Chipped Sapphire and Brewing Hellfire

by lordofire

Jaune himself was young, inexperienced, dense, but filled with so much potential. Sauron was old, determined, observant, and had reached the peak of his strength in ages long past. With warring factions, a growing darkness, and ancient magic at work, it'll take the old world's evil to stop the current one. Throw in a clumsy knight and you have one fantastic adventure ahead.

2. Machinations Begin

Got a whole lot more love and attention than I thought I would. Thanks for all the love you've guys sent me. Here's chapter two and hopefully more intense than last chapter.

Chapter Edit: Due to the many reviews and PMs about my grammar and spelling, I went back and attempted to fix them all. If I didn't please let me know. Otherwise I could use a beta.

Jaune sighed as the smoothie chilled him down from the intense training session he had from Sauron. His legs, arms, and back felt like lead. Hell, he was a heap of lifeless lead at this point. However, the soft couch he was sitting in, and the nice air conditioning of the Hub, a local café he was rather fond of, brought some life back into him. Not to mention the rather delicious strawberry smoothie he and Sauron had decided on. It was between a regular vanilla shake, and a disgustingly green drink with a name he couldn't pronounce.

Sauron had said it translated to "Leaves of the Earth." Safe to say Jaune had decided on the strawberry refreshment.

Training itself wasn't horrible. Just tiring. Sauron had made it a point to make Jaune block with his shield and swing his sword properly hundred of times. He said it was good practice for the real thing. Not to mention when Sauron had instructed for him to stay in rather peculiar stances, had left Jaune with several painful cramps. Sauorn had pleaded he would learnt he purpose of them soon enough, even when he continued to complain of human frailty.

The effect made Jaune feel somewhat good about himself, but everything was sore. At this point, however, Sauron was complaining more then him.

'Damn your mortal frailty. The Elves were gifted were a natural tact to battle and perfect bodies. Why is man so weak!' Sauron grumbled as Jaune reclined further into the couch of the café they had stopped at. The Hub was close to home and had some of the best frozen treats in Canvas.

'Well I don't see any elves walking around. Do you?'

That got a laugh out of Sauron. 'No I don't. No I don't. Now drink more of that delicate elixir. It is quite pleasurable.'

Jaune rolled his eyes as he took another sip from the delicious, and chilling strawberry smoothie. He mimicked Sauron's groan of delight. It was a really good smoothie after all. And there was a certain...feeling of content that smothered Jaune. Spending time with Sauron...wasn't horrible. He wasn't loud, most of the time, or mean, most of the time. And he did help him train to become a Hunter.

'Thank you. For all this Sauron. Means a lot to me.'

Sauron snorted. 'Whatever you say welp. This for my survival afterall. If you die, I lose the prize of our wager. Now drink more.'

'I could if I would, but were all out.' Jaune thought back, as he held the empty glass to eye view. Sauron grumbled in despair, as he saw only vestiges of their fruity beverage. Sauron conjured an image of a filled glass of pureed strawberries. It looked so tempting. So cold and sweet.

'Nice try. But we should get home. Mom will get worried.' Sauron grumbled with disapproval, but did nothing to stop Jaune. He got up from the couch, his body and Sauron protesting at every movement. Jaune seriously needed to get some pain killers when he got home. He made his way to the exit of the café, but unfortunately a certain event caught his eye.

"Come on babe. Come with the us for a wild night.", a tall, young man said to a small girl with pink and brown hair, with a matching parasol next to her. He was grizzly and from the disturbing smell emanating from him, clearly inebriated by alcohol. Two other men flanked him, leering down at the girl. Jaune eyed a bar, from across the street, and noted how the door was swinging on its hinges. They must have obviously come from their, and unwittingly made their way to the Hub.

The man behind the register, gave them a look of annoyance, and had quickly barked at them to get out. In their drunken haze, however, they were unaffected by his commanding tone. Seeing them unaffected by his harsh command, and instead glaring at him, the cashier's confidence shattered and he dove behind his counter for protection.

All the while the girl just continued to eat her ice cream. Not even batting an eye at them, though she did spare the cowardly cashier a look of disbelief. That seemingly upset the trio of rude and intrusive drunkards.

"Think you are hot shit? Think you're better than us? We'll show you, you bitch.", he hissed as he raised his hand above his head, with the clear intention of swinging it down on the girl. The cashier gave a gasp of disbelief, and he seemingly began to move to do something, before a loud voice stopped them all.

"Hey! Leave her alone!"

The lead harasser abruptly turned towards the source of the voice, his drunken eyes narrowing dangerouly. The cashier could only look at him in shock, his head peeking out from behind the counter.

It took both Sauron and Jaune several moments to realize it was Jaune who had shouted. And a cloud of dread came over them. Most of the patrons of the café could only stare at him in disbelief. The cashier, who had wisely hid behind the counter, was shaking and his were eyes peeking out from counter top. His bravado had apparently run out.

'Why did I say that?'

'Why did you say that?' Sauron parroted as the trio of drunkards turned towards him. The girl herself looked at him, spoon in mouth, with a look of surprise. Hopefully this was worth it.

"What you say One-Eye?" The lead guy barked as he stumbled over towards him. He had a few inches on Jaune, and he seemed to be in good physical shape. Jaune felt fear roll into him, before he and Sauron stomped it out. Apparently Sauron didn't like the title.

'Think clearly Jaune. Find a solution that won't lead us into conflict. Choose your words wisely.' Despite Sauron really needing to work on his pep talks, the affect was still there and courage filled Jaune.

"I said to leave her alone, you drunken scum.", Jaune said defiantly, looking straight up into the clouded eyes of his harasser. He withheld the reflex to twitch his eye has Sauron began to curse his name.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" Sauron hissed as the drunkard's two lackeys stumbled next to him. While still under the influence, this confrontation could lead to Jaune being seriously injured, and that meant a lot of pain for the both of them.

'I don't what or why I'm doing this. We just got to get the girl out of here.' Jaune bit back. He eyed the girl from behind the drunken man and gave her a nod of his head. She nodded back and rose from her seat, gripping her parasol. Good, at least she was safe. Now to focus on the current threat.

'Damn your morals! We're going into a battle that we could lose with horrible consequences.'

'Just shut up and help me out will you?'

"And what are you going to do One-Eye?" He questioned and before Jaune could answer wittingly or do anything for that matter, the drunkard swung his left arm. Jaune's eye widened as the fist came closer, not capable of following Sauron's direction of dodging.

Jaune's body was thrown back several inches from the blow, clearly not ready for things to get so violent that quickly. Ignoring the pain in his cheek, Jaune looked up and saw that his attacker was preparing to strike him again. Sauron and Jaune both growled, a mixture of pain, and anger.

'Dodge to your right, then attack. Find a weak spot.'

It was automatic, the both of them unaware of what was happening. Jaune's vision, even impaired with the eyepatch, cleared and he focused on the now noticeably slow swing. His body shifted to the right, and the fist sailed by his face. His senses were on edge and what felt like electricity coursed through him, at the prospect of narrowly avoiding the punch. His heart felt like fire, and it began to beat faster and faster.

Jaune's one eye narrowed and noted of how his attacker had swung too far. He was open for an attack, and his mind, addled by whatever he had drank, wasn't functioning at full capacity.

'Now.' Sauron urged and Jaune agreed full heartedly. His fist clenched into a fist and he swung with his right arm, despite how sore and tired it was previously. Adrenaline filled him with energy, and his fist sunk deep into the stomach of his attacker. It was firm, not from muscle, but from a full stomach of alcohol and whatever food he had consumed previously. He could feel the air be pushed out from his opponent, as Jaune quickly disengaged, ready to swing again. There was no need for that however.

The drunkard fell to his knees, painful retches and coughs emnanting from him. One final retch, and what was probably his dinner was emptied onto the cafés floor, and the crowd groaned with disgust and horror. Jaune wisely turned away from the scene, the smell alone almost making him gag. From the sound of something solid hitting something liquid, Jaune deduced that the man had fallen into the pool of his own vomit.

He could hear the cashier groan in disgust at such a mess he was probably going to clean.

'Be ready, his minions will not take his defeat lightly, be prepared to defend yourself-...' Sauron himself stopped in amazement as he and Jaune marveled at the sight in front of them. Jaune could, feel his one eye widen in shock.

The two other harassers laid in a heap on the ground, groaning from pain and whatever punshiment their attacker had in store for them. And on top of them was the pink and brown haired girl, who in one hand twirled her parasol and in the other, held a cone with a scoop of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. She eyed him and gave a smirk, bordering on vicious. A sense of fear filled him.

