Jaune Arc: The Prototype Chapter 1: Prologue Awakening, a Prototype + RWBY Crossover fanfic

Jaune Arc: The Prototype

So, there's a few things I feel the need to point out before I begin this Fic;

Updates – Updates to this fic maybe few and far between, If I'm not happy with the quality of a chapter I will not post it until I feel it's of a sufficient standard. I'm not going to be updating to a schedule either, it'll eat up a lot of time and stifle my muse.

Pairings/Lemons – I may offer chances to be heard at the end of a chapter, If it's a competition for example. Lemons will ***Not*** be covered, I may cover the build up scene (Limes) and the aftermath of an encounter… but the actual event will likely not be covered.

Bashing – I don't intend to bash ANY character in RWBY, there'll be characters that are represented poorly due to their behaviour, such as Cardin and Weiss in Volume 1 or Raven in Volume 4-5. This isn't out of any irrational hatred I have of the characters, It's the way they've behaved that makes me write them in a certain way.

Following the Cannon – Naturally due the combination of RWBY and Prototype this will obviously be an AU, I'll try and keep characters accurate to…their character, but some will change naturally as part of the story (Cardin and Weiss will redeem themselves for example) because I personally believe that characters who adapt and develop are more interesting than generic Volume 1 Cardin all the way through.

Villains – Many of the Villains in RWBY will behave in a manner that I have judged to be accurate to the character. Tyrian will still be the insane sociopath, but he may not display that 24/7. Mercury and Emerald may be doggedly loyal to Cinder, but they'll still have scenes that show frustration with Cinder's Plan, ETC. The only Villains I intend to change from the cannon at this moment, is Cinder because she doesn't have much of a personality beyond 'Nefariously Smug' and 'Condescendingly Smug'. This one may put you off, depending on how much of a Stickler you are, Dr Merlot. In RWBY Grimm Eclipse, Dr Merlot wanted to alter the genetic makeup of the Grimm to make them 'Perfect' or to put it bluntly 'Grimm 2.0'. In this Fic, his research will be in a similar vein, but It'll focus on Humans and The Faunus. He'll still do horrible things, but in his own mind those things will be a means to a 'perfected' humanity/Faunus kind.

Well. That got longer than I thought It'd be, feel free to leave a Review/Criticism or Suggestions. I only ask that you don't post something along the lines of 'Fic Sucks, TLDR'. That doesn't help, it just annoys me. If something doesn't work, please tell me WHY. Once I'm aware of a fault in my writing I can correct it. Anyways, Here's the First Chapter!

I-I-I-I-I-I

A young boy, laying and resting on a medical gurney was violently jerked awake by the noises of explosions and alarms blaring across the facility. The Young Boy sluggishly pulled himself up off the gurney, his entire body ached, and his chest hurt. It wasn't a blinding agony, but a constant reminder that something had happened to him. As he looked around the medical office he found a near sparkling operation theatre, tools were pristine and cleaned vigorously, the walls were spotless, even the gurney he'd been laid upon was near pristine the moment he'd stopped looking around and started to stand he was addressed directly by the loudspeaker by a familiar voice, it was Dr Merlot 'Jaune! You're awake, excellent! The Facility is under attack by Grimm, they've rallied in far greater numbers than expected, My Security Forces are engaging them but there are too many for the Androids to stop all of them. You must flee this facility, there's a pre-programmed fighter jet in hangar 14 that'll take you somewhere safe! The other children have already escaped. When you land and exit the fighter, wait for someone to come and speak with you. When they do Ask for a man named 'Ozpin' that's O-Z-P-I-N. He'll take care of you. You are the pinnacle of my life's work and research, do not die here boy!'

