Ugh, sorry to the terrible delay. Here I just completed a translation, and I'm ready to accept two more. X_X Also, this year RT won't upload RWBY on YouTube from what I've been told, so my brother is on my ass to get ME to find some way to download it. And while the video is confirmed, in the HTML, as 'downloadable': true, I can't find the download anywhere, so I'm trying to find something else.
I know, I know, he's getting things his way while I should've just told him to get lost and do it himself, but my family's relationship with him is already VERY strained as it is, let's not alienate it further. Plus, I would kinda like having V6 on my computer. It wasn't the best volume, but still I have the habit to have RWBY on my computer now. I have 5 seasons, I can't just not have the sixth...
So! As you can see I'm pretty messed up here, so just enjoy this chapter. (PS: I know downloading pirate videos is illegal, guys, no need to tell me. I'm trying to find ways that don't include me searching YouTube for someone who already recorded the whole thing.)
True to her promise, Pyrrha did think about what to do with Jaune. She thought about it so much she entirely missed the plot of the movie they were watching, something called Star Powder or something. In a way, Phoenix's words made sense. However, Jaune had told both Ruby and Yang that he'd think about it, despite then acting as if the answer was yes. If he'd said he'd need to think about it, then it meant he probably wasn't ready to be in a multiple relationship yet.
Pyrrha knew he would eventually accept. Love was something that could strike people suddenly, or grow from fondness. Jaune already loved them all as dear friends, so she had no doubts that he would give them all a shot, and it would eventually work out. He would grow into loving them all equally.
Their children would look just too cute.
Pyrrha chased the sudden thought out of her mind, blushing slightly. Her motherly side, the one that took care of the whole team when the team was down, surfaced briefly, providing her with a lovely image of a multitude of kids swarming around her, Jaune, and the other girls. Red, black, red-tipped black, white and blond hair mixed with blue, ice blue, lilac, green, amber and silver eyes, and most of them were cute Faunus. The Mistralian champion's face was basically steaming from the cuteness overload.
At the thought 'cuteness', Cinder finally woke up, stretched, threw a fireball at the nearest Watcher, and then opened her eyes. Upon realizing she was not in her dorm, she blinked. Several times. Having dislodged the sleepiness from her still awakening brain, she scowled. Then she frowned. Finally, the usual Cinder Fall was back, and she settled for a neutral expression of disinterest, ignoring Sun, who was fretting over her, apologizing nonstop for having knocked her out cold. She didn't dignify him with an answer.
Meanwhile, Pyrrha energetically shook her head to clear it from the blushing little Pyrrhas cooing at the mental image. Now was not the time. Alas, the haunting -but beautiful- image could not leave her. Thousands of tiny Pyrrhas piled up in her mind, holding onto the picture as if their imaginary lives depended on it. Pyrrha finally gave up on trying to delete it, and simply continued with her train of thought.
Only to remember that her current train of thought had stopped at its final destination, and nothing more could be said. Jaune loved them all as friends, and was slowly trying to love them as more than friends. He was freaking terrifying when talking about his family, but that was okay. Everyone's family was somewhat intimidating. Hunters, dead people, weird people, every family had its own quirks. But that was beside the point.
The point was, whether she felt ready to tell him or not. She knew what would've happened if she did. He would be surprised, embarrassed, and happy, and she would be the latter two. He would say that he needed time, but that he would be honoured. And then they would fall into a dating-simile until he grew into loving her fully. If she didn't… nothing would've happened.
Put like that, it didn't take long before Pyrrha Nikos reached a decision. She scooted closer to Jaune and opened her mouth to tell him how she felt.
But then Phoenix spoke up, effectively and unknowingly cockblocking her. "Now, I got three things to do before I go. The movie was fun and all, no Nora you can't make Star Dust to make yourself immortal, plus let me tell you being immortal is the worst of curses, but now I got to go."
Pyrrha gritted her teeth together as she glared balefully at the Writer who, for some reason, felt danger looming over him. Shrugging the sensation off, he continued, "First of all, I got this for Helios." He held up a ball made of yellow flames. "Since he is literally part of me, he cannot stay away for long without fading. So, I am replenishing his energies. Alas, I'm afraid he won't be able to stay with you for much longer, but a few more viewings won't hurt."
The godlike entity threw the ball at the large puppy, but Zwei latched onto it before it Helios could. The corgi, however, was not part of a fireproof phoenix, and he immediately let the ball go, yelping and running to the fountain to cool his mouth off. Everyone but Ruby and Weiss laughed at the scene, while the two were busy making sure their little angel -not Jaune, the other- was okay. Helios, after snorting in laughter, devoured the yellow fire and glowed briefly before settling down contently.
