Hey! You're back! And I'm back too! Now that we're all here, how about we get on with the story?
To Be A Father
Jaune didn't bother opening his eyes, the sound of waves crashing against the shore and the feeling of water hitting his legs were enough to tell him where he was. He didn't know how he got here, or how long he'd been laying there, but nothing was getting him to move. Not even the worry he was feeling about Vermilion's safety was enough to even get him to wiggle a finger.
"You going to lay there forever?" Jaune didn't response and got a scoff in return. "You know, just because your eyes are closed, doesn't mean you can't hear me." Jaune remained silent, this time getting a heavy sigh in response. "I bet you're wondering why you're here."
"That would help." Jaune finally said, getting a chuckle.
"Long story short, you overtaxed yourself." At that, Jaune opened his eyes and was greeted to a slightly pale Verdigris looking down at him with her hands on her hips and a cheerful smile. "Looks like you ran out of Aura. Whatever you were doing out there must have been life threatening."
"An airship I was on got attacked by Lancers." Jaune said, getting Verdigris to nod in understanding. "Thanks, by the way."
"For what?" The Faunus asked, confusion on her face.
"Your memories helped me take care of them." Jaune said, letting out a sigh, "Just hope everyone else made it out okay."
"Yeah well…they were just memories. They would've done nothing if your body couldn't handle the movements." Verdigris said, getting Jaune to look back at her before she shrugged off her coat to reveal a dress vest underneath. "I'm not a burly person but I'm also not scrawny either." The Faunus said, flexing her arms. Jaune couldn't help but agree, noting that that Verdigris had a lithe build to her body…similar to his. "In a way, my style of fighting is more like dancing. If my memories did help, then you were probably bending and flexing all over the place."
"Then I guess I should thank my mom for forcing me to attend all those dance classes." Jaune said, letting out a light chuckle. "It's just too bad I had my eyes closed the entire time." Jaune said, getting Verdigris to look at him. "Whenever I close my eyes and relax, it feels like…like my body is reacting on its own. I don't think about what to do, but my body reacts to everything on its own."
"Well, I did plant those memories in your subconscious. It's essentially just your natural reactions…like when you jump in the dark at a sudden noise." The Faunus explained. "You blocked out everything and in return, your body and mind did what they thought were the right actions. To be honest, that how I fight too; letting my body decide my actions." Jaune smiled at that while Verdigris took a seat next to him. "That also means, your body can handle my deadlier techniques."
"Guess that means I'm not a complete joke." Jaune said, getting Verdigris to look at him. "If you saw how I fought before I met you, you'd understand."
"Sometimes you just need to find the right fighting style." Verdigris said, "Some prefer distance, others want to up close and personal. Some want to be mobile while others see themselves as a rock. And often times, your body will decide what it wants. Where are you from?"
"I'm a Valean." Jaune said.
"And your parents?"
"Dad's a Valean too, but I my mom's Mistralian." Jaune said before he looked at Verdigris. "Why the questions?"
"I realized that I don't know too much about you." Verdigris said, "Was your mom a Huntress?"
"Not traditionally." Jaune said, getting Verdigris to raise an eyebrow. "She said she was raised in a church or something and they trained her to fight Grimm." Jaune clarified, looking at Verdigris when he didn't get a response. "Something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh, no…it's nothing." The Faunus said, waving her hand dismissively. Jaune looked at Verdigris before letting out a sigh and closing his eyes.
"Is there any reason why I can't move my body?" The blonde asked, keeping his eyes closed. "My body feels light, but it doesn't want to move no matter how much I want to."
"You got me there." Verdigris said, shrugging when Jaune looked at her. "What? This is a new experience for me too. I don't think there's anyone out there who could split off their soul to keep it going for a bit longer." The Faunus said, getting Jaune let out another sigh. "All I know is that whenever you are here, it's because you overtaxed yourself."
"If you split off a portion of your soul…does that mean you're still alive?" Jaune asked, getting Verdigris to lower her head.
"Listen kid, I am dead. And this soul I left is still dying." Verdigris said, scratching the back of her head. "Look, I don't know how to explain it but…the me you see right now is the last of me. And it's going to die as well." The Faunus said before she looked at her hands. "I can feel it, my existence fading away even while I'm talking to you. With luck, I might last a bit longer…maybe another visit or two. But eventually it will fade away, leaving nothing but memories. Literally."
"I'm sorry." Jaune said, while Verdigris shook her head.
"Don't hold it over your head kid." The Faunus said, before she stood up and place her hands on her hips again. "The fact that you're watching over my daughter and became my successor…well, I'm satisfied. All I really want to do now is provide you with the knowledge you'll need." Jaune chuckled at that while Verdigris let out a sigh before she leaned over Jaune. "Well, since your awake…how about you go on wake up for real?"
"And how will I do that?" Jaune asked, widening his eyes when Verdigris walked around him and placed her foot on his shoulder before kicking his stiff body into the sea. All the Faunus saw were a few air bubbles before a small wave covered it up.
