Last Chapter Summary: The Arc had a family meeting, Jaune showed his Aura to everyone, he got some lukewarm reception, got a bit mad, ran off and hid himself. His older sister Kyrke knew and called him out of hiding, had a bit of talk with BIG revelations about him and his sisters' origins, then, a big, nasty humanoid Grimm attacks their home.
Heads-up/Warning: Have watched Vol 6's Episode 3 and here to tell you that the Lore for this story is VERY different from canon RWBY. Thinking of maybe adding AL to the description which stands for Alternate Lore. It might be a bit redundant because it's supposed to fall under AU (Alternate Universe) anyway but might be worth a shot. Maybe.
One thing should be clear now though: The world of Remnant of this story used to be Earth as we know it, not that world full of magic with two god brothers that Vol 6's Episode 3 showed. What happened to Earth that turned it to Remnant? That's part of the Alternate Lore. For now, here's another chapter of this story.
Chapter 3: Grimm Night, the Sequel.
The Mighty Herakles was a Hero in the old days of Pre-Remnant World, originating from an Old Country named Greece. He was the son of the Olympian God King named Zeus whose strength and durability is unrivaled by Mortals or even other strong beasts and he possessed wits that impressed even Athena, the Olympian God of Wisdom herself. Once, Herakles held the weight of the whole sky on his shoulders, proving his strength to be a match to Atlas, one of the mightiest of the Titan Gods, predecessors to the Olympians, who was known for his power.
He had heard the story of Herakles and his Twelve Labors from his parents before, the incredible tales of him performing seemingly impossible tasks using his powers and his wits had filled him with excitement and joy... But being face-to-face with the legend, he realized one thing: Hero he might be, but when you were his enemy, the word Hero might as well be synonymous with Monster. The snarling black teeth, glowing red eyes, darkened complexion... This was a Herakles who has been consumed by rage and madness, the same state in which he killed his wife and daughter, incited by the Olympian God Queen, Hera.
The Monster charged with his slab of a sword and he leaped up, going as far as fifty feet. Kyrke leaped from his bridal carry, got herself onto his back, wrapped both her hands and legs around his neck and waist respectively and spread her wings, taking both of them away. "S-sis?!"
"We need to get to the others, a Herakles consumed by madness is too much for both of us."
"R-right." Looking back at the blackened Hero, he saw the Monster looking at them with a snarl... And then he jumped, his right hand extended toward him and he was going so fast that it seemed like he was flying. "S-sis!" He squeezed his right fist tight and created a black grenade on the palm and Infused his Aura into it, making it glow white, "Pivot 360-degrees to the left!"
"Alright~!" She pivoted in mid-air and he pulled back his right hand holding the grenade, rolling along in mid-air with Kyrke, faced the Monster of a Hero and threw the grenade at his face. It made impact with his face and exploded in black mass that glowed white, expeling enough force to disturb the Monstrous Hero's momentum and sent it falling back down. "Nice shot~!"
"Thanks! Fly higher please!" She did so, carrying him further up, away from the Monster of a Hero. "Okay, who are we going to get first?!"
"Anyone, really. This is Herakles, any help will-"
Jaune! Behind us!
"H-hm?!" He turned and saw, just a few feet away from him, the head of a giant black serpentine being which mouth was enough to consume his whole body is wide open, ready to latch onto something... And it was aiming right at him. '...Shit.' He knew what needed to be done. He pulled Kyrke's arms and legs off of him and threw her forward. Then, he focused Anthea's mass to converge on his legs, expand them and hardening them, forming a big, thick slab of armor in the shape of a box, covering all of his lower body as if it was a Safe, one that was big enough to fill up the snake's opened maw.
"J-JAUNE!" Kyrke turned and reached for him, but he knew it was far too late.
He turned and look into her eyes, "GO! I'LL BE OKAAAAAAAA-!" The beast pulled him by his into the ground, dragged him to the point it created a trench. Guh! Anthea! Spike the Safe!'
Yup!
Big sharp spikes protruded out of the 'Safe' that is latched onto his lower body, stabbing through the serpentine's head, up through its skull and down through its jaw. He twirled, the serpentine's head twisted along, "RRRAH!" he kicked both of his legs with all his strength, pulling its head off of its neck. 'Consume!' he reformed the Safe back into his legs as the beast's head is absorbed through Anthea. It flowed into his Mass, getting integrated with it... and his eyes widened. The information was flowing into him, unbidden and unprovoked, telling him what the beast was and its connection to the ancient Hero. "No way... How? How the hell-?"
Grimm are Conceptual Beings, remember? This Hero's victory over the beast defined him down to his soul, so... in a way... It's become a part of him.
He stood up and turned to the stump where the serpentine head used to be. He waited for a few second, ready for what felt like inevitability... But what he thought to be the inevitable never came to pass. He blinked his big white eyes as he realized what he just did. "...So... We've absorbed its power too, huh?"
...Hmm... Hmhmhmhm~!. He could feel Anthea 'grinning'. 'Cut off one head, two more shall take its place'. Conceptual-based Regeneration... Yes, this will come in handy, far more useful than the poison. For now, we only have a weaker version of it, but given time, it will be much, much stronger to the point that you can even regrow your head if it's ever cut off.
The body of the serpentine Monster retreated as if it was being sucked in by something and from afar, at the far end of the serpentine Monster's body, was the Mad Hero that restored his left arm from having been turned into the legendary beast. '...Yeah, I don't think we have that much time.' Still though... 'Then again, we have no other choice but to fight. The guy's fast and strong, running will only delay the inevitable and we need to stick around when the cavalry gets here, so...'
Synchro Form?
'Yes, but not now. Remember, Salem might be watching through him. Hell, she might be the one controlling him and not...' He scowled as burning hot anger coursed through him.
Jaune?
'...This guy is a powerful Hero, Anthea.' One of the best amongst all of them. Herakles might not be as great of a King like Arthur or a Pioneer like Francis, but he loved hearing the tales of the Labors where the hero beat seemingly impossible odds. His story and the adversaries he faced was one of the things that kept him going when his parents told him to unlock his Aura on his own. 'And his body, powers and legend are being used like he was just a puppet, a tool... I want to put a stop to it.'
Hm. Then let's do this. What's the strategy?
The Monster using the Hero's body walked forward, slowly, carefully. 'She must've sensed that I've eaten his Hydra aspect and gotten wary... But Herakles still has more up his sleeves, especially considering that he's been revived by Grimmification... Shit, whatever the Wizard did to reincarnate my sisters are better than this... He deserves better than this...'
Jaune, focus.
'...Right. Our strategy is to be... Well, as fast as we can possibly be. Dodging is the key, tanking hits from him won't-' Something caught his attention, coming from the darkened Hero. He narrowed his eyes and focused. The Hero's left eye... It flashed white for a second, casting off a glow that-
It happened again. He wasn't imagining it and that glow... He knew that glow. '...Anthea, can you feel us in him?'
