A/N: Two chapters within 48 hours, looks like I managed to get my groove back after all. With the addition of new chapters from my own thoughts, I haven't forgotten the baseline canon chapters from the RWBY story. That being said, I'm still incorporating them where they're needed, but changes will be made in order to make them more interesting with my own spin to them.
That being said, be expecting a rather large change to the dynamic for not only the story, but one of the main characters as well within the next two installments. You'll see soon enough.
Disclaimer: I don't own FEAR or RWBY
Jaune Arc stood hunched over, breathing heavily with his shield in one hand and sword in the other. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't keep up with his opponent, there was just too much of an experience gap between them and he was severly outmatched.
Taking a deep breath, he stood to his full height, readying his weapons for another bout as he addressed his opponent.
Adrian stood across from him, his new weapon 'Shade' held in its rifle form as he looked back at the blonde knight. The fight had been pretty one-sided since the start, and for a while he'd been pulling his punches at a couple of points. But now...it was pretty easy to tell that Jaune wasn't as experienced compared to everybody in the room...and the entire school.
The knight braced himself and charged with a battle-cry. The soldier remained motionless until the last minute when he side-stepped the attack, Jaune turned around surprised before Adrian's boot came up and kicked against his chest. Sending the blonde and his shield flying back in different directions.
Jaune got back to his feet quickly and charged again with only his sword, going for another hail-mary strike. Adrian shook his head at the move, there was a fine line between courage and foolishness, and the knight had been on the wrong side of it the entire fight.
Converting his weapon to its sword-form, he swatted the blonde's blade aside with relative ease before taking him off his feet with a close-line. Planting his foot on Jaune's chest to keep him down, he raised Shade in the air...then pointed to the side.
Looking to where the blade was aimed, Jaune sighed when he saw his aura-meter on the main screen in the red while the ex-FEAR operatives was still solid green.
The lights around the atrium snapped on as the class applauded the two combatants. "Well done, Adrian." said Professor Goodwitch as she stepped out onto the stage with her opened scroll in hand. "You took notice of your opponent's level or aura and ended the fight before any serious damage could be done." She sent a stern look at Jaune as Adrian helped him to his feet.
"Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll while in combat. Gauging your aura will help you decide when it is appropriate to attack, or when it is time to move to a more defensive strategy."
Jaune took out his scroll and looked at his aura-level and sighed as the older blonde continued. "We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowulf, now would we?" she turned and addressed the rest of the class, "Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing. Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale."
The bell rang signaling the end of class and everyone started to file out. Jaune picked up his dropped weapons and sulked off the stage, Pyrrah standing from her place and following with the intention of consoling her partner.
Adrian watched them go, wondering why it was taking the leader of JNPR so long to get a handle on things.
"It appears that not everyone is meant to be a warrior, wouldn't you agree?" asked Paxton appearing to his left. "Despite having a historical name, it is more than likely that he will become nothing more than a casualty. What a waste."
The older of the two sent a leer at his brother before heading toward the locker room, leaving a chuckling Paxton behind him.
X
"So, there we were. In the middle of the night." Nora said ominously as the two teams sat together at their usual table at lunch.
"It was day." Ren corrected at her side while drinking tea.
"We were surrounded by Ursa." the girl continued.
"They were Beowolves." commented her partner.
"Dozens of them!"
"Two of them."
"But they were not match," Nora pressed on ignoring her partner, "And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boat load of lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"
Everyone at the table were in various states of paying attention. Yang seemed to be paying the closest attention. Blake were sitting quietly reading a book but were just as focused on the tale. Weiss was busy filing her nails. And Ruby and Pyrrah were busy sending worried glances at Jaune who was sulking and picking aimlessly at his plate.
The leader of JNPR feeling really down on himself after losing yet another match in combat class and falling farther behind the others.
Ren sighed when Nora finished speaking, "She's been having this reacurring dream for nearly a month now." he explained.
"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrah suddenly asked, snapping the blonde out from his stupor and diverting the conversation.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Why?" he asked after dropping his fork.
Ruby rubbed her hands a bit, "It's just that you seem a little...not okay."
Jaune waved them off, "Guys, I'm fine. Seriously, look." He gave them a smile that they all knew was fake and exagerated. The sound of laughing from across the room drew the attention of the whole table and they saw team CRDL at another table across the room harrassing a female rabbit-faunus.
Even though Cardin had been somewhat pacified due to some unknown reason, he and his team still strutted up and down the halls like they were king of the mountain. Though every once in a while the burley leader would look around as though something were following him.
