A/N: So, quick Authors Note before we begin.
This story is going to be a plot one. Character driven, meaning that everything in here are results of the characters actions, and not because I want them to happen. I REALLY don't want to do OC's in here, however this requires that to happen.
This has a pairing in it at some point. If you know how the 'seven beat romance' goes, you'll probably spot it right off the bat. I'm not too good with romance, so if you want to help, just message us with the message directed to a T3nuous_Hai1.
Other than that, this is a Jaune Central, however this will be taking a different turn with him. I had this idea while reading a Jaune fanfiction earlier, and a few after. I really like this idea I had and decided to put it down on a laptop. Also keep in mind that comas in dialogue are long pauses. I'll do a triple dot when someone trails off in dialogue, etc. You'll know when you see it.
So here we go!
"So, whaddya want kid?" a gruff voice engaged in conversation with their recent guest, whom had sat down at the bar with a rough 'plop'.
"I, uh, heard that I could get some, er, transcripts here?" it sounded more like a question rather than a statement, but the man knew what the blonde was talking about. It was around this time of year that the academies began hunting for transcripts, allowing entry to those who had earned it. However, that also meant some form of business, and false transcripts definitely fit the bill.
"I know what you mean kid. Come 'round back and I'll show the ones we got at the moment." the blonde boy was waved over by the large man, and proceeded to hop off the seat before heading around the counter. The burly man opened a door leading into a back room, flipping down a door stop to keep the door from closing as the boy walked in after him.
"These four are your current options. No more than these." The man stated firmly, straightening his red tie before crossing his arms. The blonde just nodded in understanding before looking through the four sheets of paper. While this was happening, the bar tender was called from the main lobby by two twins, or what seemed to be twins. The blonde heard a few shouts, maybe a crash or two, and what sounded like a fight, but decided against going out to see the damage done. Like his father would always say: "Don't get involved in things you don't know about!"
But, then again he was kind of contradicting that logic.
He had finally decided what transcript he wanted to use, the one for Beacon academy. It made him out to be a top-class fighter, mastery with the sword and shield. High aura control as well. Highlighted on a few 'flaws' to make it look a bit more real, and had a falsified signature from a combat school. He sighed as he picked up the transcript paper and, with a light skip in his step, turned on his heel and headed out the door. Paper in hand, he walked out and began to talk out loud.
"Hey, mister bar tender! I've decided on my fina-aAEEAALL" the boy's sentence turned to a shriek of surprise and fear as bullets flew around the room he had just walked into. A blonde haired girl stood in the middle of the room, duking it out with the twins from earlier while said bar tender was knocked unconscious behind his bar. The boy stood in fear, watching the girl in the middle set herself ablaze before beating the twins senseless. By this time however, the burly man had regained himself, and brought out what looked like a –
"-Rocket Launcher?!" the boy shrieked out, going for the sword and shield he thought he had with him, only to grab air. This caused him to panic before a thunderous boom resounded within the battle worn bar. He watched as it made contact with blonde fire in the middle, but didn't explode. It was also then he realized it was now heading in his direction. Quickly putting two and two together, he ducked out of the way before it connected with his body, landing on a piece of uneven ground. Tumbling down the ever present hole in the floor, his head colliding with some debris on the way down. He stopped tumbling, hit the bottom with a large 'crack'.
His vision was red, nothing but red. He didn't know what was going on. He just wanted to get into Beacon Academy. Was that so much to ask? Suddenly, a large crash caught his attention and drew his eyes to the source. Only to be met with a large piece of concrete crashing down.
His vision went black.
Yang Xiao Long felt horrible. Like, really horrible. Not because of Junior, the man who refused to give her any information on her mother, no she was just angry with him. What made her feel horrible was that, apparently, in the crossfire of her rampage, a fellow blonde was hit. Falling into a sink hole that had decided to present itself wasn't great, especially when half of the floor fell on top of said boy. And the worst part? He had no aura to protect himself, meaning any damage was going to be either permanent or a very bad injury. Not to mention she was chewed out by her father. Confronted by police? That was bound to happen. So, yes, Yang Xiao Long was feeling very horrible. Very guilty indeed.