...No... But I saw it too. That grenade... your Aura is infused into him. Maybe... Maybe the witch is able to withhold your influence to a degree. If we can actually consume him, then-
'Let's find out.' He created another grenade in his right palm, infused it with his Aura... and the darkened Hero blurred into motion mid-way. "Shit!" He leaped and twirled as he jumped in an arc, going over the Hero who slashed his slab of a sword where he stood a second ago. He threw the grenade onto his face... "Agh!" And got his foot caught by the massive Hero who then slammed him onto the ground...
"Ooof!"
Over...
"Ahg!"
And over...
"Damn-ughk!"
And over...
"Sto-bhwog!"
Jaune it worked!
And over...
"Fucking-ghk!"
And over...
'Fuck, this won't ever end!' He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, changing his right arm into its Blade form... "RRRRAAAAAHHH!" And cut off his caught foot right above the ankle, severing it clean mid-swing, making him fly toward a nearby tree. He Clawed both of his hands and latched on to it. "FUCK THAT HURT!" Looking down, he saw the stump where his right foot used to be... and saw as it warped and shifted as it regenerated fully, bones, nerves, muscles, skin, black Grimm mass, everything in just a few seconds. "AAGH!"
Jaune, focus! The grenade has exploded and your Aura has seeped into him. However, it's being rendered inert, no doubt it's the witch's influence.
'...Alright then.' He put his feet against the tree bark, bent his knees and focused his eyes onto the corrupted form of the mighty Hero who threw the foot he had cut off over his shoulder. 'Defeat him through a thousand hits... Simple. But if it can use the creatures that he had beaten as a minion, then-' he stopped for a second, 'Wait, she knows that I can regenerate now... So that means-' Herakles' darkened body pulsed and warped, materializing into the furred skin of a certain animal he knew well that is wrapped over the Hero's shoulders... 'Great.'
What is it?
'Nemean Lion skin, invulnerable to anything but the lion's own claws. If the Hydra's regeneration is Conceptual, then its invincibility would be too.'
Well then we'll just have to keep attacking it until its invincibility submits to our Unifying Power.
'...Right.' He smiled. If he and Anthea can consume and take over Hydra's Conceptual-based Regeneration, then beating similarly natured invincibility with his Aura with 'Power' as its nature, was possible. This was not a hopeless battle, he felt that he could win against the Hero who once won against a number of Olympian Gods, even one that embodied death, by using his strength.
It won't be easy even with the new powers he had just gotten though... He jumped down, landing with his knees bent and stood up. "...Yo. You're looking through his eyes, aren't you?" The Monster of a Hero growled, "You're using him as a puppet..." He scowled, "All for me. You're scared, aren't you? That's why you sent him as your Knight." He formed a mouth on his black mask-like face and grinned, "Thanks for giving me a new power by the way... You should've sent the Stymphalian Birds on me to test the waters first instead of using the Hydra, idiot."
Red glowing veins popped all over the Monster Hero's body before he exploded into motion, charging at him with the slab for a sword held high.
He warped Anthea's mass, changing some of its form into something that he had consumed. Eight long snake-like bodies, each longer than he was tall, thicker than his arms and topped off with serpentine heads the size of his head sprouted off his back and hissed as the fanged heads went for Herakles, catching the Monstrous Hero by his arms, feet, shoulders and necks and stopping him in his tracks. The blackened Herakles roared as he writhed and swung his slab-like blade, cutting off some of the heads off the necks.
Using the remaining snake-like bodies sprouting off his back as tentacles, he pulled himself closer. 'Coating, Reinforcing...!' He enhanced Anthea's mass with his Aura along with the tentacles increasing his physical capabilities further. He pulled his right hand back, closed the fingers into a fist and turn it into a Hammer Fist, "Hah!" sent the fist toward the Hero's face at a speed that heat up the air and hit the Hero's right cheek, 'Infusion!' His white glow seeped into the Hero through the fist and the serpentine heads latching onto the Hero's body, but it was not without consequences, 'Fuck!' his right hand pulsed in pain and he pulled back, avoiding a slash from the Hero's slab sword by extending his Hydra Tentacles, 'Even though I didn't directly punch the fur, the invincibility effect is still present? That's Nemean Lion hide for you!'
It's working though! We need to keep up the pace!
'No need to tell me twice!' The cut off Hydra heads regenerated back without multiplying and latched onto the Hero again, onto his covered shoulders. 'Let's see how the Nemean Lion fare against Hydra venom Infused with my Aura!' From the fangs in the mouths of the heads that latched onto the fur, white glow seeped into the skin, cracking it apart and producing steam. 'What do you know? Hydra venom can pierce through Nemean Lion's invincibility! That's our ticket!'
The Greek Hero growled and swung his slab sword, rending the air with his swings and cutting off most of the serpentine Hydra heads. Jaune pulled back, elongating the two remaining Hydra bodies latched onto Herakles and swung his body around, using Herakles' body as an axis to get behind the Hero and then pulled himself again toward him and changed his hands into its Claw form. Tipping the claws in Hydra venom and infusing it with his Aura, he pierced the gigantic Hero's neck, regenerated back the cut off Hydra heads and have them latch onto the Hero again by his shoulders, wrapped four of them onto the Hero's arms and legs and tightened their hold with their fangs onto the Hero's shoulders, forearms and forelegs. 'Infuse...!'
His body glowed bright white and from where he was piercing the Hero with his claws and Hydra Heads' fangs, cracks that glowed white began to spread all over the Hero's body.
The Monstrous Hero roared and thrashed about wildly like a bucking horse. Jaune tightened his hold over him but he was facing the strength of a demigod who once upheld the sky in his shoulders. He could feel his Aura taking hold of the mighty Hero, but he needed more strength! 'Synchro... Form!' His body and mind warped and shifted, he grew bigger, more muscular, to the point that he... they matched the Monstrous Hero's physique.
Two became one and it became easier to hold the Hero in place as the Hydra Tentacles also grew even bigger and stronger as they used their Grimm Mass and Aura in conjunction. The glowing white cracks spread all over the Hero's body and then, they felt it. They felt their dominance over the Hero's very being, over the witch's control. They grinned. "Your influence over him ends now, witch! So says VENOM!" Through their union with the Hero's being, they overpowered the witch's control and began to absorb him. The Hero roared and moved his arms... Only for said arms to stop and twitch. They had their hands on the control now. "Thanks for remaking him out of Grimm mass! Now we won't have to feel guilty for eating him since you remade him into a monster, not a human being!"
"Abomination!" A feminine voice echoed in their head.
"Ooooh! Someone's feeling angry! Oh by the way, hello pot, I'm kettle, have you ever seen yourself in the mirror before? Really, you should know better!"
"What are you, you... wretched creature?! You should not exist!"
"Again, kettle, you should look at a mirror sometime."
"What are you?!"
"We are Venom... the Bane of your existence!" They released raw unshaped Mass that enveloped Herakles whole and proceeded to consume the Grimmified Hero faster, "And for now... this is OV-!" Mass of darkness sprouted off of the Hero's back like a big opened maw of a venus flytrap with them in it. "What the-?!" The mass was not theirs. They leaped off of the Hero, missing being devoured by a mass of Grimm mass with teeth and landed into a crouch ten meters away from the massive darkened Hero whose form was warping. "Hmph! Still not giving up, huh...?"
The massive mass that sprouted off of the Hero had turned into a big cocoon and from it, a gigantic boar that was at least three times the Hero's height emerged and let out a snort, a powerful breath that swayed the trees by its sheer force. "...Erymanthian Boar...! Gods' Wrath itself!" They grinned at the creature. The power that was now coursing through them... It was a new addition from their incomplete consumption of Herakles. They spread their arms wide. "Well c'mon then!"
The boar's glowing red eyes pulsed, honing in on their form... And it charged, the wind whistled and the earth shook in its wake, the embodiment of gods' wrath, natural disaster given form, was charging and they were its target.
They grinned as they put their arms up front, accepted the attack... And caught it by its tusks. "HRRRNGK!" The boar is stopped, but it continued to push against them as they held their ground, cracking the earth on where they stood as their feet and the boar's began to dig into the dirt. A big cracking line appeared between them and the boar, their struggle was causing the earth to quake and split right before their eyes. "Herakles... Thanks... If it weren't for your strength... This boar would've gored us..."
The power coursing through them was Herakles', the source of the Hero's unrivaled strength. Though it was not the full strength that the Hero possessed, they had consumed enough to have the strength to meet the embodiment of Gods' Wrath head on. The split on the ground between them and the boar widened further as they continued to struggle. They looked down, ssaw that the split had widened enough to form into a wide, deep ravine... And they smiled at the sight.
Calling forth their Aura to Reinforce themselves further... "RRRRAAAAH!" they lifted up the boar by its tusks, making the boar's hindlegs point up. Then, they slammed it down, stuffing it into the ravine with its behind first and stuck them in the crack, burying the boar halfway in and exposing its belly. With a huge soft spot right in front of them, they Clawed their hands, made them bigger with sharper, longer claws, took out their Hydra Bodies on their back, channeled their Aura all over their body and said, "Oooorder up!" They struck, stabbing the claws into the stomach, thrusting the Hydra Heads into the boar and ate the defenseless beast from inside out. "Hah! Yet another-!"
The sound of massive stomps and a shadow looming over them made them look up... Just as a giant spear was being thrust at them. "Whoa!" They turned their body and used two of the Hydra Heads as footing, completely dodging the spear that was longer than they were tall and they were already as tall as Herakles! "...A Gigant!" They remembered from Jaune's memories of Herakles' Labors, it was... "Geryon!" They looked up at the giant they knew to be a being who had three... three... "...What the...?"
They saw one big human head with a face that was a mish-mash of three different ones. Six eyes and nostrils that were all over with no sense of organization or even a semblance of order above its mouth that had no lips, showcasing its set of human-like teeth layered in three. Its eyes, though glowing red, were human-like and their nostrils were also human-like as was its mouth...
They knew that the giant is often said to have either three heads or three bodies, and considering it did have six arms wielding three spears and shields and six armored legs all on one body, the legend was right... But... "...Gods you're ugly!" One head with three faces that were set up into one so messily was worse!
The giant six times their size towering over the trees roared and thrusted yet another spear. They strafed to the left and leaped toward the gigantic being, carrying the remains of the boar they were still consuming and punched Geryon's twisted face, cracking and breaking many of its teeth. "That face HAS to go first!" They warped their right hand into a Whip, wrapped it around Geryon's neck and pulled themself toward its head. They pulled their left hand back and punched. "Gods!" The punch shattered the giant's cheekbone and many of its teeth, sending it tumbling down to the ground. The earth shook with its fall and they shot two Hydra Heads to the giant's neck, buried their fangs onto it and pulled themselves down to the face of the gigantic being lying on the ground... and punched it again.
The being's face caved in, the head now lied embedded on the ground surrounded by web-patterned cracks that spread far and wide to the point that it uprooted some trees. However, it was still breathing and parts of the face were still whole.
"Your face!"
He punched again...
"Gives us!"
And again...
"The creeps!"
And again, turning Geryon's head into paste, burying said paste inside the crater that they've made with the strength of their punches.
They huffed and used the two Hydra Heads to consume the remains of the gigant while finishing up the boar. "There... How the hell can that thing live with itself, looking like that...?" A low growl echoed throughout the surrounding and they felt... "...Hm... Is it getting cold in here or is it just us...?" They turned to the source of the growl, coming from across the ravine they had made... And they felt a chill that went down to their soul.
There Herakles stood, the white cracks on his body were still glowing but much dimmer than before. However, his lower body has been changed, he no longer had two big but still human legs because from the hips, his legs had been replaced... By a different entity that had three canine heads in one gigantic body of a dog with a large collection of living snakes making up its manes and a giant living serpent as its tail...
The creature that has replaced Herakles' lower legs was emanating some unnatural coldness that turned the air misty, the grass on the ground where the dog was treading froze over... "...You..." They knew what they were seeing and what the cold represented... but this perversion, this twisted form of the great Hero combined with the last great beast that he bested was... "He's nothing but a tool to you, huh...?" They leaped over the ravine and walked over to Herakles' current form. "Your personal Monster... We're going to take him away from your grasp, witch..."
The Cerberus growled and so was Herakles, but they knew that it wasn't him who was expressing anger. The Cerberus Centaur Hybrid that Herakles became began to strafe to its right with all four heads, three canine and one man, staring at them and they strafed to the opposite side.
They and the guardian of the Underworld's gate circled each other. The coldness in the air that was affecting everything was no doubt the air of the Underworld, the place the Old Greek believed to be where the dead are sent after they die. Cerberus represented the Underworld's gate, the place that it guarded to keep the living back and to make sure the dead stays.
This was a monster that had a personal connection to the God and Guardian of the Underworld, Hades, Lord of The Dead, and thus, wherever it tread, the Underworld must also follow, even if it was just the air that permeated the realm because the beast have breathed in the Underworld's air for a very long time. They already felt the world changing around them but this was another battle they could not... would not run away from.
This was not just a symbol of Gods Wrath, this was a Monster who lived, worked and thrived in the realm of the dead, a different kind of beast, a different kind of power, thus there must be a different way to deal with it. "Alright then... Let's test something out!" They lifted their arms high, made their hands into fists and slammed them onto the ground, cracking the ground, forming two craters and shook the earth, sending a wave of uprooted layers of dirt toward the beast. Then, massive fleshy barbed tendrils emerged from beneath the wave of uprooted dirt, wrapping themselves onto the Herakles-Cerberus hybrid... And Underworld's coldness started to freeze it over.
The Cerberus ate the tendrils piece by piece and they cut off their connection to the tendrils. "Alright... While we're sure that our Aura can handle the cold, it's still a bit risky so we need to attack you from a bit away, hm?" They grinned as a weapon design that combined two of the ones they had created beforehand flashed through their mind's eye, "No problem!" First were the swords, a pair, a twin, two black swords that were much smaller than the longsword type they had made before, the twin swords had short handles and short blades but they were curved and became bigger in size the further they were from the handles. Then, to complete them, there were the barbed whips connected to the grip and their wrists, two whips that they made very long to hang a bit loose.
"Unorthodox..." They channeled their Aura into the Whip-Swords, making them glow bright white as they Coated and Reinforced them. They grabbed the Whip-Swords by the whips, swung and raised them to the left, taking them around 180 degrees around their back before bringing the swords down in a slamming arc, Infusing their Aura into the blade, making two long arcing wave that when landed, made an advancing pillar of flame-like white light that went toward the Cerberus, barging through the frozen tendrils and the chilling Underworld air and hit the Monster right on the middle-part of its three canine heads, causing the Herakles-Cerberus Hybrid to whine, actually whine and stumble backward. "But it's just what we need!"
They swung the right Whip-Sword up, stretching it beyond its normal length, swung their right arm, drawing a half-circle in a 180 degrees, sending the short sword in a slashing motion toward the left canine head and pulled the Whip-Sword, turning the whip rigid for a moment and 'cracking' the short sword, slashing the canine's cheek and immediately pulling the sword away from the Herakles-Cerberus hybrid. "There we go! Now how about this?!" They lifted their left Whip-Sword by the whip, swung their left arm back, drawing an incomplete circle and let loose the Whip-Sword at the end, slashing the ground in an upward motion, letting loose another flame-like pillar of white light made out of their Aura to the beast's right canine head, making them stumble back. They pulled back the Whip-Sword, lifted them up and began to twirl them around.
They advanced, swinging their Whip-Swords all over, carving the ground piece by piece, hacking and slashing the nearby trees and attacking the Herakles-Cerberus Hybrid by sending pillars of flame-like white light through slashing the ground with the Whip-Swords' blades. "Death by a thousand cuts...! Come on now!" They slashed the air with both Whip-Swords crossing each other, sending a wave of X-shaped light of their Aura to the hybrid. "C'mon now!" They pulled back the Whip-Sword, leaped and twirled and slammed the blades back down, shooting another pillar of white light to the hybrid that once again whined "C'MON! FIGHT BACK! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!"
The canine heads bared their teeth and roared, blasting out three intersecting waves of unnatural cold air that froze the grass and fogged the surroundings. "Whoa!" They leaped back, reaching ten meters before they shot the right Whip-Sword to the right one of the three canine heads... and had the short sword move its tip away from where it would land, making it so that it did not stab the dog's head but to circle the whip around the dog head's neck. Tightening the whip, it became a barbed noose on the canine head's neck. They back-flipped, landed on the ground and pulled the Whip-Sword with all the mightiness they had gotten from Herakles... "Heave HOOOOOO!"
The neck caved in to the pressure, cut by the sharp barbs rending flesh and cutting bone that fought off the Underworld Air's effect... And three heads became two as the remaining dog heads let out a howl. Through the barbs that pierced the dog head's neck, they began to consume it. "Not gonna give you time to REST!" They raised their left Whip-Sword up and threw it to the left dog head... that opened its jaw and ate it. The coldness of the Underworld seeped out of the mouth, fully intent to freeze them whole... And their body did not freeze immediately. "Heh! Not very effective now, doggo!"
The Cerberus head opened its mouth to let the Whip-Sword out... And the whip's barbs exploded, becoming bigger and sharper, piercing through the inside of its mouth, through them, they began to consume the head and the body... And the center dog head opened its jaw, turned to the left, bit the left head and tore it off. "Whoa..." They pulled on the head and consumed it through the barbs. "Alright, that's ni-" Herakles raised the slab sword over his head with both of his hands, the tip pointing at the center canine head... And threw.
The slab-sword pierced through the canine head from top to bottom, splitting the head in half and exploded each half into tiny pieces. The slab-sword went further, piercing through the ground, splitting the ground, tearing several layers of dirt apart in a web pattern, uprooting trees, toppling them down as it went deeper and deeper before stopping, embedded to the ground as if it were a tombstone.
"...You're still there..." The darkened Hero glared at him but he was no longer baring his teeth. His eyes were still the menacing, glowing red but... Flickers of white glow flashed like stars in the red skies that were Herakles' eyes. "No... We pulled you back. You..." Their eyes widened. The Cerberus didn't fight as much as it should... And now it was clear to them as to why that was. "You helped us." Herakles' visage twitched, as did his body. He was fighting it the best he could and that last attack... "...Alright... We'll finish this." Herakles nodded... before he bared his teeth and growled.
They nodded, pulling back the Whip-Sword. There was only one way this would end. They turned the Whip-Swords into a pair of gigantic Claws and warped the mass covering their arms by trying to make the arms bigger but keeping their form stable at the same time, two conflicting actions that made their whole body shook as if they were a bomb ready to explode, and that was the plan.
Herakles roared and he advanced, using what remained of his headless Cerberus lower body, the clawed lion-like paws of Underworld's Guardian cracked the ground as the body leaped and sprinted toward them, carrying the Herakles rooted onto its back. Nothing remained of the Hero but what the witch wanted him to do and what she wanted him to do was to finish them off decisively with sheer brute force.
"Come, witch! COME!" Their arms vibrated, warping as the Mass became unstable, unraveling itself by the seconds as the darkened Herakles continued to advance. One thundering step is followed with another and another and another... And then... "RRRAH! Critical! MAAASSS!" They stabbed the ground and released their Unstable Mass in a wave of multiple layers of gigantic sharp blades riddled with glowing white veins the size of tall trees protruding from the ground, stabbing the form that Herakles had become from top to bottom, riddling and filling its body with blades.
The blades connected them to Herakles' form, even in a grisly manner and from them, they began to consume Herakles' inside and out. They pulled back the blades, Herakles' twisted form and all, back into their mass, consuming it down to their rawest component and concepts, taking what made it powerful, overpowering the witch's influence with the nature of their combined Aura and Grimm Mass, their 'Unifying Power'.
As the last of the Mass that they have used to create the gigantic protruding blades retreated back into them, they let out a huff and put their hands on their hips. "NOW it's over." Then, in front of their eyes, the world shifted, changing into an expanse of white all over. "...Hm?! Where...?!" They looked around... and stopped when they saw that they were not the only one. "...Yo." they said to the massive Hero in front of their eyes, the Hero whose form is no longer darkened though for some reason, his skin was dark gray in color, almost metallic. "...We've eaten you, right? So is this... inside our mind?"
The massive Hero whose skin was now gray instead of pure dark nodded.
"You're a lot calmer... I guess the witch isn't controlling you anymore, huh?" Herakles nodded and bowed his head a bit, "Good, though don't bow, we only did what was necessary." Herakles straightened his back, smiled and nodded, "...Can't you talk though?"
"Sl...ightly..." The hero said, his voice sounded like two rough rocks being grinded on each other.
"Ah. The witch locked you in your uh..." Necessary information flowed into their mind... "Berserk form, is it?"
"Y...es."
"Hm. So uh..." They crossed their arms, unsure on how to proceed. "How you doin'? You don't mind that we ate you, right?"
The Hero scoffed and shook his head. "Ne...cessary..."
"Right, no hard feelings?" The Hero nodded and they raised their right hand, "Good cause' we're a big fan. We... Well, Jaune, our half, grew up hearing Heroic tales, one of which is yours. He loves your adventures." The massive Hero's eyebrows rose up but there was a smile on his face, faint as it was. They shrugged, "Thought you ought to know. Anyway, so uh... Did you bring us here?"
"Y...es."
"Huh, didn't know that's even possible. How?"
Herakles smirked.
"...Right, you're not just physically strong, your mind is also freakishly strong, huh...?"
"You... are different."
They blinked. "...Yeah, thanks for noticing."
The Hero shook his head, "Light... and Dark... united. You're... not supposed... to exist."
"Jeez, you too?"
"You... are the key..."
"...The key?"
"The key... to end... this... parody."
They frowned as they began to connect the dots to try and make a picture out of them. Light and Dark... How their existence was not supposed to be... What did he mean by 'parody' though? "...What are you-" Herakles' form began to fade. "Wait! What are you talking about?!"
"Wizard..." The left half of his body disappeared, fading into nothingness, "Witch... are-" His middle part faded, taking his head and his mouth away but his right arm moved even as it was fading, making the hand into a fist with the thumb locked by the curled index finger. He, with just the right arm, raised his curled hand up, flicked a thumbs up, uncurled his fingers and turned the palm to face up... And then said arm disappeared into nothingness.
The world shifted around them and they found themself back in the forest. The Hero was no longer in front of them, they felt him having been fully consumed. It was over, truly over for them and the Hero.
"Jaune...?" They turned at the sound of a familiar voice. There, standing on the uneven ground around them, was Jeanne, Jaune's twin sister, looking up at him with wide eyes and mouth agape. "I-is that... really you? Kyrke... Kyrke brought me here..."
They looked around and saw Jaune's petite pink-haired older sister far behind Jeanne. She waved at them with a smile and they raised their right hand to wav- "Hm?" Jeanne took a step back, her Bannered Sword-tipped Pole held at the ready with both of her hands. They put down their hands and let out a sigh as they separated themselves into two.
Jaune felt his body shrinking as his mind split off from Anthea's. Anthea's mass was still clinging to him from top to bottom and considering that Jeanne had not seen him clad in the 'costume', he peeled off the mask, exposing his face. "It's me, Jeanne." He blinked. Something... didn't feel right, he did shrink, right? So...
"...You've... gotten taller."
Looking down at himself, he found that Jeanne was correct... He stood taller than before and... Was he more muscular now? It seemed so at least. "Yeah... I uh... I ate a really big meal..." He smiled... but Jeanne didn't laugh, she was in a daze as she stared at him, "Jeanne, it's still me." He sighed and changed his 'costume' into something more casual, white short-sleeved t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans and a pair of black shoes. "Really."
Jeanne closed her eyes, took a deep breath and nodded. Her shoulders slumped a bit as she put her weapon down, embedding it on the ground, causing it to disperse into golden particles that went into her. She then clasped her hands together. "...I know. In my heart of hearts, I know that, but... my eyes saw things differently. I'm sorry, Jaune."
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She relaxed in his embrace and he patted her on the back. "Don't apologize, I know what that form looks like." His Synchro Form looked just as monstrous as any Grimm even without the red eyes, it was a no-brainer that Jeanne would be afraid and assumed the worst. "How much of the fight did you see?"
"Just... Just some of it." He felt her tilting her head up and he looked down to meet her eyes, "I first saw you fighting that massive boar. Kyrke had me watch from afar, your battle was very destructive after all... Kyrke told me that that humanoid Grimm was you, so I wanted to help, but she held me back, telling me that you got it handled." She frowned and turned to Kyrke who had her hands behind her as she approached them, "She even created Aura chains to stop myself from wriggling off of her."
"Everything ended well, didn't they, Jeanne?" Kyrke said before she turned to him with a wide smile, "I thought that you might needed help, but it seems I underestimated you, Jaune~ Beating a Knight as powerful as that... You're a force to be reckoned with."
He couldn't help but to let out a chuckle, "Nah, that wasn't all me..." He frowned at the last action that the Hero did, the act that sealed his and Anthea's victory, "I had the power to match him but even then... I had to be helped a bit." He shook his head, "How's the Grimm Incursion? Is it over?"
"Um..." Jeanne pulled back a bit, reached to a pouch she carried tied to her lower back and took out her Scroll. "Ah, yes. It seems to be over, the last of the Grimm are retreating from Virginia, the Incursion's been pushed off completely."
"Well, everyone's here after all, three-hundred Grimm won't be a problem." He said before sighing, "Our house is destroyed though... Split into two and everything."
"Hmm... That would pose a lot of problem..." Jeanne sighed, "That Knight you fought was strong... Even from afar, I could feel its strength and the witch's influence... Who was it, Kyrke?"
"Herakles."
"...Ah." She nodded to herself as she reached out her right hand to his left and grabbed it tight, "I'm so glad you're alright..."
He couldn't help but to laugh a bit. "Heh, worry about me less, Jeanne."
"I can't, you know that." She said, her gaze blazing with righteous fire.
"...I know." Jeanne had always been kind and loving. And knowing who Jeanne used to be, who she was supposed to be, it only made even more sense. The Saint Jeanne of Arc... "Still," He pinched her cheek a bit, making her let out incoherent mumbling. "I'm your older brother, you know?" Reincarnation of a Saint or not, she was still his younger sister even if it was just by a few minutes, "Worry about me less please, little sis."
She pouted, pulled his hand off her cheek and slapped him on the chest... And he didn't even feel it. Jeanne huffed as she rubbed her right hand with a small smile. "...You are still you, after all... I'm glad."
"Are you two done~?" Kyrke's voice straightened his back. He turned to her and in the corner of his eyes, he saw his twin looking at Kyrke with pink cheeks. Kyrke lifted her Scroll and shook it a bit, "I've messaged everyone that our house is destroyed so for the moment, we're going to rendezvous in the Town Hall instead and maybe stay the night there."
"A-ah, right." Jeanne nodded before she turned to look at him in the eye, "Jaune... I know this will be a bit difficult, but... I think everyone in our family should know the extent of your control over Grimm Mass and the powers it give you. You can defeat a Knight and-"
"I'm already planning on telling them, Jeanne." There was no way that he was not going to, He frowned and looked back at the destruction his and Anthea's fight with Herakles had caused. Their battle had toppled trees, cracked the earth, gouged out craters and even created a completely new ravine that stretched for quite the distance, a small canyon that exposed the layers of dirt beneath. "All of this must've been felt, there's no way that it's not."
"Hm, that is true."
"And besides..." there was the last moments the Hero showed him in their mind flashing in his mind's eye, he understood what the Hero was trying to tell him and what it meant... "I have to tell them." The implications of what the Hero 'said' was something that occupied his mind a bit...
"...Jaune?"
He shook his head and turned to Kyrke, "Sis, can you take us to Virginia then?"
"Hmm~ Not both of you, no. One by one, maybe."
"Well... alright then, I guess we're walking."
"Nope." Kyrke pointed at him, "Summon the piglet that you ate before. We're going to use it as a ride."
The piglet... That mighty Erymanthian Boar... being called a piglet. He couldn't help but to snort, "*snrk* Alright." He closed his eyes and connected himself to Anthea, 'Can you take that form?'
Hmmmm... Yes, but not as big as it should. It would be more than enough to take you three though.
'Alright then, let's do it.' He went deeper, feeling up the existence, the concept of the Boar within him, contained in Anthea and pulled it out. He felt it materializing from his legs, forming itself into a puddle that then sprouted into a big, black wild boar with a height of at least three times his current human size and the proportional length, looking similar to how it was before, but with white blank eyes instead of glowing red.
"W-wha...?"
'Huh, that's strange.' He could see... But he could still feel that his eyes were closed. 'Ah, I'm seeing through the boar's eyes too. Nice.' He opened his human eyes and turned his head to his sisters down below as he was standing on top of the boar. Though he could see them just fine, it got a bit overlapped by the boar's eyes that were not looking at them. 'The discrepancy would have to take some time to get used to though.'
It'll pass quickly, don't worry.
'Right.' He cleared his throat, "Ahem!" and spread his arms wide, "Ladies, please, step right up."
A few minutes later, he found himself sitting on the back of the massive wild boar with his legs and arms crossed... To keep Jeanne, who was sitting on his lap, steady by hugging her tight.
"Whoohoo! Go that way, piglet!"
Kyrke had chosen her seat right on top of the boar's snout in front of them, acting as if she was a living figurehead/boar rider pointing her fingers and shouted where the boar needed to go. Again she called the boar piglet despite its massive size and how it's supposed to be the embodiment of Gods' Wrath.
'Then again, she's that Circe...' It made sense really, she was powerful, not in the same sense as Herakles was, but powerful nonetheless.
"T-this... Not even the wildest horse I've ridden is this rowdy..." Jeanne said as she held his forearms tightly as if they were the handlebars of a motorcycle. "N-Not even Liz's ship is this shaky...!"
"Well it is a boar." And in the legends, the boar was a particularly wild and powerful one that was the bane of every farmland. A normal wild boar, even one that had Aura, was already rowdy enough. "It is fast though." He could already see the Frontier Town Virginia close by. "Though... I think we should stop now, don't you think, si-?"
"Aaal~right! Stop here~!" He pulled the boar's 'reins' at Kyrke's command, letting it skid against the ground into a full stop. "Ah, that was fun~! It's been a while since I rode a proper piglet."
"Only you would call this giant boar a piglet, sis." He grabbed Jeanne by his hips, flipped her to carry her in his arms and leaped off the boar, landing on the ground and fully absorbing the impact without even shaking his legs. "Drop down please."
"Alright~" She leaped, spread her wings and landing like a bird floating down. "Phew~ Alright." She nodded and walked ahead.
He called off the boar, letting the Mass seep into him and walked, following Kyrke.
"Um... Jaune? Can you drop me please? I'm not hurt..."
"Ah, sorry sorry." He said as he gently put her down on her two feet, prompting his twin sister to walk briskly to Kyrke who grinned as she reached up and pinched Jeanne on her right cheek. He followed his two sisters a couple of feet behind them. 'Hm... I wonder if she would accept you like Kyrke had, Anthea...'
Hm... Does her knowing about me matters that much to you?
'Well, if we're going to be together for... Well, indefinitely... Then I want my sisters to know and accept you just as they accept me.'
...I... matter to you that much, Jaune?
'Well of course. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to do the things we can do together. Without you, I wouldn't have unlocked my Aura. Without you in me, fighting Herakles wouldn't have been possible. You've really raised me up, you know? Because of that, I want the rest of my sisters to accept you like Kyrke did.'
...Hm. Thank you. Though, even if they didn't like me, as long as I'm with you, I'll be alright.
'Not that we can ever be separated, right?'
True, but your sentiment... Hmhm~
The warm, fuzzy feeling came from within him, starting from the center of his chest and he knew that it wasn't fully his feeling that was spreading the warmth. 'Well... Out of everyone who will accept, Jeanne would be the easiest to accept this, she's a...' He held in the snort that was about to come out of him, 'A saint like that.'
Was that a pun? ...Hehehe.
'Thank you, I'll be with you for all of eternity.' He didn't stop the edges of his lips from stretching into a smile, 'As for the others... Arturia will have a hard time swallowing it, so would Elizabeth... Despite their different temperaments, they're actually quite similar to each other on a lot of things. Flora would... Well, she would force me into a full-body examination until she's satisfied that you're not harmful no doubt.'
...You don't seem scared of that.
'Well it wouldn't be the first time. Claudia would be more curious than anything while Galea would... Well...' He looked around as he had stepped into the well-paved roads of the town of Virginia, the Frontier Town that was the closest in proximity to the Wilds. 'Galea would accept things the way it is but she wouldn't stop worrying about it. In a way, she's similar to Flora, a bit of a busybody... But then again, she's... Hm, she's supposed to be Galahad, huh...?'
From the memories of the stories you've heard, isn't Galahad supposed to be a man? And on that matter, isn't King Arthur, Pioneer Francis Drake and Nero Claudius are supposed to be men? Why are they all women?
'...Maybe the reincarnation ritual's a bit flawed? I mean, I'm not supposed to be born after all.' He followed Kyrke and Jeanne through the opened gate that bore the town's name. On the integrated walls, the guards of the wall were going around and all over and when he entered the town itself, he saw the Aura-wielding deputies around, mingling with the civilians with no tension of any kind in the air.
...By the way, it seems that the three-hunded Grimm didn't even manage to touch this place.
'Yeah...' Thanks to his link with Anthea, he could feel if there as ever a tension in the air... and the lack of it in his surroundings despite the fact that there was a Grimm incursion meant that it was completely thwarted. 'Well, that's my family for you. They're really good at what they do. And considering who my sisters are, it makes complete sense.'
I see I see...
As he walked behind his two sisters, he watched from a bit away as people around them nod at them with a smile.
"Miss Jeanne, thank you for protecting us."
"Miss Kyrke! Let's have a drink again sometime!"
"Miss Jeanne Arc~! Can I see your banner again?!"
"Thank you for your service to the town~!"
From the civilians to the Aura-wielder deputies, they were all drawn to Kyrke and Jeanne, they were all happy at seeing them and he knew why of course. After all, they had been very active as the protector of the town, especially Jeanne, so it was no surprise that they would know who his sisters were by sight.
"By the way, who's that blonde dude? He looks familiar somehow."
"Isn't that John Arc's son? John Jr. or something?"
"Nah, that kid's skinny, he's not that tall or that muscular."
He smiled at that particular comment. Even though he might not be known, at least people noticed that he was taller and more muscular now.
"He looks just like Mr. John though..."
With that, he lost his smile. His parents... John and Lily Arc...
Have you forgiven them, Jaune?
'...Not exactly.' He scowled. When Kyrke explained their deal, he was so swept by everything that was being revealed that he couldn't help but to feel bad about them. However... 'I get why they did what they did.' That still didn't change. He could put on their shoes, so to speak, 'I get where they're coming from, I get why they chose to just not train me, but that doesn't make what they did okay.'
...Hmm... I... kind of get it. Just a bit though...
He sighed and shook his head, 'I'll make it as simple as possible then: I sympathize with them, I understand their mindset, but they're still in the wrong and I haven't forgiven them.'
So... what are we going to do?
'When it comes to them? Nothing. I don't like them, but there's no need to make trouble with them. Besides... After I tell them about our Synchro Form and what we can do with Grimm Mass, I'm not sure if they would even think of me as their own son again.'
But...
'What?'
When your father said that he would like to train you moments ago... He was genuine, you know?
'...Yeah, so?'
...You accept me as is and you want your family to do so too despite of what I am. If you're not a reincarnated Hero, then that trait must've come from either of your parents.
...Sometimes, he hated how he could put on other people's shoes at the drop of a hat. '...So you're saying I should not be too harsh on them?'
Just do it a little less.
'...Fine, but only because you asked me to.' He felt the thrill coming from within his chest and relaxed. Looking ahead, he saw that the Town Hall was now close by. It was a three-story building made out of stone and mortar that spread wide instead of stretching to the back. It had a tower at the upper center side of the front side that housed a big old bell that is carved with lines that formed some form of old symbols that, even now, were glowing.
...What is that, Jaune?
'That's Virginia's Grand Bell. It's one of the Wizard's tool for Frontier Towns like this one. When it's rung, it will let out a pulse of light that will obliterate all Grimm but it will disappear after that one use, the carved lines-
Runes.
'...Runes, will have to be redrawn if it's ever used. It's basically the last resort if Virginia were ever to be threatened by a literal flood of Grimm that can't be held back.'
I see... This Wizard is... the counter to the witch, yes? Where Witch has the Grimm, The Wizard has his Aura-wielders.
'Basically.' He had learned about the Wizard from his parents and sisters but he had never met the man before, only hearing secondhand stories of him. However, he knew that the Wizard was responsible for creating Beacon City and as such, responsible for uniting Aura-wielders to work for the force of good and spread humanity around Remnant and one of the fruits of that work was Frontier Towns like Virginia.
But... What Herakles told us...
'Yeah...' He followed his sisters to the Town Hall, going through the lobby for the public and straight up the stairs. Kyrke and Jeanne passed by the two guardsmen guarding the bottom of the big stairs leading to the second floor, he followed them... and the two guardsmen raised their hands and barred his way.
"I'm sorry sir, but only authorized personnel are allowed beyond this point."
He blinked. In his peripheral vision, he saw his sisters stopping and turning to him. He opened his mouth... But Jeanne beat him to the punch, she came back down and cleared her throat, "Ahem. Excuse me, good sirs? He is our brother, let him pass."
"...Very well Miss." One of the guardsmen said as he along with the other moved to the sides, opening the way, "Apologies for the mistake, sir." The guardsman said with a rather deep bow.
He waved his hand dismissively, "Eh, it's alright." At the very least the one guy was professional and apologetic about it. He walked past them and Jeanne walked beside him to his left, matching his pace while Kyrke simply smiled and resumed her walk.
"I didn't know the Arcs had a son..."
He couldn't stop his left eye from twitching. The other guardsman wasn't as professional to whisper that within earshot and he must've been new, freshly sent from Beacon City. If his senses weren't much sharper than before, that comment wouldn't have been heard and maybe that was what the guardsman thought too.
He felt a delicate feminine hand touching his left one. Looking to Jeanne, he saw her smiling at him, not out of amusement but in a manner that she would often do whenever she wanted him to smile back... And he couldn't help but to smile back. The sight of her smile reached into his heart...
"Ow! What was that for?!"
"For being an idiot."
Hearing the sound of the professional guardsman berating the other also helped. With Jeanne's hand in his, he along with her and Kyrke walked through the second floor and into the main office, also guarded by two guardsmen who opened the door for them all.
The room he, Jeanne and Kyrke entered was a big living room with opulent soft sofas and chairs surrounding a long and wide coffee table on top of a colorful rug. There was a big Scroll TV on the corner, a coffee machine, some beer keg and there was even an electronic bell designed to call for a maid or butler to come and serve.
"Ah, you're here." His father John said, nodding at him, Kyrke and Jeanne. His father was sitting at the head of the table in a smaller couch alongside Lily while his sisters were on the couch to the sides. "Please, sit down." Kyrke took a seat on one of the couches to the sides of the coffee table while he closed the door behind them, let go of Jeanne and went and took an empty spot on the couch across his parents with Jeanne taking a seat right beside him. "Are you all alright?"
"We are. Still, considering that a Knight landed in our backyard, the fact that all of us made it out in one piece is an achievement." Kyrke's words made everyone tense up immediately.
"A... A Grimm Knight?" Arturia said, her green eyes wide, "For it to break into the barrier must've meant that-"
"Yup, it was sent by the witch personally from the moon. It turned into one of the most powerful being that has ever walked the planet... But I didn't defeat it." She flourished her left arm to him, a grandiose gesture that she did for him with a smile on her face, "Jaune did."
Everyone's eyes, save for Kyrke's and Jeanne's were onto him. "...Yeah." He said.
"Kyrke, what form did the Knight take?" His father said.
"Herakles."
"WHAT?!" Elizabeth turned to him with wide eyes, "That Herakles?! She used Herakles?! And you..."
"Yeah." Everyone's eyes were on him now and they were staring at him with either awe, shock or in Claudia's case, with sheer glee. He understood why though. Just a day ago, he had yet to unlock his Aura and here he was now, riding the fumes of his victory of one of the mightiest Heroes of very ancient times. "And if you're wondering how, well..."
He fell silent. This was it. He was going to tell them that his Grimm Mass was more than just clothes that he could shapeshift. He needed to start things off with something simple and not at all harmless... So materializing weapons and sharp things were no-no. 'Anthea... When we get to our Synchro Form, let's change things up. I have an idea for a different form but first... we need to use 'I' instead of we.'
Right. While we're on that, should I emulate Herakles' form a bit?
'We can do that now huh? Alright, let's do that but not too much.' He stood up and inhaled, taking a long, deep breath as he gave Anthea the mental images. 'Got all of that?'
Got it. By the way, the symbol on the chest... Is that ours?
'Yup. How do you feel about that?'
I like it~
'Alright... Here goes. Let's start slow.' He looked at his family members, their eyes were on him and he looked back to the door. "Is this room sound-proofed? There are no cameras or bugs here, right?" His father shook his head and looking at his mother and sisters shaking their heads as well, he nodded. "Alright then. It's best if nothing about this gets out." He spread his arms. "Alright, have you... noticed something different about me?"
"...Now that you say it..." Elizabeth's eyes were narrowed as she stood up, approached him... and she had to tilt her head up a bit to meet his eyes. "...You've gotten bigger, haven't you?" She then patted his shoulders, his chest, his arms... "Wait... You've also gotten a lot more muscles than before... Did the Grimm Mass do this to you? How-?"
"Grimm Mass?" Looking over at his father and the others, he saw that his parents and two younger sisters' eyes were wide. "What is this about Grimm Mass?"
"...Ah that's right, you didn't know, did you?" Looking at Elizabeth, Arturia and Flora, he saw their cheeks reddened a bit, "And then all of you had gotten busy with the Grimm Incursion that you didn't tell them..." He huffed. He completely forgot about that. "Then again..." He stared his father in the eye, "The first thing you did when you came home was telling me to show my Aura and then things just... went out of control. Sorry, that was my bad."
"Brother!" Claudia shot up from her seat with her eyes still wide open... and her irises sparkling. She extended her opened left hand to him and with a big smile, she said; "Am I right to assume that you have tamed the Darkness that is Grimm and have made it a part of you by dominating it using the light of your soul?"
"...Kind of, yeah." It was only half-right, but... The fact that Claudia can come up to such a close conclusion just by mere mention of Grimm Mass was...
"Umu! Umu Umu! As expected~! After all, the nature of your Aura is Unifying Power, it only makes sense!"
"Brother...?" Galea stood up, "You have taken Grimm Mass into you?"
"Yeah, it's my Semblance. Unifying Power. And... The reason I won against Herakles is that I use Grimm Mass I have taken to enhance myself further... Like so." It was time. He took a deep breath as he moved away from them for a few feet. 'Anthea, let's do it.'
Two minds became one and their body grew bigger, taller, more muscular. Their body is then covered with black amorphous mass that then transformed, becoming one sheer bodysuit that had extra additions to it: Their big blank white eyes were now sleeker while their mouth is no longer visible, making their face look more like a mask than a human face with big alien-like eyes without a nose. On their forearms were protruding vambraces while on their forelegs, there were a pair of boots, the two pair of 'armors' gleamed like metal, making them look different than the bodysuit altogether.
Completing the bodysuit and 'armor' were glowing white accents are engraved upon the sheer bodysuit and there was a symbol on the center of their chest: An upside-down black crescent moon enveloped by a bigger white sun, their personal symbol, their sigil. From Herakles, they used the Hero's swept-back long hair that floated as if it was being pushed by wind, and made it glow bright white, making it look like a white flame being kept afloat by a non-existent gust of wind.
"So...?" They said, spreading their arms, "How do I look?" They said, fighting off the compulsion to use 'we' instead. It was... surprisingly easy.
"...My..." Claudia let out a gasp, "My my my..." She cupped her chin as she approached them, her eyes intense. Two inches away from touching them, she walked around and looked at them up and down "Hmmmm... Umu... Darkest black as the base, glowing white accents to contrast it and the symbol... An eclipse, but it represents how darkness is enveloped by light, a state of duality where both co-exist, yes?"
"Yup. I knew you would get that immediately, sis."
She puffed her chest out and put her hands on her hips, "Hmhm~! I am the only true artist out of all of us~! Such an apt symbol to represent you and your power, dear brother."
"Why thank you." Looking over at the others, they saw that his parents and sisters save for Kyrke were now standing up.
"Jaune, this form... Is it...?"
"Yup." They gave Jeanne a nod, "I've absorbed Herakles." They then traced their right hand over their floating glowing white hair, "So I got his hair. I changed it up a bit, pretty cool, huh?"
"You've... absorbed Herakles, huh?" Liz was looking at him up and down with her arms crossed.
"Uh-huh. Got some power-up from him and the beasts he'd beaten. They're a part of me too now."
"So that Grimm Mass... It's not just shape-shifting clothes, it's also... some form of boost?"
"Yeah." Arturia's eyes looked... She was looking at them with fear and concern, "Unifying Power, Artie."
"Unifying Power or not, this cannot be healthy or sterile." Flora approached them with a gleam in her eyes. "You need to be thoroughly examined."
"Uh..." They raised their hands, "let's not do that now, Flora..."
"Don't worry everybody, it's all under control."
"Sister Kyrke..." Galea's voice was quiet but it called everyone's attention to her, "Can you swear on that? Can you swear that our brother is fine and not at all under the control of the darkness within him?"
"Yes, Galea. On my life, I swear that."
"...Fine." Galea's form was tense as she tilted her head down. "Fine. Brother..." Galea looked at them in the eye without flinching, "What will you use this power for?"
Looking at Jaune's younger sister's purple eyes, they saw nothing but raw determination to know the answer to her question. Galea was not driven by curiosity like her sister Claudia was, but by a desire to understand where they, Jaune, stood. "...Hopefully, I can use my power for the good of others. Maybe I can... hunt and dominate the whole Grimmkind and... send them out to outer space or something, that'll solve a lot of problems in Remnant right now, wouldn't it?"
He heard laughter coming from... Jaune's mother. Lily Arc was laughing and smiling despite how tense the room was, "Sorry... It's just... All of this... Is a lot to take in. Jaune, you... Do you realize what this all means for... For everything?"
"...Kind of. I mean, nobody's ever believed that something can be part-Grimm unless you count those anti-Faunus people. My existence changes things, I know that much."
"That's putting it very lightly, Jaune." His father said, "Having an abundant amount of powerful Aura is one thing, but... To be able to absorb and dominate Grimm Mass like that... I won't be able to train you with this whole thing."
"Not that I've accepted your offer from before, but go on, what are you trying to say?"
His father winced and let out a sigh, "...I will have to send you to Beacon to meet the Wizard. There's no other choice, this... This goes beyond my jurisdiction and I'm duty-bound to call him and inform him of you before sending you to Beacon."
They nodded. "Alright... I always wanted to go and meet the guy. There are so many things I want to ask." Oh so many things... The message that Herakles had given to them was simple really, one sentence that implied that there was a big scheme, involving everything that went on in the world, something that Herakles claimed to be a parody.
Though Herakles didn't manage to say his sentence, his final gesture was simple and universal, something that they understood without needing to think hard on it. What the Hero did in his last moments within their mind was to mime a coin toss. Thus, the sentence that he was trying to complete was...
'The Wizard and The Witch are like a single coin.' And a coin must always have two sides to it, so the underlying message he was trying to impart was: 'The Wizard and The Witch are two sides of the same coin.'. And after meeting and antagonizing the witch, they wanted to see the other side of said coin and truly figure out what Herakles meant by 'parody' and how they were the key to end it...
To be Continued...
Decided to go with a new form for the Synchro Form that somewhat emulates Herakles' appearance, especially the hair.
The Lore of this story, especially with how Earth became Remnant, will be revealed in time... And by 'in time' I mean next chapter. Jaune will be going off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Beacon City.
Next time: Beacon City and The Wizard in The Tower.