Phoenix smiled. "Now, onto the second… Khor had other Writers and Viewers of Worlds look at this universe, basically he was just showing off his skill at documenting it, and they wondered if we could bring in a very particular new guest…" A swirling black portal appeared. "Khor, being the bastard he is, of course accepted. Girls, I really suggest you to move away from Jaune. Just do it, because this new guest is… Luna. And he is very protective of Jaune."
Jaune could swear Ruby and Yang left coloured silhouettes as they fled to hide behind their uncle. He could still feel Ruby's phantom weight on his lap, and Yang's phantom grip on his arm. Then the silhouettes moved and fled as well when someone, or rather something, dropped from the portal, landing erect on two feet.
Like Phoenix had already told them, Luna's features were exactly like Jaune's, their hair were equally long and their heights were just as identical, but any resemblance ended there. Luna's wings were so black they seemed to be absorbing the reddish light of the lava, making the feathers' edges glow red like burning coals. The humanoid's hair was dark red, like freshly spilled blood, and it fell down on pure black skin so unrealistically lucid it sparkled slightly in the natural glow of the crater. Luna's burning eyes had no pupil, but the entirety of their sclera was black, making it hard to tell apart from the skin. He seemed to be wearing a wing-adapted butler outfit, and he even bowed politely when Phoenix introduced him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Luna D'Arc. Genetically speaking, a humanoid Grimm with limited intelligence" that earned a growl of annoyance from the figure, "and great understanding of the human language. He is the Arc family's familiar, specifically Jaune's. We shall not mention the other familiars."
Luna and Jaune nodded in unison. "Amen to that."
"Are they really that bad?" Winter asked, somewhat foolishly.
Phoenix chuckled. "You still haven't learned the lesson, huh? The Arc family is beyond crazy. Nora's ideas are reality in their family."
Ren blinked, and turned to Jaune. "So that's why you are always so patient with her. You genuinely believe her ideas possible." He shook his head and chuckled. "Even the fourth-wall-breaking cannon…"
"Wait, what's wrong with that?" asked Jaune. "Now that we know there are people documenting our universe, then it means it's possible for us to break down whatever divides us, and go visit them, right?"
"I don't think it works like that, but yet again the Arcs are famous for making things work even when they were supposed to be impossible." Phoenix patted Luna's shoulder while the Grimm Butler sat down beside Jaune.
Pyrrha's chances of asking him out without dying zeroed that second, and she groaned. 'Khor really is an ass…'
'Yep!' an eerily familiar voice spoke up in her head.
'Argh! What are you doing in my mind?!' Pyrrha jumped up in shock, earning looks from everyone.
'What? I can read your mind, did you think I couldn't write your mind as well? I'm a Writer, after all…'
'Get out of my head!'
'I've heard that already, but jeez, okay, don't get your panties in a twist, or Jaune won't be able to pull them down…'
With that parting jab, the voice vanished… for the time being. Pyrrha blushed furiously and turned to look at the wall. Yes, the wall was very interesting and, most of all, a safe thing to look at. Unlike some tempting winged boy sitting just a few yards away from her… and his terrifying Grimm alter-ego sitting beside him. Damn the Arc family's craziness, and damn Phoenix. And Khor too.
Phoenix cleared his throat, "Anyway, moving onto the last thing I have to do before I go, I have something for you, Cinder." He held out a letter package. "I have no part in this, it was all Khor and someone else."
Cinder gingerly took the package and opened it, revealing a letter and what appeared to be a folded old photo. Curiosity getting the better of her, she silently read the letter.
'Dearest Cinder,' it read, 'You do not know me, but if you ask the others I have given them either advice or gifts during their stay. I do not have a gift for you but words of advice. I know you may not believe me when I say I care about helping you, but believe me when I say that I do this because I knew your mother and I feel I could not look her in the eye if I didn't try to help you.'
Cinder stopped reading and glanced up at Phoenix, who shrugged. "Khor told me the sender is the father of some alternative versions of you. Not in this one, but you know us Writers: we tend to reach even out of our universe," he concluded with a smirk.
Scowling at him for a second, Cinder then returned to read. 'You have been given a chance to get away from the monster who willkill you as soon as you are no longer of use to her. You are your mother's daughter, act like it.' Cinder snorted, knowing that different universes could have different parents as well. 'Talk to Arc, his family will welcome you and your… pyromaniac ways. They won't turn you away for loving to burn those who hurt you and your friends. I know you aren't into men after what happened to your mother and they will accept it.' "Seriously, who does he think he is? My romantic preferences are mine to decide, thank you," she grumbled under her breath. 'As for Sun wanting to teach you about Fluff and Romance I say learn what you can, I know you like cute animals and will kick the ass of anyone who hurts any cute animal or little kid around you, this will just make you a little more balanced mentally.'
Again she scoffed. "I was literally planning on burning Vale down to ashes, animals and children included, and that's what he tells me? How wrong he is…" she murmured to herself.
'Please try to make friends with the group, we know you will backslide at times but put an effort in it. They will never betray you, or leave you when you go on a pranking/burning/revenge spree. Some of them will even help you. I also managed to find a picture your mother gave me many years ago and thought you could use a reminder of your gentle side. Signed, Adrian Midnight-Phoenix, Concerned Friend, Writer, Uncle of Heroes, Father of Villains, Ancient Warrior. PS: Cinder, ask Phoenix or Khor for some art supplies. I know about your hobby and I know everyone there would enjoy seeing you paint. You are talented, don't waste it like Salem made you.'
She scoffed and looked at the photo. It portrayed a much younger Cinder, maybe five or six, wearing a red T-shirt and blue jeans, with her hair combed in a French braid, while holding a white bunny and looking up at the camera with a big smile on her face. Hugging Cinder from behind there was who was probably her mother, wearing a light blue button-up blouse, unbuttoned to show the white T-shirt underneath, and a worn pair of blue jeans. She had long auburn hair frozen in mid-movement, probably due to a gentle breeze. She was looking at Cinder with a loving smile. The two of them were sitting beside a rose bush near a large apple tree.
Once again, Cinder scoffed. "I've never seen this woman in my entire life," she commented. "And this 'Adrian' obviously knows nothing about me. I do not even like to paint!"
Phoenix shrugged in response. "Cinder, he was just concerned and before you ask yes, I knew what was written in that letter. He was just concerned, and he tried to help you like he would've helped the Cinder of his world." He chuckled. "Though, the advice to make friends with the Arcs is sound. Even if you don't like them, better be their friends, than their enemies."
Luna grinned in agreement, showing off pointy teeth and making most Watchers shiver.
Phoenix laughed at their reactions before flames began to envelop his frame. "Ah, well, it seems it's time for me to go, and for the viewing to start. Enjoy!" He clapped his hands and burst into flames, and at the same time, the screen lit up.
It was Thursday of the first week of the break for Beacon students, Jaune was getting extremely stir crazy. He chalked it up to doing nothing physical the last two days. After the extreme workout from Nora and Yang, he decided it would be in his best interest to relax. He elected to work on his Semblance for a bit. He grabbed his scroll and sent a message to Weiss.
Jaune: Hey Snow Angel! You busy right now?
Luna growled menacingly at the white-haired girl, but Jaune leaned in and whispered in his ear, filling him in on how the screen worked. After a snort of annoyance and a huff of acceptance, Luna settled back down, and everyone else sighed in relief. They could probably defeat the monster, but he was surely scary.
After a minute or so he got a response from her.
Weiss: I'm going over some notes. Why?
Jaune: I'm just bored. I was thinking of working on my Semblance, if you don't mind accompanying me that is.
Weiss almost instantly responded.
Weiss: I don't really have a choice. Otherwise you may do something stupid. Where are you?
At this point, Jaune was out of his room and leaning on his door. He smiled before sending his next message.
Jaune: I'm outside the dorms.
He could hear a raucous coming from the room before he received a message.
Weiss: I'll be their soon.
Next thing he knew; the door swung open before Weiss rushed out the door. She got halfway down the hall before Jaune whistled. She stopped and turned in shock to see him standing in front of her door. He waved and with a smirk said, "You in a hurry?" She blushed as he walked up next to her and stopped. "I didn't know you cared so much, Snow Angel."
She blushed more before she glared at him, "Shut it."
Luna automatically smacked Jaune on the head, making the boy groan. When the others stared at him, surprised, he sighed. "Mom taught him that if I try to flirt with a girl or a boy, he has to smack me to 'preserve my purity'," he explained tiredly, making a few others chuckle, especially Neptune. "And… he's very obedient."
Unbeknownst to everyone, Helios and Zwei began to quietly chat in a corner, hatching their terrible plan.
Jaune just smiled, "The glare really doesn't work when you blush. It just makes you look adorable." He said with a smile. She blushed even further before she started walking down the hallway at a brisk pace. Jaune chuckled before he caught up to her. The two walked in silence to the locker room. Jaune pulled out his blades and checked the dust levels on all his swords. They were all a bit low and he took out a few vials of dust from his locker to fill them. He sighed while doing this. "This is by far the most tedious part of my design."
Weiss was watching him as he worked, "Why did you design them like that, then? I mean, I go through the same thing with Myrtenaster so I understand a bit on how tedious it actually is."
"Don't you have clips?" asked Ruby, surprised. She knew her partner's weapon by heart… even thought Weiss hadn't exactly allowed her to analyse it, if by allowing one did not include 'leaving on the bed unwatched'.
Weiss shrugged. "Yes, but apparently my alternative version does not."
"Aww, but that's so weird! Why not use clips?" whined Nora. "They're much faster, and the faster you reload, the more hits you can fire, and the more hits you can fire, the more monsters you can kill, or legs you can break!"
Cinder stared at Nora like one would stare at a dangerous, but very interesting snake. "You seem to nurture a great love for chaos and destruction," she noted airily.
"Oh yes, but only when it's deserved!" cheered the hammer wielder. "I would never do it on someone who doesn't deserve it!" And just like that, Cinder's interested faded away.
"Tsk, whatever," she scoffed as she returned to look at the screen.
Jaune just chuckled, "Actually, I had an idea to create dust clips for my swords. You know like how some guns have clips for bullets? I thought it would be good to have clips of dust to just reload when I needed to and it would help when I ran out in the field." He sighed. "But that idea just isn't possible right now."
"Why not? It doesn't seem like a bad idea or one too complicated to do." She asked.
"Yeah, I could do that in just a handful of minutes!" exclaimed Ruby.
"Ruby, you could disassemble and rebuild Crescent Rose in under an hour," noted Yang, pointing at the giant scythe resting folded on her back. "Of course you could make those, but not everyone can."
"Oh, rubbish! We already saw the Swordsman taking care of his weapons and he designed those, and those are super-complex, so of course he could do that!" countered the smaller girl. "So the problem must be something else."
"Oh it wouldn't. I have the blueprints for them right here." He pulled out his scroll for a second before returning back to his pocket. "It's just that I can't do it right now, wouldn't be right."
Weiss was confused. "What do you mean, Jaune?"
Jaune sighed, "Ever wonder how Nora, Ren and I pay for everything?"
Weiss didn't know where this was going but continued with it anyways, "I actually never really thought about it. I guess your family."
"You're half right. When Mother died, she left everything to the three of us. The property she owned, the house that we lived in together and all the money she saved away from missions." He gave a sad chuckle, "Apparently, she set her will up way before her death. Guess she knew something may happen to her." He sighed, "Anyways, we have enough to keep us comfortable until we graduate and a good amount of time afterwards, but if I were to take the money necessary to upgrade my swords, we wouldn't be in as good of a spot." He looked back down to refilling his swords.
Weiss nodded before continuing, "Could you ask your family for money?"
Jaune rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I probably could but I won't. After all the worry I put them through while I was away training and not really talking much to them during that time." He sighed. "It just wouldn't feel right. I want to prove to them that I'm not the same kid I was when I ran away. I want to do it on my own."
"So, basically, it's just pride," scoffed Cinder. "He is not improving his swords because he's too proud to ask for help from his family."
"Look who's talking!" a voice rang out in the clearing, making her jump. "Oh, right, I'm the asshole who brought you here. The name's Khor, but you can call me Khor."
"He does know he just said his name twice, right?" asked Ruby. "Do you think he had a slip of the tongue?"
"I think Mr Khor is just making fun of Ms Fall… or maybe of all of us," Winter spoked up suddenly, reminding everyone of hers and Ironwood's presence. "I wouldn't take him too seriously."
Cinder grunted in response, not elaborating further.
Weiss just absorbed all of this. She was never in a spot like the one he was in. As much as she disagreed with her father, she had money to do whatever she wanted. Not to say she used it for anything too out there, she preferred to not feel like she owed her father anything. But just seeing Jaune being responsible for his friends and siblings was like a breath of fresh air. She was always around selfish and self-centered people growing up. But Jaune was the complete opposite to all of those people. It made her happy to be friends with someone like this. Especially seeing how driven he was to prove he wasn't what people thought he was, it made her feel like they had a kinship.
She was brought out of her train of thought as Jaune waved his hand in front of her face. She blinked a few times before she looked up at him, "Sorry, Jaune, I was distracted. Did you say something?"
He just smiled, "I was asking if you mind bringing Myrtenaster with us? I have an idea for training my Semblance."
She didn't ask, knowing he'd only tell her when he wanted to. She grabbed her rapier from her locker and the two made their way over to the edge of the forest where they usually went. Jaune than turned to Weiss, "Okay. I was wondering if you'd mind helping me train the five basic elements of my Semblance?"
Weiss was confused for a second, "You don't want to work more on Particle?"
Jaune shook his head, "I've done everything I can to try to master it at this point. The only thing left is for some actual battle experience. But with Particle, it's too dangerous to use for any training bouts or spars, so I'm gonna shelf it for the time being. Instead, I'd rather work on the basics for my Semblance. Haven't done that in a while and I'd rather not neglect them."
She nodded, "What do you have in mind?" Jaune explained that he was planning to use each of the five basic elements and he wanted Weiss to use her glyphs to help with his exercises. She agreed as long as she got to set the parameters for the training. He agreed and the training began. Jaune set his swords and scroll to the side so they wouldn't get damaged.
"Okay, a small rule here, please," Sun spoke up. "No one can comment on the training until it's over. I've noticed that the screen stops every time someone has something to say, so to get to see the whole scene without problems, let's keep the comments for later, okay?"
'Fine by me' was the most heard reply he got, mixed with some 'Okay' and 'I have no problem with that', even though Cinder replied 'No'. With that, the screen continued.
They first started with water. Weiss would summon many smaller Glyphs around Jaune and use them to fire ice shards at him. He'd have to use his advanced reflexes to dodge all of them. They would go for a full ten minutes, if Jaune got hit once, they'd have to reset the clock. Weiss would not set any kind pattern to her attacks, she'd chose random Glyphs at random times and she would increase the speed and frequency of the attacks the longer they went for. Jaune did very well at this but when the speed was almost at max and several shards were flying, he'd get hit. He'd heal almost instantly but he would get annoyed with himself. By the end, Weiss was impressed by Jaune's improvement levels. She was curious what he'd do with something else. So, with the last twenty seconds of the ten minutes, she had all her Glyphs fire shards simultaneously. Jaune accepted the challenge, he grabbed two shards and used them to deflect any shards he couldn't dodge. With that, the water exercise was done.
The screen suddenly paused, making Sun groan, as the words PLEASE COMMENT overwrote the scene in large, bold black letters. Neptune chuckled at his leader's plight. "It seems the houseowner does not share your philosophy, Sun."
"I think he's just choosing right now to pop up and cause some trouble," sighed Pyrrha, remembering the Writer speaking in her head. "Hopefully, he'll stop soon."
"I think the exercise was definitely aimed to make him improve," Weiss finally commented, making the words disappear. "Although I might argue against pushing himself so much. It's not healthy."
They moved onto lightning next. The exercise was a simple race. Weiss would use one of her Time Dilation Glyphs to send herself towards a tree a hundred meters away. Jaune was tasked with using his higher speed to reach the tree before her. They both got into their ready positions and the race would begin when her Glyph disappeared. The first race ended with Weiss beating Jaune by a half a second. The sequential races ended the same way. Weiss wasn't as fast as Ruby using her Semblance but that just proved how slow Jaune was moving. The last race he did something a bit different, he kept the electricity moving in his body while he was waiting for the race to begin. That way his energy would still be in motion and would take less time for it to reach where he wanted it to be. The result was Jaune getting there a half a second before Weiss and to annoy her, he caught her in his arms. She blushed profusely and tried to push him away. He just chuckled before complying.
Again, the words appeared on the screen, and Sun was close to having a mental breakdown. Unbeknownst to them, the Writer wasn't doing that to be an ass like usual, but just to get some thoughts on the training scenes from people used to those fighting styles. After all, they were the best suited to tell whether the exercises were hard or not.
They totally were.
Anyway, Ruby spoke up next, "That's nice, although he should focus more on his manoeuvrability while speeding, as well as countering the tunnel-sight you get when you go so fast." She then pouted a bit. "Although, the fact he's slightly bitter about not being as fast as me is weird. I mean, half of my entire Semblance is about being fast, of course I am faster!"
"Not really, Ms Rose, more skilled people can be faster than you even while you use your Semblance," noted Ozpin, making her slump. "However, I can say that they must be vastly more skilled, and with experience you will improve as well."
"Also, I guess we can all say that the Swordsman blames himself for the death of Gin and for whatever happened to Amber," interjected Jaune. "This made him obsessed with become stronger, so he won't see it that way, but he'll see it as himself not being skilled enough. In a way he is slightly psychopathic because he's deluding himself into thinking that if he gets stronger than anyone and anything else, he'll be able to protect who and what he loves, refusing to accept that, sometimes, we just can't do anything."
"Wise words, Mr Arc," Ozpin complimented him sombrely. "I… I suppose you have learned that lesson from your father's demise, am I right?"
