Rewrite the History Books
"Destiny guides our fortunes more favorably than we could have expected! Look there, my noblest Lie Ren, and see those thirty or so wild giants, with whom I intend to do battle and kill each and all of them, so with their stolen booty we can begin to enrich ourselves! This is noble, righteous warfare, for it is wonderfully useful to us to have such an evil race wiped from the face of the Remnant!"
"What giants?" asked Ren. "And why are you talking like that?"
"The ones you can see over there," answered the General, "with the huge arms, some of which are very nearly two Bullheads long!"
"Look again, General," said Ren, "what you see aren't giants, but windmills. Those 'arms' you see are just the sails that turn the millstone."
"Obviously," replied Jaune, "you don't know much about adventures."
"Ask Nora about that."
"Nora Valkyrie, my dearest friend, we must go and slay the giants, for they have booty! Come, for they must not be allowed to interfere with their evil any longer!"
Chronicles of Joan: The Cat, the Warrior and the Home
"Ah fuck!" I sat up quickly and immediately grabbed my head. "Oh shit!"
"Joan!" I heard Qrow's voice say as a hand grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back onto the bed.
I took deep breaths as I looked around.
It wasn't just Ironwood and Qrow. There was also Ozpin, Glynda Goodwitch, Doctor Polendina, and Taiyang.
The dad of my (former) girlfriend was in my vicinity...
"What the fuck happened?" I breathed out.
"What happened," Qrow started, "is that you still had a shit ton of alcohol in your system and you took a shit ton of morphine! The bullet wound wasn't the deadliest factor, it was you overdosing! You're a dumbass!"
"You drank as well!" I retorted, wincing as my own voice made my head sting. "You sound like Ruby. Her ass always threw me under the bus for everything... why would I steal ten pounds of cookie doe?" She was cute though, so that made up or it.
"Ah yes, Ruby Rose." I lazily stared at Ozpin. "Apparently you were in a relationship with her, am I right, Mr. Arc?"
"Oz, I'm so hopped up on drugs right now I could be a fucking unicorn and not know it. But yes, I did go out with Ruby—we dated for years."
"Did you?" Taiyang asked with narrow eyes.
"Yes."
"What's her biggest secret?"
"She has a picture of her mom that she kept with her at all time—she's afraid that if she let it out of her sights it will disappear forever. That, and she sneaks Dust into Zwei's food—that's why she insists on feeding him all the time."
Taiyang's eyes widened. "What!"
I chuckled. "Another thing to prove my legitimacy. Yang kept setting off the fire alarms with her Semblance when she was young, so the teachers used to spray her with a squirt gun to cool her down."
"She's a little firecracker," he said fondly as he pattern me on the shoulder. "My names Taiyang, but call me Tai. I heard some crazy shit about you, and figured I should come over here to meet you myself."
"Ruby tries to bake cookies when she's home alone," I replied. "I hope you have insurance... and Yang throws parties, but I'm not suppose to say that."
"What!?"
"Tai," Glynda said sternly.
"Sorry."
"Joan," Ironwood addressed. "Or perhaps Jaune?"
"Joan," I said. "Jaune Arc is out being an idiot right now... I think around this time I was looking for a guy to forge my documents to get into Beacon."
"I'm sure he'll get in," Ozpin said with a small smile. "Now Joan, we have to commend you on the feat you accomplished. There is no way we could have secured the machinery without you. We are eternally grateful."
"You weren't suppose to get them," I admitted. "In my timeline you guys decided not to go after the machines. The Doctor made his own apparatus to transfer power from one to another, that one was for Aura, however."
"Did it work?" Polendina asked.
I tried to shrug. "I'm not sure. Amber was shot by an arrow a few seconds after it started. Pyrrha didn't seem any different, and Cinder got the rest of the Fall Maidenhood."
I was talking under the assumption that Ironwood or Qrow had already briefed the others on my situation. I really hoped they did, because I was aching all over.
"Joan, as you can tell we have many questions," Ozpin said. "Can you humor us?"
I took a deep breath and started to channel my Aura—it helped deal with my drowsiness.
"Yeah?"
"You know of us?"
I nodded. "Commander Ironwood took me into the fold pretty soon after the war began. As a general, my job was to go and protect the Maiden's while the others fought the White Fang. Honestly, I was pretty bad at it..."
"You beat her in the end," Ironwood commented.
"I got my ass kicked," I admitted. "She would have killed me if Ruby didn't get the drop on her. That bitch got a scythe through the chest—it was pretty fantastic now that I think about it."
"Cinder must have been strong to defeat your Semblance."
I groaned. "She was a fucking monster among monsters—and trust me, I fought Salem. Cinder took not only three Maiden's powers, but I think she got Salem's as well. That explains how she could control Grimm—since Salem had some sort of connection to them."
It was a shame that I only thought of that now. Salem was actually a pretty important person in the entire war, but my entire attention was always on Cinder. The most I thought about Salem was when I stabbed her with Crocea Mors.
"So has anything changed?"
"We have this funky machine now, so Amber may be more alive. Did you have a container before?"
"No."
"Then yes, the Fall Maidenhood had a better chance of being passed onto Pyrrha—if you decide you want to do it."
"Miss Nikos," Ozpin nodded slightly, "she's currently in the quarter-finals of the Mistral National Tournament. She's quite the superstar."
"She hates the fame and attention. All she wants to do is be a normal person and live a normal life. It's naive, but she's a smart girl, she'll realize that she'll never be normal eventually."
"The Beacon selection process is coming up, care to tell me some people who should get in?"
There it was again. There could be a person who dreamed every night of being a hunter, but gets his dream crushed because Jaune Arc faked his transcripts. I could stop so many people from accomplishing their goal in life...
"I get in, obviously. And I'm placed with Pyrrha, Ren and Nora. Pyrrha died early on, but us three were a great team, and I think we will be much better if she survives. There's Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang. Ruby should stop a robbery of Roman Torchwick soon, but if she doesn't than my existence has caused more ripples than I thought. Blake is a former White Fang member who defects and tries to live a better life."
"The White Fang has been oddly quiet," Ironwood noted. "They're not even claiming responsibility for your actions—nobody wants to admit they took down Codex. That would make them enemy number one."
"That makes me the enemy then... at least give me a five second head start."
"Stop being dramatic," Qrow said. I flicked him off.
Glynda sighed at our antics... even future Jaune couldn't impress her.
"Anyways," I said, "Blake defects after a train robbery. She'll probably lay low for a while before entering as a walk on. Look for the black bow that's blatantly hiding cat ears."
"There has been rumors of a White Fang assault on a Schnee train," Ironwood said.
I smirked. "Perhaps I'll take a ride on one very soon."
"Anyone else to note?" Ozpin asked.
"Cardin Winchester was an absolute asshole for a while—he turns into a damn good man, though. Don't let the massive racism get to you, he'll come around. Oh, and Penny is fucking awesome... she's not in Beacon or anything, just saying it because she's really cool."
"She is!" Polendina smiled brightly. "She's about to be turned on soon!"
I smiled back. "She exceeds expectations. She transcends the boundaries of robots and truly becomes human. The issue is that you made a shit ton of robots like Penny during the war that went rogue and caused a robot civil war."
They stared... did I not mention that to Ironwood?
"Yup... Penny was one of a kind. I had to be a medium in peace talks between to robots! There was actually the issue of racism to robots—there was basically a White Fang for androids."
"Are you serious?"
"It's not the drugs talking," I insisted. "The future could be anything. It could be predictable, easy to guess... or it could be like someone gave a five year old acid and a paintbrush."
A day later my partner was allowed into my room.
"My sweet prince!" I called to her as she walked in. "Have doth cometh to release thee from... thy bonds!?"
"I hate you," she said as she sat down next to my bed... typical Winter.
"Do I get a medal now?" I asked. "I got shot by two snipers in one week, that's a new record isn't it?"
She handed me a piece of paper instead.
I read it. "Leave...?"
She nodded. "I placed a leave request for you, and it was approved."
"I'm in a hospital... isn't that already vacation?"
"No you dunce! It's for after you get out of the hospital." She huffed. "And you're staying in that bed for the entire allotted time! I made sure all of your nurses are old and hairy, so no flirting your way out now!"
"Well maybe I like them old and—"
"Don't finish that," she said dangerously.
I chuckled. "Got it, babe."
"I am NOT your babe!"
"It was a joke!"
"I will maim you! You... you cretin!"
"Now I want to escape..."
"I will have you tied up!"
"Bondage? Doth cometh onto thee!? Thy will—"
She hit me before I could finish.
Winter was skilled, she managed to keep me in the hospital for an entire week... of my three week healing period.
I didn't even go to Ironwood. I had a vacation and I was going to use it. The General probably knew where I was going, and I'm pretty sure he was fine with it.
Atlas was cold, I decided. It was really cold.
A bad place for cats...
I walked into a beat down hotel, giving a warm smile to the person at the counter as I approached.
"Hey there," I said to the pretty looking Faunus, she was young and blushed a little.
"Hello, care for a room?"
I shook my head. "No. I'm looking for a friend of mine, and I think she might be here."
The poor girl tensed a little. "Like... like who?"
I laughed. "No no! I mean no harm. Little Blake is not going to be hurt under my watch."
There was a second of silence... before she screamed.
"Run Blake!" she yelled as a shadow escaped from the basement and out the door.
I rolled my eyes—Blake was so paranoid.
Blake was fast, no doubt, but she was tired and hungry. I knew that when she was in a mission that she rarely ate or slept, and she just defected from the White Fang.
It was surprisingly easy to catch her. Maybe I was comparing her to future Blake, who could easily run circles around me.
I tackled her into the snow, desperately trying to calm down her riving body.
"Blake! Calm down!"
I turned her around and straddled her, noticing the absolute fear in her eyes.
It was odd, seeing her so young. I haven't been around someone who was my age yet. Qrow and Winter were already fully grown, so the differences wasn't that big—and Ozpin or Ironwood looked pretty much identical.
Blake seemed to notice something.
"You're... you're a human."
"Keen observation."
"W-what are you doing?"
I laughed. I never realized how blatantly awkward Blake was—she got a lot better in the future. I guess being raised in a cult really ruins the chance of being a social butterfly.
"Blake, I'm not in the White Fang, and I'm not trying to kill you."
"You're not?"
"Of course not! In fact, I took out the Barrage Squad or whatever their name was. Those assholes who kept blowing up children... fuckers."
"Then..." her eyes widened even more, "you're with the military!"
"Chill out!" I yelled as I held her hands down (the kitty has claws). "I'm not any threat to you!"
"Lie!"
"What wrong with you!? I came to offer you a spot at Beacon and you hate me!"
And like that the anger was gone. Blake stared at me with a completely perplexed expression.
"What did you say?" she asked.
I stopped holding her hands down, but continued to sit on top of her. "I'm here to offer you a spot in Beacon Academy, the one in Vale."
Her ears twitched.
"Why?"
"A really, REALLY close friend of mine had the last name Belladona, she was basically my family. I promised to keep her and her family safe—which includes you."
"All my family is dead," she said sadly, her ears flattening, "there's no way."
"The last time I saw my friend was over ten years ago." In the future, but she didn't have to know that. "She was a beautiful Faunus with black hair, glowing eyes and cat ears that she kept hidden with a bow. She looks exactly like you, I know you're the one related to her."
Genetically, they were the perfect match.
"Is she... dead?"
My expression fell. "Yes, she died saving a lot of people. Without her, perhaps the entire world would have been destroyed."
"R-really!?"
I decided to get off her. I extended my hand and helped her up. As she got up I pulled her into an embrace.
"I've met you before," I admitted as I held her. "I... I thought you were long gone, Blake. I thought everyone in our family was gone except me." I could feel her tense body in my grip. "I promise that this time, I will keep all of you safe."
"What... what do you mean?" she whispered.
"I let your... relative down. You aren't the only one, I let a lot of people down. I have a chance to fix my mistakes, however, and I'm not going to let it go to waste."
"Who are you?"
I released her and paused for a moment, thinking.
"...Joan. My name is Joan Arc, and I want to offer you a chance to enter Beacon Academy."
She stared up at me—when did Blake get so small?
"Are you serious?"
I smiled brightly. "Free of charge. All the fees will come straight from the government. All I want you to do in return is make friends and start over... live a life that will be filled with happiness."
"This can't be serious."
"Watch," I said happily. "Watch... all of you guys will be happy."
"And you?"
"I'm a jaded old man, lets talk about you instead." I started to walk away. "Come on, Blake. You still have some heat on you after that train heist, so we're gonna make a few stops before entering Beacon. You trust me?"
She nodded slowly.
I smiled, feeling my Semblance give me power.
"So why are we heading this way?" Blake asked from my side. "I don't like this train."
"Blake," I said blandly, "the only reason you don't like this train is because they don't have as many fish dishes as the last one."
"It's a valid reason."
"You stole the Ninja of Love book from the other train anyways. We would get in trouble if they found that."
She blushed and looked away. "How'd you know?" she whispered quietly.
"The other Belladona I knew, she did the exact same thing. I swear you guys are identical."
Blake's ears perked up at the mention of her mysterious 'relative'. I never gave her a full name, but I happily described her features and stories. It was funny to talk about Blake to Blake.
"Where did you get money for this train anyways?"
Damn, Blake was actually really talkative. She never talked this much in my timeline (at least to me. I heard from Yang that she actually had quite the potty mouth). She even had her book, but she still insisted on communicating with me.
"I do a lot of dangerous and classified things..." Blake leaned in closer, "that pay me nothing." I chuckled at her expression. "I really never spend any money, so I have pretty much my entire salary saved up."
"So why do you go dangerous missions? I don't see a reason."
"Blake," I smiled, "there are so many people in the world... so many. A lot of those people live blissful and ignorant lives, and kudos to them. I'm strong, I have the power to do many things. I want people to be happy—I want my loved ones to be happy. If I have to do dangerous and painful things to make my important people, and even people I don't know, happy, then I will."
She looked astonished. It seemed like, for the first time ever, Blake Belladona actually thought I was cool.
"For people you don't even know?" she asked quietly.
"Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet," I told her. "There has been people that I hated, but when I finally got to know them and see the true colors... I realized that everyone has at least a little good inside of them."
Even Cinder Fall... she did help us take down Salem.
She was still a bitch, though, and I would still punch her without a second thought.
"Excuse me," a snotty voice said.
I looked up and saw an older lady (probably fifties) with what seemed like her family or friends (all people around her age, no children). They had one of the conductors with them.
"Hi," I said with a friendly tone.
"We were just wondering if... that girl is with you." The venom in her tone wasn't unnoticed by anyone.
