Gamer4 in So, after the trials and tribulations of the past few chapters, storywise and 'site-having-a-siezure" wise, let's have a more ligththearted chapter to ease back to normalcy, shall we? Here's one we've been waiting on a while.
Episode XV
The War Against Salem
One Giant Step
The teams were out trick-or-treating for a while in the semi-idyllic town of Gem Heights. In order to further investigate the crash from his yard, Crazy left them in the care of his aunt, a kindly old woman tall enough to dwarf even Jaune and Pyrrha before hurrying back into the woods surrounding his house.
They were on their way back, Ruby and Jaune swapping treats, when Weiss brought up a suggestion:
"Maybe we... shouldn't go back."
"Whaddya mean?" Yang asked.
"Yeah, how else are we gonna get back home?" Nora agreed.
"Perhaps we can find our own way," Weiss suggested. "I mean, we already know we can't fully trust the Hand, and while George seems to be better, who's to say he doesn't have an agenda of his own?"
"Wasn't there a third host?" Ruby asked, pondering as she popped a reese's cup into her mouth.
"Was there?" Pyrrha pondered, rubbing her chin. "I don't recall..."
"Relax, Weiss," Blake spoke up as they ascended the steps leading up to the Crazy Hand's door. "I grew up around untrustworthy people- and these two aren't it."
"I... suppose," Weiss shrugged awkwardly, and they opened the door to hear Crazy and George yelling at each other as they paced rapidly around the living room.
"THEY'RE ONTO US, CRAZY! THOSE GUYS ARE SHARP AS NAILS DOWN THERE! YOU CAN'T PUT ANYTHING PAST THEM- I'M FREAKING OUT, HAND, I'M FREAKING OUT! I'M ABOUT TO HAVE A DAMN PANIC ATTACK!"
"OH, YOU'RE STRESSED OUT?!" Crazy shot back, looking completely hysterical, without even his glasses on. Huh, without his glasses, he actually looked kinda...
Nerdier than usual.
Fancy that.
"YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT STRESS? I'VE STUMBLED ONTO A MAJOR CONSPIRACY, GEORGIE, HOW'S THAT FOR STRESS?!"
"THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" George threw his hands in the air.
"THIS WHOLE THING IS A SET-UP, AND I'VE GOT THE PAPER TRAIL TO PROVE IT!"
Crazy snapped his fingers.
Nothing happened.
Groaning, he went into the kitchen and came back with a large corkboard filled with documents, photos, and pins.
"Oh, for God's sake," George rolled his eyes heavily.
"This right here is the mail!" Crazy ranted, producing a laundry basket full of letters. "Let's talk about the mail, shall we? Can we please talk about the mail, Georgie? I've been dying to talk about the mail with you! NATHAN! SMEGGING! MUOU!"
He punctuated his words with a smack on a name in the center of his web- which, sure enough, read Nathan Muou. "THIS NAME KEEPS COMING UP, OVER AND OVER AGAIN! EVERY DAY, I'M GETTING LETTERS FROM NATHAN MUOU! NATHAN MUOU, NATHAN MUOU, NATHAN MUOU! THIS ENTIRE BASKET IS NATHAN MUOU!"
He kicked at the basket in question- and yelped, leaping up and down on one foot, his toe quickly turning red and swelling. Finally, he slammed it down and continued his rant regardless.
"So I go to find him- to ask him what's with all the smegging letters, otherwise he's just gonna keep coming! I need to figure out what's going on! So I go down to the post office, and what do I find out, Georgie, what do I find out?! THERE IS NO NATHAN MUOU! THE MAN DOESN'T SMEGGING EXIST! So now I'm freaking out, I gotta go deeper! The flip do you mean, there's no Nathan Muou, I've got smegging boxes of Nathan Muou!"
Again, he punctuated his point with a kick to the basket with his other foot- he ended up hopping up and down, howling in pain for a solid three minutes before continuing.
"So I have to take it up with Booster Wreaths, okay? That's the only thing I can find. I find the building, walk right up to the door, and knock!"
Everyone stared as Crazy walked right up to Weiss, and, not even noticing the return of his guests, rapped on her head. "BOOSTER WREATHS! BOOSTER WREATHS! I GOTTA TALK TO YOU ABOUT NATHAN MUOU!"
He moved away from her and focused on George again, leaving everyone staring as Weiss began to fume indignantly.
"No answer, so I open the door, and what do I find? THERE'S NOT A SINGLE SMEGGING DESK IN THOSE OFFICES! THERE IS NO BOOSTER WREATHS! GEORGIE, HALF THESE PEOPLE ARE MADE UP- THEY DON'T EVEN EXIST!"
George was still for a moment, looking in bemusement from Crazy to the guests. He wordlessly motioned for them to sit down, then turned back on Crazy. "Crazy, I'm gonna have to stop you right there. Not only do they all exist, but they're coming after everyone they've decided is an enemy! You're at the top of their list, Hand- we're gonna get caught!"
"Well, you can relax about that, Georgie, we're not gonna get arrested," Crazy said reassuringly, popping open a can of soda and collapsing into his recliner.
"We're not, huh?" George crossed his arms in disbelief.
"No- because we're already under arrest," Crazy confided.
"WHAT?!"
"Yeah, a couple cops came over the other day to bring us in, so what did I do? I knocked them the smeg out, put them in a box, put that box inside another box, and mailed them halfway to SYLVALUM!"
"You did WHAT?!" Weiss screeched, finally interrupting the shouting match.
Crazy jumped as he finally took notice of their return. "Oh, guys! You're... you're back!... How much did you hear?"
"Pretty much all of it," Yang reported, forcing back sniggers.
"You knocked out police officers?" Pyrrha asked, crossing her arms.
"What the heck is going on?!" Nora agreed.
"Oh... long story," Crazy mumbled, rubbing the back of his head distractedly.
Jaune was going through the letters in the basket. "Er... these don't say Nathan Muou," he reported.
"No, no they don't," George nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Crazy, we have to do something. If they close down on us, this has all been for nothing- you know that, right?"
"Of course I do," Crazy nodded. "But hey, they're back. Why don't we all relax with a soda. Heck, I'll talk to Mary- Mary, can you get Georgie a cigarette?"
A tic was going in George's eye. "WHO'S MARY?"
Crazy gestured to an invisible person at his side. "She's the one who tipped me off to Nathan Muou. See, she's right he- huh? Where'd she go?"
He looked genuinely baffled when he turned to find nobody at his side.
George groaned. "Crazy? Shut up. Let's just... get to the next universe, shall we?"
"Can we have a more lighthearted one?" Ruby asked, looking nervous. "It's just... after that..."
"I understand," George nodded. "Don't worry- we were planning on going back to the first universe you saw."
"Oh- oh!" Nora brightened immediately. "We're finally gonna get to see Jaune-Jaune kick some alien butt?!"
"More or less," George shrugged. "He's finally going to set off on his adventure... I think. I'm not familiar with this one, to be honest."
"Wait, fighting aliens?" Jaune asked, looking confused.
"You were born with psychic powers, Ozpin came from the future to tell you you're destined to fight a cosmic monster named Salem, and sent you on your way," Blake summarized.
"Oh... okay," Jaune gave an awkward smile.
Ruby beckoned him to sit down next to her, whereupon she began... rubbing his knees.
"Normal knees," she whispered gently, as Pyrrha crossed her arms, and most everyone else watched in confusion.
"...Right," George shrugged. "Let's... get started, shall we?"
As the story finally picked back up, Jaune was circling around his house and heading towards the hill he'd climbed the previous night. "Let's see... before I get started, I should see what Old Man Port wanted."
"Port?" Jaune asked nervously.
"Oh, yeah, he's in this!" Nora recalled, thumping a fist into her hand. "Kind of a creeper, too, to be honest."
