A/N: This chapter went through about four different drafts before I finally decided on this one. Hope you like it!

This time, Weiss was not as surprised to see Jaune calling. Clearly, the Arkham Knight had gotten ahold of his scroll at some point to torment them even more than his presence alone did. But this time, something was even more off: the bastard wasn't calling her, he was sending her a live video.

Judging by the look Neptune was sending her, he had the same thing.

She spent a moment debating with herself what to do, but she figured that the Arkham Knight was sending her this video for a reason. As much as it was most likely designed to hurt her, she couldn't help but realize that the problems that could arise from not watching the video were just as bad if not worse than if she did.

She looked Neptune in the eyes, whether to encourage him or herself even she didn't know, and started playing the video.

All she could see was a stage that had the Arkham Knight, Roman Torchwick, and the tri-colored girl that was always with him. The one they had never managed to get a name out of. A flag in the background showed the White Fang's symbol.

It didn't take a genius to realize that this was a White Fang rally.

Oh my god. This is a recruitment rally. They're trusting three humans to recruit more Faunus. How much power do they have over the White Fang?

Torchwick was standing centerstage, so it made sense when he started talking first.

"Thank you all for coming. Truly warms my heart to see the love pouring in from all of you." The crowd remained as dead silent as it had been when they first entered. "Now I know we're going to get off on the wrong foot at first. After all, you probably all want me dead. However, there's one thing we can all agree on. All of us." He gestured to his partners at that. "Humans are the worst."

Only humans like you, Torchwick, you monster. You and your helpers.

Even through the screen, Torchwick almost seemed to agree, gesturing to himself. "Case in point. Now before everyone's claws come out, we also have a common enemy: the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms!"

To Weiss's horror, the Faunus there seemed to start to agree with him.

"Government, military, even the schools: they're all to blame for your lot in life! And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around, no offense to any rodents in the room."

The cheering was going strong, almost reminding her of the applause at orchestral events she had to sit through when she was younger. She could feel her fear rising with every second they yelled their support, and by the palpable tension in the room Neptune wasn't any better.

As if to make it any worse, Torchwick snapped his fingers and the white sheet behind him disappeared to form a mech.

Not just any mech, however. This one could only be designed in Atlas based on the technology she could see and she had yet to see any of Ironwood's mechanical forces in Vale, which could only mean one thing: they somehow managed to steal this mech.

Did they steal the mech at the same time they kidnapped her sister?

Could that mean...

She didn't get the chance to think any more before Torchwick was going again.

"As some of you may have heard, this right here is Atlas' newest defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my 'employer', we've managed to snag a few before they 'hit the shelves'. Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine. But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?"

In response, the crowd roared. They roared louder than any noise Weiss had ever heard in her entire life. In a way, it was similar to watching the many speeches given by former Atlesian leaders. The ones that focused on the unity of their people and ensuring everyone gave what they could to their nation.

In every other way, it was terrifying to watch.

But Roman wasn't done.

"And even for those of you out there who still doubt us, who doubt our commitment to your cause, who doubt whether we value this partnership we have, we have a special gift, just for you. Maestro, would you please?"

With a flick of the girl's wrist, the curtain parted slightly and out walked...

Weiss's mind completely blanked.

Winter Schnee stepped out from behind the curtain, looking completely dead inside.

The Faunus may have already been supporting them, but this was icing on the cake.

When Winter stepped out, the roar that followed was the most satisfying thing in the world. With Roman's speech throwing everyone there under his control, he had the beginning of the army he would need, now all that was needed was his message to Ironwood and Ozpin.

To that end, Winter stepped out at the center of the stage and stood in front of the mech, staring blankly.

Then, with the Arkham Knight mouthing along the same words as they were spoken, Winter began to address the audience.

"Everyone!" Her voice managed to sound powerful enough that even though no one there liked her they couldn't help but quiet down. "I know you all hate my family with an unrivaled passion. For good reason." The admission shocked the Faunus present, stunning them to silence. "My family has enslaved your kind, forcing them into work in horrible conditions they can't possibly hope to escape, all for a little profit. We've ensured that Atlas never considered you proper citizens, showing the rest of the world the superiority of the human race. And the next generation has turned a blind eye to your suffering, choosing instead to use the name that has brought you so much pain to give ourselves the best chance we have in life. The Schnee name brings nothing but suffering to all of your kind. So yes, you hate me. It is deserved in every way."

