Time to finish the fight.
Cr00cy has saint-like patience for sticking with me for this long.
Sound the Bell
They stepped through portal and ended up in a large catacomb-like structure, with a giant, ancient looking tree dominating the center of the room, with glowing petals flowing off it constantly.
It was majestic, that was the only word for it Jaune could think of.
However, his appreciation for its majesty was somewhat dulled by his stomach suddenly flipping on him.
Damn, how does motion sickness carry over to teleports?
"On your feet." Raven growled at him. "I didn't bring you here to be a burden."
"Yeah, don't throw up on anyone's shoes."
Two sets of eyes snapped over to Yang.
"What are you doing here!?" Jaune shouted.
She shot him a look. "You can't be serious. You're barely on your feet, and you thought I was going to let you stumble through a dimensional gate, with my unstable mom, to fight a Maiden?"
Raven did not look amused.
"You're supposed to be safe." He hissed.
"Jaune." She started slowly. "If you think I'm going to sit this out, then you are the dumbest of blonds. We'll talk about this later." She promised.
I don't think that's a good thing.
"If you're done with your lovers' quarrel, I believe our friend has noticed us."
"Yes, mom." Jaune shot back, earning him a glare.
True enough though, his eyes scanned upwards and caught sight of a familiar red figure, standing on a glowing blue dais in front of a giant ornate door, staring back at them. A still form lay at her feet.
"Well hello Raven. Sorry about the double-cross, but you understand, it's just business." Cinder brushed the hair back from the good side of her face. "I see you brought company. Yang was it? And…who are you again?"
Yang tensed. She waited for Jaune to explode...and to save him from himself.
Jaune closed his eyes, exhaled slowly, the met the crimson woman's stare.
"I'm the last man you'll ever see."
He began to glow with a pulsating power.
Things could be going better. Ruby decided.
They outnumbered this guy five to one, they had hit him with everything they had, but he just - Wouldn't. Go. Down.
Ren and Nora bounced off him for what must have been the dozenth time, as he brushed them out of his way to get to Oscar.
Well, at least we know where he's going to attack.
She turned to her partner. "Weiss, do you think that you can freeze this guy to the floor?"
The girl in white bit her lip, and considered it for a moment. "Maybe for a few seconds. He's too strong, and I'm still too out of it to promise anything else."
Ruby nodded. "That's all we need. On my mark."
Hazel battered Oscar into the wall of the great hall, clearing out the area around him.
"Now!" She shouted.
A Glyph formed around the berserker's feet, and ice began to climb its way up his legs, until it fully encased them up to the knees.
The man let out a howl of beast-like rage.
"Team RNJR, 'Hammer and Sickle!'"
Green and Pink immediately began to move with practiced efficiency.
Ren's Storm Flowers coughed, as rounds flew into the face the large man, forcing him to cover his head with his thickly muscled arms.
Nora used the chance to slip behind the brute. Her hammer pulled back, she widened her stance, and slammed it into the small of his back. She squeezed the trigger.
Ice shattered, and the force of the blow took the screaming man off his feet, sending him flying forward, towards a waiting Ruby. Her Semblance carried her forward with unnatural speed, the blade of Crescent Rose was in motion, closing in on Hazel's throat.
An arm's length separated them.
A hand.
A hair kept blade from flesh.
The blade stopped.
A massive hand caught the haft of Crescent Rose.
Hazel roared as he threw the weapon, and Ruby with it, to the ground.
She coughed as she began trying to sit-up, to fight. A raised boot filled her vision, as Hazel prepared to crush the life out of the young girl. An icy Beowolf sinking its teeth into his back stopped the foot from falling, as the giant growled and fell back, fighting his new opponent.
Weiss rushed over and knelt next to her leader. "How are you doing?" She asked worriedly.
"Dammit!" Ruby spat.
"Language." The heiress countered with a smirk.
"How very ominous, little boy. Did you learn a new trick?" Cinder mocked.
Jaune ignored her, turning to Raven. "I'm going to continue to give you whatever I can. I'm not sure how much I have left. Make it fast."
Raven simply nodded, stepping forward.
"Yang, watch after your Electra complex while I put this woman in the ground."
"Yes, mother dearest." She growled.
I'm sure this will be fun to deal with later.
Cinder laughed. "So confident! You can't imagine the power I wield now Raven."
"You don't say?" Flames slowly began to flow upward from her eyes, her aura whipped around her, mixing with Jaune's.
Cinder's eyes widened in understanding. "It's you! You're the other Maiden!" She yelled, her own Aura roaring to life.
"And you took something that was MINE. No one takes from Raven Branwen, you dumb bitch."
