And here is another update! I've been told my oneshots are not bad, so why not write one?
A fourteen-year-old Jaune Arc was sitting at his computer, growling as a virus destroyed some of his files. None of them were really important, sure, but that didn't make it any less difficult. Beside him, his father could only sigh periodically as he watched the younger Arc fuming. "Damn viruses," the boy snarled, punching the desk and just hurting himself in the process. Cradling his hurting hand, he continued. "There is no way of stopping them and they reign free. Damn whoever invented them!"
John Arc sighed as he placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Jaune, come on, once it's done you'll just rebuild those files again. Or we'll buy you a new computer," he tried to comfort the angry teen. Seeing his attempts yielded no results, he just sighed again and headed out of the room. "Come on, let's go to the city to buy some ice cream, okay? Lemon, your favourite flavour."
Jaune just shook his head and growled more as the virus attacked other files. "Stupid, damn virus," he grumbled, his arms crossed on his chest as his father exited the room. It was just so unfair. He couldn't defend his computer from viruses like his father defended the house from the Grimm. Sticking Crocea Mors into the computer would just break it even more than the virus ever could. Why couldn't viruses go hunt some other computer? Why his? Damn them. Damn their creators. Who was the sick person who created a virus just to destroy others' hard work? Sure, his files had mainly been games, but that was beside the point. Why couldn't computers keep them out?!
He stopped as a light bulb went off above his head, and hurried to open his Remnet Search bar to find the best informatics course he could find. "I'll show them never to anger an Arc, nor to ruin his videogames," he muttered darkly as a wicked grin spread on his face.
/- timeskip, 2 years later -/
John Arc eyed the documents before him as he straightened out his tailored suit jacket. With a sigh, he folded them and politely knocked on the door before him. A muffled 'come in' was heard on the other side, and he opened the door to see a now sixteen Jaune working out with his private trainer. It wasn't much, mainly just to keep in shape, but Jaune had liked the work-out sessions he had been put through and so the Arcs had hired a private trainer to help him out on that.
The boy stopped his exercises and jogged up to his father. "What's up, Dad? Another contract that needs my signature?" he asked, not even out of breath. John glanced at the trainer, who quickly stopped ogling her employer and made herself scarce. Ah, the dangers of having a good physique. "Opening a supermARCet in Menagerie was a good choice last time, so I'm all ears."
John sighed again and looked at his son. He was so changed, and yet he hadn't changed at all. "Yes and no. I'd like your opinion on this contract and, in case you agree, your signature on it," he told him as he handed him the folder. "Beware, this is very big."
Jaune chuckled. "We are big too, you know?" he joked as he opened the folder. His eyes widened more and more as he read it, but in the end he was wearing a dark grin. "Buy the Schnee Dust Company? Oh yeah, that's something I can get behind. But we'll need to be prepared to completely mess up the management, if I hear as much as a rumour about Faunus mistreating in my company I'm gonna flip out again."
John flinched as he was remembered on the first time Jaune had 'flipped out'. Shit had gone down. Three companies had gone bankrupt, and the CEO of another had retired due to stress. She now cultivated turnips somewhere in Mistral. "Don't worry, Jaune, our managers and agents can take care of that. I just need your opinion. They all say it would benefit us."
Jaune grinned. "Oh, yes. I'm totally for this," he replied, brushing his hair out of his eyes, a gesture that apparently made women swoon. Men too. Although most were more because of his money than his looks. "Let's wreck those cold-asses. Besides, Jacques only wants money, so let's drown him in money."
John couldn't help but grin with his son. Yes, that was the right decision.
/-/
"You are leaving? You too?! And you?! Why is everyone just quitting?!"
Adam Taurus was stressed. More than stressed, he was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Out of the blue ninety percent of his followers of the White Fang had just up and quitted. Some of them spouted some idiocy about a company but he couldn't understand. They were a force of revolution! A symbol of freedom for the Faunus! Why was everyone just abandoning the White Fang?!
His heart dropped when he saw Blake, his beloved Blake, walking away with an Arc-brand handbag. "You too, my beloved? Why are you betraying our ideals? Why are you betraying me? What made you change your heart?"