'We may have misjudged this girl. Be wary around her.' Sauron warned. She placed her parasol on top of her beaten foes, and rose up elegantly, as if she had gotten up from a throne. Her heels clicked menacingly as she strode forward towards him, making sure to give her ice cream cone a good lick, making shivers go done Jaune's spine.

'This feeling is...odd. It isn't fear. It's a form of...excitement?'

'I don't know. But I'm scared.'

'So am I. So am I.'

The short woman stood before him, and Jaune never realized until now that she had two different colors for her pupils. Brown and pink, which matched her hair. They assessed him, her pupils sharp and analyzing, ghosting over him with a practiced ease. This woman was dangerous, no matter how short she was. Several more seconds passed before she smiled at him and held out her hand to him.

He blinked at it for several moments, before he slowly took it and began shaking it. If it was possible, her smile grew even longer. Well at least he should introduce himself.

'Be wary of what you reveal to her. You don't know what faction she serves. She may want to harm you.' Sauron warned him as Jaune prepared his greeting.

'Why would she want to hurt me? I just met her.' Jaune asked his mental companion. Weren't most girls supposed to be nice and kind? Perhaps with his exposure to his sisters, his perspective and experience with women was rather limited.

"The names Jaune. Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. And the lad-" With a grunt, Jaune was flung to the floor, and soon he found himself face down, and with his arm twisted behind his back. A low groan of pain escaped him. This had certainly changed things up.

'Well this turned around really quick.' Jaune voiced as the tension on his arm grew more intense. Dad had lied to him! All he said was that he needed confidence and he would be fine with the girls.

'The female members of the mortal races have always been a pain in my side.' Sauron grumbled in pain. Jaune recalled him telling of how Galadriel, Lady of Lothlorien had always resisted agaisnt his forces and intentions. He also remembered to mention when the Lady of the Plains, along with a Hobbit, had slain his second in command, the Witch King.

That had been a low blow to all of Mordor, and his defeat could be traced to the Witch King's death.

'But I think her intentions have confused you. I think this is a test. Now pass it.' Sauron ordered. Jaune wanted to argue, but he trusted his companion's vastly superior experience. Jaune grunted, and with his free hand he began to push himself up from the ground.

With his sudden movement, a basic attempt to free himself, the girl on top of him hopped off, releasing his arm in the process. Jaune stood up, and despite how much his body hurt from the scuffle with her, he prepared to fight her again. His fist and posture fell into a fighting form that he had often seen on movies he watched on his scroll.

She looked at him, with what Jaune assumed, to be sincere surprise. Then that vicious smirk replaced again. She nodded at him before she pointed with her hand towards her still neatly formed ice cream cone.

Jaune gave her a look as she pointed towards the vanilla scoop in the middle of her ice cream cone. She looked at him expectantly, as Jaune began to decipher what she was trying to say. Wouldn't it have been better for her to actually talk to him?

'Look at her neck carefully, I do believe she is incapable of speech.' Sauron suggested. Jaune narrowed his eye, and found indeed there was an edge of a scar on the bottom of her neck, just peeking out, almost covered by her clothing. The scarred skin was incredibly pale, compared to her fair skin.

"Can you talk?" Jaune asked, rather bluntly. The girl actually stepped back in surprise, before she nodded in what seemed in disbelief.

"Are you trying to tell me your name?"

She nodded, and she redoubled her efforts in pointing at her ice cream cone. Jaune made sure to scrutinize the exact flavor she was pointing to.

"Vanilla?'

She shook her head.

"Chocolate?"

She looked at him with disgust, and she shook her head again. Jaune had to agree. Having a name like Chocolate would be torturous for someone.

"Strawberry?"

Once again she shook her head and, and she let off a sigh of great frustration. With a n energetic display with her hand she began to reference all the flavors on her ice cream cone.

'I do believe she is trying to express for you to combine the flavors together. But I do not believe I've heard a name like Vanillachocolatestrawberry.' Sauron voiced, and with his rather poor attempt to help Jaune figure out her name, it did make a light bulb go off in his head.

"Is it Neopolitan?" This time his answer was met with an eager nod, but before either of them could do anything a voice cut them off.

"She prefers Neo, but kudos to you Kid. You earned yourself a pat on the back.", the voice was smooth, sharp, and held a practiced ease to it. Loud, ominous foot steps sounded behind him, and Jaune turned his head to find the source of the voice.

'This mortal at least knows how to dress properly. You could take a few lessons from him.' Sauron muttered in his mind, and Jaune internally scowled.

'What's wrong with what I wear?' Jaune asked. What did Sauron know about fashion? Hadn't he spent most of his existence as a giant flaming eye?

'It is hardly suitable for a warrior. You need metal armor, sturdy yet able to be moved in. We will talk later of what would be needed if we are to succeed in our primary objective.'

A man, sharply dressed in a white suit, black pants, and a rather stylish bowler hat. He walked over to them with easy steps, a prominent, silver cane in one hand and Neo's parasol in the other. He wore an easy smirk on his face, and the way he moved sent shivers of fear through Jaune.

'This man is very dangerous. Be on guard.' Sauron warned him. Jaune full heartedly agreed. This man walked like a hunter, and a strong one if evident by his confidence and his easiness around him. But Jaune did admit, the man knew how to dress.

"Nice to meet you Kiddo. Saw how you helped out my partner from those drunken neandrathals. Thought I'd thank you personally.", He said, and quick as a flash threw Neo's parasol back at her. She didn't even flinch as she caught it with one hand. The man turned back to Jaune and held out his hand to him regally. It was obvious he wanted Jaune to shake it, but after his experience with Neo the prospect of shaking hands made him weary.

'Good to see you that you're learning. But I do believe a man as sharply dressed as him wouldn't intend to hurt you.' Sauron reasoned. Jaune hesitantly stuck his hand out, and to his great surprise and joy he did not receive pain for shaking his hand.

"What's your name kid?" The bowler hat wearer asked, as he retracted his hand. He gave Jaune a glance over with his green eyes, yet they seem to rest on his eye patch. Jaune had nearly forgotten he still had it on.

"Jaune. Jaune Arc."

The man raised an eyebrow at that, but did not pursue with another question. Instead he deftly took off his hat and with a bow he introduced himself.

"Roman Torchwick at your service.", he introduced himself. The man was eccentric and flamboyant, but he had made a lasting impression on Sauron and Jaune.

"So may I ask, my dear Arc, what are you doing out on such a day?" Roman asked as he sat himself in a nearby chair from the outside booths that the Hub offered. He placated his hand in a gesture as he offered Jaune the seat, which he took. Neo took the last seat, and she allowed herself to not interfere in the conversation.

'Careful of what you reveal. Subtly will do us good.' Sauron warned him.

"Oh I was just training to be a Hunter, and I stopped by the Dojo to train.", Jaune explained. He almost winced from the storm of outrage bellowing from Sauron.

'Why did Eru put me with the most disappointing mortal that he could?'

'Why did he have to put me with the most stuck up and arrogant being in existence!?'

"Didn't know they had Hunters out here in Canvas teaching kids.", Roman said as he glanced over to Neo, who shook her head at him, both unaware of the mental war going on in Jaune's head.

"Nah, it's just me practicing some sword forms.", Jaune answered. He wouldn't exactly call Sauron a 'person'. He'd just say he was above them or something.

'You are right. I am a Maiar, greatest of Eru's creation. I am indeed above you foolish mortal.' Sauron bit back, and Jaune assumed he must have slowly began to lose his mind as he wasn't even perturbed by the thought that Sauron had once agin read his mind. But Sauron's constant insults and boast were gratting on him.

'I don't see you with the body now do I? And if your so mighty how'd you lose to begin with?' Jaune angrily spoke back.

'Insufferable brat. How dare you! I've met and killed men greater then you can ever be! Such disrespect for a being far more glorious than you! My VERY existence denotes that I am superior!' Sauron roared in anger, and Jaune's mind was soon filed with hellfire. The sudden pain, the sudden hurt, and with the sudden realization that they were being watched, Jaune automatically began to cough to cover up his rather odd behavior.

"You alright kid?" Roman asked as Jaune fought to keep his pain from showing. Neo herself showed her surprise with a rather expressive face.

"Yeah just my throat started acting up.", Jaune lied as the pain embed away, seemingly the tantrum Sauron had thrown had died down. The burning resentment was still there, like a hot brand against his head. The storm of anger was still there, destroying itself and its surroundings with its very existence.

"Well I was going to offer you to train you myself. A reward for helping out Neo. What you say?" Roman asked, a kind smile on his face. Jaune blinked in surprise before he enthusiacially agreed to it.

"Really? Thanks! When and where?" He asked excitedly, and even Sauron growled in approval, though he did not voice it.

"Just at that Dojo place. And why not ten? I'll teach you a thing or two." Roman asked as he stood up, Neo in tow. Jaune stood up along with them, even for the sake of not being the odd man out.

