A/N: I hope this chapter isn't too weird. This one was hard for me to do. Another A/N at the bottom. Hope y'all think it's okay :)
That guy: Second best chapter? Not first? K.
Mangetsu: …No. I can't. XD
Guest 1: *Starts theme of twilight zone*
Guest 2: Lul, I completely forgot that's what happens when you activate Aura.
MoreOremoeemore: :)
Woop: I sure hope so XD
Dreams weren't something of real importance to Jaune. Normally his dreamscape was pretty benign, something that was hardly worth mentioning. Even his nightmares were something that barely rated a passing glance. This time was different. The dream was hard to describe, and if Jaune was forced to shape his dream into words, he would say that a feeling was constantly attacking him, suffocating him. It wasn't that he had a feeling, but rather an emotion was lashing out at him, as if anger or despair was attacking him. Tossing and turning, it was only a matter of time that Jaune would wake up, finding no sanctuary in his mind.
It was starting to feel like Jaune ended up in the hospital more times than he's been in his own apartment. As he came to, it was in a way that was much slower than what was described when people woke up from nightmares in movies. It was a state of relaxation to a state of more and more tenseness, the feeling only subsiding when he heard the steady beeping of the heart monitor, relaxing again with the thought that he was in a hospital bed.
Heh. I wonder if they've just started to reserve a bed for me at this point. Jaune thought to himself groggily, cracking open his eyes and wincing at the bright light shining into his eyes.
That was a big difference from the last time that he was hospitalized. Sure, there was a window there, but it wasn't so close to his bedside, not allowing any of the sunlight to hit him directly in the face. It took a little while for Jaune to get used to the glare, one of his arms automatically coming up and shielding his eyes, only lowering when he slowly regained his vision.
Another difference was the amount of people that were surrounding his bed. Namely, there was no one around him, the room he was staying in actually quiet, the only noises being the machinery that was monitoring him. The blond took a casual glance around, noting the amount of differences between his last room and this one, finding this room to be a little bigger, and have more beds. The machinery looked a little weird too, there being a lot of monitors with strange symbols and abbreviations that Jaune couldn't make heads or tails out of, a little uncomfortable with the amount of things clipped onto his body.
The room wasn't white, which was strange, seeing as how Jaune had always imagined that hospitals took their time to douse their interiors with white paint, making everything inside look sort of ethereal, as if one had already taken a step towards leaving Remnant. This room was a warmer color, a quiet blue with a few dark red accents, leaving Jaune feeling both relaxed a little cautious, not sure what kind of room he was in any more.
"I see you're awake, Mr. Arc."
Jaune physically jumped at hearing those words, the wires attached to him rattling as they hit each other, bouncing around haphazardly. Curtains parted around him and revealed a man of indescribable age, both young and old at the same time. He seemed to be somewhere around his fifties… but maybe not. He also seemed to look like a man of immeasurable energy, but clearly demonstrated patience and a calm movement that betrayed nothing, a mug lifting gracefully towards his lips as he slowly took a sip, eyes steadily on Jaune as he waited for… something.
The Headmaster of Beacon himself, the enigmatic Ozpin. Jaune was able to pin him down due to a lot of the reputation that the man had cultivated in Vale, hearing hundreds of stories of hundreds of people about who the man was. Everyone who had even heard of Vale as a kingdom knew the man, and seemed to have at least one tall tale about his achievements, and rumors of what he can or can't do.
Looking at the man sitting beside him, Jaune started to doubt in some of the stories. Primarily, the fact that many people claimed that they weren't true, or just exaggerations. The cane leaning against the man's chair gleamed against the morning sun, causing Jaune to tear his sight away from Ozpin.
"W-what—" Jaune started coughing, his throat protesting at the fact that he tried to speak, closing up on him momentarily. A hand hovered in front of him, a cup of water offered to Jaune, who gladly took it and started to drink, the muscles in his throat beginning to loosen up with every gulp that he took. As his body started to process the water, and his mind started to work a little better, Jaune started to take note of the injuries that he had accumulated, knowing that he had racked up quite the count when he was trying to save that little boy. Something was wrong though, his mind whispered to him. Blue eyes widened quickly, Jaune moving rapidly as he started to pat up and down his body, quickly tearing off some of the wires that had been attached to him.
Standing up, Jaune loosened his hospital gown, letting it fall to the floor as he surveyed the damage on his body… and finding nothing.
Sure, there were still the old injuries that he had gotten, like the ones from fighting the Beowulves, and a few nicks and scratches from other past 'adventures'. But when it came to the burns and bruises and cuts that he should have on his body from running headfirst into a burning building?
There was nothing.
"H-how long was I out?" Jaune gasped, craning his neck backwards to try and look at his back, which was as spotless as his front. He turned towards the Headmaster, face flushing red as he realized that he had just disrobed in front of the man. A quick scramble was enough to salvage a fraction of his lost dignity, the boy clumsily tying the robe back to cover himself.
"You were brought in two days ago," Professor Ozpin said, his eyes thankfully having stayed on Jaune's face throughout the whole thing. "Usually, you would be monitored at the Vale General Hospital, but instead, we have decided to keep you monitored at Beacon at the moment, due to some… extenuating circumstances." The man's eyes crinkled in amusement as he took another sip out of his mug, the quiet exhale masking the slight smile on his face. "I can understand that the shock could cause… erratic behavior."
Jaune blushed at the words, muttering some half-apology to the man before getting back into his bed, not bothering to use the paper thin sheets to cover himself. Strangely, although Jaune could hear the groaning of the air conditioning that was being blasted into the room, he didn't feel a hint of cold. He actually felt kind of warm, now that he thought about it.
"Two days, huh." Jaune muttered to himself, looking down at his lap. While he was out for two days, that didn't really explain how all of his injuries seemed to have vanished. After all, there were some seriously bad things that happened to him. If Jaune recalled correctly, he should've had a few holes in his torso, big enough that people would be able to see through him if necessary.
Yet, nothing.
Jaune clutched his head, although he didn't feel a headache coming. It all didn't make sense to him, but he had a feeling that he could solve this puzzle if he put the right pieces into place. The boy glanced at Professor Ozpin, who was sitting there as if he had done so the whole day, happily humming a tune while holding his mug in his lap.
Why was he here? Why was one of the most powerful men on Remnant sitting next to Jaune as if it was nothing, as if the blond was someone important to the man?
"Why're you here?" Jaune asked callously, too tired to try and phrase the question politely. The older man made a noise of amusement, his fingers tapping against the side of the mug as he held it. The small glasses that the grayed man wore shined as he tilted his head downwards, his sharp eyes peering over the rims.
"Why do you think?" The man questioned back, making Jaune furrow his brow. "In fact, a more clarifying question could be, why are you here? And why are we here? But I think that the question that will lead to all of your answers should be… what was the last thing you remembered?"
What was the last thing Jaune remembered? His mind struggled to go back two days ago, to try and remember the events leading to him landing in the Beacon infirmary.
He remembered huddling inside of the bar, waiting for Professor Goodwitch to rescue him. He remembered the Grimm invading, as well as Cinder saving him and trying to lead him towards a safe place. He remembered the crying mother, and arguing with Cinder to save the kid, and running into the burning building.
He remembered saving the little boy, and leading him out, someone beside him whispering to him on how to get the boy out.
His heart seemed to pick up the pace the longer Jaune thought about that day, the heart monitor picking up the increase in anxiety.
What had happened afterwards? Did he crawl out after the little boy? No, that can't be right, he didn't remember getting stabbed through the torso any time before that, but he also distinctly remembered something going through him. The energy it took for him to try and conjure up the memory was stressing him out, drops of sweat falling from his brow, his hands starting to visibly shake.
Fingers came close to Jaune, aiming at his neck, and the boy snapped into sudden action, one of his arms flailing outwards, slapping the fingers away from him.
The room came back to him in a rush, the Headmaster looking at Jaune calmly, his hand falling back and finding rest on the man's knee.
"There seems to be a distinct shape of bruises around your neck." The man said calmly, apparently not bothered by the fact that Jaune had all but attacked the man's hand just a moment before. "It's strange, because the bruises should have faded by now, even without Aura."
Bruises? Aura? Wh-
Jaune remembered.
He remembered the woman that had a grip of iron, pulling him back into his death. The woman that didn't look like anything he had ever seen, more fearsome than any Grimm he had ever seen or heard of. He remembered her low, seductive voice that wouldn't have seen out of the blue in a cabaret, but instead was used to instill a feeling of despair and hopelessness in a situation that was already filled with both.
He remembered her casual viciousness, the serene expression on her face that didn't seem very appropriate to the task of outright murdering him.
"Jaune!"
He remembered how tired, how hopeless, how terrified he had been in the presence of her, how difficult it was to breathe just standing next to her.
"Jaune!"
He remembered so much. He remembered too much. He remembered-
"Jaune."
His name was accompanied by something warm wrapping around his shoulders, and his arms, and his whole body, snapping him out of his trance. He didn't realize he was crying until he felt the tears fall onto his cheeks. Faintly, his hearing returned to him, the rushing of blood finally quieting down, the heart monitor coming in first, the sound of its beat more appropriate for a rock band than it was for someone's heartbeat.
"It's alright Jaune. I've got you."
And Jaune could see again, over his tears and his sprinting mind, Jaune could see blonde hair and the familiar scent of jasmine and vanilla, something he always caught a slight waft of when he hugged a certain Headmistress of Beacon after a heart-to-heart. It was familiar. And it reminded him of something better. Something safer.
Jaune's hands lifted, and he wrapped himself into her embrace, letting his guard drop and his shoulders, head, body shake, letting the fear flow out of him, to be shouldered on Professor Goodwitch.
"I've got you." She repeated, rubbing slow circles into his back, continuing to say things that Jaune couldn't exactly hear, but needed to listen for to calm down.
Separating was harder than Jaune thought, the sudden absence of warmth making Jaune shake a little. It quickly subsided when he felt his hand grasped tightly in Goodwitch's hand, allowing him to focus again. All throughout the whole… episode, the Headmaster sat there, calm and unflappable, the mug once again lifting into the air.
"I-" Jaune started to say, only to be stopped by the Headmaster's solitary finger, the boy blinking as the man procured a plate of chicken nuggets from what seemed like thin air, placing them on Jaune's lap.
"It's been a while since you've had a full meal. Unfortunately, those were all I could procure at such an odd time, but I hope it will suffice."
Jaune stared at the plate, at the little dinosaurs that were lying there, neatly placed to portray something. The picture was there, but Jaune couldn't really see it, and wasn't sure he really wanted to. All he knew was that the man had handed him a pile of chicken nuggets, something only his parents had done when they knew he needed a real pick-me-up, served with a smile.
His stomach agreed with the thought, grumbling loudly to announce that it was ready to be fed, and was quick to demand a sacrifice for its hunger.
Tenderly Jaune picked up the first nugget, ignoring his obvious hunger, and looked at the man sitting in front of him, uncertain expression clear on the blond's face. Professor Ozpin simply kept his small smile, waiting patiently for Jaune to ingest the tiny T-Rex chicken nugget. The first bite was tentative, flavor almost exploding into his mouth as he took it in, closing his eyes briefly as he chewed. The second one went down his gullet a little faster, the third one quickly following.
It wasn't long before the plate had been completely cleaned of its nuggets, Jaune devoting his time stuffing his face with as many as he could, as fast as he could. It was a little harder with only one hand, but he managed to do it in a quick and concise manner, even go so far as to smile a little after he finished, not caring that he probably had a ton of crumbs all around his mouth.
"Thank you." Jaune whispered, happy that his nerves had settled. The man simply smiled and nodded, leaning forwards to grab the tray and remove it from Jaune's lap, transferring it to his own.
"Now, I'm sure this subject is a little… difficult for you," the Headmaster said, tilting his mug towards the various machinery surround Jaune. "But it is of the utmost importance that we know what happened to you while you were in that building." Jaune looked nervously at the Ozpin, whose fierce stare seemed to go straight through Jaune.
"Ozpin." Professor Goodwitch said the man's name sharply, turning to him. Her expression was hidden from Jaune's angle, but something was communicated between them, and the grayed man sighed, nodding.
"But, I guess we could leave that for another day." Professor Ozpin stood up, taking a hold of his cane and tapping it against the metal frame of the bed. "After all, your memories won't simply just up and run away any time soon." The man chuckled quietly, an inside joke that only he seemed to understand as he turned around and headed out of the room, his cane punctuating every other step that he took. He stopped for a second, turning to look at the other adult in the room. "Spend some time with him Glynda. A little bit of company never hurt anyone. And you won't have to worry about any interruptions today." He leaned over, but his whisper was still loud enough for Jaune to hear. "I've given strict instructions to keep everyone else out to give Mr. Arc some rest." The woman nodded, settling back down in her seat, having half-risen when the Headmaster had begun to head out.
Jaune watched him leave with Glynda, the two of them keeping their eyes on him until the doors to the infirmary swung shut, clicking shut to give the two of them a bit of privacy.
The blond boy looked at his… at Professor Goodwitch, who looked back. Her expression was soft, gentle, a small smile on her face as she looked at him, her hand still wrapped comfortingly on his.
"How're you feeling now, Jaune?" She asked quietly, the worry actually showing on her face. Jaune thought about the question, and how to answer. Physically, he's never felt better. Mentally…
There was something lurking behind his mind, and he wasn't sure he wanted to poke at whatever it was.
"You were the one who saved me, right?" Jaune decided not to answer her question, hoping that by deflecting he wouldn't have to think about whether or not he was really 'alright'. The blonde witch frowned a little, the topic change obvious enough that anyone would've been able to spot it. Nevertheless, she nodded, her eyes flicking downwards briefly before she answered.
"Yes. You were hurt badly, Jaune. And… and the only thing I could do for you was to… activate your Aura." She said the words as if she had committed the worst of sins, looking away from the boy. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Jaune asked, wondering what she meant. "Why sorry? Are you… are you sorry that you saved my life?"
"No!" She surged up, hand tightening around his as she said the word, eyes fierce. "I would never be sorry about something like that."
"Then what?" Jaune demanded, lowering his eyes to their clasped hands. "What do you mean by sorry?"
The blonde teacher didn't answer, at least not right away.
"Activating Aura is… a risky thing." Glynda said. "There are certain factors and… side effects that come with having Aura."
"For example, activating Aura comes with a sort of… force field that protects you for a certain amount of time, until you take too much damage." Jaune nodded. He wasn't a Huntsman, but he still knew the basics of aura. It wasn't like it was some closely guarded secret or anything. What he didn't understand was why the professor needed to rehash something like this.
"What is Aura activation?" Professor Goodwitch said, looking at Jaune. "Aura activation is when someone who has already unlocked their Aura decides to reach in and… sort of invigorate the soul. Awaken it, to put it simple terms." She shook her head, a small frown on her face. "There's not a lot we really know about Aura's and the effects of activating it, but… there is a few things that we can say for sure about it." Jaune looked at the woman expectantly, his interest peaked from the new knowledge. The professor took a glance at Jaune to see him fully invested in the conversation, and sighed.
"Aura tends to lead to misfortune."
"…What?" Jaune tilted his head to the side. Professor Goodwitch nodded, continuing to talk.
"There is… a very noticeable trait that people with aura have. No matter the personality, the occupation, the… anything." Another sigh left her. "Misfortune follows aura like a shadow, always present and ready to strike."
Jaune crinkled his brow. "I- I don't get it." He confessed, rubbing the back of his neck. "So, having aura makes you.. unlucky? Is that it?"
"Not exactly." The professor shook her head, biting her lip as she tried to explain this to Jaune. "For several centuries, people have constantly studied aura, and the workings behind it. What they've found is that something… happens to people after they've have their aura unlocked. A change, not in their personalities, not in the physique, although those two changes also happen fairly often." The professor turned to look outside the window, an expression that Jaune couldn't name resting on her face.
"Things start to happen to people after their aura's are unlocked. Disasters strike, famines happen… Grimm start hunting." Professor Goodwitch closed her eyes, reciting something that she had memorized from heart. "The power of Aura has changed the destiny of Mankind. It has unlocked the potential of something greater… but also opened something we can never lock away. As far as we have grown under the protection of aura, we have continued to edge the line of collapse." The professor opened her eyes, looking straight at Jaune.
"Do you ever wonder why we don't just simply unlock everyone's aura the moment they were born?"
Jaune hesitated in answering the question, before he nodded tentatively. "I've thought, yes." The blonde woman nodded, lips pursed.
"It's not an uncommon question. Many have bandied it around, and civilians ask that kind of question every day. Why don't we have aura? Why is it that only the select few can have this protection?" The woman brushed her bangs to the side. "To be honest, there used to be a time where everyone did have aura. It was a long time ago, but it had happened." Her expression grew stormy, her words quieting down. "It's a history lesson taught to all Huntsmen and Huntresses towards the end of their time at Beacon, as a reminder that you cannot save everyone, even if you unlocked every dying, disabled, diseased person you find."
"What happened?" Jaune whispered, wanting to know.
"We perished." Professor Goodwitch said simply. "We swelled to a population of hundreds of thousands, started to create lands and cities to live in… and disaster struck. We, as a society, aren't completely sure what had happened, but it was as if people had just disappeared from thin air. The people that didn't just vanish were torn apart by Grimm that have never been documented before, and have never been seen since."
"Civilization as we know it failed."
The words seemed daunting, the hairs on Jaune's arms standing up, an eerie feeling surrounding the two of them.
"Aura has been described as a lot of things," Glynda continued explaining, breaking the tense mood for a second. "It's been seen as a shield to the soul, an enhancer for mankind. But there's one description that I like to think of when I consider Aura." She gazed up towards the ceiling, seemingly lost in a trance.
"Points of destiny." She said. "I heard it being called that one day, long ago, and the words just stuck to me. It's hard to describe it to you as you are now, but the more you come into contact with others like you, the more you realize how inconsistent Aura can be."
"There are moments where you can take a mountain collapsing on top of you, and walk out of it as if it had been made out of vapors, while other times, you take one grazing blow and the Aura shatters." Glynda spread out her fingers, showing a visual representation of what she was describing. "It makes you think of whether or not Aura is really there to protect you, or… lead you to a certain destiny."
Jaune blinked rapidly, starting to lose grasp of this conversation. It seemed all very strange to him, and by the expression on Professor Goodwitch's face, she knew how strange she must have sounded too. The woman chuckled a little, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry. I must be sounding a little… overzealous. Forgive me if I've lost you. Blame it on the professor in me." She reached over with her free hand and pet Jaune's hand.
"Let me try again, in simpler terms." She raised a single finger up in the air. "Aura is, and will always be, something that attracts danger. There are very few, very. Few. Huntsmen and Huntresses who live to die peacefully. Given, Aura has a way of elongating one's lifespan, but a majority of Huntsmen… die before they see their grandchildren."
"This is also the same case with groups of Huntsmen. Every Academy has a strict quota of how many people can be accepted and reside in them at one time, making sure that we do not have too many people with Aura at the same time."
"What happens when there's too many people with Aura in the same place?" Jaune asked. Professor Goodwitch shrugged, a rare gesture for someone so usually composed.
"It is uncertain. The last… incident involved the first Great War, while the incident before that caused an entire island to disappear of the face of Remnant." Again the woman shrugged. "We don't know for a fact what will happen, we just know that it will end badly."
Jaune's back hit against the headboard of the bed, mind swirling with information. Professor Goodwitch gave him a little time to ingest what he had just learned before gently pulling him back to her, making sure that he could hear the next words.
"It's not just some vague curse for you to look for in the distant future either, Jaune." She said, his eyes turned to her, the question not needed to be asked. "It's also a warning for everyone and anyone who wants their aura unlocked. You'll notice it soon Jaune. Things will happen around you. Things that will make you want to help, or if you don't, will involve you anyways. Your life will constantly be endangered, or at least that will be what it feels like during the first few months." Glynda took Jaune's other hand and help both of them, looking deep into his eyes, making sure that he understood.
"The reason why I apologized for activating your Aura is because of this. Some people do not view Aura as a blessing, but as a curse. And that's why it is frowned upon to unlock someone's aura without permission."
"Even if it's to save their life?" Jaune asked, clearly objecting to this point of view.
"Especially so." The blonde answered back. "After all, why would you ever want to experience the pain of death twice?"
"That's stupid." Jaune said firmly, gripping Glynda's hands tightly. "You saved my life, Glynda. And I will always be grateful to you."
The woman smiled, the worry lines around her face disappearing as she did so. "Thank you Jaune," She said. "Even if I know you wouldn't mind, it's nice to hear it."
"Of course," Jaune said, smiling back. "I'd be stupid to get mad at you for saving me." The comment made her laugh, a warm feeling suffusing through Jaune as she did so.
Finally, Jaune was able to let go of her hands, feeling slightly better about himself. There was a lot to think about, what Professor Goodwitch said, but one thing really stuck in his mind.
"So, I've really got Aura now, huh?" Jaune murmured, looking at his hands. "I don't really feel any different. Maybe a little lighter."
"Most people don't." The professor said. "To be honest, there shouldn't be much of a change. There wasn't anything added to you after all, your soul has simply become a little more adamant in keeping your body safe." Jaune bobbed his head up and down, his mind still having a hard time believing that he had gained an aura—one step closer to reaching that everlasting goal of becoming a Huntsman.
Or at least, it was what he had always wanted to become.
Standing on the edge of life and death twice now, Jaune wasn't sure if he was willing to put his life on the line for the rest of his life. Saving people was... right, but when it came to everything else? The Grimm out to kill you for no reason other than killing you, or crazy psychopaths that gave cryptic advice...
That part of being a Huntsman made Jaune's stomach roll. And it wasn't as if Jaune could pick and choose which parts of a Huntsman he wanted to be.
The silence had stretched on long enough for Professor Goodwitch to worry a little. She leaned in close, looking at Jaune, who was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice her moving. The urge to comfort him was still running strong in her veins, and the only way she could think of helping him out of his dark thoughts were a few simple, warm touches, something that seemed to affect him greatly. Upon closer inspection, Glynda found marks on his cheeks similar to marks made by bird talons, and raised a hand to touch them, wondering how they haven't healed.
The movement caught Jaune's eyes like no other movement had, a woman's hand reaching out towards his cheek, where they would claw and pierce his skin, make him scream before making him scream even more. He didn't want that.
His body moved faster than he could ever imagine it to, pressing himself as flat against the backboard of the bed, both of his hands jumping upwards to shield his face, knees drawn up protectively. He tried to quiet any noise that would come out of his throat, but a small 'no' still managed to leave, the breathy whisper causing the hand to falter.
The hand withdrew itself, falling beside Professor Goodwitch, whose pained face made it obvious that seeing Jaune like this hurt her deeply. Frustration took over, then anger and indignation at why someone would do something like this to the boy, hurt and damage the boy more than he already was.
Whoever did this was an absolute monster, Glynda thought as she sat there beside the huddled Jaune, unable to help him, not knowing what gesture would trigger him or not. And that's what hurt more than anything.
A/N: Again, I feel like there's a lot of exposition, but I was sort of interested in covering the subject of Aura, and the ever present thought of 'why doesn't everyone just have their Aura's unlocked? Wouldn't that make things easier?' Hopefully my explanation doesn't seem way out of left field, and I assumed that the situation would be the best time for it.