Merry Christmas RWBY
AN: Hello everyone! It has been a while.
Tis the season to write a Christmas Special.
This special takes place in the same universe as "Rise of a Star Knight" and will have characters in it too.
My beta readers and I plan to release the sequel to the story next year, after Vol 4 ends. Sorry to those who were expecting it to be sooner, but it only seems right to wait until after the current volume ends before writing the next one.
Anyway, enjoy the special.
(Patch)
At the edge of a solitary cliff, there sat a tombstone. This somber stone was the final memorial to a fallen huntress, as the name "Summer Rose" was etched on its surface, along with her family crest.
For a long time, this stone sat alone, but today it had a neighbor. Another stone of equal size and shape sat beside it, but this one had the name "Jonah Arc" carved into its face, along with the Arc family symbol.
And the visitor was also different.
Normally a girl in a red cloak would visit the stone of Summer Rose, but today's visitor was a young man kneeling in front of Jonah's tombstone.
The young man looked down to the stone that has his father's name on it. Jaune looked down to the stone and spoke, "Hey, Dad, it's been almost a year now."
Jaune visited his father every few months. Like Ruby, he talked to his father and told stories about what he had been doing. He explained how his time as being the new Star Knight had changed his life, though not entirely for the better.
As required for a Star Knight in peace time, Jaune spent one week of every month going to every village in Vale to ensure their defenses are up to date and there are no signs of "Grimm horde-massing". The only reason why he would even go through with such a task was the fact that when his father disappeared and there was no knight to do it, Beacon fell.
"Things have been going well. Still trying to get used to being saluted to and all the responsibilities that come with being a Star Knight. So far, Carol has been helping me to get the hang of it…" Jaune spoke softly. His voice was loud enough for only himself to hear.
Jaune pulled out his father's cross form under his shirt and gripped onto it, "I'm doing what I can for them, like you did for us…" Jaune could feel his chin shake, and it wasn't because of the cold. "I miss you, Dad. We all do."
Jaune then pulled his backpack off his back and placed it on the ground, he then opened the bag and pulled out a Christmas wreath and placed it on the stone, "Merry Christmas, Dad."
Jaune could feel himself giving in to his grief, but he was snapped out of it when he felt two hands rest on his shoulders. Both hands were from different people, the two girls who used to come visit Summer came with Jaune.
"You okay?" Yang asked. Jaune could feel Yang's hand on his right shoulder, she wasn't squeezing too hard. Like Ruby, she was holding his shoulder as support.
"You know, it still feels the same. Even after 11 months, it still feels like the first day." Jaune spoke softly. When he was told that his father was officially declared dead, the hope he had in seeing him again left a hole in his heart.
"I know it hurts, but I don't think your dad would want this pain to hold you down." Jaune then feels Yang pull him back and forth from his shoulder, and then turns to see her smiling. "And if it makes you feel any better, we're always here for you."
Jaune nodded his head with a smile. Ruby then ran between them and wrapped her arms around both their necks and pulled them towards hers. "Come on guys, we better get to the party before Nora eats all the good stuff."
"Knowing her, that'd probably be half the buffet." Yang joked.
Jaune's smile vanished when he realized that Yang might not be that far off, "We better hurry then."
All three hunters then turned back to the forest and ran as fast as they could to the house. Once there, they got in their vehicles and rode off to Patch's airport.
(1 month ago/ Patch)
In the month of November, it was Vytal day, the day that everyone gives thanks to the end of the Great War.
Ruby and Yang sent out invitations to all the members to Teams RWBY and JNPR to come to their home in Patch to celebrate.
Both teams, and their families, came to the dinner party. They all had fun talking to one another, sharing what they've been doing since they last saw each other. The ones who were the most shocked to see one another were the parents of the hunters.
As the party came to a close, the two teams went on a hunting trip with Yang and Ruby's father, Taiyang Xiao Long and their uncle Qrow Branwen. After hearing from around the village of Patch, there have been sightings of Grimm in the area. Taiyang and Qrow decided to check it out; RWBY and JNPR decided to go with them.
As they were scouting through the forests, Nora started talking about what they plan to do the rest of the year.
"Let's see… There's visiting Weiss at her home… Going back to Vale to help with reconstruction… Oh, yeah! Christmas is around the corner!" Nora shouted with her arms out to the sky.
