Fire and smoked choked the once fresh air around the village of Domremy. The screams of the damned pierced the night. They were quickly silenced as the growls of Grimm became louder. Inside a collapsed house, a young boy was about to lose so much. He was also about to learn Remnants darkest secrets.
"What happened?" Jaune thought to himself as he came to. His mind felt sluggish, like it was full of cobwebs. A wailing siren brought his foggy mind back into focus. "The Grimm alert." Taking in his surroundings, he saw the destruction of the Arc residence. The once proud house was now a smoking pile of rubble. Jaune tried to move, but was restricted by a familiar arm draped over him. He turned and took in the sight of his father, sprawled over him protectively. The young Arc could only let out a gasp. His father had shielded him from the collapsing house. Blood leaked from his father's chest, courtesy of a broken beam that had impaled him. His fathers eyes were empty, all traces of light were gone. Jaune turned as the growls of the Grimm moved towards the former Arc home.
"Dad! Dad wake up. We have to go, please." Jaune let out a strangled sob as he clutched his dad's hand. "Please, I can't leave you here! Dad please. I need you!" The seven year old boys grief consumed him as he let a piercing wail into the night.
"What a pitiful sight." A cool uncaring voice cut through the night. "I thought the Arcs were supposed to be men, fighters. You are nothing but a sniveling brat."
Jaune's head shot towards the voice's owner, and the sight shocked him. Standing before him was a woman dressed in white. Her skin was a sickening ashen color, but the most striking features was her eyes. They were a sickening red, the same as the Grimm. Jaune felt a fear course through him like none he had ever felt as he stared into those soulless voids. "Wh- what do you want from us?" Jaunes voice shook from fright. "Why are you doing this?"
The terrifying woman stalked closer to the young boy. She didn't utter a word as she raised her hand towards the boy as a swirling purple aura formed. She was mere feet away when a flash of white intercepted the woman. Standing protectively in front of the boy was different woman also cloaked in white, and strapped to her belt was a simple silver rose.
"Salem. This ends now." The woman cloaked in white revealed her piercing silver eyes.
"Hmm. Ozpin's silver eyed warrior. How pathetic. You're right. This ends now" The woman now identified as Salem smirked. In a flash both women were locked in a duel to the death. The silver eyed one wielded a simple short sword, while Salem materialized a purple war axe. Jaune stared in awe at the sheer power displayed in the fight. Each attack gave off a shockwave of energy that pushed him back. Each woman matched the other blow for blow. He was put into a trance at the graceful dance of death.
The silver eyed one darted around the lady of Grimm, and let loose a series of slashes at her exposed back. This attack was quickly dodged, and Salem brought her axe around. The Rose ducked under the axe and tried to bring the sword in for a slash. Her efforts were rewarded with a punch to the face and a kick to the solar plexus. As she stumbled back Salem took advantage of her distraction, and brought her war axe down on the Roses shoulder. A cry of pain followed as it cut clean through the huntresses aura. The Rose collapsed, and Salem smirked as she turned to face the Arc heir.
"It's a shame really. Had the silver eyed one not intervened, your death would have been quick. Now however, I am going to enjoy myself." The terrifying woman approached Jaune and slowly drew a knife from her cloak. As she prepared to strike the cowering boy, a primal shriek erupted from the fallen Rose. The warrior's eyes gave off a menacing glow as she glowered at Salem. In a flash the Rose appeared in front a Salem, preparing to let her sword bite into the womans neck. However, for the first time in her life she was too slow. Salem buried her knife up to the hilt into the warrior's chest. Blood erupted from her chest in a brilliant spray of crimson. The Roses face didn't show fear like Salem had expected, it just expressed cold fury. Her eyes seemed to brighten, before a wave of energy exploded outwards.
Jaune stared in horror at his saviors defeat, but was quickly overcome by a blinding white light. He felt a sense of euphoria wash over him as the light overlook all of his senses. In the final moments before he passed out, he spotted swirling white rose petals coated in red.
The sound of his scroll ringing brought Jaune out of his nightmare. He quickly wiped his forehead clear of sweat and grabbed his scroll. "The fuck do you want?" Jaunes asked grumpily.
"Good morning to yourself sunshine." Shot back a gruff voice. "You talk to all your bosses like that?"
