Welcome to Ch. 12 I hope you will enjoy it


"Another transport just arrived! Tell the medics to take care of them!"

"We need more stretches at the landing pad!"

"Someone fix those damn lights!"

"Report coming in from the recon Team! They are saying…"

"Backup needed at…"

"Squad 3 reporting in…"

"Another sighting…"

"Sir! We've got..."

Arthur tried his best to tune out all the noise. It was a lost cause, what with the whole base being in uproar, but let no one say that the Arc patriarch was one to give up easily. He focused on the holographic map in front of him, hoping that if he stared at it long enough all his problems would go away.

"Sir!"

And it started as such a nice day. Weather was nice, sixteen Specialist recruits he had under his care had actually started to show some progress, and that old fart Marcus took almost a third of the base personnel on some bandit hunt, meaning there was no one to complain about his teaching methods.

Well, no one whose opinion he had to care about at least.

Unfortunately, it also meant he was technically the highest ranking officer here, so when a sudden snowstorm hit them, followed shortly by reports of a huge horde of Grimm approaching nearby settlements, he was the one who had to do something about it.

And it was not his kind of job. If you had some Grimm to kill, bandits to hunt down, or arrogant brats in need of training, Arthur Arc was your man. But managing a large scale military operation?

No. Just no.

Fuck you, Marcus. Why the hell couldn't you send me to deal with those bandits?

"Sir?"

Nevermind. He might not be the best man for the job, but someone had to be in charge, and as Marcus often said, a good leader knew how to delegate.

"Sir!"

Arthur shook his head, finally realizing that the young soldier next to him was indeed trying to get his attention.

"Yes?"

"Team Alpha just called in. They are mostly done with Grimm in their sector. Teams Bravo and Delta are still fighting, but they are doing fine. Air recon suggests that there are no more Grimm coming their way. Team Omega are under heavy assault, they had to retreat to a nearby village. They are holding off for now, but might need assistance if more Grimm shows up. The Beoolves are reporting no more Grimm, or refugees in their sector, and are heading back. The Ursas encountered a small group of civilians, and are currently escorting them to safety."

Arthur sighed. It looked like the situation was mostly under control. The snowstorm was both curse and blessing, it lowered visibility and made movement harder. Thankfully, Atlas APCs had no trouble traveling in such weather, and now that the storm had calmed down, they had another advantage.

"Do we have any spare bullheads?"

"One, sir."

Arthur studied the holographic map in front of him for a moment, considering his options.

"Send it to team Alpha, take as many people as they can spare and move them to assist team Omega. Tell the Beowolves to…"

He paused when a new red dot appeared on the map, far away from green ones representing Atlas forces.

And very close to the blue one, indicating one of many fishing villages in this area.

Arthur let out a tired sigh.

"Tell the Beowolves to move in and intercept those Grimm."

The soldier looked at the map, then back at his commander.

"Sir, if I may. It's a pretty big pack. One team will not be able to hold them off."

"No, they won't." Arthur agreed easily, pulling up the scroll he'd been holding ever since this mess started and pressed the call button. "But they will have backup."

"Sir, we don't have…"

"I know. Now get back to work."

"Yes, sir!"

Arthur tapped his foot impatiently waiting for a call to go through.

"Is it operational?" he asked as soon as the other person accepted the call.

"What…"

"Is. It. Operational?"

There were a few seconds of silence.

"Yes. I just finished checkups. We..."

"Then load it on a bullhead. I'll send you coordinates - you will have your 'practical test' there."

A few more seconds of silence before the other person spoke again.

"What will we be dealing with?"

"Grimm. About thirty, maybe forty. Sabertooths, there might be Alpha among them. Some of my men are there, but they can't deal with it alone."

There was no answer, and the call ended. Arthur pocketed his scroll and sighed.

I hope you're ready, son.


Emotions, Jaune decided, were funny things. You thought you understood what they meant, and that it was easy to tell what mood you were in. But then a situation happened that made you question everything you thought you knew.

Like for example, sitting in bullhead, in your brand-new Aura-powered armor, that was not fully tested, heading to fight a huge pack of Grimm.

Jaune knew he should feel something. Excitement, or more likely, fear. But that was not the case. He felt nothing. When Gepetto announced they would be heading off to fight real Grimm, on his father requests non the less, he just nodded, suited up and started heading towards the bullhead.

