"Are you, Yang Xiao Long?" the man asked again after Yang offered him no answer.
"Yes, yes I am," Yang said hoping that she didn't sound too worried. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
" I am about to break almost half the rules I swore to follow," the man said as he reached for his helmet. The faceplate hissed lightly when the helmet depressurized. It allowed him to lift the armor piece up and off his head before he rested the right lip of his helmet on his left hip resting on his belt. He held the other side in his left hand saying. " My name is McNelley, I am a Beacon Ranger. I am here to give you something from Jaune Arc."
Yang's heart stopped for a moment. What did Jaune have to send to her? All of his letter's had been sent through Jorge. She was waiting for him to elaborate when he pulled out a scroll and handed it to her.
It was unlocked and when she opened it there was a video ready to play. It was Jaune looking at a camera and a play button over his face. "What is this?" Yang asked
" it is a scroll that I promised to bring to you during my training. I don't know what's on it but I need to leave. I have a debrief to give to Jorge." after he answered he put his helmet back on and quickly disappeared down the hall.
Yang pressed play on the scroll and the video started. There was a moment of silence before Jaune said.
"Yang, if you're watching this then you may want to go to your dorm. I don't know how you will react to what I am about to say but I know that I don't want you to hear it in public."
The video went no further since Yang had paused it and walked into her room.
When she was sitting on her bed she went to press play, she realized that the rest of her team was asleep so she put her headphones in and then restarted the video. Jaune kept talking saying.
" So anyway, I guess I should explain this video huh? Well if you got this then you've met McNelly." there was a long wait as Jaune didn't seem to know how to say what he needed to say.
"Yang, I'm dead."
Yang knew that the video continued but in all the years to come she could never remember the rest of it. All she knew was that this was the message that Jaune had recorded in the case of his death. In all honesty, she had one too. It was a letter that would be sent to her uncle by Raven.
Yang needed to know if Jaune was really dead, this was the second time she had been told he was dead since he ran away and the fourth time she thought he was dead.
Yang was very careful not to wake up her team as he left. If Jaune was dead then she didn't want to tell them now, that would be a task for tomorrow. Instead, she got up and headed for the headmaster's Office. It was late but Jorge was probably there debriefing McNelley.
She was right and when the elevator doors open she barged into a room with the masked Ranger sitting across from him. The conversation stopped the moment the doors opened and both men turned to look at Yang.
The room was lit only by the moonlight coming in through the massive windows behind her so when she walked over to them her shadow cover both men. " is it true?" she asked.
She had spent enough time around Jorge to understand that would know what she meant.
Jorge brought one of his hands up to rest on his beard and said. " yes, it is "
Yang could tell from the tone of his voice that he was hurt by the news. Which made sense after all Jorge had been a second father to Jaune.
"Bring him back," Yang said. She had watched Jorge resurrect Jaune once, he could do it again.
Seeming to recognize the storm that was brewing Jorge looked to McNelley and said. " You're dismissed."
McNelley got up and without another word left. Once the elevator doors were closed Yang repeated herself. This time with more force. " Bring him back!"
Jorge looked her in the eye and said. "I can't"
He may have planned to say more but he didn't get the chance. " BULLSHIT," Yang yelled. " I watched you bring him back to life, you killed Ozpin. I was listening to your little lifestory I know you can bring him back," she said.
Yang knew that it was useless. If Jorge was able to bring Jaune back then he would have but that didn't matter. He was powerful enough and Yang knew it.
"BRING HIM BACK!" she demanded.
"It's not that simple," Jorge said rising from his chair. " If I bring him back it unbalance the world. Do you know what happened when I brought him back the first time? Do you?"
Yang had no answer so she held her tongue as he continued.
"One of the most dangerous people to ever exist was released on Remnant. He was barely contained that time and even then there will still be repercussions for it."
By now Yang was almost too angry to speak.
"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT COST TRADE MY LIFE FOR HIS IF YOU HAVE TO," she screamed. She knew that it wouldn't matter if Jorge could just kill someone in exchange for Jaune then he would already have found someone worth killing and done so.
"And then what," Jorge countered. " tell him you sacrificed yourself for him, no that would break him. I won't do that."
Yang wanted to say something about finding some else that could be used but words never formed. Instead, her anger and pain overtook her and she lashed out at Jorge. She knew that he could take it so she wasn't too worried.
Instead of avoiding or countering her he simply let her hit him. So she punched him again, and again, and again. Each time her hand connected with his face a little bit of her anger died. and much to her frustration, Jorge looked to be untouched.
Most men with their aura unlocked would have at least a bruise but he was clean of any damage. It didn't matter and after a fifteen-second long flurry, Yang's anger was gone and instead she was leaning against him crying hysterically.
Her legs were ready to buckle on her if they had the chance. She felt Jorge gently place his right hand on the back of her head and his left under her arm and resting between her shoulder blades. Normally this would be a bad idea but right now it did more good than bad for Yang.
Her father had held her like this once when she accidentally shot herself with one of her gauntlets. Only then she was crying because of a broken ankle, now it was a broken heart. The same heart that Jaune had brought warmth and honest love to for the first time since Summer Rose had passed; was now shattering like a castle of glass smashed by the battering ram of reality. Jaune lived a deadly lifestyle, they all did. His simply caught up to him sooner than expected.
"How did it happen?" Yang managed to ask.
As Jorge Answered Yang found herself calming down. She was still hurt but now she was stable." He and another ranger were sent to investigate a suspicious murder. It looked like it may have been White Fang related but it seems that they weren't involved. The Grimm still attacked the village while they were there. It was a massive force and Jaune held them back so that his partner could get the civilians out."
Jorge paused for a moment like he was debating if he wanted to keep going. He shook his head and said. " I have his helmet camera footage if you want to see it."
Yang knew it was a bad idea but if this footage was the last thing fo Jaune she was ever going to get then she would take it. She looked up at Jorge and nodded her head. Jorge pulled out his scroll. Briefly searching the stored files he began a video and handed it to Yang.
It was a first-person view of someone holding a rifle that looked like Jaune's gun. They were backing up and firing at an oncoming wave of Grimm. Jaune was pushed back into a hotel and once inside was safe from the Deathstalker but the ursi and beowolfes could still get in. Jaune thew a grenade out the window that killed a pair of Ursi that were fighting over which one would get to go first.
After they had fallen Jaune could see that deathstalker was losing interest in him and was about to go after McNelley and the civilians. Thinking fast Jaune waited until all of the beowolves and Ursi were inside before he jumped out the rightmost ground floor window.
He was breathing heavy which made sense, after all, he was probably fighting for several minutes before the video started. When he was the wooden porch he pulled out an incendiary grenade and rolled it down the length of the porch trapping the Grimm within.
Unknown to Jaune or Yang however the owner of the hotel had a moonshine still under the porch which promptly exploded launching Jaune through the air and his helmet off of him. The camera now showed Jaune struggling to move after the blast. Jaune's face was covered in sweat and blood and Yang could see it now that the helmet camera was now on the ground facing him.
He had rolled to his back when the deathstalker got to him. Jaune was using his legs to keep the arms back and his arms to deflect the stinger but it was a matter of time before something got past him.
Recognizing that killing this Grimm would require a great sacrifice Jaune brought one of his hands down to his belt and grabbed his last shining thunder flashbang. Using his thumb to pull the pin Jaune shoved the grenade into the monster's mouth just at the monster ran its stinger through his heart.
Jaune limp body was briefly dangled in the air by the trying to him off her stinger before the flashbang when off killing the beast. The video stopped with a shot of the two of them. Jaune dead still impaled on the Deathstalker's tail. And the Deathstalker, missing most of his head thanks to a grenade.
Yang wanted to cry, she wanted to scream in agony and rage but she couldn't. Something in her had snapped when she watched the video. Jorge looked like he was going to speak but he saw that Yang wasn't listening so he let her go. Returning to his desk Yang walked to the elevator in silence.
She rode to the bottom floor and just kept walking. Yang found herself in vale before she really knew where she was going. It was cold and she wanted to get inside so since she was only three blocks away from the bakery she and Jaune had had breakfast in.
She was on her way there when somebody tried talking to her. He reached out and gently grabbed her by the shoulder. " Ma'am you look a little lost can I…"
He was cut off when Yang lashed out grabbing his forearm and squeezing as hard as she could. She heard his bone's crack as he dropped to his knees. Realizing that she was committing a felony Yang let him go just in time for a cop to see him on his knees holding his arm in extreme pain.
"Are you okay sir, what happened?" the cop asked.
"Nothing officer I slipped and landed on the curb, I think my arm is broken but I will be alright." it was clear what happened but if the man refused to tell the truth then the officer couldn't do anything to him about it.
Understanding that this was a gift from someone she had just needlessly hurt Yang quickly walked away hoping that he wouldn't have a change of heart.
The dinner was almost empty except for one man sitting at the counter. Yang stepped through the front door and saw that it was James. She wasn't certain how he had found the Dinner but it also didn't particularly matter to her.
"Funny seeing you here," she said making her way to the counter before sitting next to him.
He didn't seem to notice her being more enthralled with his coffee. After a long moment, he answered "Yeah, funny." before going back to staring at his coffee.
Yang had nothing else to say so she simply ordered a coffee from Slick and went back to her moping. She was drinking her coffee when she heard the door to the diner open. She turned and saw that the cause of the sound was a group of teenagers. Three boys and a girl.
They looked to be a happy bunch and the girl lead them to a booth in the corner of the dinner. The group wasn't waiting long since Slick or maybe his brother came out to take their order.
Yang's coffee arrived and she too became entranced by it. Staring at the steaming liquid she didn't notice one of the boys from earlier coming up behind her. " hey good lookin, what do you say you and I go and fix that look on your face?" he said placing both of his hands on her hips.
Yang was getting ready to crush one of her elbows into his face when she heard " oh fuck this" in a quiet whisper next to her. She turned to see James swinging the metal kraft full of coffee that was on the counter at the boy.
Yang was too shocked to act when she saw the kraft crumple as it smashed against the boys face. All at once Yang remembered what coach Carwin had said about how people from his planet would be considered superhuman on Remnant.
The boy stumbled back before he collapsed to the floor unconscious as his aura shimmered and gave way. Yang was relieved to see that the boy was hunter since if he wasn't then what James had done may have been gone from assault to murder.
James tried to go back to his coffee when he was interrupted. "Aye lad, mind tellin me why you did that?" another one of the men said with the third behind him.
James didn't look up he just sipped before saying. " he was bothering my friend so I dealt with him."
The third boy stepped forward saying "tis a problem since ez our friend"
James knew where this was going so he stood up and pulled out his wallet. He began fishing out bills and tossing them on the counter saying. " fifteen for the kraft, thirty for the stool, and two hundred for the table and blood."
Slick took the money nervously as James turned back to the two boys who now had the girl standing behind them. "How do you want to do this?" James asked.
"Well, you it ehm wid a cheap shot so two on one seems fair." the third boy said.
James nodded and without another word he lunged forward landing a heavy southpaw left push kick on the second boy launching him several feet back. The third guy tried to throw a right head kick at James but he caught it, passed the foot from his left side to his right and did a spinning back kick aimed at the back of the boy's thigh.
When he hit the ground the boy rolled back to his feet only to be greeted with the sight of James' knee colliding with his face. He managed to stumble back to his feet just in time to watch James' left forearm block a wild right hook from his friend and promptly crack his friend with a lead hook, straight (or cross depending on who you ask), lead uppercut combo that knocked him off his feet and out of consciousness.
Rushing in and hoping for the best the remaining boy soon learned the error of his ways when his attempt to use a double leg takedown resulted in James sprawling on him just long enough to transition to back side control before he stood up and unseen to the boy grab the wooden stool he had been sitting on. He held it like a spear and proceeded to break the stool over the boy's face just as he was turning to face him dropping him next to his friend.
James looked to the leader of the group and waited. She was smart and recognized that he had already paid for everything except for the table and blood. She waved her hands in the air saying "I want no trouble these idiots are mine I am their team leader."
"Where are you from?" Yang asked happy for any distraction from her current feelings.
"Shade academy, my name's Saphton," she said struggling to lift one of he teammates. James picked up on this and did was his father and mother had trained him for.
"Allow me, madam," he said stepping over to her and deftly slung one of her teammates over his right shoulder and one over his left. There was one boy still unconscious but either Slick or his brother had come out and carrying him fireman's style to the door. The student's car was waiting for them and after securing them inside the leader drove them off. Most likely to the docks to get them to Beacon.
When James sat back down he looked into his coffee and said. "I heard about Jaune."
Yang wanted to ask how but she knew that Jorge had most likely called him that it was for that very reason that he was here and not at some bar drinking himself into oblivion. Yang knew that Jorge could tell where she was going to go. She only really knew of three places in Vale. Junior's bar the dinner and Jaune's safehouse. But she couldn't get into the safehouse and Junior's was out of the question.
"Yeah," Yang muttered. She was still processing all of it so she just felt more blank than anything else.
" I wish I felt worse about it but right now," James offered. He had already been through enough. Too much in fact. Right now he wasn't able to process any more loss so he simply didn't. He offered Yang his cup and after a moment she gently clinked her's against it.
Life was going to be rough but they would survive.
right?
okay, everyone, I am going to be shifting over to the Jorge five prime timeline for a story maybe two. THIS IS NOT THE END OF THIS STORY JUST BE PATIENT AND HAVE A LITTLE FAITH thank you.