Author's Notes
o-o-o
As promised, the second part of Forever Fall. Shorter than normal, but eh. Next one should be up by Tuesday. After that, might need to take a week break to catch up on a couple of things IRL. Might.
Chapter 19.2: Now, Pick a Jar
"So… what do you think this sap is used for?"
"Ozpin's coffee," the simultaneous answer from Jaune, Blake, GV, and Ruby came to meet the question.
"Huh," was Kohaku's only comeback, as she continued watching the viscous semi-solid slowly fill her jar. The way the light struck the syrupy substance, reflecting and diffracting, was hypnotic.
Finishing another jar, GV promptly secured the lid and placed it along the rest of the collected sap. "Jaune, I need to talk you about something."
Jaune also finished his current jar, then looked at GV. "About what?"
"Nora."
The present members of Team JNBR sighed collectively.
"You're still railing about that?" Blake asked, exasperation and disbelief thick in her voice.
"Nah. I already made peace with my impending doom. It's frankly cathartic. To know your fate is sealed and predeterminism is real."
"That does sounds nice," Pyrrha said.
Blake gave him a flat look. "You are the life of the party, aren't you?"
Ren gave GV a measured look. "What do you want to talk about then?" he cautiously prodded.
"Just because I made peace with destiny, doesn't mean I will not go down kicking and screaming all the way."
"Go GV!" Ruby cheered GV on.
GV nodded a 'thank you' towards the redhead. "You should be more like Ruby; Jaune, Blake. She's quickly gaining ground in this whole friendship thing."
"Oh no, the horrors," Blake deadpanned, with Jaune chuckling besides her.
"I'll humor you," Jaune said, "what's on your mind?"
"A prank war," GV said with all the seriousness that phrase did not deserve. "More like a prank massacre, but I'll give Nora the benefit of the doubt. I want your blessings for the entire war and your assistance for this first prank. You'll find that your team, especially Ren, will benefit greatly from it."
"You know what they say about waking the sleeping giant," Ren warned.
GV not only pay no heed to the warning but turned it upside down. "I would argue that Nora already awoke it. So, what do you say, Jaune? From a bro to a bro, do me a solid here."
Jaune scratched his head. "I am pretty sure that's the preface for a favor I'm going to regret. But you know what? I already have Nora on my team, so what's a little more chaos in my life?"
Not one to smirk liberally, GV just nodded with steely determination. "That's the spirit. Here's the plan…"
-o-
"Cardin, that's a terrible plan!"
Cardin ignored Russel. His partner has been reluctant about the entire thing from the very beginning, so him chickening out was expected and accounted for.
"I have to agree with Russel here." Cardin looked at Sky, no expecting resistance from that front. Sky pushed forward with his opinion. "We have been avoiding RWPY, KVKC, and JNBR for a reason."
And it was quite a simple reason, really. Half of either RWPY or KVKC could wipe the floor with them. And with JNBR being thick as this damn sap with either team, they might as well be under their protection. It wasn't the sole reason, but it was a good reason.
"That's why we don't get caught," Cardin explained as if talking to five years old. "We throw the jars at them from out of sight, then release the wasps. They won't be any wiser about us."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Sky nodded sagely. Cardin was glad Sky was seeing reason.
"And when that fails?"
Or not.
"It won't fail," Cardin growled through gritted teeth. He was beginning to feel like a broken record.
"Aren't you the one always complaining about Arc showing everyone up in your tactics class?" Russel asked. "Hasn't it occurred to you that Jaune might throw a wrench in your plan if he's so good at outsmarting people?"
Cardin had enough of it. "Just because Arc gets lucky at playing armchair commander doesn't mean he knows shit about fighting in the real world." He scoffed. "Maybe if you stopped thinking with your dick you would be able to see that."
Russel face reddened, though it was hard to tell how much of it was embarrassment and how much was anger. "Screw you too, man. I want nothing to do with this and I'm not staying to see it blow up on our faces." Not giving Cardin an opportunity to respond, Russel stalked away from the group.
Dove, who has been silently observing the verbal spat, finally decided to chip in. "I agree with Russel." The finality of his voice made it clear he also wanted no part on the plan. "And I'm kind of glad Russel is thinking with the wrong head," – a "Fuck you too" was heard from Russel's direction, but Dove paid it no mind – "otherwise I cannot imagine him standing up to you. Or me standing up to you, for that matter." It was not something Dove was particularly proud of, but he could admit to this particular fault of his. Without another word, he left in the same direction as Russel.