Of course all of the Faunus were agreeing with every word she was saying. She was merely spouting the same talking points every White Fang sympathizer spewed every day of their life. Manipulating this audience was the easiest thing the Knight had ever done in his entire life. All of them were too eager to hear people who agreed with them to realize their brains were being picked apart at the seams.

Winter continued on.

"It is time that I paid for the suffering I have caused and there is only one way to do that."

It was like all their breath was sucked out of their bodies.

"Blood."

And just like that, the ravenous cheers were back.

Weiss could not believe anything she was seeing.

This... this shell was not her sister. Her sister had always felt guilty for what her father had done and was trying to change it, but she would never do anything even remotely like this, much less with Torchwick and the Knight.

She was being controlled somehow. It was the only way. Whether it was through mind manipulation or blackmail or threats, Winter was not acting of her own accord.

She couldn't think for long though. Before she could even think or register the look that Neptune was giving her, Winter was moving to the Knight.

"Would you do the honors?"

...no. No no no no no no

She kept repeating the same mantra in her head over and over again, desperate to somehow change the video on the screen in front of her, even if she knew she couldn't. Neptune put one arm around her, trying his best to hold her together, but she didn't even notice.

The Arkham Knight didn't even speak, simply nodding behind his mask. In only a single second, he pulled out his gun and shot Winter directly in the head.

In that moment, Weiss's world shut down.

When General Ironwood's scroll beeped, he immediately knew what had happened, as much as he wanted to deny it.

Winter's aura was depleted, which could only mean one thing.

Taking a moment to pull out his scroll and confirm what he already knew, he immediately stood up, drawing Ozpin, Qrow, and Glynda to attention immediately.

He minced no words. "Winter has been killed. I imagine the Arkham Knight is at fault because her death was instantaneous. I have her last location. The Knight is probably still there."

Qrow immediately took his scroll and memorized the coordinates, repeating them to Glynda. In an instant, Qrow was flying out the window while Glynda was using her glyphs to fly out of the office as well.

Ozpin merely sighed at having to worry about another window before turning to James. "You're remarkably calm right now, James."

Ironwood sighed, already feeling his walls break. "'Right now' is the key phrase, Ozpin. It will only last for so long. Please, be prepared for when I do falter. It will happen soon and all I will be is a hinderance when it does."

Ozpin nodded, understanding what James meant even if his words were weak.

The moment that the Knight fired that shot, Neptune was holding Weiss as tightly as he could as she broke apart. Her reaction had been surprisingly instantaneous, the sight not taking even a second to comprehend.

Despite what she'd just seen, Weiss was remaining surprisingly calm, barely reacting to Neptune almost swallowing her in his arms. She stared straight ahead at her scroll, face a mask of steel, watching her sister's body fall to the floor to the cheers of all the Faunus present.

It was monstrous.

Unfortunately, they didn't even have another second to process anything because Roman continued on as if nothing was wrong.

"That's not all folks!"

Roman was enjoying it. He was fucking enjoying it.

"If a Schnee wasn't enough, we have something even more valuable. A traitor!"

In that moment, the tri-colored girl brought forth two people from behind the curtain.

Two Faunus.

Two Faunus that he fucking knew.

Blake and Sun.

In that moment, what was happening on stage didn't matter anymore. Weiss didn't matter. Her grief didn't matter. Blake didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was Sun, sitting there next to Blake with his hands tied behind his back like a sacrificial lamb. In that moment, he did the only thing he could think of.

He ran.

He ran straight out of the dorm, Ozpin's office his destination. The faster he could reach the Headmaster's office, the sooner he could be able to save his friend from whatever fate Roman and the Knight had in mind for Sun.

And if he heard Weiss's scream from the dorm, loud and full of pain that had built up over the years, he shrugged it off.

Sun was all that mattered.

Everything was going according to plan.

Thanks to the combined efforts of Jaune and Roman using Roman's semblance on the

crowd, everyone in the building was on their side, making sure to exclude Blake and Sun from their affects. Watts's virus was working perfectly and Penny was streaming a video of the rally to his targets. Winter Schnee was dead in the name of all the people her father had killed, and there was not a doubt in his mind that Weiss had seen it.

And now, it was time to put on a show for Blake and Sun.

The two were now on stage, forced onto the ground, powerless against them. The Faunus in the crowd were cheering. Roman was pretending to look sick to his stomach. Neo was off to the side ready to play her part after he was done.