Blake just tossed him a newspaper. "Adam, try to read the news… It's useful," she quipped as he unfolded the paper.
ARC CORPORATIONS BUYS OUT THE SCHNEE DUST COMPANY
The multibillionaire Sir Jaune Soleil Arc, heir of the famous Arc Clan, knight of all Kingdoms and Earl of Vale, has announced yesterday his intentions in purchasing the SDC from its current owner, Jacques Schnee. The offer was in the lower billions…
Adam stopped reading after the offer was mentioned. The Arc Corporations… he knew the name. The owner, Jaune Arc, was… sixteen, if he wasn't wrong. He had become multibillionaire due to one of his inventions, his very first one. For his genius, his whole family had been knighted in all the four kingdoms, plus Vale had actually offered him the title of Earl. Trying to one-up the home kingdom of the billionaire, Atlas had offered him a spot in their Council. All four kingdoms immediately followed Atlas's example to avoid Jaune Arc to become more linked to the cold kingdom.
The Arc Corporations were also known for their equality laws. No one was superior to anyone else. Gender, race, beliefs, work status… anything, really… any kind of discrimination was punished in a way that made the White Fang look tame in comparison. If the Arc Corporations bought out the White Fang…
He looked at the empty spot where Blake once stood, and quickly made up his mind. "Fuck it, I'm hitting Junior's tonight."
/- timeskip, one year later -/
Ozpin almost spat out his coffee when Sir Jaune freaking Arc walked into his office. A shell-shocked Goodwitch followed him. He quickly schooled his expression into detached and bland interest while he looked at the young man, but inwardly he was panicking. Had some Beacon graduates irritated the Arc scion? If so, he wasn't sure if Beacon could withstood the charges of someone like Sir Arc. "Ah… Sir Arc, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked amiably. "It is not everyday someone of your status walks into my office."
The young man gave him a pained smile. "Jaune, please. Sir Arc is my father," he said as he offered his hand. With a quick glance at Glynda, Ozpin placed his mug down and stood up, allowing the Professor to take a picture of the richest man alive and the Headmaster of Beacon shaking hands. That was so going to increase Beacon's funding. "I came here to discuss of a very personal matter that, I hope, won't leave this room."
And there went his hopes of free advertisement. Ozpin hid a grimace and nodded as the two sat down. "Of course, Si-… Jaune," he replied, tasting the word. It was not everyday someone could speak to Earl Arc on a first name basis. "Since you decline the use of the last name, I ask you to do the same for me. Call me Medeis, please."
Jaune Arc nodded with a more genuine smile. "Very well, Medeis. I wanted to ask you if I could apply for your Academy."
Ozpin's brain stopped, and rebooted. "W-What?"
"I'm too old to attend a combat school, and I believe that private training only feeds the ego," the knight replied, waving a hand in the air as if to dispel those very words. "My fighting skills, to be frank, are next to nothing, but with the help of my peers, I should be able to catch up with time. And I wouldn't mind meeting a few people with my same dream of protecting people." Jaune Arc smiled as he leaned on the desk. "I understand people have passed a very hard exam to enter Beacon. I do. But if you allow me in, I will offer Beacon unlimited funds for the duration of my permanence here. Anything you might need, you would only need to ask."
Ozpin's mighty brain crashed.
…
…
"pin? Ozpin!" He shook himself and looked at his Deputy Headmistress. Wait, where was Sir Arc? Had he messed up the deal? Seeing his expression, Goodwitch sighed and explained. "You signed, sir. You looked like you were on autopilot, but you signed everything."
Ozpin allowed himself a relieved sigh.
/-/
BOOM.
Sir Jaune Soleil Arc, Earl of Vale, stopped dead in his tracks. He had just set foot on Beacon's grounds from his private Arc jet, and already said grounds shook for an explosion. He hurried toward the source, only to find a girl in black and red with a cape and a girl in white -a Schnee, he immediately recognized her as- who was berating the first one. His eyebrow rose at the sight of the Schnee.