Jaune shrugged. "Kind of. He was so strong, yet when he tried to protect the people he cared for, he just died without changing anything. But no, after I got over my depression I too was obsessed, until my sisters quite literally beat it out of me." He smiled weakly and patted his Grimm companion's shoulder. "And Luna helped them, of course. I thought that had I been stronger, I would've been able to do something, but obviously I was wrong. Sometimes there's just nothing you can do."
Afterwards, the two decided on how to work on wind. Weiss created a dozen or so Glyphs in the air as platforms. He'd have to jump on to all of them within three minutes. But with each Glyph he stood on, it would disappear when he jumped off of it. So, he'd have to figure out the best path quickly. Especially because Weiss would change their orientation every time he failed. Luckily, due to Jaune's increased stamina he could go with this exercise much longer than the rest of the exercises. They went for about half an hour before they both needed a break. Once they were rested, they went at it again. Jaune soon figured out how to do the platforms and figured out the pattern; either by luck or keen eyes. He also used the nearby trees to better angle himself to complete the course and Weiss gave him additional points for creativity.
"That was useful," was all Blake said, cutting everyone else off, when the words flashed on the screen.
That's when they went onto earth. Weiss would place a Gravity Glyph directly above him, while Jaune was in a meditative position. His task was to use his arms or hands to stop a series of rocks from hitting him. She had twenty-five rocks but for each one that hit him, she would add a minute onto the time he had to stay under the increased gravity. Jaune did fairly well but a few rocks did get past him due to his already slowed state being increased by the gravity. He had to stay another ten minutes under the Glyph and she was still throwing rocks at him. But the more it went on the less rocks hit him and eventually his time under the Glyph was done. He was kinda sore afterwards but he decided to just deal with it.
"And that was mean," Pyrrha commented when it was her turn, glaring slightly at Weiss. "There was no need to make the training so harsh."
"If he is really obsessed like Jaune said, then the harshness of the training will be more to ease his worries about not training enough, than to actually help him improve," Weiss shot back. "We all know that training should not ruin the body nor the mind."
Qrow laughed. "Heh, back when STRQ still was a team and not a bunch of people going different ways, Summer always said that if after training we were too tired to go all-out against two teammates, then we were doing our training wrong, because spending all your energies on training is possible only when you're not planning on being reactive." He smiled fondly. "That didn't mean we could slack off, of course. It just meant that we were forbidden to overexert ourselves. I think I still have the pictures of Raven's punishment when she ignored Summer's suggestion slash order."
"What happened?" asked Nora, cheery as always.
"That's top secret," chuckled the Hunter. "But it involves hair, and electric blue paint."
Finally, all they had left was fire. For this element Weiss decided to keep it simple. She would create a Glyph as a shield, all he'd have to do is break the Glyph within the time of a minute. Jaune thought this would be simple but decided to go along with it anyways. He failed to realize that Weiss was focusing a lot more on this Glyph, so it'd be twice as hard to break through it. This was her payback for him teasing her earlier. After several failed attempts, Jaune was doubled over breathing heavily. His fire enhanced aura was killing his stamina; he couldn't keep this up but he refused to give in.
"That's awesome!" Yang exclaimed before the words could even appear on the screen, earning a grateful look from Sun, who was really tired of seeing the training being interrupted.
Weiss was thinking that he had enough and was about to call it when Jaune stood tall and closed his eyes. He focused all of his aura into his right fist and it looked like his fist was pure fire. He opened his eyes and with a cry of exertion punched the Glyph with the last of his strength and aura. The Glyph shattered and Jaune grinned in triumph before he passed out from exhaustion. Weiss ran to him immediately, fearing she pushed him too far.
Jaune woke up about twenty minutes later. He noticed that he was laying on Weiss' lap as she was sat against the tree. She looked relieved that he was awake. "Jaune! Oh thank Oum, I thought I pushed you too far. I was worried."
"Whew, that's a lot of time," winced Qrow. "Twenty minutes out cold. Yeah, Sum would've had his head for overexerting himself so much…"
"She sounds way less 'soft' than what Ruby and Yang told me," noted Jaune, raising an eyebrow.
Qrow chuckled. "Not really, she was caring with her team. She just was protective of the ones she called family. The first time someone insulted Raven because 'her Semblance was too broken', Sum sent them through three walls. And only three just because after the third there was the courtyard."
"Sounds badass," grinned Nora.
"Oh yes, she really was," smiled the man, while Ruby and Yang smiled a little more tearily.
Jaune just shook his head, "No, I'm fine Weiss. But, um, why am I am using your lap as a pillow?"
She was slightly embarrassed and her cheeks turned pink, "I didn't know what to do. So I thought I should let you sleep it off and I thought the ground would be too hard."
