"Where's Roy?" Nora asked as the group consisting of team JNNPR and the Arc family waited within the large trail that the Arcs had carved through the landscape.
"I don't know. It's not like him to not be punctual." Johnathan mused, scratching lightly at his beard.
"Perhaps he stopped to pick someone up?" June theorised. Jaune stiffened ever so slightly. "Jade, sweetie, can you check if you can see him?"
Jade nodded, taking her axe from behind her back and planting it in the ground. She peered through a scope that was attached to its handle. Jaune had a strange recollection of a certain scythe/sniper rifle that was similar.
"I think I see him." She muttered, adjusting the zoom on her axe-rifle. The others finally saw the tiny black spec in the distance that was Roy's bullhead.
As the bullhead approached, Jade squinted slightly while looking through her sights. "Looks like mom was right. He's got a passenger." The others all wondered who this passenger could be, but said nothing as they watched Jaune step forward.
The bullhead stopped a hundred or so feet in front of the group. When it landed, two people exited the aircraft, one of them being Roy Falcon, but the other, only two in the group recognised. Neo froze in fear upon seeing Mercury Black approach the group.
Jaune left the group and walked towards Mercury, meeting him half way. "Mercury." Jaune greeted. Mercury grunted in acknowledgement. "I'm going to hit you now."
Mercury sighed. "That's fair." Jaune smacked Mercury's head, causing him to wince. "Alright. Can I hit you back?"
Jaune shrugged. "Sure." Mercury instantly kicked Jaune's shin. Jaune yelped out and began cradling his leg. "Metal legs dude! Not fair!" He sighed and gestured to the rest of the group, indicating that he wanted Mercury to be introduced.
"Guys." Jaune started, noticing the strange looks everyone was giving him, and the look of horror that Neo wore. "This is Mercury. He was previously part of a plan to orchestrate the fall of Beacon." The gasp that ran through the group caused Mercury to shrink slightly.
"Previously." Jaune repeated. "Meaning now he's not. And now, he's going to help us." He clapped Mercury's shoulder, trying to paint him in a good light. Judging from the expressions on everyone else's faces, he wasn't doing a very good job.
Neo walked forward, and stared Mercury in his grey eyes. "Uh. Hi." Merucry said awkwardly. A 'smack' rang out, as Neo had brought her hand across Mercury's cheek. "I guess I deserved that." Another 'smack'. "That too."
Neo made to punch Mercury in the groin, but was stopped by the two boys. "Maybe not that." Jaune said. Neo stared up at his eyes, pink and brown meeting blue. "Neo, look, I know this is awkward for you, but I promise that he's here to help. And an Arc never goes back on his word."
Johnathon smiled softly at his son's words. The females all rolled their eyes slightly. Neo stared up at Mercury, who sighed. "Neo, I know that me being here doesn't exactly bode well, but I promise I didn't tell the others."
"There are others?" Pyrrha spoke up. Mercury looked to her and nodded.
"I guess this is as good a time as any." He coughed. "I was part of a three person team to cause Beacon, and Vale, to be destroyed." He could sense the glares from the others. Gulping, he continued on. "But, I'm no longer with them."
"The other two persons names are Emerald Fall, and Cinder Sustrasi. They've also made a deal with the White Fang." Another gasp rushed through the group. "And they were planning on attacking during the Vytal festival. They've also hacked the CCT."
A lot of muttering was going on within the group. Eventually, Ren stepped forward. "And why have you decided to abandon their cause?"
Mercury glanced at Jaune. "I had a change of heart."
He could see all of them squinting at him, clearly not believing his words. "I believe him." Came a voice. Everyone turned to see Roy standing a small distance away, his arms crossed. "He told me everything on the way over. He had no reason to, other than the fact I said I knew Jaune."
"The fact he told a complete stranger what he had done, and what was going to happen, is proof enough that he's serious about changing sides." Roy nodded to Mercury, who gave him a genuine smile in response.
"I believe him." Johnathon stated. "Roy has always been an excellent judge of character, as has Jaune. If the two of them say he's on our side, he's on our side." The others all murmured in agreement.
"Thank you." Mercury said. "I know I probably don't deserve it but, thank you." He sighed happily, before his eyes hardened. "Cinder and Emerald will probably want to know where I've been. So, unless you want to end it when we get back, or help me think of a lie, we need to figure something out."
"That won't be necessary." Came a voice that was as smooth as silk, but hot as fire. Mercury, Neo and Jaune whirled around at the voice, seeing two women step out from behind Roy's Bullhead.
One of them had deep red eyes and green hair, whereas the other wore a short red dress with golden spirals that matched her amber eyes.
"Mercury! You said you didn't tell anyone!" Jaune shouted, instantly drawing his sword. The rest of the Arcs and Jaune's team followed suit, drawing their own weapons.
"I didn't! I swear!" Mercury defended, raising a boot to prepare to shoot at the two antagonists.
"Oh, he's telling the truth." Cinder said, idly looking at her fingernails. "He told none of us that he was going to betray us. But, we had his scroll location. And I must say, this lovely trail made it that much easier to get here."
Suddenly, four large vans appeared from behind the aircraft. Once they skidded to a halt, dozens of White Fang members jumped out of them, one of them in particular brandishing a large red katana. "So, these are the humans you are so eager to kill." He had brown hair laced with red highlights, and horns protruded from his skull.
"Yes. Two of them have betrayed us, and the others are simply cannon fodder." Cinder sighed lightly. Mercury and Neo stiffened visibly, but their forms were soon surrounded by the Arcs and JNNPR.
Each of them had their weapons pointed at the enemy, ready to fight at a moment's notice. All the while, Jaune was staring Cinder in her eyes, finally realising where he recognised her from. "You." Jaune said, levelling his sword parallel to the ground and pointing it at her.
"You were at the Breach." Cinder's expression momentarily faltered, turning into a scowl at the memory of Jaune telling her off. "And from what I've been told, you were the one who brought Torchwick into the picture."
"You are correct on both marks, congratulations." The raven haired woman said sarcastically.
"Did you know?" Jaune's voice echoed in the clearing. "Did you know what he did to her?" He didn't need to specify who or what he was talking about.
Cinder smiled wickedly. "Yes. That was the reason I recruited him in the first place. I needed someone truly evil on my side." Jaune's pupils turned to pinpricks as he stared at Cinder, his breathing now slightly ragged.
"Then you're mine." He lowered his stance and brought his shield up to cover his torso. The silence in the air was palpable, both sides waiting for some action to kick off the fight. An act finally happened, but it did not initiate the fight. Rather, it sent looks of confusion through both sides.
A small 'clip', 'clop', could be heard repeating in the clearing. The noise was finally given an origin, when a voice spoke. "Jaune, I thought I told you not to let your emotions control your battles." Cinder's side jumped apart, as a man in a white and grey kimono with wooden sandals walked calmly towards Jaune while holding a pure white katana in his outstretched hand.
"Jack?" Jaune said incredulously. His teacher nodded in greeting, stopping when he was but a few feet in front of him.
"I was travelling this road in order to meet with an old friend, when I sensed an overwhelming aura of hypocrisy and arrogance that could only have belonged to a former student of mine." Jack turned and stared at the leader of the White Fang, who appeared to be shaking in rage.
"Adam. I would say it is good to see you again, but you wouldn't want me to lie would you?" Adam Taurus grit his teeth as he stared at his previous mentor through his mask.
"You sided with the humans when given the choice. I cannot forgive you for that." Jaune and Neo shared a glance, neither knowing that Jack was a Faunus. "You may have skill, but we have numbers." Adam gestured behind him, obviously talking about the sheer amount of White Fang members that were there.
"Ah, about your, 'numbers'." Jack said as he raised his sword and began to sheathe it. "I must apologise, but I've already cut them down." The sword sheathed completely with an audible 'click'. The moment the sword had disappeared, a loud slashing noise echoed through the clearing, all of the White Fang grunts falling to the ground, unconscious and possibly dead.
The only ones left standing were Adam, Cinder and Emerald. It was now seventeen against three, the 'numbers' now clearly in the good sides favour. Cinder glared at the group, eyes flaming with unbridled fury.
"Your numbers do not matter, you shall not survive this encounter." She told them. Without warning, Adam and Emerald shot forward, weapons drawn. They were countered by two people each. Jasmine and Mercury had stopped Emeralds advance, and Jack and Vermillion clashed blades with Adams.
"You can't beat us." Jaune told her. "No matter what you say, you're outnumbered and outskilled." Cinder seemed to smirk at his words.
"Outskilled, you say?" A series of bright, orange rings with intricate designs started circling her torso. Her right eye began glowing brightly, looking almost as if it was on fire. The rings expanded rapidly, throwing back all those who opposed her, minus two.
Jaune and his father stood standing, arms raised against the blast. When the discharge stopped, and they realised that everyone else had been thrown back, they glared at Cinder. Jaune was about to attack, but his father stepped before him, a cold aura surrounding him.
"First of all," Johnathon calmly took of his glasses and placed them in his pocket. "Bitch." Jaune, as well as the rest of the Arcs, all took several steps back, in what appeared to be fear. They had only seen their father curse one other time, and let's just say that it did not end well for the other guy.
Roy, on the other hand, smiled widely and grabbed a box of popcorn from out of nowhere. "That. Was a really, bad idea." Johnathon raised his sword and expanded his sheathe, the holster for the sword turning into a kite shield.
"I'm assuming, due to how idiotic the action you just took was," Cinder ground her teeth at the mans words. "That you don't know who we are."
"We, are the Arc family. And seeing as you were not aware of that, I have but one thing to say." The area around the father of the Arc's grew still, not even the wind daring to make a sound.
"You fucked up."
A blindingly white flash overtook the area, causing everyone to wince and shield their eyes. When the light dimmed down, majority of the jaws there had dropped. Johnathon Arc still stood before the three antagonists, but he was now covered in ethereal white armour.
"An interesting thing, the Arc semblance is." He stated as he stalked towards Cinder, sword and shield at the ready. "It can only activate under two certain circumstances. The user is male, and he is very, pissed off."
Adam, having had enough of this humans prattling, dashed at him and swung his sword. Johnathon, almost casually, lifted his shield which was also glowing brightly. When the katana came into contact with the shield, it shattered in a spark of red energy.
Adam was in such a state of stupefaction, that he did not see the sword approaching him until it was too late. Adam went flying, aura instantly shattering and colliding with a tree. He fell to the ground, mask broken and unmoving.
Emerald was next, using her chains to ensnare Johnathon, the literal 'white knight' only briefly halting. He flexed slightly, causing the chains to shatter. Johnathon grabbed one of the chains and jerked it towards him, Emerald coming flying with it.
The bash of the shield that he delivered to her was enough that she would more than likely wake up with a concussion and a broken aura. "And seeing as you just attacked my wife, my children, my partner, my sons team, and a girl who I hope will one day be my daughter-in-law," His blade pointed at Cinder's throat. "I am indeed, very pissed off."
Cinder, for the first time in several years, felt fear. "You're going to kill me? And ruin your son's chance for closure?" She snarled.
For a moment, Johnathon turned his head back so he could see his son. In that moment, Cinder activated her semblance and pressed her hands against Johnathon's glowing wispy helmet. Instead of him screaming out in agony, Cinder found herself screaming.
"I suppose that would be the proper story book ending to this wouldn't it." Johnathon said as he turned his head back to Cinder, piercing cerulean eyes staring at her through the constant shimmering whiteness.
"But unfortunately for you, I do not wish to make my son a murder. And this isn't that kind of story." With that final word, Johnathon plunged his sword directly into where Cinder's cold, uncaring heart would be.
Her aura held for barely a second, before shattering with a blindingly bright blast of orange, and a strangled cry of pain. Cinder's amber eyes maintained their look of rage, of hate, of will for vengeance, before they faded, leaving empty, colourless orbs.
Suddenly, a bright orange glow erupted from Cinder, shooting into the sky and heading straight towards Vale. There was silence in the clearing where the battle, if you could call it that, had been fought.
No birds tweeted. No leaves rustled. No branches snapped. Silence pervaded all.
When Johnathon's glowing white armour finally disappeared, he stood still, staring at the lifeless corpse of Cinder Fall, blood seeping from the gash in her chest. He slowly returned the shield into its sheathe form and holstered his sword. He turned and stared at the rest of the group, who were all looking at him with wide eyes.
He approached the group slowly, eyes on Neo and Jaune. He stopped before the couple and put a hand on their shoulders. "Sorry I couldn't let you to be the hero you are Jaune, but something tells me you're better off as you are."
Tears fell from both of their eyes as they hugged Johnathon, and each other. Everyone who watched the scene unfold shed a tear, even Mercury and Jack. "Now, let us return to Vale, and inform Ozpin about all this."
…
"I see." Ozpin said pensively, staring out over his glasses at the group before him. The entirety of the Arc family, team JNNPR, a Bullhead pilot and Mercury Black were all crammed inside his office.
"So, you mean to tell me, that the perpetrators of this plan, are currently either dead, locked up, or standing in front of me?" Mercury and Neo shuffled awkwardly.
"Yes." June Arc said, standing protectively in front of Neo, as well as Mercury. "However these two are the ones that informed us of the attack."
Ozpin said nothing, staring at Neo and Mercury with a calculating gaze. "This is true. And, as grim as this may sound, the death of this, Cinder Fall character, was quite a lucky turn of events." Ozpin's eyes left the two, and were now on the floor counter of his elevator, which was steadily increasing.
"Why is that?" Johnathon asked. Mercury seemed to know the answer.
"The Fall Maiden." He explained, staring at Ozpin's light brown eyes. The others in the room all looked around questioningly.
"I thought that was just a fairy tale." Saffron said, staring at her sisters who all nodded in agreement.
"Yeah…" Mercury trailed off. "It's, kinda not. And, we kinda, stole half her powers." He muttered. The gusto that Mercury possessed before reforming was now all but gone, awkwardly muttering his words and occasionally staring at his feet. He reminded Jaune of Jaune, before he met Neo.
"Well, seeing as this was your first offense, I think we know who you're first apology should be to." A 'ding' sounded, prompting everyone to turn to the elevator doors that slowly began to open.
"Oh shit." Mercury muttered as his grey eyes met the light brown ones of the Fall Maiden. When the eyes finally realised just who she was looking at, they widened in both fear and anger. A gust of wind suddenly blew him off his feet, sending backwards over Ozpin's desk, who maneuvered his chair so that he would not be hit.
Mercury's legs were left sticking in the air after that blast, his trousers coming down and exposing his prosthetic legs. "I guess I deserved that." They heard him mumble, Ozpin looking down at the boy with a small smile.
Ozpin lowered down a hand and helped him to his feet. When Mercury got back up, he looked to the elevator again and saw someone else he recognised, someone with piercing red eyes. "Don't tell me you're gonna hit me too." He sighed.
"As tempting as that is," The grizzled man replied. "If I hit you, you wouldn't get back up." His eyes flashed dangerously as he ran a hand through his greying black, spiky hair.
"Qrow. Thank you for bringing Amber up." Qrow nodded as he helped the tanned girl into the room. She was wearing a long medical gown and a large scar over one half of her face. Everyone could plainly see and feel the hate that was directed towards Mercury.
"Mr. Black. I believe there is something you wish to say to Amber?" Ozpin smirked lightly, eyes flicking between the former assassin and once-again Maiden.
Mercury gulped slightly as he righted himself and stared at Amber. He would like nothing more than to not meet her eyes, seeing as they were currently envisioning him enflamed. But, if he was to have a chance at redemption, it started here.
"I'm, sorry." Mercury eventually said. Amber still retained her look of fury.
"For?" Ozpin commented.
Mercury swallowed his nerves and continued speaking. "For helping taking half of your power, and apparently putting you into a coma." He shuffled awkwardly, his fake feet grinding on the floor.
Ambers rage was still visible, but it appeared to have lessened slightly. "Do you think a simple sorry will make me forgive what you did?" Her voice was hoarse, and Neo could tell that she had not used it in several months.
"No." Mercury sighed, his head hanging low. "But, it's a start?" He tried, smiling awkwardly. The frown that crossed Amber's scarred face was easily noticeable. "Yeah, thought not."
Amber looked as though she was debating something, scowl still visible on her face. "Why?" She asked, eyes meeting Mercury's. "Why did you betray them?"
"That would be thanks to blue eyed and blonde over there." He pointed to Jaune, who was standing with the rest of his family. Amber's eyes fell over the Arc family. Because she couldn't see who Mercury was pointing to, a look of confusion crossed her face.
"Which one?" She asked, eyes scanning over every blonde there. Jaune raised his hand, showing Amber that it was he who turned Mercury over to their side.
"That was me." Jaune stepped forward, standing before Amber and Qrow. "I'm Jaune." He offered a hand to her. Amber took it, shaking it weakly.
"How did you change him to the side of good?" Amber asked the young knight. Jaune blinked slightly. He turned to Mercury, who shrugged his shoulders.
"Uh, I, talked to him?" He offered. Amber blinked, not believing his reasoning. "I mean, I was nice to him, I guess. We played video games together." Jaune was listing off the activities he and Mercury had done together.
"You made someone good by talking to them?" Amber said in disbelief. Jaune nodded in a 'more-or-less' fashion. "Have you ever done this before?" She asked somewhat sarcastically.
Almost instantly, Jaune's head turned to look at Neo. Amber followed his gaze, eyes falling on the short girl with multi-coloured hair. Neo gulped lightly, raising a hand and waving meekly at Amber.
Before Amber could say anything, the eldest Arc sister spoke. "Wait. Are you saying Neo used to be a bad guy?" Jasmine asked her brother.
Neo slowly shimmied behind Jaune, using his body to defend herself from the stares. "Used to." Jaune stated, staring his sisters in the eye. A soft chuckling could be heard from the group. Johnathon Arc was clutching his side in laughter, as his wife averted her gaze.
"You really are my son." He said, wiping a tear from his eye. No one seemed to get what he was implying at first, but Jaune's eyes widened upon realisation.
"Mom! You used to be bad?" He exclaimed. June Arc stared at her husband, annoyed that he had revealed that part of her past.
"Used to. As you just put it Jauney." She stated. "Yes, I used to be on the wrong side. But your father, changed my ways."
"With his di-" Roy was cut off by Johnathon smacking him over his head.
"Yes, we Arcs tend to have a strange ability of turning the bad to the good, especially cute bad girls." Both June and Neo gained a blush as they hugged their own male Arc.
"Jaune, Neo." Ozpin called, causing the couple to look up at the wisened man. "It would seem that thanks to the two of you, as well as Mr. Black, Beacon has been saved. I believe the whole of Vale would be in danger, judging from what you have told me."
"I'm certain that the citizens of Vale would love to meet the saviours of their city." Ozpin smirked lightly over the tops of his tiny glasses.
"Thank you professor, but no thank you." Jaune said, a small smile on his face. Ozpin, as well as several others, gave Jaune strange looks. "I'm sure that if they knew I'd probably be treated like a hero or something, but I think that if people found out what almost happened there'd be panic."
"So, you don't want people to know of your heroic acts?" Ozpin asked. Jaune chuckled lightly.
"I think the term is, 'ignorance is bliss'." He received a small smirk from Ozpin. "Plus, technically it was my dad who killed the master mind." Ozpin's eyes flicked towards the father of the Arcs, who met his gaze.
"If you're going to ask, I don't want my name known either." Johnathon told the headmaster. Ozpin sighed lightly, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
"So, you saved the city, but you don't want anyone to know. I suppose that would be the Arc in you wouldn't it. So, I can only ask, what is it the two of you shall do now that your enemy has been vanquished?"
Neo and Jaune looked at each other, asking each other the question just proposed to them mentally. They both gained wide smiles as they turned to Ozpin and gave him their answer.
"Ice cream."
THE END
This, is the end. The end of the story anyway. It's been a good run. With some, bumps in the road. *cough*chapter16*cough* Either way, I've loved writing this story. To think it just started off in my head as a simple thought. That thought being, 'I wonder if Jaune likes ice cream'.
Still, it's almost hard to see this ending. And I'll be completely honest with you, it brings a tear to my eye, seeing as this is the first story I've ever fully completed. So, with Jaune and Neo in a relationship approved by his family, Beacon and Vale safe, and Mercury on the side of good, all I can say is,
Until next time.
-Friday