And now, they sat outside the hospital room for the boy, who was now identified as a Jaune Arc, her father and sister on either side of her, a frown visible on their father while her sister simply looked down cast. There was an awkward silence and it was seriously bugging her.
"So, are you ready?" Yang looked up, meeting her father's piercing eyes. They held anger, accompanied by a deep amount of worry and fear.
"What do you mean?" she asked, her gaze never leaving her fathers' eyes.
He sighed before picking his words, "The name Arc is a, heavy, one. It carries a lot of weight pretty much, everywhere. When his family gets word of his predicament, they will be less than happy I would assume," he looked back at Yang, "and you will be the one to talk to them about what happened."
Yang realized what name he was speaking about before she seemed to shiver slightly. She had heard of the last name Arc before, mentioned many times at Signal academy before. She knew her father wasn't lying when he said that it carried a lot of weight everywhere. The famous Julius Arc, a kid that was only seventeen when he picked up his sword and shield in The Great War. He fought in the first and was at the meeting between the kingdoms on Vytal before disappearing not long after it was over. People praised him as a hero, even some of the Faunus. But not everyone agreed on that conclusion.
"Awe, cheer up Yang! I bet they'll be understanding!" her sister beside her jumped in, trying to brighten her sisters' attitude.
"Rubes, thanks for trying, but I don't think they will be understanding." Yang stated dryly, no sense of humor in her voice. Ruby looked down slightly before perking up at the noise of an elevator dinging. Who came out of the elevator gave her a large smile on her face, but she didn't tackle the figure coming up, instead opting to stay put and fiddle with her combat skirt a bit.
"Hey kids, Tai." A gruff voice greeted the three sitting outside of the room. Tai looked up at the gruff man, before sending his own greeting.
"Qrow." Silence ensued shortly after, but only for a small span of time. Qrow brought out a small bottle of alcohol, eliciting a scoff from Tai.
"You're going to drink now?" the blonde man stated, earning a small chuckle from Qrow.
"Just getting ready for the storm that's coming," the red eyed man looked at the hospital room door, "after all, the main four will be up in a few minutes. And I am not riding in an elevator with them."
The moment he finished his sentence, another 'ding' resonated through the hall. Four people emerged from the elevator, and they had mixed emotions on their faces.
The group consisted of only one man and three females. The man, who was assumed to be the father, was around six and half feet tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Pale white skin was barely visible under his dull black tail coat, which had armor adorned over it that shone a pale white.
The woman next to him was the same, blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a simple long sleeved button up with some dress pants. Heels clicked down the hall and she stood straight.
The other two looked nothing like the other blondes. One was around five foot and six inches, with red hair that was shoulder length. A bang covered half her face, and a red eye was visible. She had a red combat dress that hugged her lean figure, and a belt with a sword buckle that had her weapon sheathed. She wore combat boots that must have had metal soles, as the ground seemed to slightly crack with every step.
The other was around Ruby's height, with green hair and the same colored eyes. Her hair was in a bun, with a stray bang hanging to the side of her face. She pushed it behind her ear as she walked down the hall. There was no visible weapon on her however.
"Keith and Miranda." Taiyang stood up and held out his hand, greeting the two blondes. They both took turns with shaking his hand, before they chose to speak.
"Taiyang, it good to see you." Keith returned the greeting.
"Likewise. Might I ask who has accompanied you?" he asked the two parental units.
"I am Fenrir Arc, the oldest Arc sister to Jaune." The red one stated, her voice held no emotion other than that of pride as she introduced herself.
"And I am Serine Arc, the second oldest sister." The green introduced herself as well. Taiyang nodded at them before introducing his two daughters.