Jaune could barely keep his eyes open as Auras flared, and the two Maidens shot towards each other. There was an eruption of Aura and flames as the two met, before tearing across the room at incredible speeds. After a few moments of watching, he came to a realization.
He hated to admit it, even to himself, but this was a conflict that dwarfed him, dwarfed them all.
He could feel it in his chest every time their blades met. When they came close, it felt like the air became thicker, making even breathing more difficult. No fireworks display could match what he was witnessing now. He fought desperately to keep his legs from shaking as the two powers collided again.
However, there was one thing that made it all worth it - the labored breathing, the fear, the feeling of helplessness.
Cinder was losing.
Even to his untrained eye, it was clear. Cinder's Aura didn't glow quite as bright as when they started, and it wasn't hard to understand why. Raven was hardened from decades of experience. There were no wasted movements in her strikes, everything was a study in economy, in deadly efficiency. She was driving the Fall Maiden back, step by step.
But the most exciting part, was the worry he imagined that he could just make out on her face. A crack in her calm façade, a realization that no, everything was not going to be ok.
He hoped she liked how it felt.
He drove more Aura to Raven.
He smiled as he watched her eyes were scanning the room, looking for something, anything, to turn the tide.
Jaune Arc's small smirk fell from his face when her eyes met his.
"What's the plan Ruby?" Weiss called out.
That's a damn good question. She thought.
Hazel had continued his one-man march through everything that they could throw at him, and currently had Oscar backed against one of the walls of the grand hall. The boy's cane whipped back and forth, searching desperately for some weak point in the giant.
Things were not going well for the young headmaster.
"Ruby!" Weiss called again.
I need time! What would uncle Qrow do for time? The realization struck her.
He'd run his mouth.
"Hey Big-Guy!" She shouted.
Hazel turned from the beaten headmaster, his arms up, ready to block the next assault.
Ok, you've got his attention…the non-plan is working so far.
"What's your deal? Why are you working with someone like Cinder?" People like to talk right?
Weiss stared at her liked she'd gone mad.
Probably.
"I'm here to end this murderer!" He growled, pointing at Ozpin. "This slayer of children! No more will die for his cause like my sister did!"
She cocked her head. "And, you're going to do that…by murdering a child?"
Please, someone be using this time to come up with a plan!
"The boy's life is a small price to pay to end Ozpin's cycle of violence!" He argued.
Ren got it. "Are you familiar with the term irony?" He asked, picking himself up off the floor.
"Ozpin runs a school for sending children into combat, he's going to kill more if we give him the chance!" Hazel cried.
Weiss shook her head. "So, you ATTACKED said school to…protect the children that attended the school?"
Get'em Weiss.
"Future generations must be protected from his hypocrisy!"
Nora leaned on her hammer. "See, you're saying that word…but I don't think it means what you think it means."
Hazel roared again and began moving forward.
Well, that was fun while it lasted. She lifted Crescent Rose to her shoulder and took aim.
But Ruby could swear she could hear something else over the sound of the raging man. Were those…police sirens?
Cinder threw herself away from Raven in the air, gaining the critical distance she'd need.
It was the boy. The failure. He was the reason she was losing.
She didn't understand how or why, but he was clearly aiding Raven in some manner. It was the only way to explain her current predicament. Now she just had to finish him.
She summoned a torrent of fire and set it towards the Spring Maiden, who caught it, turned it, and pressed through. It didn't matter, Cinder was already gone, already rocketing towards the boy.
He had seen her coming, he held up his shield, as if that pathetic defense would save him from her. She slammed into him, pinning him to the ground. He spat up blood as her knee drove into his stomach. Her blades pressed into his neck, drawing a trickle of blood as she pressed forward.
"Still willing to let beautiful women die for you huh, little knight?" She hissed.
He stared back a her. "Oh Cinder, you're the only beautiful woman that needs to die for me."
She leaned down and whispered into his ear. "Sorry to disappoint little one. Any last words before I send you off to what's-her-name? Don't worry, rest of your team will join you shortly."
"Yeah." He turned into her ear. "Did you know that Yang gets like, crazy jealous?"
She turned to say something, and he spat blood into her good eye.
"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" She screamed as she reeled back, blinded.
"That belongs to me, two-face!" Yang cut in, as she drove her fist into the side of Cinder's face, throwing the older woman off him.
Jaune gripped Crocea Mors hilt, and with a roar slashed the blade across the woman's shins, causing her to stumble towards the edge of the platform.
Cinder seethed as she regained her feet. "I'll make sure he gets to watch you die!" She spat at Yang.
"I think not." A voice called from above her.
She turned, and saw only…blue.
Raven slammed home her electrically powered palm, ripping off the other woman's Grimm mask, and sending her flying over the edge of the platform. She watched as the scarred woman fell, shock on her face, and slowly raised a glowing hand.
The ice started to form on her chest, then began to grow, spreading across her arms and legs. It embraced her, it entombed her. The last thing to disappear beneath the cold blue was the woman's one hate-filled eye, and then, the darkness took her.
"It's done." Raven informed them with a sigh.
Jaune coughed as he sat up, and Yang rushed over to support him.
"You ok?" She asked worriedly, running her fingers gently over the shallow cuts in his neck.
He gave her a small smile. "Yeah…I just…didn't expect it to feel like this. It feels…empty, somehow."
"It always does." Their gazes shifted over to the raven-haired huntress, whose eyes were locked on the fallen form of Vernal.
The day hadn't been without loss, Jaune thought, but it was over now. They could rest, if only for a moment.
Crimson eyes turned back towards them, and hardened.
"Now that our alliance is over, let's talk terms."
Or not.
Crescent Rose clicked as it ran dry, the last of its shells impacting harmlessly against Hazel's back as he closed with Oscar.
A ghostly knight crumbled before his onslaught, and Weiss fell to her knees in exhaustion.
Nora tended to a wounded Ren off to the side.
Oscar stood alone, his defenders too worn to come to his aid, and Ozpin's energy having long-since been spent.
Hazel raised a mighty fist above his head.
"The nightmare ends today." He looked almost apologetic to Oscar. "Sleep now, child."
The fist began to fall.
Its descent would mean an end to their headmaster, it would mean they would lose their best source of information in the war against Salem, but most importantly, it would mean the end of a 14-year-old boy.
She didn't know when she'd started moving, she certainly hadn't decided to do so, her body had just started forward. The world became a blur as her Semblance took hold.
A fist was falling.
A Rose was moving.
She knew she couldn't take the hit, that'd always been Yang's thing, but neither could Oscar. The choice was an easy one.
A fist was falling.
A Rose was moving.
Oscar's arms rose above his head, and braced for the impact he couldn't survive. She pushed him aside as she took his place in the goliath's path.
A fist was falling.
A Rose had taken her place.
She stared into his eyes, determined that he would remember this, would remember her.
Something connected with the titan.
A fist was no longer falling, a man was.
In his place, stood a familiar black and white clad figure. Their eyes locked.
She grinned. "You're late."
"Terms?" Yang repeated. "I think the only terms, are the ones where you join us against this monster."
Raven shook her head. "I'm done with Ozpin's crusade." Her visage softened. "You should be too Yang. You've seen where it leads. You should be asking the hard questions, but what have you done? You've accepted the stories others have provided you without a second thought."
Jaune expected Yang to explode, to unleash on the woman before her, and fight for her pound of flesh. What shocked him, and impressed him, was the cold anger she met her mother with.
"I have been asking the hard questions, it's what brought me here, it's what brought me to you." She pointed at the older woman. "I believe what I can see with my own eyes, and what I currently believe, is that you're scared."
"You don't know fear, you don't know hardship! You don't understand what it means to make the hard choices!" Raven seethed.
Yang spread her arm wide. "You want me to ask the hard questions mom? Let's start with, what happened to the last Spring Maiden? Did she not understand fear either? Was she a hard choice?"
Raven balked. "She…she wasn't strong enough for this fight. She would have been hunted for her entire life! I saved her from that, I saved her from the fear!"
Yang shook her head. "Who's going to save you from yours?"
Raven stepped towards Yang, and Jaune felt himself tense.
"Scared?! Do you know how many times I've spit in the face of death? Look at you." She held a hand out towards her daughter. "You're practically shaking where you stand. You're just a scared little girl, what could you possibly do against what's coming?"
Jaune began to move forward, to join the fight on behalf of his better half. She simply held up a hand, silently telling him to stand down.
"I am scared, I'm fucking terrified, but I'm also still here. I'm not going anywhere, and neither is my team. I don't know if we can stand against what's coming, but I'm going to try." She took a step towards her mother. "It's what makes me different from you, and it's why you're going to give us the Relic."
Her mother sneered. "And why would I give you one of the most powerful items in Remnant?"
"Because, mommy dearest, you don't want that kinda heat. You've already been hiding out from Salem with just the Maiden powers. What do you think she's going to do if you have one of the Relics?" She stared the older woman down. "You'll never get away from her."
Raven took a step back, worry starting to creep into her face. "Yang…you should walk away from this. You don't want that Relic, you don't understand what's coming for you."
She smiled sadly. "I can't. There's a part of me that wishes I could, but I've seen what they're capable of, and if it's not us that stands up, then who? I know you won't join us, but I'm going to need that Relic."
The older woman paused, considered her for a moment, then spoke again.
"You can have the Relic…but I want the boy."
Jaune couldn't help himself. "WHAT?!"