Cardin's rage was at boiling point. His eyes snapped into Sky. "Gonna chicken out too?"
Sky sighed and brushed his hair back. "You'll need somebody to pick you up when this inevitably blows on your face. I'll just keep myself at a safe distance from the explosion."
Cardin glared at him but didn't comment. It was time to put KVKC and their two pet teams in their rightful place.
-o-
GV wouldn't be able to tell what clued him in to the incoming projectile. Maybe it was the fraction of a second warning he got from Ruby's widening eyes. Or the slight twitch of Blake's hidden faunus ears. Or Pyrrha's tensing her muscles, as if expecting an attack, which lent credence to the idea of 'instincts' many Huntsmen and Huntresses were fond of parroting. As if one could just tell when something was off through a supernatural pathway. His previous teacher ridiculed the thought, saying it was merely a way for unobservant Hunters to put into words the analysis of dozens of small tells that they learn to perceive through trial and error, never once consciously realizing it. More philosophical minds considered it a perk of Aura.
Whatever it was, it worked and that was all GV cared about. Without a second thought, he interposed himself between the projectile and its target, Kohaku, before activating his Semblance. The Flashfield came to life just in time to break the projectile and burn away its content.
'Sap?' GV thought as the smell of burnt sugar reached him.
"Look out!"
The warning brought GV out of his musings. A buzzing cloud was quickly making its way towards the group. Some type of flying insect, GV surmised. Without bringing down his EM field, GV shot at the cloud, tendrils of electricity quickly racing to follow the dart. It was enough to burn a good number of the bugs and disperse the rest of them.
"AHHHH!"
A boy dressed in armor flew out of some shrubbery close by into the clearing they were in. GV idly took note of Pyrrha's outstretched arm. Following the boy, a second one walked from the same shrubs, his hands up in the universal sign of forfeit.
"Cardin. Sky." Jaune said. It was so matter of fact that you'll be forgiven for thinking Jaune was emotionally stunted. GV felt a bit of pride at that, but he would die before admitting it.
"Yo, Jaune. How's life treating you?"
Jaune's straight face didn't last, being caught unprepared for Sky's amicability. It was a work in progress and by the end of it GV would make sure Jaune was able to instill the fear created by a good man going to war.
"What do you think you are doing?" Blake asked, siding next to her partner in a show of strength.
"Cardin is picking a fight with you. I am here to bail him out when it inevitably goes downhill." It was such a simple explanation delivered with candor that bordered on insulting.
And Cardin was having none of it. "Fuck that!" He stood from his place in the floor and withdrew his mace from the magnetic clasp. Aiming the weapon directly at Jaune, he issued a challenge. "I challenge you to a fight, Arc."
"What?" Jaune asked, genuinely surprised. "Why me?"
Sky threw his head back and facepalmed. "You're the closest guy in sight that Cardin can beat."
Jaune blinked. He looked at GV, who was standing closer but there was no way Cardin could defeat him. Then at Blake, who was at the same distance but wasn't a guy. That last part eliminated a good deal of the group and strike Jaune as sexist considering Pyrrha would also be able to use Cardin as a rake for all the dried leaves lying around. Copen was in the same "above Cardin's league' and Ren was far away, blending with the background.
The entire commotion had caught the attention of several of their classmates, who were starting to filter in through the forest to see what all the yelling is about.
"You're delusional if you think we'll agree to this," Blake came to Jaune's defense, hand reaching for Gambol Shroud making clear her intentions if Cardin pushed the issue.
"Jaune will fight you."
The wind left Blake's, and Jaune's, sail. Murmurs spread across the outside audience.
"What!?" all but Cardin, Copen, and Ren yelled upon GV's declaration.
GV ignored them and zeroed in on Cardin. "In exchange, when Jaune wins, you stop these petty tantrums of yours. You stop bothering people at Beacon. You stop bothering us. You stop your racism, sexism, classism, or whatever other kind of negative -ism you indulge in. To sum it up, you stop being a prick and a pain to everyone. I don't care if you do it by being a better person or by becoming a hermit and outcast. Do you agree?"
Cardin considered the stipulations. "What's in it for me if I win?"
"Isn't the fight enough?" GV asked. After all, Cardin wanted to pick a fight just because. But if it meant Cardin would stop bothering them, GV would gladly dangle a carrot in front of him. "If you win, I'll be your servant for what remains of the semester. I'll do your homework, clean your room. I'll even give you sponge baths if you so desire."
Several of the students snickered at GV irreverence.
Cardin smirked and accepted the terms of the fight. "Deal. You have my word as a Winchester."
"What do you think you're doing? I/He cannot beat Cardin," both Jaune and Blake rounded GV in consternation.
"You can't," GV admitted, before grabbing Jaune by the shirt and pulling him to whispering distance, "IF you fight by tournament rules."
"I'm not about to kill Cardin!" Jaune whispered back, his breathy response laced with panic.
"He's not telling you to fight to the death," Blake quickly caught on to what GV was telling. "He's saying to think outside the box. Do not limit yourself to what you would do in Combat class. Goodwitch isn't here to call the fight if you push the boundaries of what's allowed."
Understanding dawned upon Jaune, as he looked around at the forest like if discovering for the first time: the fallen leaves, the twigs scattered about, the trees just asking to take a mace to their trunk.
"Blake, move the jars to a safe place," Jaune ordered. Blake nodded, leaving to perform her new task. Jaune then switched his attention to GV. "I need you to tell Copen these exact instructions…"
GV allowed a rare smirk as he listened to Jaune.
-o-
"Thank the Brothers," Ozpin sighed in relief as a fight among the students saved him from Glynda's wrath. Even across the phone, that woman's temper could fray his nerves.
"We are not done with our conversation about supernatural, seasonal phenomena, Oz," the strict Huntress warned her employer. "But I have a fight to break."
"Glynda, wait!" Ozpin quickly called. Given the yearly nature of this mission and the age of the students involved, Forever Fall wasn't as unmonitored as they led students to believe. But they still allowed them a certain degree of freedom. "Let Mr. Winchester and Mr. Arc fight."
"Oz…" Glynda's words were tinged with all kinds of warnings.
"Hear me out!" Ozpin was quick to say. "Many of the close by Grimm have been culled by the students already and this is a perfect opportunity… for a lot of things, really. For Winchester to finally cool down, for the first years to come together as a class, for Arc to win you over-"
"You're betting on Arc winning," Glynda narrowed her eyes at the screen showing Ozpin's face.
"I am," the old man admitted shamelessly. "We are, for all intents and purposes, a paramilitary academy minus the militia. We allow students to resolve a lot of their interpersonal problems on their own and this is no different. If things get out of hand, by all means, interfere. But I honestly believe, in this instance, more good will come out from them resolving it themselves."
Glynda didn't like Ozpin's reasoning. Fighting like this shouldn't be the answer. But then again, sometimes it was the only option. Glynda wasn't so naïve to believe no fights were worth having. It would be hypocritical of a Huntress to believe otherwise. But she was sure there were other avenues in this case, even if this is the quickest. And if there's one thing she learned in her years of teaching, it's that sometimes it was better to have these bumps early when they could supervise them rather than later when they would cost a promising youth their life.
"I hope you're right, Oz. I'll get close to the fight to respond promptly if needed."
Oz nodded from the screen. "Keep me updated."
Author's Notes
Originally, I was also going to add the fight here, but I decided to make the fight and aftermath their own chapter.
Anyways, the rundown this time around will contain a couple of… spoilers, I guess. It's nothing that hasn't been shown, but it's more things that less keen-eyed viewers might have either overlooked or paid little attention.
Personally, I'm the kind of guy that doesn't really think too hard about stories I digest. On one hand, it makes me less critical. On the other, I can enjoy more things than the average viewer by virtue of not caring nearly as much. SO THIS IS A WARNING TO PEOPLE LIKE ME!
Anyways, rundown! ASSUME FORESHADOWING YOU MIGHT HAVE OVERLOOKED!
G-J-B-R: I cannot be bothered to figure out what color I can make with these four, but I really like the interaction I originally established with GV, Jaune, and Blake (with Ruby hovering close by) and I wanted to recapture a bit of that in this chapter.
CRDL: I made them less of a hive mind. Cardin is the one dissatisfied with their place in the food chain and is the one lashing out. RDL are less onboard. But there is one particular difference from canon I introduced that makes RDL even less interested on Cardin's insistence in picking a fight with the protagonists' teams…
Russel: I think this chapter made it abundantly clear what I've hinted at before. Russel is the least interested in picking the fights Cardin is looking for because, well, he is thinking with one of his heads and is not the one that has eyes. For people who don't do metaphors: Russel has a crush.
Jaune v. Cardin: How the fight will go down was a spark of inspiration and the reason I decided to have the fight at all. I wasn't sure how what we will… not necessarily learn, but officially establish, was going to be inserted into the story. But now that it will happen in this fight, that's another checkmark on my "To Do" list.