Chapter 10: The Final Leg

Somewhere in the Grimm Wilds…

Jaune followed Raven very closely as they continued their navigation through the more dangerous part of the forest. Grimm were more prevalent in this area, not to mention in more variety as well.

The two severed heads of a King Taijitu lay at their feet along with the body some distance away. Jaune looked down to see that his outfit had seen better days; covered in blood, dirt, and a few scuffs, it could stand for some mending.

"How much further," he asked.

"I believe what you're looking for is right over this hillside," Raven said. "There's a clearing with a tower. It's an old communications tower, but I've seen it work before strangely enough."

The rest of the journey to this point was lined with more complexity. The forest had hidden clues as to the location of this place. A few pieces of scrap here, an old sign there, and a few symbols etched into rocks, all of them unmistakably resembling Atlas in one form or another. None of them were clues were a dead giveaway to any location of importance, but they were enough to point them in the right direction.

Jaune had begun to suspect that he wasn't the first to be out in this place. It just seemed a little too convenient, a little too easy to navigate, and just a little too easy to get through all of it. He kept this reservation in his head though. The last thing they needed was another potential concern hanging over their heads.

And speaking of concerns, Jaune was still unsure about what Raven really wanted to do with him. To him, she was only there because she needed Human contact after having been rather deprived of this for many years. She had explained about her old life with her former love interest, someone called Taiyang Xiao Long. He didn't question what Raven said, only listened to what she was willing to give. In a way, he was reminded of being ripped away from normality, or more like aware of being in a similar situation.

And the more Raven spoke of family, the more Jaune began to feel a bit guilty about not having one to remember and tell about.

That thought lasted a moment as he rethought who he considered family. Penny was family to him, a sister. Ironwood was his father figure, he supposed, in terms of morals and thinkings. And Jennings, despite being difficult to train with, was like a mentor to the boy, another father figure.

So he did have a family. Maybe not a biological family one, but a family. Did family even really mean related by blood?

"We're here," Raven said. "See over there?"

Jaune followed the huntress's pointed finger to a structure in the distance. It was indeed a tower, and it bore Atlas symbols all over it.

This had to be a place where trainees went besides him. But who else besides him would come here he wondered?

Perhaps General Ironwood sends his students here, a voice in his head called out. You're not the only kid out there who's training. You just started much earlier than others did.

Jaune held Crocea Mors tightly as he and Raven made their way to the tower. As it became closer, Jaune instantly recognized that the technology didn't look ancient, far from it. The logo of Atlas was slightly faded and there were some marks and scratches adorning various spots. It looked like Grimm had tried to tamper with it.

Jaune looked to Raven, who shrugged her shoulders.

"It's your ride," she said. "I'll be here until you need to go. Then you're on your way back home."

Home was a military base in a classified location of Atlas. It was nothing like the home that Raven described on the island of Patch near the kingdom of Vale. The huntress had spoken of a house that was sizable and splendid, but not bragging or flaunting. It was a place that was a place that had once been a place of pure happiness.

Imagine an open field of grass, the sun shining brightly upon it, lighting the green up even more than it already was. Brightly-colored flowers of varying types dotted the field. Then imagine a small hillside where a house resided. A simple house really, but still roomy. A single gravel road leading up to it with maybe enough room for two vehicles.

It sounded pleasant, but Jaune wasn't really sure if he getting the image right. He knew nothing about civilian life, and his forgetful childhood life with his first family hadn't offered him any help in this picturing.

It didn't matter anyway, as much as that sounded rude. Raven didn't seem to want to dwell for too long on that thought as it seemed to cause her more pain than joy. It was past history, and what was more important was now and the future.

Spotting a control panel, Jaune began to input his own information, the system recognizing him. When Jaune saw Raven looking anywhere but at what he was doing, he didn't question it.

Raven meanwhile wasn't sure what exactly Jaune was. This was Atlas military technology, and he was interfacing with it. That had to mean...Jaune was conscripted. If that were the case, that would explain a lot about his character. She didn't comment on it, because she felt that she'd only get more questions than answers.