Yang's eyes flashed red. "What are you playing at?"
Raven's eyes flicked between the two. "I've lost Vernal here today, and my secret will get back to Salem with Emerald. I need an offset, and that boy's Semblance gives me an edge over Salem's assassins. You want the Relic? I want that power."
Yang shook her head. "No deal, Jaune stays. We're the ones that are going to be fighting Salem, we need him."
The older Huntress pressed. "He's too valuable a resource to waste on that suicide mission. You want him? Then come with me." She spread her arms wide. "Give Ozpin his damn Relic! You, me, and him stand a chance at making a run of this if we keep our heads low!"
"You know," Jaune started, "as much as I love being traded, I feel obligated to tell you that I'm not going anywhere. I have a team up there, fighting for their lives right now, that I belong to. Leave the Relic, or make you move, but we're done talking about it."
Yang's hand found his. "Go mom."
"Yang please…" She pleaded.
"I'm where I belong now."
The dark-haired woman turned away, her cheeks wet. "…I'm sorry." She whispered, waving her hand to unlock the vault before cutting a portal open.
Yang's eyes burned and her vision blurred. "Yeah, me too."
Raven stepped through the portal, disappearing from their lives again, and the room darkened again, with the great bioluminescent tree and doorway to the Relic providing the only light.
He squeezed her hand. "It's ok, she's gone." He whispered.
She fell to her knees and let the tears flow.
He could imagine, having to lose a mother again. To deal with the disappointment of them not being what you knew they could be. So, he did the only thing he could.
He held her close.
Exhausted fell well short of what Ruby was feeling at the moment.
"Why…won't…he go down?" Nora panted beside her.
"Because he likes being difficult, I guess." She quipped as she watched Blake, the only one with anything left in the tank, dance around the giant, peppering him with shots.
"We have anything remotely plan-like anymore?" The ginger-haired girl asked.
Ruby winced as one of Hazel's flailing strikes caught Blake, and sent her sprawling.
"What do have left?"
"Well, I'm out of ammo, out of dust, and I'm pretty sure he did something to my shoulder." The Valkyrie complained as she slowly rotated the offending appendage.
"Weiss?" She called out to the kneeling girl to her right.
"Completely out of Dust Ruby." She spun the rapier's chamber. "As the heiress of the SDC, I can safely say that I never expected that to happen."
She sighed. "Well it's official, I got nothing."
Nora raised a hand. "I have a suggestion for the planning committee."
"The chair recognized Ms. Valkyrie." Weiss said.
Nora pushed herself to her feet. "We break his fucking legs."
"Langu-" Ruby started.
"Sustained!" Weiss cut in. "The chair seconds the plan, all in favor say aye."
"Aye!" Three voices chorused.
They adjusted their grips on their weapons, and began marching forward again.
Yang stared blankly at the blue and gold Relic in her hands, wondering how something so small could lead to so much suffering, so much death.
"Yang." Jaune's voice cut into her thoughts.
He gave her an apologetic smile. "You gonna be ok? We need to get topside."
She wiped her eyes. "Yeah Ladykiller, we're already fashionably late." She shot him a smile. "How do I look?"
He took in her battered and blood-stained visage. "Beautiful."
She laughed as she wrapped an arm around him, and they began shuffling towards the glowing dais that would take them back to the grand hall.
"Really? Cause you look fucking terrible."
He smirked. "You should see the other guy."
She sighed as they boarded the lift and it pulsed beneath them. "Are you going to be insufferable now that you've won a fight?"
He chuckled as the lift began to rise. "Are you implying that I wasn't before?"
"True. I guess I'll just have to suffer through it." She began to shift away from him. "Can you stand? We should probably at least pretend to be combat ready when we get up there."
He steadied himself. "Yeah, I got it. Can you hand me my sword?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Can you even lift it?"
He shrugged. "No, but that's hardly common knowledge, is it?"
She just shook her head.
The lift was almost at the top. "I think it's important that we divide responsibilities before we get up there."
"Yeah? What did you have in mind?"
"I'm going to talk shit, you do everything important."
"So…a normal day then?"
"Pretty much." He quipped, as they crested the lip of the grand hall's floor. Once they were fully at the top, Jaune took note of a couple of things.
One was that their arrival had sent the entire room into silence. The other, was that everyone was looking pretty damn rough.
"Yang!" Ruby cried.
"Fearless Leader!" Nora cheered.
He shot her a smile. "Sorry we're late, we went antiquing."
Yang held up the Relic. "Think it's worth anything?"
Hazel met them with a careful gaze. "Where is Cinder?"
Jaune met his stare. He wasn't sure how much the titan had left, but he knew he had nothing.
I've gotta to bluff my way out.
