Here comes ch 28.
Jaune tapped on his desk, annoyed. Why couldn't this class end already? He had places to be.
With a quiet sigh, he glanced at clock mounted just above blackboard. Damn thing was mocking him, its pointers moving at least three times slower than they should.
Just a little bit more…
Seconds dragged on endlessly, as Jaune tried to will time to flow faster. Just thirty seconds more…
Twenty…
Ten…
Jaune was on his feet the moment bell sounded. Finally, classes for the day were over! He didn't have supplementary lessons with Oobleck today either, and while he probably should explain a few more things about Wraiths to his friends, they should be fine if he postponed it a little, right?
Of course they would. Now he was free, and nothing would…
"All first year team leaders, please stay behind." Dr Oobleck called out.
...stop him.
Jaune cursed, his eyes darting towards the door. What would happen if he pretended he hadn't heard his teacher? It probably wasn't anything too important anyway, he could always ask Ruby what it was about later, right?
"Come closer, everyone, don't be shy. You too, Mr. Arc, and hurry up, let's not waste our time."
Well, that last statement was something Jaune could get behind at least. With a heavy sigh, and one last longing glance towards the door, he moved closer to Dr. Oobleck's desk, standing next to Ruby, and as far away from Cardin as possible. It had been a while since anyone from team CRDL tried to bully him, but he still prefered to not get too close to them.
"I'll keep it brief." Oobleck began when they all gathered.
Sounds good to me. Thought Jaune.
"After analyzing the performance of all first year teams so far, we've come to conclusion that while most of you are very skilled individually, most teams lack in terms of… well teamwork."
Jaune nodded. He couldn't help but agree - most group exercises they had done so far ended up with everyone doing their own thing, hoping for the best. Not many teams showed anything even remotely resembling team tactics.
"That's why we decided to introduce supplementary lessons for team tactics and leadership."
More lessons? Well, at least they would be about something important. And since it's just a supplementary course, it's not like they had to attend them, right?
"These lessons will be mandatory for all team leaders, and they will affect your end of semester grades."
Well, crap. Judging by the several groans, he wasn't only one not too thrilled about the additional workload.
Oh well, at least I'll learn something useful. Jaune smiled a little. Leon always said I'm good leader material.
"So… when do those lessons start?" Someone asked.
Oobleck fixed his glasses.
"Right now. Take your seats."
Jaune froze.
If I run really fast, maybe I can make it to the door before he stops me?
Ruby tugged his sleeve and shot him a smile.
"Come on Jaune. I know you are in a hurry, but I'm sure it won't take too long."
With a heavy sigh blond hunter allowed his friend to pull him towards a seat. She was right. It was only five p.m. He would have plenty of time to do what he needed after this lesson.
Jaune sighed.
He was feeling very conflicted.
On one hand, fate seemed to be determined to keep him at Beacon today. First this new class with Oobleck, then Ruby dragged him to the armory, and after that he had to do some leftover homework for tomorrow. By the time he was done, it was well past nine p.m. - far too late to do what he had planned.
On the other hand, it was a rather productive day. He did good in Group Tactics class, and this little project he and Ruby had started was looking very promising.
Oh, well. Tomorrow's another day.
"So, you wanted to ask something?" He spoke up. Both teams were gathered in JNPR's dorm room for some late night studying. Judging by the amount of snacks Ruby and Yang brought, Jaune somehow suspected there would be little studying, and a lot of parting.
At least as much as the teachers allowed.
"Yeah, its about Harrowed." Said Ruby. "In those books you gave us, they mentioned there are three classes of Harrowed. But there is little information on these… Aberrations? I was just wondering if you could tell us some more about them."
Jaune hummed. Well, that was a good question.
"I see." He paused for a moment, considering his answer.
"So, you guys know what the main difference between Wraith and Ghoul, right?"
"Ghouls are an animated dead body, that moves thanks to a limited amount of corrupted Aura left in them. Wraiths are made solely out of corrupted Aura, and they do not have physical bodies. This makes them…"
"Ok, Weiss that is enough. "Jaune said with a smile, ignoring the annoyed huff from the heiress." As Weiss said, there is a clear difference between a Ghoul and a Wraith. This is also represented in how you fight them. While there are differences between individual cases, every Ghoul will act in a similar way - try to ambush you, if that doesn't work, try to charge at you and tackle you down, and so on. Wraiths will generally stick close to the place they died, and every Wraith has a similar set of special abilities. Aberrations however, are different. They share traits with the two other categories. You can meet one that is big and bulky, but for example can breath fire. Or another that is more ghost-like, but doesn't have any special abilities. There is no universal rules to fighting one, you have to adapt."