Jaune just looked at her and smiled, "Thank you, Weiss, that was nice of you and I'm sorry I worried you. I kinda guessed I would pass out after that maneuver I pulled." He chuckled weakly.
She just looked at him mildly annoyed, "Why didn't you tell me that you were going to try something reckless? Why try it at all?"
Jaune just looked up at the sky above him and saw the sun shining through the leaves of the tree above them. "Somethings are just worth the risk." He reached his hand up to the sun to protect his eyes from the light. "If I don't push myself to the brink, I won't improve as much as I need to. I need to be able to protect you all if the time comes." His eyes took on a serious look and he clenched his fist that was in the air. "I will protect the people I care about. I refuse to fail ever again."
"That. That needs to be addressed right now," said Ironwood, standing up as the screen stopped, and turning to all the Watchers. "I know few among you currently like me due to my dislike for Mr Arc, but right now I'm not speaking as James Ironwood, nor as General of Atlas, nor as Headmaster of Atlas Academy. No, right now I'm speaking as experienced Hunter, and I need you all to understand."
That got him the attention he wanted. Everyone -even Luna, he noted- was focused on him. He cleared his throat, "Ozpin babies you in Beacon. He hides the true reality of the world from you for as long as he can. And… I can understand that. However, you are now seeing parts of a world you are not prepared for, thus allow me to fill you in on what you should know." He pointed at the screen. "That, is an admittedly admirable, but ultimately foolish, self-destructive and pointless behaviour."
"What?!" exclaimed Ruby, outraged. "He just said he wants to protect the people he cares about!"
"No, Ms Rose, he said he will, and that he refuses to fail ever again. That's much different from wanting to protect. The will to protect should be present in all Hunters. However, his crosses the border into obsession." Ironwood sighed dejectedly. "It happens to the best of us, believe me. Once you lose someone you care about, the closer the worse it is, there is indeed the chance of becoming obsessed. Your soul simply refuses to go through such emotional pain again, and thus tries to find an out. And since the only way out is to avoid anyone to die, you become obsessed with becoming someone or even something that will be able to protect everyone you care about. And that's horrible."
"It's horrible because you lose yourself. You do not see yourself as anything but a tool to prevent yourself from feeling that pain again. You are hurt, you are deeply hurt, and instead of healing you focus on never be hurt again. And while that would be a good strategy if it were successful, sadly it is just not possible." Ironwood closed his eyes to avoid looking into anyone's eyes. "That's the truth no one of you can really understand, that you just can never be strong enough. Sure, you might say you understand but you never do. In the end, whenever something will happen, you will still think you can save everyone if you try hard enough. And that will end up destroying you from within, like it… like it did with me."
When he opened his eyes again, they were hard, but the students were shocked to see tears in them as well. "I am a General and the Headmaster of a Hunter Academy, students. You have no idea of how many people I've seen dying, and I could not do the slightest thing about it. Killed by the Grimm, or by bandits, or anything. And I'm not talking about missions I sent people on that failed. No, I'm talking about people I have personally seen dying. People I… people whose family I…"
He choked out a broken laugh. "Do you even know how hard it is to look in their families' eyes and tell them that the person they cared for most in the world just won't ever come back?! Do you even know how hard it is to speak with them, knowing that secretly they wish you had swapped roles, that their loved one had come back instead of you?! To secretly agree with them, because maybe dying wouldn't be as painful as being the one remaining alive?!"
The once-proud General fell back on the ground as all the students' eyes were fixed on him. He was shaking. "You don't know how many times I remained the last of my entire platoon. There are still days I wish I had died with my comrades back during those missions." He glared at everyone with a gaze of steel. "So don't you dare forget this. What the Swordsman is doing is not admirable, it's not right and it's not amazing. It's the mindless reaction of a hurt person who doesn't think he can take more." The General broke another laughter. "Oh, let me tell you, you can always take more. There's not limit to how much pain you can take." Returning to glare at them, he finished his speech. "The Swordsman might not be blameable for that, but don't take what he's doing as awesome or awe-inspiring. It's twisted. It'd be like being amazed by seeing a man starve himself rather than eat anything else after having been poisoned. You should feel pity, not awe."
With his piece said, the General lowered his head and refused to look at the screen, not bothering to hide his pain and his tears. The adults were sad but unsurprised, having already known both of the man's pain and the truth he spoke, but the students sat in silence. They still hadn't and wouldn't learn that very important lesson, but they did stop looking at the Swordsman's obsession with awe.
Weiss just looked down at him and just saw how determined he was. It was baffling to her to see both of these sides to this one man. The side that was fun loving and made everyone smile, along with this serious side that would do anything to achieve his goals. She was in awe. "How, Jaune?"
He just looked at her confused, "How what, Weiss?"
"How are you so strong? You've gone through so much but you still keep going. It's like the world could turn against you but as long as you have the people you care for, you wouldn't care. People judge me because of my father and our company, and it just hurts so much. So, I've had to hide all that pain under this cold exterior." She closed her eyes to stop the tears she could feel forming. She was stronger than that. "But, it still hurts so much." She stopped when she felt him sit up and wrap his arms around her.
Before Ironwood's speech just moments before, the students would've probably shared the onscreen Weiss's feelings. However, now that their view of things had changed, they found themselves hoping that the Swordsman would learn from Weiss, accepting the pain instead of trying to block out more from coming.
"It's okay, Weiss. You don't have to be strong all the time. I know how hard it is to try. So, for this one time, you can let it out. I won't judge you and I will keep it a secret if you wish." Her resolve melted away at that, she just started to cry. All the pain she felt over the years just came to the surface as her icy exterior was being thawed. Jaune just sat there holding her close and let her cry. He gently stroked her hair as she did. They sat there for a few minutes and eventually she stopped. He looked down at her. "Are you okay?"
She nodded slightly but didn't look up. "Thank you, Jaune. I can't remember the last time I could just let go." She still didn't look up at him.
"No problem. I'm here for you, Weiss, as long as you let me do so. And to answer your question, I'm strong because I can't afford to be weak." She looked up at him and she still had a few tears falling. "You all look to me in some way or another. I need to be strong enough to live up to those standards and if the time ever comes that I need to be there for the ones I care for, to not let them down." He smiled slightly and gently wiped away her remaining tears. "That includes you, Snow Angel."
"And that's something else that is very unhealthy, although this is partially your other selves' fault and not just the Swordsman's. Expectations should never be a motivation," Goodwitch spoke up. "If met, they only create more expectations. If failed, they create disappointment. Either case, it is not the right way."
"However, in this case it is just a misunderstanding. Your other selves wouldn't leave the Swordsman if he turned out to have failed their expectations, or at least I hope so," continued Ozpin. "Mr Vasilias, you have often lamented that the Swordsman seems to have no flaws. Here you are, these are his flaws. He has a flawed mentality that can only bring himself pain and thus, bring pain to the ones he cares about. A mentality he has to end if he doesn't want to bring pain to the ones who worry about him."
She blushed slightly but smiled, "I told you before Jaune. I trust you and believe you. You won't let any of us down." He smiled brightly and she looked down before she continued, "And Jaune, if you ever need to let go and not be strong for a bit." She looked back up at him. "You can come to me. Anytime."
He nodded, "You got it, Snow Angel." They sat there for a bit longer before he let her go. She instantly wished for him to hold her again but she quickly shook her head to dismiss those thoughts. She saw he was offering his hand to her and she accepted it. They collected their weapons but Jaune was looking for something. "Hey, Weiss, do you know where my scroll is?"
She held it out to him, "Sorry, I checked it to see how your aura levels were." She looked away for a second. "I also looked at those blueprints for those dust clips. I was curious."
Jaune took his scroll back, "No problem. Well, let's head back." She nodded and they made their way back to the dorms. Weiss was smiling the whole way, not just because she felt a great weight lifted off her shoulders. But because she had a surprise for Jaune in the near future.
"I'm betting she will find a way to make him cry like he did for her," stated Nora, for once not breaking the laws of rationality to sate her curiosity. For that, somewhere else in the Multiverse, a young Writer sighed in relief. His last encounter with Nora hadn't ended well… especially the explaining he had to do afterwards.
"Whatever it will be, I'm sure we will soon find out," Ozpin replied wisely, hiding a smile behind his mug. "Besides, it is clear the Swordsman has people to care for him. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you."
Oh, in this chapter Luna appears and Khor is being even more of an ass. Don't worry, it was just this chapter, I won't intervene so much in the next ones. I don't plan to, plus my 'presence' would be pointless and ridondant. This chapter was a surprise that some liked, some didn't, but it won't become the norm.
Moving on, I am not criticizing LordHellPhoenix's work, the opposite. He's portraying flawed characters without making those flaws horrible or without losing logic. Not many do that. Often, flaws are thrown in the mix just to try and add depth to a character, but flaws usually have an explanation. Few people train until they pass out just because they have fun doing it.
And this proves I am not bashing Ironwood, he just has more experience and a view of the world that is more jaded than the students'. This makes him look like the bad guy as long as we look at it from the students' PoV, but he is actually right most of the times.
This being said, I'm out. Out where, still don't know. Probably to work, ugh. And I'm not even getting paid...
Until next time,
Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh
