Noble:Hey been a while but here it is my bruddas. Another chapter hope everyone enjoy! Funny thing too, it's actually my birthday today. The big 21 and I can't even go to a bar and order a beer cus of this stupid Virus! Oh well, give me a present by Reading and reviewing!
Sparky: Also, we don't own anything that isn't our respective ideas. All characters in this story belong to their respective owners and RWBY belongs to the late Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth
Blaisengfire: Puppy Arc
Masseffect-TxS: Restart
SparkyDapperDab19: Reaping with Sorrow
Noble4259: Being Human
Beta Reader: SparkyDapperDab19 and Masseffect-TxS
Deep within the heart of the Grimmlands, Salem glared through the Seer as Cinder bowed before her. The Invasion of Beacon had not gone to plan, not only did they not possess the Relic of Choice, but they only had half the Fall Maiden's power. Failure on occasion was inevitable, considering what she was facing along with her resources at hand. It was the reason why deception and doubt were her strongest weapons and not all out war.
But this was unacceptable.
"I am not happy, Cinder." Salem said as her posture was lax upon her throne, yet her piercing gaze never faltered in putting the fear of the Brothers in Cinder. "Not happy at all. The invasion was set off ahead of schedule and without my permission. And the results are pitiful." Cinder bowed low as Salem's words cut like a knife.
Cinder could only let Salem's words burn her from within for so long as she lifted her head and opened her mouth, but Salem put her hand up to prohibit her from speaking. "Did you secure the relic?" She put her hand down to allow Cinder to speak.
"No..." Cinder said.
"Did you claim the rest of the Maiden's power?" Salem continued. Yet gave her a glare that let Cinder know what answer she was expecting.
"No." Cinder growled.
Salem leaned forward with more intensity within her glare. "Did you even kill Ozpin?" she nodded.
"He was taken care of. I incinerated him."
"That wasn't my question." Salem spat back before she gritted her teeth.
Cinder paused before she looked down. "No."
"That's right." Salem said. "You didn't. That temporary power of yours did." Salem took a breath as she leaned forward from her throne. "Let me tell you what you did do. Instead of realizing we weren't even close to ready for the attack, you decided it was the perfect time to raise havoc in Vale, allow one of my pets to destroy a tower, and subject yourself to an unnecessary defeat all to needlessly injure an inconsequential student because of a petty feud."
"But Lord Noctis claimed to work for you! I only followed-!"
"When did I allow you to speak?!" Salem growled. Cinder buckled from fear and bowed low.
"Where was I? Oh yes. You were seduced by power that came to you at random. Power that I have no knowledge of giving, nor do I have any knowledge of a man named Noctis. Clearly the power went to your head because the notion of reporting this unknown variable to me the moment you made contact with him wasn't your first decision." her words were like continuous and relentless lashings as Cinder only seemed to shrink as Salem went on.
Salem took a moment to close her eyes and catch a breath. Before she narrowed them with a ferocity she had only shown Ozma. "I believe everything I just said sums up your loyalty to me as well as how capable you are at accomplishing the most minimal of tasks. Hazel or Tyrian will come to collect you and your... colleagues. You can try to resist, but I believe they can handle a half maiden."
With that, Salem's last call ended, leaving Cinder for the first time in a long time, afraid.
(Reaper)
Reaper couldn't help but feel anything but ease as he stood in a place that gave him both clarity and discord. The memories were annoying as ever, but he couldn't lie and say there was an odd peace within him as he remained still on one of the roofs of Beacon. The rooftop held a special place for him as it was the place that changed his life not once, but twice.
Reaper looked over at the aftermath from Noctis's attack and shook his head as he removed his mask. The sight of destroyed buildings along with the mass of negativity brought him back to the night in his world where he was partly responsible for the destruction. From the Atlas machines he destroyed, all the way to his duel with Pyrrha on the very roof he was standing on. Reaper never believed in fate or destiny, but the similarities between their worlds was getting ridiculous.
'What a mess...' Reaper thought as he looked down at his mask that he held in both his hands and couldn't help but feel that the eye slits were glaring back at him.
'It's at least better than John's world but it's still rough. Sparrow's having to be rebuilt, Pyrrha's in a coma, John's fucked up, Ozpin's dead, and just to rub salt into the wound Noctis destroyed the top of beacon tower. It's nuts.' He took a seat at the edge of the roof and looked up to gaze at the distant decimated tower reminding him of the last time he and Sparrow talked. Thinking back to when he revealed the true nature of his smoke after listening to Sparrow's reason for being a cyborg. Two Arcs with such similar tragedies but under such varied circumstances.
"I'm sorry, Sparks." Reaper said to himself as his grip tightened upon his mask. He couldn't help but grit his teeth as his body still felt raw from Noctis' control. He could see what he was doing and feel horrible in the process, but there was barely anything he could do to control himself. It was the first time in a long time he felt completely helpless.
His breath suddenly hitched and he dropped the mask before wrapping an arm around his stomach as pain coursed through his body. Reaper closed his eyes forcing himself not to wretch from the truth of the matter.
Everything hurt.
It shouldn't have bothered Reaper as much as it did, but no matter how many times he practiced his breathing or tried to meditate, there was no end to the constant aching that enveloped him. The silence across the desolate battlefield of Beacon gave him no comfort nor did the still night sky. It was like a shadow of discomfort had engulfed him and has kept consistent with the pain.
All because of a power-hungry servant who had no idea what kind of power she had.
Adam was cannon fodder compared to Cinder, but not when it came to an actual fight. Now that Reaper thought on it, he had never really had a fight against her in his world. She did revert his powers for a short time via Pyrrha's aura, but Amélie was the one who had her sights on Cinder, not him.
What Cinder had over Adam was corruption. Even if he didn't absorb the Grimm King's power from Adam, he could still tell the difference. Adam was just a blind follower who used his power to get revenge and was drunk off it, but Cinder…
She was hungry.
It was a hunger that nearly made him collapse just like when the Grimm King had full control over him the first time they met, but just like with Noctis, there was no staying power. The hunger within him disappeared only moments after absorbing Noctis' power from the power-hungry maiden. What made Reaper's hands tremble though, was how good it felt when he took the power away from Cinder. It made him feel more like he was before he fell into the Grimm pool.
But what comes up must come down.
Reaper covered his stomach with his arms and closed his eyes. His breathing grew short as the mixture of hunger and pain ate away at him as if he was consuming while being consumed. Reaper's breaths went from short to heavy as he did his best to remain still, yet lowered his hood. He wasn't a religious person, but he prayed to whatever of the two Brothers would hear him to make the pain stop. That urge to find more of Noctis' followers rose. The hunger within him desired more power and Reaper knew it would never be enough. It was a notion the hooded Arc never wanted to be affiliated with. Reaper knew what kind of person he was, but he refused to be like this. He refused to be as hungry as Cinder. He refused to be controlled by anyone or anything.
"Jaune?"
Reaper's head perked up at the voice that slipped its way through the silence of the night and on sheer instinct, he pulled his hood over his head, yet remained still in his spot.
"Jaune is at the infirmary with Pyrrha." Reaper grumbled as he knew who was coming up from behind him.
"That's not who I was talking about."
Reaper turned slightly to his right and saw that a bruised and scratched Velvet Scarlatina sit down beside him. Reaper kept calm, but he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't bothered by her beaten appearance.
"Are you okay?" Reaper asked.
"I hurt all over, but my team and I are alright. Still, it wasn't easy."
"I agree." Jaune said as he winced at the sharp pain within his stomach. He looked over to Velvet and noticed her torn up attire and the mixture of dirt and blood that caked her face, hair and ears. "Is your sister okay?" Reaper asked as he tilted his head toward her.
"She got hurt pretty bad. She and her friends were attacked at the festival. Broke an arm."
"I'm sorry." Reaper said as he looked down at his legs.
"She wanted me to say thank you for helping her back at the warehouse," Velvet said as she folded her arms over her knees and leaned forward. "and for helping me get away from Adam."
"You're welcome." Reaper said. He had the urge to smirk, but he suppressed it.
"Are you okay, Jaune?" Velvet asked as she tilted her head to try and see his face, but all she could really notice was that his jaw was clenched.
"I don't go by that name anymore." Reaper said as he turned to Velvet to show her his decaying face. A flash of horror passed by Velvet's face for a moment, but Reaper was surprised to see how quickly it passed.
"There has to be someone who doesn't call you Reaper all the time." Velvet said as she turned her gaze to meet his eyes and gave him a smile.
Reaper took comfort in the small moments of silence before his red eyes met her rich brown orbs. He ignored the pain as he swung his dangling legs and leaned back a bit with his arms propping him up.
"Besides team JNPR and Ruby Rose from my world, only two people call me Jaune anymore."
"Who are they?"
Reaper paused at the question and let his left cheek erode into nothing but bone. He looked back at Velvet and decided she was his best chance to get his mind off the pain for now.
"My two new teammates, Amélie and Sombra." Jaune looked up and smiled at the thought of them. "After I… changed, I met some people that helped me. Sombra was one of them. She was the team's intel expert." Jaune's gazed dulled a bit before he let out a quick breath. "And a pain in the ass when she wanted to be."
"I'm sure she's not too ba-!"
"Imagine a very intelligent Nora who has a self-centered moral compass and a knack for digging up dirt on anyone." Reaper said abruptly.
"Oh… Oh my."
"Yup." Reaper said as he popped the P, making a small speck of smoke fly off his lips. "Still, when it came to the job, she pulled her weight. So, I couldn't really complain."
"And Amélie?"
"Amélie was… is my partner." Reaper said as his gut tightened at the mention of her, yet he couldn't help but smile as he looked at Velvet. "She's definitely something. Some could say emotionless. Yang would definitely ask her constantly why she'd look so blue." Reaper snickered at the thought and Amélie's probable reaction.
"I'm not sure I follow."
"Amélie's heartbeat is really slow so her body temperature is lower, and her skin is blue."
"Oh," Velvet said with wide eyes. "That's quite a semblance."
"Yeah," Reaper said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Makes her a damn good sniper."
"And I agree." Velvet said with a short giggle. "Your world's Yang must have had a field day with the puns."
Reaper maintained his neutral expression yet looked forward and narrowed his eyes at the mention of his world. "Not really. We were too busy trying to kill each other for jokes."
The laughter within Velvet died within her throat as she remembered what he told her in the bullhead after he killed Adam Taurus. "Did they really change that much?" Velvet asked with worry apparent in her voice.
"I honestly don't know, Velvet," Reaper said as he lowered his hood and took a deep breath. "I'm pretty sure this world's Beacon wouldn't react the same way mine did when they found about the transcripts."
"Transcripts?" Velvet asked.
"I forged my credentials and got into Beacon by lying." Reaper said. He saw the surprise jolt through Velvet and couldn't help but smirk at the reaction.
"Did Jaune also do that?" Velvet asked with bewilderment.
"You really need me to answer that?"
"That's fair…. Not nice to say, but fair."
"Besides," Jaune said as he nudged behind him to the damaged facility of Beacon Academy. "I'm pretty sure after everything that has happened, no one would care."
"That's true," Velvet laughed and shook her head at the sight. "He's been through enough to earn his spot in Beacon."
"He has." Reaper said with a nod. "Unfortunately, in my world, only Ren, Pyrrha, Nora, Ruby, and your team were the only ones who felt that way." Reaper leaned forward and made a fist with his right hand and cupped it with his left. "It was like a switch turned on within everyone that turned them into everything a huntsman wasn't supposed to be. Especially with Weiss, Blake, and Yang."
"That must have been rough. But I think I understand a bit." Velvet said as she had no idea how to feel about the scenario. She was just thankful her and the rest of her team in his world didn't feel that way as the rest of the student body.
"I'm sure you do." Reaper said as he quickly glanced at Velvet's ears. "It wasn't pleasant, that's for sure." Reaper said with a sigh. "RWBY and JNPR were later sent on a joint mission in the Forever Fall. Ruby and I got attacked by Grimm while the teams were gone gathering food and supplies for the shelter. I patched her up yet was blamed for it. They thought I lost it and attacked her."
"Did you really?" Velvet asked, only to receive a harsh glare from Reaper. "I'm sorry, it's just…"
"It's fine." Reaper said as he hunched a bit in his spot. "I can see why you'd ask. But I didn't hurt Ruby. I couldn't hurt her." Reaper's closed his eyes and released his fist from his grasp and laid down. "The people I mentioned before weren't mad at me, but Ruby never treated me differently. She had to be a leader to her team, but she refused to be like them. I'm not that deranged to attack her while everyone was gone."
"Okay." Velvet said. "I'm sorry for thinking otherwise."