"You know the answer to that question."
The man grunted a took a step back.
Jaune pressed. "You're done here, we won at the house, and then made our way here. He motioned towards the Relic. "I think you can guess the rest."
"The White Fang's finished too. It's over - you lost." Blake stated.
Yang's eyes were glued to the dark-haired girl.
Yang, hold it together!
"Stand down." Jaune advised. "No one else needs to die today."
Hazel took a deep breath and let it out. "Wise words boy, but Ozpin can't be allowed to continue his crusade." He reached into his pockets and drew forth two glowing Dust crystals, causing the room to tense. "You're a marked man Ozpin!" He shouted at the boy. "I'm coming for you!"
The giant slammed the crystals together, and the room was filled with a blinding light. When his vision had cleared from the assault of light, there was no sign of the man. No one was tripping over themselves to chase him in their current state.
Just then, a familiar mop of blond hair rushed into the room, followed by a faunus girl he didn't recognize.
"They're retreating!" Sun cheered. "Haven is safe! We did it!"
Jaune had never been so happy to see a shirtless man than he was at that moment.
"What about Adam?" Blake quickly asked.
The faunus girl responded. "In the wind, but we've dealt a huge blow to his power base. He's going to have a harder time recruiting after today."
Jaune fell to his knees and then laid flat on his back in exhaustion. "Oh thank God!"
Yang smiled down at him. "We did it Jaune, we really did it."
"Yeah, somehow. I think I'm going to take a little celebratory nap right here."
He watched her eyes flick between him and Blake. "Hey Bright-Eyes."
"Yeah?"
"Come here for a second, I need to tell you something."
She knelt down next to him and leaned in to listen. He grabbed her collar and pulled her down into a fierce kiss.
He could hear Nora screaming 'YES!' across the hall.
He released her, and they both fought for breath, and he caught the flush in her cheeks.
He decided it had been a good day.
"Go get her Bright-Eyes."
She looked conflicted. "Are you sure? You're hurt…"
"I assume that's doctor Nora I hear charging up the steps?"
She smiled. "Yeah."
"Then I'm in good, if not gentle, hands. Go."
She nodded and bolted down the stairs.
She ran straight to Ruby and caught her sister in a tight hug, before scanning the younger girl for injuries.
"Are you ok?" She asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, just exhausted. And I thought we agreed on no PDA." The red-head laughed.
"I agree Yang, I thought we had set strict guidelines on your behavior." Weiss joined in as she limped over to them.
"Still struggling with that jealousy thing, huh Weiss-cream?" Yang teased.
The sisters laughed as the heiress spat denials.
"So." A nervous voice cut in. "You and Jaune huh?"
Three sets of eyes turned toward Blake.
Ruby was the first to break the silence.
"Thanks for the save back there." She grinned.
Weiss hummed in agreement. "You did have fortuitous timing, even if you were a little late."
Blake smiled sheepishly. "I had to try to make up for lost time somehow. A cool entrance seemed like a good start."
"I think it might take more than that." Yang said as she stepped forward towards her partner.
Blake winced. "Yeah, I figured it might."
The right hand that cracked the faunus across the face caught Weiss by surprise, but not Ruby. She knew how her sister handled making up. The fierce hug that followed wasn't a surprise either.
"You dumb, cat-eared bitch, we needed you!" Yang cried into her shoulder.
The back-clad girl returned the embrace. "I know." She whispered. "I'm sorry, I got scared."
Yang pulled her to arms-length. "We're all scared, but you're going to swear to me right now that you're done with this running shit."
Blake nodded. "Yeah, I promise." She smiled. "That's a hell of a right cross."
Yang grinned. "There's more where that came from if you try to run out on us." She pointed a finger at the black-haired girl. "We're not done either, we've got a lot to cover when we get back to the house."
"Gonna have a hard time with that Firecracker."
They turned to see Qrow limp his way through the entrance of the grand hall.
"Drunkle Qrow!" Ruby shouted.
"You and the kid's last stunt burned the damn thing down."
"Good." They heard Jaune call from across the hall. "Fuck that place, I felt like we spent way too much time there."
"I see the kid survived somehow." He said with a shake of his head.
"Small miracles and all that." Yang laughed. "So where to next?"
Oscar stumbled over to them. "The…the professor says that we need to move the Relic to Atlas." He wiped the sweat off his brow. "On a personal note, I don't feel obligated to leave right this second."
"Amen to that kid." He jerked a thumb towards the entrance. "Let's get the hell out of here, I know an inn near a bar downtown."
"Drunkle Qrow…" Ruby warned.
"Yeah, yeah, you can be my adult supervision, but I am getting a drink." He held up a trembling hand. "I've already got the shakes."
She huffed. "Fine, where are we going?"