"The quiet one over there is Ruby, and the trouble maker," he sent a quick look to Yang, "is Yang. When you want to chew her out, you ca-"
Suddenly the door abruptly opened, a doctor standing in the door way, "He's stirring"
Nobody knew what happened exactly, but the moment those words escaped his mouth, the Arc family disappeared from their spots in the hallway, jumbling together in the hospital room. The other family had to blink slightly before doing the same, albeit at a slower pace. When they entered the room, everyone seemed to relax. Sitting on the hospital bed, his family crowed around him, was one Jaune Arc.
He swam in a void. An endless, dark void. He didn't know why, but he felt tense. Like he was ready for battle.
Battle?
Now that word was very familiar to him.
Suddenly, he found himself leaning against a wooden support beam in what seemed like a log cabin. A black tail coat coated his upper half. Dark brown leather pants went down to meet with metal boots, which shone a bright white and were lined in yellow gold. The same could be said for his chest plate and pauldrons, which seemed clean and new. A sheathe on his back were the same colors, only not looking as new. It was scratched and dusty, like he had just escaped a scuffle. His hood was drawn over his eyes, so he saw nothing but darkness.
Had he fallen asleep?
What was his name again?
"Hey, Julius! Wake up, it's about to start!" Julius looked up as his name was called, his hood falling back to reveal pale green eyes and blonde hair. He straightened his posture before looking around to find the one who had called his name.
He met eyes with a fat, short man. A large beard, if you could call it that, was present on his face as an axe was slung over his shoulder. Leather armor adorned his entire body, all dyed different colors. What was the reason for this?
Ah, yes. He remembered now. It was the end of the Color War, and the four leaders were going to have a 'peace talk' as he liked to call it. He was assigned the best shift of all in his opinion. Guarding the chambers in which the peace treaty would be made, with Bear here.
He scoffed at the short man before leaning back up against the beam.
It was all coming back to him now.
Suddenly, his vision pulsed a violent red and he froze. Everything froze. Before it all hit him hard. The events began to transpire faster and faster. Voices began to fill his mind. Sweat dripped down his head as he struggled to move, to breathe.
"Julius Arc, seventeen years old, trained from the age of four?"
"Heh, kid, you can't fight! This is for real men!"
"T-thank you sir!"
"You independent savages!"
"You will never amount to anything!"
"Your independence is a lie!"
"Art is disgusting!"
"You believe in something, yet you don't fight for it. Why?"
"Hey, Julius! Wake up, it's about to start!"
"The treaty between Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and Mantel has succeeded."
"It's over now, isn't it?"
"I love you, Julius Arc."
"Goodbye."
He swam. Swam in darkness. Swam in a void. Then he began to float. Float to the top of the void. He was drowning still though, unable to breathe. And when he reached the surface.
He woke up.
It scared everyone when Jaune's heart rate spiked. The doctors began to panic, grabbing something that would calm the young boy down. All it did was make yang feel worst however, and the Arc family more scared for their son. He began to sweat heavily, his breathing escalated and his arms shaking.
All before the final push seemed to happen.
He arched his back before sucking in a large breath, grabbing onto the side of the hospital bed tightly. They heard a large crack as the plastic he held onto splintered, only for it to stop as he relaxed. His eyes fluttered open and, before he could speak, was crushed by the hugs of three women. His eyes were filled with surprise before becoming perplexed and hardened. Nobody noticed though, no one other than his father who narrowed his eyes as a result.
Then Jaune spoke, "Who are you guys?"
Everyone froze. Well, all of the Arcs froze, not so much Yang and co. It was silent as they backed away slowly from their son. Miranda Arc looked over her son entirely before realizing something. His eyes were no longer the deep ocean blue he had ever since he was born. No, they were now a pale green. She also noticed everything else different about him. He had a straight and noble posture, his voice was hard and commanding, his eyes had a determination like no other. He was no longer a shy, bumbling mess. This was not her Jaune Arc.
"First answer us. Who are you?" Keith asked before Miranda could. It came out strong and made almost everyone else in the room straighten in slight fear.
It was met with an even harder, more commanding tone. "Huh. Stubborn. I am the guardian of Luthen Vaboe, Leader of Vale. I am Julius Arc."