Jaune was stunned, both figuratively and literally. Merlot had helped the other children escape? He'd never shown any feelings for them before… claiming they were an inferior specimen to himself. At the time Jaune had considered that a blessing, not for himself of course but for the others. It meant they didn't have to suffer the endless appointments, operations and check-ups. Jaune was only a child of 10 and naturally had a fierce hatred of hospitals, doctors and needles. As Jaune recovered he spotted a clothing wardrobe and looked inside, knowing that Merlot's collection of clothing for his specimens might be inside. He found quite a lot of clothing but knowing that time was short, he picked out a pair of Jeans that were ever so slightly too long in the leg, a pair of black and white sneakers and a hilariously oversized brown hoodie with a rabbit on it, said hoodie once he put it on flowed down nearly to half way to his kneecap and his sleeves had to be rolled up several times before he could move properly.

Jaune was particularly intelligent for his age, but that was not any personal talent or great intellect. Dr Merlot had taught him and as far as he knew, all his specimens a rudimentary education… for a 17-year-old. This was not out of kindness or sentimentality, but a strict necessity as he often claimed. The Experiments he was performing would give the specimen a great amount of power if successful, A 10-year-old could not possibly be trusted with such power, thus the need for an education, morals, restraint, emotional control. For Jaune the 'experiments' were nearly always a success but had unintended side-effects, as a result his entire body could be manipulated with enough willpower. He had no need of a weapon, his body with a thought, could become a weapon.

Jaune's body was also stronger, faster and sturdier than a normal human by a massive magnitude. He could still be hurt by slashing or piercing weapons… blunt weapons were quite ineffective however. Dr Merlot had been quite thorough pounding that into his head, that the 10-year-old was not invincible and could be hurt still. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, his blonde hair flailing wildly. It had gotten pretty long over the course of his captivity. Captivity. With how he was treated, he'd forgotten that's what it actually was, he'd been kidnapped from Kaer Maga nearly 3 years ago now. He exited the room into a small foyer-like room, the upholstering formerly a lovely shade of crimson was slashed and torn by something with sharp claws and parts had been chewed on. Beowulf's then… great. With only one exit to the former waiting room, Jaune followed the railing to the door and pushed through to a large open area nearly 20 metres wide and long with a large steep hill in the centre, He was nearly blinded stepping into the sun and snow, simultaneously he was frozen and warmed by the snow's icy grip but having not seen the sun in quite some time, he was happy to stand in its rays for a few moments. There were evaporating Grimm Corpses and 3 crushed androids in the room, clearly the security forces were winning this little battle…for now. As he traversed directly across the room, he noted as he travelled that the rotting Grimm were nearly entirely lower level Beowolves, Ursai and Creeps.

He had to move quickly if he wanted to escape before the Alpha's and Major's appeared. As strong as his body was, trying to fight those was begging for death. Some Hunters-In-Training couldn't handle the Major or Alpha class Grimm, what chance did he have? Even as strong as he was it was a fight he couldn't win. Jaune progressed through a similarly ravaged foyer before he found a large open room… containing a singular Grimm, It was a large room full of shipping containers and forklifts. The Grimm a Beowolf if he was right was sniffing at one of the containers, pawing at it trying to get inside to reveal the insides. It was wolf-like creature, with the Black and Red colour scheme of all Grimm with a distinctive white mask covering it's face and a pair of bone white spikes sticking out of it's back. A 2-year-old Beowolf… he could handle that… maybe.

Jaune was considering his options, the Grimm hadn't seen him yet and was distracted he could easily get around it and escape Or He could fight it and attempt to kill it, it was one fewer Grimm attacking the facility and it couldn't follow him if he was noticed in his sneaking attempt. The Idea of getting sandwiched between this Beowolf and whatever laid ahead was a horrifying thought, especially if it was one of the more lethal Grimm variants, like the Deathstalker or the Nevermore. He huddled behind a crate close to the entrance of the room as he willed his arm to form a sword, unfortunately he wasn't good at controlling it yet and It took nearly 30 seconds for his arms to change. His arm first turned a nearly pitch black and it took on a consistency like oil as his flesh warped and accommodated his desire, Starting at his elbow his right hand became a large blade that looked like something out of a Slasher film, It was horribly nicked near the base of the blade wouldn't possibly function if made of metal, as it got very thin for a small period before thickening to a full great swords length, the actual blade of the sword was ever so slightly curved upwards. He let out a quiet sigh as the transformation completed, it took a lot of concentration to use his ability on purpose and was far too slow to be used effectively in combat. Something Dr Merlot had drummed into his head repeatedly and had often given Jaune exercises to improve his talent with the ability.

As he peeked over the crate he was huddling behind, he saw that the Beowolf was still pawing at the crate, good. As he started creeping forward quietly he heard a quiet whimper from the crate the Beowolf was pawing. The Beowolf heard it too and howled, aggressively slashing at the crate, it's claws unable to penetrate but doing clear damage to the crate. Jaune gave up on any attempt at sneaking and rushed forward in a furious if sloppy charge. The Beowolf had just enough time to turn and snarl before it was impaled on Jaune's now Sword-Arm. It let out a pained howl as he ripped the blade over his head and flung the Beowolf behind him. As the Beowolf landed and rolled to it's feet it snarled viciously at it's new target, blood and drool leaking from it's mouth. To Jaune this was an indication that the Beowolf had already killed someone in this facility. Taking a defensive stance with his Blade Arm in front of him, he gestured for the Grimm to come at him with his other hand, curling his fingers towards himself twice before bracing for the inevitable charge. The Beowolf while having the instincts to use pack tactics wasn't a fairly intelligent type of Grimm, they were essentially the 'Cannon Fodder' of the Grimm species. Lacking the intelligence to realise what Jaune was doing, The Grimm charged him in vicious leap. It was faster than Jaune had thought and his brace against its charge quickly devolved to the two rolling around on the floor, each attempting to kill the other. The Beowolf would normally have a huge advantage in such a scenario found itself evenly matched with the adolescent Jaune.

The Beowolf's claws while sharp, couldn't properly penetrate Jaune's skin. Its jaw had a much easier time, but it had only gotten one good bite in before Jaune's non-sword arm had grabbed it by the throat and was brutally crushing its throat. His Sword-Arm was pinned by the Beowolf's Own paw, the beast knowing to pin its prey before consuming it. The Beowolf was still trying to claw at Jaune with it's free paw, but was unable to truly do anything. If anything, it felt like a stubbed toe to Jaune. Annoying, moderately uncomfortable but nothing paralyzing or incapacitating. It wasn't long before the Beowolf started to die from lack of air, as it grew weaker it couldn't restrain Jaune's Sword-Arm and was subsequently butchered by the hasty swing. As Jaune watched it die he realized that slashing was much better against a Beowolf than Piercing… at least at his current strength. Panting as he stood up he knocked on the crate said 'It's okay, you can come out now. It's safe'. After a few moments the crate opened and out crawled a younger girl. He recognized her, she was a recent acquisition by Merlot… a new subject for his enhancement process. 'May' if he recalled correctly. 'You're May Right?' at the girl's hesitant nod, he smiled and said 'I'm Jaune, we have to get to Hangar 14, there's a fighter in there that'll send us someplace safe, do you understand?' he said kindly but quickly. At the girls more, confidant nod he smiled and took her hand leading her out of the room. It seemed that once they were out of a life or death situation, the girl became quite chatty. Asking him all sorts of questions, about his abilities, his old life, his favourite colour… He found the enthusiasm refreshing if nothing else. She was still afraid he knew, every now and again her shoulders would shake, or her voice would crack. But she was trying to put on a brave face. There were a few more Beowolfs on the way, but Jaune could handle them a lot better now that he knew that cutting them in half was a lot better than trying to impale them.

They were still difficult opponents but because he was only fighting them one on one or in pairs, his first slash usually could kill one of them and then he kept cutting until the other died. It kept May safe because they were focusing on the more dangerous threat. May hadn't freaked out about his ability because of the simple reason that Merlot had forced them to interact and build 'social bonds' as he called them. Apparently, they were important for human development, most of the children hadn't been interested with being his friend at first, but they inevitably were forced to interact with him. Team building exercises were a favourite of Merlot's to force them to work together or fail a certain task, failure often meant the retraction of any privileges he'd granted them. So, when faced with the Carrot or the Stick, children often took the carrot.

It was insidious almost, how easily he manipulated the children by giving them things he wanted if they behaved; Chocolate, Soda, Video Games, even Movies if they behaved. It was an Idyllic life for a child, they got whatever they wanted in life if they behaved and as long as they kept up that behaviour they were rewarded and were allowed to keep the privileges. On some small level Jaune believed that Dr Merlot had become accustomed to keeping the children happy, or at least keeping them quiet. He wasn't going to say that Merlot 'liked' the children, Merlot was far too logical for that. Merlot saw cause and effect, he pacified the children by giving them sweets and toys and entertainment and the effect was they were obedient for a certain duration. It also culled any thought of rebellion the children may have had, the point of view of a child was often too focused on the 'now' rather than the past or future. The 'Now' was that 'The Old Doctor Man' was giving them candy and games if they did what he said. They'd been travelling for nearly an hour and the Hangar was very close, It was a scant 4 rooms away and they hadn't run into any Grimm for quite a while. He wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse as he turned a corner and viewed the hallway and the Hangar at the very end he realized it was a curse, a very large curse. The hallway was packed with Grimm… not just Beowolfs either, Creepers; little lizard-like Grimm that swarmed relentlessly but weren't much of a problem in small numbers, a barely trained novice could handle a single creep. This was not a single creep; the Carpet was nearly entirely Creepers.

Towering over them however were bulky Ursai, Incredibly Bulky and with strength to match their size they were the size of a small car and even an adolescent Ursa could be deadly if underestimated. These were not Adolescent Ursa, these were full grown and if their snarling was anything to go by, they were furious. Mixed in were a few Beowolf's of the type that Jaune had dispatched every now and again as they made their way here. He couldn't fight through this… He was strong and sturdy… if he avoided the Ursai… could he make it? The Grimm hadn't noticed anything yet, they were busy trying to push forward into the Hangar, a barrage of bullets from a pair of heavily armed Androids killing the Grimm stupid enough to enter the room. Making a possibly life-threatening decision, Jaune pushed May back around the corner and held a finger against his lips. As the Girl nodded, Jaunes Sword Arm started to return to normal as he willed his body to harden, to become as tough as physically possible. His body obliged his commands, as the thick oily substance covered everything from head to toe in an insect like carapace with an angled blank slate representing his head. Despite not having eyes, which was weird in of itself, Jaune found he could still see. It was a weird kind of vision though, everything was either Blue or Red but he could still make out shapes, May for example was a bright red, but the walls around her were blue but he could still recognize the upholstery and see where there were gaps in the walls for windows… It was weird, he decided.

Jaune was brought of his thoughts by May poking him where his cheek should be, startled he turned to face her and she tilted her head towards the hallway, He nodded. The Pair didn't want to speak in case the Grimm heard him and attacked, He gestured for a piggyback to May and clambered onto his back, her arms around his neck and her legs being held by him. His Idea was essentially that he would charge as fast and as hard as possible using as much strength as he could muster and go through the Grimm, shoulder checking any of the bigger ones out of the way, hopefully staggering them with the impact so they couldn't retaliate. He counted down with his fingers for May's benefit. Dropping a Finger. 3. He took a deep breath as he realized that this would either succeed or get them both killed, there was no time for panic. Panic fuelled negative emotions and would only draw the Grimm. Another Finger, 2.

He wondered that if- When he succeeded would this 'Ozpin' return him to his family? Or would he be kept in a different facility? Another Finger. 1. It didn't really matter, if this Ozpin tried to stop him from going home… He'd fight his way out. Merlot had done a fantastic job of keeping Jaune placated and stopped him from thinking of his family with distractions. But this 'Ozpin' was in for a rude awakening if he thought that Jaune would just roll over like a frightened child and allow the Adults to make the decisions. He was going home, and if anyone tried to stop him, he'd beat them half to death and go through them. No one was stopping him from seeing his sisters again, his parents again. It was this thought that fuelled Jaune as he charged down the corridor. It was funny, just how quickly the Grimm were tossed aside. He was ploughing through the Creepers with no resistance at all, they were flung into walls via his charge and stunned.

He hit the line of Beowolves and kept going, letting his emotions fuel his actions as he slammed through Beowolf after Beowolf, they were providing minimal resistance, but it was enough to hamper Jaune just a little as impact after impact took their toll, with the Corridor behind him in disarray and in varying states of stunned and prone, Jaune hit the Ursai line. The Ursai Line was resistant to his efforts and may have been able to stop him, had he not been running the full length of the corridor as he charged through them. His body knocked the Ursai aside, but it was by no means easy, he managed to jump through the heavenly opening of the corridor and past the Machines manning the heavy guns. As soon as the Young Boy was clear, The Mechanical Whir of the guns started up again and a relentless volley was unleashed on the Grimm again. Howls of frustration and anger echoed down from the hallway. Hangar 14 was surprisingly small for a hangar, it had space for maybe two or three fighters or a pair of bullheads next to one another. A Single heavily modified sleek matte black fighter was sat their waiting for them. The cockpit waiting open and a heavily modified interior that had a regular seat but most of the options inside for flying such a fighter was replaced with a single touch screen with several options on it.

'- Beacon Academy (Ozpin)'

'- Atlas Academy (Ironwood)'

'- Haven Academy (Lionheart)'

'- REDACTED (REDACTED)'

Remembering who Dr Merlot had told him to find, Jaune placed May gently in the other seat, which possessed no options at all, it was effectively just a seat. He clambered into his own position and selected 'Beacon Academy (Ozpin)' Almost immediately a synthesized voice spoke inside the cockpit. 'Destination Set, please keep all limbs within the cockpit as it closes and rest from your experience as you travel to your destination. Cockpit closing in 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.' At the count of '2' the Grimm who had been held back from by the Bots swarmed forward as the Robot Android's Miniguns nearly in unison clicked empty. Still, the bulky androids swarmed forward to meet the tide of Grimm and exploded. Knocking most of the charging Grimm off their paws and vaporising the front line of Ursai. Near instantly as the cockpit closed the Fighter shot off, the backdraft from the Fighter catching a few of the faster Grimm with the backdraft from the engines. As they took off from the Hangar, Jaune saw that the Hangar and thus, the rest of the compound was built into part of a mountain.

It was funny in a way. From his position in the Fighter Jet the world below looked so small, even the swarming Grimm looked like ants as they shot away at high speeds from his home of 3 years. He wondered how long It'd be till they arrived… He didn't recognize the geography, so he probably wasn't in Anima anymore. It wasn't cold enough for Atlas despite the snow… It certainly didn't look like Menagerie… As he turned at looked at May, he found that the girl had fallen asleep. Taking the robotic voice's advice… huh. Sleep sounded nice right now… But by the same token, he needed to be conscious until they arrived at 'Beacon Academy'. So, he focused on the countryside as they flew, despite his intellect, he'd never seen these kinds of sights before. There'd been a momentary feeling of nausea, but it had passed after a little while.

There were great forests of Red with bark black as wood and even the ground was red. It was beautiful yet for a reason he couldn't quite put his finger on it felt…sad. There was a truly massive expanse of sea, a never-ending pool of blue that stretched literally to the horizon and further beyond and a mountain range with massive peaks. As they travelled over the ocean, the cockpit's touchscreen changed and seemed to be showing the ground below, highlighting and focusing on anything it found interesting. It highlighted aquatic Grimm of massive size and girth that they could snap up entire boats. It highlighted Landmarks as well, a great statue standing on a small island of a man holding a sword aloft. It showed so much more as well. It was barely 2 hours into their long Journey when Jaune lost the battle against sleep. Falling into a deep slumber from exhaustion, strong as he was his body burned through energy quickly at his young age and his ability only drained him faster.

His body required a larger amount of food than normal, on average he'd need an Adults portion of food to function throughout the day if he used his ability. As he grew this requirement would surely increase as he used the ability more and more. As Jaune slept, he remembered his old home of Kaer Maga, a Large if rustic manor home in a large-ish village. His father was the leading hunter of the village while his mother had become the mayor when Jaune was 5 years old, by then his Older Sisters had taken to raising Jaune and looking after him. It had left him somewhat stunted in some areas, but it was a happy childhood. He had seven sisters, All named after rare gems and jewellery. The first set of Twins Alexandrite and Morganite which everyone called Alex and Morgan, Amethyst, Garnet, Jade, The second set of twins Turquoise and Topaz. His cute adorable little sisters, all of them were blondes, just like him. Both parents were blonde, so it made sense. Funnily enough, both sets of twins had Green Eyes like his mother and Amethyst, Garnet and Jade had Blue eyes just like him and his father, His Father was a giant of a man or he had been the last time Jaune saw him, a Blonde haired man that was scraping just under 6'6 with an incredibly bulky form that made him look effectively like a refrigerator with arms and legs, when hunting he wore what was effectively heavy armour and wielded a great sword the that ran the length of his entire body before ending in a hilt at his shoulders with the hilt being half again the height between his shoulders and head.

His mother was a beautiful young woman, reed thin with green eyes and long blonde hair, not physically imposing but with incredible dexterity she was much faster than her husband and while not a huntress, had learned to defend herself with a variety of martial arts before moving into politics to keep the people of Kaer Maga safe. His dream was…troubling, to say the least. It started off fine… He was greeted by a nameless faceless person who shipped him back to Kaer Maga, He could feel his nerves fraying with each moment he spent away from them, his family. When he arrived off the dust plane, he made his way up to his family's home and was greeted by… no one. His family wasn't home. The home itself was empty and the door was locked… looking through the windows only showed dust, and decay. No one had lived in the home for months at least… possibly even years. As he broke into the home he roamed through the halls… until he found his fathers study. There were hundreds of newspaper clippings, each one covering his disappearance and subsequent search. As he rifled through the newspaper clippings showed that the search had been called off after a week. That his family had simply… moved on. His Sister Jade was given the 'heiress' position and he was forgotten about. He'd had a 'ceremonial' tombstone in the local cemetery and even then, the nightmare wasn't done. He heard his parents voices… 'Sometimes Honey, I feel like somethings missing… did you ever want a boy?' He heard his mother ask, His fathers reply was cold and callous, a tone Jaune would have never thought to associate with his father. 'with all the running around we have to do for the girls? Oum, No. A Boy would be far too much effort.' The words hurt. All through his mind he heard those words ringing… 'What If they've forgotten me?' the same question over and over. This wasn't an enemy he could fight, this was his own mind making a point… because it was a possibility. How do you fight the nightmares in your head? The niggling doubts that loiter in your mind and drag you down? Jaune for all his strength… was still a child, he may be more powerful, he may be more intelligent. But he still had some small semblance of naivety and unfortunately it was to his detriment at this moment.

He was jarred rudely and suddenly from his nightmare by May shaking his shoulder from the cockpit, when he looked at her, bleary eyed and tired. She pointed ahead of him and he saw what Beacon Academy was presumably, a great tall tower standing in the centre of several buildings, beautifully made and truly a piece of architecture to be remembered. The Fighter Jet was slowing and landing. The Jarring impact of hitting the ground nearly threw Jaune face first into the touchscreen. A Man was waiting for them on the ground with surprising calm. He had short silver hair, a cane in his left hand and spectacles on his face. He looked curious but stern… Ozpin.

I-I-I-I-I-I

Now! It's time for the Author's Notes and Such! How Exciting! I have no idea how popular this Fanfic will be. But I'm hoping there's at least Some Interest in it. Anyways.

Challenge #1 – 'Kaer Maga' is not a unique thing, if someone who reads the fic can tell me via review or a PM what it's from then the FIRST person who submits an answer can RECOMMEND a ship for me to try an incorporate into this Fanfic. Keep in mind if you vote for something ridiculous like Enabler I'll likely ignore it and go to the runner up. Somethings I'm just not comfortable writing about, ya know?

I'm hoping each chapter'll be about 4500 words give or take. Maybe longer in some cases, maybe shorter in others. Anyway, If you have any suggestions for the fic or an idea you want to pitch, by all means make a review or PM me. Lord knows I'll read them, I may not incorporate them, but I'll read them.