After he had bought their company, Jacques Schnee had started a second SDC, using the contacts he still had, but it had never reached the level it was at before. The Arc Corporations had utterly dominated the Dust trade, but fortunately their management was nothing like the Schnee's. Still, he hadn't been expecting to see one in Beacon. As he watched, a girl wearing black, with cat ears on her head, approached the two. He only caught a few words, but apparently she told the Schnee just how despicable the Schnee methods were when compared to the Arc methods. He smiled. A fan, then.
As two of the three girls, he looked in worry as the third just collapsed on the ground. Had she been hurt by the explosion? He walked up to her just in time to catch her sarcastic 'welcome to Beacon…'. He frowned. She had just entered the school, and already she sounded so defeated. She needed someone to lift her spirits. Well, then he was glad to have received the knighthood, because a knight was exactly someone who could cheer her up. He stopped beside her, casting her face in shadows. "Hey."
Ruby opened her eyes and found herself staring at someone who looked just like a knight from her stories. He had shockingly cured golden hair cut just above his shoulders, and his eyes were probably the most blue colour she had ever seen. He had a light silver chainmail worn under a stark white armour. Gauntlets, bracers, armguards, shoulderguards, chestplate, jambs, graves, boots… he had everything. A simple sword hung by his side, and a majestic crown made out of gold and silver with sapphire nestled in the metal. She remained silent, eyes wide, shell-shocked by the boy's appearance.
"I'm Jaune," he introduced himself, offering her a hand to stand up. Then he grinned mischievously. "What about you, my fair lady? Why did you need this shining knight to peel you off the floor?"
She snorted a laugh. The imagine of the knight cracked and fell to pieces, leaving behind just a boy. Okay, no need to be awkward, three two one, go Ruby Rose. "I-I'm Ruby… and that was kind of an accident…"
"Schnees bragging and waving Dust around. Eh, tell me about it," he huffed, helping her up. "Let's go. My presence should keep most nuisances at bay."
She giggled. She kinda doubted that. Yes, he was dressed like a knight, but at Beacon no one was that easy to impress. Yet, as she looked around, she noted that many did indeed keep their distance from her and her blond knight. Weird… "Anyway… I didn't see you on the airship."
"Oh, I doubt anyone saw me on that thing," Jaune joked slightly. "Wanna come? We should get to the atrium."
Ruby smiled as she jogged up to him. "So… what's your name? Last name, I mean. I'm Rose, Ruby Rose."
He smiled at her. "A beautiful name for a beautiful lady," he noted softly. "My name is Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."
Ruby's mind froze. Jaune Arc? She was talking with the richest and most important man alive?! "D-Do they?"
Jaune lost his majestic aura and gave an awkward chuckle. "Err… maybe? I mean… do you like it?"
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Ruby smiled. He was rich, but he was awkward. She was in her element -awkwardness- now. "Yup!" she exclaimed before deployed her weapon. "But enough about names, let's talk weapons!"
Jaune laughed alongside her.
/-/
"You befriended Sir Jaune Soleil Arc, Earl of Vale, after blowing up a Schnee?!" Yang exclaimed, shocked, as the two retrieved their weapons in the locker room. "You… you must be kidding me… no way you…"
"Hey Ruby," Jaune interrupted as he walked past Yang. The blonde girl's eyes went wider than Ruby thought possible. "Good luck with Initiation. Although I'm sure you don't even need luck, eheh."
Ruby blushed at the praise and waved shyly. After he was gone, she awkwardly turned to Yang who just sighed. "I correct myself. You befriended Sir Jaune Soleil Arc, Earl of Vale, and you're now crushing on him."
Ruby blushed more.
"I beg your pardon, but you're standing in front of my locker. Could you please step aside?" The two turned to see Jaune talking with Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos, a famous athlete. Both girls seemed frozen in shock as they both numbly took a step back. "Thank you."
Weiss recovered from the shock first. "So… Sir Arc, if I may, have you thought about the teams?"
Jaune gave her a one-shoulder shrug. "Not really. I met someone I'd really like on my team but I don't know how teams will be assigned," he admitted as he took his weapon and strapped it to his side. "Other than Ruby, I don't exactly know who else I'd like on my team."
Weiss's eyes darted over to Pyrrha. "Well, Pyrrha and I were just now talking about teams. You could team up with us," she offered, stressing the word. "Pyrrha's skills are extremely famous, and my own combat prowess is undeniable. Such a team would be unstoppable."