"Oh, come on, Nora. It hasn't even been a day after Vytal day and you're already talking about Christmas?" Ren said as he slumped. Under normal circumstances, he enjoyed talking about Christmas, but that was before he ended up being the cook that tried to keep up with Nora's appetite.
"Are you kidding? Before I left home, my father had already begun readying prices for the holidays." Weiss said as she rolled her eyes.
"You know what? We should make plans for a Christmas Party." Jaune suggested, trying to lighten the mood. "And we can celebrate it at Beacon.
Everyone looked to him, at first they were surprised by his suggestion on where it would be, but then Ruby got what he was intending. "You're right! It's the first Christmas with Beacon free again, we should have a big party there."
"My sister and I can make the necessary preparations. But we'll need Professor Ozpin's permission." Jaune said.
"Is that a joke? Oz loves Christmas!" Qrow said as he took a gulp out of his flask. "Just tell him when you plan on doing it and he'll help set it up."
"I don't know. A party seems a little extreme." Blake said with her ears beneath her bow pointing downward.
"It's to help celebrate the Liberation of Beacon." Yang said as she wrapped her arm over Blake's shoulders, "It's perfect!"
Taiyang liked what he was hearing form the young hunters, and then he got an idea. "I know what you guys could do to help make this Christmas better."
Everyone turned to him as he revealed his idea, "Secret Santa!"
"What?" Weiss asked in confusion.
"Oh, God. Not that again, Tai." Qrow groaned.
"Our team and Oz's used to do it every year!" Taiyang said with a smile. "So basically, a group of people put their names in a container or hat, everyone draws a name, and on Christmas you all give your presents to the people you got."
"Yeah, and one of those years I ended up with the worst hangover in my life." Qrow groaned.
"It's not my fault you couldn't handle my homemade whisky." Taiyang said with an innocent look.
"But it was your fault for making it in the first place!" Qrow argued.
"They weren't all bad, one them was the year that you first got your flask." Taiyang said as he pointed to Qrow's flask while it was in his hand.
"Who got him that?" Jaune asked.
Yang nudged Jaune's shoulder, "My mom."
"My family never had one of those. We were always too busy." Weiss said with a sad tone.
"Mine too. Being the family of the chieftain took a lot of our time." Blake said with a similar tone.
"Well it won't be that way this year. We're all doing it, and we're all having the party at Beacon!" Ruby said as she shot her arms to the air.
Nobody argued after that, because once Ruby set her mind to something, NOBODY could ever stop her.
Not long after they ended their debate, they found what they were looking for in the forest: an Ursa. They dealt with it fast and returned to the house. Afterwards, they all wrote their names on slips of paper and put them into Yang's bike helmet.
Everyone was hesitant when they drew the names out of the helmet. None of them looked at whom they got until after everyone drew a name. Everyone looked at the same time, some were happy with who they got, while others had a rather nervous look.
(Present day / Beacon courtyard)
Qrow got Ozpin's approval to host the party, while Jaune used the Sky Knights to help organize the entertainment.
They even had help of David Washington, the newly appointed Sheriff of Vale; they were able to arrange all the party favors.
Teams RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, CFVY, CRDL, and a few others from their year participated in the decorating. And many of them enjoyed it. To most, setting up the party was the fun part.
Using her semblance and dust, Weiss was able to freeze a nearby pond and convert it into an ice skating rink.
Jaune, Carol, and Wash organized where everything went in the main courtyard from the stage for the band, the food court areas, the dance floor, and where the Christmas tree would go.
Yatsuhashi and Sage walked into the courtyard with the tree over their shoulders. Yatsu held the bottom of it while Sage had the top. Once they reached the center of the courtyard, they felt the tree lift itself off their shoulders.
Using her semblance, Glynda Goodwitch moved the massive tree towards the center and stood it up straight. Weiss then came up to the tree and used her ice to freeze the bottom of it in place, making the tree stable.
Once the tree was set up, Ruby, Ren, Fox, Sun and Russel were all lined up on a starting line. They each had a backpack full of decorations to put up in their assigned areas of the courtyard. They all agreed that the first one to be done with their decorating can be the one who puts the star on the main tree.
Blake stood at the line, held her pistol up and pointed it at the sky, "On your marks…"
All five took their own standby positions.
"Get set…"
All five of them were ready and eager to get started.