Jaune sighed. He was in no mood to deal with this. "Cut to the chase Junior. I got like four hours of sleep." Jaune had gotten home late after finishing his last contract.
"Oh yeah, I heard the news. Jackson Gray can now join the headless hunt." The club owner gave a soft chuckle at his joke. "I am curious though, why the Grimm mask? That's not your calling card."
"No shit it's not, but I had my reasons." Jaune never cared to give more information than necessary. " By the way, did the client pay the full amount?"
"Yup, thirty grand was deposited into your account last night. Try not to spend it all on the widow's bouquet, alright kid." Junior really liked pushing his buttons. "You know you're weird right?"
"And you're an ass, tell me something new." Jaune grumbled. He had dealt with the annoying contractor and information broker for the better part of two years.
"Why'd you ever become an assassin? You could have been a comedian, or just a smartass"
"And you could have been the owner of the shittiest club in Vale, oh wait. Now I've got a few plans today and as much as I love our conversations, I kind of have to go." Jaune was getting antsy talking to the man. He rolled out of bed and walked into his kitchen.
"Before I let you go, thought I'd let you know that fake ID chip you wanted came in. All you have to do now is plug it into your scroll. You can pick it up tonight, if you're willing to slum it in my shitty club." replied Junior.
Jaune grabbed a beer out of the fridge and took a long drink, completely ignoring the second comment. "Well, that's good news. I'll see you then." Jaune ended the call without another word. He took another swig of his beer and gazed around his small apartment. It was nothing special, just a small kitchen and living room. The bedroom was off to the left of the kitchen through a small hallway. Taking another sip of his beer, Jaune shuffled his way into the living room. Taking a seat on his couch, he grabbed a TV remote and flicked the on button. He browsed the channels until he found the Vale News Network. After the VNN logo popped up, the beautiful form of Lisa Lavender took up most of the screen. Her voice was laced with sadness as she began speaking.
"Today is a day of mourning for the citizens of Atlas. Reports came in early this morning confirming that Jackson Gray is dead. The philanthropist and primary shareholder of the SDC was executed last night by a currently unknown party." A picture of Jaunes burial marker popped up.
"The only object marking the grave was a wooden cross with a Grimm mask attached. This marker has many theorizing that the White Fang is responsible for this terrible crime. Tension has been mounting between the once peaceful organization and the SDC, and this may be the breaking point. For further insight, we are going to turn to our correspondent in Atlas, Richard Myers." The young newswoman gave a brief nod to the camera before the view switched to Atlas. A young man holding a microphone stood outside of the Schnee headquarters tower.
"Thank you Lisa. Now the murder of Mr. Gray is not the first instance of an SDC death at the hands of the Fang. For the past five years small skirmishes have been taking place between the two organizations, but it has gotten much worse as of late. Over the past year, tensions have reached an all time high. Influential supporters of the SDC have been dying at an alarming pace, leading to aggressive response against the White Fang." In the top left corner of the screen, a picture of a man appears. The man is in his late fifties, and waving at an unseen crowd. As his picture appears, Jaunes mouth curves into a smirk.
"We can all remember the terror that followed the public assassination of Atlesian Councilman and SDC board member, John Ford. While the Fang never took responsibility for the assassination, eyewitness reports later confirmed their involvement. This murder set off a three month war between the SDC and the Fang, ending after nearly 5000 casualties. A shaky peace treaty was established, but it now appears to be broken. Reports are already showing SDC funded Mercenaries gearing up for something big. Is Jackson Gray's death the spark that will ignite another bloodbath? Only time can tell, back to you Lisa." A click of the remote shut the TV off as Jaune stared at the screen.
"Finally, six months of work. Let's see how this fucks over your plans." Jaunes smirk transformed into a full grin. "The Queen and the Wizard, let's see how badly a stray knight can fuck you both over." Jaunes grin turned into laughter as his previous bad mood disappeared. He took a large drink of his beer, and did his best to forget about his earlier nightmare. The memory of Rose petals and blood.
AN: Sup everyone. Now I would like to apologize if this chapter was a little on the edgy side. I had to do some back story, but now I can move the story along. There was a distinct lack of Jaune killing in this chapter, that will change in the coming chapters. If you hated it let me know why, criticism is appreciated. Thanks for reading.
-Nild