"The bar is called 'Six Hells' or 'Seventh Heaven,' something like that."
They'd settled in to the small hotel adjoining the bar quickly enough. It was a simple design, favoring an Mystralian aesthetic, with sliding doors and well-used hardwood floors. One could see the wear in the peeling paper and paint, and the discoloration of the wood brought on by long days in the sun. But, the food was decent and the water was warm, and the was all that mattered at the moment.
Jaune smiled as he thought back on the last few hours.
Ruby had watched Qrow like a hawk the entire time they spent at the bar, much to the amusement of the couple that owned the place. The dark brown-haired bartender had been more than helpful in keeping the man in line, and her blond Hunter husband had kept them entertained with stories of his adventures for hours.
Team RWBY had shared dinner down at the bar, taking turns interrogating Blake about the past few months and her hometown. The black-haired girl had tried valiantly to keep up with the discussion, and fight off accusations about her potential love life with Sun and Ilia.
After the meal, Yang had grabbed Blake and guided her off. He didn't envy the dark-haired faunus and the conversation that they would shortly be having.
Team JNR, or the broke patrol, as Nora had taken to calling them, had eaten dinner in their room, where Ren was laid up with his busted knee. Nora had happily tried to feed the boy with her one good arm, making airplane noises the whole time.
When he last saw the two, Nora had been insisting that she needed to help Ren bath, much to the boy's protest. He'd taken that as his cue to leave, and simply reminded Ren, 'no soundproofing,' on his way out the door.
He'd wandered around, till he found a quiet spot at the back of the hotel with a small patch of grass, and some rickety benches. He took a seat, took a deep breath, and let his mind wander…
He started shaking almost immediately.
Images raced through his mind. He saw a shield rising and falling, could feel the impact of the sheet of metal against flesh, and worse, the sounds it had made it the final moments. He felt nauseous.
He could feel his hands pressed against Yang's stomach, trying to staunch the bleeding as her breaths became shallow and quick. There was just so much blood. He was so scared, so terrified of history repeating itself. He remembered the light in her eyes starting to fade.
He threw up.
"That's why she calls you Vomit Boy, huh?"
His head whipped around to lock on a familiar form.
"I uh…"
"Articulate, aren't you kid?" Qrow said as he took a seat beside him. "Here," he said passing him a flask, "get that taste out of your mouth."
The boy stared at him in disbelief. "How did you get this?"
The older man rolled his eyes. "Ruby allowed me to take the rest of my daily allocation to go."
Jaune laughed. "She's your watch-dog huh?"
Qrow leaned against the back of the bench. "Yeah, I guess so."
The sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, taking small pulls from the bottle.
"It was your first time, right?" The older man asked.
"…Yeah." He whispered.
He sighed. "Listen kid, I could tell you a bunch of shit about how that guy was a fucking monster, or that you did what you needed to, and it'd all be true, but I know it's not going to help." He took a drink and passed the flask back to the young knight. "You're going to see that shit in your dreams for a while - and that just means you're not a fucking monster."
The boy took another pull, and stared at the ground.
Qrow continued. "The only thing I've got for you is a question. Was it worth it for Firecracker?"
"Yes." The answer came without hesitation.
"Then you know you did the right thing." He put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "She gave you a good scare today huh?"
He could feel the boy shaking
"…I could feel her slipping." His voice barely audible. "That…that link…" he swallowed, "it works both ways. Before I figured out that I could give her my Aura, I could feel the life starting to slip out of her."
He took another drink.
"…I was so scared. I couldn't lose her Qrow, I just couldn't."
He squeezed the knight's shoulder.
"And you didn't. You did good out there kid, I'm proud of you."
The boy gave him a small smile.
"I'll say he did."
They turned to Yang approaching, a grin on her face.
"What's going on Firecracker?"
"Nothing too much." She said as she wrapped her arms around the kid's neck from behind. "Just got done with the first of many talks with the kitty-cat."
"Does everyone remain un-maimed?" Jaune joked.
"For now." She looked over to Qrow. "If you're all done with your male bonding time, it's my turn."
Qrow raised his flask in salute. "He's all yours Firecracker."
"You're damn right." She quipped, as she took the boy's hand and began leading him away. Jaune just shook his head and let himself be guided back towards the building.
"Just remember to keep it quiet!" He yelled at the retreating forms.
"No promises!" She called back.
He chuckled and looked down at his half empty flask.
They'd survived, and that made it a good day in his book.
He sealed the flask, and tucked it into his jacket.
Yang led her fellow blond to her-no, their room.
She could tell that something was bothering him, and silently thanked her uncle for whatever quiet support he'd offered knight.