Blake then fires her pistol, unleashing the "Christmas Decorations Brigade". Ruby was the one who came up with the name.
(At this moment "Sweet Dreams" by "Eurythmics" is playing. Watch X-Men Apocalypse if you don't get it.)
Ren ran to the top of the tall pillars on the right side of the courtyard. He ran a string of lights and laid down several tensile strings. Sun did the same on the opposite side of the courtyard. Then they both helped in decorating the stage where the band would perform their music
Fox and Russel strung lights up around the several stands and guard rails along the main walkway, on opposite sides of the courtyard. After that, they each participated in building the stage where children would be able to sit on "Santa's" lap.
Ruby had the honor to wrap lights around the "Battle of the Five Armies" memorial statue; wrapping lights around the large snakes and placing Christmas hats on the two soldiers.
(If you want to see what the statue looks like, go onto DeviantArt and look up "Battle of the Five Armies Memorial")
When it seemed like each of them were done, they all sprinted to the tree in the center of the courtyard.
They all set their lights on the branches on their way up to the top; it looked like it was going to be close on who would win.
And at the last minute, after using up what was left of their decorations in her bag, Ruby made it to the top. She held her hands up high, "HA HA! I MADE IT!"
"Hey, catch!" Yang shouted as she threw up the star to Ruby.
Ruby caught the star and then placed it at the top. She and everyone else on the tree jumped off before the power was turned on. Once everyone was on the ground, Ruby looked to Neptune by the main breaker box and said "Light it up!"
Neptune flipped the switch, lighting up every decoration that was placed by all the speedsters. The whole courtyard looked as though it was a Christmas wonderland.
Jaune walked out of the main gate and walked into the courtyard, Wash was with him as they entered. "Looks great!" Jaune said with a big smile on his face.
"Yeah, I'm sure my kids will love it!" Wash said as he admired all the lights.
"LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" Ruby shouted.
It took a few hours after the decorations were set up for the party to officially start.
Hundreds of people came. Although the main courtyard was the most decorated, the rest of the academy had decorations and many other party favors for adults and children alike.
Former mayor Junior hosted the bar. He made the first round on the house for all those who came first. The twins were allowed to have fun of their own and enjoy the party.
The Reds were invited by those who were form Lake Town. Even some of the Sky Knights of Vale were invited; Blue division. Both groups argued a little but they eventually got along.
Teams CFVY, CRDL, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and a few others organized a little snow fort battle. The Reds and Blues participated, fighting on opposite teams.
No surprise, Jaune declared his team the Blue team, and Cardin's Red team.
Wash and his son Bain were on Jaune's team, Bain proving to be quite the capable marksman with a snowball. There was a moment when Lark and Dove climbed over the snow hills and tried to attack form the left side. Bain threw a few snowballs at them and hit them in the face, forcing them to retreat. Jaune witnessed Bain's marksmanship and was impressed.
With the sneak attack failed, Sarge on the Red Team ordered all of their team to unleash a barrage of snowballs on the "Blues".
"Your son has great aim." Jaune said as he and Wash were hiding under a hill of snow while it was raining snowballs.
"Yeah, he gets that from his mother." Wash said as he was trying to keep his head down.
"Maybe he should attend a combat school?" Jaune suggested.
"He been saying he wants to go… You think he should?" Wash asked.
"I never did, and it almost got me killed. If he's going to be a huntsman, he'll need all the help he can get." Jaune said as he got back up and threw a few snowballs back at the red team.
Ruby and Nora were at the cookie making stand, helping the kids with their cookie decorating. They were only allowed to do this if Yang was to stand as their supervisor.
There were a few instances where Ruby or Nora were about to eat the cookie they made, but Yang tapped them on the head to remind them that they were for the kids. "You'll get to eat your own soon. Until then, let the kids get their cookies." Yang said after stopping them for the fifth time.
After making the necessary snow for the fort battle, Weiss returned to her ice skating rink and taught some of the children, and some parents, how to skate. Wash's daughters Tilda and Sigrid were being personally taught by Weiss. The girls proved to be quite good at keeping their balance and not falling over.
What came as a shock to Weiss was that Neptune was afraid of the ice. She convinced him to get on the ice, but he was still afraid, he was like a statue on the ice.
"Oh, come on, Neptune. It's ice." Sun shouted from the walkway.
