Pain, darkness, silence, death. These were the things that ran through Jaune's mind. He was beaten, broken, and tossed off a cliff by none other then Cardin and his team. But he lived, how. He opened his eyes to find him in a cave, his body sore from the assault. He got up to look around, for a cave it looked, almost like a house, aside from the stone walls that surrounded him. He heard a voice echo through out the cave. It sounded calm but with a hint of anger. Jaune set out to find the source, the tunnels were elaborate, some leading to dead ends others leading to more rooms. He was surprised to find wires running across the ceiling, who would live in a cave. Something felt wrong though, he couldn't figure it out. The voice grew louder, and Jaune was starting to make out parts of what it was saying.
"Ten months... More time... Found a... Dead... Trust me... Ally... Understood," a distinctive closing of a scroll and a disappointed groan, Jaune turned the corner and found the source of the voice. A man in a leather jacket with a dark green trim leaning on a map table. Across from him was a more muscular man, given his size he could give Yang a hard fist fight, dressed in a red militaristic combat suit. He judged them to be related at least, same hair, eyes, face, it was almost a bit scary on how close they looked alike. Then his eyes met the larger one, soon the other turned. They had a look of shock then the one in red spoke, "surprised to find you, well, back to normal this soon," the one in green still stood shocked,"Ver, you still gonna stand there like a jackass or you gonna say something"
"Shut up Ro," the newly dubbed Ro simply shook his head and let out a small chuckle then Ver turned back to face him,"so Jaune, you know what happened to ya"
Jaune's eyes widened, these two already knew his name but how,"how did you"
"You had your scroll on you, so wasn't that hard, for me that is"
"That's what you said in our last op, long story short, he tried to hack a security system and he fried the entire power supply to the house"
Ver saw Jaune's face and knew the look, he was thinking what they were,"smooth Ro, we're not thieves we're bounty hunters, with a lot of pissed off people who want us dead, nothing to be to worried about, this cave is one of the safest places"
"Yeah, you'll need a tank to get through our front door, and with how much grimm outside, it's damn near impossible to get in here"
"Enough about us, we found you three days ago, aura can heal anything, but with how bad you were, normally, with how much you took, it would have taken months, weeks if you're lucky but you did it in a mere three days," Jaune remained silent, still trying to process the abundance of information,"two Brocken legs, seven cracked ribs, dislocated arm, fractured skull, stuff that should have killed you," Jaune ran his hands through his hair, but found nothing out of the ordinary,"you remember anything"
It all came back in a flood, Cardin, he tried to kill him, probably thought he did to,"Cardin, and his team, they threw me off a cliff only because I wouldn't do what they said"
"They have some sort of leverage on you or something," Ro spoke up rudely and Ver shot him an equally rude stare. Jaune figured that going back to Beacon would end up with him actually dying, no use in keeping it secret anymore.
"I had fake transcripts, he found out and threatened to rat me out, unless I did all of his class work," their reaction was not what he expected.
"I'm sure Oz saw something in you, being a headmaster that long, wouldn't be surprised if he knew you faked your way in," Ver spoke up.
"Wait how do you know him"
"He the headmaster of one of the most famous academies in all of Remnant, who doesn't know him," Ro picked up in a dull voice.
"No doubt you still want to be a hunter," Ver got Jaune's attention with the question.
"Yeah, can't go back to Beacon though"
"Who said anything about going to Beacon," Ver looked at Ro,"think you can play 'nice' Ro"
"No promises there, but I won't kill him"
"Eh, good enough, we'll train you," Ver saw Jaune's eyes widen,"come on, if you're gonna live here, you're gonna need to know your way around, and time for us to have and actual introduction, names Verde Gemelos"
"Rojo, same last"
"This is the main hub, everything that's digital runs through here first," Jaune looked around the room he was still in, he didn't even pay attention to it until Verde pointed it out. The map table was giving off a small blue glow, indicating that it was digital. Lining the walls on his left and right were high grade computers, not the average house tower, ones that would take up entire rooms in skyscrapers. Wires thick and thin ran across the floor. To put it simply, Verde and Rojo earned a great deal from their jobs.
Back at Beacon, Cardin overlooked the ocean with the moon reflecting off the water, thoughts of his kill danced through his mind, 'The perfect kill, no trace, no leads, no witnesses, well other then the rest of my team, and if they spill their guts, they'll go down to'
Behind him a certain heiress approached him, "Nice touch putting the fall on Grimm, believable at the fullest, but still, no body"
"You said get him killed and I did that, so where's the pay"
"That's the thing, no body, I don't know if he's really dead, not a single trace of his body"
"Everyone thinks he's dead, and no one has even looked in our direction"
"Payment, will be judged, you fulfilled the contract, but specifics were ignored, I wanted the body found, I'll contact you when I," Weiss' scroll started ringing, the caller ID read 'Master',"leave"
Cardin only grew more aggressive,"I'll leave when I get my pay," Weiss pulled myrtenaster and held it to Cardin's throat.
"Leave now," Cardin knew he was in no position to bargain but still stood there,'stubborn', she tightened her grip and Cardin left soon after,"Master"
"Snow, I've heard about the recent, 'tragedy', that happened at Beacon"
"How could you not, 'promising' hopeful is cut down in their first"
"Enough, I gave you an objective and you sought your own"
"I am merely breaking your target"
"My target will need more then a child's death to be fully mentally broken, now follow your orders"
"Security systems go on stand-by for software updates in four days, they'll be down for at least half the day, enough time to get 'Shadow' in and out"
"Efficient, none the less, do not seek out your own goals to aid my plan, you are only to give me information to act on"
"Yes sir"
"Good, stay on the course I ordered you to take and I'll 'visit' your father when this is all over, return to stand by, I don't want any thing pointing to one of my eyes and ears inside"
"One of them," Weiss now felt as if she would become a liability. She was only greeted by a low beep ending the call. 'Master' had a habit of leaving more questions then answers, and they had more contacts in Beacon so losing one wouldn't hurt them to any degree. But this was the quickest way to get her company. She didn't even know Master's plan, only that see was to routinely report weaknesses to them and their main goal was to see Beacon burn. They would get intel and send another in to act, and she was the perfect one for the job. First year heiress who only wanted to become a huntress, but Master saw through that shell, Weiss wanted the Schnee Dust Company more then anything and they will use that as leverage. Now just outside her dorm a two faces came into view, Ozpin and a new student. Normally she would pass off anyone she didn't know and go on about her daily life, but the fact that he was walking with Ozpin meant he was important somehow.
"Mr. Tumno, this is Ms. Schnee, no doubt you'll hear a lot from her, your team and team RWBY are close friends"
"You must be Jaune's replacement"
"That I am," he stuck out his hand,"Jet Tumno, and you are obviously Weiss"
Weiss took the handshake,"correct, word of advice, they're still getting over Jaune's death so don't expect them to like you instantly, and also don't get between Nora and her pancakes"
Before Jet could ask why Ozpin stepped in,"well you two will have more time tomorrow to get more aquatinted, for now, Jet, you need to get settled in and I need to speak with the rest of JNPR, goodnight Ms. Schnee"
"Goodnight sir," Weiss entered her team dorm. Behind her, Jet and Ozpin entered the JNPR dorm. The atmosphere in the JNPR dorm was gloomy and a frown came to Ozpin's face. Instead of the neat and organized room that was what a dorm was suppose to be, it looked as if it was ransacked. Drawers open with their contents hanging out, some on the other side of the room. Beds were unkept with one cover on the floor.
"Professor Ozpin, we didn't expect you to come," Pyrrha was the first to welcome them,"wh- who's this"
"Ms. Nikkos, this is Mr. Tumno, he'll be filling in the empty slot in your team, my apologies as to why this happened so soon, but he was the only one who could match the late Mr. Arc's technique, so the process was not as long as expected, you will also be taking command of team JNPR Ms. Nikkos," Nora shot up at the mention of Jaune's name, and Ozpin knew the look on her face. It was that of one who had been hoping this was all a bad dream, some twisted nightmare. She looked around for Jaune but only saw Ozpin and Jet. Her frown grew bigger and she flopped back down on her bed. Ren just stared at Jet with a pissed look on his face, Jet stared back.
"Well I have other matters to attend to, goodnight to you all," Ozpin closed the door behind him, Ren and Jet still holding their stare-off.
"Is there a problem," Jet was the first to speak.
"I don't care who you are, and I don't know what you did to get your self in Beacon so quickly," Ren stood up, his tone growing more aggressive,"you're no replacement, to me you're just some-"
"Woah, look, if you think I planned Juan's"
"Jaune," Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha corrected Jet.
"Sorry, Jaune's death, I didn't, sure I wanted to get into Beacon, but I wouldn't kill for it. Hell, I can relate, I lost my dad when I was ten, took me forever to get over it, but I knew he wouldn't want me to live in the past"
"You didn't know him, so don't even speak for him you..."
"Ren," Nora sat up calming Ren down before he did something he would regret. The two alway had a habit of keeping each other in line, not so much recently.
"I'll be out by the dock if you need me," Ren walked out not wanting any more interaction with Jet, who looked at his new team confused.
"He'll warm up in time, he's usually not like that," Jet turned to Nora who knew Ren best,"I should probably go talk to him," now it was only Pyrrha and Jet left in the dorm.
"So, how was it like before, you know," Jet asked.
"Ren was much more calmer, he was always cool-headed in everything, and he was difficult to read, still is. Nora was, well to put it simply, give a kid a can full of caffeine and that was Nora all the time," Pyrrha looked out the window,"as for me, I can't really tell the difference"
"Sorry if I brought up some bad memories, you didn't have to you know"
"No it's fine, they weren't bad, it's just"
"You don't have to say it, 'member, lost my dad so I kinda know how this all goes," Pyrrha let out a small chuckle, her first since 'it' happened.
"We should get some rest, class tomorrow and all that"
"Yeah, they won't mind if I sleep in his bed, would they"
"Ren would, but he needs to get over it, just the same as the rest of us, so feel free"
"Thanks," Jet walked over to his predecessor's bed and laid down. Within a few minutes he dozed off.
Rojo looked at the 'sparring' matched between his brother and Jaune. More of a warm up for Verde. Jaune was clearly far behind, then again, what would you expect from a student who faked his way into Beacon. Jaune was then knocked on his back again by Verde, who in turn ordered him to get back up, starting a new round. Jaune was already exhausted, having gone through the same routine for over an hour. He was beginning to question their training methods. He brought his shield up just in time to block on of Verde's swords, having a smile grow on his face as he did.
"Never get cocky," Verde squatted low and spun, knocking Jaune of his feet once more and brought on of his swords to his throat,"getting cocky is always followed by your opponent striking when you are weak," Rojo chuckled behind them,"you should also refrain from charging in like a bull every time"
"Unless you want to get killed," Rojo threw Jaune a water who caught it and started drinking.
"Yeah, got that a lot back at Beacon," Jaune stood up.
"Take their advice, there's a reason they're teachers," Verde said,"take the rest of the day off, tomorrow we're drilling defense into that thick skull of yours," Rojo burst out laughing. The two brothers walked off, leaving Jaune alone in the training room. There was one place he wanted to view again, the trophy room. During his 'tour' he only got a small glimpse of it, it reminded him of the stories he heard as a kid. He walked the cavern until he found it. There it was, Grimm skulls lining the walls, ancient weapons in display cases, the stuff of legends. But one display caught his attention, an armor made of Ursa hide on a mannequin holding a sword and shield, made of Grimm bones.
"Enjoying our greatest prize," Rojo's voice came from behind.
"How, it's so, I don't even know what to say"
"I take it you want to here the story behind it"
"Yeah"
"This armor and weapon belonged to our father, and his father before him. Hasn't been worn in since the first war against the Grimm. Legend has it, that our ancestor killed the largest Ursa ever seen, skinned it and carved its bones to replace his gear that was broken in the fight. He never replaced these, never sharpened the blade, because they never needed repairs. Not long, he held his own against a massive force of Grimm defending Vale, after that he passed it onto his son, who would do many great feats with them. And he would pass it onto his son, and so on and so on. The blade is still as sharp as ever, the leather practical unbreakable, and the shield, stronger then anything. It has faced the test of time and triumphed. The last part of the legend, is that our ancestor, the one who made it, transferred his soul into the armor, sword, and shield to make sure only those worthy enough will be able to use them to their fullest," Jaune stared at the armor,"me, I consider the final part bull," Rojo's words drifted on, Jaune just stared at the armor. It's red highlights turned a faint blue. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Come on Jaune, with what we have planed for you, you're gonna need the rest," Rojo told Jaune, and the two made their way out.
Jaune woke up to the smell of,"bacon," he jumped out of bed and got dressed. The smell making him do said things faster, he exited his room and followed the smell all the way to the kitchen. Rojo and Verde eating breakfast.
"Help your self, when you're done I want you back in the training room," Jaune grabbed a plate and served himself. Verde left for the training room leaving Rojo and Jaune alone.
"So what does he have planed"
"You'll see, and you probably won't like it," Rojo finished eating and left. Jaune's mind still on the armor, its blue glow still in his mind. Once he finished he walked to the training room. Rojo and Verde waiting inside, in the middle of the room were two metal boots.
"Defense is holding your ground against just about anything. The majority of it is standing in one spot, so that's what you're doing today," Verde signaled to the boots,"put them on," Jaune reluctantly did as told. The boots were heavy, he could barely lift his leg. Verde walked up and gave him two circular shields before stepping back.
"You see the circle around you," Jaune nodded,"if you are pushed out of that circle, you'll have to reset yourself, if you get Rojo out of the circle, then we can return back to normal drills. Now, defend your self," Rojo charged with two shotgun he was holding by the barrel using them as clubs and Jaune brought up his shield. Rojo's strength was so great that he was beginning to be pushed back. The boots grinding on the stone floor made an unpleasant noise. Jaune had to do something and fast. He was thinking of ways to throw Rojo off of him.
"Reset," Jaune looked down to find that he was out of the circle. This was going to be awhile, he dragged his feet back to the center of the circle. Once he was back in place, Rojo charged again. Jaune leaned forward and braced for the impact. Once more he was slowly pushed back. He angled his shields and Rojo's weapons slid off. Jaune rotated his legs and blocked another blow from Rojo, who let his club bounce off as he brought his other around. Jaune responded by raising the other shield. Rojo kept pressure on Jaune's shield while he brought his leg up for a kick, and it met steel as expected. Rojo repositioned his foot on the shield and did a flip above Jaune, who was surprised that someone that large was that agile, pulling off one of the shields in the process. Jaune was forced into a major disadvantage, having to defend from behind with only one shield paired with the speed Rojo had, he could not reposition his footing. Rojo came forth again, both clubs coming down in a crossed trajectory. Jaune lifted his one shield and blocked both clubs, Rojo's strength pushing down. Jaune held his shield with both hands and resisted with all his might, even then he was slowly forced into a squat. Then a new feeling rushed through him, it wasn't aura, it was different. His eyesight changed, it was sharper in the center, but blurred around the edges. He also felt stronger, faster, better. He angled his shield once again and Rojo rolled away while Jaune got back up. Rojo still remained on the offensive and swung again, hitting Jaune's shield. He brought his other club around but hit Jaune's shield again. Rojo then did something unexpected, he swung both arms across horizontally. Jaune blocked the strike on his left, but the one on his right hit him in the side. But he didn't feel anything. Jaune pulled his shield back and rammed it into Rojo. Pushing him back, each step echoed through out the cave. Jaune gave one last shove and Rojo was thrown off balance. Rojo was almost about to run in for another attack before Verde cut him off.
"Might want to check your position," Verde told Rojo, he looked down and saw himself out of the circle, Verde turned to Jaune,"what you just felt was adrenaline, it makes you better at just about anything and takes away the pain. Don't rely on it to much, it only kicks in when your aura won't," Jaune felt the pain from Rojo's hit kick in,"see what I mean"
"So when do I get out of these boots off"
Jets stood with his sword and shield in hand, Goodwitch wanted to test his worth, and his opponent was Blake. They walked around the center before Jet took the offensive. Blake dodged and appeared behind him, he parried her katana and swung at her with his shield. He only hit air, he turned a dial on his sword and the blade collapsed and formed a small mace just in time to interrupt another attack from Blake. Blake unleashed a fury of fast blows on her now slower opponent, Jet blocked every strike with his mace and shield. Jet managed to push Blake away and turned the dial on mace and it morphed into an axe. He charged at Blake, who in turn did another series of strikes. Jet hooked her katana and swung at her with his shield. Forced back again, Blake collapsed her katana and started swinging it around by the ribbon, something Jet was not expecting. But he adapted quickly, as Blake's weapon came around he hooked the ribbon with the axe tangling both their weapons. Blake pulled her weapon back but it didn't budge, with only one option left she rushed him. The sound of a clever hitting a shield repeated until Jet returned his weapon to its sword form, the ribbon sliding off as he did. Blake pulled back her katana only to be bashed aside by Jet's shield. She recovered just in time to dodge Jet's mace, she heard the dial switch again. She jumped swinging at Jet who hooked her blades once again. They were locked in a stalemate again, Jet threw Blake off him again. Blake backed away and looked at Jet, a chain where his shield was. She felt something coming at her and she ducked, Jet's shield going past her as she did. Jet swung his shield at Blake again, this time knocking her down. He took his chance to rush her, pulling in his shield in the process. Blake picked her self up again, only to be knocked down again moments later.
"That's the match," Goodwitch called out. Jet sheathed his sword and offered Blake a hand up. She brushed him aside and walked away.
"Damn these people are tough shells to crack," Jet walked back to the locker rooms.
"That will be all for today," Goodwitch began to speak again,"you are dismissed," the students started making their way out, Cardin received a message from Weiss.
"Meet at the gardens," Cardin saw Weiss splitting off from her team. His hand brushed his mace, he walked away from his team and followed Weiss. She stopped at the gardens, and turned to see Cardin.
"So does this mean we're getting paid now," Cardin asked.
"You are receiving half payment, like I said, specifics where ignored," Cardin saw that she was unarmed.
"I don't think that's an option," Cardin said as he pulled out his mace,"you should have thought of that before coming here without your weapon," he started stepping forward.
"Do you really think I would come here without a means to defend my self," Cardin was with in hitting distance, but he was stopped by a cold feeling on his throat,"I'm heiress to the largest dust producer in the world. So I have more then an ample supply of dust, and you can guess where it goes," Cardin stepped back, looking at the sword made of pure ice that Weiss had conjured,"you WILL take half payment or no payment at all, do we have a deal," Cardin nodded,"good, now get out of my sight"