"It's best we head off before it gets too late. I'll see you at the Dojo at ten sharp, kid. Only neadrathals arrive late, and I'd like to think you're a more civilized person of a more civilized age." The well dressed man said as he and Neo began to walk away, Neo giving him a friendly hand wave to express her farewell.

Jaune's eyes widened as out of the Hub's main door, stumbled the same drunkard who Jaune had knocked the dinner out of. He obviously was still inebriated, because as soon as he saw Neo, he moved to intercept her. He was still wobbly, and he was still clutching his stomach on the are where Jaune had punched him, but despite that he still thought moved to confront her.

Roman didn't even spare him a glance as his cane shot, a spinning wheel of shining silver, before it landed quite harshly on the man's crotch. The drunkard keeled over immediately, his form curling into itself subconsciously. The cane soon found itself by Roman's side, as if it hadn't been used as a weapon moments before.

"Philistine.", Roman snorted as he and Neo walked by, not sparing the man a look. Jaune himself gave the drunkard a look of sympathy before he started his way home. The man only groaned in pain.

X.

"Interesting friend you made Neo.", Roman teased his partner. She only gave him an angry pout before she childishly turned her head. Despite being a trained assassin, she could be such a child about certain things. Like ice cream or boys.

"I'm not saying I don't approve. It's a refreshing thought that there are still glimmers of chivalry in our crumbling world.", he answered truthfully. Even if Neo could have killed all three of those drunken animals within swing of her parasol, it was still nice to find someone willing to help. And Roman wouldn't be lying if the boy didn't interest him.

Neo gave him a stare before she huffed and moved ahead of him. He smirked at that. Sometimes she was too easy to tease. Her little crush on her savior was almost too good to be true. Only a heartless woman wouldn't have some postive feelings for a man who stood up for them and their honor.

Jaune Arc was an unintentional mystery. Of course Roman had heard about the infamous defenders of the frontier, all members of the family powerful Hunters or rising to become Hunters. To start trouble in this town, meant dealing with the whole family, and Roman was no fool. Even he could not take on an entire family of Hunters. Well cleanly that is.

Then there comes Jaune Arc, the one Arc that he had never heard of. The boy was clearly apart of the family, evidence being of his blonde hair, and one blue eye. The other was covered by an eyepatch, but the boy seemed unaffected by his loss of vision. It was like he could see through it.

Quite the enigma indeed, and part of his interest in the boy was due to how little he knew of him. The other part was due to entertainment. It had been a while since Roman had done something for his desires. His...employer had seen to him having very little time to himself.

Being sent to Canvas was a godsend on its own. The town was clean, nice, and had all the amenities a man of his stature could hope for. Not to mention one of his businesses lay nearby, willing to give him any nessecary nesseceties and information that he needed for his line of work. It was definitely up there in the places he had been sent to for missions, and Neo was flourishing among all the sweet shops. For Roman he was just glad for air conditioning. Not to mention one of his fine establishments had been posted here, even if the cashier was a coward. Sully would learn.

But speaking of employers.

"You're late." A hooded figure remarked as he and Neo neared an alleyway. The figure was short, not as short as Neo bless her, but Roman still had a couple of inches on her. Not that height mattered in an actual fight. But even with the hood obscuring her face, Roman eyed several laces of green hair peeking out. So the boss had sent thenthief to give him his next mission? The irony wasn't lost on him.

"Here. This scroll attachment contains your mission debriefing, objectives, and reward for completion. She expects it to be completed within a week. We will be in touch.", and with a crack of light she disappeared from view. Damn illusions.

Roman gave a snort before he pulled out his scroll and attached the accessory to it. Immediately a form was pulled up and within its words was his mission. Neo peeked over and her face turned into grimace. Roman himself couldn't hide the distaste from such a mission.

"Damn Necromancer."

X.

Sauron was oddly quiet as Jaune progressed through the rest of his day. He was silent when he walked home. He was silent as Jaune took a short nap. He was silent even when dinner came around. Well as silent as he could be as Sauron and Jaune enjoyed the taste of soft, succulent pork flank, a salad of fresh, crisp greens, a bed of pearly white grains, and an entire loaf of freshly baked bread. An occasional groan of pleasure came out his still angry mental companion as they fell upon the hot food, but was quickly followed by a growl of frustration.

'Damn you mortals and your increasingly good food. Damn Eru for making me feel taste.' Sauron growled in anger and hummed with delight as Jaune sunk his teeth into a particularly succulent piece of pork. Jaune greedily chewed the piece, like that of a Beowolf, before he eagerly tore a warm piece of bread apart.

'Talking now huh?' Jaune mumbled to Sauron as he spooned a heaping of salad into his mouth.

'Yes I decided I would be the mature of the two of us and actually face the problem.' Sauron responded, although there was a certain distaste for the salad. Jaune agreed. He was never one for greens.

'And what is exactly the problem?'

'Don't play dumb. There is a distinct...difference between you and I and I wish sort it out.' Sauron explained as Jaune finished the rest of his meal. He unconsciously rose from his seat, years of living under the Arc roof training him to grab his plate and put it in the sink.

'And what exactly are you going to sort out?' Jaune asked. He quickly climbed the stairs, completely oblivious of the stares that his family was giving him. His room would be the best place for this discussion.

'I will not beat around the figurative bush. I find you insufferably weak, naive, and possess no form of confidence in ones self. What I found most disturbing is that you have more confidence in me rather than yourself.' Sauron critiqued and Jaune felt himself deflate at the undeniably true statement. But he wasn't going to take it lying down. Unknowingly, Jaune had changed within the twenty four hours he had spent with Sauron. All of it for the better.

'I don't know why he put me with a failure of a Dark Lord. Who, despite losing his body a millennium ago, is a braggart over nothing.' Jaune bit back, and he could feel Sauron recoil. It wasn't anger but...acceptance?

'You're right, I did lose. But I still have accomplishments to my name. Unlike you.' And before Jaune could answer back, he spoke again.

'Eru must have not thought this through. What could an untrained, weak, boy hope to against the darkness that blights the kingdom? You obviously couldn't beat this darkness on sheer will power alone. And I don't see you with a weapon.' Sauron said, and Jaune felt anger return to him.

'You're no better! At least I have a body! At least I haven't lost twice against the so called "inferior" mortals.' Jaune angrily thought back. He could feel Sauron reel back, but the anger this time did not come forth. Instead a foreign feeling was communicated towards Jaune, and he wasn't quite sure what it truly was.

'And what do you suggest we do then? What can us weaklings hope to do against this world? I already failed twice, and you don't have the nessecary skills to survive in this world.'

'There's only one option for us then. We work together.' Jaune reasoned. He had already given this option a chance just yesterday, and seemingly Sauron had responded by make Jaune participate in a wager that involved his soul.

'And why should I work with you? You're excruciatingly weak.' Sauron reasoned. That was also the same explanation that he had given the previous night, but Jaune pursued his reasoning with abandon.

'Yeah we already have gone over this, but look what we did today! We beat that drunk guy and we managed to get me a teacher! And we did it together!' Jaune exclaimed with internal excitement. 'And I couldn't have done without you.'

Sauron remained silent, before he spoke up again. 'Are you saying you rather have that Roman fellow train you rather than me?'

Jaune blinked before he quickly responded. 'Are you jealous?'

He felt Sauron sputtered or as close to sputtering a Maiar could do. Unknown feelings flooded his head, and Jaune had no intention to go through all the work to identify them.

'And why, fool, would I be jealous of a weakling like you being trained by someone else?' Sauron grumbled. He would never admit to Jaune how hurt he was when he favored the well dressed Roman over the training the Maiar had given. The hurt was obviously from watching such idiocy play out.

'Whatever, but the point still stands, we work better together rather than against each other.'

Sauron remained silent as he pondered Jaune's reasoning. Jaune himself waited on a baited breath. This could change the relationship between the two of them for the duration of their bonded souls. Hopefully Sauron could see reason.

'Are you trying to get out of the wager for our soul?' Damn the Maiar and his greed.

'Why do you want our soul so bad? You already own it. You just have to share with me.' Honestly Jaune couldn't see the point. Living with seven sisters had given him a unique persecptive on ownership. Too bad Sauron didn't share the same sentiment as Jaune.

'Allow me to explain it slowly. I. Want. It. For. Myself. Please tell me that your mortal mind can comprehend such words. How am I suppose to rule Arda with a mortal body?'

'Good thing I have an answer. You won't. I won't let you conquer my world.' Jaune defended.

'So it would seem. So it would seem. It matters not. Soon I will win the wager, and you'll finally see the world for what the ugly, horrible place it is.'

'And I'll show you that our world is fine the way it is. You don't need to change it. Just some of the people.'