Jaune looked over at the table and was clenching one of his fists so tightly that the leather squeaked. Pyrrah noticed this and looked at him sadly, "Jaune, has Cardin been picking on you again? He's been at it since the first week of school."
"Who? Cardin Winchester?" he asked playing dumb. "Nah, he just likes to mess around. You know, practical jokes." All of his friends looked at him like he had grown a second head.
"He's a bully." Ruby said with narrowed eyes.
The leader of JNPR scoffed, "Please. Name one time he's 'bullied' me." he asked using air quotes.
"He knocks your books out of your hands every passing chance he gets." Ren started.
"He activated your shield so that you'd get stuck in the door on your way to class." Yang went next.
"And let's not forget the incident where he shoved you into your own locker and launched you off school grounds." Blake finished, not looking up from her book.
"I didn't land that far from the school." Jaune tried to reason with not a lot of conviction behind it.
Pyrrah shook her head in concern and laid her hand on her partner's "Jaune, you know that if you ever need help you just have to ask." she tried to reason.
"OH!" Nora exclaimed standing up. "We'll break his legs!" she said with a sinister gleam in her usually innocent eyes.
"Guys, really, it's fine." the blonde knight said standing up with his tray, "Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone."
"OW! STOP THAT HURTS!" Everyone looked over at CRDL's table and saw Cardin yanking on one of the rabbit-faunus' long ears. "Please...stop..." she begged in pain as she tried to get away from her abuser.
"See, told you they were real." Cardin said laughing along with his team as he kept pulling. "What a freak!"
The laughter almost completely stopped which made the leader of CRDL look at them confused, each of them was dead silent and were pale. "What's wrong with you idiots?" he asked, keeping his hold on the poor girl's ear. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around...only for the color to drain from his face as well.
Adrian stood arms crossed with cold eyes burrowing into his. The memory of the beatdown he and his team had received from the male member of team RWBY was still very fresh, but more than that, ever since the incident strange things had been happening around them.
It was subtle at first, lights flickering and a slight chill in the air. Then they started to see and hear things, shadows moving on their own, whispers at night when they tried to sleep, then there was the nightmares ontop of that. Ones that would cause them to wake up shaking in terror from the images they had witnessed in their dreams.
None of them could explain it, but on some level they thought the soldier was somehow involved. Though they had no way of proving it.
Cardin's grip on the girl's ear slackened to the point she was able to escape him, backing away and looking on along with most of the cafeteria. "T-The hell's your problem, asshole?" he growled, but the shake in his voice was easy to pick up while Adrian stood unmoved.
Realizing how this was making him look infront of a good portion of the academy, Cardin decided to try and salvage the situation with brute force. Gritting his teeth and cocking his fist back before throwing it at the ex-FEAR operative.
This was something Adrian had been expecting, the team leader was one that would never learn from past mistakes and would have to be re-educated when it came to humility.
Catching the fist that was aimed for his face, the soldier grabbed Cardin's shoulder and used the momentum of the strike to bring him down and slam his face hard against the table. The impact throwing the slightly larger teen back and hitting the floor clutching his face in pain.
The rest of CRDL went to stand, but a single look from the soldier kept them rooted as he approached their downed leader and pressed his boot heel down on his face, crouching down to look him straight in the eye before making the 'I'm watching you' motion with his fingers before rising back up. Cardin grunted when he pressed harder on his face as he stepped on it and approached the girl he had been harrassing.
[You okay?] he signed making her perk up a little bit.
"Y-Yes...thank you." she replied, a hint of an accent in her tone meaning she must have originated from another kingdom. Her soft-brown eyes glanced over his shoulder and widened when she saw Cardin back on his feet and taking another swing at the back of her savior's head.
Adrian narrowed his eyes before activating his semblance, time slowing down as he spun around drilling his fist hard into the leader's face.
In terms of physics, in his reflex-state, the soldier was moving much faster than he normally would. His overall perception hightened to multiple times beyond normal levels which allowed him to see things around him moving at a slower rate even though to others time was still the same.
This in mind, when his fist struck Cardin, the force behind the blow was greatly enhanced thanks to the momentum he was moving in his reflex-state in addition to his strength. So it wasn't a surprise when the other student was sent hurling back, crashing through a table and slamming into the wall behind it hard enough to crack the stone.
A hushed silence befell the cafeteria as everyone looked at the unmoving form of Cardin Winchester, his aura the only thing stopping bones from breaking on impact as he laid on the floor unconscious.
Lowering his fist, Adrian looked at the rest of CRDL who looked on the verge of pissing themselves as his cold eyes locked onto them. Daring them to make the next move.
All three of them raised their hands, "W-We get it...b-backing off." Sky said as they stood, backing away slowly before gathering up Cardin and leaving the cafeteria as fast as they could drag him out the door.
Making sure they were gone, the ex-FEAR operative turned to the faunus he had helped and smiled, [Would you like to join my team for lunch?] he signed in question, acting as though he hadn't just sent another student flying with a single punch.
Blinking owlishly, the girl slowly shook her head, "N-No, thank you. I have to meet my team before class. I do appreciate the offer though." she smiled timidly. "Thank you again for helping me." with that she set off on her own way.
Adrian watched her go before heading to the front of the large room to grab something for himself. All the while his team and JNPR had watched the events with wide eyes.
Yang whistled, "Well, looks like the goon-squad's been knocked down several pegs."
"Impressive." said Pyrrah before narrowing her eyes at where team CRDL had been sitting. "And it couldn't have happened to a 'better' group of individuals." the others agreed, while all promising themselves to never get on Adrian's bad side...ever.
Jaune looked at the soldier, sighing dejectedly to himself.
X
The history of Remnant class was one of the many more mundane courses students had to take during their time at Beacon. Taught by Professor Bartolomew Oobleck, a historian, journalist and a huntsman that was as informative as he was accentric.
However, the students were hard pressed to even keep up with the lecture as he shot around the room like a deranged meth-head while talking a mile a second. His green hair spiked in multiple angles and his outfit looking like it has just been hazardously thrown on that morning completing the illusion.
More often then naught, the students would wonder what exactly the professor put in his coffee every day to be more hyper than Nora on a sugar rush. Considering he always had a mug or thermous in hand to keep his momentum going.
That day's lesson was about the Faunus Rights War, the front of the classroom was covered in documents and pictures all connected within a web of red strings to mark timelines as Oobleck shot around the room faster than Ruby and Adrian combined.
"Now, while this all must seem like ancient history to you." the professor said after his brief explination of the subject, and taking another drink of coffee. "It is imperitive that we remember that these are realitively recent events. Why the repercussions of the faunus uprising can still be seen to this day."
Oobleck took another drink from his cup before speaking again, "Now then, have any of you been subjected or discriminated for your faunus heritage?" a couple of students raised their hands, a moment later a few of the more hesitant ones raised theirs as well. "Dreadful, simply dreadful!" the man said taking another drink. "Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence. Why...why look at what happened to White Fang!"
"Now, which one of you young scolars can tell me what many theorists believe was the turning point in the third year of the war?" Weiss' hand went up. "Yes?"
"The battle at Fort Castle." said the heiress.
"Precisely!" the professor said appearing back at the head of the room. "And, who could tell me the advantage the Faunus had over the human forces?"
Jaune, who had been sleeping at his desk, perked up and making a surprised noise when a paper football connected with the back of his head getting Oobleck's attention. "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class!" he said appearing before the blonde. "Excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?"
"Uhh...the...answer..." he wracked his brain for something, anything. "The advantage the Faunus had was..." he saw Pyrrah across the room signalling him the answer from the other side of the room. Making circles with her hands and fingers and putting them to her eyes. "Binoculars!"
There was a brief silence before a large group of people started laughing. Oobleck took another swig from his mug, "Very funny, Mr. Arc. Cardin, perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on the subject."
Cardin, whose face was bandaged yet again and recently released from the infirmary, responded. "Well, I know it's much easier to train an animal than a soldier." he received a couple dark looks from some of the other students in response to his 'answer'.
"You're not the most open minded of individuals, are you Cardin?" asked Pyrrah.
"What? You got a problem too?" Cardin felt a chill go up his spine when he saw Adrian leering at him from his desk above the Mistral champion. Cracking his knuckles as if sending the warning of another 'lesson' he would be getting taught if he kept running his mouth.
"No, I have the answer." Pyrrah continued casually. "It's nightvision. Some faunus are said to have near perfect vision in the dark."
Blake picked it up from there, "General Lagoom made the mistake of trying to ambush the faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured." she looked over at Cardin, "Perhaps if he had payed attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."
Cardin growled and stood up, freezing when he saw Adrian do the same, preparing to blink across the room and put him back down. "It is also wise to learn from past mistakes...or else you might be doomed to repeat them." the raven-haired girl added, reminding CRDL's leader about what had happened earlier
"Mr. Winchester, please take your seat." Oobleck said bringing the situation to an end before glancing at Jaune who was laughing to himself. "I want you and Mr. Arc to see me after class for additional readings." he stated before going back to his teaching. Leaving the blonde groaning in his seat.
Class had ended not too long after that, and with it being the last one of the day the students had the rest of the day to themselves.
Adrian was among the last to leave, Weiss and Blake heading in another direction to meet up with Ruby and Yang who had a different class while they were in history. The soldier decided to head up to his usual thinking spot on the roof of the dorms.
The day out with Ruby had been a very enjoyable one, he couldn't remember the last time he felt so relaxed in the company of someone else that didn't involve being in a combat zone. They talked about small things and he had gotten to know her a little better, and even though he didn't say much about himself, he was glad to know that she respected and trusted him enough not to pry it out of him.
On top of it all, he acquired a new weapon for his arsenal that had proven to be a worthwhile purchase. The A1-M1 Arsenal, aka Shade, really was a perfect fit for him and his style of fighting. And the training simulations on his own and with RWBY went about flawlessly.
Perhaps Ruby had been right about their weapons being extensions of themselves.
In the end, when the cloaked girl approached the idea of them hanging out again, Adrian couldn't help but agree. And he looked forward to it.
Heading up the stairs that would take him to the roof, opening the door at the top and stepped out into the cool night air, standing by the edge as he looked out over the campus. It had been a regular occurance for him to come here since his first day, allowing him time to just sit and think on things for a while without interruptions.
As if by an act of fate, the soldier felt a familiar flare of aura and mentally prepared himself for the appearence. "Must you always play the hero?" his little brother asked in regards to what happened earlier as they stood side by side. "I find it a waste of time and effort to be sticking your neck out for those that are not worth it in the end. What is the point of coming to this academy if the students cannot stand for themselves in such mundane situations."
Adrian shook his head, not even bothering with a mental response as he kept his eyes focused outward.
Paxton looked to his sibling, "You're changing, brother. Becoming less and less of what you are, associating yourself with those that hinder your abilities. And you continue to believe that it will aid you and forgetting the past."
"It's not possible, a past like ours cannot simply be forgotten, or escaped from. No matter how much you run or don't want to believe it, it will find you again. Everything comes full circle in the end, it's the natural order of things."
The soldier turned to the apparition with a hard look. Paxton looked right back and shook his head, "You know as well as I do that the past that we share, and the atrocities we endured, cannot be ignored. Armacham is responsible for what has been done to our family, to us and to mother, can you look your own blood in he eye and say that you can simply walk away from it while justice goes unanswered?"
A small breeze picked up around them, filling the brief silence while the being of aura turned and gazed out at the distance once again, "Though, I am not surprised given the events that led us here." he paused, contemplating something before speaking again, "I am curious about something that has been plaguing my thoughts for some time now." Cold-blue orbs met steel-grey, "How did it feel, to kill your own brother? Did you feel guilt? Regret? Did you feel anything at all, or simply let it go because you were 'following orders'?"
Adrian stood staring back, the answer clear on his face and in his thoughts which made Paxton chuckle to himself. "Or course, I didn't expect anything less considering. Regardless, the past cannot be changed now, but that doesn't mean it will not be answered for. I'm willing to let go of what we were forced to do to one another thanks to the people who created us, because in the end, it will be the two of us that will make them suffer and exact rightous vengence upon them."
"The creations...destroying the creators."
The door to the roof opened suddenly making the brothers snap their heads in that direction. Out of instinct, Adrian moved out of sight and hide behind a nearby air-unit before peering out and seeing Jaune and Pyrrah step out into the open and taking up the spot he and Paxton had taken up.
"Pyrrah, I know I'm going through a hard time right now. But I'm not that depressed." said Jaune as he looked over the edge of the roof. "I could always be a farmer, or something."
The Mistral champion quickly realized what he was saying and yanked him away from the ledge. "NO!" she shouted before quickly regaining herself when they were safely away from the edge. "That's not why I brought you up here."
Pyrrah looked around them and continued speaking, "Jaune, I know you've been having a difficult time in class. And you're still not the strongest of fighters. So, I wanna help you."
"What?" Jaune asked a little dumbstruck.
"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us." explained his partner further, being as genuine as she sounded.
The blonde knight scratched his head, "You...think I need help?"
"N-No! No, that's not what I meant." Pyrrah said backtracking a little.
"But you just said it." Jaune said back.
The red-haired girl sighed, "Jaune, everyone needs a little push from time to time, it doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon, that speaks volumes of what you're capable of."
Turning away from her, the blonde knight sighed, "You're wrong. I don't belong here."
"That's a terrible thing to say. Of course you do!" Pyrrah said stunned.