"I'd take that more seriously if you weren't smiling while you said it," Ren commented.
Jaune headed up the hill until he found Port's house, marked by several large billboards with Port's face on it.
"Yeah, seeing what you mean," Jaune noted with a shudder.
The Jaune on screen, however, had no hesitation in approaching the door and rapping on it. "Hello? Mr. Port?"
The door swung open, revealing Port and his moustache. "Oh, Jaune, my dear boy. You came! You're alone this time?"
"Er... yeah, as far as I can tell," Jaune shrugged, glancing around.
"Good... please, come in."
Jaune shrugged and accepted the invitation, entering into a living room... where a large gap had been forcibly dug into the ground.
"Oh, that's not suspicious at all!" Weiss scoffed.
"I sense this version of Port is rather... troubled," Pyrrha speculated.
"By which, of course, you mean completely whacked out," Yang snorted.
Jaune attempted to ignore the elephant in the room. "So, Mr. Port... why'd you call me out here?"
Port seemed to be beaming behind his moustache. "I want you to go into my hole, Jaune! There's something in there you need to see!"
If they'd been drinking at that moment, most of the audience would have spit it out.
"What the-?!" Weiss spluttered. "What kind of-"
"I'd be laughing, if I weren't so concerned for Vomit Boy," Yang readily admitted.
"Pyrrha... I'm scared," Jaune whispered, hiding behind the spartan, who happily accepted him using her as a human shield.
On-screen Jaune was finally starting to look uncomfortable. "Er... hte big hole you ripped into your floor?"
"Yeah, that's... that's the only hole in here."
Jaune tapped into his psychic powers a tad, but found no trace of malevolence in the retired professor. "O... okay, let's go!"
Port gleefully led him down a ladder into the hole, revealing a long, earthen corridor leading to a dead end in which sat a tall, golden statue.
"Er... I'm just getting more uncomfortable," Ruby shied away.
"Ruby, if anyone ever asks you to go into their hole... you come to me right away," Yang said firmly.
"Or me," Weiss's eyes narrowed.
"Or me," Blake nodded her agreement.
"Or us!" Nora beamed.
Jaune tilted his head at the statue. "Mr. Port... what is that?"
"It called to me, my boy," Port said, eyeing the statue up with unnatural affection. "It came to me in my dreams, calling me to dig down and uncover what lay beneath."
Jaune stepped away- something about the statue was giving him a piercing headache. "Yeah... maybe you oughtta get rid of this thing... like, right now."
"I'd sooner part with my own arms as a treasure of this magnificence!" Port shook his head rapidly. "Perish the thought, my boy, perish the thought!"
"If... if you say so," Jaune whispered, stepping back. "I'll just... go then."
"Yes, do that... before you start getting greedy thoughts," Port nodded. "And remember, not a word to anyone!"
"I'll... keep that in mind," Jaune nodded, before turning around and rushing to the ladder back into the light.
"...I thought we were done with scary stuff for now," Yang crossed her arms and glared at Crazy.
"I mean, this isn't an outright horror!" he quickly defended himself.
Nevertheless, Jaune seemed very happy to step into the light and hurry down the hill away from Port's house. "Okay, now that that's over..." He reached into his pocket and produced the sound stone Ozpin had given him. "Hmm... the Giant Step, huh? Yeah, that's right on the edge of town. But where to after that...?"
He shook his head. "Giant Step first- everything else next."
A surprisingly light and happy tune began to play as he made his way into central Onette. He bopped his head as if he could hear the background music as he skirted around the edge, heading for the tunnels that led to the Giant Step, an interesting site known to everyone in town.
"Wait, what's this Giant Step again?" Jaune asked, lost.
"Ozpin told you that to defeat Salem, you must visit eight sites around Remnant- your sanctuaries, in order to harness the power necessary to fight her," Pyrrha relayed.
"I... don't really understand, but okay..."
