Welcome back, to a chapter that I got out far earlier than expected. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 2
He had no idea what was going on, except that he couldn't see a thing after being sucked into that portal. Where was he?
"Hello?" Jaune called out, hoping for anything to happen, instead of nothing, like it had been for however long he had been in this place. This time, something happened though. It was no verbal response, but something he felt. Reassurance. Over what though? Like a blanket, a soothing feeling wrapped around him. Then something clearer, a task.
"Change? Am I supposed to change something?" he asked curiously, getting an affirmative answer. "What am I supposed to change?"
Jaune wanted to laugh at the confusion that was conveyed to him. Whatever presence was with him seemingly didn't know either. About to ask something more, he stopped himself as he spotted a light in the darkness that surrounded him.
"Am I supposed to go there?" Jaune felt the confirmation, happy that he at least had something to do. As he started to move, he soon realized it wasn't needed as like with the portal that had taken him here originally, he was getting dragged towards the light. Getting closer and closer, he was able to get a closer look at the light. It turned out to be another portal, much to his annoyance. What was it with portals today? This time though, he could look at the portal, spotting what he assumed to be grass. Whatever awaited him beyond the portal was probably better than just flying around in this darkness, so he let things take its course as he got closer and closer. Then things started going faster.
"Uh, think we could slow things down?" Jaune got no response, now being flung into the portal with far more force than he had expected. It was a very sudden change to go from wherever he had been to be quickly approaching the ground, air rushing around him. Thankfully he hadn't appeared very high in the air, so he was certain his Aura would take care of the impact. He hoped it would. Using the time to take in his surroundings, he noticed that he would land in a camp. If he was lucky, the people there wouldn't be hostile and actually willing to help him. Bracing for the impact, his breath escaped him as hit the ground, his Aura flaring up to stop the most of the damage he would have taken. It still hurt like hell though. Maybe he had underestimated the distance to the ground. Before he could do much more, the sounds of weapons being drawn caught his attention. A katana appeared in front of him, only stopping a very short distance from his face. He probably shouldn't be surprised, as someone falling out of the sky and landing in your camp certainly wasn't an everyday experience. His attempt to reach for Crocea Mors was immediately stopped, another sword stopping him from reaching it. The sword seemed rather familiar though.
"Who are you, and why did you fall out of the sky?" a feminine voice, one that didn't sound very happy and could very well be mistaken for a blonde friend of his hadn't he been on high alert currently.
"Qrow?" Jaune asked carefully, following the sword that was stopping him from drawing his weapon all the way up to its owner. He made sure to look twice, but he was certain that he was staring at Qrow, even if he looked younger than he remembered him. Had he fallen on his head?
"How do you know my name?" Qrow questioned, clearly even more wary now. The katana followed suite, pressing a little harder against his skin. He said nothing. "Raven, should we get him to speak?"
"No!" another new voice cried out, one that sounded distinctly like Ruby. Looking around, he spotted its owner, a woman wearing a white cloak. She was rather small as well. "We'll let him in talk in peace while making sure he doesn't escape."
"But-" Qrow tried, getting a slap on his head from the woman. The other woman, who had been identified as Raven, which meant she was his sister, laughed at her brother.
"Remove your weapon, Raven. If he was an enemy, falling out of the sky without any kind of grace is not the smartest way to ambush us." Jaune winced at her words, though he couldn't deny them. If he had wanted to take them by surprise, he had certainly failed. She was very soft spoken was something he took note of.
"You two heard her," a voice belonging to a blonde man added, a definitive cheer to his words. "Wouldn't want our leader to get upset, would you?"
No one spoke, but all weapons were removed from his presence, even if Raven and Qrow still kept them out and at the ready. The one who they had called their leader approached him carefully and sat down next to him.
"I'm Summer Rose, leader of Team STRQ. What's your name?" she asked of him, now wearing a smile. This was Ruby's mother and Qrow's partner? Summer pulled her hood back as she turned to him, continuing to smile.
"Uh, I'm Jaune Arc," he introduced himself sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as Summer smiled at him, while Raven and Qrow glared at him like he was their worst enemy. Tai, or he assumed it was Tai, said nothing, simply watching him with interest, unlike the hostility the two siblings showed. "First year student at Beacon."
He was a first year student at Beacon, before the school was destroyed. Though, assuming he was correct, he was in the past, so that didn't matter either. Considering Qrow looked younger, and Summer, who should have been dead, was still alive. it wasn't that unlikely. Not less likely than being absorbed into a portal.
"A first year student at Beacon?" Tai asked with interest, now properly joining the conversation. He got closer, allowing Jaune to get a good look, but didn't sit down. He could definitely see a resemblance to Yang. "What's a first year student at Beacon doing out here? It's too early for missions. More importantly, what were you doing falling out of the sky?"
That was a good question. He knew they wouldn't believe him if he said a portal had spit him out, after taking him away from his time. He'd most likely be labelled as mad by them if he tried telling them that.
"I was practicing my landing strategy. It was terrible during Initiation, so I thought I'd better make sure it was up to par, in case I ever needed one again." Jaune explained, trying to hide the nervousness he felt. There was no way he would even stand a remote chance to escape should they find anything he said to be wrong in their eyes. Besides already being ready in case of Raven and Qrow, they were stronger. While he wasn't certain, they looked old enough to have already graduated from Beacon. The only thing that kept him alive currently was Summer.
"That's what you were doing?" Qrow questioned, bursting out in rambunctious laughter, bending over and holding his stomach as he laughed. "It sounds too stupid to be a lie!"
The words were forced out between his bouts of laughter, and Jaune's eye twitched as the man didn't stop. Even Raven, who had been the most tense of the four of them, was smiling, though she quickly hid it behind her hand. Things soon turned serious again, Qrow composing himself.
"We can't prove otherwise, so we'll have to believe your story. For now." Summer spoke for her team, never raising her voice or sounding like she was in charge. The way everyone acted around her told a very different story. She was in charge, just as the rest of them protected her. Tai, Raven and Qrow all stood around her, none of them looking like they wouldn't strike him down should he try something with Summer.
"If you want to keep practicing, we won't stop you," Raven said, glancing at him, before looking away again. "We'll leave you some food and water so you can keep practising, but that's as far as we'll go. Shouldn't you know, closest town is in that direction."
She pointed with her thumb behind her.
"Hey," Qrow piped up, arms crossed a rather serious look on his face. "You never answered my question about how you knew my name. I'm certain we've never met, so you shouldn't possibly know it. Even if were rather well known at Beacon, there's still no reason for you to know it."
Qrow reached for his flask, receiving a big glare from Summer as he took a sip. How some things never changed. Though how he would get himself out of this one, he didn't know. The lie about practicing his landing strategy had barely worked, but what could he tell them now? Using Beacon as an excuse was already gone. Then he figured he might as well test his luck.
"How about we have a spar? If I impress you enough, you drop the question. If I don't, I'll tell you," Jaune suggested with a grin. It was stupid, though better than nothing. And if he failed, the truth would just be considered nonsense by all of them. "So?"
"A first year student against a graduated Huntsman? I don't know if you're stupid, or just tired of life," his teacher in the future responded, reaching for his sword. "I'll have to go easy you, which won't change the fact that I'll beat you easily."
Qrow was still very confident in his skill, and he assumed that he was on the level of a first year student at Beacon. Luckily for him, he was pretty good now after all that training, and he had learnt a little about Qrow's fighting. Looking around, he could see Tai looking excited, Summer looking resigned and Raven just shaking her head. Nothing more was said as they spread out on the open field they were on, the rest of Qrow's team standing to the side, while he stood around lazily, barely looking like was even trying. Jaune knew that it only was part of the truth. The man just tried to bait you in for an easy strike if he knew he was up against a weaker opponent. Which he obviously was. There was no doubt in Jaune's mind that even a younger Qrow could beat him. Didn't meant he wouldn't fight to the best of his ability in order to avoid being labelled as crazy. There was no way that would help him with any further interactions with all of them.
"Ready?" Jaune called out, Crocea Mors and his shield at the ready as he received a nod from Qrow. Rushing in would be a massive failure from his part, so he took it slowly, carefully approaching Qrow while making sure to keep his shield up. Qrow on the other hand was less patient, sprinting in once he noticed Jaune wouldn't make an aggressive move. Once in range, the older huntsman swung his weapon first. Jaune was caught a little off guard by the force behind it, but managed to block the attack with his shield. He swept out with his leg, hoping to trip Qrow, but it failed as his foot met steel. Surprised, Jaune looked down to find Qrow's sword stabbed in the ground.
"Heh, didn't expect that, did you?" his opponent asked cockily, before pulling it out and rapidly starting to attack him. He was left no opening, forced on the defensive as his used his sword and shield to stop anything from hitting him. There was no doubt that Qrow was toying with him, not expecting to ever be challenged. Jaune would prove him wrong, and at least show that he was capable of more than any of them expected from him. Spotting an opening, a sloppy one, he smashed his shield against Qrow's sword. He clearly hadn't expected it, losing his balance as he tumbled backwards. Taking his chance, Jaune bashed his shield against his left shoulder, cutting at his knee, before moving in and headbutting Qrow.
"Hey, the guy's not half bad. Has Beacon improved their first year students that much since we graduated?" Tai wondered, sounding impressed as well, being the first one of the spectators to say something.
"Definitely not. Either he's gotten a lot more training, or he's lying about being a first year student." Raven argued, watching the fight with an intense focus Jaune didn't think was possible.
"Maybe I don't need to go as easy on you as I thought I would." Qrow said, now sounding less like he was just fooling around, and more like he was actually taking this serious. The look in his eyes told Jaune that Qrow was enjoying himself. The man loved a good battle over many things, something Ruby had told him on their journey together. And while he wasn't a true challenge, he would still try his damndest to put a dent in Qrow. They engaged once again, Jaune trying to cut Qrow with the edge of his shield. His attempt was blocked, before a kick to his knee brought him down. Looking up, he could see the sword sailing for him, so he quickly rolled to the side in order to keep his Aura intact. Before he could react, a bullet struck his shoulder, forcing him back to the ground. While it hadn't done any major damage, it still stung, as Qrow had managed to hit him where his armor wasn't reaching. Gritting his teeth, Jaune lashed out with Crocea Mors to create space he could work with, but Qrow avoided his attempt. He pinned his shield arm with his right leg, while preparing to stab him. He smirked as he spat the man in the face, a gasp of surprise escaping him. Not letting the opportunity go to waste, Jaune grabbed the leg pinning his arm and heaved it off with everything he got, Qrow falling to the ground with a grunt of annoyance. Not wasting any time, Jaune got up again, giving Qrow the chance to gather himself as well.
"Are you impressed enough?" Jaune asked, not sure if he wanted to continue his attempt to take on Qrow, or just end it. "Or do I need to pull more tricks out of my hat?"
He definitely wasn't as confident as he sounded, trying to act like he was in control. Qrow was good, even without the experience he had in the future. Now that he thought about it, he had no idea in what year he was. Qrow was younger, probably by a few years. They had even mentioned having graduated, so it couldn't be too long.
"Not yet, though you're on your way to maybe impress me." Qrow responded, grinning like he hadn't seen the man ever do. He clearly was more excited by battling when he was younger. He fired multiple shots at Jaune, which either hit his shield or cut down by his sword. Showing off a level of speed far faster than Jaune had expected, he only managed to bring Crocea Mors up in an awkward position as he parried Qrow's attack. It was a bad parry, and he knew it as he got kicked in the chest. Even through his Aura and armor he felt that, and he was sent flying backwards. Returning his shield to its sheath form, Jaune placed his sword in it and triggered the mechanism that put them together. What he didn't account for was a scythe coming in from above. Adrenaline pumping, he rolled to the side, as the scythe embedded itself into the ground where he had been but a moment ago. Jaune had never seen Qrow use his scythe before, but if he had taught Ruby on how to handle one like she did, he had to be incredible with one.
"Qrow, I think that's enough," Summer spoke up, all smiles as she walked up to her partner and put a hand on his shoulder. Qrow instantly relaxed at her touch. "I didn't think I would see Qrow, even if he was holding back, do anything but win handily. We won't ask you to tell us anything, unless you want to."
Jaune let out a sigh of relief, happily disengaging Crocea Mors from the shield, and instead letting it rest in its sheath. While he knew he could have kept going, pointlessly fighting Qrow wasn't very high on his list of priorities. Smiling at Summer, he nodded his thanks.
"What are you gonna do now?" Tai wondered, approaching him with a thoughtful expression, though it quickly turned into a huge grin. "Gonna keep practicing your landing strategy?"
He glared at the blonde, but didn't bother to respond to the obvious bait. Putting some thought into it, Jaune didn't really know what do. He was told to change things, but not what. He could guess it had to do with Team STRQ. How did he do it though? He needed to get closer to them, and stalking them would definitely have the opposite outcome.
"I don't know. I'm only doing it because I had nothing better to do," he admitted, shrugging after a moment. "Maybe I will stick to practicing."
Most importantly, he needed a way to stick with them for some reason. He had none though, much to his chagrin. If they were on their last mission already, he needed to act fast. Qrow had said that their last mission played a major role in why things went wrong for them.
"You look like you're lost," Summer was the one to speak, concern in her voice as well as visible on her face. "If you're looking to get anywhere, here's a map."
She handed him a map, with two bigger circles drawn onto it. Studying it closer, he recognized that they were in Mistral.
"The direction I pointed in earlier takes you to a town that has Bullheads going to the City of Mistral," Raven continued, already packing a bag with food and water for him. "This should be enough to not get you hungry or anything."
Jaune accepted the bag offered to him. Taking a quick glance inside, he couldn't say that Raven only gave him the minimum. This could last him many hours. Once he looked back up, he could already see Tai, Raven and Qrow walking in the direction of the village highlighted on the map.
"It was nice meeting you, Jaune." Summer said, giving him a small wave as she ran over to her waiting teammates. It didn't take long before all of them were out of sight. What now? He could follow them, but if they came across him, he wouldn't be able to explain himself. Scratching his head, Jaune decided that going to Mistral wouldn't be a terrible idea. Hopefully he could ask around for a bit of information there, and figure out how far back in time he had been sent. If he was lucky, someone might have interacted with the team, and knew what they were doing. Starting to walk, he knew he had a long walk ahead of him.
He had been sent 20 years into the past. Which meant it only was a years before he, and most of his friends, were born. The fact that Qrow had already been this strong at this just told him how good he actually was. Maybe him considering themselves the best team to ever from Beacon wasn't completely unfounded. He found less success in learning anything about STRQ, as no one he asked so far had seen them.
"Last chance." Jaune muttered, letting out a sigh as he approached the one bar he hadn't been to yet. He had started at the bottom, in hopes of that maybe they had passed through the lower levels, but they hadn't. Now he had been exploring the main part of the city, knowing he wouldn't gain entry into the upper levels. And he doubted that they had been there either. Pushing the door open, Jaune took in the life that filled the bar. It was already evening, after his walk took him multiple hours alone, and his exploration took him another few hours.
"Welcome!" a bartender called out happily, serving someone sitting at the bar at the same time. Putting on a smile, Jaune walked over to the counter, leaning on his elbows as he waited for the bartender to move over to him. He probably needed to order something if he even planned on having a chance, because he didn't think he would be welcome if he only wasted the bartender's time without ordering anything. Finally the man came over. "What'll it be?"
"Some orange juice, if you wouldn't mind." Jaune said, having no plans on drinking something alcoholic after what Qrow offered him. He would most likely not even be served anything alcoholic, since he wasn't of age yet. He watched the man fetch a glass, before picking up an orange from a bowl and pressing the juice out of it with the help of a machine. Jaune's eyes lit up as the glass of freshly pressed orange juice was placed in front of him.
"There you go, lad," the bartender spoke, accepting the Lien Jaune handed over without any issues. "If you don't mind me asking, what's someone of your age doing in a bar like this? We're not a club that you kids usually like to visit."
This was his chance, so he really hoped he would get something out of his visit here. At least he got himself some orange juice. It had been forever since he gotten anything but the usual stuff you bought in a store.
"I was actually hoping to get some information," Jaune admitted with a shrug and a weak smile, taking another sip. The bartender looked intrigued, so he continued. "I'm trying to find something about a team that I encountered earlier today. They do stand out."
The bartender rubbed his chin before his eyes lit up.
"Woman with a white hood and another with a huge katana, together with two men?" he asked, and Jaune perked up immediately. Finally!
"Yeah, exactly," Jaune noted, leaning closer as he spoke excitedly. "Do you know anything?"
"It was a few days ago, so I don't remember everything, but I do remember they were on a mission. Some village that needed protection from Grimm," the man said, nodding along with his own words. "From what I understood they were pretty experienced, so I'm unsure why Haven didn't just send a team of students to deal with it. Seemed like sending an experienced team for a simple Grimm attack was a bit too much."
Jaune took the information presented to him in. Was this the mission Qrow had talked about? It had to be, but how did a simple mission like this lead to team issues? He had no idea, though it was a start, but now he knew what he needed to do.
"Do you know if there's a fast way to get to this village from here?" Jaune asked, showing the bartender the map and pointing at the village he talked about. While walking was fine, if he could get quicker, so much the better.
"There should be a Bullhead going there twice per day. I think if you hurry up, you might still be able to catch it. It leaves at nine as far as I know." Jaune pulled out his scroll and checked the time. He only had ten minutes left, and he didn't know where the docks were!
"Where do I need to go?" he emptied his glass after getting the words out, already standing up as he waited for the directions.
"If you just go straight down the street from here, you'll find yourself on the main street. Go right again and you should spot a sign soon enough." the bartender explained, Jaune only noticing that he shook his head as he rushed out. Helping Qrow and the others on their mission gave him a passable excuse to stick around with them, assuming they let him. Following the directions given to him, he did find himself on the main street. Keeping up his high pace, he barely avoided running someone over, a few angry words being thrown at him. Then he spotted the sign. Running as fast as he could, he stopped in front of a noteboard. Finding the location of the Bullhead he wanted to take, he hurried over there, signs telling him where to go. The Bullhead was still there. Calming down, Jaune walked up to the Bullhead, seeing the pilot lean against its side. He got spotted.
"I thought no one would come, leaving me without work," the pilot spoke, jerking his head in the direction of the cockpit. "You can ride up front, since no one else is around. Haven't spoken to anyone for the majority of the day, so the company is welcome."
Jaune didn't mind, the pilot unlocking the door for him, before moving over to his own side of the cockpit. Both of them got themselves quickly seated, the Bullhead's engine starting up.
"Not many people fly to the village?" Jaune asked with interest. He assumed it was pretty small, which would explain the lack of people taking the Bullhead out there.
"It varies. Some days a lot more go out there, and some days, like today, it's very uneventful," the pilot responded, seemingly not bothered by the lack of busy days. Maybe he didn't mind doing nothing. "Got a specific reason for wanting to go there?"
"I met a team while in the area, and they told me they were going there," Jaune said, deciding that just telling the truth wouldn't hurt. He didn't like to go out of his way and lie, especially if there wasn't a reason. "I learnt that they were there to defend it from Grimm while at a bar, so I thought I'd go there and see if I could help. I had nothing better to do anyway."
His answer was accepted without much debate, and the two of them fell in silence, Jaune watching the ground move pass them out of the window. It didn't take long until the way the village came into view, its lights clearly visible. That's when he spotted something he had not expected, and something that had him nearly jump out of his seat.
"Damn it, looks like you're late to the party!" the pilot called out, his head turning as he obviously tried to take everything in. "Shit, Nevermore incoming!"
Jaune's eyes shot wide open as a large Nevermore was flying straight at them, its beak letting out a terrifying screech. He barely managed to grab the armrest as the Bullhead dropped, the Nevermore racing past overhead. A huge amount of Grimm was surrounding the village, many already inside it.
"I need to get down there, now!" Jaune shouted, getting out of his seat as fast as he possibly could. "I'll jump out!"
Jaune ignored the pilot's somewhat surprised look, though he quickly composed himself as he started to lower the Bullhead to a height where a jump would be feasible to pull off. He heard the ramp open, air rushing in.
"Everything's clear!" he barely acknowledged the words as he quickly moved to his exit. "Good luck!"
Taking a deep breath, Jaune looked out over the village, the Grimm being the only moving mass that he could see. There was no way that Qrow and the others weren't there. Then he started to sprint, jumping out of the Bullhead, spreading his arms and legs apart and letting the air catch him. This time, he was ready for the fall, and it was even lower than back then, so he drew Crocea Mors and activated the shield, bracing himself for the impact. Even at the lower height, he felt it, though his armor and Aura took the brunt of it, leaving him with a short recovery time. He could see the Bullhead getting smaller and smaller fast. Jaune tried to pick up any sounds that would lead him to anyone, but the noise the Grimm made that impossible. He just need to move and hope he found one of the four team members. The first Beowolf in his vicinity spotted him, not hesitating to leap for him. Had this been at the start of his time at Beacon, he would have been dead. Now he was far stronger, cutting the Grimm in half mid-air. There were too many to form any kind of strategy, Beowolves, Ursas and the likes all coming for him. He cut down all of them, avoiding damage to the best of his ability. Pushing on, he spotted a flash of red. Willing himself to move even faster, he didn't need much longer to find Raven cutting down the Grimm like they were nothing. Jaune froze as a King Taijitu appeared behind Raven, who seemed to be too occupied with all the other Grimm to notice it. One of the heads moved in to strike.
"No!" Jaune ran as fast as he possibly could could, praying to anything out there that he would be able to get between it and Raven in time. He lifted his shield, prepared to block and screamed. "RAVEN!"
I honestly didn't expect to get this out this fast, but hey, I did. While I said I plan to update between 2 and 4 weeks, something coming earlier isn't impossible. It taking longer than 4 weeks should never happen though.
Hopefully my portrayals of the STRQ members came across well. While Qrow isn't too different, I'm gonna have fun with Raven, whereas Summer never having appeared in the show and Tai being very barebones allows for lots of playing room with them.
As always, I hope you enjoyed the read, and any review is appreciated! Until next time, where a big battle awaits!