But she knew it would be ok, because they'd made it. Maybe that'd change tomorrow, or next week, but tonight? Tonight, they'd made it, and they were together. The 'what ifs' could wait.
She slid the door close as they entered the sparsely furnished room, with it's single simple nightstand, a small dresser, and queen bed. It was all they needed.
The wood floor groaned as she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him, and reveling in the warmth of his around her. He slowly stroked her hair, as she rested her head on his shoulder.
She could stay here forever.
But she knew that there was more to do before the night was done.
"Want to talk about it?" She asked into his shoulder.
He squeezed her a little tighter. "It's just-" he took a moment to kiss the top of her head before starting again, "you scared me today."
"I remember, SCARred me too." She pulled her head back and rested her forehead against his, so she could look into his eyes, and smirked at her own pun as his thumb brushed against the fresh scar on her stomach. "You make a great knight-in-shining armor by the way. Or hoodie as it were."
He nipped at her nose, causing her to squeak in surprise.
"I'm serious Yang. I felt so powerless…if I lost you…I just don't know." He shook his head.
She cupped his face in her hands. "I know, I'm sorry." She placed a kiss on his lips. "But I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere. You here with me Jaune?"
He smiled at her, and she felt her heart flutter. "Yeah, I'm here with you." He tilted his head down and captured her lips. After what felt like much too short a time, they broke apart again.
He looked away. "Yang…today drove some things home for me. Some mistakes that I can't make again." He swallowed. "I don't want to rush this, but - he fought for the words "I-I lov-"
She placed a finger on his lips and turned his head towards her.
"Then don't rush it, I'm not going anywhere." She smiled at him. "But just so you know, I do you too, you big dork."
He grinned back. "I'm pretty sure that it's my Semblance."
Their lips met again, and her hand found the light switch.
Omake
One for the Road
Glasses clinked together as the three men saluted the day.
"Cheers!" Cloud said. "To making it through another day."
"And what a fucking day it was." Qrow quipped.
"Hey, we took Cinder down, doesn't get much better than that." Jaune said as he tipped his glass back.
"That was your big-bad?" Cloud asked.
"Yeah, real piece of work." The young knight leaned across the table. "But she's done now, watched her fall to her death and everything! It's finally over!"
The older blond stared at him for a second. "...yeah...sure."
Jaune's eyes narrowed. "What do you know, other me?"
The man sighed. "You remember the guy I told you about? False messiah of an ancient evil and all that?"
"Yeaaaahhhh." The younger man affirmed slowly.
"I killed him too."
Jaune grinned.
"...and then I did that shit two more times."
"WHAT!?"
He shrugged. "Sorry kid, you're on the right track. Just two more to go...I hope."
The knight groaned.
"In other bits of bad news," Qrow pointed at another table where Yang and Tifa sat. "That shit can't be good for either of you."
Cloud laughed. "You have no idea the shit she's already dealt with for me, I think I'll be ok." He pointed at Juane. "You kid? You should probably be worried."
"So, you join the dopey, oblivious blond club?" Tifa asked.
"'fraid so." Yang replied, raising her glass.
"Isn't it fucking exhausting?"
Yang groaned. "You have no idea."
The older woman scoffed. "I'm pretty sure I got you beat."
"Is that a challenge?" Yang grinned.
"Bring it." The brown-haired brawler called.
"My competition was a famous fighting champion prodigy. No pressure, right?"
Tifa hummed. "Mine was the last of an ancient race, destined to save the world."
"Damn." Yang tried to rally. "He cross-dressed to save her from embarrassment!"
Tifa raised a glass. "Fair enough." She smirked. "Mine cross-dressed for me."
Yang laughed. "You go girl!"
"What else you got?"
"Mine had severe emotional issues." The young blond challenged.
It took Tifa a few minutes to stop laughing.
She wiped her eyes. "...Oh...that was cute." She chuckled.
Yang winced. "That bad?"
"Thought he was a different person...and I don't mean that in a 'still finding yourself' way."
The blond raised her hands in defeat. "Ok, you got me beat on that one."
The bartender pressed. "How long did it take you to bag him?"
Yang tapped a finger against her lips. "Hmm, I guess I started thinking about it sometime last semester, so about 6 months. What about you? You're beautiful, couldn't have been that bad."
Tifa smiled. "Well thank you." She leaned across the table. "Childhood. Friends."
The younger girl gasped. "No!"
The woman continued. "I even wore this skimpy cowgirl outfit when he came back to town! Nothing! Took like five more years...though he's got a pretty solid excuse for most of those."
"How'd he make up for that shit?"
She stared off dreamily. "Well, he fulfilled a childhood promise to rescue me…"
"Awwww."
"And then we spent our first night together under a giant airship during the end of the world. That was pretty romantic."
