RWBY: The Remnant Knight
There are many paths in life, some that are set in stone and some that are in a state of flux...then there are the ones that defy the course of fate. This is one such path where destiny is defied and the path of a Knight is forged in blood, steel and magic. This is the Rise of the Remnant Knight.
Chapter X: The Geist of Anima
Deep within the forest of Anima, surrounded by the trees and wildlife of nature stood a small village called Takefu a small smithing village hidden within the depths of the Anima Forest.
The town was small, had few citizens known for their smiths and craftsmen. But aside from that it was a peaceful life, with few bandit attacks and a relatively calm environment.
Lately, however, the village had been having some troubles with a small Grimm problem that had been hounding them for weeks. A Grimm called a Geist, a phantom-like Grimm that had no corporeal body and usually had to take over inanimate objects to attack people. And unfortunately for the town, the closest Huntsman was all the way in Mistral and they barely got any service out this far - even with the CCT tower full operational.
Luckily for them, a travelling group of teens stopped by the town and offered to take care of the Grimm for them. In exchange, the local Smith would help them forge new armour and weapons for the group. The mayor agreed and the group split into two groups, one to look after the town, while the other went to fight the Grimm.
"Ah...so bored..." Russell said as he leant against a fence. "Why are we the ones guarding the village, when we could be fighting off the Geist?" he asked as he and the others stood around him.
"Because, if the hunting party fails to stop the Geist, it's up to us to stop it. It's the only way we can assure that the Geist doesn't get into the village. Besides, it was more logical to send the stronger members of our group to kill the Grimm while we stayed behind. No need to exhaust all of us against one Grimm," Velvet said as Russel groaned.
"Still, I would rather be fighting a Grimm than just sitting around here," Coco said as she sat on a stump while filing her nails.
The Team that was left to guard the village was Fox, Dove, Velvet, Russell, Sky and Coco as they were the best choice to guard the village. While Jaune, Ruby, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Cardin and Yatsuhashi went out to fight the Grimm.
"Well, why the hell did Jaune go with them? Isn't he still like, injured or something?" Dove asked as Fox turned to him.
"Jaune had to go because it was part of the deal we made with Mayor. He helps fight the Geist, he gets the new armour the blacksmith is making. We were lucky to upgrade our gear before we left Vale. Jaune and others, on the other hand, still needed to get some new equipment. This is the only way," he said as Russell sighed and started to twirl the dagger in his hand.
"I hope they're having more fun than we are?" he said as he cast a bored gaze to the forest.
Meanwhile with the Hunting Party
Small amounts of leaves fluttered down to the ground as the sounds of small animals and critters resonated in the peaceful forest. The trees stretching high into the sky, as small amounts of light shone through the gaps in the canopy. Beneath the Canopy stood Ren and Nora as the stood in the middle of the forest.
"I still say we need a new Team name. Like, JNPRRCFVYCRDL? It's got all our team names mashed in together, just like how we are all mashed together," Nora said as she seemed to be pointing to the words floating in the air.
"Putting all our team names together like that is just gibberish, we need a name that is a colour and has to mean something. Like..." he thought for a moment and pointed to some floating words.
"Spectrum, it's based off the Light Spectrum, that is made of every colour and it fits with how we are all named after a different colour," he said as Nora shook her head.
"What are we a Dust Band? JNPRRCFYCRDL is way better," she said as the boy shook his head.
"No Spectrum is better,"
"Guy's," Jaune said as he looked back at them. "We need to stay focused, Ruby should be here any minute with the Grimm, so we need to stay sharp...Plus, I think Nora might be on to something," Nora nodded her head while Ren rolled his eyes.
Jaune then placed a finger to his neck. "Pyrrha, you guy's in position?" he spoke into a radio they salvaged on the Phantom, as he looked over to the other side of the clearing as Pyrrha nodded.
"We're all set here Jaune, we're just waiting on Ruby," she said as Yatsuhashi was sharpening his blade while Cardin leant on a tree.
"Hey Arc, how come you just don't go full armour mode like you did in the invasion or use your sword and waste this Grimm? Why do we have to lure it into a trap?" he asked as Jaune shook his head.
"I can't control my semblance like I did during the invasion, that was just a one-time deal when I fought against Cinder. I need more time before I can master it. And Crocea needs time to draw in energy and I have no idea how to make it transform. That would just give the Geist more time to attack the village, time we cannot afford to give. This is the only way," he said as he nodded.
Suddenly the sound of trees falling drew their attention as they looked up to the cliff as birds quickly flew away in a hurry. They instantly knew what that meant as they all drew their weapons.
"It's here get ready," they crouched down and hid in the bushes.
The ground beneath their feet started to rumble as a red blur shot out of the trees as Ruby Rose fired her rifle at a large monster made of stone that chased her. Briefly, the two stayed in mid-air before gravity took control and they plummeted to the ground. Ruby using her speed and semblance to latch onto a tree branch while the stone monster slammed into the earth.
The Dust slowly settled as large being made of stone slowly rose from the earth. The stone being was made mostly of large boulders that somehow managed to stay together, with what looked like a bone mask in the centre of the being.
This was known as Petra Gigas, a Geist that had managed to possess inanimate objects and fashioned itself a body. The stone giant roared as Jaune nodded and drew his sword from his waist.
"Cardin! Now!" Cardin burst out of the Forest and slammed his mace into the ground. A large blast of fire shot across the ground as it struck the golem's legs, causing it to topple onto its hands.
"Yatsuhashi! Go for the arm, Nora you go for the other!" he ordered as both Nora and Yatsuhashi charged.
Nora striking her hammer against the stone arm, while Yatsuhashi sliced his blade across its other arm. The Petra Gigas roared as it batted away the two Hunters as Ren dashed towards the beast. The monster slamming his arm into the boy's path, only for Ren to jump on its arm and fired rapid shots at its face. But the Petra Gigas instead protected its face, as the bullets bounced harmlessly off its rocky exterior.
It then managed to swipe at the boy, only for him to dodge as a swirl of petals begins to dart around him. Loud cracks of a sniper rifle ring out into the forest, as Ruby uses her weapon loaded with electric dust to fire at the large stone beast.
"Could use a little help here guys!" she says and quickly darts away. Jaune charges at the beast as he slashes his blade against the back of the creature's leg, causing the beast to turn to him. Only for rifle shots to bounce off its back as Pyrrha runs around and shot at its back.
The Creature was about to strike her when Nora, with her weapon transformed into its hammer form, slams into the creature's arm and breaks it into pieces.
"Yes!" she says as the creature looks at the missing limb as an elongated arm with claw-like fingers emerges. But then the arm reaches out and places itself in a tree as the creature now has a new arm.
"No!" the Petra swings the arm and slams her away. But Ren manages to catch her as they land a little back from the battle.
"It's arm is a tree!" Jaune yelled as the beast looks at him and then roars as it swipes its arm across the ground, sending the boy up into the air. "Uhhhh!" Jaune says in mid-air, as the beast is ready to crush the boy, had a spear not snagged his red hoodie and sent him into a tree but luckily was not too high off the ground.
"Thank you!" Jaune say's as the spear then flings back to Pyrrha as she waves.
"I'm sorry!" she said but then rolled out of the way as Ruby stops on a branch and looks at the arm.
"Big mistake buddy!" she says as she reaches behind her back and pulls out a cartridge with a fire symbol on its as she loads it into her rifle. She cocks back the rifle as she charges at the best, bullets flying out of the barrel as the ammo strikes the wooden arm and sets it on fire.
"Yes! Way to go Ruby!" Jaune said as he thought the arm was done for. Only for the beast to now have an arm on fire. "Oh crap! Big Mistake! Big Mistake!" he yelled as he ran from the now flaming limb. But shots from both Ren, Pyrrha and Nora manage to disorient it as the creature stumbles back.
"Okay, how do we defeat this thing?" Cardin asks as he leans on one knee. "Because this thing is way too tough," he said as the others gathered up.
"There has to be a way to beat it?" Jaune said as he thought about the creature.
"His body is too thick to break through," Ren said as Jaune shook his head.
"It doesn't care about its body," Jaune said as he remembered the creature shrugged off any attacks to its body.
"Plus, it can keep grabbing new limbs!" Nora said as Jaune shakes his head.
"But it keeps protecting its face," he said as he concentrated on the creature.
"We can't break it!" Ruby said as Pyrrha shook her head.
"There has to be a way?" she said as Yatsuhashi looks at the beast.
"Nothing is unbeatable, every enemy has a weakness. We simply need to find one," he said as Jaune groaned.
"Urgh, if we knocked all of its limbs off at once and went for the-!" Jaune's eyes light up with an idea and he turns to face his team. Behind him, the Grimm gets up. "Guys, I got it! We hit it harder!" he said as they all stared at him.
"Isn't that what we've already been doing?" Cardin asks as Jaune shakes his head.
"No, think about it, this entire time it hasn't bothered to protect its body, only its face. You know, where the mask is. I think that is where the real body is. So, if we attack all at once, break its limbs off, then it will be forced to retreat! Then Ruby can hit the real thing and finish it off!" he said as they all nodded.
"Okay, let's do this!" Ruby said as they all nodded and got read.
"Cardin, Yatsuhashi, go for the legs! Pyrrha, Ren, aim for the arms! Nora, did you manage to get that upgrade from the ship installed?" he asked as the girl nodded. "Good, then be ready. Ruby, you know what to do," he said as she nods and cocks back her rifle.
"Okay, everyone! Let's go!" he yells as they all charge at the beast, while Nora stays behind and grips her hammer tight.
Cardin and Yatsuhashi yell as they charge to the being, just as the creature is about to brush them aside when sniper rounds blast off its body as a red blur shot around the beast. Cardin and Yatsuhashi weapons making large impacts on the creature as it roars in pain. Ren and Pyrrha constantly firing at the arms as they run around the creature. Jaune even managing to get a few blows in as he slashes his sword against its back legs.
Meanwhile, Nora is holding her weapon as small pink sparks travel from her hands and into Magnhild, as she braces her feet. "Ready!" she calls out as Ruby nods and then zooms back and lands at a distance from the battle.
She breathes in a calm breath, as she leans back into a sprinting stance and rockets forward at high speeds. She grabs Nora midway as they speed towards the Grimm. A spiral of red and pink swirling towards the Grimm as Ruby slashes the tree arm in half and sending Nora flying towards the Grimm. She slams her hammer into its face as its body literally exploding into rubble as pieces of the Petra Gigas fall to the forest floor.
Emerging from the largest piece was a phantom-like creature, a black figure with bone-like spikes on its back, ribs and long skeleton-like forearms with sharp fingernails. Its ghostly appearance lacked a lower body and instead floated through the air while leaving behind a black smoke trail. Its face consisted of Grimm markings on a mask-like bone plate with a single eye.
The spectre began to float away, as Ruby peered down the end of her scope. And with a squeeze of her finger, the sniper fired as birds flew away from the sound as everything was silent.
The others stood side by side as they watched the Grimm fall to the forest floor, its ghostly image slowly fading as it soon ceased to exist. Jaune smiled as he placed his hands on his hips.
"Another victory for Team JNPRRCFVYCRDL...No, no, you were right Ren, that was bad. It's just not working anymore," Nora sulked while kicking a small pebble.
"Well, guess we should head back to the village and report this?" Cardin said as he placed his Mace back on his back. Jaune nodded as he reached into his back pocket.
"Guess, I need to get back into character?" he took a roll of bandages and started tying them around his face. The bandages covering most of his head, with the only places visible were his eyes and mouth.
It was a necessary disguise to hide his features in case his family was looking for him and Penny had been picking up chatter from underground networks about Keir Arc informants inquiring about Jaune. It seemed that they finally noticed his escape after the first 24 hours and from being informed by his Sister, Bleu Arc. The Arc's had a rather extensive network that spanned most of the world, no doubt his parents would be using it to track him down.
Luckily, they had yet to find him.
It had been over a week since Jaune and the others had broken into a secure Black-Ops headquarters, stole a highly classified stealth ship and recovered his sword from Vale. Their escape was not as subtly as everyone thought it was, as the citizens wondered what that strange light over the Beacon tower was, and why Atlas fighter jets were pursuing a small vessel.
Cobalt had managed to assure the Council that it was nothing serious and were just testing a new warning system that would alert the city of incoming Grimm attacks. Ironwood wanted to dispute these claims but was ordered not to by the Atlas Council, because somehow General Cobalt managed to outrank him now in the Military.
So, with no other choice, Ironwood returned to Atlas to oversee the Dust embargo that would be placed on the Schnee corporation - something that Jacques Schnee did not take too kindly.
So, for the time being, it seemed like the Atlas Government was not on their tails.
However, if their suspicions were correct and there was a traitor in Mistral, then there was no doubt that the traitor would have his own network looking for them. From what they understood, the traitor had high-level access to the system. High enough to allow Cinder and her allies to enrol as official students from Haven Academy, as well as give her the encryption keys to plant the virus into the system and knew exactly where to hit them.
The only way any of that could have been done was by an inside man - Who could just as easily catch wind of their identities and proclaim them as traitors instead.
So, they had to be cautious as they travelled, stopping every two days to park and avoid any suspicions and restock on supplies. And while they now possessed a new stealth ship, Penny was still learning the new inner workings of her new vessel, as she was not as fully integrated into the system as she thought she was.
An example being nearly overloading the ship's engines just to cross the ocean. So, they also had to take it slow as not to overtax her and allow her to fully integrate into the system while taking the long route to Mistral.
They parked just a short distance from this small town, where they decided it was time for Team JNPR to upgrade their gear.
Problem was, they had little money to spend and Jaune was sure that his parents had frozen his accounts or would use them to track him down. So, they struck a deal with the Mayor of the town - who had been having problems with the Geist for weeks. They took out the Grimm that was terrorising them in exchange for new armour and gear.
It was a simple solution and an easy way to afford new gear.
The only thing Jaune didn't like was how stuffy the bandages got covering his face. "I really regret having my face plastered like that over the entire CCT net," Jaune said as he finished bandaging his face.
"I know Jaune, but this is the only way no one will recognise you. I promise it won't be for long, Velvet just texted us and informed the Mayor we've done the job, but we need to head back to confirm with him in person," Pyrrha said as Jaune nodded.
"Okay, let's do this," he said as they all left the forest. Never noticing the small crow perched on a branch as it eyed the group and then flew off into the distance.
Later – Takefu Village
Ruby was shaking the Mayor's hand as the man smiled at the group, "We cannot thank you enough for defeating that creature. That Geist had been plaguing us for weeks, it is good to know that we won't have to relocate as he feared we would," the man said as Ruby nodded.
"We were just doing our jobs sir, but we can help you get to Mistral if you wanted? We have a ship-ah... we know a vessel that can get you to Mistral if you wanted. It doesn't have a lot of extra space, but we can get you there in a couple of trips?" Ruby said as Nora managed to stop her from saying the fact that they had a ship, but the Mayor just shook his head.
"Ha, I take it you're not from these parts?" he said as he gestured to the people.
"Anima is a large continent but I'm afraid our people would never survive the long trek to Mistral - even if we used a vessel to transport there. It may be safer in the Kingdoms, but we prefer our way of life. We have worked hard for this place, and we are not so willing to give it up just yet," they nodded at the man as Ren understood more than most.
"I just wish we could pay you more?" he said as Ren shook his head.
"Our previous arrangement is more sufficient, thank you for the offer though," Ren said as they all bowed respectively to the man.
Later at the Blacksmith's
It wasn't long until they were at the Blacksmith as the man placed a large wooden chest on the counter. "The armour is a little heavier than what you're used to, but it should be easier to move around in, just like you requested. I also managed to get the seamstress to make those new clothes you requested, light but tough, she knows how to make good clothes."
"And it wasn't easy getting earth dust since that Embargo was placed, but I have my resources, which should go well with those new additions to your weapons like you requested, should keep you alive longer than most," the blacksmith said, a man who was Faunus by nature with two horns growing out of his head, as Pyrrha nodded and inspected her weapons that were polished to a new sheen.
Jaune then shook the man as his bandaged hands grasped the man's own. "We can't thank you enough for this," Jaune said as the man shrugged his shoulders.
"Ah, don't worry about it, it was my pleasure. Sure, you don't want to put your new gear on here? I got a room in the back if you want to change," he asked as Jaune shook his head.
"No thanks, I... don't like anyone seeing my scars..." he said as the man nodded.
"Oh...you one of those survivors from Beacon, aren't ya?" he asked as he nodded.
"I get you, a lot of kids got injured during that incident and a lot of them weren't the same when they got back. I'm just surprised the whole city didn't fall that day. Guess you can thank him for that, huh?" he gestured to a poster on the wall, that was a stylised version of Jaune's armour semblance as it stood on the top of the defeated dragon.
After the invasion, many citizens grew uncertain and scared of the fact that a Kingdom could be targeted by such a large force. Bandit attacks had increased in the first week due to the fear - which drew in more Grimm into the villages and caused large-scale riots to erupt in smaller towns across the World.
It looked like the world was about to fall apart.
But then news of Jaune's 'resurrection' circulated amongst the citizens, as the Council decided to capitalize on it and use it to inspire the citizens to stand up and fight for their homes. Soon stories and posters of 'The Remnant Knight' spread out amongst the Kingdoms, as Jaune had become a symbol to the people.
The man who went up against the 'Witch of Ashes' and slew her and her Pet Dragon with the devotion and strength of all mankind.
Jaune, however, felt he was unworthy of such praise. Especially as the real reason he went up there was to stop his partner from getting herself killed - Yet ironically dying to do the same thing. The difference is that he got lucky enough to come back to life, while Pyrrha may not have had the same chance.
Honestly, Jaune felt more like a joke than anything.
"Yeah...I guess..." Jaune mumbled as Cardin grabbed the chest and hefted it onto his shoulder.
"You kid's sure you won't stick around? You've really been good to this town," he asked as they all shook their heads.
"Sorry but we've got another mission we have to complete," Ren said as Nora nodded her head vigorously.
"Make it to Haven Academy, no matter what!" she said as the man nodded.
"Well you be careful, no telling what you'll meet out there," they nodded as they all began to walk away while the man nodded and went back to his shop. He then looked at the poster as thought about the boy with the bandages, and the boy that was plastered on the wall.
"...Nah" he said as he went back to work.
The Phantom – Main Bridge
Penny floated on the main bridge as she looked over a holographic display of the ship's diagnostics. The green light illuminating the bridge in an eerie green glow as she waved her hands across the displays, the images blinking in red being examined and enlarged as she looked over the overheated engine. She touched the engine as a diagnostic of the machinery replaced the ship as she placed a hand on her chin.
"Send Maintenance probe 22 and 21 to the engine room and check the coolant system, the problem could lie with a loose tubing. If that's the case, patch it up and check for a spare part in the maintenance bay," she ordered two small probes that dropped down from the ceiling. They were small and spherical as each had a single green eye glow on their faces.
They then made a series of beeps as they hovered to the engine room. "Probe 18 and 12, what is the status of the weapons system?" she asked two more drones appeared on a screen and made a series of beeps.
"Good, Ruby would be happy to know that all our weapons are fully functional and Combat Ready," she waved the screen away and continued looking over the diagnostics. Suddenly a small alert caught her attention as security footage of the cargo bay doors displayed the group as the stood outside the ship.
"Ah! Salutations everyone! I will open the Cargo Doors immediately,"
The large doors of the Cargo bay opened and a large ramp descended to the group, who then thanked Penny as they made their way to the elevator. She floated down to the floor as she stood up and brushed her dress - A useless gesture seeing as she was a hologram; But it was a small thing she liked to do. Something to distract her from the fact she lacked a body.
The elevator doors then opened as all eight of the crew members walked onto the bridge. "How was the mission?" she asked as Jaune nodded.
"It went good, we took down the Geist and managed to get the gear we needed. Did you fix the problem with the overheated engine?" he asked as she nodded.
"I've just sent a couple of my probes to investigate a possible leak in the cooling system. If the problem is small, I calculate that we should be fully operational within the next 48 hours," she said as Jaune nodded.
"Keep us updated on that, as soon as those repairs are done we need to head out. Who knows what that Traitor could be doing right now?"
"In the meantime..." Nora said as she fished around in the chest, "It's time for Team JNPR to Gear Up!" Nora said as she quickly dashed away and returned in an instant. "Ta-da!" she said as she showed her new look.
Her new look consisted of a white top like her old one, though the heart cut-out on the top had a diagonal cut through it, with a shorter detached white sleeve on her left arm. Over the shirt, she wears a zippered blue-black bomber jacket with a damaged print of her emblem visible on the back and pink stripes along the sleeves. The pink bands of the jacket tighten on her upper arms. Her skirt was slightly longer with pleats that create some flair and two wide belt loops at the waist for her matching belt and wore knee-high pink socks just visible above her calf-length boots, which were white with pink laces.
"...How did she do that?" Coco asked as the rest of Team JNPR stared at her.
"We've learned not to ask," they said as Ren picked up his clothing from the chest and went to the change rooms. While Ren wasn't as quick as Nora, he still returned after a brief period.
The first thing they noticed as the fact that he now let his hair down as it had grown to his lower back. His attire was like the one he had before in colour but now has a longer, sleeveless tailcoat. Under it, he wore a black sleeveless turtleneck with red tasselled ropes over his hips and pants that got tighter below the knees with calf-high open-toed sandals. From his middle finger to his biceps run gradient pink-to-black detached sleeves ending in metal armbands.
"Rocking the long hair, I see," Coco commented as she observed his outfit.
"It suits you and not half bad if I do say so myself," she said as she got approval from everyone else. He placed Stormflower on his thighs as he turned to Nora and nodded in approval. Jaune and Pyrrha doing the same as they admitted the boy looked impressive.
"I guess it's time we got changed too, huh?" Jaune asked as he reached into the chest, but was stopped by Pyrrha.
"First things first, you need a shower," she said as Jaune looked confused.
"No offence, Jaune, but you kind of smell like an ashtray," Velvet said as her nose was more sensitive than the others. Jaune looked down as he smelled his clothes, then cringed as he shook his head.
"Yeah, that does smell kind of bad," he said as he nodded. "Alright, I'll have a shower," he grabbed his new gear and left for his quarters - the captains cabin on the top floor. Coco then turned as she grinned at Pyrrha.
"You not going to go with him?" she asked as the champion looked suddenly nervous.
"W-why would I go with him?" she asked as Coco grinned and jabbed her elbow into her ribs.
"Oh, come on, don't tell me you didn't help him bathe when he was recovering? I can only assume you did since you spent all your time with him at Keir Arc?" Pyrrha instantly blushed as she avoided at the older girl's accusation. The older girl grinning as she folded her arms over her chest.
"You did, didn't you?" she said as Pyrrha could have sworn steam was coming off the top of her head. Nora also grinning at the girl like a mad woman, while Ruby and Velvet blushed and Penny looked confused.
"I do not understand? What was wrong with Pyrrha assisting Jaune in bathing?" she asked as Ren just waved his hand.
"Nothing, it's just a girl thing," he said as Penny still looked confused and filed the interaction later to review. Human behaviour was still weird to her.
Captain Quarters
The sound of water running echoed in the large cabin of the Captain's quarters, as Jaune stood under the shower head of his bathroom. The water cascading off his body as the small streams of water brushed against the scars and creases of his skin. The stench and dirt that had covered his body were slowly washing away as it sunk down into the drain. His hair was mattered as he thought about everything that had happened in the past week.
He ran away from his family, stole a highly experimental stealth ship and dragged all his friends on an insane quest for justice - which he prayed would not end in another World War. And he possibly possessed one of the most powerful semblances in the world but had no idea how to control it.
Honestly, it was a little taxing on the boy, but he could only imagine what the others were going through.
He knew his teammates would stand by him, they would have some issues, but they would stand by him none the less. He then thought about Ruby and how she was still dealing with all this, especially the aftermath of her team breaking up.
The state her sister Yang was in after the Invasion, her partner Weiss being held in Atlas and Blake apparently running off to the Faunus homeland to gather herself. It was a lot for the young leader to take in and Jaune wouldn't blame her if she suddenly decided to just quit and head home. She was only fifteen after all, and she had been through a lot.
But he knew how strong Ruby was and somehow, deep inside of him, he knew that Team RWBY will pull through this hurdle eventually and make it back together again.
He shut off the water as he walked out of the shower ready to dry himself and change in his room. But stopped as he looked up at his reflection in the mirror.
The sight he saw was still hard for him to comprehend as he looked up the damage that he had sustained from his battle with Cinder. While his aura did have the ability to heal himself to an extent, the degree of damage he suffered that day was too much for even his aura to repair.
Aura could heal almost anything, but it couldn't heal everything.
The scar from his left collarbone to his right waist, accompanied with the scar across his chest crisscrossed in such a fashion that it looked as if it was a grotesque version of a Cross was carved into him by a mad person. Which in a sense was true when he considered who he fought at the time?
The scar that began in the centre of his abdomen and continued out of his back was a permanent reminder of how close he had come to death and how thankful he should be that he survived. Two more scars lined his body as one was on his right leg and the other on his left arm as they were another reminder of how close he came to death.
He could still remember the moment Cinder cut into him like he was made of nothing but rice paper, as he traced a hand over the final scar on his body. The scar reached from his lower right jaw and stopped just under his eye. It was a sheer case of luck that he hadn't lost his eye in that final confrontation.
It was hard to imagine that several months ago he was just a teenager sneaking his way into Beacon Academy hoping to make himself something like his parents and grandparents.
Now, he looked as if he was a roughened veteran the with scars to show how much the pain and suffering he had endured to get them. it was the kinds of things he wanted to be proud of when he was younger. But now, they were just reminders of how painful the life of a Huntsman truly was.
Maybe that's why his parents never wanted him to follow this life? To spare him from the pain.
A gentle knock broke his thought as he turned to the door. "Jaune? Are you okay? You've been in here for almost half an hour," Pyrrha's voice said as Jaune blinked and looked at the holographic clock near his bed. It had indeed been nearly half 'n' hour as he had realised how lost in thought he had been.
"Oh, sorry," he said as he quickly went over to the bed and grabbed the pants that were laid out on it. "Hold up, I'm just-whoa!" Jaune said as he slipped on the water that gathered at his feet and fell to the floor.
"Jaune!? Jaune are you all right!?" Pyrrha said as she instantly went through the door, "I heard a noise and..." she trailed off as they both looked at each other. Jaune lying on the ground, the towel no longer around his waist as they both just stared at each other.
Two faces instantly turned bright red as Pyrrha turned around and covered her eyes. "I'm sorry Jaune! I-I-I didn't know you were changing!" she said as she rambled on, even as a small gap started to form in her fingers.
"I-It's all right! You were just worried! I understand!" Jaune said as he managed to put his underwear and pants on as he fumbled with the belt. "Damn thing won't!" he said before he finally got the belt on. "There, okay, you can turn around now," he said as she turned to him.
"Sorry about," he said as he chuckled nervously. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just slipped and..." he stopped when he noticed the far off look in her eyes. "Pyrrha?" he asked as she just continued to look at his chest.
He followed her gaze as he realised why as the scars had just as much of an impact on her as they did him.
He sighed as he placed a black sleeved shirt over his chest. "Pyrrha," he said as she looked at him. "You know I don't blame you for what happened right?" he said as he placed a hand on his chest. "This was because of my own arrogance and stupidity. You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened at the Tower," he said as she nodded.
"I know, it's just..." she walked over as she placed a hand on his chest, her fingers running along the grooves and bulges of the scars beneath the shirt. "I just can't help but think about all the pain you must have gone through, and how I could have prevented it if I had gone up in your place or run away with you when you asked...maybe it would have been better that way," she said as Jaune sighed and placed a hand on hers.
"Pyrrha, I've told you, we still don't know what would have happened if you went up there instead? For all we know, it could have been a lot worse. We can't keep focusing on the past. We just have to be glad that both of us made it out alive," he said as smiled at her. "Because I honestly, don't know what my life would be like if I lost you," he said as she blushed a sheen of red on her cheeks.
"But right now, we have a mission to complete," his eyes became focused as he walked over to the new gear that he placed on the large queen sized bed. He picked up the chest plate as he inspected the armour. "Otherwise what happened in Vale could happen to Mistral..." he gripped the edges as he thought about the invasion.
"And I refuse to let that happen again," he said as she nodded and walked over to him.
"We'll stop them Jaune," she said as he nodded. He then raised an eyebrow as he looked at his partner.
"I see you got change?" he said as he looked at the new gear Pyrrha had on.
She still retained the same colour scheme of bronze, brown and red like her old armour, but replaced the cloth skirt for a leather strapped skirt that went down to her knees like those of the ancient gladiators with a skin-tight leotard underneath. She still had the same armour on her legs but had also added more armour on her arms and chest, after the blacksmith insisted that she have more protection in the chest area.
"You can't seriously be thinking of fighting Grimm wearing that, are you!? You're trying to be a Huntress, not a model for the Sake of the Gods!"
Pyrrha could only hang her head as she felt shame at the man's words.
It wasn't her fault her armour was like that, it was what her parents and manager suggested to sell the Pumpkin Pete cereal. Her hair had been braided together, to avoid it getting in her way while the crown she always wore still rested on her head. But he could faintly see a small inscription of the Arc symbol on the right side of her head.
She blushed slightly as she fidgeted in her new get up, "Well everyone else had decided to get change, so I figured I'd do the same. Do you like it?" she asked as he nodded.
"It looks good," he said as he then turned to his gear. "Now it's time I should do the same," he said as he began to dress.
20 minutes Later – Phantom Bridge
The elevator doors soon opened as everyone turned in the direction as Jaune and Pyrrha stepped out of the elevator. A few eyebrows were raised as Jaune stood in his new attire.
His new attire consisted of a pair of black combat boots with white metal caps on the boots. He still wore the black cargo pants of the Atlas uniform as he found them more comfortable to move in, compared to the jeans he used to wear with a utility belt around his waist. He also wore his old short sleeved hoodie, after Pyrrha had taken the time to repair it after the invasion.
On top of which he wore a white chest plate that had a gold accent that complemented the white of the armour. On his arms were two new gauntlets that covered his entire forearms, with dark golden gloves covering his arms. On his left shoulder was a single pauldron with a metal plating on the bicep. However, running down the length of the left arm was a red stripe that started from his collarbone and stopped at his wrist.
He held the new version of Crocea in his right hand and the shield in his left as he stood before his friends.
"I got to admit," Cardin said as he folded his arms. "Arc cleans up good," he said as he got nods from the others.
"I still think a grenade launcher would have really sold the whole thing," Nora said as Pyrrha just shook her head.
"No, Nora...just no," she said as she huffed and folded her arms.
"I think it looks pretty good," Velvet said as Jaune nodded.
"A sign of Progress," Ren said as Jaune looked down at the reflection of his blade.
"Yeah...progress," he said as it for a moment had the reflection of Cinder before he shook his head and sheathed his weapons. Coco then came over as she inspected the boy.
"Nice, it really looks good on you," Coco was the first to say as she inspected the armour. "I especially love the way the gold accents the white and I absolutely love the red stripe down the left arm," she said as Jaune chuckled.
"Yeah, the thing is I don't know why that is? I didn't ask him to do that?" he said as Nora threw her hand up.
"That was me! I asked him to do that!" she said with glee as Jaune looked at her.
"Why?" to which she just shrugged her shoulders.
"Just seemed appropriate," she said as everyone sighed at this.
'Of course,' they all thought as they then gathered around the console. A digital display appeared before them as it showed their current location and the distance to Mistral.
"Okay, it looks like we need to this village here first, then pass this mountain area and finally a straight shot to Mistral's border where we can park the Phantom just outside their range and sneak into the city," Jaune said as he and the others looked over the map.
"Hard to believe that there's is a traitor hiding out at Haven Academy?" Velvet said as Ren nodded.
"Penny did confirm that the source code came from Haven, it's the only possible explanation of how Cinder and her cohorts managed to sneak into Beacon without being detected," he said as they pulled up images of Emerald and Mercury as they now had wanted poster plastered over the entire Kingdoms of Remnant.
"This is not going to be easy, is it?" Dove asked as Fox shrugged.
"When has anything been easy?" he asked as they all nodded. "Still, it's fortunate that this ship is fully stocked with essential supplies and ammunition," he said as Nora grinned.
"Yep, thanks to the generous donation of dust from the Schnee Dust Company!" Ruby suddenly had a sad look on her face, as she slowly slinked away from the table.
Jaune, however, noticed and followed her. Ruby walked into the hallway as she leant her back against the panels. She reached into her pocket as she pulled out her scroll and opened up a group photo of her team as Yang had her arms around them as a clearly unenthusiastic Blake, a disgruntled Weiss and a smiling Ruby smiled in the photograph. She smiled sadly at the image as a small tear formed in her eyes as she looked at the photo.
"Ruby?" she heard a voice said as she turned to see Jaune standing in the hallway. "Are you okay?" he asked as she quickly wiped away the tear that formed.
"Yeah, I'm fine..." she said as he noticed the photo on her scroll.
"Were you thinking about the others?" he asked as she nodded her head.
"...I'm just worried about them, Weiss, Blake and especially Yang. We didn't part on the best of terms before we left," Jaune hung his head as he thought about Yang.
"Yeah, I kind of understand what you mean," he said as he thought about his own parents and how furious they must be with him.
"But, you don't have to worry. We know Weiss will be safe in Atlas, she probably has the best protection detail from her family's company and I already told you where Blake is heading if what that captain said was true, so we can always go get her if you want to?" but Ruby just shook her head as she brought her legs to her chest.
"No, I think Blake wants to be alone right now, and I doubt any of us can persuade her to leave. I'm not worried about Weiss because I know she'll be alright, she may even join us later knowing her?" she said as Jaune chuckled at this as he walked over and leant down onto the floor with her. "And Yang...she was hurt pretty badly and she just needs time to heal, especially after everything that's happened to her...I just miss them, that's all," she said as Jaune nodded.
"Hey," he said as she turned to him, "Just so you know, we're all here for you, okay. You're not alone in this, and I promise that Team RWBY will rise again, trust me, I've got a good feeling about you guys." Ruby smiled as a small hint of red brushed her cheeks.
"Thanks, Jaune, that really helps," she said as the boy smiled.
"Anytime...Crater-Face," he said with a smirk as a large blush formed on her face and she snapped her head to the now grinning boy.
"Hey! No fair! I haven't called you Vomit-Boy in months! And now you suddenly call me Crater-Face!? What the hell Jaune!" she said with puffed cheeks as she started beating him with tiny fists, while the boy just laughed.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! But you needed a laugh! And that was the best I could come up with!" he said with a jovial voice she continued to puff her cheeks at him.
"Stupid Vomit-boy!" she said but somehow also laughed as the two just sat in the hallway, never noticing a smiling redhead as she watched the interaction between the two from the doorway to the bridge.
She then walked back towards the bridge, allowing the two leaders to themselves while the rest planned their next move. It was going to be a long road ahead of them, so they would need all the peaceful moments they could get.
No matter how small they may be.
Atlas - Schnee Manor
Meanwhile, staring out the window of a large ornate window was Weiss Schnee as she looked out amongst the frozen mountain peaks of her homeland. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she placed her hand against the glass, her mind wandering to all her friends and wondering how they were doing. A small knocking brought her out of her trance as she turned to the door.
"Yes?" she said as the door opened and a man walked in.
The man before her was her personal butler, Klein Sieben, a slightly overweight man with balding brown hair and a large moustache. He had light brown eyes, but for most of her life, she had seen them appear to change their colour temporarily to red, light blue and yellow - accompanied by changes in the tone of his voice.
"Pardon the intrusion Miss Schnee, but your father wishes to speak with you," he said as she sighed.
"Alright...Thank you, Klein" she said as she walked out of the room, her heels clicking across the marble floor as the door slowly closed shut, drowning the room in complete darkness as a small strand of light falls on a picture of Team RWBY on the scroll she left behind.
Omake – The Hoodie
Moments before, back up in the cabin, Jaune was starting to put on his new outfit when he noticed the red hoodie he wore into battle had multiple burn marks in it. "Ah man!" He said as Pyrrha looked at him.
"What is it Jaune?" she asked as the boy turned around and showed her the hoodie.
"This was my second favourite hoodie! I had to save up like 50 more coupons for this one! I can still never understand Aura, it can protect our bodies but it can't protect our clothes or hair? What's up with that?" he said as he sat on the bed and held the cloth in his hand.
"I really miss my old Hoodie, too bad it got destroyed during the invasion, and I really like that one," Jaune said as he thought about his Pumpkin Pete. Pyrrha then pondered for a moment as she snapped her fingers.
"Oh yeah, that's right, I just remembered something!" she quickly went out of the room and came back with a folded pieced of cloth. "I've been learning how to sew thanks to your mother back at Keir Arc and I managed to fix your old hoodie," she said as Jaune blinked in surprise.
"Really!? You fixed my hoodie!?" she nodded as she sat on the bed.
"I wanted to surprise you, but then we all left in a hurry and I just grabbed it subconsciously," she said as she held up the fabric. "So, here you go," she handed him the hoodie and smiled.
"Wow, this is awesome! You really didn't have t-!" he froze in fright as he looked at the hoodie.
What once had the cute image of the Pumpkin Pete Mascot, had been replaced by some sort of Frankenstein version, as the bunny symbol had multiple stitch patterns all over its face. Its eyes no longer symmetrical and the ears were now crooked and bent up, as other black fabrics were sewn in to replace the damaged and blood-stained sections.
For a moment Jaune could have sworn he heard a scream in the background as he stared at the hoodie.
"So, what do you think?" she asked as Jaune turned to her, as her eyes were wide with anticipation that Jaune could have sworn he saw little stars in her eyes.
He couldn't tell her the truth that the hoodie looked like a nightmare version of itself that would probably haunt his dreams for the next few weeks, and no doubt make Velvet scream in fear. So, he just smiled and did a thumbs up to her.
"I love it!" he said as she smiled and the left the room.
As soon as she was gone, he looked at the hoodie as the disfigured bunny seemed to stare evilly into his soul. He then gulped as he nervously stared at the hoodie.
"How can someone be so good at fighting, be so bad at sewing?" for a moment he could have sworn the Franken-Rabbits eyes glowed red as he dropped the hoodie to the floor.
"...Yep...that's going to haunt my nightmares..."
And Scene. Well, here is Chapter X of The Remnant Knight, I had this Omake idea in my head for a while, but I couldn't use it in restart because it wouldn't match. Hopefully, it worked well here and I wanted to bring back Jaune's beloved hoodie. So yeah, Jaune and the rest of Team JNPR have upgraded their gear, I can't really describe the rest of the team's new gear is because it might have changed in the canon, so I'm trying to hold off until they reappear again.
Plus, if I spent time describing their new outfits, I would have used up half the story time writing about it. So, I just decided to stick with JNPR's new gear, with a made-up design for Pyrrha. the Next few Chapters I hope to focus a bit more on Weiss, Blake and Yang in a what are they up to and hopefully get them out of their slumps, or lows. And the reason they haven't just flown to Mistral right away would be too quick for the story and I need to include Ren's story Arc fulfilled so that he can move on from his parent's death. So, I'm using some reasons as to why they should take the long way to Mistral.
Anywho, Jaune and the others have acquired their new gear and are about to begin their journey to Mistral. But what of the rest of Team RWBY? Will they eventually break out of their own prisons, metaphorically speaking, and re-join the new team that is set on uncovering the conspiracy of Salem's spy?
Find out Next time in Chapter XI: The Song Birds Cage