All the while being completely calm.

Well, that was not completely true. In fact, it was completely the opposite of the truth. He was equal parts terrified and giddy from excitement. A strange mix, the two different emotions fought for supremacy, leaving him completely calm until one won. Or was it simply because his brain had overloaded? Jaune had no idea.

Is this how it feels to be in shock? Or is it denial? He thought, as bullhead took off.

The blond let out a sigh and focused on the map in front of him. It was extremely detailed, displaying a lot of supplemental information. Jaune chuckled.

"Penny, I don't think the humidity of air is something I need to know."

He had no idea what Gepetto did to allow him and Penny to connect so far outside of the clinic, but he wasn't going to complain. Though he suspected that the strange device sitting in the corner of the bullhead's cargo hold had something to do with it.

"Understood, Friend Jaune. I'll adjust the display settings right away."

The blond smiled. Penny's presence was comforting, and might very well be why he was able to remain calm.

We fought terrorists together. What are few Grimm compared to that?

They were about to find out, he supposed, examining his weapon. It was shaped like a sword, but really it was just a big hunk of steel. Gepetto said it was just a placeholder, and he was going to give him something proper soon. They even spent a few hours coming up with different ideas. Some were accepted, many more discarded.

"Friend Jaune, we are approaching the designated area. "

The blond took a deep breath and got up. This was it. ARES big debiut. It was much faster than any of them expected, or wanted, but Jaune supposed it didn't matter. He, no, they were going to go out there kill some Grimm, and make a name for themselves.

Red numbers appeared in the center of his vision, slowly counting down.

Allright. You trained for this. Not much, but still. You have ARES. You have Penny. You can do it.

The counter hit 60.

Just keep calm, don't do anything stupid. Don't lose track of your surroundings. Don't overextend. Don't chase. Just kill any Grimm that comes close.

30. He could already hear gunshots.

Let Penny handle the details, just focus on swinging your sword. It will all be good.

20. Jaune grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open. It was dark outside, but the white snow made spotting dark shapes of Grimm much easier.

"Alright. We ready, Penny?"

The world brightened, and red outlines surrounded the dark shapes of Grimm as Penny activated night vision and whatever other support systems Gepetto packed into the suit.

"We are combat ready!"

Jaune grinned, and jumped out.

There was a brief moment when he just hung there, suspended in the air, before gravity took hold of him and began to drag him down, towards the ground and Grimm. He pummeled towards the ground, shifting in the air to land feet first.

He hit the ground, bending his legs on instinct. The impact wasn't as strong as he expected - either because the suit was much better at absorbing it than Jaune expected, or because the Sabertooth he landed on softened it.

"Thanks." Jaune muttered to the now dead beast, raising to his full height and reading his sword. The first Grimm that approached him was cut in half, the next one shared its fate. Jaune grinned, impaling the third one, then slamming his weapon down on the fourth. With a roar, the blond charged forward, swinging his sword in a wide arc, without any care for style or technique. There were so many Grimm surrounding him that he was bound to hit something.

And soon he discovered that a life and death fight was much simpler than he expected. Even though he realized that he was in danger, even though his heart pounded like a drum, and his body felt as if it was on fire, Jaune remained calm.

"Jaune, I advise against taking such large swings. They leave you exposed and increase the chance of losing balance. Also, priority target A is approaching fast from your left."

Jaune spun, sword already mid swing. The Grimm that was charging at him was bigger than others, with a row of very sharp-looking spikes along its spine, and two short horns on its forehead.

Oh, so this is the Alpha.

Jaune thought, just before the massive beast hit him in the chest. They fell and tumbled, both fighting to end up on top - a fight Jaune lost. The Grimm roared, giving him a nice view on several rows of serrated teeth, that were quickly coming closer. The blond just barely managed to put his hands in the way, not willing to test if his helmet could withstand the Grimm's bite.

"Next time warn me earlier, Penny!"

"Understood, Friend Jaune. I'll update my data to account for your poor reflexes."

The blond glared at the miniature avatar of his friend, but any anger he might felt evaporated when he saw her wide smile and shining eyes.

I just can't get angry at her.