Unfortunately, seeing Winter die meant that Weiss would go insane rallying everyone to find them, so it was time to move on and wrap up the rally. He held up a fist, instantly silencing everyone.

"These two are traitors to your cause! They work with the very people who oppress, persecute, and enslave you! We must show everyone that we will not bow down to what these people represent! We will not bow down to the schools, the council, the kingdoms, or humans!"

The roar that followed was deafening, which was surprising considering that not many people were actually there. He briefly wondered if this is what the previous dictators of Atlas felt like before he moved on.

"Now, I offer you a choice. Killing two students would make us monsters in their eyes. We fight them by showing them mercy!"

The roars came to a complete silence almost immediately, the Faunus confused as to why their lust for murder wouldn't be sated. Jaune smiled under his helmet, ready to bring them back.

"We kill one and spare the other!"

Sun and Blake screamed and tried to unwrap their hands, but the audience loved it. He relished in the screams, both of fear and excitement. "I leave the decision to you! In 60 seconds, I kill one of your choice. Will it be the monkey, or the cat?!"

The roar dulled as they all seemed to discuss among themselves. They were enjoying this as much as Jaune was.

The grin almost threatened to break his face in two when he realized what the crowd was starting to chant: "Kill the cat! Kill the cat!"

Roman was doing a bang up job messing with everyone's heads. Patiently waiting 10 seconds would put the final part of this phase into motion.

10

Roman started giving everyone a look that made it seem as though he was sick at everything that was happening around him. He also made a show of looking at the Paladin, clearly "thinking" about hijacking it.

9

Jaune gave Winter's body another glance, staring at the bullet wound. It was such a waste of possible talent, but it had to be done.

8

He wondered how loud Weiss's scream was after seeing her sister being murdered, relishing in the thought of a scream so loud Ozpin could hear it from his tower.

7

Neptune was probably at a loss of how to deal with a screaming and crying Weiss. Weiss liked to play the big strong woman, but she'd never known true loss. How could she when she never had anything to begin with?

6

Blake was trying to escape her bonds, clearly struggling through the aura-dampening cuffs she had on her. To make it harder for her, Neo kicked her onto her back, unable to move her hands. Roman gave her another "I regret everything" look. Neo gave an equal one back.

5

Sun looked terrified, but Jaune knew it wasn't out of fear of losing his life. He was scared of what would happen to Blake. No matter what animosity he had towards his fellow blonde, he could admit that he admired his ability to always look out for everyone else before himself.

4

He briefly wondered what would have happened to him if his team had that same drive. Would he have been kidnapped by that maniac? Would he still be on the good path he used to believe in? Or was he destined to always become this force of Salem's power?

3

He shook the thought away. The old Jaune liked to poke his head through every now and then. It was up to the Arkham Knight to keep him away.

2

Sun stopped looking scared and instead started looking resolved, clearly making a plan. He gave another look at Blake, still held on her back by Neo, and whatever doubt he had disappeared completely.

1

Jaune gave Roman the subtle nod that he needed to see. The plan was finalized in that moment; Roman started glancing at the Paladin more and more like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

0

Exactly like he predicted, Sun finally stood himself up.

He looked at the crowd, back at Neo, then finally laid his eyes on the Arkham Knight. "Me. Make it me."

Blake looked even more terrified than before. "Sun? What are you doing?!"

Sun ignored her. It was obvious that if he talked to her, it would make him consider backing out. "Kill me and spare her. I mean, it makes sense anyway, right? Kill me, my team falls apart. It's what you want."

Jaune ignored the jeers and taunts from the crowd as much as he ignored Blake's cries. He walked over to Sun and made a show of the slow dramatic laugh. "Well, you certainly make a good argument." Then, he whispered so only Sun could hear. "Don't worry. I keep my promises. Your girlfriend will leave here alive."

He walked away from the now stoic Sun, addressing his audience. "It appears we have a volunteer!"

Blake was now openly crying. "No! Please don't! He's done nothing to you! Let him live!"

Sun closed his eyes before responding. "Blake, don't. You know I protect my friends no matter what. I couldn't before, but I can now."

"This isn't what any of them would want!"

Sun did the thing he could never do before and ignored Blake's cries. Instead, he turned his inner rage at the monster that caused all of this, the Arkham Knight. "Who are you? What have we done to you?!" At first the man ignored him, but he continued. "When you're killing me you show me your true face!"