"What's interesting is that there is no confirmed appearance of two identical Aberrations. Every single one encountered behaved, and looked, differently. Some of them more than others, but still there were differences. What's even worse is that, without Aura vision, it's hard to tell for sure if you killed one for good or not."
"There are some that can control objects, people, or even Grimm like puppets. There are some that can produce copies of themselves. There are records of ones that went through multiple stages of evolution, like some kind of insects. I've even heard of instances where they started colonies, similar to ants or bees. There really is no rhyme or reason to an Aberration."
"So… they can basically be anything?" Asked Yang.
Jaune sighed.
"Yeah. Any Harrowed that doesn't fit into any of the other categories is called an Aberration. Any other questions?
"Could you tell us more about Wraiths and their abilities? You mentioned earlier that their attacks are telegraphed, and from what I saw yesterday, it seems to be true." Said Ren.
"Well, yeah. While there might be some variations, most Wraiths have a few special abilities. Like I already mentioned, they can absorb Aura from their surroundings, they can dash short distances, and turn incorporeal. On top of that, every Wraith has the ability to attack a wide area around them, usually around ten to fifteen meters. They have also have a sort of lock-on attack, that will follow you even if you try to run. And of course there is their rage attack. It's always either a scream, or a very bright flash. Sometime a mix of both. After they use it, you definitely want to end the fight as fast as possible."
"Why?"
"Well… Wraiths use Aura for their special attacks. And since they are made out of it, they usually are pretty conservative in using their abilities. But after their rage attack, they're going berserk, and just spam them all the time, usually with more power too. So it's dangerous to drag it out, and if a Wraith uses up too much of its Aura, it will disappear, and reform later."
"I see…" Weiss nodded, putting her pen down and looking over the notepad she held.
Wait, she was taking notes?
Jaune shook his head. What was he expecting? It was Weiss afterall.
"Ok, now that lesson time is over, let's get to the real stuff." Yang broke into a grin and threw a can of soda towards blond hunter.
"So, Ladykiller, have some exciting stories from your travels? Or dirty ones?"
"Yang!" Ruby whined.
"Well…" Jaune hummed. "I guess? But I have to warn you, I'm not a good storyteller."
Yang snorted.
"You can't be worse than Peter. Go ahead Ladykiller, hit us with something."
"Ok. So, did I ever tell you guys how I unlocked my Aura? No? Ok, so me and Leon were traveling through Mistral…"
Jaune felt conflicted. And isn't that something he felt far too often lately? Tuesday went well, nothing crazy happening in the school. His supplementary lesson with Oobleck ended earlier, and prof... He meant doctor mentioned that if Jaune did well on the next test, there would be no need to continue them.
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Jaune went straight towards Beacon's air docks. His friends caught him there, and they departed to Vale together.
Only to be grabbed by the police as soon as they left the bullhead.
Thirty minutes later they were sitting in Vale's Police Department main building, waiting for… something.
"So.. did you murder someone recently?" Asked Yang with a smirk, though it was a bit forced. Overall they all looked a bit spooked.
It's almost as if it's first time they've been brought to police station. Jaune thought, looking over his friends.
"No one who wasn't dead already." He answered with a shrug.
There were a few moments of tense silence.
Jaune sighed.
"It was a joke."
Yang groaned.
"Your sense of humor is terrible. Though I should have guessed, after those stories you told us yesterday."
"What? I warned you I'm not a good storyteller!"
"Jaune…" Pyrrha interjected, with the kind of patient smile that a mother might have when explaining something to a child. "I think it's more about what those stories were about, than how you told them…"
Seeing his confused expression, the red haired champion sighed and shook her head.
"Every story you told us had you almost dying, or getting in some very serious trouble."
"Yeah! You shouldn't tell stuff like that at party! You should tell funny ones, or dirty ones, or for lack of anything better inspirational ones!" Yang exclaimed pointing finger at him.
"But I don't have any..."
"If you wanted to tell me that you had no dirty or funny stories, don't waste your breath, I won't believe it. And even if it were the truth - you should just come up with some!"
Jaune smiled. It looked like this little bit of banter helped his friends relax a little. Now, the only problem left was, why he was there? The police officers made it clear they were there for him, and wouldn't take no for answer, but seeing as there were no guns and handcuffs involved, it couldn't be about someone seeing him on the job and getting the wrong idea.
Besides, he hadn't done any jobs in the city for a long while. So what could it be?
His musings were interrupted by one of doors opening and someone who looked like a high ranking police officer walking out, looking over the gathered teens until his eyes meet Jaune's.
