Unraveling the World
the original version/prequel to my story "World unraveled"
was scrapped when I felt it was moving too slow
Life was always a blur for Jaune.
He didn't remember when he realized he wasn't in control of his body. He also didn't remember when he learned all the words that he knew. Why did he refer to himself as Jaune? Where is he? Why did the world around him change so often? What is a world? Why did he constantly learn things but never remember where they came from. However, there was a question Jaune constantly found himself asking, what is he?
Eventually, Jaune got used to the sudden and for a long time, to him at least, random changes. Jaune did learn however there was a rhythm to the changes, a pattern his mind corrected. The world would stay still for just long enough for wherever the information that seemed to seep into Jaune's mind came from, to get to Jaune and for him to understand it, at least on a basic level. It was comforting almost knowing that there would always be something else out there "teaching" him things and that he would always have something to study in his mind. That all end soon enough.
Suddenly the world around him was different. At first, it was dark, pitch black almost. A sound started to fade into existence for him. It was almost like there was something cutting through the air repeatedly. Jaune paused in his mind for a second, he did not remember having ever experienced sounds. This new change exited him, did he learn enough to move onto some kind of new level? Was he being taught a new way to observe the world around him? Jaune knew what sounds were, he never fully grasped the concept in his mind until then, however.
At first, the sound seemed far away but slowly it became more and more clear, almost as if it was coming closer to him. Then it seemed to stop as Jaune concentrated more he realized that it sounded odd, Muffled, the word was offered to him from the depths of his mind. Another thing that he did not remember learning but understood somehow.
Jaune concentrated more on the world around him. It was odd that it had not changed yet. Was he missing the lesson that he was meant to understand? What did he do wrong?. As he sat in the darkness, there was a sudden buzzing. It took Jaune a second to realize what it was, it was talking.
This brought back the excitement from earlier. He wasn't missing the lesson being taught to him, it hasn't shown itself yet.
Then the talking stopped, and like a curtain was lifted slowly there was a light.
This also brought Jaunes attention, it hurt him, it hurt his eyes.
The light was a vivid, bright but oddly opaque green.
He could see shadows of things moving behind it.
There was another buzz of conversation. Then a hiss a second later, and Jaune panicked.
What was happening? This was new and it scared him. Through his panicked mind, Jaune noticed that the talking was growing louder, it had a new feeling to it. It was energetic but apprehensive almost, maybe scared. This only served to scare him more. The idea that something could scare something that was seemingly more powerful than him terrified him.
He did the one thing that he knew how to do, sit still and hope for it to pass. He sat there in the glowing green light, terrified but unmoving.
Slowly the green light seemed to fade downward and it was then that Jaune realized that he was sitting, no floating, in some kind of liquid. Not only that he was in control of his body, or at least partly, the liquid he was currently in seemed very thick and made moving difficult, forcing him to follow the current of it.
As the level of the liquid fell so did his body. Eventually, it started to leave his line of sight. After that, he stopped feeling the liquid at all. The sounds that he heard before were a lot more clear to him but he could still not understand the conversation that was happening. He did notice however it seemed less urgent, happy almost. The shadows that he saw before also became clear. Once again, in the back of his mind, Jaune realized that the shadows were people
There was a loud noise, cheering Jaune realized.
It was too loud for him.
It hurt his ears.
I͢t̀ ̷r͟e̢all̢y h̢u͘rt
I̭̭̕t͔̦͈̟̼͉̻̮͝ ̛̳̳̲̪̖̣͈̘͚h͉̰̤͚͙̻͞ú͎̰̩͉̥̀r͏̫̪ṭ̠͎̦͙͈͔͢
I̞̜̱̣͚͓͔̗̼̳̪̝͓ͨ̍̽͐̒̊̓̀̀ͤ͆̿ͨ̓̀̀̕ͅͅt̡̛̤͓͈̺̟͕̩̲͙̟͕̫̳͉͓̝͙ͦͬͩͯ͌̽͛̿ͥ̋ͬ͜͞ͅ ̷̰̩̖͖̙̪͈̪͔͓̗̐̔̿ͧ̍̕ͅh̡̖͔͚̫̼̲̒ͦ͊̿͝͠u͒ͯͭ̃̈́ͩ͐̒̿ͮ̚͡҉͕̝̘͈̮̖͍̺̭̮̞̤̘̮̕ͅr̲̝̬͔͍͙̦̹͈̯̟͕̽͒͒̈̊ͧ̈́͆͊̀͠t̶̨̖̺̼͉̝͍̰̗͉͓̭̻̘̫̠̺ͭ͊ͥͭ͊ͯ͊̽͆͗̈́͐͗͛̈͠
Jaune woke up with a gasp. Slowly he attempted to gain his bearings. As he looked around noted he was in a room that he did not recognize, somehow that did not surprise him. Jaune started to take in the details of the room. He was sitting up on a simple bed in the corner of the room. There was also a desk in front of him and a door to the left of the desk. Looking to the left of him, he saw another door left half open. Looking down he noted that the floor of the room was made of concrete or something similar. However, there was a large rug near the desk that nearly reached to the bed.
Jaune didn't know what to do. There was never this much detail in the dreams that he has had. There was never this much control. Looking down at the bed that he was in he could almost see the individual threads that were woven together to make the blanket that covered him. If he looked at the wall to the right of him, he could see all the different sized holes in the concrete. He could see the dust that rested inside said holes. If he looked up he could the fluorescent lights that allowed him to see the other details in the room.