The Knight took a moment to seriously consider that. It was a risky move. He could shout his name and Blake would hear. On the other hand, Sun thought he was dead. Shock was a hell of a drug.

He decided to indulge. He was finally crossing a name off of his List, he figured he should make the most of it.

He walked over to Blake's form, grabbing her weapon from nearby. Blake almost hissed at having someone else handling her weapon, but Neo brandishing her parasol again quieted her immediately.

He took a moment to admire the craftsmanship that Gambol Shroud displayed. It was a good piece of work for a coward who liked to keep herself away from her targets, allowing range and extra mobility. Perfect for Blake.

Brandishing the sword to the audience, milking every single moment, he walked back over to Sun, who was barely managing to keep up his strong facade. As he got closer, he watched at the fierce look on his face got more and more fake with each of his steps until he was finally right in front of the Faunus.

He took a deep breath, ready to go on. "You posses true courage. Honestly. It's admirable."

And with that piece said, Jaune lifted up the front of his mask to show Sun his true face.

Blake was more terrified than she'd ever been in her life, and she'd stared down Adam Taurus and lived.

I tried to keep myself closed off, terrified of what could happen if I let myself connect with others, but there he was, never letting me slip away.

The Arkham Knight, the monster that was becoming the bane of her existence, was staring down her boyfriend, intent clear. He was going to kill Sun.

And yet, it was because Sun had been brave enough to stand up for her and demand they take him instead of her.

Everything he did was to protect the ones he cared about.

Everything was just going too fast. One second the two of them were reconciling in her dorm, the next they were tied up backstage at a White Fang rally, and then they were forced in front of a crowd wanting to kill them. It made her head spin.

But now, Sun, the first person she dared open her heart to after Adam, the only person outside of her team who never seemed to lose faith in her, the one who always managed to make her smile, was standing in front of an unmasked Knight, terror and confusion clear on his face.

He always wore his heart on his sleeve. He couldn't lie if he wanted to.

His voice was quiet, shock lacing his words. "That... that's not possible. It can't be true. It can't!"

The Knight laughed, his voice still modified even without the mask.

And then, without a second to spare, he swung Gambol Shroud straight across Sun's throat.

His name was ironic because everyone that knew him knew how much light he brought everywhere he went.

There was a gush of blood as Sun fell to his knees, choking on the blood pouring from his slit throat. Blake honestly couldn't tell if she was screaming or not; the only thing she saw was him struggling to breathe. Nothing else mattered to her: to her ears nothing was there, to her eyes no one but Sun was there. The world didn't matter in that final moment.

Of course, Sun's Aura had to kick in eventually, but there was only so much it could do. Even as it managed to lessen the cut, it couldn't completely stop it, not if the Knight had anything to say about it.

The Knight walked around him with his mask back in place, gun aimed at the back of Sun's head ready to finish the job. Sun looked up at her, locking eyes with her one last time, and she could only barely see him form the word "Blake" with his lips.

I was just starting to imagine that maybe, just maybe, we could have lasted for all of our time at Beacon, maybe even afterwards.

One gunshot later and the world slowed to almost a standstill.

Blood splattered on the ground in front of Sun's stunned body, his head, fresh bullet hole in the center, immediately following it. His eyes remained open in clear terror, staring into her guilty soul.

It should have been me. Why did you do it Sun? It should have been me!

This time, Blake heard her own scream, raw, feral, and filled with nothing but pain. She didn't know when someone cut her bonds, but she didn't care: as soon as she could, she went straight to Sun's body and put her hands on the side of his neck, hoping beyond hope that somehow, someway, he managed to survive.

Obviously there was no way he could have lived. Sun was dead and there was nothing she could do to save him.

Blake prided herself on her ability to remain stoic in high pressure situations, but being so close to him as he stared blankly ahead, blood pouring out around him, she broke.

She couldn't honestly say how long she cried. She could only vaguely hear chaos breaking around her, seeing Torchwick fall over out of the corner of her eyes, and hearing an escalating firefight and things being thrown around before complete silence.

All of a sudden, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She didn't react at all, still staring at Sun's body staring up at her, but a single moment of clarity made it obvious who was standing behind her.

Professor Goodwitch was on the scene.

With how fast Neptune had been running, the sudden stop caused by what he just saw sent him crashing to the ground.

After taking a moment on the ground to frantically find his scroll after it went flying from his hands, he crawled over to it, desperately hoping that what he'd seen wasn't true.