He'd actually been to the place a few times before, but it had been a few months... hence the confusion that arose when he found his way impeded by a mobile shack, two rather distressed individuals standing in front of it.
"Er, what happened here?"
One of the men turned to him. "We're traveling entertainers- we were on our way through here when we got attacked by a group of thugs!"
"Thugs?" Jaune asked.
"I think they called themselves the Cardinals!"
Jaune closed his eyes and sighed. "Okay... yeah, I know what you're talking about. Er... sorry that that happened to you, but... could you move your trailer? I need to get into the tunnels."
"We'd love to, but the mayor confiscated our keys," the other entertainer lamented. "Can't remember why..."
"That's... just something he likes to do," Jaune groaned. Mayor Shane Corman was not particularly well-liked by his constituency- but had nevertheless remained in power for several terms. "Look... let me see what I can do, alright?"
"Kid... you're a kid."
"Yeah, but... who knows? Maybe I can do something."
"Well, I won't stop you, but I'm not holding my breath either..."
"I agree," Weiss scoffed. "What does he think he can do to sway the mayor's mind?"
"Well, if he's going to be a hero, he's got to start somewhere, right?" Jaune guessed at his other self's thoughts.
"Indeed," Pyrrha nodded. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, after all."
Yang turned and grinned at her. "You mean... one giant step?"
Everyone turned towards her slowly. Ren plucked Nala seemingly out of thin air and threw her into Yang's face. Screaming ensued.
Jaune headed to the library, where he took a seat and thought about his next move. The Cardinals were the local troublemakeers, alright. They were bad enough to draw the Onette Police Force away from the meteor- he certainly wouldn't put it past them to trash a travelling shack like that. In the past, he'd done nothing but avoid them, as most did, but... he looked at his hands. Perhaps, with the power he'd just discovered...
"Break their legs, Fearless Leader!" Nora whooped.
Everyone knew where the Cardinals hung out- they'd long made the arcade their base of operations. A solid goal in mind, Jaune rose to his feet and headed back into town. In his hand he clenched his most prized possession- a baseball bat gifted to him by his father for his tenth birthday. The men of the Arc family seemed to have a natural affinity for baseball- even his grandfather, rather spry even as he approached his seventies, would never miss out of a game of backyard baseball whenever he paid a visit.
Not the most ideal weapon, perhaps, but when all one has is a baseball bat...
"Wow, not even a sword in this world," Yang commented. "Hmm... maybe your chances aren't that good, VB."
"You intend to take on the Great Cosmic Destroyer... with a baseball bat?" Weiss asked with a half-lidded gaze.
"I... well, maybe I'll get something... cooler?" Jaune speculated unconfidently
"I'm sure you'll do fine, Jaune," Pyrrha assured him, gently rubbing at his shoulders. As if to offer additional support, Nacho hopped up onto his lap and began purring as he settled in.
Jaune smiled to himself as he came up on the arcade, imagining himself as a desperado in the wild west, flinging open the butterfly doors of the local saloon- of course, the connection would have been greater if the doors weren't automatic.
He gazed around- nobody paid him any mind, all too engrossed in their games. A dramatic narrator seemed to appear in his head: And so, the brave hero entered the den of evil, where the only types of people were the wicked and their victims...
He made his way to the back, where a door sat leading to a courtyard behind the building. In front of it stood three young men, arms crossed and glaring around at the populace.
"Yup, this is CRDL, alright," Blake rolled her eyes. "There's Dove, Russell, and Sky."
"Welp, this adventure is over before it even started," Jaune muttered hopelessly. "I can't take them on even here."
"Perhaps," Ren shrugged, "however, in that world, you have psychic powers they do not. Perhaps that will give you the edge you need."
Russell turned to glare at Jaune as he approached. "What're you doin' on our turf, punk?" he asked, before summoning a glob of mucus from his throat and spitting off to the side.
"That is so unhygienic!" Weiss shrieked.
"I don't think they care, princess," Yang shrugged..
