-The Hero and the Champion-
"Even in the forgotten corners of this accursed blood stained galaxy, the forces of the ruinous powers corrupts with its noxious touch. HAHAHAHAHA! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"
'Mind Journeys of a Heretic'
(Suppressed by order of the Ordo Hereticus)
000
Born to a small family of three was Daniel Arc. Blond like all Arcs, but lacking in charm and talent like his favoured cousin, Jaune, who was older by two months. Daniel, like the cousin he views as a brother, hopes to one day be a hero, as did all the male Arcs before him had been.
Daniel was slightly shorter than his cousin, with neat blond hair and the boyish charm that all male Arcs seem to have. Sporting an almost identical boyish face yet untouched by maturity just like his cousin, Jaune and him would have been identical were it not for the contrasting clothe colours the two always wore.
Shielding his blue eyes were a pair of black framed, square glasses which were nerdy, unpopular and perfectly comfortable. Daniel wore the armour set he got as a birthday present from his father, which unlike the main Arc's lineage tradition of silver or white coloured equipment; his was a shiny set of black with blood red outlines. Other than the armour, he wore the near exact set of clothing as his cousin. His weapon however was a masterfully crafted one-handed, slightly curved single blade axe with a serrated edge and a blood red engraving of two arcs. Like his armour, the weapon was a dark shade of metal grey while its blade retained the traditional shiny black. It was surprisingly lightweight despite its appearance and had been hanging on display before Daniel decided to sneak it into Beacon.
Daniel was relatively fit and had the same experience with combat and romance as Jaune when they both decided to sneak into Beacon academy together, unfortunately.
In all his life, Daniel had done everything together with Jaune. From their secret play-fights pretending to be heroes, to standing against bullies and getting pummelled together. Needless to say, they had managed to run head long into countless trouble together and each considered the other to be a constant in their lives. Even their families viewed them to be inseparable twins born from different households.
They both thought they knew each other inside out and they were probably right at that time, even at the age of seventeen. They both thought they were going to be hunters together, then heroes when they both decided to sneak out of their houses. They both thought that the other would be watching his back when they were the valiant, indomitable heroes they both swore to become. They both thought they would be together forever.
They never could have imagined that only one of them managed to get into Beacon.
Before the fateful day where they had decided to take that big step into the world of hunters, they made an oath. Daniel and Jaune Arc, the inseparable pair, would for once in their lives, attend Beacon Academy and graduate from it separately. The reason for this was simple. After all, how could they expect to grow and develop the skills necessary for their lives as hunters and heroes when they always depended on one another?
So they stood at separate ends of the airship, vomited at separate trash bins and spent their first day at Beacon at different locations while trying to make new friends. On the day on initiation, they were at separate ends before being plunged into the tender mercies of Emerald forest.
Jaune Arc met Pyrrha Nikos and together they met with the rest of their team as well as team RWBY. Daniel Arc had no such luck, when he was flung into Emerald forest, he had no one to safely pin him to a tree for a landing strategy. Instead, he crashed into the jungle canopy and sustained a broken left arm with scratches to come with it. Saved only by the tree branches that blanketed the forest, he limped his way around, hoping to find anyone for a partner.
Daniel was bleeding, tired, hungry and understandably upset. His best efforts of trying to make the best of the situation were not paying off and he suspected that things were only starting to get worse.
He was right.
At the far edge of the forest, he heard a giant Nevermore screech before it was suddenly cut short by something. Following the noise he found the area where the artefact was to be retrieved. There were none left.
Thus, having returned to Beacon without an artefact or a partner, Daniel Arc was deemed unsuitable for life in Beacon and was to be deported effective, immediately. He did not even get a chance to see his cousin's initiation ceremony. In a way he was thankful for that. After all, it would be depressing to see the start of something you could no longer be a part of.
000
"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin looked on with mild amusement as the blond mess was knocked onto the ground by his elated partner.
'Wahhh..' Him? A leader? Well that was ridiculous. Pyrrha was many times a better choice than him and Jaune was not sure he could avoid from ruining everything from the get go, cause… You know… Oh fiddlesticks.
Something did not feel right for the troubled blond as the assembly was already on its way to return to their dorms. Everything clicked at the moment. 'Wait. Where's Daniel? Gotta find him.'