Jaune didn't know how long he sat on the bed, what he did know however was that now that he could control his body he wanted to use it. With that thought, Jaune pushed the blankets that covered him off. He turned himself so that his feet could touch the floor. As soon as his foot hit the floor a painful chill hit his body. He hissed and drew his foot back. Jaune glared at the floor ready to stay on the bed as long as it took. However soon enough curiosity took over and he set his foot down again. He hissed as the chill hit his body once again but determination prevented him from drawing it back, and eventually, the chill went away. Soon after his other foot joined on the ground. Jaune sat there proud of his accomplishments. He looked around the room in an attempt to decide what he wanted to investigate first eventually his eyes landed on the door that was ajar. Jaune attempted to stand up but his legs collapsed under him. With a grunt, he landed on the floor.
"Of course the first time I have control over my body I can't actually do anything," Jaune thought bitterly to himself.
Deciding that if his legs would not get him to where he wanted to go he needed to use his arms would have to pick up the slack.
Jaune had to crawl to get to the door but what he saw when he got there left him exasperated.
It was a bathroom. He dragged himself across the room to see a bathroom. Something about that thought infuriated him to no end. He looked around the room noting a shower in the corner and a toilet next to the shower. In front of the door were a sink and a mirror. Jaune's anger paused, he has never seen a mirror, or rather he has never seen himself in a mirror. Like everything else that had recently happened the experience was new to him, the feeling of excitement that bubbled in him at the thought of something new erased any anger that he had before.
Eventually, Jaune was able to pull himself up on the surprisingly sturdy sink. Looking up to the mirror Jaune started to take in the detail that made up his face. His hair was a mess and looked untamable, it was a dark black. His skin was pale white. His eyes, however, were a dark shade of blue, or rather one of them was, his other eye was a deep red surrounded by a black abyss that no light could escape. There was only one word that came to his mind when looking at his eye. Grimm.
If anyone was to look inside the room Jaune was in they would think he was in some kind of doctor's room
"Subject 1183, do you under..." a man was talking but Jaune couldn't care less
'I'm just an experiment for them, they think I'm some kind of robot' he thought to himself
"...ally healthy, a singular anomaly in the left eye, ef…"
'What did they want me for then'
Unknown to Jaune a woman walked into the room while he was being examined
'...ave the poor boy alo...robably feels so aliena…"
"..aune...Jaune, can you hear me, my name is Alice. I am an aura expert and a therapist." the kindness in her voice seemed genuine. That alone immediately got Jaune attention
She was the first person in Jaune's short life to show actual kindness to him. However Jaune got the feeling that he has seen her somewhere before, he knew he hasn't but the feeling was still there.
She had a white laboratory coat with a light blue dress underneath. Her golden hair reaching down to the small of her back. Her dark blue eyes were currently examining his reactions to the world around him.
"Jaune can you speak?" she asked, again Jaune got the feeling that e could trust her and with hesitation clear in his voice he responded.
"Yes, yes I can." the man that was examining Jaune before stood shocked.
"How did you do that, We've been trying to get him to talk for almost a week!"
Alice promptly shooed him off with a wave of her hand
"Jaune, do you want to know anything?"
Jaune was still unsure if he could trust her, but eventually, his curiosity won over.
"...Where am I?"
"You are on an Atlesian military base off the shore of Vale."
There was still one question that Jaune had since the day that Jaune woke up from the "dreams"
"...What am I?"
"Um, I don't believe that would be wise mis-"
Alice rose her hand to interrupt him before turning to him.
"Silence Markus, Jaune you are the first of your kind," she turned back to Jaune
"You are the result of the Artificially Required Crux project, experiments intended to create the first Grimm human hybrid. However I am not allowed to tell you what the reason that this project was initiated." she sighed before continuing,"That being said because you are the first of your kind we need to examine you, I hope you will be able to cooperate."
Jaune simply nodded, stared at her for a couple seconds, then asked, "What do you want me to do?"
LINE BREAK
"What letters do you see?"
"The letters on the wall..."
"What happens when I cover this eye?"
"I can't see out of it..."
"How do you feel right now?"
"I don't know"
"What do you know about….?"
"I know that…"
The questions Jaune was asked seemed to go on forever. Occasionally they took him back to the room he woke up in. other times they would take him to a table and put food in front of him, he was never hungry but they wanted him to eat.
Some days Alice would sit in the chair in his room. She would ask him questions sometimes, however, more often than not she would simply watch him.
"...Alice?" he asked one day
She looked up from the scroll that she brought with her occasionally
"Yes Jaune, what is it?"
Jaune paused for a second, considering how to ask the question
"Why are you here, I can guess why you would be observing me but why do you decide to be in the room with me?"
Alice looked surprised for a second before looking at her scroll without looking back up she asked, "Do you know how to fight Jaune?"
Anger flashed through Jaune for a second at having his question ignored before curiosity about the question won over.
"I wouldn't know, why?"
She looked back up at him
"Would you like to learn how to fight Jaune?"
Once again anger flashed through Jaune
"I would like to know why you keep ignoring my questions." he hissed back at her
She paused before answering, "I either can't answer those questions or you already know the answers Jaune, that being said, my question still stands."
Jaune looked at the roof of the room, thinking about the answer she gave him, 'She couldn't answer the questions presumably for the same reason she could not tell him why he existed in the first place, as for the answers he already knew, he supposed he did, she was in the room to create more of a bond, or perhaps even to get a better observation to his reactions, as for if he wanted to learn to fight, he didn't know.'
He looked back down at her "I don't know Alice, but I would be willing to try."
She smiled at him, "Well, would you like to start now?"
"I do not see why not."
LINE BREAK
Jaune was alone in an empty room, it was more than twice as large as the room the usually put him in
Suddenly a robotic voice rang through the room
"INITIALIZING UNARMED TRAINING PROCEDURE"
Slowly the wall on the other side of the room opened up slowly a robot came out of the wall before stopping with the wall closing behind it.