"Jaune Arc?"
The blond nodded, getting up.
"That's me."
"Please come inside."
Pyrrha got up, clearly intending to follow him, but he motioned for her to stay. This was definitely a business meeting, and so they wouldn't let someone not involved to get involved. Of course he would share what he was able to when he got out.
When the doors closed behind him, and Jaune took a moment to scan the room he was in. It was spacious, but sparsely decorated. The most prominent piece of furniture was a big, wooden desk, covered in neat piles of paperwork. The police officer who called for him took a seat behind the desk,and motioned for blonde to sit on one of chairs in front of it.
There were two more people in the room.
One, standing next to the police officer, and dressed in a black suit, was definitely a Company agent.
The second, sitting on a chair, and drinking from a hip-flask was a Hunter Jaune recognized as one of Leon acquaintances. What was his name again?
"Qrow, could you at least pretend you are taking this seriously?" Asked the man behind the desk
Ah, right. Drunken Hunter Qrow. How could I forget?
Jaune scoffed. 'Be mean'? What kind of fighting advice was that?
"I am! Pretending that is." He sighed, and looked Jaune over. "Yo, kiddo. You are the one who was in Spring Valley, right?"
Jaune just nodded, taking his seat. The older Hunter looked him, his eyes narrowing.
"Wait, I know you from somewhere."
Jaune shot him smile.
"Was traveling with Leon for a few years. We ran into each other a few times."
"Oh, I remember now! How is the old wolf doing?"
"Pretty well, from what I know. He got himself a nice, cozy job somewhere in northern Atlas."
Qrow blinked and barked a laugh.
"Damn, he must have been thrilled about that."
"Gentlemen, if you've finished your reunion, can we focus on the matter at hand?"
Both Hunters nodded and turned their attention to the man behind the desk.
"My name is Dekar and I'm in charge of investigating the Spring Valley incident. First of all, I would like to thank you Mr. Arc for your help. I know it must have been hard to attend all those hearings, but the information you provided helped us greatly."
"I was glad to help. Is this why I was summoned? Is there anything more I can help with?"
Dekar smiled.
"It's good to see someone so young so eager to do right. And yes there is something you can help us with. It's small matter, but important nonetheless. You see, thanks to the information we gathered, we were able to track down person we believe was responsible for this tragedy. He was spotted in some small village on the border with Mistral over a week ago. A special team was formed to locate, and apprehend him, lead by Mr. Qrow Branwen here."
Jaune tensed. They found him? Why had no one told him! He should have been there, he knew this bastards tricks better than anyone, he could…
"The operation was successful, and suspect was apprehended. We found multiple pieces of evidence on his person, including a substance similar to the one used in Spring Valley, that confirms he was indeed the one responsible. He didn't revealed much in the initial investigation, but what he said was as good as a confession."
Jaune was staring at the man in front of him, barely registering his words.
They got him? For real?
So it was… over?
Just like that?
"There are some formalities that need to be taken care of, but we want to begin the process as soon as possible. And this is why we contacted you, Mr. Arc. Out of all the Hunters that survived Spring valley, you are only one that we could contact. We know you might not want to have anything to do with it anymore, and your presence is not really necessary, but..."
"Ok."
Dekar blinked, surprised.
"You want me to testify against him, right?"
The older man nodded slowly. He looked like he was unsure what to say.
"Yes. That too. But there is one more matter. It's rather delicate and unusual situation. Normally, I wouldn't even consider it, but give the situation..."
"What is it?"
"He wants to talk to you. Said he wouldn't talk with anyone else." Qrow explained.
Jaune blinked. This monster… Wanted to talk with him? Jaune chuckled, and shook his head.
"He wants to… talk?" Another chuckle, this one much more desperate. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Then another one, when first didn't help. And then a third one.
"Well, ok." He said, when he finally felt like he wouldn't try to snap the bastard's neck as soon as he saw him.
"Let's get this over with. I have places to be."
Jaune was… he honestly didn't know what he felt anymore. Multiple emotions whirled around inside of him, each fighting for dominance, but no single one capable of overpowering the others. It left him in a state of daze, where he wasn't sure what was going on anymore.
The interrogation was quick. The bastard confessed to everything, told them exactly how he did it, and why. He didn't look like he regretted a single thing - besides the fact his plan failed, that is. There were a lot of questions, and accusations. Jaune vaguely remembered asking a few himself, but it felt distant to him. Like it was some movie that was playing in the background, when he was focused on the only thing that really mattered.
His face.