Regardless of how stupid he looked, he could barely stand up, so when he finally managed to crawl to the scroll, it confirmed his worst fears.

Everything he'd seen was true. Blake crying over the body proved it.

Sun was dead.

His leader...

His partner...

His best friend was lying dead in a puddle of his own blood, a hole in his head and a slash on his throat, eyes wide open in terror, shock, and pain.

All the while, the monsters that killed him with no mercy were standing there, gloating, smiling, laughing like they hadn't just murdered one of the only people he cared about.

For only a minute, he could feel nothing but unrelenting sadness. Sadness, regret, self-loathing, every negative emotion he could think of hit him all at once with the force of an airship. Neptune was not one for panic attacks, but the feeling in his chest was always what he imagined one to feel like.

Then, anger took over as he grabbed his scroll and, screaming to the sky, crushed it in his fist.

In that moment, he made a promise to his friend, to the world, and to the Arkham Knight: he would avenge his brother in all but blood Sun Wukong, no matter what it took.

Contrary to what many believed, Glynda was not heartless.

The job had made her cynical, sure, but not without good reason. The amount of friends, students, and good people she had witnessed die due to senseless evil was too high to count, and that was before mentioning what had become of her former team. She wasn't hopeless, though. She hadn't broken like some people had (Raven and Qrow came to mind).

The world needed optimists like Ms. Rose, but without the realists and cynics the human race would would have died out long ago. As such, she was the black to Ozpin's white: the two of them balanced each other out and ensured the Academy and the world at large were as good as they could make them.

However, there was only so much she could take before she reached her limits. Her students were the closest she would ever have to children (she had given up on that dream when she had joined Ozpin's circle: as much as Ozpin tried to convince her otherwise, her duty to the world outweighed her personal wishes). Even those like the former team CRDL, who she couldn't help but have a certain dislike for, deserved at least an effort on her part to show them the error of their ways and make them good people.

The situation she and Qrow had walked into made her fly into a rage instantly. Qrow looked no better (but he never did so that was nothing unique), seemingly ready to kill everyone in the room.

Despite her Huntress duty to protect all life, she couldn't help but agree.

One of her students was dead. Another student was crying over his dead body. Of course she knew the two of them had been involved and that only made it worse. Ms. Belladonna had to watch her boyfriend die in front of her.

To some the fact that Sun had only been a transfer would've changed things, but it didn't matter to her. Her student was dead, and the ones responsible were right in front of her. She could do her part to avenge him.

She didn't intentionally go for any kill shots, but these monsters (she refused to validate their existence as people) didn't have auras to protect them and she certainly wasn't holding back the way she otherwise might have. If a few of them died? They had sold their souls regardless of whether their mortal bodies still lived.

Qrow had gone straight for Torchwick while she dealt with the grunts. Judging by the noises of the fight, it hadn't lasted long. She couldn't spare a glance towards him since she had gunmen shooting from almost every direction, but she knew Qrow could handle himself (as long as his Semblance didn't interfere) so she focused on her fight.

It didn't take any effort on her part. Simply putting a glyph in front of herself to catch all of the bullets, waiting for them to stop shooting in shock at what they were seeing, then returning all of the bullets back to their owners. And if a few of them flew into the crowd...

Well, they'd cheered while her own student had been gunned down. It was only fair.

The ones she hadn't hit fled as fast as they possibly could and she couldn't waste the energy needed to go after them, so she turned back around to Qrow. He had managed to take down Torchwick, who was now on the floor with his bowler hat beside him. The Arkham Knight and Torchwick's accomplice were nowhere to be seen, so it was safe to assume they had teleported out of there as soon as the fight broke out like cowards.

Qrow turned to talk to her, but a sudden sound broke through instead. Instantly, she turned towards Blake, still sobbing over Sun's dead body.

Qrow gestured to the two of them, clearly telling her to deal with it while he took Torchwick. She didn't even acknowledge him further, ignoring the sounds of Qrow sprinting out of the building with Torchwick over his shoulder.

She walked over to Blake and crouched down, putting a hand on her shoulder. She didn't react except for a minor flinch, so at least she was still able to recognize the world around her instead of completely shutting herself out.

After a moment of keeping her hand there, Blake finally turned around to look at her with bloodshot eyes and a bloodstained face. Before she could even begin to tell her anything, Blake launched herself at her professor, hugging her tightly and crying freely into her shoulder desperate for any positive human contact.

After another moment, Glynda returned the hug, letting her student cry into her shoulder.