale has turned out to be more of a family to me than my team ever was. So, why wouldn't I join them?"

Weiss just stared at her, "I can't believe any of this. Has he brainwashed you?"

That is when Velvet's now dark brown aura flashes across her form like fire. She then spoke in a hate filled tone. "I shouldn't be too surprise that is what you think. You were always a hate filled bitch towards Jaune." That made her flinch back. "You were just as bad to him as Cardin was. No, scratch that. You were worse. Because he cared for you deeply."

Her aura calmed down and her copied weapon dissipated and was replaced with a hard-light copy of her partner's very own weapon. "I think we're done talking now. It's time to put you in your place, just like Cardin." Her voice filled with finality. Weiss, still shaken dropped back into her stance and tried her best to come up with some kind of strategy. But was currently coming up with nothing.

Finally was the most heated battle of the four. The one that was most emotionally charged. The fight between Ruby Rose and Jaune Branwen. Jaune was currently firing rapid fired shots at Ruby with Souffrance Eternelle but Ruby was using her Semblance to easily pass through the bullets as a cloud of rose petals.

She rematerialized and quickly fired at Jaune with Crescent Rose in its rifle form. The leader of Knightingale didn't bat an eye and raised Désespoir to easily block the sniper rounds. When the last one hit, he pulled his arm back and channeled Distortion through his blade before delivering a downward slash into the ground. The kinetic energy traveled forward, tearing up the dirt and stone in it's path towards Ruby. Seeing the display of power, she used her Semblance to shoot into the air and out of harm's way. She then reangled and shot towards him.

Seeing this, Jaune quickly sheathed his flamberge into his shield before pulling it from his arm. The shield quickly condensed into its sheathe form before shifting quickly into his greatsword. He quickly grabbed the handle with both hands as he channeled his Semblance through his body. When the clouds of rose petals was close, it reverted back into the reaper. With a shout she came forward with her trusted scythe. The Chief of the Branwen Tribe gave his own shout as he swung his large blade forward.

The two former best friends had a minor power struggle. Ruby's silver eyes, that had been hardened with determination, stared into the cold blue of Jaune's from behind his Wyvern mask. She was going to stop him. For Penny. That way the pain she was going through because of her death would be resolved. But what she wasn't expecting was that looking into the familiar blues brought back many memories for her and her eyes softened.

That power struggle lasted only a second. Distortion absorbed all the force from Ruby's swing enhanced by the speed of her Semblance before releasing it back at her. The blast wave launched the two of them apart and left a crater where they were. As she was flying back, Ruby shoved her blade into the ground to slow herself down as it cut into the ground. Jaune did the same thing as he drove his greatsword into the earth below him. They both came to a stop a hundred or so feet away from each other and looked over their respective weapons at the other.

Ruby already had her barrel pointed at him and she brought her head down to look through her scope. It didn't take much adjustment to move the crosshairs over his chest but she couldn't get her finger to squeeze the trigger. As soon as she was about to, those memories shifted back to the forefront of her mind. The memories of them as the closest of friends. When her feeling grew further into a crush. The memories of her heart breaking when she was convinced he had died. And that made her realize the truth: she couldn't bring herself to take the shot. Not at Jaune.

That didn't stop Jaune from pulling Sommeil Eternel and aiming. Her eyes widened and she quickly tried to get away with her Semblance. He had enough of that and he charged his shot with the power of his own Semblance. He fired and the bullet bit into the ground a few feet from her. Distortion amplified the force of the bullet and created an explosion that sent her tumbling across the ground before she could use her Petal Burst. Jaune grabbed Haine with his left hand and pulled the blade from the ground as he slowly started to walk towards the stunned Huntress in training. "You know, for someone who seemed so determined to stop me, you aren't showing much effort in doing it."

Ruby looked back at him and slowly started to get to her feet, "I do want to stop you, Jaune. I don't want you to get into a worse situation or get killed. But… I don't want to fight you either." Her eyes started to tear up, "Because I still see you as one of my best friends. And someone who I care about so much." Tears started to slide down her face. "Please, just stop this. Please don't make me have to fight you like this."

He stopped. For several seconds, he just stood there and looked at the crying reaper. Thinking this was her chance, she took a step towards him with her hand extended. That was when she heard the gunshot and the ground below her exploded, sending her flying backwards. Her aura took a good hit from the explosion and the tumbling across the ground.

When everything stopped ringing, Ruby managed to open her eyes and look across to where Jaune was walking closer again, this time with his heavy revolver pointed at her direction. "You know, your innocence and optimism were two things I loved about you Ruby. But now? Now I just see them as ways that'll get you killed."

"Jaune." she said heartbreakingly as she rose to her feet again. Crescent Rose still in her hands.

"I don't understand." He cut her off as he fired again, throwing her off her feet. "You still hold onto these ideas of heroes and slaying monsters. Wake up! This world isn't a fairy tale. Heroes don't always save the day. And the monsters can just as easily be the people you try to save and not the Grimm. And 'Happily Ever Afters'? Those are one-in-a-million."

Her aura weakened further and her body began to get sore, so much so that her arms and legs were starting to shake. But that didn't stop her from slowly getting back to her feet. "Maybe. But… if people like me and my team… people like the person you were… if we all work as one... we can change that." she spoke nearly out of breath.

That caused Jaune to chuckle as he holstered his gun. "Can you? Then why didn't that work for your family?" He questioned coldly and that made her eyes go wide as a pit opened up in her stomach. Next thing she knew, Jaune had launched himself at her and was coming down with a swing of his greatsword. She raised her weapon to block it but was still sent skidding backwards.

"This world is dark, Ruby. This world is why your father nearly broke." Ruby looked up and he was going for another swing. She tried to block it again but this one was less effective and sent her to the ground. "This world is why your uncle has to drink to get through a day." He swung again but this time, he knocked the weapon from her hands and across the ground. She looked up in fear, "It's this world that killed your mother."

She felt this unsettling feeling all around her and saw that her aura was being siphoned into Jaune's own black one. She could only feel the slightest amount still in her. "It's time to make a choice. Will you be destroyed by this world that has been put into place by Ozpin and Salem?" She saw that Jaune had his sword in both hands and he was bringing it up, intent on running her through. "Or will you break free from all of this and become stronger than ever before!?" With that, his sword started to come forward.

The world seemed to slow for the younger girl. The words that Jaune had spoke held so much truth to them. That mixed with the pain and agony that she had been dealing with for the last year. And that brought back all the doubts she had about working with Professor Ozpin. That's when it all came forward, all the negative emotions she had tried to bury over the years: Agony, sorrow, loneliness, grief, anger, hatred. And with it, a rush of power. But more so, pain.

Jaune's eyes widened before he jump backwards. At that moment, aura erupted from her body similar to anyone else that had awakened Negative aura before. But vastly different. A blood red Negative aura, similar to Pyrrha's, was rising from her body like an inferno. But mixed into it was the usual red Positive aura she had. The two seemed like they were warring with each other for supremacy as the ground around the younger girl started to burn. Ruby's hands went to her chest as they gripped it tightly as pain racked every cell in her body. It was painful to even breathe. But soon a scream unlike any before was released form her. Jaune just narrowed his eyes.

Whatever was happening, wasn't the natural process of Negative aura. He didn't know what was going on or how to stop it. Which meant that everyone on this floating island could possibly be in grave danger.