"Yeah but it was a pond yesterday!" Neptune shouted back.
"A pond that was four feet deep!" Sun said.
Weiss took Neptune's hands and pulled him along, as time went on, he eventually became comfortable and skated along with her. Although he did fall down a few times on his butt, there was even a time where he fell and Weiss landed on top of him, which made them both laugh.
What came as a shock to most people, Emerald, Neo and Mercury came to the party. The first one to great them was Pyrrha. She walked up to Emerald and Neo first. "Glad you guys could make it."
"Thanks for the invite, and thanks for letting him come along." Emerald said as she pointed to Mercury.
Emerald and Neo were both given full pardons for their help during the battle by Supreme Commander Arc. And while he still had a few things to answer for, Mercury was granted an early parole for the holiday.
Neo joined Weiss on the ice skating rink and had her own fun, while Emerald and Mercury had fun at the bar.
After the "Snowball War" ended, Jaune and Pyrrha went to the food court and met up with Sun and Blake.
They all enjoyed some fresh sushi, which made Blake's eyes sparkle and her mouth water. Jaune helped pay for the food.
Giving Ruby and Nora their promised cookie break, Yang went to the bar and had a few drinks. She was surprised to find Mercury and Emerald there. She wanted to get back at Mercury for getting her in trouble two years ago, but a fight was not an option, so she challenged him to a drinking match. She ended up drinking him under the table.
Over by "Santa's Chair," Professor Port was dressed up as Santa Clause. For many of the students, it was funny to see their old professor dressed up like that.
(Ozpin's office)
As the party continued down below, Ozpin and Glynda were up in his office, watching the party below.
"You sure you don't want to go down there?" Glynda asked as she looked at all the people who came.
"Let them have their fun. We can have our own here." Ozpin said as he opened a box that was on the table; revealing it to be a record player.
Ozpin pulled out a record that had a white snowflake on it. (Not a Schnee snowflake) He placed it on the player and turned it on.
(The song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is playing)
Glynda smiled at Ozpin and walked over to him. She first took the cane out of his hand and placed it next to the player.
She helped him to stand as they danced. Although he still hasn't fully recovered from his injuries, it didn't stop him from having fun with her.
They slow danced, stepping to the rhythm. They looked into each other's eyes as they danced. And they couldn't stop looking.
While they were having fun, Pyrrha and Jaune were exploring all the lights and decorations they helped set up and see all the people enjoying them. Then they saw Nora dragging Ren somewhere.
They followed and found her dragging him under a vine of mistletoe, and there they kissed. This was the first time anyone ever saw them kiss, and it looked like they were enjoying it equally. For Ren, he could taste a LOT of sweetness in her teeth; while Nora was just excited to finally get the kiss she wanted form him.
They were both surprised by a camera flash, and discovered it to be Velvet with her camera. "Next?" she asked as she readied her camera for another picture.
Blake and Sun walked past them, Nora shouted to them, "Hey, guys! Mistletoe, come on!" Nora pointed to the vine and then motioned them for to come over.
At first Sun looked kind of nervous, but he was reassured when Blake pulled him along to the vine. Once they were underneath, they kissed. Sun's tail shot straight up and then coiled slowly, while Blake's bow got a little higher. It may not have been their first, but this one was still special to them. Velvet took a picture for them to remember it.
As it happens, Weiss and Neptune were arriving to the same area. Weiss wrapped her arms around Neptune and pulled him down for a kiss. He was a little shocked at first, but then he quickly returned the kiss in kind. And with Velvet's picture she just took, he now has proof that he kissed the heiress.
Jaune and Pyrrha looked to one another and gave each other an understanding look. They walked over to the mistletoe. To make it more romantic, Jaune picked Pyrrha up Bridal style, everyone started cheering them on as they kissed. Velvet quickly took a picture to permanently remember this moment.
Other couples enjoyed the mistletoe with their own kisses. Velvet told the others that by the next day she will send them the copies of their pictures to their scrolls.
(Patch)
The party quickly died down to the point that RWBY and JNPR decided to leave. They left the decorations up so that on Christmas Day, they can still be lit at night.
The group took the first flight back to Patch. Prior to the party, they arranged so that they all could spend the night in Patch, for the holiday.
Once they arrived at Ruby and Yang's house, they find a note on the door.