Jaune thought quickly, and decided to try and work his way in. "Oh, I was hoping to meet Cardin- I wanted to join up."
The boys looked him up and down, then broke into laughter.
"Beat it, kid," Sky snorted. "Come back after you watch The War Against Salem!"
The audience could practically hear a record needle scratch as they glanced at each other, bewildered.
"What?!" Weiss began. "I'm sorry, but what?!"
"Er... so this universe is a show within a show... that watches its own show?" Jaune asked, going cross-eyed as he tried to grasp the logistics of what could cause such a statement.
"My head hurts," Ruby lamented, rubbing her forehead vigorously.
"I... think it's best not to think about this one too hard," Pyrrha speculated. "Let's just... move along."
Jaune brainstormed quickly. "Er... forget what I just said!"
"Forget wha-" the boys started, then went slackjawed for a moment before refocusing on him. "What're you doin' on our turf, punk?"
Jaune blinked. He'd never really tried messing with memories before- the implications kind of scared him. Best not to fiddle with that too much.
"Yeah... I don't like thinking what he could do with a power like that," Yang admitted, shuddering.
"Er... I just wanted to say I don't wanna join the Cardinals," Jaune shrugged.
"What?!" Dove nearly fell down anime style.
"Don't be such a snob!" Sky growled, and just like that, they attacked.
Russell was riding a skateboard, Dove on a pogo stick, and Sky... was swinging around a hula hoop.
"Er..."
Nobody really knew how to respond to that.
Jaune dodged and began swinging his baseball bat, knocking down first Sky, then Russell. Dove took the chance to knock him down and began bouncing up and down on his pogo stick. Jaune yelped every time it crashed down onto him. Finally, his flailing baseball bat managed to catch Dove and knock him off- Jaune quickly leapt to his feet and finished the fight with one more swing.
"Well done, Jaune," Pyrrha grinned.
"Relax on the praise, Pyrrha," Weiss rolled her eyes. "This is Team CRDL, not the mother of all evil."
"You can at least give him some credit, Ice Queen," Yang nudged her with an elbow.
"When its earned," Weiss stood firm.
Jaune hesitated before going through the door- he had taken a pretty ruthless pogoing- a phrase he'd never thought he'd say. He held a hand over his stomach, the most affected area, and whispered words that had become a lifesaver since he'd really taken control of his powers: "Lifeup." Just like that, the pain began to fade away.
"Healing hands," Ren commented, smiling gently. "It seems a natural fit for you, somehow."
"Thanks, I guess," Jaune shrugged offhandedly.
Jaune moved through the door into the back courtyard, where he immediately spied Cardin standing under a tree next to an odd pile of metal. He turned to look down at the newcomer. "Well, hello... I'm Cardin Winchester, leader of the Cardinals, but I guess you knew that already. Who're you??
...
Jaune didn't respond.
"...You gotta name, kid?"
...
"Can't you say your name?"
"Oh, sorry, dude, I was just seeing how long I could hold my breath," Jaune gasped out.
Weiss facepalmed. "This is not the time to be goofing around!" she snarled.
"...Yeah, I have no idea what he was thinking there," Jaune readily admitted.
Cardin seemed taken aback, then infuriated. "How dare you insult the Cardinals with such... such breath-holdery!" He brought out his mace. "I'll murder you with my mace, and your mother will cry buckets of brutal tears!"
Jaune suddenly stood up straight, glaring as he drew his bat. "What did you just say about my mother?!"
Cardin didn't respond- except by swinging the mace in question- Jaune narrowly dodged and fought back with his bat. Perhaps it was being backed up with aura power, or maybe it was just a really good bat, but it didn't cave under the power of the mace, and seemed to handle as well as Jaune's sword in reality.
Finally, with one last psychic-powered swing, Jaune managed to knock Cardin's mace from his hand and across the yard. Cardin backed up, looking caught entirely off-guard.
"Feel like giving up yet?" Jaune asked pointedly.