Jaune felt Sauron freeze. It was if the usual fiery presence of his Maiar companion in his left eye, which at this point had become a comforting presence, diminish. As if someone had taken away his fuel.

'Say that again.'

'Pardon?'

'Say what you said about people. Say it again!' Sauron roared but not in anger. In need. He needed to hear those words from Jaune. His very way of thinking was being challenged and he needed the proof to settle it.

'The world isn't what needs to be changed. Its perfect the way it is. It isn't ugly. It is imperfect. But so are people. If you want find to find something to change, change the people. They're always looking around for something that's different from them. They have to prove that they're better. In fact an entire war was done because of that. Just because they were different. And I mean it's stupid! Who cares if they have something different about them! We're all the same. We're all equal.' Jaune explained, and he could only feel proud from declaring his ideal for the world.

His moment of pride only lasted for a moment, before Sauron began laughing at him. His confidence shattered and he deflated. Being laughed at was something that would always break Jaune.

'You are far more naive then when I first imagined. And what happens when you find someone who's ideal challenges your own?' Sauron questioned, and this time Jaune froze. This time his outlook on the world was being tested.

'If they're half as stubborn as you, they will fight tooth and nail in what they believe in. And knowing others, their ideals, their conviction is far stronger than yours. In this world, ideals only get you as far as strength. When they're as strong as their ideals, then of course they're going to think they are superior to you. And they are. This world is balanced by strength and strength alone. The superior ones will stomp and eat the inferior ones. It was like that in my age, and will last through your age.' Sauron explained.

Jaune shuddered and fought back with every ounce of his being. It wasn't fair. What if someone wasn't strong enough to stand on their own! Each person had the right to fight in what they believed in! Everyone deserved to live in a fair world.

'I agree. But the world isn't fair. But it wouldn't be fair if it was fair to everyone. No I see the error of my ways now. Even if I made everyone equal, even if I made this world perfect, it would always be imperfect. All my attempts of perfecting the world have been always fruitless. Quite the disappointing revelation.'

They both sat in relative silence as they allowed for their morale to recover. Within a span of ten minutes, both the ideals, both the visions of an ages old Maiar and a young, hopeful man. Sauron's age old perspective of the world, which saw it as an ugly, wasteful, place had already been challenged within the day. He had already developed a positivity with the world, despite his previous hatred to it. Jaune had done an effective job of showing him the good of the world.

Jaune himself, felt his own drive crumble. What could his actually dream do to change the world? For someone as powerful, old, and as wise as Sauron to laugh at his own ideal had utterly crushed Jaune. He must have known much more of the world and what it had to offer, then Jaune could ever hope of knowing.

But both were stubborn. Unnaturally so. Driven and loyal to their cause. They would not bend so easily.

Just as Eru had planned.

'This world will need to be changed.'

'For the better. A world where ideals and strength can always be found. Where people cannot be crushed so easily. '

'Perhaps when we complete our task, we can change the world the way we see fit.'

'But not alone. We're weak alone.' Jaune hinted. And this time he felt no anger from Sauron. Just grim understanding.

'Together?' Jaune held his breath at the proposition. If Sauron rejected the notion now, he didn't know a better oppurtunity to bring it up again.

'Together.' Agreed Sauron.

This was by no means a covenant, pact, agreement, or contract. No this was a simple agreement. An agreement that held great promise for the future between the two.

X.

Beneath the still conversing Jaune and Sauron, another massively important conversation was taking place. This time between the Arc family. It was a stalwart argument between the children of Matthias and Savannah Arc, and Ignis and Savannah themselves. Each side held an equally strong view and argument and both sides were not giving.

"Give him a chance! He's always dreamed of being a hunter!" Diamond shouted at her parents who held their ground against their eldest.

"And that's all he's been! A dreamer! He won't last a day out in the real world!" Matthias argued back, the elder Arc's voice tense, and his posture powerful. Already the youngest of the Arc sisters were backing down from the intimidating presence of their father, but he needed to be firm here. Jaune wasn't ready for such things yet.

"Because you didn't find the time to train him. He's most likely feeling inferior to the rest of us for not being able to participate in combat.", Beatrice added, her voice neutral but her stance against her parent's decision firm. She would still aid the side of her little brother.

"He chose to train by himself. There was nothing we can do for him.", Their mother pleaded. How could they be so stubborn? They were only only trying to protect Jaune! They didn't care if he became a hunter or a farmer! They would always be proud of their son!

"He's too stubborn for that! You know that! He learned how to cook all by himself!" Violet protested.

"He also learned how to make dust cartitridges!" Petal joined her twin in protesting. It had taken him months to create a working dust cartridge and he had done it just because the twins couldn't afford actual bullets for their weapons. If he put that much effort into becoming a Hunter, he would be one of the greatest of their time. Given enough time of course.

"Jaune can not and will not become a hunter. He has no training and no means of defending himself.", Matthias explained loudly, and with that single proclamation the argument ended in the favor of their parents. The sisters, cowed but defiant left the dining room grumbling amongst themselves, leaving the parents to brew on the sudden development of their son.

"I can't believe this! He has no training or weapon because they didn't give him any!" Hissed Violet. Petal also grumbled, but said nothing more as they climbed the stairs to the upper floor.

"I mean let's check on him right now. We can prove that he wants to be a Hunter." Diamond quietly proclaimed as they neared their brother's room. Lapis and Luli, experts at opening doors without making noise, worked their magic and the door swung open without Jaune noticing as he stared at the his computer screen.

Admitingly Diamond suspected Jaune to be looking at some rather... embarrassing subject matter, but to her relief he was looking at a selection of weapons. His eyes scanned each row of the screen, all of which were filled with a selections of weapons.

"Damn, he must be really serious about this.", Violet whispered as an image of a great hammer popped up on Jaune's screen. It was a simple thing, but in the corner of the image she could see a price tag. It was as ludicrous as she expected it to be and she saw Jane release a sigh of frustration before he angrily turned off the screen and whipped around to face the now empty door way.

The Arc sisters had never been quicker in their lives. They hugged the walls next to the door, still as can be as their brother closed it and turned off the lights to his room. He seemingly had been sleeping more lately.

Then they needed to take it into their own hands.

"There's only one place where we can find a weapon worthy of Jaune." Beatrice said, and the Arc sisters turned to her in shock. They all knew what she was talking about. The Arc Vault. The mausoleum of the great Arc warriors of old. The vanguard and leaders of the old world.

All that remained of them now were their weapons, who held just as much if not more legends and myths than their legendary masters. Such as Nigrum Mors, a sword with a warped blade that caused even more bleeding, that had been dyed black permanently by the blood of Grimm.

Or perhaps Tacet Mors, a sword spear, made by a rare, silver metal that made it extremely light despite its size. It's name however was derived by its old master, an Arc that had vowed an eternity of silence to compensate for all the lives it had taken.

The arsenal at their disposal was immense, but the vault's defense system was legendary. It had stopped many a robber from stealing the valuable weapons within. It had done such a good job at stopping robbers that the Vault had fell into obscurity and no one outside the Arc family remembered the Vault.

But for their brother, the four eldest sisters of the Arcs were willing to do anything. Even break into their own vault.

X.

Had the Arc sisters been there in their brothers room earlier thy would have realized why their brother was looking up weapons. They would have had an even better understanding of their brother's actions for the night.

'Who ever desgined that weapon is absolutely mad.' Sauron said as he and Jaune browsed through pages and pages of weapons on the internet. Currently they had found themselves staring at an extrmely complicated weapon that resembled a war hammer. It was excruciatingly complicated, and from what Jaune had read from the description of the weapon, it could turn into a mobile artillery cannon, capable of blasting a Goliath to smithereens with a single blast.

It only gave Jaune more of a headache when Sauron had questioned what a cannon was and that in turned into an entirely infuriating conversation all about the current technology, and with as much explaining in layman terms as Jaune could had managed to get through the entire technological talk with Sauron with out going insane. Mostly.

'To even make a war hammer like that, even attempt to change its form even slightly would require extremely complicated mechanisms, including having parts capapble of with handling such stress, and repeadtedly as well. Not to mention to find the ammunition for such a crude machine. Such a weapon is hilariously complocated and unnessecary. You should stick with a simplistic weapon. One that does not require intensive reasearch and resources to maintain.

Sauron suggested, and Jaune whole heartedly agreed. He was obviously wasnt strong enough to even lift such a beast of a weapon. A sword and shield would be his best bet. Too bad nothing was for sale. He let loose a growl of frustrations as he closed the computer down and turned to go to bed.

Weirdly his bedroom door was open, but he didn't question it. He was too tired for it.

'As am I.' Sauron agreed as Jaune laid down on the bed, enjoying its comfort. Jaune would always cherish his bed and the way it would always welcome him with open arms, especially after today's training with Sauron.

'You mortals know how to treat yourselves. I never knew that spending hours upon hours of doing nothing productive could be so enjoyable.' Sauorn commented as Jaune snuggled deeper into the covers. It was a really nice bed.

'But we still need a weapon if we're going to accomplish anything.' Sauron reminded Jaune, who let out a groan of frustration. It would take weeks of searching on the web to find a suitable weapon which would suit himself and he would be able to afford. Not to mention for it to be delivered to Canvas could take months at worst.

'Maybe we can make our own weapon.' Jaune suggested half heartedly. It wasn't a ludicrous idea, plenty of hunters hadn't made and conceived their own weapons. Why couldn't he?

'I suppose you could, but that would require a forge full of the nessecary equipment, the tools to forge the weapon, and the materials to produce such a thing. I believe it would be easier, and more affordable for us.' Sauron answered. 'It would be easier for us to attain an already forged weapon.'

'It isnt like a weapon is going to appear in front of us in the middle of the night.' Jaune joked as his body relaxed further into the bed. He never noticed how comfortable it was until now.

'You're right. First of all they wouldn't get past me. Second of all, the thought of someone giving us a weapon in the middle of the night is absolutely ludicrous.'

'But hypothetically if they did get us a weapon, what should it be?' Jaune asked. Sometimes it was fun to dream about stuff. Even if the notion of it being true was completely delusional. Like the thought of an incredibly strong, female, spartan falling in love with a weakling like him. Absolutely ludicrous.

'Well, if you wish to dream of such a thing happening, I suppose the best possible weapon would be a sword and shield. You're obviously too weak to lift anything larger than that. And obviously those weapons have survived through the ages for a reason. Because they work.' Sauron answered, and Jaune agreed full heartedly. He was indeed not strong enough to lift anything larger than a broadsword or a shield. Not to mention he loved the heroic look that the classic weapons gave him.

'Sauron. You were a blacksmith right?' Jaune asked. He could vaguely remember the some amount of history that Sauron had imparted on him the previous night, but for such a huge history of multiple previous ages, he could only remember the most important facts. Not to mention that Sauron had tried to convolute it to hide who he truly was.

Thank what ever deity was up there that his mother had taught him about story telling and how he had seen through the holes in Sauron's tales.

'Indeed I was. And I do say that I was the greatest of the Maiar blacksmiths. To be truthful I was the greatest Maiar in general.' Sauron boasted again. It wouldn't have been so bad if he didn't repeat the same title over and over again.

'You are the only Maiar alive right now. You don't have a lot of competition.' Jaune teased. It felt good to actually get an insult sent back to his soul companion.

Too bad Sauron was a master of words.

'Indeed I am the last remaining Maiar, because I was the greatest. The rest of faded out of existence while I have remained strong.'

'Except you're stuck in my body.'

'Shut up, fool.' Sauron snarked, but he remained silent after a moment. Victory went to Jaune for now.

A comfortable silence hung over them for a while, all the which the both of them marveled over how comfortable the bed was. It truly made resting quite a pleasure.

'I must ask for us to actually the observe the stars, for at least one night. Allowing me to observe them would give me a better understanding on how old your world truly is. The full moon would also prove to be a vital component.'

'You do know that the moon is shattered right? It's impossible for it to be truly full.' Jaune could feel the shock reverberate from Sauron. It made his body shake a little, but the shock was enough to make Jaune open his eyes.

Surprisingly it was almost dawn, the tell tale signs coming from the peaks of red, orange, and yellow coming from the east. The shattered moon was still there though, just observable. It's image peaceful but ugly at the same time. The broken paleness hung in the sky, shards and pieces of it hanignr around the main body.

Sauron himself remained silent, grieving, and not understanding how such a thing had happened to one of Eru's greatest creations. The moon itself looked siphoned, as if someone had taken a piece for it themselves.

'Impossible. How long has the moon been like this?' Sauron questioned. For someone to have broken the moon like that, must have been incredibly dangerous.

And powerful.

'Nobody knows how long it's been like that. It just has been like that. The broken moon has been there as long as Remnant has.' Jaune answered, and he could feel Sauron stir uncomfortably within. 'Nobody knows how it turned out like that, s been there for as long has we can remember.'

There was a moment of silence before Sauron responded.

'The thought of the moon being broken is quite worrying. Someone incredibly powerful must have done that to the moon. It was one of Eru's most prideful creations.' Sauron said in their head. 'No matter. The morning sun has come. I do believe we should get more breakfast.'

Food and Sauron, Jaune found, were almost inseperable. If there was one thing Sauron would want to do for the rest of his lifetime, it would be most likely eatting. Too bad Jaune couldn't afford to gain weight or waste his time on it.

And too bad Jaune coud be extremely unobservant of his surroundings. So when his foot got caught something quite unfamiliar it caught them completely off guard. It came to his and Sauron's great surprise when they found themselves on the ground, a sudden ache permeating throughout their entire body. With a groan Jaune turned his head, and with his vision, for some reason sharper than he was used to, he eyed the sheathed sword that laid propped up, against this bed. So that's what had tripped him up. Good to know.

It took precisely 2.8 seconds for Jaune to realize that there was a sword propped against his bed. And the first thing he did was probably not what you would expect.

'What was it that you were saying earlier?' Jaune gloated to a fuming Sauron.

'Your world is absolutely ludicrous. There is an extremely powerful magic that covers this world, making it a land of contradiction.' Sauron defened himself, as they acknowledged the sheathed blade propped against the bed.

The sword was around three and a half feet in length, and judging by how dusty and dirty the blue bindings on the hilt were. The crossguard and pommel themselves, at one point must have been a shiny gold, but now its brilliance had faded, now a ungleaming metal. The blade itself had no shine, with its dusty coat, but it was still extrmely sharp, despite its current condition.

'An excellent, blade. Incredible craftmanship. Although the metal itself...is odd. I will tell you it is not steel, or mithril. What an odd blade indeed. Do you know its name? Sauron said, as cogs began to turn and operate Jaune's memory.

'No way.' Jaune thought with excitment and a bit of worry. There was no way someone had actually infiltrated the Arc's weapon vault to give him one of the legendary weapons of house Arc. His parents must have snucked into his room and given him the mystical Crocea Mors. They believed in him!

His fingers grazed over the scabbard, and they found a unusual button near the top. With a quick push, once incredibly advanced but now ancient mechanisms whirred to life and the sheathe expanded into a large heater shield. The Arc's insignia, the two golden crescent moons gleaming on the white shield. Sauron himself was loudly pondering on how such a feat of mechanical engineering.

'What skill indeed. Such a complicated shield, not to mention very sturdy. Quite practical. I will have to study it later.'

Jaune pushed the button again, and the shield reverted back to its original form. He sheathed the blade, and with an excited daze mimicing that of a young child, quickly got dressed for the day. However, not before he took a few seconds to marvel the fact that someone had actually given him a weapon. He would have to thank his parents and sisters for it.

Though as he passed by the mirror, he found something rather unbelievable. He peered closer into the reflective material, and took notice of his eye.

'It seems the mortal flesh around your eye has healed. And the fact is I am not entirely there where your left eye is.' Sauron noted as two gleaming eyes of sapphire stared right back at Jaune. They were like crystallized fire, stalwart, yet flowing with an almost invisible blaze.

If Jaune didn't know any better, it was if their two different eyes had combined together, to make a new, more spectacular eye color. Sauron's inhuman fire, with his hard dull blue eyes, together made such a dazzling display.

'It seems that Eru has awarded us for our willing to work together, by giving us better sight.'

Jaune agreed. His eyesight had improved greatly, and it no longer felt as if someone was controlling something different in his left eye. It was quite the change, but one Jaune didn't mind too much. And judging by the fact that Sauron wasn't compliant of having two eyes to see through now, he didn't mind either.

X.

"So you didn't think that we wouldn't notice it when you girls broke into the family vault? Nor how you stole the Crocea Mors and gave it to your brother?" Matthias Arc questioned his four eldest daughters. His wife stood behind them, and he would bet that if he wasn't standing there , she would go and thrash his already beat up daughters. It seemed that the vault's defenses had worked to an extent.

Diamond, Beatrice, Violet, and Petal at least had the curtesy to somewhat look ashamed, even though it was more about being caught at the last stage of their step and not about the fact that they had broken into the family vault. If there was one thing that they picked up from their family, it was the Arc pride.

"But what I don't understand about this whole thing is why choose Crocea Mors of all things? Why not Nigrum Mors? Or Tacet Mors? Or even Unguis Mors?" Even if the Crocea Mors was a legendary weapon from the war, there were far more...impressive weapons in the vault's arsenal. Why choose such a mundane weapon?

