Unraveling the Knight

Jaune was sitting on the rooftop of the dorms. He was just staring over the horizon, depressed. The day he was having was great up until his combat class. He was paired up against Cardin, again. He was doing well at first. The training he was going through with Pyrrha was helping him in leaps and bounds. He thought he actually had a chance to finally win. Fate had another plan for him.

As he was charging towards Cardin, he tripped and landed on his face. At least, that's what it looked like to everyone else. In actuality, his body had pain shooting through it. It felt like his body was flooded with fire and electricity, all originating from his stomach. From the small amount of food he forced himself to eat.

As he was dealing with the pain, Cardin took advantage and slammed his mace into his stomach. The force sent him flying then tumbling across the floor. When he stopped, he managed to get onto his hands and knees. He knew what was coming and tried to stop it. But he couldn't and vomited all over the floor below him. That immediately caused the entire class to laugh at him and solidify his nickname as Vomit Boy.

Out of humiliation, he forfeited the match and just walked out of the arena. When he met up with his friends, he could just see them trying to act nice but he could see humor and disgust hidden in their eyes. He did his best to ignore that and all the rumors around him. He put on his usual smile and carried on with his day. That smile became more and more strained as the day went on. And by the end of it, he asked Pyrrha for the night off and headed up to the roof to be alone.

His depressed mood didn't help with his stomach growling like crazy. He tried to eat at dinner, tried to force more food down, but his body wasn't having it. He excused himself and went to the bathroom where he vomited everything again. His body wasn't going to have it. And he knew perfectly well what his body wanted, needed, but he'd be damned if he gave it that. He'd rather starve than resort to it.

That's when he heard the footsteps behind him and assumed it was one of his friends, probably Pyrrha. But that's when he heard the voice he never wanted to hear again, "Why the long face, Jaune?"

The voice caused him to freeze before he slowly started to look down. "Go away." He said with as much conviction as he could muster.

The voice just chuckled, "Don't be like that. I'm the closest friend you have." The voice was nearing him along with the footsteps growing louder.

It sounded like a distorted version of his own and that just put him on edge. "You aren't my friend." His voice was now filled with venom.

"And I suppose that group that just puts up with you are?" the voice just cackled. "Not a chance."

He felt a hand land on his shoulder. Jaune quickly smacked it away and looked at the owner of the voice. They were an almost exact copy on himself. Just that his hair was long enough to cover his eyes and it was stark white. He was wearing white shorts and a black t-shirt, both torn and covered in blood. His feet were bare and he could see that his nails were black on his toes and fingers, from being smashed so often. "Don't touch me." Jaune uttered in a hate filled tone.

The twisted version of him just gave him a just as twisted grin. "Isn't that what you said to that bastard Watts as he experimented on you?"

Jaune's eyes widened as memories came flooding back. Being strapped to a metal slab. Being injected with vial upon vial of substances. Being cut open and having things transplanted in him. He placed a hand on his forehead, "Shut up…"

The twisted him tilted his head slightly, "So, you do remember. What about how that fucker Tyrian torturing you?"

More memories came forth. Being shackled to a chair. Being cut into by his wrist blades. Being shot repeatedly and nonfatally. Being stung by his stinger and suffering from the venom flooding his veins. Meanwhile, the lunatic just laughed and laughed. Jaune now had two hands gripping his head. "Shut up."

The twisted him somehow got behind him and lent over his shoulder to speak into his ear, "What about when you finally broke? And you killed them, both of them. Destroyed the damned lab and everything inside. And what you finally ate."

"Shut up!" Jaune screamed. "They were monsters and that was self-defense. But they didn't deserve what you did. No one does."

"What about your family than? Was that self-defense?" He asked as he paced slowly behind Jaune. "You finally got reunited and you were all happy. Until they found out what you were now. They feared you. And one night, when you were sleeping, they tried to kill you. I think they deserved what they got, don't you?"

Tears were falling down his cheeks. "Shut up." He said weakly. "I didn't want that. I didn't do that." He looked back at him. "You did. You killed them. You…you-" he couldn't continue because he gagged at what happened to his family a year ago.

The twisted him just chuckled. "I did. I did what you were too weak, too soft to do." He tilted his head and his hair moved enough to reveal his right eye. His sclera was black with glowing red veins in them. His iris was blood red. "I made us survive."

Jaune looked away in disgust. But the twisted him didn't stop. "And you've done a piss poor job of doing so since then." His voice gained an angry undertone. "You locked me away with all your pain and memories. You came here, to Beacon, to get away from what you did and try to 'repent' for what you did." He rolled his eyes, "You could be the strongest of your year if you stopped trying to be what you're not: human."

Jaune wanted to ignore it but he knew it was true. He wasn't human anymore, but he wasn't what Watts had called him either. "I'm no Ghoul."

He heard his Ghoul side laugh, "No, you aren't. We are so much more. We're half human and half-Ghoul. We have the best of both. But you want to hide from that reality." His voice took on a disappointed tone. "You want to pretend to be human. You drink coffee to curb your hunger but it's not enough. So, you force your body to eat food you can't eat to gain very little nutrients to survive. You can only eat a sixth of what a person should and you put yourself through pain to do so. Meanwhile, your body is steadily declining."

Everything he was saying was true but he didn't want to listen. He had too many people that relied on him. "My friends, my team, they need me. Not a monster."

"You sure about that?" His Ghoul half asked. "If that's true, they don't really show it. Look at RWBY. The other three only put up with you because of Ruby, nothing more. Yang just sees you as one big joke, Blake barely says two words to you and Weiss simply loathes you. Hell, even Ruby only does so because you are her 'first friend'." He still had that damned grin on his face. "And your team? Nora insults you then claims it's a joke. Ren only puts up with you because he has to. And Pyrrha? Well, she can't exactly have a weak partner, can she?"

Jaune shook his head to try and dispel what he just heard. "That's a lie. I-I don't believe you."

His Ghoul half just shrugged, "Believe what you want. You'll see soon enough, just give it time. Especially, with how CRDL still treats you. You saved Cardin's ass and he left you and your 'friends' alone. But that lasted, what, two weeks before he started to mess with you again." He then sat down next to Jaune, "You know, you don't need to put up with that. Just let me have a few words with him."

Jaune looked over to him with anger and hate. "You leave them alone." He then got up and started to walk to the door.

He was about halfway there when another voice got his attention. "Well, look at this. What are you doing up here, Jauney boy?"

Jaune froze and turned around. His Ghoul half was gone and standing near the edge was Cardin. Jaune's eyes widened, "Cardin? What are you doing here?"

He smirked as he walked towards him, "Well, I was just in my room, just relaxing. But that's when I heard you talking. I thought you were talking to Nikos but it turns out you were talking to yourself." He chuckled, "Man, you have some real issues. Now I know why you used those fake transcripts, you are that crazy."

Jaune was frozen, what was he supposed to do? "Don't you worry, Jauney Boy. I'm good at keeping secrets, you know that. So, I'll be quiet as long as you do something for me first." He got closer and put him in a headlock. Jaune was having some serious Déjà vu right now. "Just help me get some dirt on those bitches on RWBY and I won't go to Goodwitch about this. I'm not proud of this but it's been too long since I got some and I'm sure most of them know their way around the bedroom. Especially, Xiao Long."

Jaune was shocked by what Cardin just said. Cardin just dropped him and started to walk away as Jaune just stared at him in shock, disgust and anger. That's when he started to run his mouth again. "Who knows, maybe you could get me the hat trick." He started to laugh and Jaune was just glaring ta him with so much hate. No one said that about his friends.

The world started to go grey and it was like time was slowing down. He felt a hand on his right shoulder as he felt someone lean over his left before whispering, "He shouldn't be able to say things like that about them, should he? Just get some rest, Jaune. Let me handle this and when you wake up, this problem will be solved."

He didn't want to listen, to trust this side of him. But even he had his limits and Cardin was stepping over the line. But Cardin didn't deserve what would happen to him if he let his other half go. But, he couldn't stop his eyes from slowly closing and his consciousness leaving. The last thing he heard was, "Sleep well, Jaune."

Jaune's head fell slightly before it rose again. His eyes were obscured by his hair as a twisted grin came across his face. "Hey, Cardin!"

When Cardin turned, Jaune was standing in front of him. Jaune grabbed him by his throat and he was lifted off his feet. Cardin struggled against his grip but it was doing very little. He looked into Jaune's eyes and saw that his right was now black and red and holding a crazed light to it. Meanwhile, his left was still blue but cold and emotionless. His lips were settled into a twisted grin that just spoke volumes about his mindset. "Here's a better idea. Go to hell!" He pulled his arm back and threw the larger boy away from the dorms and into the courtyard.

The Ghoul watched as Cardin flew while screaming. He then dropped down and kicked his foot into the wall, stopping him from falling and stopping to look into CRDL's room. He saw Russel and Sky at the window, looking at where Cardin just flew. They looked at Jaune and froze as his hands grabbed both their throats. "You're not getting out of this." He then threw both of them towards where Cardin was. He looked back in and saw Dove standing away from the window. He jumped in and grabbed him too as he walked to the window and threw him with the rest of his team. He watched them fly for a bit before jumping after them.

When he landed he saw all of CRDL getting back to their feet. He looked back over to Beacon and was pleased to see he wasn't too rusty. They were just far enough away so no one should hear them without actively trying. Cardin stared at him in anger, "You're so dead, Arc."

The Ghoul just popped his neck. "Then you better call your weapons."

They all looked at him in confusion before they shrugged. Cardin had a cruel smirk as he tapped on his scroll. "You asked for this." Soon their lockers landed close by and they all grabbed their weapons. The Ghoul however didn't even flinch. He charged at them at incredible speeds. Sky and Dove open fired at him but he easily bobbed and weaved through them. As he was on them, he spun and caught Sky with a roundhouse kick that sent him flying. He continued to spin and caught Dove as well, sending him away.

(Play Unravel.)

Cardin swung overhead and tried to land his mace on top of his head. The Ghoul just caught it without effort and sent a jab into Cardin's face. As he was reeling back, the Ghoul delivered a kick to his chest. He used the momentum to flip and while upside down, kicked Russel into the ground.

He landed in a crouch with his feet and hands on the ground. He then pushed off with all his limbs and rocketed towards Cardin. He flipped and tried to go for an axe kick but Cardin somehow grabbed it, holding him in place. The Ghoul just punched him on either side of his head, disorientating him. He then pulled his leg free and gave him a vertical thrust kick.

That's when RDL ran at him from behind, left and right. He simply jumped into the air and flipped over Russel. When he was behind him, he just punched him in the back and sent him tumbling forward. Sky jumped into the air to lunge at him but he just took a step back and let it miss him. He grabbed his halberd and connecting an uppercut to his sternum to send him back. By then, Dove was almost on him and he just jumped to give him a knee to his chin. He collapsed backwards and the Ghoul turned his attention to Cardin who was barely on his feet.

He ran towards him and Cardin swung, creating an explosion that sent him flying and tumbling across the ground. He was breathing raggedly, "I'll kill you, Arc. You hear me!? Kill you!"

He froze in fear as he saw Jaune walked out of the smoke with that same smirk on his face. He stopped and popped his index finger with his thumb. "I should thank you. It's been a while since I last fought. Feels good to get used to this body again. Time to get serious though." With that said, four blood red and glowing tail like tentacles erupted out of his lower back. They reached full length before they lazily started to sway back and forth, just like tails.

CRDL stared over in fear, "What…What is that!?" Cardin asked.

The Ghoul just shuddered as he sighed in relief. He could feel his aura funnel out of his body and into them. "So much better. Letting my Kagune out after so long is like…." He then popped his middle finger similar to his index. "Popping a stiff joint." His Kagune then pointed at them, one over each shoulder and on either side of his waist. "Time to show you, what I can really do!"

He ran forward again, even faster than before, he whipped two of his 'tails' to the right and the other two to his left. Knocking RDL away. He then tried to slam Cardin between all four of them but he just barely stepped back enough to avoid it. The Ghoul flipped and using his upper 'tails' to impale the ground and help him to bring his two lower ones down onto Cardin. He used his weapon to block it but the Ghoul used that to balance on as he pulled the tails in the ground free and tried to impale Cardin with them. Luck was on his side though, since he just managed to throw himself out of the way.

The ghoul was floating in the air, being held up by his Kagune. He turned his head and saw RDL standing. He jumped into the air and flipped forward, slamming all four tails into the ground. That created a crater for the three of them to lay in. The Ghoul stood tall and turned back to the petrified Cardin. His grin grew as he popped his ring finger and charged forward again. He sent his upper right tail forward. The result was that it punched completely through Cardin's left shoulder, who screamed in bloody murder.

The Ghoul tilted his head in confusion as his smirk slipped away. He pulled his upper left tail over his shoulder and examined it. He felt the aura going through it and smirked more and chuckled, "With all our aura now in our Kagune, it can punch through aura without completely shattering it. Very nice."

Cardin was trying to pull out the Kagune in his shoulder, when the Ghoul looked over his shoulder to see Russel, Sky and Dove try to run away. "Where do you think you're going?" His three tails shot forward and went through their backs and out their chests. He raised them into the air as they choked on their own blood and dropped their weapons. He unceremonially dropped their corpses and turned back to Cardin who just pissed himself. That was when the rest of his Kagune impaled his shins and forearm and pinned the once bully to the ground.

Cardin screamed in pain as the Ghoul crouched over him with that same smirk, "Since we're suck good buddies, you mind if I eat you, do you?" He asked the stunned Cardin as he lent down and bit a chunk out of Cardin's shoulder. He screamed in pain as the Ghoul chewed his flesh. He swallowed before responding, "You taste foul, like rotten meat. But I'm too starved to care." That's all he said a she resumed his meal.

Cardin screamed the entire time until he passed out from the pain. The Ghoul kept eating leaving just enough to identify the carcass. He then turned to the other three and did the same. Leaving much more of them though. He stood up and slowly wiped the blood from his mouth. "I think I overate. Oh well, my first meal in over a year, so no harm." He pulled his Kagune back into his body as he started to walk back to Beacon. With the silence in the air, no one had heard anything. But, he should keep his ears open in case something comes up. He just shrugged, "Who cares? Well, Jaune will but not for long." His twisted smirk came back in full. "Just seven more to go. And it'll all be over."

A/N- Well, here it is. With Halloween just around the corner, I decided to write a horror story. This will be relatively short for what I usually write, should only be 7 or 8 chapters. I plan to get this all done by Halloween, so here's hoping. I would like to thank both Jauneforever and Khorevis, both were the Betas for this and really appreciate it. I consider them my friends and they are both some great writers with serious talent. Go check them out. On that note, hope you all liked the first chapter and I'll see you all in the next update!