"I... I don't believe it... he beat Cardin?" Jaune asked in surprise.
"Look to these universes as an example, Jaune," Pyrrha advised. "If these versions of you can do it, so can you."
"But... I don't have psychic powers..."
"You got your semblance- once you unlock it," Nora provided. "Ain't that good enough?"
"Actually-" Weiss started, only to be cut off by some duct tape Yang produced from nowhere and plastered over her mouth.
"Shut up, Ice Queen, they're having a moment," she chastised.
Cardin looked just as shocked. "No... Fail-Proof Cardin... can't be defeated..."
As he backed away, his eyes were overcome by a strange, crimson shadow, and his look of shock gave way to a wicked smirk. "But... you'll be no match for my robot shell... Cardystein... Mark II!"
He leapt into the pile of metal next to him, revealing it to be a metal exoskeleton- somewhat resembling a tank- with which he launched his counterattack.
Ruby slowly raised a finger, then lowered it. "Nope, you lost me."
"Oh, the red eyes show that Salem is influencing him and making him even more evil than he would be otherwise," Crazy explained quickly.
"No, no, we got that," Yang shook her head, "it's everything else we can't wrap our heads around."
"He just... had a metal exoskeleton laying around?" Blake elaborated.
"What, you don't?" Nora asked earnestly.
After a long moment of silence, a unanimous decision was reached to ignore her and continue the story.
Jaune quickly discovered that taking out this exoskeleton wouldn't be as easy as Cardin on foot- it hit like a tank, and more often than not, he was spending so much time healing that he didn't have the chance to launch a proper counterstrike. Even worse, known only to himself, he couldn't draw upon his psychic abilities infinitely- overuse wore him down. If he kept this up, he'd collapse from exhaustion, and be just as screwed as if he'd straight up lost.
"So psychic powers are rather like semblances and aura," Weiss commented. "Good. If you're going to have a magic system of this nature, it's important to at least give it clearly defined boundaries."
He quickly analyzed 'Cardystein's' movements. It didn't take long to notice that after every attack, it paused to let out a burst of steam- it very much seemed like something that had been cobbled together by a bunch of street thugs... because, of course, that's exactly what it was. That time gap could give him a major advantage...
He began healing only when his enemy paused- and, as he did so quicker, he also had enough time to take a swing with his bat. Then two... then three...
He weaved in and around the swings, taking full advantage of those pauses for maximum damage, until at last, the thing began to break down.
"No, no, nononononoNONONONO!" Cardin wailed as it came down in flames around him.
Jaune's eyes widened, and he leapt forward, managing to pull Cardin from the device before it exploded. Cardin groaned as he was dragged away, where Jaune began running his hands over him. "Lifeup... lifeup, lifeup, lifeup!"
Cardin coughed as the burns and wounds he'd sustained began to heal as if they were never there. When he opened his eyes again, the red aura had faded. "You... saved me? Why?"
"To quote my favorite show," Jaune smiled, leaning back a bit, "'Life has meaning here- every life. That's a way of living I thought had disappeared from the world, but it hasn't- it's alive, here in Onette.'"
Cardin snorted. "Nerd..."
"What show is that?" Ruby pondered.
Crazy didn't answer- George was trying to kill him again.
"Well... I guess Fail-Proof Cardin is now just Failure Cardin," Cardin lamented as he pulled himself up to his feet. "I'm guessin' you came back here for a reason, yeah?"
"I'm on a mission from God!" Jaune announced proudly- and perhaps a bit hyperbolically. "I need to get to Giant Step, but with the Traveling Entertainers' Shack out front..."
"I gotcha," Cardin nodded. "Alright... tell that sleazeball mayor that the Cardinals are through. That oughtta get you by."
"I will," Jaune nodded, getting to his feet.
"And... if you ever need anything else on this 'mission' of yours... feel free to drop by, and I'll see what I can do for ya."
"Thanks," Jaune smiled, before turning and making his way back through the arcade.
"That's an... odd encounter," Pyrrha commented.
"Is the whole universe this weird?" Ruby asked.
Crazy, who was currently hanging from the windowsill in an effort to climb up to the roof to escape an axe-wielding George, called down, "Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet!"
Jaune made his way to the town hall, where he was immediately ushered into the upper floor to meet with Shane Corman himself- an unpleasant bald man with a perpetual air of scumminess about him.
"Hey, hey, hey!" he grinned as he faced Jaune. "You must be the Jaune I've heard so much about! They say you took out the Cardinals- beat 'em up, punched 'em out big time, kicked their butts, bit their heads off, spit in their eyes, and made 'em wet their pants!"
"That's... not quite what happened," Jaune muttered.
"Too late, that's already in the paper," Corman smiled that lopsided smile of his. "So, I suppose you're expecting a reward? What can I do for ya?"
"Well, I'm trying to visit the Giant Step," Jaune relayed, "but it's kinda... blocked off..."
"Say no more, say no more," Corman grinned, waving his hand. "I've got the key to the shack right here!"
He foraged in his desk for a moment and held it out. When Jaune reached out to take it, he was pulled in. "It's just... things are pretty dangerous up that way... I won't be held responsible if you get hurt, understand?"
"Er... sure."
"Good. Because if this gets back to me somehow... don't forget that I own the papers, and they're always raring for a good story, understand?"
Jaune tilted his head. "Not sure what that's got to do with it, but okay."
"Good boy," Corman gave one last slimy smile before releasing him. "Alright, off with you!"
"I... don't like that guy," Nora glared.
"Cardin was certainly right in his assessment- words I never thought I'd say about anything," Blake nodded, eyes narrowed.
"He... kinda sounds like Ozpin," Ruby reflected.
"Opzin?" Jaune asked, surprised.
"Not exactly," Ruby quickly amended, "but... similar. Kinda-sorta. Like... they could be brothers, or something."
Ruby was the one with the most face-time with Ozpin, but the more the others thought about it, the more they thought there was something to her words.
"What does that mean, though?" Nora pondered.
"Who's to say it means anything?" Ren shrugged. "Perhaps, in the great, chaotic multiverse, such coincidences are bound to occur."
Jaune still looked uncertain, but raised no further challenges, leaving the hall and returning to the entertainers.
"So, how'd it go, kid?" the first asked. "I'm guessing-"
"Here you go!" Jaune smiled brightly as he held out the key. They both looked shocked.
"You... you actually got it! We... we can go home!"
They cheered. "We can finally go home!"
"Can I come through before you do?" Jaune requested.
"Oh- absolutely!"
They opened the door and allowed him through to the other side, where he finally stood at the edge of the Giant Step cave.
"Alright," he whispered to himself. "You know what they say... journey of a thousand miles and all that... let's go."
He stepped into the cave, which proved a very large area. "Must've been longer than I thought," he noted, looking around. He spied a present lying on the ground. "What the- who left this here?"
Out of sheer curiosity, he opened it up, revealing a simple bottle of water within. "Huh... who left this here?"
He shrugged and loaded the bottle into his backpack. "Waste not, want not!"
"You dolt!" Weiss grumbled. "Don't you know better than to take objects you find lying on the ground?!"
"Well..." Pyrrha fumbled for a way to defend him. "He hasn't... drunk it yet?"
Jaune continued on into the cave, at one point exiting into a small ledge, where a butterfly was hovering. He smiled, but paid it no mind as he went on his way- until he noticed it fluttering right towards him. It went around him a couple times, and when it ultimately flew away, he felt... for want of a better word, relaxed... rejuvenated.
"Rejuventated... by a butterfly?" Ruby pondered.
"A GIFT FROM PHILEMON!" came Crazy's voice from the roof. Spouting nonsense, as usual.
Finally, at the top of yet another rope, he found something truly terrifying- a giant ant barring him from going any further. It glared evilly at him through a pair of wicked red eyes.
As if that weren't enough, it spoke.
"This is the first 'Your Sanctuary' location- but it's mine now- take it from me, if you dare!"
It cackled wickedly, then lunged towards him, snapping its pincers.
He leapt back, but still felt a gash across his stomach.
"Urgh... lifeup!"
Ruby was shaking. "I... don't... like... ants..."
"Ants?" Jaune asked, surprised. "Not spiders? Centipedes?"
"There was an... incident when she was younger," Yang explained briefly. "Probably best not to make her relive it."
Seeing how the poor girl was trembling, they agreed and moved on.
The wound closed, but it was still burning red, and he could still feel the pain. He looked up, and saw a swarm of more ants- none so large as the original, closer to the size of normal ants- coming in, but they were throwing fire at him. "Oh crap..."
Weiss threw her hands in the air. "Ants throwing fire- why not?!"
"I don't like it," Ruby groaned. "I don't like it!"
Jaune fought back with his trusty bat, but for every several dozen ants he sent flying, another wave took its place. And then the giant came from the ether, bearing down on him and chomping with its pincers.
"No..." he muttered as he continued to valiantly fight a losing battle. "No, I can't let it end here..."
Was on the verge of falling to his knees and being swarmed entirely. He desperately thought of everything his grandfather had taught him- supposedly, it was Psi that was going to lead him to victory, wasn't it? Shouldn't there be something he could do now?
And in times of great need... he'd said, you may find new powers coming to you. Reach out and grasp them.
As he remembered his grandfather's words, he found his lips moving. "Psi... Rockin."
He opened his eyes, an aura beginning to surround him- the onslaught of ants was suddenly pulling away. He raised his bat, smirking as he began playing on it like a guitar. He repeated the words: "Psi Rockin!"
Psychadelic diamonds burst from his bat, destroying the ants as they surrounded him. As he continued to jam on his guitar, the attack continued, taking one wave out after another- and even the lead ant itself.
At last, Jaune stood alone, nothing between him and the exit of the tunnel.
"Wow," Yang exclaimed simply, wide-eyed. "Is that a power you have in the real world, Vomit Boy?"
"Not that... I'm aware of," Jaune shrugged, looking no less taken aback.
"We really need to get to work on finding your semblance," Blake noted. "If it can do even half of what you can do in some of these worlds..."
Jaune shied away, suddenly very fascinated with his shoelaces.
Jaune stepped out of the tunnel, emerging at the top of a large hill from which he could see practically all of the (admittedly small) town of Onette. And in the center, a giant footprint that gave the area its name.
There was something... refreshing about the air here. He looked down and saw every injury he'd sustained that day fading away as if it had never existed. He moved towards the print, producing the sound stone from his pocket and pressing it against his forehead, but some unspoken directive.
He heard music- he closed his eyes in an effort to hear it better, and heard a lovely nine-note melody, which abruptly cut off. Without having to ask, he knew he'd hear more once he found the next sanctuary.
As he opened his eyes, he could have sworn he caught a glimpse of a puppy- the family dog, King, as he'd been when they first adopted him.
A smile spread across his face- for all the weird things that had happened since the previous night, he was having quite the good start to his journey.
XXXX
Y'know, of course I know that the Earthbound series is weird, but it never really hit home how weird until I had to type it out and have (semi) normal people react to it. Alright, we're gonna try to get back into routine a bit, but I'm planning on next chapter being another new universe. New plan- you guys get to vote on it! Newer plan- I'm not gonna tell you what the choices are! Not directly, at least. I'm gonna leave clues in the poll, including the worlds I listed a few episodes back, and some new ones I've envisioned since then. You get to vote based on those clues, and get an extra vote if you correctly guess- via PM- what that world is actually based on! No real reason, I just thought it would be fun. I'll give at least a week for that, though knowing me, it'll probably be longer. Either way, until then, please R&R, Gamer4 out