A New Kind of Warfare
Chapter 7
Ruby laid in her bunk, staring up at the ceiling blankly.
How long had it been now, since Jaune disappeared? Something like six months?
She could feel her memories fading, simple things like were his eyes a deep ocean blue or a crystal sky blue? Was his hair more golden or sandy blond?
It made Ruby's stomach churn with guilt, he'd been the first person to show her any real kindness in her life barring her family, and it hurt to think she was forgetting his so easily.
When she needed someone to talk about the new issue of X-ray and Vav comic, he was there.
When she realized her 'friends' from patch were only using her to get out of trouble or cheat off her, he was there.
When she needed to run to Vale proper to buy ammo and parts for her baby, he'd been there, they'd sometimes even make a day out of it and just hang out in Vale all day.
She missed those days.
Days she could relax and unwind with her best friend, block out all the stress and work involved with being a huntress-in-training at one of the most prestigious academies. Not that she didn't love the huntress life, it was everything she wanted, but sometimes she just wanted to spend time with someone that was as dorky as she was.
"Ruby, have you studied for Ooblecks test tomorrow?" Weiss asked curly from her dest, a sprawl of papers surrounding her.
"Yes?" Ruby replied.
"You're a terrible liar," Weiss said blankly
"Okay, Okay, I'm sorry," Ruby spoke slowly, her voice a stark contrast from her normally fast paced and happy attitude, "I'm just not really feeling up to it right now."
"This isn't about that dolt Arc is it?" Weiss said with a twinge of annoyance in her voice.
"What if it is?" Ruby said defensively, sitting up from her bed, fixing Weiss with a guarded look.
"Then I'd tell you to be happy he's not here dragging you down with him." Weiss state with an air of superiority floating heavily around her.
"Why do you hate him, Weiss," Ruby said with an unusual anger to her voice, "Why do you treat him like he wasn't one of us? Like he wasn't worthy of being your friend?"
"Because he's not." Weiss responded simply, "If he can't fight for himself, then he doesn't belong here, the only thing he's good at is being a nuisance."
Ruby's heart pounded out of her chest, how could her partner be so cruel to Jaune, who'd done nothing but show everyone he meets kindness.
"I'm going to the training room," Ruby said, a clear twinge of uncharacteristic anger in her voice as she retrieved Crescent Rose, and slammed the door as she left, leaving Weiss alone with her work.
'What do you see in that dunce.'
-=-=-=Line Break=-=-=-
Crescent Rose arched through the air, it's blade glinting under the dull lighting of the training room as it made brutal contact with one of the many training dummies surrounding her, her anger disappeared as she as she began her brutal dance.
The machines around her all lunged at her in sync, prompting her to fire Crescent Rose at her feet and launch herself up and away from the bots.
With a midair flourish, Ruby brought her baby down and spun it around her, taking out the remaining training bots, and leaving her alone with her thoughts yet again.
As of late, the rose reaper was losing her temper any time Weiss said anything about Jaune, and for good reason too. It seemed that all the winter-themed woman could talk about was how glad she was he was gone.
It hurt, it served as a reminder that her best friend was gone forever, and there was nothing she could do about it, no amount of training could bring him back and she knew it.
But that didn't stop her from pushing herself, sometimes to the extremes.
'Impressive'
Ruby jumped at the sudden intrusion, her head spinning around the room, searching for who had spoken.
'We are not within you're... plane of existence' The strange voice spoke, now that Ruby focused on it more, it sounded a lot more like a bunch of distinctly feminine voices all mixed together.
"What's going on," Ruby asked out loud, her voice low with confusion.
'You... Worry for your friend... The one you call Jaune..?' The voices asked quietly, the more Ruby listened to the voice the more it seemed like they were voices in her head, and not spoken outright. 'We can... Help you...'
"Youcanhelp?WhereisheIhavetotelltheothersIknewhewouldn'trunaway!" Ruby spoke quickly with eyes widened in shock and excitement, lips moving faster than the eye can see.
'He is... Not the same person... Anymore...' The voices echoed, 'He still fights for humanity... However... it is against a far more... Dire enemy...'
"What is that supposed to mean?" Ruby questioned in confusion, "I just want my best friend back, take me to him!"
'We must warn you... The humanity the Arc fights for... Is no longer your own...' The voices spoke simply.
"I don't care!" Ruby yelled before her voice became no more than a whisper, tears evident on her cheeks, "Please, I just want Jaune back."
'Very well young one...' The voice spoke.
Ruby listened as the voices in her head began to grow louder, drowning her own thoughts out as they continued to grow, causing the red reaper to fall to her knees in pain, her hands held tightly over her head in pain.
She could feel something in her head, it was unlike anything she'd felt in her entire life, long pulses of pain rang through her, every twitch of her muscles hurt, every breath burned, and every thought felt like it was being seen by everyone.
Ruby screamed in pain as her arm involuntarily lifted, a strange purple energy whisping between her fingers and into her palm, forming into a large ball of strange energy.
The red reaper watched as the ball of purple lazily floated away from her to the middle of the room, before expanding into a large, almost vortex of purple, the pain in her head slowly disappearing as the ball moved further away from her.
'Walk through... The Arc awaits...' the voices echoed
"He's.. on the other side of the weird floaty purple thingy?" Ruby asked nervously, her mind still reeling from the sudden appearance and then disappearance of the worst headache she's ever felt.
'Yes...' The voices responded, 'Do not wast this... Gift... We do not extend it without reason...'
Ruby nodded in understanding before steadying herself not a foot from the vortex. With a deep breath and a check of her baby, the red reaper took the step that would change her life.
"I'm coming Jaune."
-=-=-=Line Break=-=-=-
Jaune and his newfound squad turned the corner into the hallway in a flash, their eyes hard and rifles leveled to dispatch any aliens that may have survived as a rearguard.
However what they found was strange, to say the least.
The first thing Jaune noticed was that the hallway was now occupied by two people, one of which is the still unconscious Sasha, and the other being, well he had no idea who.
She unconscious, that much was clear from the laying face first on the hard metal floor, however, that wasn't what struck Jaune as strange.
From where he was standing, the blond knight could only make out a long red cape, running down to about halfway down the woman's calf, short charcoal black hair with red tips, and how, of course, the ginormous scythe laying next to her.
Wait what?
"HOLY SHIT THAT'S A BIG SCYTHE!" Yoko exclaimed, loud enough to make the squad cringe and to clue in any aliens on their position.
"Weird friend Specialist," Karl stated with a chuckle, "Can't say I'd have left her in the middle of the hallway, but hey, nobody's perfect right?"
"She's not my friend," Jaune spoke in confusion, before whispering to himself "But she seems damn familiar."
"Well if she isn't you're friend who the fuck is?" The private asked, arms wide to gesture to the corpses surrounding them.
"Right here," Jaune said, slinging his rifle and pulling the corpse off of Sasha's lap, checking the woman injuries and making sure she was still stable "I hid her here while I saved yall's asses."
"Well if that's your friend," Karl said, before poking the red-themed woman's side with his boot "Who the fuckadoodaly do is this?"
Before Jaune could reply, the red woman flew into action, the scythe's blade resting on Karl's neck before he could react.
Everyone else brought up their rifles just as fast, their sights resting on the scythe-wielding woman's head just as they'd been trained too.
"Drop the fucking scythe lady!" Karl yelled, his voice laced with fear, his hands shooting up in a non-threatening way.
"Woahh there, Ma'am, let's all just calm down shall we?" Jaune stated calmly, taking a step closer to her "There's no need for any violence."
The woman's eyes widened as they settled on Jaune, her lips quivering as tears started to pour down her face.
"Careful Specialist, this could be some new brand of infiltrator." Yoko cautioned, finger twitching against the trigger of her rifle.
"Relax Yoko," Jaune answered before turning back to the woman, "What's your name, Ma'am?"
"Don't you remember Jaune?" Ruby sobbed, dropping the scythe and falling to her knees, prompting Karl to scramble to his side and bring up his own rifle, the only reason he didn't immediately fire was because Jaune was in his was.
"How do you know his name?" Bailey accused, shaking his rifle in his hand, finger tense on the trigger, anticipation a fight.
"It's me, Ruby," The red woman cried, her hands at her side, "Why don't you remember, and why are all these people dead!"
Jaune's body moving on autopilot as he moved to her side and hugged her, only pulling back to look into her silver eyes shimmering with tears.
The same eyes he saw after his gene operation.
The same eyes he saw when the aliens tried mind controlling him.
The same eyes from his past, the ones he could feel, but hurt when he tried to remember.
The same silver eyes from his past.
-=-=-=Line Break=-=-=-
A/N
Omake below :)
Ooooh, things are starting to get a little more complicated!
How will team (R)WBY and (J)NPR react to the disappearance of their leaders? Will Weiss finally feel shitty about how much of a bitch she's been? Will Jaune remember or is his past locked away forever? What are the Etheral's agenda? Stay tuned for the next episode of 'Jaune and Co. kill aliens'!
If anyone else wants to submit an Omake, or you want me to write my own, just ask! m PMs are always open.
Thanks to everyone that's left me a review for this story, ya'll have been so awesome! Keep feeding my ego, and pointing out any mistakes that bother you, thanks!
-= Omake submitted by .1 =-
Jaune stumbles back deeper into the room, Sasha's now glowing purple eyes shaking the blond knight to his core.
"I'll kill you!" Sasha screamed as she lunges toward's Jaune, Her blade poised for his heart.
Jaune's eyes flashed with fear, his panic being enough for Sasha to close in with her stab. Only for her blade to skirt off of some sort of invisible shield.
"What?" Sasha exclaimed, staggering back in a combination of surprise and confusion.
Taking advantage of the woman's confusion, Jaune charged her, slamming his shoulder into her stomach and bringing her to the ground, effectively stunning her enough for him to grab her by the wrists.
"Ahhh! Let me GO!" Sasha screamed, only causing Jaune to tighten his grip, causing the woman to lose her grip on the blade and drop it.
With little extra effort, Jaune lifted Sasha off the ground, twisted her arms around her back, and pushed her against the wall, effectively pinning her.
Sasha grunted as she struggled to escape, but to no avail.
"Calm down Sasha!" Jaune yelled as she tried to struggle from his grip, "There in your head, You need to fight it!"
"They're not in my head you dumbass!" Sasha yelled, her eyes fading from bright purple to their original bright green.
"The what the hell are you trying to stab me for!" Jaune yelled back, confusion evident on his face, still holding Sasha against the wall.
"Because you've gotten everything I've worked my entire life to get in a month!" Sasha yelled, her eyes shimmering as she stopped struggling against Jaune. "I've worked my ass off my entire life to get where I am, and some punk ass kid gets it all handed to him on a silver platter! What the hell else am I suppose to do!"
Jaune's eyes softened as he began to understand, letting go of Sasha, allowing the woman to turn around and slid to the ground.
"I.. I'm sorry, I didn't realize," Jaune spoke tentatively, his voice soft and relaxing to Sasha.
"I'm sorry I tried to stab you.." Sasha murmured, her voice low as she grumbled her apology.
"It's okay, I understand," Jaune responded, his voice as smooth as silk.
Sasha's eyes began to water, even more, eventually sending streams of tears down her face, staring at Jaune as her guilt got the better of her and she grabbed the blond boy by the shirt, burying her face into his chest as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Shh, It's okay," Jaune whispered cooly into her ear, gently caressing her hair as she cried, "You're okay, You're not alone."
Sasha continued crying, her arms tightly around Jaune as he gently ran his hand through her hair and held her, lightly rocking back and forth in an attempt to calm her down.
Before long, Sasha was silently sobbing into the blond boy's chest, her shoulders lightly shaking as he layed her down in his lap, his hand still running through her hair as she slowly slipped from the waking world.
"Goodnight," Jaune whispered silently before he lightly wiped a tear from her cheek, "You will never be alone in the world again, I promise."