Reaper nodded and decided to lay down on his back and folded his hands atop his stomach. "Well later on, the people who thought and truly believed otherwise hunted me down. Yang, Blake, and Weiss didn't hold back, and I won't lie and say it was horrifying to think they wanted me completely gone."
Velvet remained silent and Reaper closed his eyes once more. "After a lengthy chase and the worst beat down, I've ever taken, I found myself thrown into a pool of tar. It's what makes the Grimm and when I climbed out, I was like this. The rest is history." Reaper finished as he was surprised how much that took his mind off the constant pain.
"I take it you still haven't forgiven them for what they did?" Velvet asked as delicately as she could.
"I won't ever forgive them, Velvet." Reaper said as he opened his eyes and looked out to the stars. "I've definitely changed from what you all view Jaune Arc as, but I wasn't the only one. They are just as bad if not worse than the ones responsible for tonight."
"As strange as it sounds, I'm relieved you and the other Jaune's came instead of them."
Reaper couldn't help but chuckle at her comment as he curved his eroding lips up into a small smirk.
"What's so funny?"
"I was partly responsible for tonight in my world. I don't know I just find it funny I'm on the other side now."
"Do you regret doing it?" Reaper looked to Velvet and noticed her gaze had hardened into a glare.
"I regret Ruby and my old team got involved. Ruby's team is a whole other story." There was silence on Velvet's part as Reaper matched her gaze. "If you saw them, Velvet, you would feel the same way."
"I'm glad I never have to." Velvet said with a flat tone. Reaper could see she wasn't particularly happy with him.
For a brief moment, the hunger was quelled within Reaper as the notion of being in this world gave him comfort. "Me too Velvet. Me too."
(Salem)
"Watts," Salem called out over the grand table she had her loyal subordinates sit at. "Send Tyrian and Hazel to Vale immediately. I want Cinder and her group back here within the week."
"It will be done my queen," Watts said as he stood up from his seat and properly bowed. "Is there anything else you desire?"
"Yes, I want you to research everything you can about the Arc family. Cinder wouldn't stop rambling about an elder Arc and I want to know-"
"It's amusing to see you play such childish games, Usurper."
Salem's eyes narrowed at the unknown and unwelcomed voice. Just like how the voice slipped its way through the silence, a being did the same as it revealed itself and chuckled while it leaned against a column right behind Watts. Salem froze for the first time in centuries, completely dumbfound of how someone managed to slip right in through her defenses and sneak up on her undetected.
"It's like watching a child play with matches. The end result is always watching the child get burned," and his power, the vile sick power that radiated off him…
It frightened even her.
"Impossible…How did you get past my sensors?" She breathed barely audible.
"You mean those little sentry guards you have around my domain." He pointed to the Beowolves that parted for him.
"Your domain!?"
Noctis only nodded.
"Yes, Mine. Well once they recognized who I was, they easily let me through." He walked around her as he looked upon the crystal throne.
"Impossible, the Grimm serves only me. Who are you?" Salem gritted her teeth at the silence and darted her head in his direction. "Answer me or I shall have your head placed upon a spike!" She demanded as dark hands began to rise from the floor. Noctis only smirked as his hand radiated with red aura and he merely waved his hand, realizing a large pressure of wind that scattered them to dust.
Salem and Watts stared with wide eyes as the pale horned man grinned.
"All right, if you must know…" he turned around and gave a mocking bow. "Allow me to introduce you in my self-given honorary title, Noctis Noir Arc…or as I usually was called: the Grimm King." He smirked with sharp teeth as Watts shrunk back in fear. Salem, however, scoffed at the notion.
"The Grimm King? Really?" Salem asked with a blank expression. "The Grimm King was a story told to children of my time to scare them into behaving. According to legend, the real Grimm King was slain by the God of Light in the last years of the Dark Ages. Its death signified the beginning of mankind's creation." Noctis chuckled at this.
"I was a little curious about why they didn't initially recognize me. So, I was slain by the God of Light in this world? Hmm… Light always was a bit of a prick, when it comes to destroying my brethren. Course, he is the God of Light and Life, whereas I was born from Darkness and Death… No wonder he wanted to kill me." He mused as Salem digested his words.
"This World? What do you mean this world?"