Hey kids, I'll be out for the night to deal with another Grimm problem in the village. All the beddings are set out for you all to stay.
–Taiyang
P.S. Merry Christmas
Everyone walked in and began setting up their beds/sleeping areas for the night. Ruby looked to the clock and saw that it was already midnight, "Hey, why don't we open our secret Santa Gifts now? It's already Christmas."
Everyone looked to one another, and saw nothing wrong with that idea.
They all left their presents stashed in hidden places inside the house, and once they had all their wrapped gifts, they sat in a circle in the main living room.
"Who goes first?" Ruby asked.
"I'll go." Ren said as he stood up. He walked over to the garage and dragged a large punching bag with a bow on it. "Yang, I got this for you."
"A punching bag?" Yang shot up and ran over to look at it.
"It's made of some of the strongest and most durable materials. You can punch this all you want and it won't break." Ren said as he patted the bag. Yang gave him a rather strong hug, forcing the air out of his lungs. "Can't… breathe…"
"Sorry." Yang said as she immediately let go. They set the bag down next to the door, so it was out of the way.
"I guess I'm next. Pyrrha, I got this for you." Yang handed a wooden box to her.
Pyrrha opened the box and found a metal chain inside. Pyrrha looked to Yang with confusion.
"It's to help you in battle, that way you have something metal to use to latch onto something or to pull in an enemy. I kind of got the idea from an old video game I used to play. Its initials were "MK," I think." Yang tried to remember but the name couldn't be found in her memory.
Pyrrha quickly saw that she was right, this would prove to be very useful in battle, "Thanks, Yang, I appreciate it." Pyrrha closed the box and set it aside.
"Ruby, I got you this." Pyrrha handed Ruby a bag.
Ruby took the bag and opened it to find a red cloth inside. Once she pulled on it, she opened it and saw that it was a new hood. There were a few black streaks that ran the length of the cape and the edges of the hood were black as well.
"Since your old one got ripped up in the battle, I wanted to give you a new one." Pyrrha said with a nervous smile.
Ruby ran over to Pyrrha and gave her a quick hug. "Thank you! I love it!" Ruby quickly put it on and showed it to everyone.
She sat back down and handed her present to Ren, "For you."
Ren opened his gift and found two whetstones inside with a bandana wrapped around it. The bandana had a pink lotus on it. "Those are the kinds of whetstones I use on my scythe; they'll make your blades a lot sharper."
Ren put his right fist to his heart and bowed his head, "Thank you."
"Well that's full circle for you guys, how about I start our circle." Weiss said as she handed her gift to Nora.
Nora opened the box and found it to be a scope for her grenade launcher. "That scope can help you to see long distances, as well as heat signatures and night vision."
Nora smiled, "Thanks! Now I can see in the dark!" Nora set aside her gift and then handed her gift to Blake.
Blake opened up a metal container and found it to be fish shaped cookies. Blake looked up to Nora with a little bit of a surprised face, "Thanks, Nora."
"Oh, and there's a coupon for free fish for a month in there… somewhere." Nora said nervously.
Blake's face quickly turned into a smile, "Thanks." She then put down her gift and then pulled out hers to Jaune.
Whatever it was, it was heavy. Jaune opened the box to find a new Desert Eagle Pistol, looking just like the old one. Jaune looked at her with a smile.
"My father's blacksmiths were able to repair the damage." Blake said with a smile. "You made it hard for me to get a hold of it; eventually I had to ask Pyrrha to help sneak it away."
Jaune walked up to her and hugged Blake. "Thanks." Jaune then backed up and sat back down. "And last, but certainly not least, Weiss." Jaune said as he handed her his gift.
Weiss opened the small box and found a feather quill. "What is this?"
"It's a dust tipped quill, it will never run out of ink because of the dust shard at the tip." Jaune said as he pointed to its tip.
Weiss was genuinely surprised that she would receive such a gift. She quickly gave Jaune a hug and thanked him.
With all their gifts shared and opened, it was time for everyone to go to sleep. Everyone claimed their own area of the house to sleep in. One of which was the living room, where Jaune and Pyrrha slept on the couch together.
Pyrrha lay on top of him; before sleep could take them, they each shared one more kiss after Jaune said the two last words for the night, "Merry Christmas."
AN: I hope you all enjoyed that, I did!
Have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
ARKOS!