Blake looked down, but I placed a hand around her shoulder reassuringly.
"Yes she is, this is my protege, Blake Belladona... and I am—"
"Does she have a ticket?" she asked, cutting me off.
"Yes she does."
"Do you notice her ears?"
"Yes I do."
She looked at me like I was stupid. "Did you know that the White Fang attacked a train in Atlas a few days ago?"
"I heard."
"And yet you let her onto the train."
I could feel how tense Blake was, but I still laughed a little.
"Miss, I assure you that the White Fang and my polite little protege are not one in the same." I smiled cheerily. "I can understand your fear, but little Blake here is incapable of causing any trouble to you or this train."
I, on the other hand...
"Perhaps you should leave," she said sternly. "I think most of the passengers agree."
I looked behind me. This train was rather expensive, and the seats were filled with many older human passengers. Leave it to me to pick a train filled with hardcore conservatives...
My pleasant smile held no indication to how fucking angry I was. I stood up and looked at her as casually as I can, noticing the train's entire attention on me.
I pulled out my military ID and showed it to her.
"Miss, my name is Specialist Joan Arc of the Atlas Military Force." I noticed her eyes widen. "My partner is Specialist Winter Schnee and my immediate supervisor is General Ironwood. I was tasked by Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon to take young Blake to his school, where she will receive a full education on the government's dollar due to her immense talent. I just got out of the hospital after a horrible injury, and decided to take my ward to Mistral to alleviate the stress of both my injury and the pressure she feels for being a Faunus student on scholarship. Blake,"
I held my hand out to Blake and she took it, standing up next to me.
"Introduce yourself," I ordered.
"Hello Miss," she said with a small bow. "My name is Blake Belladona, a pleasure to meet you."
"Now that you have met my protege, you can see that she is not, indeed, the raging terrorist with a train fetish that you thought her to be. So, in honor of the taxes you pay to fund Blake's education, I must please ask you to shut your ugly fucking mouth before I must resort to violence. Because even verbal assault is considered assault, and I will defend both my safety and the safety of dear Blake here if I have to."
I sat down, Blake following my lead. I took a big sip of my drink before looking at the conductor.
"Excuse me, may you get us something to eat? Preferably fish."
He nodded hastily and left, as did the racist pricks.
There was silence between the two of us for a few minutes.
"Can you actually defend yourself from a verbal assault?"
I snorted. "Of course not. I can't smack that bitch for calling you a terrorist—she can say whatever she wants." I winked at her right as our food was set down. "It's her fault for believing me."
Blake smiled.
"Wrong will be right, when Blake comes into sight!"
"Jaune, you better stop."
"At the sound of her roar, smut will be hers!"
"I don't care how tough this mission is. I will kill you and do it myself if you keep singing."
"When she bares her teeth, fish becomes her feast!"
"Stop it!"
"And when she puts on her bow, her ears cannot be shown!"
"That doesn't even make sense!"
"She wore the exact same bow," I commented wistfully as Blake looked at the piece. "She originally wore it to hide her Faunus heritage, but grew attached to it. It became part of her image, a sign tha—"
"It's cute," Blake said simply, going over to the shopkeeper and handing it to him. "I'll take this one."
I stared, shocked. It took me a few moments to catch up with the situation before I paid the shopkeeper and we continued on our way.
"Did you... only buy the bow because it's cute?"
She shrugged. "There's this one outfit I got planned out for Beacon; I think the bow will go very well with it."
Was that it!? Did Blake only wear the bow because it was cute? There was no way... it was always a big emotional thing when she took it off in front of us. How did it go from an escape from reality to 'cute'!?
"Are you... going to wear it?" I asked.
She shrugged again and put it in her bag. "Wearing jeans is bad enough in this heat. I don't want my ears to sweat... and trust me, they'll sweat."
I nodded tightly and continued on our way. I stared at the streets of Mistral, taking in the atmosphere.
I never really got to witness what made Pyrrha so great. The reason she was called 'invincible' even though she clearly wasn't.
Honestly... I was ashamed to say that my memory of Pyrrha was skewed. I was without her for far longer than I was with her. I know literally everything about Ren and Nora, but Pyrrha? I didn't even remember the exact shade of her eyes, or her height. She was like a ghost that I once saw in a dream... a hazy memory.
So, why not go to the Mistral Regional Tournament? I had time off.
It was kinda spur of the moment. I was going to get Blake and take her to Vale, but she didn't have to try out for the school anymore, she has a scholarship. I might as well make her more comfortable around people before she gets thrown into a school with dramatic teenagers (I was sadly one of them).
"Who do you think will win?" Blake asked.
"Blake, the better question is who do you think will win?"
"Huh? I asked first."
"But I'm your wise sensei, so you answer my question!"
She rolled her eyes, but there was some amusement in there.
"I heard that Pyrrha Nikos girl won the previous three, and has been tearing up the tournament this year. My guess is that she will win."
"Her semifinal match is going on right now, want to check it out?"
She nodded and we rushed to the stadium. I flashed my badge and tipped the bouncer a little extra an we were allowed into the stadium. To both our surprises we were being taken to the VIP section all the way at the top.
"Why is the VIP section at the top?" I asked as we stepped out of the elevator. "If anything, I want to be close to the action."
"It's so people can easily see you," a familiar voice chimed. "People who buy these seats do it not to have a great view, but to show status."
I scrunched my face up in confusion. "Winter, you and your rich quirks really confuse me sometimes."
Winter had a smile as she gave me a small embrace.
"Joan, you're suppose to be in the hospital." She was keeping a lid on for some reason, and the white hair behind her was probably why.
I chuckled. "Without you the doctors can do little to keep me down. All I have is another scar, another sign that my mission was a success."
Winter looked at Blake with a charming smile (that she definitely never used on me). "Hello there, Miss..."
"Blake Belladona."
"Hello Blake, I have never met you before." She looked at me. "Joan, who is she?"
"Winter, this is my... protege, Blake. Blake, meet my partner, Winter."
They both gave each other polite nods.
"Winter," a voice that actually made my heart jump said, "who are these people?"
"Weiss," Winter said as lovingly as she could (which was only for the image, because I know Winter hates being affectionate), "this is my partner, Joan Arc. I mentioned him before, haven't I?"
Weiss smiled at me. "All she said has been good," she insisted.
"Then she must be lying," I joked, "because I drive Winter crazy with my antics."
"Antics that work on the field," A gruffer voice said (great... more introductions). "You have met my daughters, it seems like it is my turn to be introduced."
I could feel Blake's shock next to me, and I really didn't blame her. I numbly shook the hands of Winter's father, the most powerful man in the entire Remnant.
This was unnatural. Both Weiss and Winter had falling outs with their father; it was the major driving force of Winter joining the military and Weiss joining Beacon. I knew they all loved each other, but they sure as hell weren't open enough about it to go to a event like this together.
"The constant damage you've been through has made me a bit... sentimental," Winter explained. "I realized how little time we could have and decided to spend some time with dear Weiss before she heads off to Beacon."
"Blake is, as well," I said pleasantly, my attention still on the head honcho. "Blake, perhaps you can talk to Weiss about Beacon. You can tell her the tips I gave you, help her out."
Luckily, both of the teenagers were smart enough to understand the situation and walked away. I glanced at them for a moment before turning back to Winter's father.
"As Winter said, you have made her quite sentimental. I have heard of some of your exploits, hidden or not, and I must say, bravo on what you have accomplished."
I smiled and gave him a polite nod. "Thank you. Though if it wasn't for the General or Winter, a lot of those missions would have been failures."
He turned around to the glass wall facing the stadium, glancing down at the battles happening below.
"Winter," he said, "can you arrange for us to go to another restaurant for dinner? I could have one of my assistants do it, but I think your word will sit better."
She nodded and walked away, knowing full well that it was an excuse to get her away.
I walked up next to him and stared at the battle below.
"I talk to James a lot," he admitted. "I knew him when I was a young lad. He and Ozpin used to sneak me out of the compound to do crazy shenanigans outside—I would have been half the man I am now without them."
"You all grew up to be in very prestigious positions."
He nodded. "We have. When James was injured, I feared for the life of one of my greatest friends. I threw insurmountable amounts of money in prosthetic research—money my father frowned upon. I am eternally grateful to Doctor Polendina. That man was nothing more than an upstart scientist with only his word, but his genius was palpable."
"I'm grateful to him as well. General Ironwood is a man that I have the greatest respect for."
"As do I." He looked directly into my eyes. "But it took all three of them to even get me to listen to a story about time travel."
Weiss trained me for years how to act in front of nobles. She was brutal with her teaching, my head still ached from every time she smacked me for picking the wrong fork, or eating at the long time.
But even with all her training, I still visibly jerked.
"Ah, your training in holding a conversation only goes so far. You are very good, but it is obvious you are not born a noble."
"Your daughter trained me very well..."
"How is she?" he asked, still watching the fights below. "My daughter, in the future."
"Weiss grew up into a fine young woman. She was incredible, to say the least. Her talent in swordsmanship was legendary, and her ability in Dust manipulation was matched by none. I remember hundreds of men asking for her hand in marriage, but she insisted that only a man that can best her in battle can take her hand in marriage—nobody could."
"I expected that," he said. "Both my daughters are rather rebellious, and I fear that their obstreperous behavior will only grow. It is not nice to know that my hunch is correct, but I am proud nonetheless."
I had no idea what obstreperous meant, but I assumed it was along the lines of rebellious.
"Joan, or would you prefer Jaune?"
"Joan. I abandoned my old world, so as penance I abandon my old name."
He nodded. "I see. Joan, did you ever battle my daughters for their hand in marriage?"
My eyes widened. "Oh no! I never tried to do that... my eyes were on another girl at that time."
"But now?"
I shook my head. "I have my mission. I am fully prepared to die if it means preventing the pain my loved ones will go through. A relationship is not a luxury I can afford—I am a man out of time."
"Commendable... but I must ask you for a favor."
"Anything," I said, surprised that the biggest man in the world wanted something from me.
"I ask that you survive. I fear my daughter Winter is becoming infatuated with you."
I stiffened.
"W-what?"
He glanced at me for only a moment. "You need to work on your etiquette. Winter is my first daughter, and I am not reasonable with my fortune when it comes to my children. She is used to getting what she wants... and if she wants you than there is little any of us can do."
"Surely you are mistaken..."
"Sometimes it is amusing how kids think they can outsmart their parents. After their mother died, I spent every moment I could molding them into women that can take the world in their palms and crush it. Perhaps, as a father, I was harsh or cold, but they still do not realize how many advantages they have in their own age group. I taught those girls everything they know—I can tell when one if feeling affection because I taught them what affection is."
That man was a business man... a business man through and through. He was a man who knew that time was money, and that money could mean a lot of different things. Money could be status, or love, or knowing what affection is. That man was a guy who was raised without a caring family and can only try to emulate emotions onto his children.
He truly deserves the Schnee fortune.
"I..." I took a deep breath, swallowing my pride with it, "it is clear that my intelligence is little compared to you. There's no point in putting on a professional front and try to match you—you are on a different level than those on Draco."
"Those kids on Draco do not understand value. Their ancestor's blood soaked the soil of the mainland to make those companies. They should have stayed in Atlas and honored them."
"I can safely assume that Ironwood or Ozpin asked you to be in the fold. I heard Qrow talking about using your influence to make our... little operation in Draco a lot easier."
"Yes, yes." He stroked his perfectly trimmed facial hair. "I am a business man, but I am not stupid enough to lump together strength and idiocy. Being able to infiltrate and steal from the most secure city in the Remnant means that you have more intelligence than you say."
"It was experience, if anything."
"You gain intelligence through experience, I see no flaw in my previous statement."
"Your answer?"
He looked at me, his blue eyes piercing into my soul.
"I am known for my... less than savory business actions. I am a man of business, I do things for my own good regardless and whether or not it is morally 'good' or 'bad'. So in order to join this group, I feel like I must make it profitable for me."
"You have enough money... so what is it you want?"
"I want my daughters to be happy. That is your goal too, is it not?"
"It is."
"You may not feel the same way, but Winter is undoubtedly falling for your charms. I will join your fold, allowing you full use of whatever resources I can access with my power and influence... if you take my daughter's hand in marriage."
I blinked.
"What do you think of Weiss?" I asked Blake after we exited the VIP booth. We were sitting down at a small shop, eating Ramen (not my personal favorite, but Blake was consuming it like it was water).
"She's nice," she said. "She was a lot more accepting of me being... well me that I expected."
"Really?"
"Yeah, at the White Fang they used to talk about how horrible the Schnee family was, and how they would kill any Faunus without batting an eye. I just met all three of them at once, and they seemed... like a rich family that has to keep up appearances, not devils."
"Do you understand how petty the conflict between human and Faunus is now? Humans have these preconceived notions and Faunus have their own preconceived notions. If we all just took the time and actually looked deeper..."
"...then all of this pointless killing will stop." Blake sighed and looked at me. "Why is it that people like you are so rare? It seems like there are more people blinded by racism than people who are," she blushed, "great... like you."
If I was younger, I would have been jumping up and down... but I was an old man—she looked nothing but cute to me (the cute you call a little kid).
"You're a great person as well, Blake. You threw away your entire life because you refused to live in a lie—that takes courage that a thousand or those racist pricks don't even have combined."
"I uh... I'mgonnagodosomethingrightnow!" She dashed away, leaving me perplexed and with a bowl of half eaten ramen. I looked over to where she was sitting, she asked for seconds but didn't even touch it...
The shopkeeper looked at me before chuckling, "Teens."
I nodded. "I used to be one of them, yet I have no clue what goes on in their minds..."
The door to the shop slammed open and then slammed closed—the bell connected to it rambling. A girl stood there, placing her back against the door as she panted.
"You alright, miss?" the shopkeeper asked.
"Yes!" she said way too quickly. "I'm perfectly fine!"
She awkwardly walked over to the front and stared at the menu mounted on the wall.
"Hey kid," I said, drawing her attention, "that's some fancy armor you got, but does it have pockets for your wallet? Cause it seems pretty bare to me."
Hey eyes widened and she hastily started patting down her armor, reaching into pockets I didn't realize she had (and I lived with her). After a frantic minute, she sighed.
"I must have dropped it while running," she mutter dejectedly.
"Hey kid, my friend left an untouched bowl right here—it's all yours."
She gasped. "Really?"
I nodded. "If you want another flavor or more, just ask. I like helping kids out, makes me feel a little less old..."
"You're not old!" she proclaimed as she say down next to me, before blushing and calming down. "You look no older than twenty five."
"Close, I'm twenty eight."
"That's still really young," she insisted. "Compared to the average human lifespan, you're extremely young."
I looked at the shopkeeper, who looked back at me, before we both erupted into laughter.
"What?" she said, looking offended.
"Kid," I looked at her flatly, "that was the weirdest thing I have heard all week... and trust me, I've had an interesting week."
"Oh," she muttered with a blush.
"What's your name, kid?" I asked. "You look a bit too young to be wondering around alone."
She really didn't look that young. In fact, she could pass of as a few years older than she was (looking older was fine for teenagers, in fact, it was a a compliment to say she looked twenty or twenty one).
"I just turned seventeen," she refuted.
"Which compared to me, is young." I gave her a grin that dared her to fight back.
She blushed slightly and shrugged. "I guess... my name is Pyrrha, by the way. Pyrrha Nikos."
"That name," I muttered, noticing her wilting. "I've met a Nikos before."
"You have?"
"I have." I chuckled as I realized I was doing it again. I was doing the exact same thing with Blake. "The resemblance is striking, now that I look closely."
"Well I have my mother," she said. "But my dad died when I was very young, perhaps you knew him."
"Maybe..." I snorted in amusement. "So what's up in the life of Pyrrha? You watching the tournament?"
She stared at me, shocked. "You... you don't know?"
"What?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"I'm... I'm actually in the finals."
"Nice!" I patted her on the shoulder. "Mistral's regional tournament is a lot bigger than other nations, good for you."
"Yeah..." she muttered shyly.
"I was in a tournament once," I started, nostalgic. "It was fun until we found out it was all rigged and a crazy bitch sent a horde or Grimm into the city."
"What!?"
I laughed. "Good times... good times."
It really wasn't good times. But everyone was alive at that point, so it was good compared to the rest of the war.
"So why are you here?" she asked, staring longingly at my food (she had finished her own rather quickly). "That sword looks pretty impressive, as do those guns. Are you a scout?"
"Can she get another one? On me." The shopkeeper nodded and I looked back at her. "And no, I'm not scouting talent for a school. I got severely injured twice in a pretty short time frame, so my job gave me a vacation. I've never been to this tournament before, so I figured why not?"
"What do you do?" she asked, before her eyes widened. "Not to be intrusive!"
"It's fine," I reassured. "I work for the government, many governments. My immediate supervisor is General Ironwood, but I've worked for more than just Atlas. Atlas decided that I'm too good to keep within it's borders. I take down threats to the entirety of the Remnant, not just a single country."
"That's incredible! That means you are pretty strong, right?"
"Strong enough."
"How'd you get injured... I mean—"
I placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's fine, trust me." I smiled at her, trying to be as disarming as possible. "This is all classified, but I recently got... promoted, in a way, so screw it. Around three weeks ago I got shot in the back by a high caliber sniper bullet at close range—it hurt like a bitch. Then, about two week ago, there was another mission that they needed me on... turns out I got shot by a similar rifle again! This time in the stomach!"
She looked skeptical.
"To far-fetched for you?"
"It's just, I don't think they would let you on another mission after being shot. Can I," her face matched her hair,"see it?"
I lifted my shirt slightly and showed my fresh scar.
"She's a nasty one, isn't she?" I lowered my shirt and noticed Pyrrha's expression. "Was that too gruesome for you?"
"No!" Her face flushed even more. "No!"
I chuckled. "That's the life of a Specialist, it seems. There are some things only I can do, and I don't want it any other way."
"But it's dangerous," she countered.
"Pyrrha, here's a good tip. Sometimes the best things in life are the things that are dangerous to attain... if it comes too easy than is it truly worth your time? The tougher route can be the most rewarding route, in my own experience. I get my ass kicked, but every scar I get is a reminder that I saved a life—that makes it better, doesn't it?"
She nodded slowly.
"That... that makes a lot more sense that I thought."
"You don't want to hear an old man ramble about life lessons, so let's focus on you. You ready for the finals? The pressure can be immense, but ignore the people who say to not let it get to you—use the pressure to exceed."
"I... I actually won the previous three tournaments," she admitted.
"Damn... well I must seem pretty stupid, don't I?"
"No you don't!" she yelled immediately. "It's so refreshing to talk to you. I... I can't go anywhere anymore. It's like everyone wants me for the title—not my true self."
"Pyrrha, when they look at you they see a successful, beautiful girl that has the entire world ahead of her. They see exactly what they dream about every night—being on top of the world."
I stopped talking, I wanted her to really absorb what I said. She was a good girl, just way too innocent for her standings. Maybe some deep thinking will help her... help her not die.
After around eleven years, more than a decade, it was surreal to see her again... and heartbreaking to know I was nothing more than a stranger.
I placed more money than necessary on the counter and patted Pyrrha's shoulder as I walked away.
"Good luck... oh, and your opponent Arslan is a hand-to-hand fighter. She doesn't have an ounce of metal on her body, so your Semblance won't do anything." I felt her stiffen and smirked as I left.
She snapped out of her thoughts as I exited the shop.
"Wait!" I could hear her cry. "What's your name!?"
"Hey Pyrrha."
"Yeah Jaune?"
"I heard this riddle from my grandfather. Wanna hear it?"
"I'd love to."
"This is a thing that is devours all things—flowers, trees, beasts, birds... it bites steel, gnaws iron, grinds hard stone, beats mountains down, ruins towns and slays kings. What is it?"
Pyrrha sat on the roof in silence, staring at the night sky in deep thought.
After a few minutes, "Have you figured out what it meant?"
"No, I haven't. What's the answer?"
A shrug. "I have no clue. That's why I asked you."
She laughed, a genuine laugh that warmed the both of them.
They sat in silence.
"Hey Jaune."
"Yeah Pyrrha?"
"Is the answer 'time?'"
He stared at her deeply, his blue eyes filled with emotion.
"Maybe... just maybe..."
We didn't stay for the finals. Blake wanted to bet money on Pyrrha (the little kitty was quite the shark), but opted out when she realized that literally everyone and their mothers were betting on redhead. The gain wasn't even enough to cover the hotel bill to stay an extra night, so we were gone the day before the finale.
We did say goodbye to the Schnee family. Blake and Weiss seemed on pretty good turns and Winter actually gave me a small hug to say goodbye (she did whisper in my ear that she would main me if I got hurt again... but it was still nice). I shook hands with Mr Schnee, thinking about our agreement the entire time.
A few hours later was when Blake's standards of me dropped.
"You were fine on the train," she said sadly, feeling empathetic for my entire situation.
"My Semblance helps deal with the motion sickness," I explained. "It's not at full power like it used to be—it's strong enough to deal with anything up to train."
"But not an aircraft." Her ears flattened against her head as she patted my back.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.
"We could have taken a boat to Vale," Blake said. "I'm not sure why we're going to Patch instead of the mainland."
"There's a friend that saved my life very recently. In fact, it was a week before I met you. He was suppose to escape with a high value target, but instead he turned around into dangerous territory and dragged my bleeding body out of the ocean. He's a very good friend of mine, and he has a niece around your age that's entering Beacon."
"Really?" Her ears perked up.
I nodded. "I honestly think that you two will be good friends. That's another one of my reasons, I want you to have friends before you enter a place like Beacon for four years."
"You sound like a dad," she said quietly. "I don't know what they're like, but I think your close."
"Well someone has to watch out or you. You're cute and deserve better... what other reason do I need?"
We sat in silence for a while.
"Hey Joan?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. I really mean it. Thanks for picking me up and not arresting me, and then deciding to get me into a place like Beacon... I never expected this two weeks ago."
"It's my pleasure, Blake. And honestly? You're completely wrong with being thankful to me. I'm the one who should be thanking you."
"For what?"
"You did a lot of things... but I'm the only person in the entire world that remembers any of it..."
"Land!" I cried happily. "Sweet land!"
Blake groaned in embarrassment at my antics as she dragged a few bags out of the Bullhead (I had a single bag, she had 3 and counting).
"Vomit Boy made it!" the familiar, shady voice of Qrow said. "Look at him! He's practically kissing the ground!"
"Go fu—" I noticed Ruby, Yang and Tai behind him, "—go screw yourself, Qrow! You're named after a bird but you can't even fly!"
"We were falling, not flying!"
"Is that an excuse?"
We looked at each other, before sharing a laugh and a manly embrace. I gave Tai a casual handshake as I ushered Blake in front of me.
"This is my little minion, Blake." The girl gave a polite (almost shy) nod. "I found her wandering the wilderness, lost. So I'm helping her get to Beacon where she'll hopefully stop wasting all my money."
"You're stupid," she muttered.
"The disrespect!" I yelled, aghast, as Qrow and Tai laughed. "I spend thousands on your train and fish fetishes! This is what you do to me!?"
She flushed. "Shut up!"
Tai placed a hand around Ruby's shoulder and led the shy girl towards us. Yang was normal enough to take the cue and follow her sister for introductions.
"Introduce yourself," Tai told his children.
"My name is Yang, it's very nice to meet you." I shuddered as she looked at me (like she was looking at those magazines she likes so much). "You seem like a very nice guy, Joan! And Blake here seems like she needs a little more fun in her life—something I can deliver!"
Tai groaned at his daughter's horrible manners, but I laughed. It was so much more refreshing than talking to the Schnee's.
"Yang, if you can make Blake fun then I will forever be in your debt."
She smiled at me. "I'll hold you to—"
Qrow shoved her towards Blake and placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "This is my smallest niece, Ruby."
"...hi," she said shyly.
I smiled warmly. "Qrow mentioned you."
"Did he?"
I nodded. "He said you're amazing with weapons. I heard you even made your own scythe."
She brightened, almost blinding me. "He did!? I did make my own scythe!" She pulled out her weapon, extending it. "This is Crescent Rose, my baby! I spent years designing the concept and building it cause uncle Qrow didn't want to help me!"
"He's an old man, they're mean." She giggled at Qrow's indignant yell. "And I can't really blame him. A weapon is a personification of yourself. Using a foreign weapon is tough at first—it won't truly be yours until you prove yourself."
"Wow!" Her eyes sparkled. "What's your weapon."
I grabbed the hilt of my sword, drawing the attention of many. The only one that had seen my weapon was Qrow, and that was only for a moment because I had to extend my shield to hit the Gipfel Building.
"This is... Atra Mors." Luckily, I was smart enough to modify the weapon soon after I came to this timeline—Crocea Mors was too distinctive for there to be two of them. The usual white of the shield was black, and the blue handle was now red. "A long, long time ago my family created two swords—Crocea Mors and Atra Mors. This sword has been with me for years, and has always had my back."'
"A classic," she breathed out.
"What about range?" Yang asked. "I mean, it's an impressive weapon to last so long, but what if you fight someone with a sniper rifle?"
Qrow seemed a little put off, probably because I was just shot by two snipers, but I smiled in response.
"That's kinda my weakness, I get shot by snipers a bit too much. Qrow was there for the last time..."
"Twice in one week," Qrow muttered. "You have a target painted on you."
I pulled out StormFlower and Ironwood's Revolver. "This is my range. This weapon," I held up Stormflower, "came from one of greatest friends. This other one came from my mentor. They got me out of a lot of tough jams."
I tossed StormFlower over to Ruby, who fawned over the design.
With my hand now free, I rose it and channeled some Aura into it. "I'm also decent at Pure Aura Manipulation, I can shoot projectiles, but nowhere near the range of a gun."
They all seemed pretty interested at how I could manipulate my life force. I flared it one more to make my hand glow before retracting the energy, making the few eyebrows lower with it.
"That's... so... COOL!" I chuckled at Ruby's enthusiasm.
"That's nothing," I dismissed. "I knew a girl who had super speed for her Semblance..."
"I have super speed for my Semblance!"
"Do you? Well, did you know that..."
Ruby leaned against me, as she always did when she needed comfort.
"Have you ever heard the story of Atlas?" I asked.
"No."
"Ironwood told me this. This is the story from which the Atlas country gets its name. I'm not an author or poet, so get ready for the Jaune Arc shit version."
She giggled.
"There was once a guy. Good, bad, it doesn't matter. He pissed off something supernatural and was forced to carry the entire world on his shoulders as punishment."
"That sounds... rough."
"It is, but think of this—everyday for the rest of eternity Atlas must carry the entire planet on his shoulder. Why is it that Atlas doesn't just give up? Why can't he just drop the world and let everything end?"
"I'm not sure."
"Sometimes I can feel my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I carry on my shoulders. It hurts, it really fucking hurts. But Atlas never lowered the world from his shoulders, so why should I?"
"You're traveling a lot. You a pop star on tour or something?" Qrow asked as we sat on the beach (even seventeen year old Yang was scary enough to make me do things). I shrugged, grimacing as the sun messed with my fresh scar.
"Winter made me take a vacation, so I figured I would go around and see how much has changed."
"You picked up a kid."
Another shrug. "Eh... kinda just happened."
"You're changing the timeline by making all these kids meet each other." Qrow watched as Yang tried to force Blake into the water, which the hidden Faunus desperately tried to avoid. "They might even find different teams in Beacon."
"Ozpin knows what the teams should be. That guy loves playing puppet master... I have no clue how Glynda can deal with him."
"Insane geniuses can be very good or very bad. We somehow got both Oz and Polendina... you hear about the robots?"
I flopped onto my back, feeling my scar from the White Fang ache as I did.
"Penny's pretty fantastic," I said lazily. "Her siblings, however, really needed a reality check. Not that I'm a robot racist... it's just that I went through an entire fucking ordeal that I don't want to go through ever again."
"You're from a fucked up time. I can't even imagine the crazy shit that will never happen."
"As living creatures, we're constantly changing. There was suppose to be a trend where all the kids tied a bandanna or scarf around their arm or leg, but now it's nowhere near as big as my old time."
"Maybe you can bet on things—make a shit ton of money."
"The future isn't set in stone, and besides, that's messed up and you know it."
"Joan!" Blake ran up to me and stood beside me. "I do NOT want to swim! Make Yang stop!"
I looked at Qrow, who looked back at me. They were seventeen... right?
"Come one Blakey!" Yang cackled mischievously. "You know you want to!"
I sighed and shook my head. "Blake, I'm too old and haggard to deal with your issues. Go fight it out with a thumb war or something..."
"You don't look old and haggard to me," Yang commented blatantly (when you looked as good as she did, you could be blatant). "Where'd you get those battle wounds, soldier?"
I pointed to my newest one. "I had to run distraction for your dear uncle here, got shot." I touched another bigger one on my chest. "Got an arrow to the lower trachea, which is fine since it was suppose to hit my heart. This one did hit my heart, got hit by an icicle."
"An icicle?"
"Yeah... an icicle." I flipped onto my stomach. "The one that's still fresh was from a sniper during a raid on a White Fang base. I have a Lichtenberg mark on my shoulder going down my back, you get those if you get struck dead on by lightening—I can't believe I only have one. There's a few other bullet wounds and stab marks... oh and the burns... I got some burns."
"Your arm," Blake noted.
"Which one?"
"The one that's real. That has a massive burn."
Yang raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer to look at my prosthetic.
I rolled onto my back. "My real arm is burned from fighting a fire user, she burned it pretty badly but it still works. My left arm is a prosthetic, I lost the real one a few years ago."
"You..." Ruby was at my side in an instant. "You have a robot arm!?"
"It's an arm, that's robotic," I said. "It doesn't have a missile launcher built in or anything. I could have gotten a tricked out arm with a bunch of gadgets, but I wouldn't be able to channel Aura into it. It would be bad if my arm gets torn off blocking something because I couldn't reinforce it."
"That's still really cool! Uncle Qrow and dad barely have any scars!"
"That means they're good at what they do. I have all this damage because I wasn't fast enough or strong enough... but a lot of them are proof of a mission completed."
"Wow... that's deep." Yang looked impressed. "You're pretty young, as well. What are you, twenty six?"
"Eight."
"You've done a lot in just a decade more than me..."
"Trust me," I assured, "you'll do a lot of crazy shit in your time. There's this feeling—the constant need for the adrenaline rush. Once you get it you're doomed to live the life of a Huntsman until you find an anchor."
"An anchor?"
"You guys," Tai said as he appeared with a cooler. "You two are my anchors. I stopped all the crazy shit once I first laid eyes on you—I couldn't dare to leave you two alone."
His words hit hard, probably because both of their mothers were gone.
"Hey Blake," I said, breaking the silence, "you like it here?"
"It's nice."
"Good." I stood up. "Because you're staying here."
"What!?"
I dusted some sand off my body. "I have to make one more stop, but I can't take you with me. The reason we came to Patch was so you can stay with these guys until Beacon starts up."
"B-but..." her eyes widened in alarm. "No! You can't just leave!"
"I'm not leaving forever," I insisted. "There's just... some things that I have to do alone. I was suppose to give you your scholarship and be on my way, but I decided to travel with you because you were alone. You don't need me, and I can't afford to have you with me right now."
She glared and dashed away.
"Ah well," I muttered as I looked at Tai and Qrow. "Take care of her."
"We will."
"Oh, and she really likes fish... that'll break the ice real quick."
The city of Vale was divided into many parts. There was the Industrial District, Residential District, Commercial, Upper Class, and finally, my destination, the Agriculture District.
The southern part of the city was where the Industrial and Agricultural Districts were, which basically meant it was the poorest part of the city (which wasn't that poor compared to the rest of the Remnant).
The Arc family didn't live in the Agricultural District because they were poor. They lived there because living in the city with eight children was a bad idea—financially, legally and mentally.
My family was actually pretty well off. My great-great grandfather acquired a lot of war bonds during the Great War, and saved them long enough to make my grandparents decently wealthy. Our house was actually near the size of the average high-class home in northern Vale—just without things like a fountain or a tennis court.
We had ten acres of land that wasn't for agriculture—it was just for the family. I remember running around the wide, Grimm-less forests with my sisters... those were truly the days.
It was a walk to get to the front door. I had to go across an entire acre of land before I was within a reasonable distance to the house. I could hear the sound of a bustling family from far away. This was the time when my older siblings took vacations from their jobs, because school was out and everyone was home. I smiled as the smell of my mothers cooking flooded my nose—nostalgia.
I knocked on the door.
"Not it!"
"Not it!"
"Nose goes!"
"What—no!?"
"Jaune's it!"
"You didn't touch your nose!"
Were we actually like that?
I could hear my younger counterpart grumbling as he approached the door.
This was it... this was the moment...
Jaune Arc was about to meet Jaune Arc.
I was about to see everything I was fighting for... the innocence I wanted to preserve.
The door opened.
"Hello...?" Jaune's eyes widened.
"Hey there," I said. "We really do look alike."
Jaune stared. "Mom!" he called after a few moments. "Mom, I'm at the door!"
"I know you're at the door!" I heard my mother say, making me smirk. "Who is it?"
"Mom... it's me! I'm at the door!"
"Jaune! Stop messing around!"
"No really," I said. "Jaune's confusion is not unfounded."
I saw my mother peak her head around the corner, before gasping.
"Jac... come here!"
It took a few moments for my dad to come over, but when he did... damn, when did something get in my eyes?
Jacques Arc. My father who died while holding off Cinder with his platoon while everyone else escaped. I still remember him leading his troops into battle while all of our aircrafts flew away.
But none of that happened yet, so here he was.
"Mr Arc," I greeted. "My name is Joan Arc, and I've been meaning to meet you and your family for a while."
He stared.
"Do you... want dinner?"
I smiled.
"So you're related to us?"
I nodded. "Yes, Julia, I'm related to you. We're cousins, pretty far apart from my knowledge." The younger girl (eleven) nodded and continued to bounce in her chair—she was always filled with energy.
"You look a lot like Jaune, so it can't be that far," my mother, Isabelle, said.
"I don't like your name." I glanced at Joanna, who was twenty one. "It's too similar to mine... in fact I'm pretty sure it's a girls name."
"Jo!" my father yelled.
"It's fine," I insisted. "My part of the family was exactly like this, similar size and everything... this is a good reminder."
"So how are you an Arc? Not to be offensive in any way." Lucillia, the twenty five year old, asked.
"You guys know Julius, the original owner of Crocea Mors?" There were nods. "He had a sister, Joan. The stories said she died, but she actually disagreed with the family politics and moved away. She started her own family that lived in relative seclusion. A Grimm attack left me alone, so I've been by myself for a while."
"That's horrible!" my mother cried. "It must have been so difficult."
I shrugged. "I threw myself into my work. I've been keeping myself busy, it helps a lot."
"What do you do?" my father asked.
"Oh, did I not say?" I pulled out my military ID. "I'm Specialist Joan Arc, I work directly under General Ironwood."
Julia choked on her drink.
"You alright, kid?"
She nodded hastily.
"Specialist," my father muttered. "What do you do?"
"Ironwood has a lot of things he wants to do," I explained, "but politics keeps him indoors. I do anything he asks of me—a lot of which is dealing with international threats."
"Like the White Fang," June commented.
"Juney's right, the White Fang has been the center of a lot of my missions. But don't assume that they're the only threats to the Remnant. I have to deal with a lot more threats than people realize—nipping a lot of issues at the bud."
"Like the attack at Codex?" Andrea (nineteen) asked.
I nodded. "I was directly involved with that attack."
"So what happened there?"
I paused, obviously thinking.
"I'll try to give you as much none-classified information as possible." She nodded. "The attack was made by two humans, both of which didn't realize that they were shutting down the entire internet. The news clips were modified by the government, but I can tell you that the man having a joyride through the city was shot, but survived. He was a distraction for the other assailant—but they were both taken to a government base."
That was exactly what happened... just without mentioning that it was a government sanctioned mission and that I was the one shot.
"Why would they do that?" Jaune asked, somewhat angry. "There's no reason for them to try and ruin things."
"Some people just want to watch the world burn," I said, practically seeing Cinder in front of me. "Those are the most dangerous of people—the ones that normal people can't fully understand."
He nodded, probably not taking my words to heart (I know how he thinks).
"That's the reason you came here, right? Something happened on that mission."
"Yes, Lucy," I said to Lucille, "I got injured during that mission, and I was already injured from a previous mission a few days prior. Ironwood decided to give me a vacation, but I don't like not working. Headmaster Ozpin asked me to run some recruiting for him, which gave me enough courage to come here to meet you guys."
They all froze... it was actually amusing how similar we all were.
"Recruiting?" my father asked.
I looked at my younger counterpart. "Jaune, how would you like to enter Beacon Academy—free of charge."
"I... I uh... wha?" I chuckled at... at, well, my stuttering. Jaune looked shellshocked.
"He has no combat training," my mother said.
"I had no combat training when I entered combat school," I said with a shrug. "In fact, I faked my transcripts and didn't even know how to properly swing my sword."
"Really?" Jaune seemed hopeful.
"I was rejected from a primary school for having 'absolutely no aptitude for being a Huntsman', but I was just a late bloomer. Jaune's a bit scrawny, but still has the build of an impressive fighter. I also noticed his eyes—they're a lot sharper than people give him credit for."
Jaune blushed and looked down.
"Are you sure?" Jacques looked at me deeply. "My children mean a lot to me..."
"I'll train him myself," I insisted. "There is two weeks until Beacon officially starts. Beacon preaches teamwork, so Jaune can make it through initiation with two weeks of training—he'll have a team to back him up until he's at an adequate level."
I looked at myself.
"But only if you want to, Jaune. This is all up to you."
Instantly, he nodded.
"I want this."
"Ah my—FUCK!" I poked Jaune's cheek with my foot.
"No swearing, your sisters are watching."
"You... you stabbed me in the shoulder!" It was actually quite amusing how he could talk shit while pinned to the ground by his own weapon.
I smirked. "You're the one who wanted to go from sticks to actual weapons... this is what you get."
"You stabbed me!"
I pulled Crocea Mors out of him and let it fall to the ground. "I got stabbed in the shoulder a shit ton. I had a particular mentor who would do it just for fun."
"That's exactly what you're doing!"
"Get up," I insisted. "We're going to keep going."
"You stabbed me!"
"I got shot in the middle of battle, but still had to keep fighting. You need to learn that the battle is never over until it's over. The world's not going stop because little Jauney has a boo-boo, will it?"
"No," he muttered.
"Than lets keep going!"
Pyrrha could unlock his Aura—that wasn't my job. My job was to make him tough and Aura made people soft. Ruby could barely take hits without her Aura because she had it since she was a little girl—she wasn't conditioned to fight without it.
I was teaching Jaune how to fight without his Aura, so when he did unlock it he would only have another tool in his arsenal and not a necessity to survive. Aura was a crutch that people became dependent on—even I used my Aura too much.
I kicked Jaune in the ankle, making him falter as I grabbed the blade of Crocea Mors from his grip.
"Don't stab me!" he pleaded.
"Don't be disarmed so easily!" I yelled at him. "Whenever you get hit it ruins your concentration, so we're gonna go hand to hand in order to grow some pain tolerance."
He stared at me, wide eyed.
I cracked my knuckles.
"Let's go, kid."
"You're going hard on him," Jacques commented.
I shrugged as I watched Jaune cover his eye with an ice pack. "I have to be kinesthetic with the time frame we have. I want to hammer the basics into his muscle memory—he can learn the more flashy moves at Beacon."
He nodded. "That sword you have, it's the sister sword to Crocea?"
"I'd prefer to say brother sword, mine looks a lot manlier."
"The black does look cool," he admitted. "Makes the yellow Arc symbol on the shield pop."
"Yeah it does." Jaune hobbled towards the kitchen table, where we were, and sat down heavily. His head fell onto the table and he started to snore rather loudly—a lot louder than I did at his age.
Well... I never worked that hard at his age.
"Jaune, put your head up." Jane, the eldest child of the Arc family at twenty seven, grabbed Jaune by the hair and lifted his head up. "It's unbecoming of a lady to have poor manners."
"I'm not a lady..." he groaned.
"You aren't? I seemed to have forgotten."
I laughed, as did Jacques. Jaune crossed his arms and glared at his sister as he waited for dinner to be served.
It took around fifteen minutes for all the children to be assemble—I could have sworn it took at least thirty in my time. I smiled as I listened to the six different conversations between ten different people... I had forgotten how blissful this was.
This was home. For the longest time, my home was a the safest position in the ground or the nearest base. I used to sleep in tanks while they weren't being used—only to wake up being driven into battle. My meals were laid in the dirt and divided, because I wanted to give my men part of my rations in order to build morale. My water was sometimes soaked in my own blood—but I didn't care at all.
The world was so peaceful, so clear. The haze that was war was just gone from the world—it was unnatural and wonderful at the same time. I could take a deep breath and smell fresh air and good food... not vehicle emissions and dead bodies.
Who fucked over Cinder Fall enough to make her ruin such a beautiful world? Nobody ever asked why Cinder wanted to take over the world... we all just assumed she was a crazy bitch.
Maybe she was. Who knew? It would take an ungodly large chip on my shoulder in order to make me attempt to destroy the world. A chip that would be larger than my entire body, personally.
It was probably ambition. There's only one person, ever, who had enough ambition to successfully take over the world... and I killed her once.
"Joan?" A voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Yes, Jacquelyn?" I looked at the nineteen year old twin.
"What are you doing after Jaune goes to Beacon?"
I shrugged. "I'll have to call Ironwood, but he has me on a very loose leash. My guess is that I'll head over to Beacon and do some jobs for Ozpin. The White Fang has been the most active in Vale recently."
"That'd be so cool!" Jaune roared, mouth full of food.
"Manners!"
Multiple hands smashed into Jaune's head.
It was time. In a days time was when the new term of Beacon, and my story, officially began. This signified the beginning of the end—this was where Cinder's plans started to approach their final phases.
We were running interference. Atlas was unofficially at war with the White Fang, which was a lot different than my timeline. The power of the terrorist group was a lot lower than the original time, not that they knew it.
Plus, with the combined efforts of the Atlas military and the Schnee Dust Company, the severity of stealing Dust has been increased world wide. Roman Torchwick's job will be a lot more complicated when stealing a gram of Dust can warrant a sending a SWAT team.
Mistral was a political shit storm, so locking Cinder out of Haven was impossible. There were too many people with too much power over there—many of which could not say no to a beautiful woman.
But once she infiltrated Beacon... then she would be in our trap.
"Do you have to leave?" Jaune whined as I stood in front of the house. "You can just come with me when the term starts."
"We'd love to have you for one more day," Isabelle insisted.
I shook my head. "I would love to stay, but my vacation has been unnaturally long for the position I have. It's absurd that I basically got a month off—especially when they all know I healed within a few days."
"You'll still be in Vale, though, right?" I smiled at Julia (I'd always liked the little devil the most).
"Of course, kiddo. One call and I can be here in a few minutes—less than a minute if you say please."
"Good luck Joan."
"I'll see you... Jaune."
Authors note: A lot of those italicized flashbacks were based off books. The first one was from Don Quixote, and there's Narnia (the Blake song), LoTR and Alice (the whole riddle bit), a book that I can't remember right now and another book that I didn't read, but a friend mentioned the quote to me and I liked it.