Jaune laughed. "Thanks, but I prefer friendly over unstoppable. No offence to any of you," he added quickly. "Although I'm surprised to see you offer me of all people to team up. I thought you hated me. For, you know, the whole 'me buying your family's company' thing and all that."
Weiss waved a hand in the air. "We are still living off the first hundredth of what you paid us. It was more than worth it," she replied nonchalantly.
"Anyway, I don't really mind. As long as I can end up on a friendly team…" Jaune shrugged as he took his sword and shield. He had had expert weaponmakers modify the ancient family heirloom, since he could definitely afford it, in something more… up to date. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I have somewhere to go."
Weiss and Pyrrha exchanged a shocked glance as the boy walked away.
Twenty minutes later, their shock was renewed.
"I'm sorry sir, but I do have a question," Jaune spoke up at the cliffs. Ozpin immediately turned to him. "These are launch pads… could you please launch me first?"
Ozpin smiled and nodded.
Jaune was sent flying with a 'wooohooo!' of joy, and he immediately deployed his shield, climbing on it like a surfer would. Then the Gravity and Air Dust activated, allowing him to literally surf the sky as he slowly landed without a scratch. "Best flight ever!"
"Who even use a shield as surfboard?" Weiss asked to herself.
/-/
"Glynda, we have a problem."
Goodwitch sighed as she looked at the Headmaster. "What, sir?"
The man sipped his coffee. "Our partnering method failed us today. Sir Arc has not partnered with Ms Rose, while he wished to end up on a team with her." Her head dropped. "We cannot afford to displease the owner of the Arc Corporations and lose our deal. As such, we'll have to change the partnerships, cover up our tracks, and fix this mistake. Team JNPR and RWBY cannot work."
Goodwitch stared at the names for a while. "He seemed to be friendly enough with Ms Xiao Long, plus Ms Belladonna basically jumped him…"
"Yes, his actions have brought Faunus equality, and she appears quite grateful of that," sighed Ozpin. "Putting those four on a team might work. Team JYRB, as Team Garb. It's not a colour, but it's the first thing that's coming to mind at the moment."
"RPWN as second team," he continued. "Ripe Walnut."
Goodwitch stared at him in disbelief. "Ozpin, that's just stupid."
"We cannot afford to lose time."
"Ripe Walnut it is…" She sighed.
/-/
"Hey, Ruby, you like making weapons, right?" asked Jaune as the two of them visited the forge.
"Yep!" she replied cheerfully. The two of them didn't exactly know how they had ended up partners, seeing as they respectively first saw Weiss and Pyrrha. But they didn't complain. The only flaws in their team were Blake's semi-worshipping for Jaune, and Yang's habit of falling silent whenever he spoke to avoid angering the richest man on Remnant. To Ruby, it was all bullshit! Jaune was just Jaune! "Why?"
Jaune smiled. "Well, I've seen how well you did with Crescent Rose. So I wanted to ask you something," he explained brightly. "How many types of Dust can you work with?"
Ruby grinned. "Anything I can get my hands on," was her immediate answer. Then she deflated. "Unfortunately… some Dust types cost very much because of their rarity, so I only trained with the basics elemental Dust."
Jaune frowned. "I cannot allow such waste to continue," he stated seriously, taking out his phone and quickly dialling a number. As Ruby watched in confusion, his eyes lit up with mischief. "Hello, Mr Greenleaf? Yes, it's me, Jaune Arc. Please, could you send me three crates of every type of Dust we have? And buy what we don't have, at any price. I have to assess the skill of a possible new weapon maker for the company."
As Ruby gaped at him, he closed the Scroll and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Err… sorry for not asking for permission first. I just want to know how good you are," he explained sheepishly. "You know, financial instincts and all of that. Sorry."
Ruby continued to stare at him.
/-/
"You what?" asked Jaune, looking a bit freaked out as a crowd of Faunus swarmed him, Velvet and Blake being the first two of the mass.