"No I don't!" Jaune snapped back, leaving his partner speechless as he sighed deeply. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon."
"W-What do you mean?" Pyrrah asked, trying to understand.
"I mean I didn't go to combat school! I didn't pass any tests! I didn't earn my spot at this academy!" Jaune vented. "I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied."
Neither of them said anything for a moment or two, Pyrrah processing what had been unveiled to her. "But...why? Why would you do that?" she finally asked.
"Because, it's something I've always wanted to be." said the knight as he looked out over the academy. "My father, my grandfather and his father before him were all warriors, they were all heros! I wanted to be one too...I was just never good enough..."
Pyrrah reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, "Then let me help you-"
"I DON'T WANT HELP! I DON'T WANT TO BE THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS! I WANT TO BE THE HERO!" he exclaimed while brushing her off.
"Jaune, I'm-" the Mistral champion tried to speak but was cut off again.
"I'm tired of being the loveable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives. Can't you understand?! If I can't do this on my own...then what good am I?" he saw her reach for him again and he backed away. "Just, leave me alone. Okay?" he said turning from her.
Pyrrah looked at him with a broken expression, "If..that's what you think is best." she said before turning and heading back toward the door.
From his spot out of sight, Adrian looked on in bewilderment as everything clicked into place.
Someone with no form of training, lying his way into one of the most well renowned combat schools on the planet. And on top of that, he just brushed off someone who would have done anything to help him survive the next four years because of self-rightousness.
Jaune Arc was by far the most foolish, ignorant, and stupid person he had ever known. And his actions in the end of all of this would lead to only bad outcomes for himself and the team he was supposed to be leading. Honestly, what was he thinking?!
"My, my, so the so called 'white knight' it nothing more than a commoner with thoughts of grandure." said Paxton from his spot leaning on the said of the air unit with his arms crossed. "His foolishness is only matched by his incompetence in a fight. It would be amusing, if it wasn't so pitiful."
The psionic's gaze turned to the other side of the roof, a bladed-smirk appearing on his lips. "And it would appear things are about to get a lot more difficult for him." Adrian followed his gaze and saw a chuckling Cardin Winchester pull himself up onto the rooftop from the open window below.
He remained in the shadows and continued to observe as the larger student approached a shocked and fearful Jaune.
"Oh Jaune, I couldn' help but overhear you two from my dorm room." said Cardin with a grin.
"C-Cardin?!" Jaune yelped as he stumbled back a step.
"So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel." the bigger student said sounding impressed.
The blonde held out his hands, "Cardin, please. Please! Please don't tell anyone."
Cardin acted wounded, "Jaune, come on, I'd never rat out a friend like that."
"A-A friend?" asked Jaune just before he was pulled into a headlock.
"Of course! We're friends now Jauney-Boy. And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me, we'll be friends for a long time." Cardin released the knight, leaving him gasping on the ground. "That being said, I really don't have the time to do those extra readings Oobleck gave us today. Think you can take care of that for me, buddy?" he asked ruffeling his hair.
Releasing a defeated sigh at the situation, Jaune nodded. "That's what I thought." said Cardin grinning wider as he headed to the edge of the roof and started climbing back down to his dorm. "And don't worry Jaune, your secret's safe with me."
It took a little time before a morally defeated Jaune left the roof and headed down to the dorms. Adrian stepped out of hiding and stood in the open with his arms crossed, Paxton appearing beside him with a look of amusment on his face.
"That was certainly interesting. And here I thought things would get boring at this academy, it's quite entertaining to watch the living mentally and emotionally destroy themselves in such a way." the psionic turned to his brother, the older sibling's face giving nothing away before he started making his way to the door.
Even though Adrian's mind was closed of from what he was thinking, Paxton had been able to get a sliver of what was going through his head making him sigh. "One of these so called 'friends' of yours will undoubtedly lead you to your demise. You do understand that?"
The soldier stopped at the threshold of the door for a moment before disappearing inside. The apparition shook his head in exasperation before fading away into the night.
A/N: While writing this out, I tried to keep both Jaune and Cardin's personalities similar. Because let's face it, Cardin's a meat-head who literally needed humility beaten into him, and Jaune's a moron for lying his way into beacon without combat experience AND pushing Pyrrah away when she was trying to help him in the beginning.
With Adrian knowing the situation, it leaves a rather large roll for him to play in the coming chapter involving our lovable oaf of a knight. And even though he's condescending with his cruel words, you can almost tell that Paxton may or may not be involved as well.
The trip to Forever Fall is next guys, leave your reviews and I'll update ASAP!