Announcing the winner of the poll! It appears that my next work will be Immortal! Apparently all of you like the idea of Jaune being killed off in various horrible ways in between being molested and tossed around like a really annoyed football who has run completely out of f—ks to give. In addition to Immortal, I might actually start another story from the list, but I won't tell you which one. You'll just have to wait and find out.
I do not own RWBY.
Chapter 18: Coming Home To Roost (Pt. 4)
Jaune laughed uproariously as he began to rush straight at the Spider Droid. One hand clutched the handlebar of his cycle, the other gripping one of his twin pistols. The Spider Droid opened fire, but Jaune weaved back and forth, dodging the rapid fusillade of shots while returning a couple of his own, smiling in victory as the massive metal monstrosity was forced back. As the mecha stumbled back by the sheer force from the shot, Jaune gunned the engine even harder. As soon as he was within spitting distance, he slammed on the breaks and turned, causing the large motorcycle to screech into a drift, sliding underneath the massive droid.
Sliding underneath the Spider Droid, Jaune let go of the handlebars and pulled out his second pistol, aimed up and began pumping shots into the underbelly of the Spider Droid, causing sparks and arcs of electricity to dance across its surface. When Thaddeus had mentioned the guns utterly devastating kickback, he wasn't kidding; Jaune could feel a rush of energy flow through his body with every shot fired. He didn't know if he had a limit to the amount of kinetic energy he could absorb, but he didn't wan to find out if one existed. Making sure he was fully behind the Spider Droid and hidden from the eyes of his friends, Jaune holstered his guns and grabbed the handlebars, kicking one foot out at one of the Spider Droid's legs. Focusing all of his absorbed energy into his foot, he made contact with the creature and there was a screeching sound of splitting metal as the creature's leg was actually torn off and launched underneath it.
As Jaune took care of the Spider Droid, Team RWBY had seemed almost energized by the appearance of their long lost friend and were all ready to take on the second Paladin. As Jaune said, the mech managed to get to its feet, and was already making its way towards Jaune as its pilot, whoever they were, noticed the Spider Droid having a difficult time attempting to take on Jaune and his motorcycle. However, a series of shots to its back by Yang caused it to pause its movements and start moving back towards RWBY. It rushed forward and slammed a pile bunker into the ground before it. This was dodged easily though, and retaliated in kind in the form of Crescent Rose slicing across the pneumatic tubes attached to its weapon. There was a hiss as the air was blown through it, rendering the weapon useless.
Completing the trifecta, Ren, Nora, Pyrrha and Sun climbed their way to the top of the wall of steel shipping containers, eventually reaching the top for a perfect sniping point. Team JNPR got in position and stared out over the battlefield. "Whoah..." Sun breathed out, watching as Jaune slid underneath the Spider Droid. A series of ear-splitting blasts signaled Jaune's attack and Pyrrha could help but give a cheer, one that was shared quickly by the rest of Team JNPR. Sun pulled out his scroll and held it up, following Jaune's movements.
"Alright everyone," Ren began, "Let's get ready to- Sun?"
"Er, yeah?" Sun gave a grin.
"What are you doing?"
"Filming Jaune, duh!" Sun gave Ren a thumbs up, who facepalmed.
"Why on Remnant are you filming him? We're supposed to be getting ready for his signal!" Ren glared at Sun as he chastised him.
"'Cause when Ozpin sees this, he has to let Jaune come back!" Sun exclaimed, still following Jaune's progress with his Scroll's camera.
Ren started to speak, but stopped. Nora laughed. "You're right!" She exclaimed happily. "Ozpin will totally have to let him come back when he sees this!"
Pyrrha put a hand on Sun's shoulder with a smile. "Keep filming Sun. We'll handle things from here."
Sun continued filming as Jaune continued riding around the Spider Droid, and if he didn't know any better, he'd swear that the Spider Droid was looking confused by how it moved around as though it didn't know who or what to attack. Whenever it would start making its way towards Team RWBY, Jaune would either shoot it with one of his handguns, or he'd swerve his bike and ram into the mech's legs causing it to buckle temporarily. Eventually the mech began to fire continuous bursts of machine gun fire, following Jaune's movements.