He was young, very young. He looked a bit lost about what happened. As if he truly couldn't understand why everyone hated him so much.
And he was young. Too young.
Jaune still couldn't remember his face, but he was sure that the person who hurt Sam was older. And far more confident.
He remembered that after they were done, Dekar took him to a separate room, and asked him some questions. Jaune was almost certain he answered them. He also remembered Yang and Ruby being excited to see Qrow. Turns out he was their uncle or something.
But none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was that person locked away in a cell, and awaiting processing, was not Master.
It was not over.
A hand landed on his shoulder, and he turned to look at his partner.
"I'm fine." He said, with a steady voice that surprised even himself. "I'm fine." He repeated.
Pyrrha smiled and nodded. He wasn't fine, and they both knew it. But he would be.
Jaune slapped his cheeks, and shook his head. This was no time to be gloomy. He looked up at the grey building of Vale Main Hospital and a small smile crept up on his face.
To hell with Master. He had better things to do right now.
The nurse at the reception desk pointed him to the right room. It still took awhile to find it, the place was just that big. Or it might have been because he was too excited and missed the right turn once or ten times? Who knows.
Anyway, when they finally got there, and stopped Yang's teasing, it was to find his parents at the door. After a brief conversation, Jaune took deep breath and entered the room.
"You're late." Were the first words that greeted him.
He smiled sheepishly.
"I guess I am. But I think you should be used to it by now."
Samantha Birger snorted.
"I guess I am." She looked him over, a small smile on her lips.
"You somehow look less dorky than usual. I guess there is still some hope for…" she paused when he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing tightly.
"Sam…" he choked out.
"And here goes your image." She joked. And her voice definitely didn't choke there.
"I'm…" he paused, took a deep breath, and hugged her even tighter. "I'm glad you're back."
She hugged him back, deciding to not comment on the wetness she felt where his head pressed on her dress.
"Yeah…"she leaned her head on his shoulder, smiling softly. "Me too."
It was a nice day. Sunny and warm, despite the quickly approaching winter. He still managed to gather a few fresh herbs - probably the last batch before colder days came.
He carefully measured the right amount of powder from box he was holding. Some might not understand how important precision was in these kind of things. .
Making a good team was, after all an art.
"Here you are." He said setting one cup in front of his guest. It was surprising, but not unwelcome to get visitor here. It was clear he was sought out, and there were only a few reasons for someone to look for him.
"Thank you." His guest looked pleasantly surprised by the drink they were offered. He smiled. It was nice to see someone appreciate good tea.
Not many people did this days.
They spent a few moments on idle chat, nothing important. Eventually, as much as he enjoyed it, he decided to cut to the point.
"As much as I would love to continue our chat, I doubt you came all the way here to entertain this old man. What do you want, child?"
His guest smiled.
"My… associate is looking for talented people for a certain project, and would love to meet you in person. She is certain you could help each other out."
"Oh? And how little old me could help this associate of yours?"
"No need to be humble. After All, your expertise in usage of herbs and Dust is well know in certain circles… Master."
He laughed.
"Please, don't call me that. I always feel embarrassed when people use that nickname, as if I'm someone standing above them."
"Then how would you like to be addressed?"
He hummed. That was a good question, wasn't it? He could give his birth name, but… it was decades since he used it last. It would feel wrong. Then he recalled a fond memory of his latest student, and how he sometimes called him.
"I guess you can call me Alchemist."
His guest nodded.
"Very well. As I said, my associate would love to meet you. Of course we have transportation prepared. If you would like to…"
"Ok, let's go."
She blinked, surprised. He laughed.
"Now, what's with that look? Winter is coming, and I'm getting on in. I'm sure wherever your associate lives, it will be warmer than this old hut there. Plus, I wouldn't say no to some company. Brothers know I was stuck all by my lonesome for far too long." He got up, and quickly gathered what little belongings he had.
"Now let's move out! Lead the way, Miss…?"
"Emerald." His guest said, opening the door. "Emerald Sasturi."
Well, I guess Jaune will have a chance to meet Master, probably sooner than he would like to. But hey, at least Sam is back! How will she affect Jaune's life from now on? Only one way to find out.
In the other news - TPA passed 1k favs this week. I… I honestly don't know what to say. When I started this story, I thought that having more than hundred favs would be cool. Not even in my wildest dreams I expected to reach ten times that. So thank you all, it means a lot to me.
Also, I started at cr00cy (without spaces of course). I will not stop writing if there will be no donations, or anything crazy like that, so don't worry. But if you have spare dollar or two, it would mean a lot if you decided to pledge.