"We want your autograph!" Blake squealed like a fangirl. "You brought Faunus equality to Remnant! No one has ever managed to do that before! My father, the leader of Menagerie, wants to make you Knight of the Faunus! Can I have your autograph?!"
"You stopped Cardin and his team from bullying me!" exclaimed Velvet, with stars in her eyes. Sure he had, it had been enough for him to tell them to stop and they had basically pissed themselves for fear of angering the Arc Corporations. Last he had heard, the four of them were still bringing breakfast to Velvet when she couldn't go herself. "Marry me!"
Okay, that got weird really fast… and to think, he had thought he would've been treated worse because he couldn't fight. But alas, no one even dared to scratch him in combat for fear of charges. Only Ruby treated him normally, and thankfully she had helped him train. If he could hit her, was her reasoning, then he could surely hit anyone else.
/-/
Cinder Fall plugged her Scroll in with a grin. Her plan was almost complete. After four years spent closed in Salem's tower, she had finally reached the most important point of her plan. Infecting the CCTV with a virus had been a burst of genius by her already superior mind. Through it she would gain control of every single device connected to it, and thus basically the whole world's devices. She would toy with them as she wished.
The virus quickly transferred from her Scroll into the system, and she was almost shaking with anticipation. The symbol of a chess queen appeared on the screen, and she grinned victoriously… before the screen seemed to fracture and shatter. The screen then showed her symbol falling to pieces and being replaced by… two golden crescents?
A VIRUS HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY BLOCKED. SOURCE IS BEING DISMANTLED AT THE MOMENT.
She frantically removed the Scroll, but it was too late. All her files… gone. Her Scroll had been completely formatted. She growled as she stomped over to another computer and connected it to search the symbol. She found it immediately.
Double Crescents: only an utter imbecile doesn't know this symbol. It's the symbol of the Arc Clan, whose descendant, Sir Jaune of Arc, has changed the history of Remnant three years ago with a revolutionary invention.
She growled some more at being called an utter imbecile, but she quickly typed 'sir jaune of arc' in the search bar and pressed newline. Hundreds of results crowded the page, but she quickly found what she was looking for as she clicked on 'Sir Jaune Soleil of Arc – Oumpedia'.
SIR JAUNE SOLEIL OF ARC
She quickly skimmed through the contents, heedless of the elevator door behind her opening and allowing in Ozpin, Goodwitch and Ironwood, who had been alerted by the computer of a virus trying to infect it. They looked at her with surprise when she didn't even turn.
History
Jaune Arc lived a non-noteworthy life until he hit fourteen. With a revolutionary invention, the Arc scion quickly became the owner of a very important company, the Arc Corporations. Rights on his invention's production, and clever management brought the Arc Corporations to where it stands today, a giant company that extends in all fields, be it clothing, food, Dust or science…
"What the hell did he invent?!" she screeched, out of patience. Ironwood peeked at the page she was looking at, and politely scrolled down. "Thanks…" she mumbled absent-mindedly.
"You're welcome."
Inventions
The first and most noteworthy of Sir Arc's inventions was the key to his success. Although later inventions perfected the project, Sir Arc stated, during an interview, how "[…] changed my life, and the life of all Remnant. Without it, I would not be where I stand now […]". His first project was a simple antivirus, but with time it grew into the Arcwall, the most efficient antivirus and firewall we know of.
"Damn you Arc!" Cinder howled as she got mauled by the three Hunters, who had gotten tired of waiting.
This whole idea was born when I watched Cinder controlling Atlas's army. Now, I know Watts is a former Atlasian scientist... but he BY HIMSELF made a virus that bypassed ALL OF ATLAS'S BEST SCIENTISTS?! That's just not possible... SO! This story was born.
What if Remnant just... never had the idea to create a firewall in the first place? It doesn't really make sense, but it makes more sense than RT's route. So... what if our favourite dorky knight had been the one to get the idea? You know, he tries it, makes some money, hires professional programmers to write better antiviruses and firewalls, gets more money, and before he knows it he's millionaire thanks to the fact EVERYONE wants an antivirus and a firewall. Lol. And the clever management did the rest.
And yes, Jaune did buy the Schnee Dust Company. Mind blow, right?
This was fun to write.
Until next time,
Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh