( ) = Thoughts
Italic = Whisper/Singing
Bold = Yell/ Comm. Device
Underlined = Emphasized Words
Italic Bold = Store Signs/Titles (Read Aloud)
Volume 1; Episodes 13 & 14: Forever Fall
(A/N: For a quick note, the beginning is a little rough, because I want a small moment directly after the confrontation. I wanted to show that no matter what Rodger & Pyrrha will still help Jaune, after he helps himself. And again, this is a little choppy since it's two episodes in one.)
*Sobbing* "Why does he have to be so stubborn?!" Pyrrha asked/thought aloud. "Why can't he just swallow his pride and accept our help?!"
"Pyrrha?" I asked, sitting down next to her. "You all right?"
"I-I'm fine…" She replied, sniffling.
"Really? 'Cause someone like you doesn't just run off and cry." I noted, handing her my handkerchief. "Look, I know you're upset about what Jaune said, but at this point it can't be helped. He's gonna have to find his own way out." I gave her a small hug.
"O-Okay, thanks for that." She replied. "Well… goodnight, and I'll see you tomorrow. You're going to keep an eye on Jaune, right?"
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him." I replied, reassuringly. "Just relax, Strom and I will take care of it." I finished. "(I just hope we can stop this until it's too late…)"
*1 Week Later; ~Team: JNPR's Dorm~ (I know this may seem like a chronological discrepancy, but I'll go back and modify the story accordingly when it's complete.)
"How come Jaune always get's home so late?" Nora asked, breaking the awkward silence.
"He has become rather scarce ever since he's been fraternizing with Cardin." Ren noted, while cleaning Stormflower.
"That's weird." Nora replied. "Doesn't he know we have a field-trip tomorrow?" She continued, bouncing off her bed one final time. "So we need our rest!"
"I'm sure our leader knows exactly what he's doing." Pyrrha answered aggressively. Nora & Ren looked at her with a feeling of concern, meanwhile Jaune was listening in from the doorway.
*Sigh* "(I wish I could do something!)" Jaune thought, kicking himself mentally.
"Hey Jaune." Ruby spoke, causing Jaune to jump. "Long time no see. Did you lock yourself out again?"
"Oh! Uh, nope. Heh, got it." He replied, showing his scroll.
"Sooo… Where have you been lately?" Ruby asked.
"I… uh…" Jaune began. *Sigh* "I messed up." He admitted. "I did something I shouldn't have and now Cardin's got me on a leash and Rodger & Pyrrha won't even talk to me anymore…" He continued. *Sigh* "I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea. I'm a failure and a coward."
"Nope." Ruby replied simply. "Nope?" Jaune asked.
"Nope. You're a leader now, Jaune. You're not allowed to be either of those things." Ruby added.
"But, what if I'm a failure at being a leader?" Jaune asked curiously.
"Mmm… nope." Ruby repeated.
"You know, you're not the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff." Jaune noted, laughing slightly.
"Nope!" Ruby replied as she sat down beside Jaune. "Jaune, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid." Jaune sighed. "And you may have been a failure the first day we met." Jaune sighed again, much more aggressively. "But you can't be one now. You know why?"
"Uhhh, because-" Jaune began until he was interrupted by Ruby. "Because it's not about you anymore. You've got a team now Jaune." She continued. "We both do. And if we fail, then we'll be bringing them down with us. We have to put our teammates first… and ourselves second." She continued, extending her hand to Jaune. "Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune. And I think that can be you."
"You know, for a little girl… you're very adept at making people feel better." Jaune replied, smiling. "Thanks Ruby."
"No problem. Goodnight Jaune." Ruby added, before she walked into her dorm and closed the door. Jaune turned back to his dorm and just as he was about to open the door, his scroll went off. He quickly opened it and saw that he had a message… from Cardin.
"Hey! It's your buddy Cardin. I know you're probably busy with that dust project I gave you, buuut I'm gonna need you to go out and get me a bag of rapier wasps." Jaune flinched at the request. "And make sure they've got some really~ big stingers. It's important, so don't screw this up!" After the message ended Jaune closed his scroll, glanced at his dorm door, and began to walk out to retrieve Cardin's 'request'.
*The Following Day; ~Forever Fall Forest~
*Deep Inhale* "Man it feels good to be back!" I exclaimed, taking the familiar sight in. "God it's almost been half a decade. And it still looks breathtaking." I finished, as Glynda cleared her throat to get my attention. "Heh, sorry. Nostalgia and all that."
"As I was saying, we are not here to simply see the sights. Professor Peach has asked you all to retrieve a sample from the trees deep within the forest." Glynda continued. "Mr. Phantum and Mr. Mayson have graciously volunteered to help assist anyone who has any problem retrieving their sample."
"And we'll be keeping an eye out if any Grimm are spotted in the forest." I added. "Each of your leaders are equipped with one of my hands-free scrolls. All you have to do is press the blue button and it will relay a signal to me, Skylar or Glynda."
"Only use these in an emergency." Skylar warned. "Otherwise these aren't going to be used in any later field trips." He concluded, dragging Bill, Gray & Strom off towards the northern end of the forest.
"We'll rendezvous here at 4 o'clock. Stay safe and have fun." Glynda concluded.
Within seconds I saw Cardin drag Jaune away, I sighed and followed the rest of JNPR and RWBY. "(You better not do anything you may regret Jaune.)"
~Jaune's Perspective~
*Whistling* "Hey, look who's back!" Cardin exclaimed, seeing Jaune carrying seven jars of sap. "Great work, Jauney-boy. That wasn't so hard, right?"
"Ughh…" I groaned, sniffling. "I think I'm allergic to this stuff."
"Great, great great. So Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself, 'why did my buddy Cardin ask me to get seven jars of sap when there's only five of us?', right?"
"That is one of the questions that I have asked myself today, yes." I replied, still slightly stuffy.
"Then come with me and you'll find out." Cardin replied, grinning sadistically.
"Oh…" I replied, gulping in nervousness and fear.
~Back w/ the Others / Rodger's Perspective~
The other teams were having a ball, especially Nora, who was gorging on as much sap as she could reach. After helping Ren seal the jars so Nora couldn't eat anymore I went to help Pyrrha, who was struggling to find a soft spot in the tree.
"Don't aim high." I suggested, taking Oblivion out and slashing the base of the trunk. "It seems weird, but the sap has a tendency to pool at the bottom of the tree. Directly near the stump, see." As the pink-hued sap began to leak from my cut.
"Thank you professor." Pyrrha replied, filling her jar and sealing it. "If the rumors were right, you've lived in this forest?"
"Correct, for about seven, eight years." I replied, I saw Pyrrha's eyes light up. "I'll tell you guys the story at some point."
~Jaune's Perspective~
I followed Cardin until we climbed up a small ridge. I looked down and saw everyone else. "Cardin, what's going on?"
"Payback." He replied, his gaze focused on Pyrrha and me.
"Rodger and Pyrrha?" I asked.
"The black haired mutt and that redheaded know-it-all." Cardin growled. "They're the two who embarrassed me in front of the whole school." He continued, drawing a box labeled with the letter "W". "Alright boys. Last night ol' Jaune here managed to round up an entire box of rapier wasps. And now, we're gonna put' em to work." He continued, while I laughed nervously. "Now, according to one of the essays he wrote for me last week, these nasty things looove sweets. I'm thinking it's time to teach those two a lesson." He finished, smiling with the same level of sadism Matakishi has. He quickly shoved the two extra jars into my hands. "And you're gonna do it."
"Do what?" I asked. "Hit them with the sap! Either that or I'll have a quick chat with Goodwitch and you'll be on the next airship out of Beacon. Tomorrow." Cardin threatened. I looked at the jars in my hands, Rodger's words from a few days ago still running through my head.
"(I don't think you're a disgrace for lying to get into Beacon. But you're a goddamn coward for not letting us help.)" That one line kept repeating in my head for a moment. I looked up at Cardin and back at the two people that would've dropped anything to help me train. "...No."
"What did you say?" Cardin asked, sounding annoyed and confused.
"I said… NO!" I yelled, throwing both jars at Cardin's chest. They shattered, covering Cardin's armor in the pink-hued sap.
"Oh-ho-ho. You've done it now." Cardin replied, malice and anger gleaming in his eyes.
~Rodger's Perspective~
*Glass Shattering* "Hmm?" I grunted looking around.
"Something wrong Rodger?" Pyrrha asked. "Did you hear something?"
"Yeah. It sounded like… glass shattering?" I replied, sounding confused. *Sniffing* "And I can smell the sap. Did someone break a jar?"
"I don't know. Maybe it was Cardin messing with Jaune?" Pyrrha suggested.
"Or hell, maybe it was the other way-" I cut myself off as the signal from Jaune went off. "Jaune's in trouble." I quickly said. "We need to find him, now!"
~Jaune's Perspective~ A Moment before the Panic
"You know that wasn't very smart, Jauney-boy." Cardin growled, continuing his assault against the currently helpless Jaune. "I'm gonna make sure they send you back to mommy in teeny, tiny pieces." He finished, lifting me by the collar of my shirt.
"I don't care what you do to me." I replied. "But you are not messing with my team."
"What, you think talking like that makes you tough?" Cardin growled. "You think you're a big, strong man now?" He asked. I just chuckled in response, not knowing what to say.
"Hrahh!" Cardin yelled, throwing his fist into my face. "Argh! What the hell?!"
"Huh?" I grunted. I looked at my hands and noticed they were glowing. My aura kicked in and blocked his punch. Sadly it wasn't over, I felt Russel kick me in the back and I was back on the ground. I looked up into Cardin's eyes as he drew his mace.
"Let's see how much of a man you really are." He snarled. "(Wait… snarled?)" After the thought had passed another gut-wrenching growl filled the air. We all turned an Ursa Major with two lesser Ursa emerged from the forest. I noticed they were sniffing the air for something, then it hit me. The sap on Cardin's armor attracted them.
"Those are really big Ursa!" Sky exclaimed. "I'm not messing with that!" As he ran off, Dove and Russel following close behind. Cardin watched in horror as all three of his teammates run away, leaving him with three really hungry Ursa. The largest batted him aside while the other two were trained on me. I saw that Cardin had already been disarmed and the other two were switching their focus to him as well. At that moment, I knew exactly what to do, I drew my sword and charged.
~Rodger's Perspective~
*Distant Roaring* "Did you guys hear that?" Ruby asked, sounding worried. After a moment Sky, Dove and Russell bolted pass Ruby, Pyrrha and I. Yang grabbed Sky and began to 'interrogate' him. "What's going on? Why are you guys running?"
"B-Back there! Three HUGE Ursa! And they got Cardin!" Sky stammered out.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha and I both exclaimed.
"Yang, Blake you two go get Skylar and Goodwitch!" Ruby commanded. "Weiss you come with us!" Weiss nodded and followed Ruby.
"Ren, Nora! You two go with them, there may be more." Pyrrha commanded.
"Bill, Strom, you two go with Blake and Yang. Gray, you're coming with." I finished calmly. "Let's move people!" As Pyrrha, Gray and myself charged after Ruby & Weiss.
When we arrived it was a hilarious horror-show. Cardin was being chased by an Ancient Ursa Major, while Jaune was trying to fight two lesser Ursa off. As Weiss and I were about to charge in Pyrrha stopped us. "What are you doing?!"
"Look." Pyrrha replied, motioning to Jaune, who had killed both Ursa with little so much as a scratch. He quickly changed his focus on the Major and blocked the lethal strike meant for Cardin. Jaune quickly counter-slashed the massive beast's paw, severing it from the arm/leg it was attached to. The Ursa swung at him with its remaining paw and Jaune simply rolled away from it. The beast continued to swing it's one remaining paw in a feeble attempt to hit Jaune, he blocked, dodged, rolled or counter-swung to cancel its attack, using every opportunity he made as if it were his last, striking the beast's exposed underside and neck.
I noticed that he was getting cocky however. He was slowing down from exhaustion and reverting to his previous strategy, charging headfirst with his sword drawn. I saw that he was going to kill the Major by taking its head off, not noticing the other claw about to cleave him in twain. But in after a moment I saw a dark gray energy surround his shield, moving it to block the claw. Using the momentum he still had he drove his sword upwards, severing the head from the beast's battered neck.
"Uh… what?" Ruby asked, looking at the source of the energy.
"Pyrrha? You did that?" I asked, astonished.
"Well, Ruby has her speed, Weiss has her glyphs, you have your wings. My semblance is polarity." Pyrrha explained.
"Ah, you can control poles." Ruby responded. "No you dunce! It means she has control over magnetism." Weiss explained. "Magnets are cool too…" Ruby whispered in awe.
*Growling* "I don't think we're out of the woods yet." I warned (Pun not intended). "Jaune! Get Cardin out of here and get back to the rendezvous, we'll clear the area and meet you there!" Jaune nodded, helped Cardin back up and the two of them slid down the ridge and followed the trail left by the others.
"Get ready… This may get messy." I warned, drawing Solis & Lunae. " 'Cause I think that was the momma and her kids. Which means…" *Guttural Roar* "Daddy's right behind them." As a gigantic Ursa emerged from the forest. "Let's dance." When we charged the Ursa something unexpected happened. A large, black mass leapt up onto the Ursa's back, and began ripping its plates off one by one, tearing massive chunks of blackened, misty flesh with them. It looked like a Beowolf, just slightly smaller and without any bone plates. After another moment the Ursa fell, missing half of its back, as it dissolved in cloud of black mist revealing… Gray. We all just stared, whether it be in awe, terror, or disgust.
"What. The. Fuck." I said, breaking the awkward silence. "Was THAT your semblance!?"
"Yes, I don't know what it's called. But a small description it converts any damage that I've taken and turns me into that creature you saw. During it, my thoughts revert to primal instincts, kill and survive."
"I think I read about something like that." I replied, pulling my scroll out. "Maybe… here! It's called "Lycanthropy"... creative." I mumbled. "It's effects are temporary, said to increase strength to the point of bending titanium, and reverting all other mental activities to primarily protection, survival and a near unstoppable bloodlust." Gray just stood and listened. "Gray is one lucky bastard. It says it's one of the rarest semblances and one of the hardest to control."
"Wow… So me calling you a 'dog' when we were kids?" Ruby began. "Was completely justified?"
"Yup. Now, let's get back. Skylar must be worried sick." Gray decided. We nodded and followed Gray back to the ship.
*Late Night* ~Beacon's Roof~
*Sigh* "(I hope what I did meant something to Rodger and Pyrrha…)" Jaune thought, sitting on the same spot he was a week ago.
"No Cardin tonight?" Pyrrha asked, sitting to Jaune's right, while I sat to his left. "I thought you two were best buds?"
"Guys… I'm sorry." Jaune replied. "I was a jerk. You two were only trying to be nice and.. I-I had all this stupid macho stuff in my head-" I stopped him before he made a complete fool of himself. "You're still not speaking to me?"
"Rodger's word still stands. He won't talk to you until you ask for our help." Pyrrha replied for me. "So? What do you say?"
"I… I want you guys to help me train to become a better warrior." Jaune finally admitted. We simply smiled in response. "I'll take that as 'apology accepted'?"
"You are correct." I replied. "Now, I believe you have teammates to go see, we'll start training next monday."
"Wait, what?" Pyrrha asked, genuinely surprised.
"Oh right! I almost forgot." I replied, pulling four silver tokens from my pocket. "Because of Jaune's act of courage and leadership for protecting Cardin, I present the leader of Team: JNPR with these entrance tokens. Welcome to the advanced training course, I'll see you two at the end of the week."
"So… What now?" Jaune asked.
"Well~ if my memory serves me right, Bill and Ren made waffles and pancakes and are currently celebrating in the mess-hall." I answered, grinning. "And I was able to make some syrup before Nora snagged the last of the sap."
"Sounds great! I'm starving anyways." Jaune replied, helping Pyrrha up. "Shall we?"
"Umm… Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, blushing slightly.
"What?" He looked down and saw that he was still holding Pyrrha's hand. "Oh. Heh…"
"Alright love-birds, let's get a move on. Bill can only hold Nora for so long." I yelled. Causing both Jaune and Pyrrha to blush, while shooting Pyrrha the 'He's too dense to see your subtle moves' look. Pyrrha simply smiled and followed me downstairs, pulling Jaune with her.
"(Thank you Rodger. I will make this up to you.)" Pyrrha thought, smiling.
A/N: Wow, this chapter was a little shorter than I thought. Eh, can't be too surprised "Forever Fall" was only seven minutes apiece. So that means we'll only be two episodes and one bonus chapter away from the ending! And just to let you guys know, after Vol.1 is complete I'll be taking a little break from RWBY and starting another story I've wanted to do for a while.
Anyways, I'll see you guys next time in "The Stray".