"Oh, that. Well, it's simple, I'm not from this world, I'm from another that's a little more…ahead of the time, then this one. Watts there can tell you all about it…" his form shifted into a dark mass it spread out as the man's eyes widened. "…Or do you not recognize your little test tube subject, Doctor?" his voice rumbled and echoed as he grinned before retaking his form.
"B-by the Brothers! It's you! The anomaly I found in the Forever Fall!" Noctis snapped his fingers.
"Bingo Bango, doc!" he laughed as Salem turned to him.
"Watts, explain."
"Do you remember when I reported the strange lights that appeared over Vale? One of these lights slammed into the Forever Falls Forest and produced this large Grimm that I had never seen before. It was without shape or coherent form. I had it contained and shipped to one of my offsite labs in Vale, hoping to receive a report from you. It came along with a journal that detailed our entire plan for the Vytal Festival. It was one of the reasons I asked to look into this Arc fellow. But the subject had escaped shortly afterward. I assumed it was under your control and merely slipped away to follow your orders…."
"Oh, I'm not under anyone's control, Doc. I'm my own free Grimm, I can do whatever I want." Noctis grinned as he walked around the pair. "See those lights that you saw, that was the result of one of Doctor Merlot's little experimentations. It accidentally ripped opened a hole into the Multiverse and pulled in five unwanted guests. One of them being me."
"So, you are from another world, one similar to this one?
"Yes. See in my world I was not 'slain' by the God of Light. I bowed just as my brethren had when father ordered us to stand down. But after you lead your rebellion and mankind was wiped from the surface, I was given a momentous task." Noctis closed his eyes and smiled at the memories that flooded his corrupted mind. "I would be augmented with new powers and sealed within the Dark Pools of my Father's domain, only to be unleashed when mankind had failed their final test." He smirked with glee.
"And because of your ambition and stubbornness, Salem, mankind failed yet again. Your little plan to usurp the Gods once more ended in failure and I was unleashed upon the world. It wasn't quick like the last time. They had to suffer for their arrogance and their greed, till eventually there was no one left…so thank you for that Salem." Salem growled as she clenched her fist.
"So, your world turned to dust and mankind was extinguished?" Salem asked as she tried to wrap her head around the situation at hand. Her eyes narrowed as the horned Grimm-Human smile reverted from sinister to soft in a matter of seconds.
"Almost, there was…one…that managed the impossible, a man that I greatly respect more than anyone in my lifetime. He managed to kill me in our final battle and proved that humanity wasn't as weak as the Gods believed them to be. In doing this he somehow managed to reverse time back to when I was still sealed in the pits." He gripped his fist.
"At first, I was furious, thinking that I would have to wait in that cursed pit until my inevitable arrival. The warrior I know no longer existing in my time. But when I found out he had traveled back with me, I realized that this was an opportunity for me…an opportunity to have our second battle and change the world forever." He turned back to her as he grinned.
"But before I can do that, I must deal with you, Usurper. So that he can focus on his one true nemesis. Not some power-hungry wannabe God who murders her own kin." He grinned when a look of fury entered her eyes.
"I do wonder though…what was it like, slaughtering your own children?" Salem's power surged as the windows cracked all around them. Noctis only tilted his head to the side as he knew exactly what button he pressed. "Snuffing out their tiny lives before they even had a chance to bloom into maturity? It must have killed you on the inside. Broke whatever's left of that cold heart of yours…I especially wonder what was going through your children's mind…as their own mother burnt them to a crisp."
Fire enveloped Salem's hand as she roared with fury and blasted the Grimm King with a massive ball of fire. The heat from the flames so intense it melted the stone walls. Watts recoiling from the heat and flames, as Salem poured her magic in a blaze of fury.
"You have no right to mention them!"
Her voice boomed with fury as the man tumbled back and slammed into the wall. She summoned forth a powerful storm as lightning surged around her and she sent it towards the King. The lightning blasting into him as it surged and slammed through roof pounding him into the floor. She then fired powerful blasts of energy at him as they exploded with violent tenancies.
The castle's walls shaking and crumbling as she continued to pummel the man into the ground. Her rage consumed her as memories of her children passed through her mind, the looks of fear as her and Ozma's attacks inevitably killed them. Tears leaking from her eyes as painful memories resurfaced after so many years of bottling them away.
She cast one last spell as the walls cracked and large boulders buried the man under rubble and dust.
Salem breathed in heavily as her rage and anger slowly subsided and she regained her senses. She observed the damage as she waited for any sign of the man that had dared to bring back the memories, she had long since buried away.
"Um…I think you got him, mistress." Watts said as he slowly got up and dusted himself off.
Salem kept her eyes on the rubble before nodding. Right before the rubble exploded and dark energy poured out in waves of pure evil. Salem and Watts stumbled back in horror as the man stood before them. His entire form shrouded by black and red energy before it slowly subsided and no injury was present anywhere on his person.
Fear gripped their hearts as the man opened his blood-red eyes and smirked.
"I have to admit, that was pretty good." Noctis said as he placed a hand on the back of his neck and cracked it. "If I was any other Grimm, I would've been a smear on the floor right about now." He commented at the destruction. "But like my adversary when he was brought back in time, I too was affected by the temporal shift. I have gained a new power; one I believe is a…distorted replica of my rivals."
Faster than she could react, she felt his armored hand against her throat as she was hoisted into the air. "Allow me to show you."
He held out his left hand as it surged with black/red aura. Tendrils of darkness snacking out and latching onto Salem as they burrowed into her body. Pain like she never imagined surged through her as she screeched in pain. The energy circled inside her, as she shrieked. Feeling as if her life force being drained from her body. A satisfying grin spread across his face as he ripped out two orbs.
One was blood red, the other was gold, before he smirked and absorbed the red orb. Salem gasped weakly as she felt her body become frail and weak. "Do you feel it, Usurper. Do you feel death embracing you?" he asked as Salem began to decay into dust.
"This is my new power, an altered version of my Rivals Semblance. His was the ability to give power and amplify …mines, is the ability to take. I call it…Consumption." She gasped through a drying throat, as her body became like that of a frail old woman.
"I used it to take away your magical powers and your curse. Freeing you of the burden you carried for so long…Of course, this is nowhere near what I should be capable of in my world. An effect I assume from traveling to another dimension I assume?" Salem for a moment felt at peace as she felt trued death lurching before her. Right before he shoved the Golden Orb back into her chest.
She cried out as her body glowed and it returned to normal. He dropped her to the ground as she gasped for air. Her eyes looking up in disbelief as the man smirked down at her.
"Oh no, no, no. I'm not going to allow you to die just yet. Oh no, I have plans for you Usurper." She thrust her hand forward hoping to blast him with her powers. Only to gaze in horror at the lack of magical energy.
"And I'm going to make sure you have a front-row seat to it."
He heard several growls as he was soon surrounded by the Grimm. Salem chuckled as she struggled to stand up. "You…may have taken…my power…" she grunted as she stood on her feet. "But I still have the Grimm. My spell still holds sway over them. They serve me…"
Noctis held up his fingers as he snapped, and a large pulse of energy blasted off. The Grimm struggled for a moment as their red marks glowed before slowing bowing. Noctis grinning with delight as all the Grimm bowed before him.
Salem searching with muted horror as the Grimm defied her orders. "You forget, according to Legend, the King of the Grimm could command all Grimm." She fell to her knees, as his red eyes glowed and he towered over her kneeling form.
"And the King…has returned."
He snapped his fingers. "Take her away, lock her up in one of the towers…she should feel right at home." He commanded the Grimm as they grabbed her by the arms and dragged her away. Kicking and screaming as she did.
"And what of you, Watts?" he turned to the man hiding behind the pillar. "What should I do with you? I didn't particularly like being shoved into a test tube…perhaps I should scoop out your brain and shove it into a vial, use a portion of her curse to keep it alive. See how you like it?" he threatened as he stalked towards the trembling man.
The man cowered as he drew closer with sharp claws…only to stop as he bent down to him.
"Unless you can provide me with something of value, of course?" the man opened his eyes as Noctis smirked. "Like for example, a certain scientist that could mutate my fellow brethren and who was working on a machine that punched a hole into the dimensions…" he smirked.
"Would you be able to assist such a man?" he asked with full intent, as Watts swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.
"I-I believe so?" Noctis grinned.
"Wonderful," he spoke with an eerily cheery voice as he hoisted the frightened man up and placed an arm around his shoulder. "You know, Watts…" he said as he led the man away.