Perhaps this was something to leave undisturbed for now, but she wouldn't forget.

Jaune gained access to the network through some deft and quick technical know-how; it was a sort of hidden skill of his, and the fact that neither General Ironwood nor Lieutenant Jennings knew this was even better. The best didn't always have to show their skills.

The second Jaune finished sending out the message, a small whine could be heard by him and Raven. They both looked around for a second, momentarily confused. It had come from the tower.

Their confusion lasted only moments as the familiar sound of roars from the forest echoed all around them.

Jaune let out a small curse, which didn't go unnoticed by Raven.

"You seem worried," Raven said, still staring at the forest.

"Not really," Jaune unsheathed Crocea Mors. "But Grimm hordes and I have some really bad history."

"I see," Raven replied. "But I'm here, so fret not."

Jaune wasn't sure she was being serious, or she was trying to get a laugh out of him. And truthfully, Grimm hordes had been something that he had to deal with almost on a weekly basis now. He had developed his own tactics to dealing with Grimm. From experience, he had learned Grimm weak points, and now he used them to great effect.

The only reason for him to mess up on those simulations was because exhaustion got to him, and that was the cause of his slip-ups. And the only reason for him to die here was because extraction couldn't get her fast,

But Jaune wasn't going to die here. He had promises to keep, duties to fulfill.

Jaune intercepted a paw from a Beowolf and swiftly made an undercut to its neck, and then a decapitation.

Raven was nearby as she almost casually traded blows with Ursai. She didn't even move, her footing remaining as it was. And with just as little effort as she was defending, she lashed out and dealt a swift death to her opponents.

Jaune backed up, his blade at the ready. The impact of something against his back, alerted his head to turn.

It was only Raven with his back to his own.

"So what now, Jaune," Raven asked.

The blond seriously doubted that she asked him that because she didn't know what to do. She was a huntress from Beacon Academy, Jaune recalled. She had to be testing him somehow.

Jaune took time to analyze his surroundings. No doubt that Beowolf packs were on their way. Ursai were bound to be in pairs of groups of three. They could count on at least one or two King Taijitu. And perhaps a Nevermore would top it off.

The first thing to do was to take out the Beowolfs.

"Use the numbers of the Beowolves against them," he said. "Take Ursa out as fast as possible, avoid King Taijitu until all previous threats are dealt with."

"And what of the potential of Nevermores," Raven raised her blade.

"...clip the wings," Jaune answered.

"Not a very original plan," Raven commented. "But at least it'll work."

If Jaune was affected by the slight jab to his plan, he ignored it. It wasn't meant to be original. It was just a plan that was meant to serve his purpose.

The two of them split to engage Beowolf packs. Jaune relied on use of speed and his small size to get his kills. Raven called upon her more skilled blade work to kill.

Raven ducked from a blow and dashed to the Ursa's side and slashed, her blade cutting through it in an instant. She flipped out of the way, sheathing her blade, then drawing it again, switching the dust properties coated on the blade.

Jaune infused Crocea Mors with some of his aura, and touching the tip to the ground, the energy lanced out in multiple locations. The Grimm were thrown around like rag dolls at this wave of energy.

Jaune rushed forward and slashed two Beowolves before they could rise, never sparing a glance at the already-dead enemies, only moving forward. A Beowolf swung, missing him by a mile and he retaliated with a sharp impale to the chest, inflicting a serious wound. The Grimm clutched its wound before its brain was destroyed by Crocea Mors.

An Ursa slammed into him, but Jaune didn't falter, going with the movement and rolling backwards, landing on his feet, facing the giant enemy. It roared at him and advanced on him.

This was an unusually large Ursa, something that was many times larger than himself. He wouldn't kill this thing with his strikes, at not immediately. Even his strongest strike would not kill instantly.

Jaune dodged to the left, and the Ursa followed him, so the boy dropped to the ground and rolled to the right. The Ursa seemed to be able to follow him no matter where he went, and always seemed able to attack before he could counter.

Jaune frowned at this; this had to be a Grimm that had lived for a considerable amount of time. Not all Grimm were mindless as some believed, but could be very intelligent given enough time and experience. Really, when it came to learning, Grimm were no different than Humans and Faunus. Lacking a soul didn't mean they lacked a mind too.

And that was perhaps why it was better to perpetuate the myth that all Grimm were mindless creatures.

But this was no time for a lesson in Grimm intelligence.

Jaune put some distance between his foe, trying to assess anything around him that might be useful. There were no trees around, at least none that would give him the proper momentum he wanted and needed.

Wait.

Momentum.

Jaune's eyes lifted slightly at an idea before refocusing his attention back to the fight at hand.

Both Human and Grimm stared each other down, and then Jaune charged forward. The Grimm didn't move, but waited for the blond to get into range before it lashed out with one of its paws.

Jaune, instead of ducking under the claw or evading it, grabbed onto it, and held onto it. The Ursa looked dazed for a split second before it tried to shake him off, which gave the Atlas trainee the needed momentum to swing himself up into the air. Using a combination of his aura and gravity, Jaune impaled the Ursa into its skull. The Grimm didn't fall, still trying to fight him despite a gaping wound to its head.

When it tried to swipe Jaune off of its head, Jaune leaped into the air, and back to impale its head once again, and then he did a backflip, landing flat on his feet. Still the Ursa roared at him in challenge. So Jaune did the only thing he could think of.

He took aim and swung his sword.

The blade hits its mark as it impaled into the eye of the Grimm and into its skull a third time. This time, the Ursa groaned before collapsing into a bloody heap.

Jaune surveyed his surroundings to find that the Grimm seemed a bit spooked out by his victory, and were pulling back. Raven was nearby, watching them go as well. The blond jogged up to her after retrieving his sword from the dead Ursa.

"They'll be back," Raven said. "Count on it."

"I am," he said. "I've dealt with their kind enough."

Jaune propped himself on a rock, Crocea Mor's tip against the hard ground. He wasn't winded, at least not yet. However, that fight with the Ursa Major had drained more of his aura than he wanted to use.

There was still no sign of evacuation anywhere. Jaune looked to the control tower, and he could still see it was transmitting. Airships were fast, but how fast would it get here? Or maybe the better question to be asking was how far was this ship?

"Do you know how long this evac will take," Raven turned to him.

"I couldn't say," Jaune shrugged. "The details were...scarce."

"Ah," Raven lit up. "One of those."

"Those," Jaune asked.

"Perhaps a story for another time," Raven dismissed, "If I ever see you again."

"I think you will," Jaune stared off.

Raven didn't respond to his words nor did she give any indication as to whether she agreed or disagreed with that assessment. She wasn't even sure herself what to make of their brief but somehow agreeable relationship.

And the more she spent time with Jaune the more she began to grow attached to him. It wasn't good for her to have a potential loose end, but it feel nice to fight with someone at her side again, even if a novice in the big scheme of things. The nostalgia of fighting like this was a throwback to her days at Beacon in almost every way.

But could a novice taken down an Ursa like he did? She knew of huntsman and huntresses in training who might have difficulty with one of the giant monstrosities. Give him another decade or so of training and experience and how far would he go?

Raven wondered if she would even allow Jaune to find her ever again. It would be easy to watch her from her domain in the shadows and not breathe a wink of existence. He might pursue her, but she could find a way to remain illusive. She was good at it, one of the best.

And yet she had spent enough time to know that she wasn't about to forget a kid with a potential greater than any she had seen to date. Whoever was teaching Jaune had obviously done their job well, but the kid could with better, she knew. He needed more teachers, ones that could understand different aspects of his abilities and allow him to practice said abilities to the Nth degree.

And if there was one thing Raven despised, it was to leave such raw potential untrained and unhoned.

The screech of a Nevermore made her eyes wander up. Predictably, the flying Grimm was circling above them, trying to spot them. Or maybe it already had and was simply waiting for their move.

And stranger yet was it hadn't fired its feather at them. And with the relatively open area, it wouldn't be hard to pin them down and allow the ground Grimm to finish them off. Then again, the other Grimm had fled, likely because they saw that Ursa Major go down. It was to be expected that the body would fail to respond once a head was cut off.

"You don't have a ranged weapon do you, Jaune?"

"I've never felt the need for one."

"You should always have one, or some means to attack from a distance. Nevermores can be dangerous in close quarters if you don't know how to fight one."

"All that needs to be done is for the wings to be clipped," Jaune suggested. "If it can't fly, it loses a massive advantage."

"It's not quite that simple," Raven shook her head. "If it were, they wouldn't be classified as such a dangerous Grimm. But you are right; it's only a matter of luring it close enough."

"And you would do that how," Jaune questioned.

Raven studied the movement of the massive dark bird as it continued to circle above. In all of her time fighting Grimm, Nevermores were some of the more challenging in terms of intelligence. They weren't Goliath-intelligent, but they did have more than Beowolves and Ursai or any ground Grimm for that matter.

In order to lure a Nevermore to the ground, the Grimm had to be assured of victory. It liked to grab prey in its talons. Avoiding them was dangerous, but it also the only way to open up a window of attack.

"Have you practice landings from really high up?" Raven didn't let her eyes linger from the Nevermore.

"Yes," Jaune responded immediately.

"Good," Raven said, "Because we're going for a ride."

(X)(X)(X)(X)

If Jaune was a normal person, he might cringe and shout and protest this course of action. However, Jaune wasn't normal, and looking past the lunacy that this idea displayed on the outside, it was actually the only real plan that would yield some result.

Raven had explained in detail about what to do. It all made sense to the boy, and he had made certain that he was clear about everything that needed to be done. They would only get one chance at this. Any hesitation or mistake here and the Nevermore could learn and not repeat the same mistake, or they could end up injured.

Or dead.

The two warriors had picked a more open area near the communications tower to wait for the Nevermore to attack. Jaune had immediately assumed that no evacuation would come unless that thing was dealt with.

And that motivated him to not mess this up.

"We wait," Jaune asked.

"We wait," Raven agreed.

They didn't have to do so for long as the Nevermore immediately spotted them and began to converge on their location. The two of them had to dodge to avoid feathers meant to split them in half. Neither of them went into cover, allowing the Grimm to keep them in its sights.

The Nevermore let out a screech as it tried to clip them with its beak, but missed, and instead found two unwanted passengers clinging onto it. In a cry of indignation, the dark bird began to try and shake them off.

Jaune felt his stomach begin to do flips. His stupid motion sickness was coming back to bite him. Raven saw his queasiness through his pained expressions.

"JAUNE," Raven shouted. "FORCE IT DOWN!"

The boy clutched tighter to the Grimm as it flew in an even more randomized pattern, all the while channeling his aura to try and calm his body down. He felt himself return to normal, which wasn't how it worked usually.

"I'm FINE," he called out over the rushing wind.

"GOOD, THEN START CLIMBING!"

Raven stabbed her weapon into the side of the Grimm, a small screech of pain reaching their ears. She continued to slowly climb onto the back of the Nevermore. Jaune used his own weapon to do the same, mimicking the huntress's moves as much as he could. She knew what she was doing, he hoped.

The feeling of nausea strangely didn't return and this puzzled Jaune immensely, but he didn't allow his confusion to stop him from surviving.

The Nevermore began to flip upside down, and that only inspired the two to hold on tighter. Raven kept a steady eye on Jaune as he climbed, as this was undoubtedly his first time taking down a Nevermore.

Once they were firmly planted on the Grimm's back, Raven activated her sheath's rotary chambers, and coating her blade in fine ice dust. With the white-blue blade in hand, she waited for the Nevermore to level out again. Once it did, she called upon her aura to channel into her weapon.

The combined effect of the dust and her own aura made the Nevermore's back and top of its wings coat in ice. Now the Grimm was incapable of changing flight directions lest it want to crash.

But it would be long dead before it hit the ground.

"JAUNE, NOW!"

The boy channeled his own aura into his blade, and using his own aura-augmentation, he smashed the blade into the center of the ice spread. Like a shatter point, any part of the Nevermore touched by the coating of ice shattered. A few of shards caught Raven off balance and she felt a twinge of pain. Jaune instinctively shielded his eyes from any stray shards.

Raven didn't wait for Jaune to recover as she grabbed his free hand and took him over the side with her.

But before they both disengaged from the Grimm, Raven coated her blade in red dust, rushed forward to stab the neck, then infusing an aura bomb into the wound she created.

As the two fell back towards the ground, the Nevermore's head became severed from its body, as the aura bomb triggered the red dust in its wound.

Now wingless and headless, the body tumbled down with them.

Raven saw the ground approaching fast and instinctively hugged Jaune closer to her, and he did the same. It was strange, hugging another person like this, but it was also possibly the best warm feeling that she had felt in...forever.

But they weren't going to die.

Raven created another portal, which they both fell into. And they reappeared near the Atlas communications tower. They both landed flat on their feet.

But Raven still held Jaune like her life depended upon it.

After only knowing for certain that they were safe, she carefully released him. He looked no worse for wear. In fact, he looked rather happy.

"That was…" he struggled to find the words.

"No need to say it," she waved a hand.

"Thank you, Raven," he replied.

Simple words that was so often repeated in an effort to convey gratitude, but Raven hadn't heard the words spoken to her in so long. And even better she could actually feel his gratitude in how he spoke.

His eyes then turned to look down.

"You're hurt," he said.

Raven then realized through all of this, she had neglected to see if she was okay physically. She could now see that her wounds, while not grievous, still needed to be looked at. She silently hissed.

"It's nothing," the huntress tried to play it off.

"Let me see," he offered. "I can try and do something."

It seemed that this boy was pushing herself into doing thing that she wouldn't normally do for strangers. Raven never liked to admit needing help, and being alone had provided her with the ability to heal at her own pace. Only her former team would ever know if she needed help.

And after seeing him fight Grimm, it was likely that he at least knew some basic medical things.

"I'm not sure what you can do," Raven admitted. "This will take time for aura to heal."

Despite her words, Raven carefully sat down as Jaune inspected the wound on her lower abdomen. His eyes narrowed as he was careful not to disturb any shards that could hurt her more.

As he tried to work something out, he became unaware that his aura was flashing white and seemingly reacting without his own will telling it what to do. Raven did notice this, and would've pointed it.

The wounds aren't fatal, a voice sounded in her mind, But I do need to remove the shards in order for the wounds to heal properly.

Raven did well to not show surprise at hearing the sound of Jaune's voice in her mind, but knowing that he hadn't spoken.

Before she could think further, she felt a sharp pain as his hands grabbed onto the jagged pieces. He looked to the huntress for permission to do what he needed to do. She nodded her head.

With a quick but knowing hand, he removed the pieces, and Raven remained silent, but it still hurt. She pressed her lips together tightly to avoid any sound from being emitted.

And to her surprise and Jaune's surprise, the wounds began to heal instantaneously. The wounds closed within seconds, and when it was done, there wasn't a trace of any damage to her skin.

Raven got up and tested her body, not feeling any stiffness nor any pain. Contrary, she felt like she had just rested up and her energy felt like it had been replenished. Her aura still was recharging, but her body was fine otherwise.

"Well," Raven said lamely, "That was…"

"Strange," Jaune finished. "I don't suppose that was your handiwork?"

"No," the woman muttered. "My aura doesn't work like that, but I did notice yours acting up. Perhaps you had something to do with it."

"My aura," Jaune looked at his hands.

The slight sound of an airship approaching their position alerted the huntress, and she rose promptly, gathering her weapon and opening a portal.

"I must take my leave," she turned to the boy. "I...wish you success."

"And to you as well," he bowed slightly. "It was an honor to fight by a genuine huntress."

He held out a hand, and she didn't feel that it was enough to show how she felt; she once again embraced the boy, his response to not hug back for a moment.

"Take heed," she pulled back, her hands on his shoulders. "You have much to learn, but if your performance in our time is any indication, you will go far, this I have no qualms about."

He nodded his head, a sad smile on his lips. She imitated this.

And she reluctantly let him go, sparing one more glance before disappearing.

Jaune stared at the spot where she had been, then the sound of a bullhead resuming his attention back to getting back to base.

(X)(X)(X)(X)

"Renny," Nora cried out. "Come on. Get up. Pancakes!"

The boy known as Lie Ren knew better than to say no to his friend's desire to go eat pancakes. She loved them almost as much as she loved him she claimed. But Lie Ren wasn't sure he liked this one bit. Not that he didn't like pancakes, but he didn't like the idea of Nora liking a food more than himself.

Ren wasn't a selfish or spoiled type by any means, but one thing he lacked in life was a lot of friends. Nora was his only true friend that he trusted with his life, and he attributed it to the fact that she was everything he was not.

Everyone gravitated towards the ginger-haired girl when she was on the scene. It was just like her to be able to talk with most people she came across. It was a natural skill, and even more admirable that she cared little about the negative opinions about her. It was like nothing on this world could ever bring her down.

And their bond was strengthened by the fact that they were more or less on their own. They had no parents and therefore had to rely on each other. And despite maintaining a friendly relationship with other kids, the two of them shared this sort of unbreakable bond, or at least Ren liked to think so.

And that was why they visited each other often with their parent's permission of course.

"Renny," she whined. "Hurry up."

"Coming," Ren replied instantly.

The magenta-eyed boy followed his friend as they made their way through the hallways of her house and made their way into the dining room, where her parents were already setting out plates for food.

"Good morning, Nora," her mother announced. "Good morning, Ren."

She embraced both children despite Ren not being her own by blood. Then again, he and Nora were siblings in all but blood, so it stood to reason that her parents would treat him like their own, and vice versa.

"That's a new record, Ren," Nora's father spoke. "You're learning faster every time."

"With Nora," Ren commented. "Never delay when it comes to pancakes."

"Righto, dear boy," the man laughed. "And Nora, I hope you didn't hassle him too much."

"No dad," the girl smiled. "But I'm SOOO hungry."

"Well, dig in," her mother gestured to the table. "It's fresh."

Nora was already at the table and wolfing away at her plate before Ren even sat down and began to pick up his utensils.

"Nora," Ren deadpanned. "Remember to breathe."

"Hmm," Nora said.

When she tried to speak, her mouth spit out some of what she was chewing. And Ren only moved his head slightly to avoid said substance.

"Nora," her father scolded. "What did we say about talking with food in your mouth?!"

"To not to," Nora squeaked.

Ren smiled. Just like Nora.

Two characters in one omake. I'm well aware of the fact that Nora and Ren don't have parents that are alive or that they know about, but I feel like I should at least give them parents for this story since this isn't canon.

From this point on, I'm going to accelerate the timeline of the story. We won't be at Beacon for a few more chapters at least because I have some more story plot to write as well as character development. I've got some crazy ideas that just might work.

And speaking of characters, I took a look at the pole for ships with Jaune and I realized that the top three, which are STILL Pyrrha, Blake, and Yang, are very close in terms of votes. Really, all it could take is several more votes to shift who goes with Jaune. So I'm extending the pole availability for a few more hours after this chapter is uploaded. So this is your ABSOLUTE last chance to get your votes in and change the course of this story.

Also, a final note: I'm currently working on another story, which I've dubbed "Reduxed Remnant." The details are classified right now, but I'm looking for some help in writing it. My knowledge of RWBY is good, but with college being my focus, I don't have the time to write more than three stories. So anyone with a broad knowledge of RWBY universe stuff can send me a PM. For the most part, this is like a co-written story. I've got some basic groundwork laid out, but I need ideas and input to make it better.

If you loved this chapter, let me know with a review. If you hated this chapter, tell me why. And feedback and ideas are always appreciated.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember, do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.

...that was a joke.

...that was also a reference to...you probably don't care. Ah well, I tried.

Peace out!