-Hospital Room-
Camelia Arc had always seen herself as a strong woman, even when she had willingly given up being a Huntress to become a stay at home mother while her husband continued to risk his life so they could have a meal. Even when the church where she was raised had being overrun with Grimm, she didn't break down; instead she had gathered the other three survivors and traveled with them across Anima until she had ran into her future husband and his team.
Yet, she was still human and like every other human, she had her own fears and weaknesses; heck, she could count the number of times she truly felt fear on one hand. The first was when the church fell, the second was when two of her friends had suffered fatal injuries, the third was when her partner left…and the last was the thought of losing her one and only son. Since she had never known her parents, growing up an orphan in church secluded away in Anima's mountains, she saw family as a top priority.
It's because of that, that was currently sitting next to her comatose son, her face stained with tears and bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep. It had been five days since she and the rest of her family had been woken up by phone call that informed them of a airship crashing, and that Jaune had been admitted into the hospital's ER. The doctor that was taking care of him had ran some tests and check-ups, doing his best to help Jaune. Camelia nearly had a heart attack when she learned that Jaune only survived because he had his Aura unlocked, shielding him from the blast.
"Honey, please, you need to get some rest." A voice said, getting Camelia to look up and see her husband looking at her with concerned eyes. "Doctor Dahlia assured us that Jaune is fine. His Aura was simply overtaxed and needs time to recover." The man said, grabbing the woman's hands before moving them away from Jaune. The woman instantly shook her head and reached out for Jaune again, getting the man to sigh.
"Hibis*, I'm scared." Camelia said before she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. "My baby boy, he's hurting and I can't do a thing about it." Camelia didn't get a response, which prompted her to cry as she hung her head. "I'm scared that he might not wake up. That the child he had with him won't know who he was."
"It's alright dear," The man said, tightening his hug a bit. "Our boy is strong Camelia, he'll pull through this. After all, Crocea Mors would've never been wielded if he wasn't." The man said before he looked at the sword and shield that was resting against the hospital bed, next to it was the warped remains of his old cuirass. "And he's an Arc, a descendant of a long line of warriors. A simply crash will not keep him down for long."
"That is one thing we can both agree on." A third voice said, getting the couple to look back and see a woman even older than them. "My grandson is stronger than either of you ever gave him credit for."
"Juno/Mother." The couple said together as the woman stopped next to them and look at Jaune.
"Camelia, I think it's best that you get some rest." The older woman said, her voice letting the two know that it was not a suggestion. "I will watch over him. It won't do anyone good if the first thing he sees when he wakes up is his mother looking worse for wear." The two nodded instantly and got up, Camelia leaning against her husband.
"Juno, you'll call as soon as he wakes up, right?" Camelia said, getting the older woman to look back with a blank face before nodding. The couple took a second to look as the older woman took Camelia's spot before leaving the room. Once the old woman heard the door to the room clothes, she let out a heavy sigh, sagging a bit as she stared at Jaune.
"What have you gotten yourself into this time boy?" The woman asked, shaking her head when the only response she got was the constant *beep* from Jaune's heart monitor. Before she could question the comatose blonde more, a knocking made her turn attention to the door before it opened to reveal another blonde woman, this one in her mid-twenties with an ornamental eyepatch over her left eye.
"Hey grandma," The woman said as she entered the room and closed the door. "I just saw mom and dad leaving. I'm guessing that you had to do with that."
"You know better than to waste my time girl." The older woman said, getting the younger one to shut her mouth and nod.
"Is he getting better?" Silence was the only response the younger woman got before she walked to the other side of Jaune and look at him. "This is all my fault…" At that, the older woman raised an eyebrow. "…I'm the one who got him that ticket. Damn it! I should've just went to Vale myself!"
"You cannot fault yourself for the Grimm attack." The older woman said, closing her eyes before taking a deep breath. "You should be lucky that he's alive and breathing-."
"Even if he might be a vegetable for the rest of his life!?" The older woman snapped her eyes open, getting the younger woman to shut up and look away. "…Damn it…"
"Do you have so little faith in him?" The older woman asked, getting the younger one to look up. "Your brother is an Arc, a warrior by nature, and a strong-willed one at that. Do not give up on him when you know he has not done the same." The younger woman didn't bother responding, choosing to look at Jaune as he continued to sleep.
And that ends this chapter. Yes, I know, this is not what you were expecting, but dragging out the airship crash didn't sit right with me. Instead, I decided that I could use Verdigris to answer a few questions about what happened last chapter and just recap the crash with others. Not all of the questions were answered mind you, but the ones I thought were important for the time being. I will address them in time, but they may be subtle instead of in your face ones.
This chapter also serves the purpose of introducing some Jaune's family members and his relations to them. If you are wondering, Jaune's mother is named Camelia, after a flower, his father is named *Hibis(cus), named after another flower but shortened, his grandma is Juno, which I will explain the reason later and his sister Rouge. I will be giving them all 'proper' introductions later, along with his other siblings, but that's for another chapter.
Other than that, my family's money problems have gone down so I'm not working my ass off as much. I don't know if I'll be updating any faster, but I'll try. Anyway, That's all I have to say so until next time, see ya.