"Jaune? Are you coming?" Pyrrha tilted her head as she asked and he could not help but notice the way her pony tail seem to sway. He was supposed to be with his team for their introductions to their dorms which they would be nesting in for the next four years. It would be a good idea to follow them since he did not know the way around… But Daniel… Ah but Daniel did say they should be more independent from each other from now. But Daniel…
"Sorry, just lost in my thoughts for a while. I'm coming!" Now that he thought about it, Headmaster Ozpin had not mention any team with a Daniel Arc in it; neither did he see him anywhere. 'Huh. Guess I'll ask him tomorrow then, wonder which team he's in!'
The blond knight skipped happily with his team, getting lost in trying to familiarise with each other. Well three of them were, Nora was just being Nora and doing Nora things.
It was the next evening when he finally had the time to manage a scroll call to his cousin and partner in crime. It was peculiar not being able to see him for almost two days already, even stranger was the fact that they all had to attend Professor Port's classes and his suddenly elusive cousin is just nowhere to be found. He tried asking around but no one seems to know who Daniel was or any team with a Daniel Arc in it. 'It's almost as if he didn't make it in the initiation…'
The call got through after two rings and to his relief, he heard his fellow blonde's voice after what seemed like an eternity.
"Hello."
"Daniel?! Thank goodness! I couldn't find you since initiation day and I know about what we promised for not meeting up as much as possible but I have been soooo worried about you! Which- uh… Which team are you on?" whelp, he did try to be as tactful as possible but a nagging feeling in his gut had been yelling at him that he already knew the answer. Jaune just hoped to any gods above it did not come to that.
"I-I uhh… -sigh- I'm not in any team Jaune, I'm not even at Beacon anymore. I figured you would have guessed this by now. Arghh. Shit. Dammit bro I failed the fucking initiation and I almost died a couple of times back then." Jaune chocked back his cough but could not help but let out a tiny -shit- in his shock.
"So. How are you doing on your side?" How was he? He was doing well, spectacular compared to his cousin but how in the fucking world was he going to answer that? Dammit.
He heard another sigh from the speaker and was that traffic in the background? Oh crap, now that he remembered, the two of them did not bring much lien with them on this misadventure. It was kind of an 'All Or Nothing' thing for the two and its coming to bite one of them in the proverbial rear, hard. He really hoped what he was suspecting were simply unfounded worries but at this moment, Jaune knew he should be prepared for the worse.
"Jaune you don't have to worry about me, I can handle myself and don't worry about the promise about us being heroes together. We both knew that it wasn't gonna be easy and honestly, this turned out pretty well. At least one of us is getting started on his journey huh? I'm currently trying to find a job here, until I make enough to return home. Ugh, mom, dad and your folks are probably going to be quite pissed. Uncle Carrow especially since you snuck out with, oh I don't know? THE family heirloom? Also Elly will probably kick me for-"
"Shit Danny, I-I don't know what to say. We were supposed to do this together. I still have some of the lien left so meet with me, I can pass it to you. Everything's so messed up. Fuck. Just-fuck. I have a team now Danny. Its J_N_P_R, stands for juniper. Always hated the blue nasty things. I made team leader and uhh… Shit, I'm not trying to make you feel worse or anything! It's just… Fuck. Where did you stay last night? Where are you now exactly? I can hear traffic." He decided to change the subject; he never was good at this was he? Shit. If Daniel's using the f-word then he must be pretty down in the dumpsters, in a frigging train wreck during an earthquake while in a land slide. Shit.
"I stayed at a hotel last night. I'm looking for a job now remember?" That was a total lie. They did not have enough money to afford a hotel in Vale. It was a pretty stupid decision to not bring enough now that he came to ponder on it. But they were guilty for sneaking out on the first place. Their parents must be worried sick and they had every right to. Fuck.
"Daniel, please. Take care of yourself. I will try to send you the money ASAP. Just… Just hang on till we figure this out." Another sigh. By now, he was certain Daniel was on his wit's ends. "I will. But really, there's not much to figure out. You go do your thing and make us proud. Don't stop because of me Jaune and I'm not gonna stop on mine as well. Do this, for the both of us. Promise?"
Jaune had no need to hesitate now; after all, an Arc never breaks his promise. An Arc sworn oath might as well have been declared by the powers that govern the universe. It is never broken, has never been and never will be broken.
Never.
"Promise. Take care bro. I will see you soon okay?" Jaune could practically envision his cousin's smile now even if he was not physically there.