It had dark grey armor covering most of its body sans the torso. The head was white minus a black line going over where the eyes would be on a person
"ATLESIAN KNIGHT-175 PREPARED FOR COMBAT"
Jaune slowly descended into a somewhat sloppy fighting stance ready to charge at the robot if needed
"JAUNE ARE YOU READY"
Alice's voice came out over the speakers
With a nod, Jaune Charged at the robot.
POV; Jaune
As I ran towards the robot I noted that the torso and neck were almost completely unarmored, the spine all that connected the legs and upper body of the robot at one point. Almost everything else was covered in a armor that I knew for a fact I could not get through with my bare hands.
Before I could think about what I would do any longer, the robot was only a few feet in front of me. Something in the back of my mind told me to lean to left, and almost as soon as I did a fist flew past my head straight through the space that it was just in. Again something in the back of my head told me what to do as I grabbed onto the arm and used it as a leverage to pull me forward. Twisting my body in mid air I landed on the robot's back using the metal plates just above the legs as a footrest. Before I could do anything however the robot reached back and grabbed my hair and proceeded to toss me away.
Jarred from landing on my back I looked around in order to gain a sense of where I was. Once again something, I could only call my instincts until I could learn more about it, told me to roll away from where I was laying and once again soon after I did the robot's knee landed where my head was, noting the cracks that stretched from where the knee landed I silently thanked my instinct and promptly got up from where I was and stepped back a few paces, noting that while I did not see them before, there was wires running along the gaps in the robot's armor, on it's back for the most part.
Before I could do anything with this new information the robot was on it's feet once again and charging at me. Not needing to be told by my instincts I jumped to the side just before the robot hit me. I turned around to see that the robot was unable to stop and hit the was that did not realize was there. Part of me wondered how far the robot actually threw me. Before I could think more about it, the robot got up from it's daze and charged at me again. I once again jumped to the side to get out of the way and once again the robot was unable to stop itself however this time it was able to stop itself before it got too for. It started to stand straight and it's head was moving left and right. Realizing that it had lost me I tried to sneak up on it.
Eventually I got close enough to jump on top of it but before I could do anything to the robot in front of me it turned around and I felt something smash into my arm.
I heard a snap. Pain flooded my mind. There was a loud ringing. The room seemed to go dark. The screeching of steel being ripped apart soon followed by a scream. It sounded feminine and a lot younger than the people that always seemed to examine him. As the scream faded away there was a growl.
Suddenly I was on the ground with a small number of the "guards" that I have seen around the base surrounded me, about 5 or 6 in total, while a few of the people that were apparently doctors, 3 or 4, were once again surrounding me attempting to examine my body once again. I ignored them in favor of trying to get up and find the robot that hit me. As soon as I made to get up however the doctors scrambled back and the guards quickly pointed their weapons at me.
It was odd, the guards usually ignored me or slightly sneered in my direction. While the doctors could not get enough of examining me and asking questions, never have I seen them back away from me the way they did when I moved. It was almost like they were scared of me. Sitting up completely I looked at each the people that surrounded me before standing up and looking around the room for the robot, something about it hitting me disturbed me.
I was angry at myself, but part of me felt twisted form of something I could only call respect. And yet another part of me was scared of what a thing with that kind of strength could do to me. I decided to ignore the feelings in favor of my curiosity of what happened to it. It did not take me long to find the thing laying on the floor almost half of the way across the room. Walking past the guard that was in that direction, glancing back at her when I saw that she flinched as I walked past her.
Turning back to the robot I noticed that there was a slight smoke coming from it. As I got closer to it I noticed more details of it that seemed missing or broken. The armor that covered the left leg and the right arm missing. The armor that was still in place was crush in some places while being completely shredded apart in others. The head seemed to have been crushed into a ball only a fraction of the size it was before. There were thin metal wires sticking out of it hear and there. The biggest change in the robot however was the giant hole in she center of it's chest. The metal seemed to twist inward like with was torn apart from the inside while at the same time it seemed to be pulled into an odd spiral. The only way that I could describe it would be that the armor imploded into the center of the robot's chest.
"Well then Jaune, how do you feel?"
Looking up I saw Alice was standing in the door to the room
The question ran threw my head a few times before I could really understand it. Concentrating on what I felt I did not really know how to feel but I had no reason to hide what I knew
"...I do not know...I am angry at myself for getting hit while at the same time I am angry at the robot for hitting me. However there is a small part of me that feels respect for the robot for simply being stronger than me..."
Alice was silent for a few seconds, I knew that she was either considering her words, or examining what I had said. I knew that it would be a few seconds before I got a response so I turned back to the guards and doctors that I had passed. They seemed uneasy but far more relaxed than they were when I woke up.
My instincts told me to focus on my eyes. I learned long ago that my instincts only told me things when something relevant would show up however I was confused as to why my instincts were telling me to do something, there seemed to be nothing new in the area. Despite this I focused on my eyes and immediately I knew why I was "told" to do so.
There was a strange, almost aura like substance surrounding the people in the room. It was odd, it seemed transparent but at the same time it was as solid as everything else in the room. The colors ranged from person to person but all of them had a similar scheme of sorts, for the most part. For the most part the people were surrounded by black however there was a dull yellow mixed into some of them while others had a more green type of yellow. However all of them had different colors at the edge of their aura. One person had a dark green, another a pure white. Looking at the girl that I walked past to get to the robot I noted that she had a light purple color surrounding her. Turning back to Alice I saw that what surrounded her was different. While the colors were still there they were a lot less vivid, harder to see almost. I also noted that the color the was on the outside for the guards and doctors was on the inside for Alice, it was a bright orange however there were hints of white and a bright yellow inside of it. The colors that surrounded her were also different, while the colors on the guards were for the most part dull and gave a feeling of dread and sickness in a way, the colors that were on Alice were bright and gave a sense of calmness and peace. For the most part the colors were different shades of blue occasionally a hint of yellow or aqua would spring up but quickly disappear.
