Arc of the Phoenix Chapter 1: Here We Go Again, a rwby fanfic

Hey guys, so I know this isn't the new chapter I promised, but as I was planning out how the ending to this little arc (hehe bad puns) would go, I realized I messed up bad. Like real bad. I realized I totally mischaracterized Jaune within these first two chapters. So, I decided I needed to go back and fix that. 'Cause otherwise, it totally derails my plans for later and I rather do this now when I have the time and patience for it. I'll elaborate exactly why at the end of this chapter, so feel free to skip my reasoning.

So, for the people new to this story, welcome! I apologize if there is a quality/style/tone etc. dip between the first and second chapter, I'm working on updating it as we speak. To those who are caught up, I apologize again for not having a new chapter out today. I'm going to try to have a new chapter next Monday.

Drip...

Pain. Resignation. Irony. The man felt all of these things as he slumped onto the broken section of wall. He smirked despite the agony it caused him. Of all the things that could do it, bad luck was the one he was least expecting. Fate can be an ass at times.

Drip...

He looked up towards his assailant. A younger man, carrying a huge-ass sword. The moonlight glinted off the silver steel...straight into his eyes. Even when he is about to die, the kid still found a way to annoy him. The boy stood there, rock still. He could see his shoulders that were covered by his grey dress shirt shaking, most likely in grief. What a wuss. People die all the time - only, he was about to become apart of that statistic.

Drip...

The blood that coated the tip of the young man's sword continued to follow the pull of gravity as it splashed onto the ground. What a mess. When he killed his opponents, even the few times on accident, he always made sure it was clean. Can't have any evidence for the authorities now, eh?

Squelch

He looked down and saw his wound continuing to bleed. What a way to go. Death by accident. The asshole has what he needs to save her, though. If only he got moving. He raised his head, struggling to force the air into and out of his lungs, while searching for the young man's eyes. Red locked onto gold. Loss met determination. Hunter met criminal.

"Go."

This seemed to jolt the grieving man out of his funk, who looked over him with pity. Pity. Such a useless feeling. Only serves to bog down someone in the end. Especially, when it matters.

Clank

The silver hunk of metal that boy called a sword shifted onto his back. He nodded once and turned, his maroon cape matching the mess of blood he left behind. Finally, the boy departed.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

I wonder how the finale will play out for the rest? You know what? I actually don't care.

Fuck'em.

The man felt his blood turn icy and his breathing slowed to a crawl.

Oh, here it comes.

Here we go again, assholes.

Beep

Jaune's eyes flew open and reached to plug the tide of blood stemming from his abdomen-.

Wait, no. That was a dream. The same one again. Three damn days in a row. He sighed and threw himself back down onto his pillow.

It's too damn early for this.

Beep

Jaune peeked open an eye and looked towards his torturer.

I can't believe I wasted a week's allowance on you.

The alarm clock just sat there, it's green glow mocking him from beneath the plastic surface.

Beep

Jaune groaned again and rolled off the torn quilt that covered his bed. His feet hit the floor with a dull smack, and nearly fell when his toe caught one of the holes that littered the wooden surface. He walked towards a sound so annoying, it could drive the Brothers themselves insane. It resided on top of his "desk". The "desk" nothing more than a piece of flat wood with four particularly large tree branches nailed to it. He smashed his hand onto the top of the little devil once he reached the "desk."

Thank the Gods. I wonder, if I hide this thing somewhere Jet can't reach it, will he drive himself further insane?

Jaune sighed before shuffling his feet over to where his dresser lay. And it actually was a dresser this time, fully intact. Except for the leaning. Or the missing drawers. Or the fact that the top half of the dresser was gone. Ok, maybe intact was a little strong of a word. Inside the "dresser", Jaune spotted his latest outfit. A shirt so patchwork it could fit seamlessly with his quilt, once blue jeans that had faded so badly they looked grey and a green hunting cloak that...actually this one was nice. If only because Jaune snagged it from a particularly drunk asshole who decided hitting on girls who obviously weren't interested was the key to finding eternal happiness. Hint: it wasn't. So, Jaune "liberated" his new cloak from the man once he passed out.

Man, I'll never get over how cool I look in this thing. Especially since...well it hides everything that would make me look lame. So, the rest of my clothes.

Jaune's eyebrow twitched at the thought as he finished getting ready. He took a deep breath in, and then out.

Alright, Jaune. Same plan as usual.

Jaune steeled himself and opened his door. A loud creeeaaak noise filled the hallway as Jaune winced.

Damn door. If this thing gets me caught, I'm tearing it down and using it's scrap to fix my dresser.

Jaune moved swiftly down the quiet hallway. He passed several closed doors that once held vibrant energy and happiness, now still. Soon, Jaune heard the tell-tale sign of someone drunk to oblivion. Loud ass snoring.

He reached its source - a huge living room that looked like it could accommodate a Goliath, height and all. Slumped awkwardly on the couch was him. With a protruding beer belly that rivaled his mother at the later stages of pregnancy, the man who once was his father cut an impressive figure. The fat that appeared around his arm and leg showed how seriously the man took his exercise. The rust that coated his crude metal limbs made it abundantly clear his care for personal hygiene. Finally, the beer bottles that littered the floor and the cigars that dirtied the couch showed how determined his father was to keep vices away from minors. All in all, a very noble and righteous figure.

Jaune snorted in disgust and snuck through the room, being careful not to knock over any of the empty bottles. He stealthily approached his target - the mantle, upon which hung his family's heirloom. Crocea Mors. The once proud blade hung haphazardly, as if the drunken fool wanted to get it down, but gave up halfway. Jaune grasped the blade, firmly secured in its sheath-shield, and made his way towards the front door.

He paused right before it.

I'll have until about two before he wakes his ass up.

Jaune grinned and made sure his weapon was secured onto the brown belt that looped around his jeans.

Plenty of time.

He hated the forest.

The light broke through the tree branches and cast his surroundings in deep shadow. The red tinge from the early morning sun made it even worse. The not-so-subtle snaps and thuds from his boots echoing out around the trees didn't help either. It was necessary, though.

Two more years...

Jaune smiled weakly at that, all the while, his hands were shaking madly as he grabbed his cloak.

Still doesn't change the fact that this place gives me the creeps.

As Jaune continued his leisurely stroll through the woods, he spotted his destination through the thick bramble. The Ruins.

Oh, thank the Gods. I was gonna lose it if I spent any more time in there.

Jaune moved forward, nearing a sprint as he did so, disregarding all sense of caution or stealth – not that he had much to begin with. He moved with purpose, striding between the towering ruins that dotted the clearing he had entered. He came to a sudden halt and turned to his left.

A towering figure that threatened to blot out the sun quickly moved towards him as – no. That was just the shadow of the training dummy that fell over due to the wind.

Oh Dust. I almost had a heart attack.

The dummy itself was little more than twigs and tree branches haphazardly glued and taped together to form…something that, if Jaune squinted, sort of resembled a human.

Jaune grunted as he lifted the heavy object back into an upright position. He retrieved some tape he had left near the little training center he had set up and with the grace of a Goliath trying to tap-dance - taped the thing back together. He stepped back, admiring his handiwork as he gazed around at the arena to make sure nothing else was out of place.

The arena itself was rather small, yet extremely detailed in appearance and decoration. It had bleachers surrounding it except for a small hole that served as an entrance. Directly opposite of the entrance was a box with a window that Jaune could only guess, served as a VIP box of sorts. Of course, even if one resided inside the box, one would only be greeted by the cold, grey rock that this entire village was made of.

Stone, Stone, Stone. No matter which building Jaune had stumbled into, everything was made out of the same freakin' stone. Cold to the touch, no matter how hot it got during the summer, or how long the sun shined, the stone was always cold. Jaune sighed in frustration as he unsheathed Crocea Mors, readying himself into a battle stance.

Alright, Jaune. Focus.

And what a battle stance it was. Feet stuck out at an odd angle, arms stiff as a board and legs stuck out so far that he looked like he would do a split any moment.

He swung his sword in a wide arc, allowing it to hit the side of the dummy with a dull smack. The dummy spun in place due to the force of Jaune's blow - he raised his shield up to block one of the dummy's outstretched arms that raced to meet-and-greet the side of his face. Jaune shuddered as he shouldered the blow from the patchwork attacker and made to strike again.

Jaune continued to practice until the sun rose directly above his head.

Whew, I think that's enough for now. Better go fix lunch and check on what I need.

Jaune sheathed his sword into his shield and placed it onto his hip before moving out of the area, towards one of the most intact houses in this region. This house actually had all four walls, and its roof, still standing. The only one within a block. Jaune approached the front door.

He sighed as he entered the room, noting the lack of Dust in the lamps hanging precariously from the ceiling.

Damn it, must have left them on overnight last time I came here. Jeesh, for something being lauded as "Nature's Wraith", Dust sure seems to exhaust itself quite easily. I'll have to get some more Burn Dust crystals next week when Jet gives me my allowance. Oh well, at least the ones by the door are still ready to go.

Jaune rubbed his temples in frustration, before sighing again and going back to his task at hand.

Cooking...

Jaune exited his little safe-house and noted the harsh light from above was waning slightly.

Alright, almost time to head back. Jet will be up soon, better not piss him off more than he already is.

As he turned to close the door behind him-

A giant black paw smashed into his backside, knocking the air from his lungs and flinging him through the door into the room he just exited.

FUCK!

Jaune hit the wall on the far side of the room with a sickening, crunch.

Shit! There goes my leg. Damn it all this hurts!

Jaune tried to keep himself calm. He looked back towards the doorway-

Only to see the giant hole where the door used to be - occupied by a humongous shadow.

It stood on all fours, completely in shadow. No, it wasn't in a shadow. It's body was pitch freakin' black.

Grimm...

Its body built like a truck - a very muscly and fur-ridden truck. The head, it seemed, served to only contrast the rest of the beast. Covering its face was a bone white mask that had red lines leading up to its eyes…

Its eyes…

Bloody red orbs of light.

The bear-like creature roared at him and started moving slowly forward, it's feet causing the whole house to shake. Jaune groaned and tried to lean up into a sitting position, but froze as he noticed the Grimm had stopped and was just...staring at him.

Jaune blinked and realized everything was starting to blur. The shadows around him started to stretch and warp into…

Jaune's breath hitched.

No...

The Grimm slowly stood up as the shadows approached and...were absorbed into the Grimm.

The Grimm's form slowly morphed- stretching into something that looked...like a man. The man's details were shrouded in black, but Jaune had recognized that silhouette.

no...no...No, No, NO!

The silhouette glanced around the room in confusion, before finally noticing Jaune at the far wall.

He...he...This isn't real. He isn't here. It's not possible. I know where he is. This isn't real. HE CAN'T BE HERE!

The giant shadow...grinned.

Jaune whimpered.

Dad…

Jaune's vision blurred again...and the silhouette was...gone.

Oh, Gods. I was hallucinating. Ok, calm down Jaune. Deep breaths, in and out.

Jaune felt his heartbeat gradually slow down.

Ok, now why hasn't that Grimm eaten my face yet?

In the shadow's place, the Grimm stood there, sniffing the air, as if it were-

Jaune's eyes widened in shock.

It's looking for me! It...it can't see me? Why…

Jaune took a second look at the creature and noticed something… odd. The orbs of red where its eyes should have been were dimmed, almost as if…

Jaune would have smacked himself upside the head if his arms didn't refuse to move another inch.

The damn thing is blind! How the hell didn't I notice that earlier?

Jaune breathed out a sigh of relief.

All right. Now, I need to figure out how to get out of here...Shit. The windows are too high for me to reach with my leg and the front door's the only way out…

Jaune squinted as the light coming in from one of the windows reflected off of something near the Grimm. There, near its feet, was several somethings glinting with a red tinge, almost like shattered glass.

Shattered glass...

...Fuck me.

The Grimm suddenly stiffened- a low, almost feral, growl emanating from its throat. It slowly turned towards Jaune- beady, red eyes locked on to his position.

Oh, shit.

Jaune fumbled to reach the object within his cloak that would become his lifeline. His hands grabbed the smooth, almost glossy object in his fingers as he breathed hard.

This is such a horrible idea.

The Grimm started lumbering towards him again. It's paws shaking the cold, stone floor beneath them.

Well, I don't have much of a choice do I?

The Grimm began snarling in anticipation as it slowly lumbered…

Screw it. Either way, I'm out of time.

Scarlet…

I'm sorry.

Jaune flicked a switch on the small, metallic device in his hands and tossed the object towards the red objects on the floor. The lighter hit the Burn Dust right in front of the Grimm and all Jaune saw was white.

Jaune felt like shit. Jaune groaned as he slowly came to. He really felt like shit. Jaune slowly opened his eyes, expecting the beast of Grimm to be towering over him, ready to devour him alive…

Well, I'll be damned.

There, on the bare stone floor, lay the beast. Or whatever was left of it. Giant holes that seared red pocketed its body, making the terrifying force of wrath look like…

Cheese. Swiss freakin' cheese.

Jaune would have laughed if he still had vocal cords. Instead, a sad groan/retching noise came out.

Well, better check the damage. Which shouldn't be good based on that pitiful excuse of a laugh.

Jaune looked down and nearly passed out again. His skin was completely gone, save for a few patches he could feel near his eyes. His leg, still broken, was twisted at a...well, a rather horrifying angle. There was a cut near his side- he could feel the wetness and smelled the metal the only blood released. He could feel his muscles burning as lingering particles of the Burn Dust gathered on him. This...this was bad. Really bad.

Well this sucks. Surviving an encounter with that huge Grimm, with no official Hunter training whatsoever, only to succumb to my injuries. If it wasn't so sad, I would laugh at the irony. Or, If my vocal cords were still in one piece.

Jaune glanced around his former safe-house, noticing the miniature fires that had seemed to appear out of nothing. The stone floor was warm and comforting.

Finally. Took starting a literal explosion, just to heat up these damn floors.

Jaune suddenly realized, this was it. No last minute rescue. No valiant hero to treat his injuries. Just...death.

The realization didn't startle him as much as he thought- no, hoped it would. It seemed he had stopped caring at some point and had just never realized it. Kinda sad, but nothing Jaune could do for it now. He snuggled up in his trusty hunting cloak, which had somehow survived the explosion, and waited for the end.

Before he could though, a face came to his mind. With a bright smile that could wash away whatever darkness it encountered, a hopeful light within her crimson eyes that seemed to see past all negativity, and a laugh that seemed to signal the end to all sadness in the world.

Scarlet…

Jaune's face roared in pain as he tugged what remained of his lips into a smile.

I'm sorry, I couldn't be there. To see you again. I'm sorry, I couldn't find you after all these years. I'm sorry, I couldn't free myself from...him. I'm so sorry, I'll never again be able to tell you the stories of our ancestors- how Julius Arc carved through the Grimm like cloth, or how Cornelius Arc helped lead the great armies of Vale against the other Kingdoms that threatened us. I'm sorry, I won't be there to keep the nightmares away like in the past. I'm sorry, I won't be there as you find the person that will treat you better than anyone else. I'm so sorry...I couldn't be a better brother.

Jaune felt the tears that welt up in his eyes being vaporized by the Dust still lingering on his skin.

Well I think it's time. Wouldn't want to keep the Brothers waiting, even for you sis. Well goodbye Remnant. You messed with my life so much, I'm not sure if I'm even thankful for being here in the first place. Except for Scarlet. If there's one thing I'm thankful for, it's her. Alright, time to get this show on the-

Caw Caw.

Jaune frowned at being interrupted, but before he could finish his monologue, he heard it.

"Hey, uh, anyone alive in there?"

A voice.

Jaune's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Holy shit, really? I make my peace with you fuckers and you pull this?

"Hellloooooo?"

Hmm, that voice actually sounds familiar. One of Jet's goons perhaps? Nah, they were all cowards who wouldn't leave the village unless they were forced to. No, it sounds sort of like-

Bullshit.

"Holy shit, look at this house. Hey is there…oh no."

No way.

"Hey kid, can you hear me? Speak or nod or something if you're there. Shit this doesn't look good. Did you drain your- wait. You don't have it unlocked, do you? You've got to be shitting me, kid. What the hell you doin' out here with no Aura?"

This can't be happening.

"Oi, kid I'm going to do something I'm probably going to regret shortly, but it will save your life, trust me."

No this is another one of those dreams. That's the only way. He's not real, he's just a figment of my imagination appearing before I pass! He can't exist, its fucking impossible!

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

This feeling…No way is this dream. This power I feel now is too real, but he can't exist! He's not real-

"Alright kid, its ok now. I've just unlocked your Aura to save you and drained myself in the process. You might have some scars, but consider them battle scars. Trust me, it gets all the ladies. Now, considering the severity of your injuries, you will probably pass out soon. Looking around, I noticed the remains of a bunch of survival gear, as well as that little training arena you set up. There's also the fact a kid your age is actually out in these Grimm infested woods without his freakin' Aura unlocked. Ya, know? The greatest defense against the Grimm? Sort of clues me into the fact you don't wanna be found. Now, since it's sort of my fault you're like this, how about I make you a deal? In exchange for surviving against my bad judgement, I'll take you back to my place - without alerting the authorities - and Patch you up."

The man seemed to snicker and Jaune could faintly hear the words Puns and Bad influences before the impossible man looked back at him expectantly.

Holy shit he's actually real. That means that dream I've been having…is real too? Shit this doesn't make any sense- whoa, all that energy… is just gone. Don't tell me…

"Oh, there you go. Night, night. My nieces will be so excited I brought them a boy, but if you get any ideas kid...hehe. Trust me, this blade isn't all for show.

Shit

Hey guys, hopefully ya'll liked this re-write. I tried to keep the plot the same (except to fill in some holes, i.e. Qrow probably should have taken Jaune to the hospital in the original, his excuse was flimsy at best and completely irresponsible at worst. His exact reasoning, though it was hinted at here, will be explained later.) and wanted to cement Jaune's character, 'cause I really didn't do as good as job as I thought I did. I also hinted more about Jaune's father and hinted is the key word here. Instead of saying it outright like in the original. Also, I wanted to show more about Scarlet's and Jaune's relationship, how he views her, etc.

Also, while I may have a comedic tone/voice in certain parts of the story, this isn't a comedy. I really don't like them TBH. Unless they are done really well like Coeur's White Sheep. Even then, I struggled through the first two chapters before really getting into it. Anyways, that's enough of me for today. I'll be working on Ch.2 of the rewrite this week, hopefully getting it out by Friday, but no promises.

Please Review, Favorite, and Follow if you enjoyed!

See ya next time!