You know, something came to my mind. To anyone who watched the show, did you notice how Forver Fall looks very similar to the Crimson from Terraria? Red leaves, blackish trees. No? Just me?
Jaune fell on the ground as soon as he reached team CRDL. He was forced to do all the work for them. More importantly, he never understood why Cardin made him bring six jars full of sap and not five, since there is one per student.
"Hey, great work Jauney boy. Now that wasn't too hard, was it?"
"I think I'm allergic to this stuff..."
"Great, great, great. So, Jaune. I bet you're asking yourself "why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect six jars of tree sap, when there is only five of us?"... heh, come with me and you will find out."
Jaune, along with CRDL, reached an edge where they could see team RWBBY and the rest of JNPR collecting sap... well, except Braylon. The blonde knight noticed how the Vault Hunter sat against a tree with a frown on his face as if he was thinking about something. His jar stood near him, empty.
"Cardin... what's going on?"
"Payback."
"...Pyrrha?"
"No."
"Then who?"
"Him."
Jaune moved his head towards Braylon's position. He was still sitting and thinking to himself.
"What are you-"
Cardin brought out a box, "That asswipe will regret the day he was born. I'll show him what it means to screw with Cardin Winchester. I waited long enough to get my revenge. But not anymore."
Jaune cringed. He didn't like where this story was going.
"Now, our buddy Jaune managed to get his hands on Rapier Wasps. And if I remember correctly, Rapier Wasps are attracted to the sap." He smiled at Jaune as if giving a hint. The knight smiled back, although it was a raher forced smile. Both of them got up.
"But wait, I got a better idea. Why don't you do it for me?"
"Do what?"
"Don't play dumb with me. Toss that jar at him or else...", he leaned closer, "I think Ozpin won't like what I have to say about you."
That was so unfair, Jaune thought. He needed to toss that jar at Braylon, otherwise he would never see any of his friends again. He moved closer to the edge and looked once more at the Vault Hunter. Sure, he wasn't exactly a nice person and he was taken to Atlas with handcuffs but... if what Yang told them about him is true... then doing this would only create more hostility that has already been there in the first place! No... no matter the cost, he wasn't going to betray his friend for a bully like Cardin.
"No."
"What did you just say?"
Cardin came closer and pointed a finger below his chin.
"Boy, you are going to do what I'm telling you to do or we are going to have some trouble."
"I know why you want me to do it. So that you can frame me if anything horrible happens to Braylon."
"Oh ho ho. Hear that, boys? Little Jaune grew a pair.", Cardin punched Jaune with such force that he fell on the ground, "Get up! I said get up!"
The brute then picked Jaune up with ease.
"I will only say this once. Either you toss this jar at Braylon..." He gave the jar back to Jaune. "Or I will make sure you return in a coffin."
"I don't care what you do to me, Cardin. But keep going, make your worse. You know why?"
Cardin frowned.
"Because whatever you think you can do to me... Braylon... can do double."
The mention of the Vault Hunter made Cardin's blood boil with hatred.
"Fine. If you like to play the mule... then I will treat you like one."
BANG!
The jar exploded.
The sap it contained was spilled on both Jaune and Cardin, which surprised both Huntsmen.
"Shit!" Cardin cried out as the group retreated from the edge. Before Jaune lost sight of his friends, he managed to see Braylon watching them with a smoking revolver in his right hand.
And he was not happy.
"Who did this?!" Cardin yelled in rage.
"Must be Braylon.", one of his teammates said, "That guy is a freak!"
"You!", Cardin raised a fist, ready to strike Jaune again, "If it weren't for your stalling now I've..."
They heard a roar.
"What now? Oh..."
Everyone turned their heads towards the source only to see one giant Ursa staring them as if staring at lunch. It smelled the sweet sap on both of them and decided to split them apart. With a quick swipe the creature badly injured Cardin, tossing him into a tree, and let jaune go from the grasp of the bully.
For Cardin, this turned out to be a blessing. Because both of them were covered in sap and the Ursa seemed lazy, the Grimm was concentrated on Jaune, giving him a chance to either attack or escape. He then saw his teammates running away without even bothering to help their leader.
"Cowards! Bunch of cowards! Traitors!" He thoguht as he touched the deep wound in his abdomen. He was loosing blood. That Ursa was insanely strong.
Without thinking twice, Cardin decided to run for it. He couldn't give a damn about Jaune.
As he left the knight behind, to run into a random direction in the forest, Cardin's thoughts returned back to his team - no, cowards – and how to punish them properly for their cowardice. If he makes it out alive, that is.
His gaze turned towards the sky. There was something shiny falling down. He squinted to see better and noticed it was...
He could see a brief, colorless flash which was soon replaced by something tiny followed by a trail of fire. Cardin could see the object falling at high speed and crashing somewhere in the forest with an echoing "boom".
Cardin decided to find the crash site. He was curious to see what fell into Forver Fall.
"What happened Braylon?!" Yang asked, already armed and ready to kick ass.
Braylon holstered his gun, "Thought I saw something."
"So your first reaction was to shoot it?!", the false alarm made Yang frustrated.
"There is no such thing as paranoia. Your worst fears can come true at any moment."
"Sure, sure." Yang said as she turned around, waving her hands in the air.
Awesome. Not only he had to think about the sudden appearance of that fucking machine, but now he also had to have a brief conversation with that idiot Jaune. Looks like him and Cardin wanted to do some nasty shit. He know why Cardin but not why Jaune. Maybe beating the answer out of that calf head is gonna do it.
"Ursa! Ursa!"
He turned his head around and noticed three stooges running like scared children. One of them crashed into Yang which was soon lifted up.
"Back there! It got Cardin!"
"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted. Why was she worried about him? If he is a team leader, then there must be a reason for that. Oh, right. It's Jaune we are talking about. Forget I said anything.
"Yang! You and Blake go get professor Goodwitch!"
"You two! Go with them! There could be more!"
"Right! We three are going to- Braylon! Where are you going?!", Ruby shouted as she saw the Vault Hunter casually walking away.
"For a walk."
"Braylon, no! We need to help Jaune!"
"Then go help him. He is your friend, isn't he?"
"Jaune is your friend too." Replied Pyrrha.
"More like an acquaintance than actual friend. Either way, it's not my concern."
Braylon stopped walking when he saw Ruby appearing in front of him.
"Braylon, we need to help Jaune! We both know he is not exactlys great at fighting!"
"And why should I care? It was his decision to stay with Cardin now wasn't it?"
"Braylon!"
"Not a chance."
"If you were in his position, he would help you, you know." Pyrrha added.
"Well, he is not." He pushed Ruby away and continued his walk only to stop when he noticed a brief flash in the sky. He raised his head up to see better.
"Braylon, I am your team leader and as such I am ordering you to help us! Braylon?"
He saw an object falling down and crashing in the distance. Whatever it was, he needed to find it. It could possibly be something from his reality. Or worse. So without further thinking, he started running as fast a she could.
He could hear Ruby shouting his name. It was pointless anyways.
Cardin finally reached the crash site. In the crater he could see a small rock emitting black smoke. The crater itself was rather large for something a little bit larger than a basketball.
He grit his teeth. The pain was a bitch but it would soon go away, thanks to his Aura. He was more concerned about a voice that he could hear.
"Hello. You are not afraid, are you?"
Cardin widened his eyes when he heard the voice. It was abnormal yet calm, deep and echoing. His weapon quickly came into the hand, ready to strike the first opponent that happens to appear in front of him.
"Some people fear what they can't understand. A ghastly voice or a shadow at the corner of the eye, that can become rather disturbing just to think about it. You watch, knowing that you are not alone."
Cardin turned around. The voice was taunting him. Playing with him. Could it be a Grimm?
"Some people fear diseases. Unseen threats that crawl inside you, growing day by day until it finally decides to eat you from within. Slowly... continuously... without mercy. They can target your lungs, making you suffocate to death. They can grow lumps of meat which become increasingly painful until it finally kills you. They can even target your limbs, making you a cripple for the rest of your life."
The sounds that followed could only be described as a mixture of gutturall growls and high-pitched, distorted screaming. Needless to say, Cardin was a bit scared. But just a bit!
"Some people fear those who are stronger than them. These individuals can bully and humiliate others whenever they desire. They can inflict so much pain that their vicitims will be left with broken arms or legs, maybe even necks, confined to a bed and left to beg for help, knowing that no matter what they do, no man or woman will ever help them. Thus becoming a laughingstock of their community. Are you one of those people?"
Cardin turned around once again, "Who are you? Show yourself!"
"I have no need to hide. I am right here, in front of you."
"Huh?"
The boy lowered his head towards the rock, "Are you... that rock?"
"No. I am that which uses it as turtle uses its shell. Come closer."
"And what if I refuse?"
"Then you will never know what it means to fight back against those that wronged you. To see them suffer the same way you did. Or worse."
"Wait, how do you..."
"The mind is not so quiet as it thinks it is. Everbody can hear its rambling if they focus hard enough. And right now, your mind is constantly expressing its hatred for someone. Someone I know far too well."
This news blew Cardin's mind. This... alien knew about Braylon? And that bastard wronged him too?
"Of course he did. He always does. I am sure he did something despicable to you. Am I corrrect?"
Cardin nodded. The enemy of his enemy was his friend, right?
"Correct. Now, if you want to know me and my thoguhts, then I suggest you come closer."
He did as asked. It took him few minutes to slide down towards the rock.
"Much better. Here. Let me give you a taste of what I had to endure with him."
Suddenly, his mind was bombarded with thousands of images, each being a piece of memory that this creature experienced. He could see Braylon clearly, wounding it and setting it on fire while it screamed in agony.
"Are... are you human?"
"More than you can imagine. What you saw was him in his full picture. He wronged many people like you and me. That needs to be changed. And I think you could be the person for that."
"Me?"
The rock cracked open, revealing a small pool of some viscous red liquid.
"So tell me, what is your next move? Will you allow me to fuse with your blood so that together we could punish him or will you simply go away and let your suffering and humiliation last a little while longer? The choice is yours."
Cardin frowned. This thing could finally be the instrument of Braylon's demise. Together, they could torture him for hours and hours. More importantly, that redheaded know-it-all will pay for making him loose like that.
He made few steps closer.
"I thought so."
The liquid suddenly raised a part of itself and jumped straight towards Cardin's wound. The pain he felt made him grit his teeth and fall on his knees. In less than ten seconds, the liquid was completely inside his body, which made him scream in agony.
After some time, the pain stopped completely and Cardin got up on his feet. He moved his fingers on his right hand and smiled.
"Time for some games."