"Yeah promise." With that, the call ended. The blond knight did not know what to feel exactly at that moment but he knew one thing was for sure. He was going to be a hero.
000
The trip on the bullhead from Beacon was sombre and moody. Daniel was not surprised. After all, those here were the failures and the inadequate. It was an end to something that never started and he was part of it.
He checked his wallet and what he found did not make his mood any better. Dread made for a bad companion, for him at least. More importantly though, how was he going to go back home? Where was he going to stay? What was he going to eat for the next few days? Weeks? Months? 'Shit'
Daniel supposed he may as well search for a job immediately upon landing. Well, after hurling his stomach acid out. Oh yeah, he was hungry too. Well, things were looking splendid. 'Wonder how Jaune is doing… Better than me at least. I failed at the start huh? Isn't that wonderful, fuck.'
When the bullhead touched solid ground, the sun had already resided into the distance and most shops had already closed for the night. So much for his plans in job hunting, that went down the drain quickly. He supposed he should get a meal for the night and resume his mission for an income source on the morrow.
However as luck would have it, he couldn't even find a cheap place for a meal. 'How is there not a convenience store nearby?! Jeez!' The blond boy's stomach rumbled in protest, demanding that it be pleased. All the available food outlets at this hour were too expensive for him. Daniel figured he might as well search for a place to spend the night.
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and idly noted the tears and holes in his clothing he had gotten from initiation early this morning. While walking uncertainly down the dim road, he stared at the shattered moon and found something there that he had never seen before.
Even though the moon's image had remained unchanging, even though he had gazed upon its visage countless times, he found new meaning in it. He supposed some things can only be seen with a change in perspective.
After what seemed like and probably was hours of searching, Daniel gave up and the blond boy chose to slump against a dumpster in a crook alleyway in between a dust shop and a bar. Slowly, he felt his eye lids getting heavier and the world faded.
The next morning he woke up to the sound of cars horning and he got up with severe aches in his body as well as a sharp pain in his tummy. Crap, he had yet to eat since the previous breakfast. He supposed he should go searching for a meal and a job now. Too bad the dust shop he had been sleeping behind had not opened yet.
Hours had passed since then and the afternoon sun was shining so brightly that it made his day even worse than it should. Seriously, no rest for the weak? At least his stomach was full, for now. The bad news was that he had no lien left, crap. The worse news was there were no shops in need for an assistant, what with poor business recently due to all the robberies.
His pocket vibrated for a moment, bringing an abrupt halt to his train of thoughts. Oh, it was Jaune. 'Oh boy…'
They talked over the phone and he knew that Jaune probably guessed what had happened to him. His cousin was letting loose quite an unsurprisingly large amount of f-words and other expletives. His use of 'Danny' had not gone unnoticed, that meant his blond not-twin was really taking this badly. It was nice hearing Jaune making team leader though, but a disgustingly burst of maliciousness that sprung from his chest ruined the happy moment. He said nothing though and Jaune was apologising for something he had not done. What a terrible person he was.
So he tried his best to comfort the other blond but when Jaune started asking about where he stayed and his current situation he panicked. He just knew that his lovable cousin would rush down and find him regardless of his new responsibilities. No way would Daniel want to do anything to sabotage his cousin's greatest chance of success so he made a promise in return for Jaune's.
His cousin calmed down significantly afterwards. They talked for a while until they hung up. He felt much better already, though that does nothing to solve any problems. Daniel decided he might as well spend the night at the same place again, it was quiet there.
On his way back, he noticed the dust store he slept behind had opened already. Lo, and behold, they were hiring! Finally some good news! After a short interview he was hired by a scrawny old man with tuffs of white hair on his otherwise bald head, dressed in a full length red shirt and faded black trousers that had creases everywhere.
Things were looking better at least and by the end of the day he had a warm meal and a nice old bed located at the second floor of the small establishment that did not smell like a dumpster as compared to last night's resting area. Maybe, just maybe, everything would start to go uphill for him now. One could only hope, after all.
However, hope is the first step on the road to disappointment and Daniel Arc would only realise it when his world drowned in a storm of blood and skulls.
000
A month passed quickly working as a dust store assistant. Daniel had already taken to calling his kind hearted boss Uncle Ken. Turns out uncle Ken was a retired hunter, huh. What were the odds? Uncle Ken paid his weekly wages fairly and snuck in some tiny extras on top of accommodations as well as good company. It was nice and relaxing working here at DUST-O! He even got to learn new things about hunters and dust usage every day. Uncle Ken had a meagre collection on clothing in his wardrobe so he usually wore the same rugged attire.
He contacted his parents and the main Arc household shortly after the day he landed this part-time job. They were understandably worried and had every right to be furious, which they exercised to the limit. It had been a tough day enduring the yells over the phone and trying to placate them. His parents were hunters and so was Jaune's. Well Jaune's father, uncle Carrow, was a General as well as a leading hunter. All of his six female cousins on Jaune's side were active huntresses and they were really upset with both Jaune and him. Daniel just barely managed to convince them from not dragging the two 'little rebels', as they put it, back home and locked up for good measure.
The day was ending soon and according to his one month of experience working here, no customers would visit by this time. Uncle Ken smiled at him and kindly asked him to help with closing the shop. Daniel obliged without hesitation. He was extremely lucky to have met someone as nice as Uncle Ken so he intended to repay the favour.
The process was fast and ingrained in him after the first week. He cleaned the shelves, swept the floor and made everything that could be seen sparkly. Daniel shared a simple dinner with Uncle Ken over a small, rounded dining table when the old man asked him about his dreams and ambitions. He told him how he wanted to be a hunter and a hero with his cousin like their fathers and their fathers before them. He explained how he failed and that he was going back home to come back another day but he was sceptical if he could ever begin on his journey to transform into the invincible heroes he heard about. He told his kind hearted boss how he and Jaune had been living in their families' shadows for so long and the impossibly large shoes they had to fill as an Arc.
Throughout his confession, Uncle Ken simply smiled with warm eyes. He then asked, "Would you give up though?"
Giving up? Well he had thought about it, but Daniel Arc made a promise not as Daniel, but as an Arc. The oath will be fulfilled, he will do his best in his path to be a hero, failure or otherwise, so no, he will never give up. Thus he answered, "Never."
The old man visibly brightened and looked straight at the blonde's eyes. "Would you like a chance to achieve what you wanted?" Well if he put it that way there was no real need to think about it was there? "Of course! Yes definitely!"
"Then I will unlock your aura for you Daniel. From what I see, you have the potential that can change this world." Uncle Ken placed stood up, walked over to Daniel and placed his wrinkled hands onto his shoulders.
They were interrupted however by the sound of shattering glass in the shop below. "We will finish it tomorrow Daniel, don't worry." He supposed this could wait; there was the sound of crushed glass and multiple voices coming from the shop.
"Are we being robbed?" he asked. Uncle Ken looked tired and forced a smile. "Stay here Daniel, I will just give them what they want and we will call the police later okay? It'll be fine, okay?"
He was hesitant, retired hunter or no, his boss was well beyond his prime. The only person that offered him a chance after his failure at initiation was being robbed and there was no way he could tolerate that. But Uncle Ken might get hurt if he acted needlessly, he knew better now that his actions could cause more unnecessary damage. "I'm coming with you boss, you know… To watch your back."
The old man laughed and he relented. This wasn't the first time something like this has happened anyway. Besides, robbers don't go killing their victims since it was counterproductive to have the police armed to the teeth chasing after them.
000
Everything that happened next was a blur. The robbers were dressed like any civilian but they all had a grimm mask on their faces and some form of animal appendage poking out of their heads. These people were obviously Faunus and they were packing heat. Daniel recognised them as the radical group of extremist that had been causing quite a scene in different parts of Remnant, the White Fang.
Uncle Ken froze as soon as he saw them and raised his arms non-threateningly while subtly blocking the boy behind him with his own skinny, wrinkled body. The old man had not even uttered a word when the robbers raised their fire arms and shot at him. A sheet of yellow flickered and eventually gave out as the projectiles peppered against it.
With one last heave of effort, Uncle Ken, the soft hearted person that had took him in, sheltered and gave him hope in all but a span of a month, turned around lightning fast and pushed him up the stairs. Visibly straining on the assault, Uncle Ken mouthed a silent 'go' before his aura gave out and his body was torn asunder by the barrage of ammunition.
Daniel's eyes widened, too horrified to even let out a scream as his temporary guardian and friend was thoroughly dismembered in front of him. He thought he heard voices, too loud to be a whisper, but too silent to be nearby. He felt rather than saw his clothes soaked with something warm and it was dripping down from his face.