Suddenly Alice's voice rang through the air snapping me out of the daze that I was in
"What are you doing Jaune? You eyes are glowing."
Once again I was unsure what the question meant until I thought about it a few times.
"...I do not know…"
Jaune one again found himself in a room being tested
"Jaune, Jaune, Jaune, just when we think that we have figured you out you throw a curveball at us." The smile on Alice's face seemed faintly stained, focusing on his eyes jaune saw the colors around her were dark. The odd thing is that there was a thin layer of colors that were very bright and seemed to almost blend into the bright yellow gold that was always around her.
"Alright jaune, what do you see when you look at this man?"
The man was slightly hunched over, sweat falling down his face, the fear in his eyes was barely hidden behind the sheer determination visible on his face. Jaune focused on his eyes once again, the colors around the man bloomed out around him
"The overall tones of the colors are dark, however, there seemed to be a thin layer of bright colors around the dark colors. There is also a solid, unchanging layer of color below all of these colors" turning back to Alice Jaune continues, "The same observations could be made for you, the surrounding colors are faint compared to this man but the tone of the colors surrounding you are very similar. However, the layer of unchanging color is at the top for you"
The confusion on Alice's face was evident, the colors around her seemed to turn a lighter color as they faded away from Jaune's vision, her smile becoming more genuine.
"Oh, can you elaborate on that, the vividity of the colors I mean?"
Jaune looked towards the floor, thought clearly visible on his face.
"The colors around you are...if I had to compare the colors to something it would be smoke, no it is more along the lines of a thin mist. The colors are visible but they are very faint and if I was not looking for them I would not necessarily see that they are there." looking up to the man that was still standing there awkwardly he continued, "The colors around this man are very vivid, if I had to compare to something...it would have to be a thick smoke...however it is also opaque, it is similar looking through tinted glasses however it is limited to around the person."
As Jaune is talking, Alice started to type what he is saying into her scroll before looking back up at him.
"So Jaune what colors do you see?"
Looking back at Alice Jaune responded
"Most, if not all, colors are visible however they appear at different times. I am still unsure what causes each color to show."
"Hmm, that is very interesting," Alice mumbled to herself before continuing in a louder voice, "is there anything else that you can observe Jaune?"
Looking down, Jaune thought to himself, in an attempt to see if he missed anything before hesitantly asking
"Alice, is there anything that this man would have that you would not? Or rather is there anything that you don't have that all of the guards have?"
Alice stopped typing for a few seconds before answering Jaune
"A few things come to mind Jaune, why do you ask?"
Slightly more confident Jaune respond
"As I had mentioned before, the colors around this man and all of the guards that I have seen are vibrant, while, the colors surrounding you are harder to see almost. I am simply curious as to why this is the case?"
Alice smiled before looking at the guard "You may go jack I don't think we will need your help for the rest of the day." Jake nodded before walking out of the door behind him. Turning back to Jaune, Alice seemed to think before answering his question
"I'm not entirely sure if I would be correct in saying this, but I think it has to do with me not having my aura activated, you do know what aura is right?"
Jaune nodded before answering "Aura is a defensive and in some cases an offensive, capability that all creatures, other than the Grimm, are able to use. However multiple variabilities can affect how a person or animal's aura interacts with the world. Examples of this are the durability of the person's aura, the amount of time a person can hold their aura up without needing to recharge it, as well as the type of aura the person has."
Alice chuckled lightly at Jaune's explanation
"Jeez those people at the lab really went all out on you huh, but yes Jaune that is what aura is, as I was saying, I believe that the reason that you can't see the colors around me as well as you could around jack is due to the fact that I don't have my aura unlocked while jack, and the other guards, do. Of course, we can't really test this because I'm the only person that knows of the A.R.C project that doesn't have their aura unlocked."
She shrugged a bit before continuing
"Obviously we can't bring anyone else into the project, especially someone who does not have aura unlocked. Mostly because anyone who would be able to join the project either has their aura unlocked or is in a different project and so, they can't join."
Jaune hesitated again before looking to Alice
"Why isn't your aura unlocked? Actually, why are you the only person here that doesn't have their aura unlocked?"
Alice scratched the back of her head and looked away
"It is actually kind of embarrassing."
Tilting his head Jaune's curiosity was once again perked and his hesitancy was almost immediately forgotten
"Why are you embarrassed about it? Is it something bad that you do not want people to know about? Is the reason you are embarr-"
Alice simply raised her hand slightly, silencing Jaune.
"It's nothing like that Jaune, I don't have my aura unlocked because a lot of people in my family are huntsmen and huntresses, I simply wanted to go into a different lifestyle. Honestly, I don't have my aura out of spite I guess."
Jaune's Pov
Journal entry #1
Alice has asked me to start a Journal, however, she did not give me a clear answer as to why I need to do so. I assume it is to monitor my emotions or thought process, however, I do not know. She did, however, tell me to write some things that have happened up until this point.
It has almost been three months since I have first woken up, in what is meant to be my sleeping quarters. It has been a little over three weeks since I have had my first fight, with the AK-175. It has also been one week since I have returned to "Training", In reality, it seems like it is more akin to conditioning. I spend my time fighting robots in an attempt to "remember" any fighting techniques that would help me in battle.
It seems before I was woken up the people that made me implanted memories of sorts, this would explain the "dreams" I had before I woke up. These memories have apparently only come to the surface when information that is closely related to the memories are observed, apparently, this was an unintended effect.