The fact he knew she didn't mean to insult him didn't help. With a sigh, Jaune returned his attention to more pressing matters - like the massive beast trying to bite his head off. He looked around, looking for his sword, but couldn't see it anywhere.

Probably dropped it when it hit me.

Not that he could grab it even if it was close by. He needed both hands to keep the Grimm at bay, and even if he did pick it up he wouldn't be able to use it at such a close distance. With a sigh, Jaune looked back to Grimm. Its angry, blood-red eyes were just a few centimeters from his face, its teeth were gnawing on his arms, and its front paws were clawing at his stomach. His Aura was steadily dropping, he was unarmed, and there were still a few Grimm around circling them.

And despite all of this, Jaune was still calm.

Well, that wasn't completely true. It was more like his mind and body were completely separated. He knew he felt hot, his body was drenched in sweat, his heart was pounding like a hundred times per minute and his breaths were coming out in hars gasps.

But at the same time he could still think clearly.

Ok, this is a bit creepy.

Well, creepy or not, he better not waste any time. He had no idea how long this strange calm lasted, so it was probably best if he looked for a way out of this situation.

The Grimm growled when a few bullets hit its back, but it didn't stop its efforts in ripping Jaune apart.

"Penny, if you can contact those soldiers, tell them to focus on the smaller Grimm. I'd rather they don't pile up on us."

"Understood."

"And…" he paused for a moment, wondering if there was really no other way out of this. Then just sighed and shook his head.

"Remove transfer limiter."

"Are you certain? Judging by the current Aura level, the suit will be rendered inoperational in about thirty seconds if operated at maximum power."

"If you have any other ideas, I'm open to suggestions."

"Understood. Removing Aura transference limiter in 3...2...1… Limit Break engaged."

Jaune gasped when his Aura poured out of his body and into the suit. Suddenly, every sensation he felt became that much stronger. The solid ground underneath him, the cold air washing over him, the sound of gunfire. And, of course, the snarling of Grimm that was trying to tear him apart.

Jaune frowned. Some part of him expected to feel pain, but he felt none. Not from jaws firmly locked on his hand, nor form the claws digging into his chest and stomach. Then he realized that it was probably not something he should be concerned about - not now at least.

Jaune freed one of his hands, then punched the Grimm in the side of its head. At first the Sabertooh's only reaction was a low growl. Whether out of anger, pain, or just surprise at the sudden assault, Jaune didn't care. He repeated the action two more times, before its grip on his other hand lessened enough for the blond to yank it free.

The forth hit sent the Grimm stumbling, and allowed Jaune to get back on his feet. He eyed his opponent, waiting for the assault. Instead of attacking, the beast started slowly circling him.

Jaune grit his teeth. He needed to end this fast, or he was done for. A few images popped in his vision, and the blonde smiled.

"Thank's, Penny."

Following his friend's instruction, he charged ahead. The Grimm looked surprised for a moment, before roaring and lunging.

Everything…

Jaune ducked low, and just as Grimm was passing above his head, he jumped, wrapping his arms around the beast's torso and twisting mid-air. They both hit the ground, but this time it was human that ended on top.

...according…

The blond raised, still holding the Grimm. It tried desperately to reach its prey, but Jaune was too close for it to effectively use its claws, and it couldn't bend low enough to reach him with its jaws.

The blond grinned.

...to plan!

He squeezed as hard as he could. The Grimm started thrashing even harder, but it was too late. The blond squeezed harder, crushing the black beast in his grip. There was a loud crack, then another, and the bone plating covering Grimm's body shattered. It roared, maybe in pain, maybe in anger, one more time before another crack sounded and its body stilled and started dispersing into black mist.

"Deactivate Limit Break."

"Limit break deactivated. Setting Aura transfer to standard level. Estimating operational time - two minutes, thirteen seconds."

Jaune let out a tired sigh. This was far more intense than any session with drones he had had. Taking a deep, shaky breath to calm himself down, he looked around for his sword. He found it just a few meters ahead, lying in the snow.

"Well, that was a thing." he muttered to himself, picking his weapon up. "Penny, damage report."

"Damage to the suit is minimal, all systems are fully operational. However, your Aura is extremely low, at around 10%. I suggest refraining from moving too much, and disabling all non-essential systems to preserve your Aura."

The boy smiled weakly.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I feel like I'm about to pass out."

"Don't worry Jaune. I already contacted Father and informed him that the mission was completed. He should be here any moment now."

Jaune smiled weakly.

"Thanks, Penny."

It took no more than five minutes for a grey, unmarked bullhead to land just a few meters away from Jaune. The blond waited for the back ramp to open, all the time very aware of the six Atlas soldiers watching him carefully. After the fight ended, they walked closer to get a better look at the ARES suit, but so far none of them approached or tried to talk to him.

Once inside, Jaune slumped against the wall, breathing deeply. He did it. He fought Grimm. Like a true Hunter. It felt…significantly less awesome than he expected.


The trip back to Gepetto's house passed in silence. The old scientist was busy piloting the bullhead, while Jaune was trying his best to stop shaking. It started slowly, at first it was just his hands, but now his whole body was trembling. His heart was beating like crazy, and for a moment there he was on verge of hyperventilating. Thankfully, Penny managed to calm him down.

"How are you feeling?" Gepetto asked once they landed.

"F-fine. Just a bit shaken, I guess." Jaune said, trying to keep his voice even.

He almost succeeded.

Gepetto just nodded.

"You go get some rest. I'll check on the suit. We will talk in the morning."

"A-alright." Jaune smiled weakly "Goodnight, Doctor."

"Goodnight."

Jaune went straight to his bathroom, splashed his face with water and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked… not bad. Far better than he felt at the moment. He wasn't shaking as much now, only his hands trembled a little. Jaune closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Well, this is embarrassing. He thought, pulling away from the mirror. He quickly washed himself up, changed into his sleeping attire, and dropped on his bed.

What the hell was happening with him? He was so calm during the fight, so why was he so spooked now? Even after the White Fang incident he didn't feel like that. He tried to connect to Penny on reflex, but stopped himself. Gepetto was very clear that he shouldn't link with a virtual girl outside of training sessions. While he didn't say why, the conversation they had some time ago was enough for Jaune to hold himself back.

With an angry sigh, the blond closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would bring him respite, but even in his dreams blood-red, glowing eyes were chasing him down.


"So, how are you feeling?" Asked Gepetto, handing Jaune a cup of tea. The teen thanked the older man, smiling weakly.

"To be honest, not so good."

"You had nightmares?"

Jaune stared into his cup, not meeting old scientist's eyes. After a few long moments of silence, he slowly nodded.

"Yeah, but I don't understand why. I didn't have any after the White Fang incident."

Gepetto watched him for a few moments, before sighing.

"I'm not a psychologist, so I can only guess, but I think the difference was in perception. Tell me, Jaune, back durning the White Fang attack, did at any point you consider the fact that you might die?"

The blond hummed, lost in thought. To be honest, those events were blurr to him. He couldn't remember how he felt back then. He recalled being nervous, and constantly freaking out about what to do, and how he should act, and how to free the hostages without alarming the Faunus terrorists… Overall, he was worried about many things, but now that he thought about it, dying wasn't one of them. Oh, sure, he knew it was dangerous, but thought that he might be in danger never crossed his mind. Even when facing Jackal, the opponent he logically knew he couldn't hope to defeat, he never really considered the possibility of dying.

He had the ARES suit to protect him after all, and all he needed to do was hold on until reinforcements came.

"I'm not sure. It was quite some time ago, and a lot has happened since then, but… I don't think so. I guess I was more worried about the hostages to consider it." Jaune paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "Why did I never consider it…?" he asked quietly. Gepetto just shrugged.

"That's a topic for another discussion. For now, let's focus on the problem at hand - your nightmares. I assume that yesterday was different than when you fought those Faunus?"

Jaune nodded slowly.

"Yeah. But it was still weird. I was calm the whole time. Well, maybe not calm, but… I don't know. I mean, I knew I should be excited, or scared or something, but… It was strange. I want to say I wasn't, but I think I was." The blond groaned, clutching his head in his hands. "It's so weird! When you told me I'm going off to fight Grimm, at first there was excitement, then nervousness, and some fear. But after I suited up, it all became… muted. At first I thought it was just because Penny was distracting me with all the intel she was giving me, and we really have to have a talk with her about breaking into military data centers, but then when fighting started I just… I don't know." The blond let out a long sigh, and looked up at the ceiling.

"I felt excited...and a bit scared.,,but I think I was more excited. Only when that Alpha tackled me to the ground, when I looked into its eyes, I think that was then I realized I was fighting a real Grimm. That there will be no talking, no negotiation - that one of us would have to die. And that it would do anything to kill me, even if it died in the process. That this wasn't a game anymore. And I panicked."

Jaune let out a long sigh and looked at Gepetto.

"At least that's what I think I felt. Because it all was so… distant. Disconnected. Like it wasn't really me who felt it. No, that's not right." Jaune took another deep breath, eyes closed.

"It was more like… as If I split in two. My body and mind became separate." He said after a long pause. "I felt hot, and my heart beat like crazy, and I knew I was sweating a lot… But my head was clear, I could think straight the whole time."

"I see…" Gepetto nodded to himself and sighed. "Like I said, I'm not an expert, but from what I know, it's not uncommon for people to retain their composure in extreme situations, only to break down later on. I wouldn't worry too much about it, at least for now." Gepetto pulled out his scroll, and tapped on it a few times.

Jaune had a vague idea that he should be surprised when the section of the floor their table and chairs stood at shook, and started slowly descending, but he honestly couldn't bring himself to care. He just came to accept the fact that Gepetto simply liked to have secret underground rooms.

"For now, let's focus on other subjects.'' The old doctor said once they stopped. Jaune sparred a quick look around - the room they were in was much smaller than the hall he was used to back in the clinic, but it still was probably bigger than the whole wooden house. It was full of tools, and strange machines Jaune had never seen before, except for the ARES suit standing on a small platform in the center.

"We need to decide how to proceed from now on. It is much faster than I anticipated, but we can no longer pretend ARES is not ready for combat. The Council will find out about this little incident sooner or later, so we need to act now." he turned to a blond boy with a smile. "Unless after yesterday you want to back off?"

Jaune shook his head.

"Great." Gepetto walked into the workshop, Jaune following close behind. "There is a lot to talk about, but let's focus on the immediate problem." Gepetto tapped his scroll a few times, and five large, holographic screens appeared in front of them, playing recordings of last night's fight. "I analyzed your fight, and while it was not bad, there is room for improvement. A lot of it. "

Jaune looked away, his cheeks reddening.

"Especially when it comes to situational awareness and decision making under stress." Gepetto continued.

"Hey, I think I did pretty well with it."

"Oh, really? Then why did you engage a Limit Break?"

"Because a massive Grimm was about to bite off my hands, followed shortly by my head?"

Gepetto just shook his head.

"No, it wouldn't."

Jaune blinked.

"What?"

"I checked the suit, and the damage wasn't too bad. It cracked the exterior armor, but failed to penetrate too deep. Besides, you used two hands to stop it, while one would suffice."

Jaune just stared at the older man.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"So.. does that mean I didn't have to activate Limit Break?"

"Yes."

Jaune hung his head.

"Oh…" he chucked "I guess I panicked after all."

Gepetto shrugged.

"That you did. But it's only to be expected, and part of the blame lays with me. It was your first fight against Grimm, and you had a little to no training. Not only didn't you have time to gain confidence in your skills, you also didn't have time to really test the limits of the ARES suit. You are used to fighting against opponents that pose no danger to you." Gepetto smiled at him.

Jaune decided he didn't like this smile.

"I assume that ends now?"

Gepetto nodded happily.

"This ends now. We need to step up your training, now that we are out in the open. I think your father will be able to handle combat training, advanced tactics we can practice through simulations. Not only to improve your skills, but also for you to learn the limits of suit's capabilities. But before that." he said, grinning widely. "We need to gear you up." Gepetto pressed something on his scroll, and five screens connected into a single one. Instead of recording Jaune's fight, they now displayed holographic models of various weapons.

Jaune grinned back.

"Hell yeah!"


And that wraps it up. Jaune successfully cleared his first mission against Grimm. Good thing he had all that time to train and get used to the suit, right?

Oh, wait.

Anyway, Jaune somehow survived, and is about to get himself some proper weapons. What will they be? Well, you'll see next week.