Author's note
Alright now, I have to say that I am quite happy with how people seem to be enjoying the story so far. A quick shout out, as promised, to Cat Poster and Toby860 for their noticing of the Rosario + Vampire reference last chapter. I'm a little put out by the lack of any comments about the Pirates of the Caribbean reference (Jack, Will, and Elizabeth) but I do suppose that it was a tad lacking in context, as such I apologize for that.
Now, at the end of this chapter will be the addressing of some criticisms brought up about the story thus far. But for now, let the blood flow.
Chapter 4. The Big Reveal
It had started out so simply. It was supposed to be a short field trip to Forever Fall to help teach basic plant identification for potential survival scenarios. Or, as Jaune put it, how to not kill yourself by eating a poisonous plant. But then it all went to hell. An altercation between Jaune and Team CRDL, which ended in CRDL being stomped down, was quickly followed by a Grimm attack. Beowolves, Boarbatusks, and Ursas were first, but soon King Taijitus, Deathstalkers, and even a Nevermore joined the fray. Teams RWBY and JNPR were able to handle the waves of monsters at first but they just kept coming.
"Fuck! How many of these bastards are there?" Jaune had to shoot another Ursa that had been charging Ruby from the rear while she had been distracted. His Crossblade, Tremor Gauntlet, pistol, and Abyssal Chain were all hard at work trying to push the Grimm back. He had started to become separated from the rest of the group, and the Grimm started trying to take advantage of this. A Beowolf managed to slip his guard when Chaoseater had become stuck in an Ursa's chest and sank its teeth into Jaune's shoulder. Another bit into his side, and a third into his sword arm. In an instant the Grimm started to swarm Jaune in earnest, obscuring him from view. The others could hear his roars, more frustrated than in pain, and tried to reach him.
They needn't have worried.
A flash of blinding red light exploded out, and when it faded the rest of the Huntsmen were stunned at what was towering over them. It looked like a massive flaming gargoyle, with skeletal wings, vicious upward curving horns, and an enormous sword. The sword was as tall as Jaune was now, and he was at least four or five stories tall. The Grimm could only look on with terror as Jaune swung his new blade, clearing an entire swath of three or four dozen Grimm in one swing. A King Taijitu came up and attempted to bite Jaune, but a large clawed hand wrapped around the serpent's throat and squeezed with enough force to behead it. Its twin fell to Jaune's tail. The Deathstalker, now attempting to backpedal away from Jaune, found the front half of its body crushed under the foot of the double jointed leg. The Nevermore sent a barrage of feathers at Jaune, but they snapped and burned upon contact with him. Spreading his wings Jaune took to the sky, ascending faster than the monstrous bird could react to, and cleaved it in half.
The rest of the Grimm were scattering, wisely deciding that facing Jaune in this form was a bad idea. By the time Jaune alighted to the ground again the only signs of a battle were the worn out humans and the areas that Jaune's Chaos Form had charred in its passing. Turning his horned head Jaune observed the other Huntsmen, they were wary of him in this form. He knew that he would have to explain now, it wasn't every day that someone morphed into a fire shrouded monster. Like a flame whose source has been cut the fiery gargoyle dissipated, and Jaune fell to the ground. He was tired, but whole. The others still regarded him with wariness, but they were more assured with Jaune's human form.
In less than an hour Jaune found himself in the dorm, surrounded by his fellow Huntsmen in training, and about to explain what had happened. There had been no report given to a teacher of what Jaune did, the Huntsmen in training wanted to know first.
"Jaune?"Ruby's small voice asked. He could hear the slight fear in her words. "How did you do that in the woods?"
Jaune smiled. "Where to even start?" He wondered aloud.
"How about the beginning?" Blake suggested. Jaune noted how each person around him was ready to fight him at a moment's notice.
"How about with what you are, because you're definitely not human. So what is it?" Weiss demanded with a scowl deeply set in her face.
Jaune, not liking the demand, reached out and placed his hand on the side of her head with his thumb resting on her forehead. The contact lasted only a moment, but Weiss suddenly slumped to her knees. Her eyes were wide and her gaze was downward and at nothing.
"What did you do?" Yang said, reading for a punch.
"I gave her a small glimpse of what I am." Weiss's head snapped up.
"A glimpse…That was just a glimpse?" She breathed out, sounding like she had just seen the most terrifying thing of her life.
"Yes, a glimpse. You saw what I am as you would see the shore of a neighboring country across the sea." Jaune said solemly.
Weiss couldn't respond to that, there were no words that existed to do so.
Jaune, satisfied with the silence he was receiving, continued on.
"I suppose I should start with the origin of these powers." Jaune started, extending his power out in a gentler manner than he had with Weiss. The world around them faded and was replaced with a battlefield. Humanoid creatures armed with a variety of weapons all killing smaller beings. "A race known as the Nephilim waged war across many worlds, burning them to ash. But eventually there were four who became tired of this, and sought to end the bloodshed. These four approached the Charred Council and made a deal, they would serve the Council and in exchange would be the bearers of immense power. This was how the Four became the Horsemen, and their first task was to destroy their own people." The world shifted to show four figures kneeling to stone heads, then to these four riding into the ranks of the Nephilim. "Eventually, the Council became aware of the actions of a divine being named Abadon. This angel sought to bring about the end war, a battle that would determine the fate of angel, demon, and man, ahead of its appointed time. In response to this the Council framed the first War for triggering the apocalypse, knowing that he would stop at nothing to clear his name." The shift showed a humanoid with white feathered wings and an eyepatch of sorts, then a battle between these angels and monstrous creatures, and then a barren ruin of a city. "When War discovered the truth and defeated Abadon, shattering the final seal that held back the apocalypse, his fellow Horsemen arrived. And upon the discovery of the Council's betrayal the Four destroyed them, ending their reign, before doing the same to all angels and demons." The same angel from before, now with black wings, lay dead on the ground, three comets plummeted from the sky, and two cities, a white and a black one, burning.
"So these Horsemen destroyed their bosses after they learned that War had been framed for the apocalypse, and then they just killed off all of the angels and demons? Why?" Pyrrha asked.
"Because both sides were at fault in some way. Abadon had intended to break only six of the seven seals that held the apocalypse at bay, then attack hell's forces when they had gathered in preparation for the breaking of the seventh. He gambled that this preemptive strike would destroy the demons and that any attempt to place blame on him would be discredited in light that the claim would be coming from, you know, demons." Jaune said, the image, which most had realized was a memory from the first War, showed the angel, clearly impassioned, talking with other angels. One angel, a thin one with a worried expression, drove a sword through a small stone square.
"But the Council knew the truth, didn't they?" Ren asked.
"Of course they did. But they couldn't send the Horsemen without proof, and Abadon had done his work well enough so that the Council couldn't get any proof to speak of. But they knew that War, if he was falsely accused, would stop at nothing to clear his name. Even becoming, essentially, an assassin. Though it is worth noting that Death, the oldest Horsemen, knew that War wouldn't abandon his duty and just trigger the apocalypse and so went on his own journey to revive humanity. He succeeded and as a result the kingdom of man was the only one left in that world." The memory showed the Council, then of War observing the ruined city, and then of Death and War speaking upon the formers arrival after the final seal was broken.
"And after that, the Horsemen all decided to start their own families? Right?" Yang asked, taking in the image of Death.
"Not for some time actually. With their work done the Four spent the next few centuries wandering, maintaining order where they could and discovering even greater power. Eventually, after this period of soul searching each had decided to let themselves rest. But their power was too great now, it took on a life of its own and basically mandated its own perpetuation. When the Horsemen realized this they actually came to the conclusion that having the power pass from generation to generation would allow there to be keepers of the Balance for all time, and that this would allow them to finally let go of this burden. But they knew that such power and responsibility was not for any regular mortals, so they started their own families. War actually found some love in the form of a surviving angel named Uriel, they had bonded over the events with Abadon and so started their own family. The other three found their own as well, but those unions were solely for the sake of reproduction." The memory showed the Four standing while the scenery around them shifted, then of each one emitting uniquely colored glow. The final memory showed War holding a beautiful female angel in his arms while the other three Horsemen were indistinct in the background.
"What happened to the other three?" Ruby asked, seeing the others fade from sight entirely. Moments later the memory itself faded.
"They lived their lives, raised their children, and finally died. War and Uriel went on to have many children, and so started the Arc line." Jaune said, his head spinning from using his powers like that.
"Earlier you said you gave a glimpse of what you are to Weiss, what exactly did you mean by that?" Ren asked, knowing that while Jaune was dangerous he wasn't dangerous to them. Unless they pissed him off.
"When the power was first given to the Horsemen by the Council it tied them to that power in such a way that they basically became what I am now, a physical embodiment of a concept. Death, while having a physical form, was not simply named Death. He was Death. He was present at all places at all times, just in a very minor sense if his physical form wasn't there." Jaune explained.
"I see, so it's like if a humanoid creature of water existed inside a massive fog bank. The physical body is in only one place but the essence of is spreads much further out." Ren surmised.
"That's…actually a very fitting way of describing it. It's just that in this case that fog bank is non-corporeal and covers all of time and space." Jaune said.
Silence reigned once again as each student was imagining such a thing. Then came the most important question of the entire interrogation.
"Then why are you here?" Weiss asked.
"What do you mean?" Jaune questioned back, a perplexed frown on his face.
"You're this super powerful, borderline cosmic being. Why are you in a school for teenage hunters and huntresses?" Weiss clarified, making the rest of the group raise their eyebrows at the very appropriate question.
Jaune smiled again. "Because I am still a teenager, so while I am powerful I still need proper credentialing to operate as a hunter. And I am still learning the more…nuanced aspects of my powers. I still have much that needs to be done to become a master of these gifts."
"ATTENTION JAUNE ARC. ATTENTION JAUNE ARC. PLEASE REPORT TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE." The intercom blared, making Jaune frown.
"Well then, I'm going to presume that Ozpin knows what transpired in the woods. Time to face the music." Jaune said with a grin, the symbol on his face glowing red.
Chapter end
Well then, time to address some things.
story might seem chaotic and rushed but there is method to this madness. Each chapter seeks to accomplish a goal or two in its writing that contributes to the story as a whole.
-Chapter 1 gave a basic introduction to Jaune. It wasn't supposed to give a full bio or history but to give the bare bones details of his appearance and a small look into the relationship he had with his mentor.
-Chapter 2 introduced secondary characters and began establishing their opinions of Jaune. This chapter is the first to start exploring Jaunes personality, as such a thing can only be properly seen by the character's interactions with others and their responses to external stimuli. Chapter 2 also started exploring Jaune's combat skills and weaponry.
-Chapter 3 explored Jaune's combat skills in a more in depth way by pitting him against a properly trained opponent while also starting to touch upon the nature of Jaune's powers and history (the dream in the beginning of chapter 3, it was actually a memory as seen from Jack Arc's eyes).
-Chapter 4 provides an explanation to Jaune's powers. The powers of the Horsemen (at least in my story) are much like the Force in Star Wars, a cosmic power that touches all and transcends space and time. The Horsemen in my story are essentially the only users of a unique 'Force'. Aspects from both the Darksiders game and from the Horsemen as they are portrayed in the show Supernatural are at work here.
This chapter did give me some trouble as the explanation of any power like this is not something that would be considered easy. But tell me what you think, no easter eggs this time. But the hint still stands, a Jaune Arc Vs. video will be eventually released on the YouTube channel Gaming Glatorius. Just have to get through a few other projects first.
"The Great Destroyer will be known as the stupidest life-form in the universe."