However, I have noticed that some information that i "remember" is different from what was apparently implanted in me. One example of this is the strange ability I have to see what is speculated to be the aura of a person. I learned of this ability after my fight with the AK-175, something that the scientists here were clearly not expecting to happen.
This leads me to something that I have discovered today, the colors I can see while using said ability are not only the aura of a person but their emotions. Looking back on it now it is very obvious that I would have this ability. It has long been known that the Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, so clearly there is some way for them to sense said emotions. While I do not know why I did not have this ability as soon as I awoke, nor do I know why I need to concentrate on using said ability, I do have a few theories. The first is that I had the ability the entire time but I did not realize it due to the fact that I need to concentrate on using it, this, however, does not explain why I need to concentrate on using the ability. The second theory is that I was simply too "young" to use the ability, it has long been speculated that Grimm are able to sense from a farther distance the older that they get, this, however, has been difficult to prove for obvious reasons. This theory still does not explain why I would need to concentrate to use the ability. It is possible that the Grimm also need to concentrate to sense for emotions however it is not unlikely that me being part human has an effect on the abilities that might develop.
That seems to be everything that I would need to write down for today. I wonder how I am meant to end the journal logs?
Signed subject 1183
(does that work?)
The next day
'It seems that I am no longer learning anything from these training sessions…' Jaune thought to himself as he finished off one of the robots that he would often "spar" with
Suddenly the door behind him opened up to reveal one of the guards that would escort him from room to room
"Subject 1183 it is time for your meeting with Dr.P-"
Before he could finish talking Alice walked in behind him and put a hand on his shoulder
"That's enough, honestly why must you people insist on being the first person to greet him if you are going to be so mean about it," she turned back to Jaune and smiled "Jaune how have you been, I'm sorry we haven't been able to meet lately I had to go off base for a few meetings."
"I have been fine Alice, do you mind if I ask what the meeting was about?"
Alice turned around and motioned for him to follow her.
"I don't see the harm in it, I was meeting with General Ironwood about a project that my husband is working on, they wanted my opinion on something that they have been having a hard time with."
Jaune tilted his head
"What were they having trouble with, if I may ask?"
Chuckling Alice shook her head