Three of the girls rounded on Violet, who only wilted further. There was an unspoken story here that Matthias easily picked up. Violet was by no means a thief, but she was rather skilled with the art of repossessioning. She seemed to have been chosen to get a weapon for their brother, while the rest held off the defenses.

Unfortunately it seems like she had picked it up by accident in her haste.

"Well you've proven your point. We'll allow him to go.", Savannah said. It wasn't like they could ever stop the sisters and Jaune from fufilling their dreams. Knowing Jaune he would have probably infiltrated a Hunter's school using any means possible. But there was another reason for their sudden descision about Jaune's fate.

The sound of a pair of excited feet coming down the stairs sounded loudly as Jaune bounded down the stairs. He was already dressed for the day, and proudly attached to his hip was Crocea Mors. There was such a boyish excitment to his face that it made Savannah's heart melt seeing her son so excited and happy about being gifted that weapon. It had crushed her heart to see him wearing that eyepatch, but she she saw that he no longer needed it as the bruised flesh around his eye had healed spectacularly. Her son had such beautiful eyes, so he deserved to be able to show it off more.

She must have never seen it before but both of his eyes were so vibrant and colorful. Had her son always had such strong eyes? They were even more beautiful than she had remembered. And seeing him be gifted with such a weapon only made them lighter with joy.

Yes, it was a gift to him. Had they desired to actually stop the sisters from breaking into the vault, then it would have ended in a matter of seconds. No, they allowed their daughters to do what they wished. It certainly made their job much easier.

He didn't even say any initial words towards them. Instead he hugged them all generously. Savannah found herself in her son's arms, and to her amazement, found that they were remarkably solid. It seemed like that Jaune's machinations had begun long before this incident. He hugged his father as well, and Savannah found that if Jaune grew for a few more years, he would be taller than Matthias.

"Thank you Mom and Dad. Thank you for believing in me. I won't dissapoint you.", he said with a youthful energy in him. If he always kept that happy energy with him, Savannah knew her son would be going places. And no matter what they would always be proud of him, no matter what he thought of himself.

Their daughters could only sputter in disbelief and hurt as Jaune showered their parents with hugs and praise, when in reality they had done all the work to get him Crocea Mors. Her son could be so oblivious sometimes.

Not that she was saying that was a bad thing. After all it did keep the girls off of him. Not that she or his sisters would allow them to have him. She had to fight off the urge to close her fist at the thought.

"Your Father and I will always support you. No matter what you do. Now go to the Dojo and get used to it. When you get back your Father and I will train you.", she said as she and Matthias walked to the kitchen to cook breakfast.

That didn't stop her from rounding a corner to hide her from her children's view. Already she could hear Jaune thank each single one of his sisters who had participated in the theft. He was personally addressing all their bruises, despite their insistence that they were fine.

So he had serenaded them, then when they left had turned to the true reason of Crocea Mors being in his possession. Smart. If he kept such deviousness with him along with his smarts, he would make it very far indeed.

X.

Perhaps the rush to get into Canvas had roused Jaune's and Sauron's hunger, so at 8:30 in the morning Jaune found himself at the Hub eating a hearty breakfast. He attacked a pile of hashbrowns with gutso, while Sauron began singing praises over the humble potato.

'Had I known that these potatoes were so delicious I would have had my Orcs start farming them.' Sauron said as another spoonful of the delicious fried potato was hungrily devoured by Jaune, a side of scrambled eggs also inshambles of its former self, nearby.

It was a nice breakfast, and hopefully it would keep him going for the rest of the day. Especially through Roman's training. With no knowledge of the man and what he was going to going to put him through, Jaune wanted to be the most prepared he could be.

And if that included having an extremely delicious breakfast than by all means.

Though he could have done with out the disturbance that came barreling through the Hub. Jaune peered over from his plate of breakfast to find the same drunkard, who Jaune and Roman beat up from the day before burst through the door, followed by his lackeys. The man himself walked with a very noticeable limp, as if he was trying not to disturb his family jewels, while his followers were covered in welts and bruises, courtesy of Neo.

They were very noticeably angry. And they were focused on him.

Slowly, and in Jaune's opinion rather comically, the three previously drunk men made their way to him. It was quite obvious that they held a lot of aggression towards him. Their leader slammed his hand down right next to Jaune's hash browns and proceeded to close the distance between the two of them.

"You got a lot of nerve showing your face here, boy.", he snarled, a bit of spit making its way on Jaune's face.

'Uncivilized brute. Deal with uncouth brigand at once.' Sauron snarled as Jaune rubbed the disgusting material from his face. Jaune himself was quite confused by this man's action, and he made sure to voice it.

"Weren't you the one who threw up on their floor and passed out?" Jaune questioned. This seemingly made the man even angrier as he even drew back his fist, before a voice came through stopping him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, good sir. He is clearly armed." Roman pointed out, looking imacculate in his white suit and black, bowler hat. The man, who had turned to face Roman, now turned back to Jaune and his eyes widened as he gazed on the sheathed sword that hung off Jaune's side.

The three men, now trapped by the cane wielding Roman, who had proven to be quite precise with it, and an armed Jaune Arc, who had knocked out their drunken leader the night before and left him in a puddle of his own vomit. Not to mention that two of them were still quite sore from the beating the short, multicolored haired girl from the night before had given them.

Instincts made to keep them healthy and to survive made them retreat from such a predicament, leaving a confused Jaune and an amused Roman in the still busy café. He moved to sit down next to Jaune, but not before he called out to the still hiding cashier.

"One espresso please my good sir! And Sully make it quick!" He said jubilantly as he sat next to Jaune. The cashier could only peek his head out and nod slowly before he disappeared before he hid behind the counter again. The sounds of a coffee machine started filling the Hub, along with the cashier's frantic crawling to please Roman.

"It seems you're more of a gentleman then I thought Jaune. Only a true civilized man would eat at such a fine establishment as this." Roman complimented. Jaune chewed on another spoonful of hashbrowns, Sauron suggesting new courses of action in order to have a benefical conversation with Roman.

"And how do you know that?" Jaune asked, with Sauron grunting with approval at Jaune actually listening to him.

"Why my young protegé? Because I am the prepreitor of this fine establishment." He said with pride as he gestured with his arms, showing off the patrons and everything within the Hub. "I always wanted a place where all the civilized people of the world could enjoy themselves a good meal or a place to rest their minds from seeing such degeneracy in the outside world. Unfortunately it seems the outside world has decided to come in."

Roman pointed with his cane, to the still visibly retreating forms of the three harassers.

Sully the cashier stumbled over, holding a tray with a steaming cup of espresso on it. His legs were shaky and his breathing was labored as he neared Roman with his cup of coffee. Seemingly though, luck wasn't on Sully's side as he tripped over nothing and the cup of espresso flew from the tray.

Time slowed down for several seconds, as the cup soared in the air, the liquid inside somehow nit spilling over, as it inched closer and closer to Roman. Jaune's eyes didn't catch it, but Sauron's share of their vision did. There was a flash in Roman's eye, a hard glint of concentration before his cane lashed out.

Jaune's breath caught as the cup's handle was caught by the end of Roman's cane and with a move and accuracy only capable of masters of their weapons, Roman balanced the cup and placed it in front of him without spilling a single drop. The espresso itself was undamaged, the whipped cream with a hint of cinnamon on top still in pristine condition.

"Thank you Sully. But do be a bit more careful. Now run along and take care of the other customers.", Roman said as he took an appreciative sip of his drink. Sully trembled a bit and nodded, before he disappeared in a flash, a fake smile plastered on his scared face as he atteneded to the other patrons of the Hub.

'That mortal welp's fear is cocnerning. Ask Roman about that. The man may be hiding something.' Sauron suggested. Roman himself looked like nothing had happened and sighed in delight as he drank the caffinated, hot, beverage.

"Uh Roman? What's wrong with Sully?" Jaune gestured to the shivering man, who even from this distance Jaune could tell was sweating profusely and giving them weird looks as Roman continued to drink his esspreso.

"Just the nerves when the boss is around. When you get to that age where you start working, your boss, if he's a good one will scare you to the bone.", he said nonchalantly.

"Wow. You must be a very a good boss then." Jaune complimented as Sully looked like he was on the verge of having a heart attack.

"You flatter me. All I do is just drop by my buisness place , and I make sure they're up to my standards. Its good buisnees and it keeps the money flowing.", Roman explained as he placed his empty cup to the side. Sully was there in a flash, retrieving it, before he dashed off again.

"Where else do you work?" Jaune questioned. Sauron was wearily paying attention, a storm of concern flowing into Jaune's mind. Roman put his hand on his chin, and gained a rather complex expression before he answered.

"Well I have other buisnesses like this sprawled all over Vale. Plus I have buisness in some banks, other stores, musuems, and keep this between the two of us, but I even have a hand in the Schnee Dust Corporation." the well dressed man said, leaning towards Jaune as he said the last part of his statment. Jaune could only look at him in awe, while Sauron grew even more suspicous.

'He's hiding something. He's not giving all the details' Sauron spoke as Roman flagged down Sully again.

'Of course he's hiding something. We only just met him.' Jaune reasoned. Sauron only growled in annoyance.

'I don't know how you saw through my story, but this man is hiding something. Open your eyes.'

'Fine what is Roman's big secret then huh? Please give me some theories.'

'A thief'

Jaune couldn't help himself as he snorted at the thought. This garnered Roman's attention as he contemplated over another cup of coffee and a platter of breakfast. Sully was also there, delivering a basket of freshly baked pastires, still shaking and shivering profusely.

"What's the matter?" Roman asked as he munched on his own bowl of hash browns. The well dressed man had good taste.

"I just thought if something really funny." Jaune answered good naturedly.

"And what's so funny?" Roman asked with a smirk.

"Oh it's nothing. Its just you made your job sound like a thief or something.", Jaune answered honestly.

'Observe.' Sauron commanded. Jaune's eyes narrowed slightly as, following his statement Roman froze up slightly. Were it not for Sauron's sight catching it, Jaune would have missed it.

"W-What?" Roman spoke with surprise and at the same time another emotion Jaune couldn't put his finger on.

'Its fear. Close in on the question.' Sauron spoke.

"I mean why work for some smaller banks when the Schnee Dust Company is the largest in the world? I would think that someone that has a hand in it wouldn't need to work for smaller companies." Jaune, listed off not quite aware of what he was saying.

"I mean you were pretty proud of its, but you also leaned in to whisper it into my ear to keepit secret. And musuems are usually run by the government and not alot of money can be taken from them. Cleanly that is. And since you're an important part of " Jaune continued to say, before a gloved hand wrapped around his mouth.

Jaune looked up striaght into Roman's eyes, and for the first time Jaune could clearly see the fear in Roman's eyes. Wait. He was really a thief?!

'I told you.' Sauron gloated with a sickly sweet tone to his voice, that didn't match the Maiar at all.

X.

Roman had gotten careless. He had not proceeded to count the young man infront of him as a threat and he would pay dearly for it. Already he could feel the eyes of cameras and Jaune's accomplices on him. If that was even the boy's real name. Whatever faction had hired they young man, they had chosen their operative well. They had caught Roman off guard. They had played Roman. They had played Neo.

That was unaccpetable.

"Who do you work for?" he growled menacingly at the one-eyed operative infront of him. However, even with his preperations to end the young man infront of him, he felt something was very off about this situation.

"Wait really? You're a thief?" Jaune asked him with excitement and awe. His one eye shimmered with a youthful energy, full of potential and naievety. Perhaps Roman had misjudged the situation twice.

"I'm not some lowly thief who steal from the elderly. I'm an operative. I am far more complex than a thief. Now start talking.", he hissed.

"That's good to hear. You're dressed too nicely to be a criminal." Jaune reasoned, and Roman could feel some pride fill him when the boy praised his fashion. Even as an operative for a different faction, at least he had the curtesy to praise his fasion sense.

He quickly shook his head of the thought. The kid was good at distracting him, he'll give him that.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere. Tell me who you work for and I may give you the chance to sort this out in your favor.", Roman said, the threat hopefully intimidating enough. Roman hated killing, but if this operative proved too dangerous, he would have to put him down. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

"Uhhh I don't work for anyone. I'm underaged.", Jaune answered, his expression remaining neutral. Roman felt his teeth grit together in frustration. It was one of those cheeky ones. And Roman hated the cheeky ones.

"Then how do you know who I am!" He hissed at him. Jaune blinked before he drove a nail into Roman's quickly crumbling understanding of the situation.

"Because you just told me who you were."

"..."

".."

"Roman?"

He could feel something snap within him. Realizaton flooded into him and he could feel the glorious affects of caffeine wear off way too quickly. There was no way that he had mistaken this boy has an operative. No possible way. He had to have a semblance that made him an excellent actor. Or perhaps he had been specifically trained in the art of manipulation. There was no way Roman Torchwick, Criminal Mastermind, had told an innocent bystander that he was a thief that was wanted internationnaly.

"Tell me. Do you know anyone by the name of Ozpin?" Roman asked. Anyone compentent would know the name of Beacon's illustrious Headmaster. Even if the name brought some pain to his heart, that he squahsed with relish.

"Who?"

Roman's eye twitched, before the consequences of his hastiness came crashing down on him. He had revealed to a civilian and totally clueless bystander that he was a thief. A good one, granted, who had stolen from the SDC itself. He fought the instict of slamming his head into his hands, but he stopped himself. Showing weakness in this situation wold help no one. And he needed to resolve it quickly.

"Wait. If you're not a thief. Then what are you?" Jaune asked.

If Roman was any less experienced he would have squandered the chance that the deity who was watching over him had given him.

"Well kid, I'm not exactly who I said am. But that's a secret. But good job, you caught me off guard.", Roman said, his superior acting skills coming to play. Surviving in the underworld required many talents and arts. Acting and manipulation chief among them.

"Let's keep this between us now okay?" Roman suggested, actually praying that this would work.

"Don't worry Roman. Your secret is safe with me.", Jaune said reassuringly, placing a comforting hand on Roman's shoulder. He in return could only balk and give him an incredulous look. Jaune was fine with a situation as bizarre at this? And he called for his acting?

"Wait. You're just fine with this?" This kid was outrageous on several levels. He had the upper hand on him. He could expose Roman and his employers and dozens of plans and machinations would crumble here and then. How did he fall for such an unconvincing act?

"I mean as long as you don't kill people or hurt them, then I'm fine with it. Everyone's got their secrets.", Jaune responded. Roman admitted that that line was indeed somewhat ominous. There was more to this young man then what initial looks said.

"Even you?"

In return Jaune only shrugged, and responded with. "Everyone's got their secrets. You and me both. I only have a problem with it if it hurts or kills people.", he answered again.

"Not like I could stop you even if I wanted too." Jaune reasoned.

Roman supposed that he had heard much worse reasons. But there was a level of unawareness around Jaune. He was smart, but ignorant. Ignorant of the factions, and their wagers on the coming storm. Ignorant of the wars brewing in the shadows. Ignorant of what was truly happening.

And there was so much potential in that.

The boy was special. An unknown and not refined, but he could be sculpted. There was so much potential in him. Roman could feel it. He could prove himself as a powerful ally if he had a chance to grow stronger and truly learn about the world.

Mysterious, surprising, and so much potential. No wonder Neo had a little crush on him. Jaune was a game changer. Roman was sure of it.

"Well kid you're something special. I'll give you that. You got me. I'll admit you got me.", Roman laughed it off as Jaune eyed him suspiciously. At this point the entire situation was funny if not damaging to Roman's well deserved ego.

"Now come along protogé of mine. We have some training to do.", Roman said with a somewhat fake enthusiasm. Truthfully a thousands schemes and plans were racing through his head. Much like his mindset when he was planning a big heist, Roman was currently calculating and simulating dozens of scenarios that would span over the years.

After all this heist, would change the world.

X.

Jaune crashed into the dirt floor of the Dojo again. He sputtered, before reflexes honed over hours of getting the shit knocked out of him made him roll out of the way of a painful kick. He gave a groan however when his evasive maneuvers agricated several large bruises on his body.

'Damned mortal frailty. You're grasp on mortality aggravates me. Now get up and counterattack, before they land another blow on us.' Sauron growled painfully. Jaune gasped in pain as he kneeled on a particularly nasty bruise, but through the agony he propped himself up again and faced his teachers.

Neo and Roman only stared at him with undreadable expressions as he faced off against them again. It was rinse and repeat effort, and no doubt Jaune knew that they were quite annoyed at his sub-par performance. He had barely been able to land some blows on them and when he thought he landed a particularly solid strike they only shook it off like nothing had happened.

This was a common occurrence over the past three hours, which consisted of Jaune getting knocked around by Roman's cane and and Neo's fists and heels. If it weren't for Sauron barking instructions and generally helping him avoid un coming attacks, he would far more beat than he was currently.

'Do not give me all the credit. You are not as hopeless as I had previously thought.' Sauron commented as Roman easily parried his sword strike, but before Roman could do any real harm to him, the well dressed man found the shield of Crocea Mors violently pushed against him.

To Jaune's credit he actually made the stronger man slide several feet, and he swung his sword. But not in the way you would initially think.

'Block.'

'Block.'

They thought at the same time. The blade of Crocea Mors at the moment served as a make shift shield, as the the sliver of metal blocked a powerful kick from Neo. He staggered under the strength of it, but the from such a powerful attack, Neo was open for a counter attack.

His shield once again served as a weapon as it slammed into the short girl. Previously he would have chided himself and profusely apologized for hitting her so hard. He had learned not to do that the hardway. He had recieved enough blows after letting down his guard to last him several life times.

Jaune's eye widened in shock and fear and he braced himself with his shield. Had he been a second too late a heeled kick and a spinning wheel of silver would have probably break his ribs. Instead it knocked him flat on his ass and he proccedded to skid through the dirt floor for several feet. When he finally stopped skidding, he was into much pain to register he was in a shallow grove, carved by his body as it was dagged across the dirt.

Everything hurt. Trying to move was excruciating. Trying to breath was agonzing. Existence was damning.

Groaning in pain, he didn't notice that Roman was hefting him up and propping him against his shoulder, until Sauron was cursing loudly for them to be left alone. Great, not only was his physical body in agony, his mental plain was echoing what Sauron was feeling, who in turn was feeling what Jaune was. The complicated subject matter only gave Jaune a bigger headache.

'Good news. Nothing permament has been done. However, most of your body has been heavily bruised. We need immediate res-Arghhh! You damned cultured brute! Do you know who you're holding?!' Sauron snarled as they were gently propped against the wall of the Dojo.

Jaune's breathing was becoming more labored as the intense pain radiating through his body increased. It hurt so god damn much. So intense was Jaune's pain that he barely noticed as Roman checked him over, gently patting his brusied areas, probably in an attempt to see the extent of your injuries.

'It hurts so much Sauron.' Jaune pleaded to his Maiar companion. He only recieved the Maiar's groan of agony as his initial response, but Sauron made sure to respond to him.

'Believe me whelp. I know exactly what you're feeling right now. They're strikes are like getting assualted by mountain trolls. How has man accumalted so much strength?' Sauron responded.

Jaune would have mentally replied, but he felt something cold, and like the texture of powder enter his mouth. On pure reflex alone he swallowed it, and he could vaguely hear Roman through the daze that had settled on his mind.

"Damn...why didn't...tell me...run..aura." He could barely make out his words, but even with the identifciation of some of the words, he still had no idea what he was talking about.

Admittingly, both Sauron and Jaune didn't initially feel the small flare of heat that ignited in their stomach. They had thought that it was just a side effect of their merciless beating from Roman and Neo. Then the fire in his belly spread.

Pained and healing flesh melded together to make a dizzying sensastion embrace his body. Jaune could feel his blood boil and welts and bruises burn under the heat. There was also a tug of sorts within his heart, as if something within his heart was being pulled out by the fire assualting and healing his body.

Slowly, but surely his breathing was became easier. His body was slowly being voided of pain, and even the largest of the brusies on his body were only left as smaller, almost unnoticable patches of purple flesh.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, all that remained of Jaune's previous agony was a dulling tiredness that remained over him. He was exhausted, and Sauron was most likely tired too, evidence by his silence.

He could barely feel the soft hands of Neo help him stand and support him as they walked him home. But despite her short height, she was surprisingly able to practically carry him. That shouldn't be a surprise to him, however, after the literal beat down she had given him. He must have looked like a total failure right now, making Neo practically carry him like this.

'We must get stronger. We were lucky enough to land some blows, but they were only toying with us. An admiral effort, but you must try harder tommorow.' Sauron said, as they suddenly found themselves in front of the Arc Manor, a sound like breaking glass jarring them back to reality.

Jaune blinked a few times before he righted himself, or at least attemtped to, as his tenous strength failed him again and he fell over. Luckily Neo was there to catch him again.

"Thanks Neo.", he said as he tiredly grinned down at his savior. She only puffed her cheeks in an exasperated look and looked away, although for some reason her cheeks were dusted with ahint of red. Maybe she was getting tired from pratically draging him to his huse in what fekt like such little time.

'We should get some rest first. I think we fell asleep on the way here.' Jaune pointed out as Neo knocked on his front door.

'A hot meal wouldn't hurt as well. Not to mention a small heap of sweets. And plenty of time to gaze at some more ridiculous weapons. Those all would be greatly appreciated.' Sauron said, as the front door opened to reveal his mother. She would not take this well.

"Jaune!?" She cried out as Neo gently handed him over to his mother. At first he tried to stand, to prove to the both of them that he was in fact fine. Unfortunately his strength failed him again and he slumped against his mother's strong form.

"What happened?!" she said as she gently supported her incredibly tired and weak son. Neo herself, flondered for a moment, attemtpting to find some way to convey words that she wasn't capable of saying.

"Neo can't speak, Mom. Try and use some hand gestures to her, Neo.", Jaune's tired voice sounded out. It was already getting hard to speak, and consciousness was slowly slipping from him. Damn it, it was only 1:30 in the afternoon?!

Neo nodded, and then with a simple gesture, a simple pounding of her fist into her hand, some how his mother was able to decipher her sign language.

"He got into a fight?" Savannah Arc said in disbelief, and fear. They had just given him Crocea Mors, and already he was returning home brusied and battered.

Neo nodded, and pointed to herself, an attempt to show that he had fought for her. Once again Savannah proved that she could understand her.

"He fought for you?"

Neo nodded again, although there was a small smile on her face. Although maybe Jaune was losing his eyesight due to his rapid loss of having the strength to stay awake.

'No. She is most undoubtedly smiling.' Sauron reassured.

'Thats nice.' Jaune spoke back, a small grin on his face.

"God damn it Jaune. You don't even have aura and you're rushing in to save every damsel of distress you can find.", his mother chided him, but there was a undertone of pride to it. It was good to see that someone was actually proud of him. Even though the actual fight had happened the previous day before.

Neo herself froze, and a look of unadulterated shock consumed her. She could only look at Jaune, with wide eyes, and an open mouth.

His mother caught the expression, however, and proceeded to misread it. "Yes, quite the knight in shining armor isn't he?"

Neo only shook her head of her previous expression, before she nodded vigoriously. She then gave a bow before she turned around and began to walk away.

"Neo.", Jaune weakly called out to his teacher. She stopped in her walk back, and turned around to address him.

"Same time tommorow?" He asked, hope evident in his voice. Sauron and him really needed this training. Hopefully, he hadn't disappointed them to greatly with his lack of combat training.

Neo, however, shook her head as negative. But, before Jaune's dreams and hopes could be shattered, she raised one finger, obviously to convey something. It was amessage that Jaune got and understood.

"I get a day off?"

She nodded happily, and procceded to walk herself back to where ever her home was. His mother, in turn, closed the front door and began to support him to his room.

"Let's get you back to your room, Mr. Knight in shining armor.", she joked as they ascended the stairs to the second floor. Sauron and Jaune both groaned at her teasing.

X.

Roman could feel his excitement grow when Neo told him that their young pupil hadn't even unlocked his aura yet. He was already impressing Roman by the minute, especially when he had fought aginst both Roman and Neo for three hours straight. Most Hunters-in-training wouldn't hope to dream to last minutes against them. Then for a untrained, young, auraless, Jaune to not only go for so long, but also manage to land a few good hits on them was nothing less than spectacular.

Granted, they weren't going full out, but the boy had impressed Roman greatly. He would be a magnificent ally.

And he had thought previously that he had wasted that expensive healing dust. If he had aura, those bruises would have disappeared within the hour, no matter how drained he was. But for an auraless civillian, those wounds would have been lethal. He couldn't have his interesting investments die on him could he?

Hope was welling in Roman's chest by the truckfuls, similar to the euphoria when he pulled off an impressive heist.

Just maybe. Just maybe if he trianed Jaune fast enough, they could actaually save Canvas from the coming storm.

x.

Dozens of miles away from Canvas, a horde pressed on through the huge forest. Not of Grimm however. But of people.

Dead people.

Shambling corpses, desecrated husks, and living corpses marched on, their eyes holding a black glint to them, like shards of obsidian were lodged in their retinas.

And leading them forward, mounted on a skeletal horse, was a hooded figure. Draped in a black robe, and with rattling bone armor covering him, he lead his horde to their target city.

The Necromancer required more flesh and souls, and as his loyal servant, he would deliver. Not to mention, several of the Queen's most trusted operatives lay in the city. Two birds with one storm.

The war for Remnant was beginning, and Canvas would be painted with blood to begin it.

X.

Hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully my writing appeases you guy and you enjoy this story. I actually really want this to work, so please leave a review, and favorite and follow. It really helps any writer you do that for. When you do that, thats our reason for writing more for you guys. So hopefully i can crank out the third chapter out soon, and hopefully there will be actual combat in it.