The old man had died on where he stood and his remains were spilt everywhere, he heard the sound of laughing and encroaching footsteps. He did the only thing he could, he ran up. Up where he did not have to see that horrible, horrible scene again, up where his weapon laid, up where he will take a stand and make those bastards pay. His heart was hammering against his chest, he could feel his pulse in the veins of his neck and his breaths were laboured and erratic. He could not stop his hands from shaking as he opened the door to the room where he was having dinner at moments ago and ran to his room.
His hands did not stop shaking as he held his weapon, it had not stopped when he closed the door to his room and crouched at the side, waiting to ambush the next fucker that came in. He held the weapon he arrogantly took from his household tightly in his right hand and pointed it to the ground with the blade facing sideways from him so that he could swing it in an arc. Blood, not his, dripped from his hands down to the handle and it trickled towards the black blade of his axe.
Not a moment too soon, he heard slow footsteps climbing up the stairs, no doubt seeking to end him like they did Uncle Ken. He was frightened and no matter what he did, whether breathing methods or silent self-encouragement, did nothing to dispel the tension in his hands or the pounding in his chest. Then what he heard next made him feel nothing but hatred.
"Man that old fucktard just exploded! It wasn't even fun! One moment he was just standin' there, the next? BLAM! Think I got some of him on me, ugh…"
"Yeah them hollow point rounds in this babies sure don't mess around. Shouldn't have wasted them though… I don't care what Ryan says, that fucking loser was waaaaay past his glory days, it would've been fun bashing his skull in ourselves."
"HAH! That would be fun, lousy old fart can only blame himself for bein' human. Think the other one's here?" They were right outside his room and he had listened to everything, word for word. These… These filthy cunts murdered the one person that wasn't family who treated him kindly and gave him hope. His hands were no longer shaking, his breaths were still heavy, but for a different reason.
He was going to make them bleed and see to it that he spilt their guts and shit out from their fucking bodies. Oh yes…
The knob turned and the door swung wide. The bastard had on a shit eating grin and it only served to fuel him with righteous fury. He swung the axe and it easily sliced through its prey's abdomen, slashing through muscle, spine and organs like water. Through to his word, Daniel's first victim died painfully, writhing on the ground in half as his organs laid bare for the world to see.
Daniel screamed at the top of his lungs until his throat hurt as he hacked his way to the next robber. The dying Faunus's comrades were experienced enough to act quickly and pointed their guns at the blond berserker but they failed in their attempt to kill him.
The enraged teen hacked the nearest person neck to torso and grabbed the half of his victim with his left hand to use it as an impromptu meat shield and charged for the last two robbers.
The other half of the team of four fired their guns but at such close range, they had little time to aim before Daniel came up to them. What their shots hit however was the remains of the poor loser that was the second of the two who died.
The stench of blood and shit became stronger as the third died the axe drove upwards from his crouch to his shoulder. His screams died quickly as the smaller half with his head still attached was thrown at the last remaining terrorist. Daniel wasted no time tearing the last man limb from limb as the Faunus had already went out of ammo and was too stunned by the deaths of his comrades.
The man screamed and screamed as his arms and legs were chopped off, leaving only his head and torso. The pain was unbearable and he begged and swore at the blond maniac that was now staring at him murderously. Daniel wasted no time in cutting open the last survivor's stomach and exposing whatever organs in there to the rest of the world. Then with one last swing, he tore upon the man's chest. The cut was so deep that it created a deep gash onto the wooden floor below the man.
For some inexplicable reason, it was only now that he remembered the name of the weapon he held in his right hand. It had served the Arc family since its creation with Crocea Mars and had a long and grand history alongside its sister weapon.
Nigrum Mortem was its name.
000
It was done. He lost everything and more. Uncle Ken was gone and was left in so many pieces that no one would be able to recognise him, his murderers had judgement brought to them and his whole body was coated crimson. There were guts, bone fragments and blood in his hair and clothes. None of which were his.
Then the grief kicked in and followed closely with regret. What had he done? He was now a murderer and he had nowhere else to go.
He only hoped that Jaune was doing better.
000
A/N:
This is my first time writing in a long while and I do hope I have improved since the last time. (Fingers crossed)
This is a fic about Jaune and his OC cousin if you hadn't figured it out already. This takes place during season 1 and 2 of RWBY and I shall be blatantly ignoring season 3 since it's not completely finished yet, so keep that in mind okay? Okay. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing this.
See you next chapter.
-Maddox139