As if he knew he was being filmed, Jaune pulled a tight turn, driving straight at the mech. As the mech began firing, the line of shots leading right up to where Jaune driving. Before the shots could reach him or the bike, Jaune fired another shot, causing the mech's machine gun to be knocked aside. Team JNPR watched in shock as Jaune began to actually stand on the motorcycle as it drove forward, leaping forward and actually stepping onto the mech itself as the motorcycle continued to move underneath the Spider Droid's legs. As he ran across the creature's body, Jaune fired downward, shot after shot as he rushed to the other side of it, leaping over the creature. His timing impeccable, Jaune managed to actually land back onto the motorcycle and drove away from the creature, its movements now stiffer and jerky.
Team JNPR sat, jaws fallen open, stunned and unable to speak. Jaune had literally just performed a trick that they'd never, ever think he could do when he was still at Beacon. Evidently he'd been training like a madman while he went missing, and the fruits of his labor were blindingly obvious. Thaddeus must have been serious when he said that any of them would 'eat dirt' if they tried going toe to toe with him. "H-h-holy shit..." Sun whispered in shock.
"That was incredible!" Pyrrha breathed, eyes lighting up in joy at seeing her partner, her friend, go to town on the Spider Droid.
Back to Team RWBY, the Paladin was finding itself in dire straits as it spun around, trying to knock aside the four girls who were tag-teaming the giant bipedal mech. Yang was fully utilizing her Semblance now, her fists slamming into the creature's arms, attempting to remove them. The new Paladin was made of sterner stuff, however, and it managed to maintain a better stance against the Team.
A sharp whistle from Jaune alerted the Team to his plan and they began to lure the Paladin closer to the mech, The massive bipedal form clanked and clambered its way after them, the pilot surely enraged at how they'd avoided defeat as of yet, as well as caused damage to the Paladin itself. The pilot reared the Paladin's arm back and attempted to punch Ruby, who flickered away in a puff of rose petals. The fist hit the ground, creating a crater in the asphalt below. This turned out to be a massive mistake as a large blue glyph appeared before it and ice suddenly burst from the ground, freezing not only its legs, but the creature's arm as well, causing it to be stuck fast.
"Done and done!" Ruby exclaimed, swinging Crescent Rose around in celebration.
"Step two! Team JNPR, you're up!" Jaune cried out, driving around to the other side of the Spider Mech.
"You heard him!" Nora yelled loudly, "Open fire!"
[Vale – Dockyards – The Queen's Gambit]
"What! No! No! NO!" Roman slammed his fist onto the table before him, biting down on his cigar. Before him was a screen, and on it, a number of different images. From what could be seen, it looked like cameras fixed upon the Spider Mech that was just over the coastline. He had been controlling the Spider Mech from his yacht, and until recently had been doing fairly well. With the two White Fang members causing havoc in the Paladins, Roman was able to keep the two teams on their toes and unable to fight back effectively.
This all changed when that blond kid that Neo was so enamored with suddenly showed up on the biggest motorcycle he'd ever laid eyes on. "Seriously? A f—king Schpelraven V12 Motorcycle? Where the hell did the kind get the kind of Lien for that?! Neo! Your boy toy is screwing everything up!" Roman was almost on the verge of panicking. The blond kid had caused some severe damage to the Spider Mech, and attempting to keep up with the kid was proving to be a losing battle.
Neo's multicolored gaze was utterly stunned, her pink and silver eyes wide in shock. [J-Jaune? But why?! Why are you with them?!]
"This isn't good! They froze the Paladin and-wait...where the hell did the kid go?!" Roman looked at the varying screens. Unfortunately, at least one of the cameras had been taken out by the kids massive handguns and he found himself unable to see out of one direction. "Crap, he's in my blind spot!" Before Roman could move the Spider Droid to remove Jaune from his bike, a sudden explosion slammed into the Spider Droid, throwing its cameras askew. Further more, a number of lights were blinking, causing Roman to give a high-pitched scream.
[What?! What happened? What's going on!?] Neo stuck her head over Roman's shoulder, trying to decipher the control panel.
"Someone just blew off the cover to the exhaust port!" Roman's hands were fiddling with buttons and levers, his eye twitching in rage, panic and fear.
[That's bad?]
"If they get the idea to light the damn thing on fire it'll go up like a damn fireball!" Roman hit a large red button, hoping that a giant laser cannon would give them some room. "If this thing gets taken out, Cinder will burn me alive!"
[Vale – Dockyards]
Jaune grinned as he watched his team unleash a fusillade of gunfire, grenades and even Sun's clones, all of which slammed into the Spider Droid. As they did so, Jaune continued his back and forth driving, unleashing shots of his own, aiming for the joints of the creature. They had a limited amount of time before the Paladin would break free of its icy prison, and Jaune had to work fast before that happened. His hands rushed over the paneling underneath the handlebars, feeling around for something. With a small, almost inaudible click a panel popped open in front of him, a forest green canister sitting in front of him with the words "Property of Atlas Military" written on it. It was a secret weapon his uncle had been so kind to have added to the motorbike before Jaune had ridden off with it.
[Flashback]
Jaune revved the engine of the motorcycle as he burned gas like a madman, the only thought in his mind to save his friends before it was too late. He'd been an idiot, a stubborn fool. It'd been in front of him the entire time. His friends weren't getting mad at him mentioning himself because they were angry at him, or ashamed. They were sorrowful. It was anger born of worry, of concern, of loss. He'd been a right idiot to assume otherwise, but now, he'd fix his mess. With Thaddeus ready to join him at Beacon, he could continue his thievery while being right by his friends' sides. Sure, he'd feel a bit guilty hiding such a secret from them, but in the end, his intentions were mostly good.
"Jaune?" A voice crackled to life in Jaune's ear.
"Uncle Thaddeus?" Jaune asked in confusion, weaving in and out of the cars that were driving back to their homes to avoid the conflict going on.
"Hey, the helmet of yours has a direction connection to my Scroll. Listen up, I've got another surprise for you!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"Underneath the handlebars, there should be a hidden switch. It'll open up a compartment right in front of you. Inside is a secret weapon!"
"What's that?"
"The Spider Droid you're fighting is based off of an older, but successful model with one major flaw. The exhaust port tended to collect a lot of flammable material, and combine that with the highly reactive fuel source the SDC uses, if it got caught on fire, it'd explode. It looks like the Spider Droid your friends are fighting is along the same model, but it's got what looks like more advanced AI. I'd swear someone was controlling it. It's also got armor plating where the exhaust port is, so it's hard to actually get a fireball in there, which is where my little present comes into play."
"How so?" Jaune gunned the engine, going far faster than he had any right to be, but he'd be damned if he got there too late.
"Inside is a grenade that has aerosolized Red No. 6. When you toss it, it'll create a massive cloud of Red Dust that hangs in the air. All you need after that is a spark, and the entire thing will go up like gasolene soaked bundle of tinder! You'll have to make sure the armor plating is removed before you do so, but if you're able to disable it long enough, you can shove the grenade in there and light the thing up. The explosion should be powerful enough to take out the Spider Droid and anything even remotely close!"
"You...you seriously think of everything, don't you!?"
"How else do you think I survived this long?"
[End Flashback]
Jaune could hear Team JNPR's weapons clicking and he knew it was time. He pulled the grenade out of its compartment and closed it, holding the grenade in one hand. Looking about, he saw it, the soot stained exhaust panel, sitting right underneath two of its legs. Jaune revved the engine and quickly passed by the Spider, pulling the pin with his teeth and shoving it into the hole. As Thaddeus had mentioned, a red cloud began to pour forth from the grenade, expanding as Jaune drove past the second Paladin. "Come on guys, behind the shipping containers! This is gonna be a big boom!"
Yang flashed Jaune a mischievous smile and nodded, with Ruby, Weiss and Blake hot on her heels, following Jaune's orders. Team JNPR watched interestedly as Jaune outran the cloud of red smoke. "What on earth is that?" Ren whispered in confusion.
"I have no idea...whatever it is, everyone's trying to avoid it." Nora responded.
"Wait, wait, wait, what the hell is Jaune doing?" Sun exclaimed. Jaune had stopped between the shipping containers and the expanding cloud of gas, doing...something. "Wait...is he lighting a cigarette?!"
Pyrrha, Ren and Nora stared in disbelief as Jaune pulled out a carton and flicked out a cigarette, grabbing it between his teeth. His other hand pulled out a lighter and he light it up, taking a long drag and releasing a cloud of acrid smoke. Pyrrha frowned and glared, crossing her arms underneath her breasts with a huff. "I'm going to have to break him of that habit." She growled, eye twitching.
Jaune continued to smoke, even as the Paladin started to creak and groan, the ice freezing it in place starting to crack. With a smile, Jaune took one last drag of the cigarette and with all the air of a very disinterested litterer, tossed the cigarette butt behind him, the motorcycle roaring to life as he gunned the engine once more and drove behind the stack of boxes, yelling at the top of his lungs, "EVERYONE, GET DOWN!"
Team JNPR quickly leaped from the steel containers, landing to the ground seamlessly. The very moment they touched the ground, there was a sudden loud crackling noise, like a large something catching fire all at once, followed mere seconds later by the loudest explosion that even Nora had heard in ages. A wave of wind from the shock wave blew past the shipping containers, blowing about trash and even a trash can past their barricade of containers. When the blast had died down, everyone fixed each other with a stunned look and slowly made their way from behind the containers, gazing at the massive fireball that rose into the sky.
For a few moments, the only sound that could be heard was the roar of crackling flames and the sound of metal falling apart as the Spider Droid fell apart, looking twisted and burned in the wake of the massive explosion. It was barely recognizable in its ruined state. No one spoke a word as they watched the flames continue to rise.
It was Jaune who broke the silence, proceeding to whistle the Final Fantasy victory theme as he pulled yet another cigarette out of a pocket in his coat and lit it up, taking a smoke. There was more silence, then; "Can I have one?" Sun asked. Silently Jaune handed another cigarette in Sun's direction, the monkey Faunus grabbing it. "Got a light?" Jaune complied, flicking open his lighter and letting Sun light up.
After a few more moments, Pyrrha turned slowly to Jaune, who was still smoking, his gaze facing forward. Deftly, she reached forward, grabbing the cigarette from Jaune's lips and threw it to the ground, stomping on it with the high-heel of her boots. "H-hey!" Jaune shouted, frowning. "I was smoking that!"
Without another word, Pyrrha suddenly threw herself into his arms again, resting her face against his chest. He was there. He was real. It wasn't just some nice dream, Jaune was back. Unable to stop herself, she began to sniffle, crying into his chest. "You're back...you're really back..."
Jaune gave a nervous grin, scratching the back of his head with one hand while the other wrapped itself around Pyrrha. "Y-yeah...I am."
"I...I missed you so much Jaune...so much..." She continued, sniffling as she held him tightly.
Jaune looked around to see everyone else staring at him, with varying degrees of happiness. He stopped when he got to Ruby, who was staring at him and fidgeting, forcing Jaune to hold back his laughter. "Hey, Pyrrha? You can hug me as much as you want when we get back to Beacon, but for now, I think you should give everyone else a chance."
Pyrrha nodded again, wiping her eyes as she very, very hesitantly disentangled herself from Jaune. No sooner had she done so than Jaune felt someone else suddenly push themselves against him, and looked down to see Ruby hugging him tightly. "You're okay!" Ruby shouted, looking up at him with watery silver eyes.
Jaune softly ran a hand through her hair and smiled warmly down at her. "Sure am, Rubes."
Ruby wiped her own eyes, stepping back. Jaune smiled and looked up...only for another person to pull him into an embrace, just as tight as Pyrrha and Ruby did. "Jaune-Jaune!' Nora exclaimed, hugging him. "That was so super cool with the guns and the explosion and the motorcycle and-"
Jaune cut her off with a laugh. "Breathe Nora! I'd feel terrible if you passed out!"
Nora had the decency to at least blush a bit before letting him go. Jaune assumed that the hugging was done, even as he got off of the massively long motorcycle. He was soon proven wrong however, and much to his shock, found himself staring down at a head of white hair? Weiss looked up at him, with a very small frown. "Hmph. You get one." She muttered, tightening her grip on him.
His only response was to smile softly and in a very warm tone, respond back with, "Thanks, Weiss."
This was evidently the right answer as Weiss let go, smiling at him. Jaune suddenly felt himself being pulled aside by Yang, who much to his surprise was staring at him with a very serious expression. "Jaune. I'm going to deadly serious here."
Jaune froze, grimacing. She's going to beat the crap out of me for worrying Ruby, isn't she? He swallowed hard and nodded. "G-gotcha."
"I...am seriously kinda turned on right now." Yang replied, nodding sage.
Jaune deadpanned and smacked himself in the forehead. "Moving on!" He shouted, turning towards Blake. He extended a hand, only to be met with an amused smirk.
"Oh, I see. Everyone else gets a hug and I get a handshake. I see how it is." Blake teased, earning a sputtered response from Jaune as he withdrew his hand, trying to explain himself.
"I-I-just didn't want to assume anything!" He shouted, nervously stepping forward. The cat Faunus stepped forward as well, embracing Jaune softly.
"Good to have you back Jaune." The hug was brief, but Jaune felt much better, knowing that everyone had been so happy to see him back.
Jaune scratched the back of his head even as Pyrrha immediately stepped forward once more and hugged him again. She seemed bound and determined to spend as much time holding him as possible, and if he was being honest with himself, he didn't mind one bit. "So...um...yeah." He replied, lamely.
"You're coming back to Beacon?" Ren asked. His tone though made it clear that it wasn't a question, but an order.
Shaking his head with a chuckle, he looked down at Pyrrha who was clinging to him as though she were terrified he'd run off again. "Doesn't look like I've got much of a choice. Do have a request though."
"What's that?"
"I need to stop back at my Uncle's place. I didn't bring my luggage along for obvious reasons." Jaune looked down again at Pyrrha and with a small chuckle hugged her once more. "And yes, Pyrrha, you can come along with."
Pyrrha looked up at him, her emerald eyes sparkling, lips turned up in the happiest smile he'd ever seen on her, and Jaune knew he'd made the right decision.
[Vale – Dockyards – The Queen's Gambit]
Roman sat at the console, his face pale and mouth hanging open in shock. The screens before him were all showing static and the lights denoting each function of the Spider Droid were completely shut off. He whimpered, running his hands over his face. "That's it. I'm dead."
[…] Neo was strangely silent.
He looked up at Neo and groaned. "Seriously? He's obviously working with this Beacon kids, so why the hell do you look so broken up?"
[I...I liked him. I thought he was in our line of work! I mean he came to you for Dust, didn't he?] Neo's eyes widened, looking almost desperate.
"Evidently, he was just getting Dust through back channels or something, I don't know!" Roman threw his hands up. "All I know is I'm as good as dead, and it's all his fault!"
Neo fell silent again, her eyes turned downwards. Roman wasn't paying attention as he bemoaned his eventual fate, but was surprised when he heard Neo 'speak' up again, quietly. [Fine. If that's how things are going to be, I'll just have to sneak into Beacon then.]
"Er, what?"
[I can convince Cinder to let me go to Beacon under a disguise, probably as Mint, and from there, I'll simply convince Jaune to come to our side. Once he falls in love with me, he'll abandon those idiots and we'll have someone else on our side. I can even spy for her while I'm there.]
Roman would have argued with her, but the look in her eyes actually sent a shiver down his spine. Neo was dead serious about Jaune, and it was honestly starting to worry the older criminal. Maybe if he was lucky, Cinder would be more interested in Neo's infiltration of Beacon to hold off his execution…
Author's Note: Oh bloody hell, why did I write this? Oh, right, because I love you bastards and I want to bring you another chapter. Staying up waaaay too late is just another side effect of being an author. But yes, Jaune and his friends are now officially together, with a victory under their belts! Neo however has plans, and when they come to fruition, can Jaune and company survive? Will Jaune be able to resist Mint's charms? Will Pyrrha finally be able to break Jaune of his smoking habit? Will LaughingLefou actually get a decent sleeping schedule? Only one more chapter left before this comes to a close, and there are still many questions remaining.
And as always, remember to leave a review!