Yang grinned. "That sounds amazing!" Her smile fell. "Did your friends find some way to give you shit about it?"
Tifa groaned. "Those fuckers spied on us! What about you?"
"They all listened in."
The older woman held up her hand. "Wait, you know Mistralian houses have no soundproofing right?"
Yang's head hit the table. "I do now."
Cloud shook his head at the antics of the two women.
"Well kid, regardless of how that turns out for us, I'm happy for you. You're a lucky man."
Jaune grinned. "Yeah."
The spiky blond smirked at Qrow. "I see you've stopped complaining."
He took a sip of his drink. "I'm coping."
Cloud laughed. "Well kid, that's about as good as it's going to get."
"I'll take it."
The blue-eyed warrior raised his glass. "I can't promise that the road ahead will be easy, but you guys are ready."
The other men raised their glasses.
He continued. "It's been great getting to know you. I'll see you guys around, until then, fight hard…"
Three glasses clicked together and three voices chorused.
"...fight mean."
Author's Notes:
JJD Thoughts: Well, here we are, almost at the end of the story (at least this arc). Next week will see the Epilogue posted (we've got one last thing to do in Mistral) and then a break before FM continues to roll on.
Before we get in to general talk, let's talk about this chapter in specific. I really thought about Jaune having an even bigger role in the Raven/Cinder/Yang conflict and conversation, but felt that I needed to ease off a little to keep with the 'realistic' Jaune we've been writing (one who'd recently gotten the shit kicked out of him by Mercury) and because I think that's a powerful Mother/Daughter scene, and it's ok to have Jaune be support in that scenario.
Ok, now onto the general writing stuff. This whole thing has been a fucking blast. Starting to write a longform story, meeting up with Cr00cy, and the many many awesome interactions I've gotten to have with you all. Seriously, the back and forths on PM and in reviews has been about as fun as writing the story itself. It's also made me want to do better in the future with my writing.
But JJD, why are you pausing on FM? Well voice in my head, for a few reasons:
1 - I feel like a story should say/mean something, and holy shit have we talked about a lot together. We've talked about grief, coping, and moving on, which I've always felt make the heart of FM (along with copious amounts of snark). We've talked about why we like Jaune, what it means to be a man, and what it means to be a good friend/family. It's been a great journey, but I need to scout out where we're going next and what we're going to talk about next.
2 - Cr00cy is the bomb and it's his turn to lead. Cr00cy has definitely been critical in making FM what it is today, it just wouldn't be the same story without him. He approached me with a story he wants to tell, and so we're going to tell it. Look out for a preview to drop with the Epilogue next week.
3 - I can do better. FM just kinda...happened. It started as a quick one-shot, then I thought…'we can do more.' Key scenes came into my mind, Qrow finding Jaune with the Pyrrha tape, the drinking game, the Yang/Qrow fight, Jaune confronting Qrow at night, and deleting the Pyrrha video, and I had to work backwards to make those happen. I've been truly humbled by the response, and that's why I want to try to make the next arc even better. I want to actually storyboard and plan this out this time around, so that I have more time to explore the connecting tissue that holds the key scenes together.
So JJD, what will you be doing in the meantime, you lazy fuck? Hurtful. But to answer your question voice, I'll be helping with Cr00cy's story and storyboarding FM's second arc as well as the FF7/RWBY cross-over (it's happening!). Also, I'm going to go through and edit the hell out of FM before the next arc drops, the small mistakes are killing me when I find them.
There's a lot of me in this story, probably too much at times, but it's how it came out. I honestly hope that you've all gotten something out of this story, I know I have. If it's just been entertaining, then that's awesome. If it speaks to you on some deeper level? Even better. Thank you all for sticking with us this far.
I'm always around folks, hit me up if you want to talk. See you next week!
Cr00cy thoughts: First of all I want to thank JJD - working with him was really fun. And if not for his encouragement, the story we are about to deliver to you would have probably forever remained just a vague concept in my head. But since it's happening, I think its good time to provide some info for you:
1)Like JJD said - we will post preview for this story at the end of Epilogue of FM. I will also post it on my account, along with some AN explaining few things about story.
2)First chapter will be posted on following monday. I can't say for sure how often will I be able to post. Best case scenario is weekly updates, but don't hold me to it.
3)I would say that JJD will be beta for this story… but that would be understatement. He is co-author, and don't let him convince you otherwise.
4)I don't want to say too much now, but there will be few similarities, and few differences.
The story will start shortly before our heroes started their first year at Beacon, Jaune will know how to fight, and he will fight mean. There may, or may not be some darker themes in this story, but there WILL be snarky humor. I try to not make Jaune too OOC - but there will be some differences (he will be more confident, for one)
Ok, that's it for now. You will learn more from AN after preview.