"I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
(Beacon)
"Do you think John is awake now, Jaune?" Ruby asked with concern apparent within her as they walked through the infirmary. Students were littered throughout the halls either injured or assessing the injured. The dead were already cleared out and reports were being made as they spoke.
"He should be." Jaune said as he looked out a passing window to see that the sun was coming up. "Noctis did a number on him so he'll still be bedridden but should be up now. That's why we're bringing him a tray of food to get his strength back." Jaune held up the small feast making Ruby giggle. The two made their way to Johns's room and Jaune knocked on the door.
"John?" Jaune asked as he opened the door. "It's us. Was able to get you something to e-!" Both Ruby and Jaune stopped in their tracks as they looked on at the empty room. They scanned the room for any sign of John but his bed was empty and his sword was gone.
"Dammit John!" He shoved the tray into Ruby's arms before sprinting out of the hospital.
"Jaune! Wait!" Ruby called out.
"You tell the staff about this, I'll go find him!" Jaune called out before he kicked up his speed while ignoring the aching within him.
"Where would he go?" Jaune asked as he was wracking his brain for all the possible places that his older counterpart could go.
'He wouldn't go out into Vale, there'd be no point to it. Emerald Forest is a possibility but with how destructive John can be I'd probably be seeing trees flying everywhere. Where would he be?"
(Forever Fall, Re-Jaune)
"Stronger...stronger...have...to become...STRONGER!" Re-Jaune roared tearing through yet another swarm of Grimm, corpse after decomposing corpse trailed in his wake in a seemingly unending swathe of destruction. Thousands upon thousands of forever fall leaves fell from uprooted trees; destroying the natural beauty of the Grimm infested forest. The elder Arc fell to his knees, blade stabbed into dirt covering the battered sword in mud and filth. His hand dug into the ground and rose up again smashing into the ground shaking the very earth beneath him. Any trees that weren't uprooted fell in tandem from his strike.
'How could I have failed? This damned...multiverse bullshit...made me weaker...' He shook his head wanting to stop the tears from falling but couldn't.
'Pyrrha's alive...in a coma...because of my failure. I'm in a different universe and I still couldn't save her.' The time-traveler fell onto his back staring up at the falling leaves and blue sky, sun beaming down on him making the Arc close his eyes and take a deep breath in an effort to regain his composure. It was a feeling he was all too familiar with. Given that the last time he felt like this during his time in the Forever Fall was when he died for the first time.
"You know John, you're a pain the ass to find." Re-Jaune sighed at the sound of his younger counterpart's voice. There was no grace to be had as he got up to his dirtied feet, only to look at Jaune.
"It took me some thinking to know where you'd be. I even reread your journal to give me some clues."
"And you know that I died here. That this was where it all ended and started for me again." Re-Jaune stood to his feet staring into the same sapphire eyes of this worlds Jaune.
"I failed."
"We didn't stop the attack, but cinder didn't win." Jaune clarified.
"Ozpin was still killed." Re-Jaune spat.
"And Pyrrha wasn't." Jaune retorted. "I'm not saying her situation is even remotely good, but I'm happy she's still alive."
"It's my fault, Jaune! The Grimm King is here because of-!"
"Did you throw yourself into a dimension altering machine?" Jaune suddenly asked. Leaving the two of them silent sans the fall breeze.
"I've been asking myself a question since after the attack." Jaune said as his hands balled up into fists. "If I didn't get hit with that beam, would this attack still happen? Would Pyrrha be awake? Would she have been killed?"
Re-Jaune remained silent as his blade hung by his side.
"Whether I like it or not, I do know that I brought the Grimm King here." Jaune's words died in his throat as his hands trembled. "I honestly don't know if we can even get remotely close to beating him, but I have to try. We have to try, Jaune. We made a promise to set this all right. That's a promise that us Arcs have to keep."
Re-Jaune stood there as a much younger Jaune just dumped a motherload of truth onto him. The fight between him and Noctis was proof that he was still stuck in the past. He believed he had to kill Noctis alone like last time.
But he wasn't the only factor anymore.
"Your right." Re-Jaune said as his sword tight and handed it back to Jaune. "But we ot a lot of work to get done. First on the list is getting you stronger."
"Then let's get started." Jaune responded nodding in confidence.
"We need to get us some new weapons first though. There anyone we can go to?" Re-Jaune asked making Jaune scratch his chin.
"I think I know someone who could help."
Chapter done, read and review!