"Sorry Jaune, I can't tell you that but you might be able to learn about the-"
A ringing of her scroll interrupted Alice, looking down at it she frowned before entering the password on the door to Jaune's room
"I'll go inside in a sec, I just need to answer this call real quick."
Jaune tilted his head before heading into the room. As the door closed behind him, he heard Alice sigh. "Yes this is Dr.P-" cut off by the door closing Alice's voice, and everything else outside of the room was gone as if it never existed in the first place
Jaune walked to his desk hoping to log the recent event of what had happened to him that day when he noticed that not only was his journal open but there was a short white mug sitting on the desk. On closer inspection, Jaune realized it was the mug that Alice would occasionally bring into the room with her, turning the mug around he saw there was something written on the side. Picking the mug up to get a closer look at what was written on the side, he duly noted that it was empty, he could not understand what was written, it wasn't in English, "mom scriptor maxima orbis terrarum". Realizing that he would need to ask Alice what the mug was for and what was written on it, he went to put the mug back on the desk but suddenly the mug slipped from his hand.
A scream
P̹̣͈͈̘̜ḁ̛̜̫̺ìn
i̬̖ţ̘̤ ͏͙h̬̼u͏̸̦͞r̵̩͕t̸̷̹̤̗͔̣͓͇̟͞
J̸̲̪͖̫̭̗̻͉̟͚̱͓̰͎̰ͫͬ́͑ͤ͋ͤ̈ͮ͋͌̅̇͗̀ͅA͂̃͑ͣ̐͒̓ͣ̇̒̔ͣͣͩ͟͏̬͔̳̹̱̱̹͕̮̟͎̤͕̰̲̫͈Ư̡͖̠̞͔͔̩̲͚̱͖̲̼̞̟̭̲͂͆ͪͪ̓Ņ̸̭̝̜͍̖̩̩̬̞͈̩̳̤̭̯̪̪̌̇͂̎̉̅ͥ̇̆͘͞ͅͅÉ̆̔ͮ͂ͦ͑̇ͨ̿ͦ͒͛̂̃ͨ̚͢͟͏͇͙̖̤̹̞͠ͅ ̵̴̷̻̺̯̟͖̻̎͐͆̑ͬ̓̌̇̈́ͭ̀͘H̶̡̥͈̻̪͕̞̱͕͚͔̓̆ͨ̿͋̇̾̿̋ͭͦ̍͑ͭ̕ͅͅE̟̺̲̺̼̔̌͂͂͛̏͢L͔̜͇͍̼͖̠͙̮̯̥̹̭̺̱̭ͭ̅ͪ̽ͦ͗̏ͦ̕͜P͊̏̊͐̿ͭ͛͏͔̞̮͎ ̷̨̭̬̮̞͔̜͚̼͎͚̭̘͔͈͈̪ͨ̑͊͊͋̋ͮ́ͪͬ̀̌͌̆M̵͚̘̰̹̟̝̭̤̟̣̮̌͗ͭͣ́͝ͅE̶̋͛̅̅̾ͯ͏̶͈̜̫͎̹̪͙͖̭͙̝̫͇̯̝̮̺̻̪͟
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J̦̘̠̍̑ͥã̦̦̼̭̬̹͉ͮ̇ͧ͌̈́ͬụ̘̙̥͉̣̽̄͆ͯṅ̏ͨͣ̍ͦ̀҉͍̗͓ę̧̫̞̠̥̭͂͆̓̎͂̆͋͝ ̝̰̼͖̗̹͉̣̮̂͂J̶̭̲̮̯ͪ̒͒̋́ͪ̓ͦą̰̗̆͋̐̎̈͒̾͠ù̫̠̬̖n͕̪͒͂̾̄ͨͦ̔̓̕e̴̺̮ͤ̒ͬ͆͜ ̩͕̭̦ͣ͜J̥̫̩̫̠̘̼̓̒͢͡ͅa̛̠̘̳̘̠̣̬͊ͭ̐u̵̶̫̼͎͕͌̾͠ǹ̵̝͕̩̼͐ͯ͋̆̑̔͐̕e̸̷̛̫͉̫̯͎̫͎͍̅͂ͩ͊̃̄̊ͅ ͔̣̲͍͓̭̗̂͐̎̌J͓̼̙͚̓͐͐ͬ̍́͜a̷̬͔͕͓̥̘ͥ͂ͪ͜u̸̧̖͓͍͉ͮͧͅņ̶̢̞̦͍̥̬͔̳̱ͩ̌́̽͒̚ę̵̵̮̼̹̥͕͈̬̝̒̈́͗͗ͤͧ͆ͭͨ ̵͙̬̫̱̖̥͂̈̿̎̍̋́J͙̹̟̥͉͂́̕̕a̳͇ͧ̆̂͘u̥͈̣̿ͣ̽͞ñ̨̯̣̹̥͔̺͍̜̂̆̏̀̚ͅę̬̮̦̣̳ͮͩ͝ ̟̻̤̪̠ͬ͂ͨ̆ͤͪ̋ͨ͗̀J̢̩̠͓̱̬ͮ̄̍͆̄ǎ͖͉͓͆̾̉͝͝u̸̳̗͆̊ͨ̇̽̌ͩ͠n̢̲̙̪̭̬̪̈́̽͒ͣ̈̈̽͛͟ͅe̷̛͓͓̬̙̦ͤ͠ ̺͈͉̠̳͊̊͋͞J̗̪͈̲͎̙ͨͅa̶̡̰ͬ́̅͜u̸̷̜̤̩̤̖̺̹̟ͭ͂͜n͖͓̲̤̱̅ͬ̇ͥ̋e̶͉̣̝̺͉͚̺ͮͬ̂̋ ̴͇͖̲̟̎ͣͣ́J̡̻̃̀̚͘a͕͎̫̖̪͇̼̻ͬ̓͠ṷ̞͕̫̮͎͙͉̪̓͡͠ṅ͂́̀͏̮ę͖̣̟̰̻̩͎͕͓ͫ͆ͯ̃̄̐̀͘ ͈̳̝̞ͤ̋̿͝͠J̷͚͉̤̜̟̱̳͙̺ͣͬa̱̞̳̣̪̬͙͂́͢͝ư̛̠͖̺̘ͤ̎̅̌ͫ̇̋͟ņ̡̱̬̟͈̘̠̞ͩͫͧͨͦ̍ͯ͝ę̗̭͖̖̝̘̰͈ͩ̋̌͒ͬ̎ ̧̘̺̻̹̟ͥ̀̍̄͑́͗͗͘J͕͕̀̎̆̅ͣ͌ạͬͪͪ̿͆̓u̺̝̖̪̗͎̜̲̳ͪ̅͗̚͞n̞̠͙̗͍ͫ͒̉͗͛̿͑̚̕͘e̵̪̱̳ͮͫ̋̒̐̈͜͡ ̜̦̳ͧ͑ͫ̇̃̾ͪJ̵̲̜͈ͯͦ̈̊̽͟͢â̭̱͔͍͙͗͆͊̃͒͘͟u̸̢̬͈̍̑̄̕n̶͇̲̬̰̰̞͂̓e͉͊ͧ̾ ̖̹̞̳͇̔ͥͫ̿̀ͨ̒ͣJ̓̔͞͞͏̝̦͙̠̤̰̦̟ắ̝̠̺̭̟̺͢ȕ̼̬̰͠n̷̶̟͐̄̈́e̸͗ͫͯ̒҉̖͕̹̥ ̟̟̦͚̭̫̳̪ͦ̕J̼̙̫͐͌a̹̼ͬ̃͟u̸͍̳̳̹̤̥̯ͤ͋̄̓͋͘ņ̗̯̣͆͆͑̉͂̏e͍̥̣̬̭̺̍̄͋ͣ̕͞ͅ
Ḣ̝̳̝̩̼̹̘ͤ͑̽ͮ̋̒̒ͅe̦̠̙̭͇̲̭͍͛ͧl̛̙̜̲͚ͭͦ̔ͬ̈͊ͨ͛͘͝p̷͎͙͔̾ͦ ̼̜̻̩͈̰̰̬̒ͭ̔ͩ̌͟H̴̡͇͔͓̥̹͚̊ͬ̔ͧ̈́́̿ͧͦe̘̘͚̥̬̥̦͗̄̒ͤḽ̨̩͍̳̄ͨͭ͛̏̋ͤ̚p̦̯̹̟ͧ̕ ̙̟͈͆ͣͯ͝H͗͆͏̧̮͈̫̺ę̯͚̜̉̄̽͛̈́͞ͅl̠̹̩ͫ̽͗̎͐̚p̦̻̠͚̃͗̋ͪ̆͑ͤͦͣ ̷̥̪̝̎͋͊̍̀H̡͍̉̓e̡̡̨̝̥̟̠̥͒͂͑̊ͨ̔͑̅̎l̮̗̬̲̗͉̠̟ͦ̈́ͯ̉͂̈ͧ́͟͞p͉̱͙ͭ̋ͮͦͦ̊͂͗ ̎ͨ̑ͣ҉͎Ḧ̬͎̙̟̮̠̈ͮ̇͆ͫ͋͊͟ȅ̻̹̙͊̊ͤ̽̓͘l͎̙̥̇ͭ̀̀p̪̬̓̃̊ ̴̧̳̻̫ͦ̉̅͂̀H͂͌̒ͬ̍̒҉̻̙̻e̷̱̫̺ͬͨ̈ͪ͘l̸͔̱̬̫̽̓̋̊̕p̧̫͕̱̅̾̑ͩ̀̏͛ ̡̭͇̹̺̥̦̰͂̐̈͗ͦ̃H͔̣͈͖͙̹ͩ̅ͣ͆̒ͧ͗ͫ̄́e̷̳̪͇̥̙̣̲͒̋͌̇ͩ͘ͅĺ̓̎̊ͮ̾͏̰̖͕͓̙͉̭p̸͈̻̮̝͆ͦͬ̿͗ͦ̉͝ ̜͉͉͍͕ͤ͘Hͮ̊҉͕̦̳͙͕͉͓e͍̤͙̟͇͖͑ͣ͋͛͒͒ͥ̚͝l͇̫͇͑ṗ̵͕̫̹̬͓̞̑ͪ̌̋͂̓ͨ́ ̵̷̲͓̮̓̿͝H̴̘̺̥̟̮̣̭̆ͥ̀̐͐ͬ̎͌͢͞ȩ̖̲͇̪̘̞ͫ̀ͮͮͤ͠l̪̼̙̦̲̙̼ͮ͐ͬ̓̃ͮ͜͡p͑ͫ͋͂͛ͣ͝҉̫͉ ͖̞̘̞̼̖ͨͫͬͦ͂̏ͨ̚H̷̵͇͊̍ͅe̙̲̯̝̜ͫͯ͐̌ͦ̃l̸̡̨̺͎̰͙̥̖̘̰̼̋̆͛̓̋́p̧ͨ̚҉̺̬̣ ͎̪͖͇̯̎̽͛ͯͪͩ͞Hͮ̂̿͏̡̹͕̯̞̪̹͜e͚ͣͮ̍l̵̡̢͖̋p̛͎̗͎̦̿̔͊͊̈́͌̈̒͢͡ ̷̘̪̩̰͊ͦͧͥ̓͝͞H͌ͩ̈҉̸͙eͫ̏̽ͣ̊̚҉͇̻͇͓̯͓͔̜l̸͙͓̥̩̞̞͋̓͆ͦ̈̀͞p̛͓͙̫̬͔̖͖̖̟͋ͦ̆ͩ͘͝ ͉͎͍̳͓ͪ͗̀͟͢H̢̺̣ͨͫ̏e̢͓̳̗̩̱̭ͫ̅͂̓l͓̝̿ͯͧ̽͆̕͞ͅp̱̠̬̫̤̬̯̹̔̏̉́́̀ ̮̟̺͚̬̻̪ͣ͛̒ͪͩ̀H̗̣̿̉̆ͤ͝e̔̓͞͏̵͈̭͎͔̝̦̣l̹̟̭̳͉̩̜͌ͥ̈̃̓̂p̮̯͂͑͒͌̑͘͟ ̠̞ͯ̊̈́̈́̌͠Ḩ̵̖̲̮̓̆̎ͣ̓e̷̦̗̤̠̎͂̅̔̇̔̐͢͝l̩ͩ̀̃p̖̳̄̆͜͝͠
M͕͕̘ͤ͒̇ͩͬ̇e̛ͯ́҉̻ ͖̠͖̹͚̈ͣ͟M͖̗̖̗͖͒̇̋̿͊ͭͦe͔̙ͧ͑̓͗͊͢ ̞̯͓̲̙̼̼͚̩̐̽ͮͥͨ̇́̕M͙̻̰͔̾ͦ̓͒̅ͯ́̆͞e̗͓̺̤̖͇͊̏́͢ ̴̹̘͓̻̦͖̊̒̆͂͠M̧̻͈͈̺̽ͥ̔͊ͫͥẻ̃̈̔͆̓ͪ͏̙͔̙̖ ̺̠̄ͫͣͥ͡M̵͔͉͈̞̙̭̮̰̬ͨe̟̤͇͑̋̑̌ ͩ̄ͥ͂̽҉̶̟͔̻̀M̛̯̻̫̭̼̝͓͑̈͑̾͒ͤ͞ę̶̖̝͉̤͔̫͒͝ ̧̖̪͇̻͎͖͈̪͋ͭ͊͋͑ͧ̇ͭͥ͢M̪̜̟̟̳̦̰ͮͫ͊̾ͨ̊ͦ͗e̜̟͖̖̦͙̫̬͆ͮͭ̄̂̂̿ ̺̉ͭ͗̆͢M̡͍̣̙̤̖ͯ̊ͯͦͮ̉̀͠e̴̵̻̬͔̖̻ͣ̌̈́́̕ ̷̹̥̙̻̹̦̽̄͆̆̔ͨ͗M̴ͬͯͫ͂ͮͪͯ̔́͏̶͚̰̯̦ẻ̲͕̻̖̎ͣ̕͘ͅ ̶̷̯͖̦̲̰̠̱́̇̑̽͗M̷̖͕ͪͮ͛̃͒̃̋͐ͨ͢͡e̖̰ͪͩ̈̽͗ͦ̅͒ͅ ̳͗̋͑ͫ̔ͮͮ͜͝M̪͕̽̌̓̄ͧ͛̓̂͞e̛̱͖̮͎͕̱͎̺̓̅̈ͩ͌ͫ́̚̕͜ ̟͙̓ͪ̀ͬ͗͜M̨͇̼ͪ̓ͪ̄͌̍̋͠e̓͌̈́̌̿ͭ͏̛͓̪̤̬̙͜ ̈ͭͪ̚͏̢̪̱̦̱̤͈̰͇̲͝M̛̳̫͙̭̰̠̹̞͛̅̉͟͝ͅe̻̰͔͙̊̔̋ͥ̋ ̡̤̬͎̲̖͍̞̮̅͌̌ͤ̾̽̈́͝M̷̹̘̖̪͕̳̥ͩͤ͡͞e͇̹͉̭͒͊ͮͯ̉͛ͩ̕ ̢̦͎̰͆͂̋̏̍M̷̮̦̮̍͒̃͘e̫̟̓͋ͨ̇̔͊̇̓̋ ̪̺̝̌̾̔̂͂͛̔M̘̤̖̤̝ͯ̓e̜͎̦̮̘̪ͬ̄̾ͩ͗͢ ̲͙̼̈̓͑̀M̥̮̖̬̺̮̺̙͛ͭͫͤ̈́͜e̢̧̖̟̭͔͎̫͍ͩ̏ ͎͇͍̣̩̔̔̀ͭ̾͒̀̅ͮM͉̖̜̫̭̻̓́͝ë͠҉̫̺̬̘͈̼ ̵̺͔͖͓̽̌͠M̊ͪ̆̃҉̣̘͠e͉͇͇̥̝͑ͯ̿ͫ̾͟ ͓̲̪͓ͥ̅ͣ̔̅́ͣ͝M̢̾͂́̒͒ͦ̔ͅë̸̼͍̲͊ ̧̗̮͙̦͈̳̏̏̅ͫ̏̈͗͢M̘͎͌̌̀͑̅ͪ̒̔̄͘͞ḛ̸̙͚̤̣̝̙̼̑̾ͣ̍̉͊̏ͭ
Jaune didn't know when the noises stopped. Perhaps it didn't stop, maybe they weren't there to begin with.
Jaune didn't know when the world around him went dark. He couldn't even see his hands.
"...J..au.e"
The world around him got brighter
"He...ak...p...une"
Then there was a voice
"Co...o...aun...ak...p"
It was a small voice, innocent even.
"W...e...t...o...une"
It sounded close yet far away somehow
"WAKE UP!"
Jaune gasped as he sat up, but something was off. Looking around Jaune realized what that something was. The concrete walls that Jaune was constantly surrounded by were gone, replaced with wood logs. The thin white blankets that he sat on every night replaced with a thick yellow blanket.
Suddenly there was a soft giggle from next to him
"Come on Jaune, you need to get ready."
Turning to his side he saw a small girl that he has never seen before
She had bright orange hair and green eyes. She also had freckles sprinkled on her face
"Come on Jaune, you need to get ready."
Before he could ask who she was his body started to move on its own
Kicking his legs off of the side of the bed and stretching his arms above his head with a yawn
"Yeah, yeah I'm up Penny I'll get ready in a minute" The girl, whose name seemed to be Penny, grabbed his hand and started pulling him to a door
"Come on Jaune, legs go, let's go!"
Once again his body started to move on its own following after the girl out of the door
"Ok I'm going, I'm going"
As soon as they got past the door the world suddenly turned blindingly bright
As Jaune's eyes got adjusted, the noise of an engine starting grew louder
"Oh wow Jaune look, look, it a bullhead. There are only five in vale right now!"
Jaune's body chuckled before looking to the girl who seemed to be around 7 years old, and that's when Jaune realized that he was the same size as her. Before he could think about a deep voice spoke up from behind them
"Calm down Penny, we need to hurry along now, can't keep your mother waiting now can we."
Penny looked back before running towards the bullhead
The man put his hand a Jaune's shoulder causing Jaune to look up at him
"You take care of your sister alright Jaune, your mom should be there when you land at the base."
Suddenly the world changed again and Jaune was in, what he presumed to be, the bullhead.
He heard Penny giggling beside him
"Jaune Jaune we're in a bullhead. This is so cool."
Jaune's body chuckled before looking at Penny who was bouncing in her seat
"Aren't you excited to see mom."
Penny stopped bouncing and turned to Jaune
"Of course I'm excited to see mom, but we are in one of the only bullheads in the whole world why wouldn't I be excited about this?"
Jaune didn't have a chance to hear his response before the world once again changed
Jaune was still in the bull head but it seemed that Penny was much calmer
Suddenly there was a loud alarm ringing through the bullhead causing Jaune to jump in his seat before turning to a man sitting next to him.
"What's happening?"
Before the man could respond a voice came through the speaker
"CODE BLACK, CODE BLACK, BRACE FO-"
Before the voice could finish speaking, the stinger of a lancer smashed through the side of the bullhead and destroyed the speaker before pulling back and ripping a piece of the wall of with a screech.
Penny screamed as the bullhead started to spin the man that was sitting next to Jaune was ripped out of the bullhead by a lancer before he could even make a sound
There was a loud bang as Jaune was abruptly tossed from his seat and thrown out of the bullhead
He slammed into the side of a tree before hitting the ground
Jaune watched as the bullhead crashed down nearby struggling to move Jaune attempted to crawl to the bullhead
As he got closer to the wreckage he heard Penny crying out his name
He started to crawl faster ignoring the pain that wracked his body every time he moved
Once he was close enough he saw Penny, trapped under a piece debris, and she saw him too
She cried out his name
He reached out to her
And a piece of metal slammed down on his arm
There was screaming
Was he screaming
Pain exploded from his side
He was in the air
He hit something
He couldn't feel his legs
He couldn't see anything but black
He was in the air again
"JAUNE!"
There was something walking towards him
"JAUNE GET UP!"
He heard something
"PLEASE JAUNE!"
The thing was getting closer
"PLEASE JAUNE!"
What was that noise
The thing was almost upon him
As his head fell to his side he saw her
She was screaming
He reached out to her again
And the world went dark