Did anyone say crossover?
Individual System
Gray Rook fought the urge to yawn as he saw yet another applicant battle against a combat droid.
Once upon a time, the Atlesian Knight 45 (AK-45 for short) had been top of the line equipment. However, times changed, and technology moved forward. Now, the AK-45 was relegated to testing the skills of teenagers in combat schools all over Atlas.
As one of Atlas' top 3 combat schools, Hyades Academy was no different. In fact, due to receiving quite a bit of funding from the military, Hyades Academy could afford to use AK-45s as part of their entrance exam. Applicants were made to fight against the combat droid on one-on-one matches while a panel of judges watched their performance in a separate room and graded them.
Naturally, those who defeated the droid received high grades, but victory was not necessary for a passing grade. Judges looked not only for fighting skill, but also adaptability, a cool head in stressful situations, and resourcefulness.
The current applicant showed none of those things.
Rook sought refuge in his coffee to avoid having to watch the blond applicant try and fail to dodge the droid's strikes. Pitiful. The thing was even set on the lowest difficulty. If he were a judge, Rook would have already failed him. However, that wasn't his job.
Rook was a Specialist.
In Atlas, the military worked closely not only with its Huntsman Academy but also with the multiple combat schools all over the kingdom. Hyades was no exception. Rook's job was to keep an eye out for any promising talent and pass the information to his superiors, so they may be taken into consideration. All thing considered, it was a rather simple job.
It was also a very tedious one.
Watching untrained and half-trained teenagers fighting was painful. Watching kids who thought they were hot shit because they could beat a droid or two was even worse. Out of sheer boredom, Rook took a look at the current applicant's other test scores. What he found was average from start to finish. Knowledge Assessment. Average. Physical Assessment. Average. Combat Assessment. In-Progress. Aura Assessment. O-
Rook spat his coffee all over the desk, barely managing to get his scroll out of the way in time.
The act drew the attention of the judges. Rook hurriedly raised his hand to assure them he was fine while trying to get his coughing under control. His eyes quickly went back to his scroll. There was no way. It couldn't be possible. Jaune Arc was an untrained teen whose aura was obviously still locked. A scrawny little thing like that couldn't possibly have that type of results.
Yet that was what his screen displayed.
Rook frowned. The science of Aura was complicated and best left to those with bigger brains than him. However, even he understood the basics.
The technology to measure someone's Aura had been born in Atlas. It was a great scientific breakthrough at the time and led to the creation of Aura meters which were immediately put to use in the Vytal Festival. In the old days, only special arenas could display Aura meters, but with time, the technology had grown smaller and easier to manufacture. Nowadays, it was as easy as having the right type of scroll.
However, that was only true for those whose Aura was already unlocked. Measuring the Aura of someone whose Aura was still locked was a completely different game.
In fact, until about a year ago, it had been impossible. The technology had been created by Atlas and was still in its testing stages. That meant only the military, Atlas Academy, and a few combat schools in the kingdom had access to it. Combat schools outside Atlas would have had no way of seeing Jaune Arc's latent aura.
Had they been able to, Jaune Arc would not be here right now.
When it came to Aura, there were only three things that mattered: capacity, control, and Semblance.
Of those three, only control could be reliably improved. Even in cases of extreme ineptitude, the basics of Aura manipulation could be taught in a few years. Meanwhile, increasing a person's Aura capacity was not something that could be reliably done. According to studies done by Atlas, a person's Aura would grow only by about 25% over the first decade of training and usually stop after that.
Semblances were in an even worse position. While there were many theories on the subject, most studies were inconclusive. In the end, it all came down to luck. Some people had Semblances that were naturally suited for combat. Some people had Semblances with limited combat applications. Some people, even among Huntsmen, just never discovered their Semblances. It was rare, but it happened.
That meant sheer Aura capacity was the most attractive trait in a prospective Huntsman. The skill could be taught. The knowledge could be imparted. The Semblance was a roll of the dice. However, the Aura one started with and the Aura one ended with would remain largely the same.
As Rook looked over Jaune's application papers, he could see that Jaune had applied to combat schools in Vale and had been rejected. Had they realized just how much aura he had, they would have accepted him right away.
It was a good thing for Atlas they did not have the technology to do so, Rook realized.
However, Hyades did have those resources.
The Specialist snuck a peek at the other judges. They looked as bored by the fight as he had been a few seconds ago. In time, they would check Jaune Arc's other scores, and they would realize the depths of his Aura. If that happened, Jaune Arc would be accepted into Hyades. He would train and grow like any other student and eventually go to Atlas Academy.
Rook couldn't let that happen.
No visible training and substantial Aura reserves. It was precisely what the guys in R&D were looking for. There was no doubt in his mind. Jaune Arc was the perfect candidate for the project. Rook looked at his scroll. All he needed to do was push a button. Jaune Arc's profile would be sent to his superiors. His admission process would be halted. He would receive an invitation which he would most likely accept out of desperation if his application history was any indication.
Rook once again looked at the small blonde kid getting his ass kicked by a droid. According to his papers, he was fifteen. He looked much younger than that. He probably wasn't even five feet tall.
Sorry, kid.
Rook pushed the button.
xXx
Two Years Later
Under the cover of midnight, a group of White Fang grunts made their way inside an SDC warehouse. Coming here had been a risk, but the tip passed to them by one of their informants had been too juicy to ignore. Indeed, it seemed their daring was being rewarded. The warehouse was full of large crates of Dust. Tomorrow, the shipment was supposed to leave for Mistral. Now, however, all that Dust was right in front of them and ready to be taken.
"Alright," their leader, a large faunus wielding a chainsaw, said. "Start loading the bullhead. We have fifteen minutes before anyone notices we took down security. Once those fifteen minutes are up, we arm the bomb and leave."
While the man many called Banesaw would like nothing more than to take all the Dust in the warehouse, that was just not feasible. Even if they had the time for it, they did not have the resources. The bullhead they brought was too small to load up all the Dust.
Besides, taking the Dust was not the main goal of the mission. Certainly, the Dust would be a welcome boon and help fund their operations. However, the real purpose of this mission was to hurt the SDC. Blowing up all this Dust would make the SDC lose a lot of money. It was not as satisfying as having Jacques Schnee's throat between his hands would be, but every little bit helped.
"How are things going outside?" Banesaw asked as he held up his radio. He blinked under his mask when he received no answer. "Fang 3, this is Fang 1. Respond."
Silence.
Banesaw frowned. He hadn't brought rookies who would be dumb enough to fall asleep on the job or forget their radios. Something wasn't right.
"You and you," he called out, pointing at two of the people working to load up the Dust. "Go find out what happened to our lookouts. Keep your radios on."
The two nodded and moved to follow his orders. Two tense minutes followed as Banesaw waited for their report. Then he heard it. Gunfire.
"Report!" He growled into his radio.
"It's here!" Came the quick reply from the other end. "We've got to leave! It's-"
The signal cut off. Nothing but static remained.
"Forget the Dust!" Banesaw roared. "Arm the bomb. We're getting out right no-"
At that moment, the back door was blown open.
"Shoot!" Never one slow to action, the order left Banesaw's mouth immediately. The grunts took hold of their weapons and unloaded everything they had. Over a minute of loud, continuous gunfire followed. A cloud of dust rose up. Silence followed as they all waited to see if that had been enough.
Footsteps echoed across the warehouse as a lone figure walked out of the smoke.
Banesaw swore. Of all the damn places, for that thing to be here!
It was well over six feet tall. The main body was black but had white, armored plates attached to its legs, chest, and arms, forming greaves, a breastplate, and gauntlets. In some ways, it was reminiscent of a knight of olden days. Its head was round and colored in blue and white. A black visor surrounded by gold took over most of its face, weirdly managing to look like a crown. A gold and white gun was holstered at its side.
"IXA," Banesaw hissed.
Out of all the fucking horrible things created by Atlas' scientists, IXA had to be the fucking worst as far as Banesaw was concerned.
IXA was Atlas' newest toy, the latest in military droid design, and it showed. The IXA unit fought on an entirely different level compared to previous androids. Luckily for the White Fang, only one IXA unit existed. The technology used to make it had not yet reached the mass-production state. Unfortunately, Atlas was entirely willing to lend their one IXA unit to Jacques Schnee in order to protect his precious Dust if it meant a price reduction for them. The hypocrites.
"You are all found to be in breach of Atlas Law. Surrender now, and your sentences may be lessened."
Banesaw felt a shiver go down his spine as he heard that voice. That was another creepy thing about IXA. The droid did not speak with the same robotic voice other droids did. Instead, IXA spoke with a voice that sounded uncomfortably human.
It was damn creepy. However, he couldn't let that stop him.
"Surrender?" Banesaw hoisted up his chainsaw. "I don't think that's going to happen. In fact, I'm going to have to apologize to Adam next time I see him. He was so looking forward to a rematch."
It had honestly been kind of weird to see Adam obsessed with something beyond the White Fang's cause and Blake Belladonna.
"You cannot win," IXA said. The machine raised its gun.
"You underestimate the faunus, machine!" Banesaw roared as he charged in with his chainsaw. IXA's gun fired. Banesaw moved to dodge but realized he didn't have to. The sound of the engines being hit told him why a moment later.
The bullhead!
Banesaw didn't need to turn around to confirm it. He knew IXA had just shot the bullhead. There was no way the others could escape with the Dust now. That stupid machine!
IXA firing at the bullhead allowed Banesaw to get close. The large faunus roared as he slashed down. However, IXA brought his weapon up in time to block. As he did so, the gun seamlessly changed into a sword. Sparks flew as the two weapons clashed. Banesaw's eyes widened behind his mask.
People tended to think he was just a guy who had grabbed a random chainsaw to use as a weapon. That could not be further from the truth. The chainsaw he used was specially made. It wasn't for felling trees. It was for cutting droids in half even without being reinforced by Aura. The people who underestimated his weapon tended to pay the price.
Yet it had just been blocked by a single sword. Not parried. Blocked. Banesaw frowned. Just how much money had Atlas put into this thing?
The large man grunted as he tried to push IXA back. However, no matter how much he strained his muscles, he could not make the armored knight budge. Instead, it was IXA who pushed forward and forced him back. The droid followed with a thrust from his sword. Banesaw barely had time to bring his chainsaw up to parry.
Again and again, their weapons met. With each clash, sparks flew, and Banesaw was forced back yet another step. IXA was wearing him down bit by bit with machine-like efficiency. For a moment, Banesaw wondered why no one was helping him. The question answered itself as IXA came at him with speed he had previously only seen from Adam.
There was absolutely no way a couple of grunts could even get close to this fight. Even trying to shoot at IXA right now was dangerous. It had been one thing when he had just come in through the back door, but now a missed shot would risk igniting the Dust.
"Damn it!" Banesaw yelled as IXA's sword connected with his side. Only his aura saved him, but it was starting to run low. He made a last desperate charge at the robot.
IXA dodged.
The droid's knuckles collided with Banesaw an instant later. The hit hurt, but not unreasonably so. Then Banesaw heard it.
IXA Knuckle – Rise Up!
Burning light filled Banesaw's vision, and he knew no more.
xXx
In the depths of a very secret military lab, a real girl greeted her first friend.
"Friend Jaune!"
Jaune braced himself as the flying form of Penny Polendina collided with him the second he entered the lab. Once upon a time, the impact would have been enough to knock him over. Nowadays, he was strong enough to catch the girl in a hug. He still needed to be ready for it, though. Jaune may be taller and broader than Penny, but she weighted way more than any girl her size had a right to. Some girls were made with flesh and blood. Penny was made with metals of varying densities.
Jaune could probably save himself some trouble by pointing this out to Penny, but you didn't go around telling a girl she was heavy. That was just common sense.
"Hi, Penny!" Jaune said, patting her head. "How have you been?"
"Oh, I have been playing chess against the computer for the past few days," Penny said, letting Jaune go. "I have experienced an 80% growth in skill. Although I must say, the computer does not make for particularly good company. It does not make funny faces like you when you lose."
Jaune winced.
He knew Penny didn't mean anything bad with those words. Still, he couldn't help but feel guilty. Jaune was one of the few people that was even allowed to see Penny let alone talk to her. Of those, he was the only one who had gone ahead and told her they were friends.
Penny had been ecstatic when those words left his lips. Since then, Jaune always made sure to make time for Penny. Thankfully, Professor Polendina and General Ironwood saw no issues with letting Penny indulge in normal friend activities. Sure, Jaune couldn't hold a candle to Penny when it came to chess or just about any other game, but that didn't matter because what Penny really enjoyed was spending time with her friend.
Whenever Jaune left on a mission, Penny was left alone.
Unlike him, she couldn't leave the base. Jaune didn't like it. Professor Polendina didn't like it. Heck, even General Ironwood didn't like it. However, they all understood why that was the case. Penny was too important and too unprepared to be allowed in the outside world just yet. It was still not safe. Few things could hurt Penny physically, but that was not the issue.
The issue was that Penny was a teenage girl with the body of an unstoppable machine. She was still learning how to behave in society without standing out too much. Until she did, it was dangerous to let her go out. Jaune understood this.
It still made Jaune feel like a heel whenever he had to leave her for days.
"Tell you what? Once I'm done with my report, we can go play some games." And by play, Jaune meant that Penny would kick his ass in whatever game he chose, and they would have a big laugh about it. Penny was way too good at things she technically wasn't programmed for. Professor Polendina had been ecstatic when he found out how quickly Penny could pick up games. They had spent the whole week testing that out.
Penny's face lit up like the sun. "Truly? That would be sensational, Friend Jaune! Oh, we can have a sleepover!"
Jaune grimaced. "I don't think Professor Polendina would like that." The man could be scarily overprotective of his daughter. "Speaking of, where is he? I am supposed to give my report to him."
"Oh, Father is over there," Penny said, nodding to the side. It was only then that Jaune noticed Professor Polendina had been there the entire time. The short, balding man was hunched over a computer. Now that he was paying attention, Jaune could hear the sound of his fingers hitting the keyboard.
"Father," Penny said. "Jaune is here to see you."
"In a moment sweetie. Daddy is looking at the two Brothers in the eyes and showing them how it is done."
Not once did the man look up. Penny looked at Jaune and gave him what could almost be called a shrug. Jaune sighed. The man never changed. When Professor Polendina was working, the rest of the world might as well not exist.
"Oh, well." Jaune scratched the back of his head. "He's going to be there for a while. I guess we can go play something now if you want."
"Sensational!" Penny brought her hands together in a clap. "Oh! We can play Twister! I have always wanted to play Twister!"
"Never mind! I'm done!" Professor Polendina suddenly jumped off his chair, taking the time to shoot Jaune a warning glare. Jaune rolled his eyes. Seriously, the man was way too overprotective. Jaune didn't even see Penny like that. She was like a little sister to him. Besides, it wasn't like anything could happen. Sure, Penny was a real girl, but she wasn't that anatomically correct.
Was she?
No. Bad brain. Shut up.
"I've already looked over IXA's files, so there is no need for a written report," Professor Polendina said, making Jaune feel annoyed for having already written it. Still, it was for the best. Ironwood would get on his case if he didn't follow regulation. "I should congratulate you on another job well done, but from the start, there was no way mere terrorists could stand up to the might of my IXA."
Professor Polendina laughed. Unfortunately, the man had a notoriously creepy laugh. Jaune had gotten used to it, but he really wished the man didn't sound so much like a mad scientist. Jaune bit his tongue to avoid bringing up that one time a terrorist had come pretty close to wrecking IXA. That had not been a fun day for anyone, except maybe for Adam Taurus.
"All I need is for you to tell me your impression on the upgrades we made to IXA," Professor Polendina told Jaune while pointing at the transformation belt.
An average person would only be able to tell Jaune was wearing a white belt with an unusually large black and gold belt buckle. It didn't mesh well with his white and grey Atlas uniform, but it was far from the weirdest thing a Huntsman-in-training had ever worn. Meanwhile, a Huntsman would be able to spot the signs of a mecha-shift mechanism right away.
Less than fifteen people knew exactly what the belt did.
When Jaune had received a letter from Atlas Academy two years ago requesting a meeting, he had been confused. When he had been told Atlas wanted him to be part of a secret project, he thought they were messing with him. When he had been presented with a suit that looked like a mix between a robot and a medieval knight, well, that had been the coolest thing ever.
"The suit felt lighter than usual." Jaune closed his eyes and did his best to remember the fight with Banesaw. Being IXA was always a rush, but this time, he had felt extra fast. "I felt like I could move more freely than usual. Wearing the suit also didn't tire me out as much."
"Good. Good," Professor Polendina said as he took down some notes.
In many ways, IXA could be said to be Penny's older sibling. It worked as a testbed for much of the technology that had later been put to use in building Penny. However, it was not just that. The IXA suit was, as General Ironwood once told him, the next step in Huntsmen development. When Jaune wore it, all his physical abilities were magnified. The suit also added to the protection already provided by his aura, and its weapons were top of the line.
Mass production was still a long way off. There were many bugs in the suit to be worked out which was why Jaune was needed as the test pilot. Once that was done, the Grimm would not know what hit them. Until then, however, all the public needed to know about IXA was that it was a very advanced robot and nothing more.
"Were there any problems with overheating?" The scientist asked. "According to the data, you stayed in Safe Mode for the entire fight."
Jaune blinked. "Ah, that. No. There were no overheating issues this time. It's just, well, we were surrounded by Dust."
"And?" Professor Polendina prompted.
"And changing to Burst Mode releases a big wave of heat all around me that could have easily ignited the Dust," Jaune explained flatly.
"Eh, you'd have survived a Dust explosion without trouble." Professor Polendina waved a hand as if brushing off something unimportant, and to Professor Polendina, it really was unimportant. He wasn't a bad man. He just had some serious tunnel vision regarding certain things, his creations chief among them.
"That's not what I-" Jaune closed his mouth. "Whatever. Is there any way to make it so I can switch modes without releasing a giant heat wave?"
"Of course, there is!" Professor Polendina scoffed as if he found the very question insulting.
"Then can we-"
"However, that would not look cool at all!"
Jaune's shoulders sagged in defeat. Of course. What else had he been expecting? Penny came equipped with twenty floating swords that shot lasers, and contrary to popular opinion, it had not been Ironwood's idea to put them there. Professor Polendina had done that all on his own. Hell, the guy made IXA an acronym because he thought it was cooler that way, and he had yet to come up with something for it to stand for.
"It is all about the cool factor, you see," Professor Polendina told him as if he was imparting some deep wisdom on him. "There is a perfectly scientific reason for it. When something is cool-"
The explanation was mercifully cut off by multiple beeps from his computer. Professor Polendina moved to check it. "Penny, Jaune, please come here. I believe this call is for you."
Penny and Jaune trade confused glances, but nevertheless, moved to stand beside Professor Polendina. The aged scientist hit a button and a screen popped up. In it, there was a face Jaune knew all too well.
"General Ironwood, sir!" Jaune said, snapping into a perfect salute. By now, the motion was automatic. Winter Schnee had made sure of that.
"At ease, soldier," Ironwood said. Only then did Jaune allow himself to relax. "I had a feeling I would find you here."
"Is it another security mission, sir?" Jaune asked. By security mission, Jaune meant if it would be another mission where he was loaned to the SDC. He did not mind fighting against the White Fang but having to pretend he was a robot when interacting with SDC personal was a bit annoying sometimes.
"Nothing of the sort." Ironwood smiled. "This is a mission of a different kind. A mission for you both."
Both?
Jaune looked at Penny. Penny looked at Jaune.
"General, does that mean…?" Penny pointed at herself, unsure.
"Yes, it does, Penny." Ironwood nodded. His smile grew kinder. "It is finally time for you to go to the outside world."
"I… can go…outside…" The sheer multitude of emotions that passed through Penny's face at that moment was astonishing. She looked at her father. "Father, is it okay? Is it really okay?"
The mix of hope and fear in her face was enough to make Jaune feel like someone had punched him in the gut. It was a reminder of how isolated Penny had been since her creation. He couldn't begin to imagine how Ironwood and Polendina were feeling right now.
"It is okay, Penny," the aged scientist said in a surprisingly gentle tone. His wrinkled face smiled. "Ironwood already talked to me about this. It is time, daughter. You shine too brightly to keep you in this dark, dingy lab."
For a moment, Penny went perfectly still.
"This.. is…SENSATIONAL!" The girl cried as she caught an unprepared Jaune in the mother of all bear hugs. "Did you hear, Friend Jaune? We are going outside! We can shop and order food! Oh, we can go to an arcade! I have always wanted to go to an arcade!"
"…that's… great…" Jaune managed to get out. It was a little hard with Penny squeezing all the oxygen out of his lungs.
"Let the boy breathe, Penny. I need you two to calm down. Remember, this will be a mission," Ironwood's voice cut in. Nevertheless, he sounded amused. Penny let go of Jaune. The two stood ready to receive their orders.
"As you know, the Vytal Tournament will be this year. I want you both to participate."
"We'll be competing as students?" Jaune asked. Technically, he and Penny were both registered as students of Atlas Academy, even if neither one went to class.
"Penny will be participating as a student. I already have a team in mind for her," Ironwood said before his gaze slid over to Jaune. "You will be participating as IXA."
"Is that… is that allowed?" Jaune asked nervously. As far as he knew, the tournament was reserved for students of the four Huntsmen Academies and no one else.
"Usually not. However, I managed to convince the other Kingdoms to make an exception this time. There are many who wish to see how IXA performs against Huntsmen-in-training."
So no pressure or anything. Jaune laughed nervously.
"It should go without saying, but I expect you both to perform your best. It is not an exaggeration to say your victory can have a great impact on the future of humanity."
Jaune's laugh died a slow, awkward death.
"And Jaune?" Jaune barely managed a sound in reply. "Do you remember what I promised you the day we met? After the tournament is over, I believe the time will be right."
Jaune gasped.
Of course, he remembered. How could he forget? Ironwood's promise to him had been one of the main reasons why he agreed to be part of the IXA project. Ironwood had told him that if he showed results and when the time was right, he would make him a Hunstman.
Now, that time was less than a year away.
Jaune Arc was going to become a Hunstman.
"I… Thank you, sir!" Jaune saluted.
"You have more than earned it," Ironwood told him. "I will send the exact details of the mission to your scrolls. For now, rest and prepare."
Once Ironwood cut the transmission, Penny and Jaune looked at each other.
"Penny?"
"Yes, Friend Jaune?"
"We're going to win this."
Penny nodded with a big smile on her face and her fists clenched in front of her. "We are combat ready!"
Damn right, they were.
AN: When you think about it, this really didn't need to be a Kamen Rider Crossover. It could have easily been Atlas inventing a random power suit that Jaune uses. That said, I really like the design of IXA. Its colors and Knight motif really work with Jaune. It also looks like something that could come out of Atlas.
Since this is a one-shot, I skipped straight to the good stuff with Jaune already having experienced a lot. A hypothetical full version of the story would take its time with things. Jaune being introduced to the project, being trained, getting the suit, meeting Winter, first encounters with the White Fang, meeting Penny and all that stuff. Basically, the story would spend a lot of time in Atlas before moving to Vale. I also think I'd try to use Merlot for this. Gotta have an evil scientist that sends monsters.
On a separate note, readers may have noticed Rook says 15-years-old Jaune is not even 5 feet tall. I like to imagine Jaune as a really late bloomer, this really adorably shrimpy thing that suddenly turns 6-foot something. It amuses me. Speaking of adorable though, writing this gave me new appreciation for how precious Penny is.
Last note, Hyades is the name of a sisterhood of nymphs who were daughters of Atlas. Seemed like a good name for a combat school there.
Till next time!