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Cover Art: Jack Wayne

Chapter 126


Looking back, he ought to have expected a trip to the water park would descend into some kind of competition. It started with the buying of the swimsuits and Emerald and Vernal in some bizarre risqué-off; trying on the skimpiest of bikinis and posing for him like they expected him to react to two girls he considered as daughters. He did have to step in when Vernal wanted to try on the string, more to prevent her being creeped on by other guys, and she somehow took that as her victory. Emerald had been sulky ever since.

She cheered up by the time the actual waterpark came around, and he paid extra for the right for them to skip the queue and get inside. His new tattoo was prominently on display and they'd both commented on it, Emerald to ask when and why, and Vernal to ask if she'd inspired him with hers. He wasn't sure if they realised it was the exact same as Jaune and Cinder's just yet, but if they had then they knew to keep quiet.

And soon, the next new competition began.

"Go down the waterslide with me," Emerald said.

"No." Vernal argued. "Come do the rapids with me."

"Girls. Girls. Why don't we do each of them together?" he compromised, even if it only led to them arguing which should be first. Jaune sighed, placed a hand on each of their shoulders and herded them on, ignoring the considering looks from other people in the waterpark who must have been trying to figure out if he was a disgusting creep or a poor single father.

The conclusions varied based on age by the looks of it. Older couples and parents nodded and smiled sympathetically, while teenagers and young adults looking to pull made the wrong assumption and glared jealously his way, wishing they could be in his flip-flops. Or in his daughters. Jaune glared back at one or two, and his cold eyes and huntsman physique did a much better job at cowing them than theirs did.

I spent my early years at Beacon wishing girls would fight for my attention. This isn't what I meant.

He'd considered offering to take Yang and Ruby along, too. Not out of charity – Yang was an excellent means of distracting both Emerald and Vernal, while Ruby, as a doctor in training, apparently earned a lot of respect from Vernal. It appeared that while strength was prioritised in the Branwen tribe, those that dedicated their skills to healing were given as much, if not more, respect than even the strongest of fighters.

Ultimately, he decided against it. What masochistic psycho wanted to try and shepherd four girls at once around a waterpark? His hair would go whiter than Winter's. A tactical stop by a candy floss stand shut them up. Not even bloodthirsty bandits would waste time yapping when there was sweets to be had, and Jaune earned a blessed few minutes of quiet as they ascended the long staircase and queue to the slide known as `Doom Mountain`, which, for some reason, resembled not a mountain but just a tall, plunging slide with a staircase next to it. One where its travellers became less and less certain the higher they got, colour draining from faces and once brave teens clinging to the railing and looking down unwisely.

"Pussies!" Vernal crowed tactlessly. "Weaklings. Cowards. Crawl back inside your mother's vaginas if you're going to be afraid of a waterslide."

The accused rounded angrily, only to take one look at him and think twice. Jaune didn't really get it. He was smiling in an apologetic way, trying to look friendly, and everyone in Beacon had always called him a friendly goof, and yet people nowadays seemed so intimidated of him. Civilians, that was. Most huntsmen and huntresses were fine.

Sure, it might have been the corded and powerful muscle, the hefty pecs, broad shoulders and iron ingot abs, but those weren't special. Emerald had abs. Vernal had abs. Yang could knock people out with hers. There was no avoiding having an incredible figure when your job literally required you to fight or train for up to six hours – sometimes as much as twelve or sixteen on a mission gone wrong – a day. Huntsman life wasn't weightlifting or running either, but a range of dynamic motion that had you bouncing around on all kinds of terrain, spreading out the physical gains in a way the average bodybuilder couldn't match.

The irony, of course, was that he'd have apologised profusely to any of the guys who came up to confront them. The doubly irony was that Vernal would have personally shoved them back inside their mother's vaginas if they tried.

"Stop antagonising people," he said, tapping the back of her head. It was the only safe spot to hit when she was wearing a tight black bikini. "Them stopping to think twice is good for us. Means less of a queue."

"Pft. Pathetic. We could jump off right now and be fine."

"Because we're huntsmen with aura. Most people can't survive being launched off cliffs. And no, it's not cowardice that they don't try."

At the top of a slide, a fairly buff man – by civilian standards – in red shorts with the waterpark's logo on was controlling how many people went through at any on time. He looked bored out his skull, probably because so many people were giggling and doing the "No you", "no you go first" game. He looked like he wanted to give Vernal's test a try and jump.

"You go first and catch us!" Vernal ordered and would wonders never cease but Emerald nodded her head eagerly, agreeing with her not-sister. Jaune shrugged and stepped up, sitting down with his legs forward and shooting down the slide like a torpedo. There was a sudden drop where the slide gained a roof just before it, becoming a tunnel so that no one would literally fly off to their doom.

Hurtling down the tunnel on a slick stream of water was more fun than he expected it to be, bringing back memories of him and the Arc sisters at their own park with mom and dad. Since no one could possibly hear, he let out a happy whoop and leaned back, watching the curve below approach. He struck it at speed, going from a near seventy degree drop to flat out, then being skimmed out over a long, deep pool of water that broke his speed with an incredible splash.

Surfacing with a laugh, he remembered briefly what his dad had done, turning in the water as Vernal's voice came howling down the tunnel. The girl came shooting out like a canon and he caught her hips with both hands and a wide grin.

There was a moment of shock. Vernal's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed bright red before, with a grin, Jaune kicked off the floor and tossed her into the air. Vernal shrieked in alarm and flailed her limbs before splashing down into the deeper part of the pool. She surfaced spluttering and angry, though his laughter soon had her smiling, unable to stop herself.

Emerald came firing out a moment later and he completed the same motion, snatching her up before she could fully slow down and hurling her back, technically both saving her from anyone else coming down, but more importantly giving her a long arch of weightless panic before she splashed back down like a bomb. People on the sides of the pool laughed and cheered, while one of those photographers who'd try to sell you overpriced pictures at the front gates gave him a thumbs up. If he could get shots of those two flailing around in the air like idiots, he might just buy.

"That was awesome!" Vernal crowed. "Again! Again!"

Him and his sisters had loved it when Nicholas did that, too. It'd been a game either at a park or even just the lake they visited. They'd line up on the shore and their father would show off his huntsman strength by hurling them into the water. Depending on whether he went overarm or underarm, you could get some serious air.

"We've got all day. Let's try a few others first, okay?"

Three hours of rides, snacks and dunking the girls whenever they got argumentative later found him a quiet moment to lay on a plastic recliner by one of the activity pools – a huge pool with numerous little quirks like a rapids section, inflatable castles and the like. One of those things he'd always thought was too childish to play on as a teenage boy, but which that primal part of him had wanted to, even as girls had fun regardless of how `cool` it was or wasn't. Emerald and Vernal were currently on the only thing they could be – a thin inflatable tube that rotated under their feet over a deep pool of water while they beat on each other with inflatable quarterstaffs.

They were surrounded by other kids cheering them on, amazed at how well the two kept their balance on the spinning logs, even as they ducked, hopped and lashed out with their sticks. They were a lot more violent than anyone else had been, but the lifeguard on duty looked like she wasn't willing to risk trying to stop them.

"Are those your two?" an elderly woman on the bed next to his asked.

"Sorry," he replied instinctively. "For whatever they did."

"Oh no, I think it's very sweet. My Joel and I are here with our grandkids and they're loving the show." She pointed to a boy and a girl who were probably closer to eleven, cheering Emerald and Vernal on. "They're certainly competitive girls you have there."

He sighed. "Too competitive."

"That's the way of young girls. Trust me. I raised three. You know, my youngest is around your age. Twenty-five-"

"I'm engaged."

"Ah. That's a shame." The old woman took it with a smile. "Though not unexpected. Joel was a single father before I snatched him up, too," she looked over at her sleeping husband lovingly. "Something about the type that just seems so responsible. Probably because you have to be to raise kids alone."

"Tell me about it. Every day is a challenge."

"It's worth it though, isn't it?"

Jaune watched Vernal jump over Emerald's staff and bring hers down on her opponent's shoulder. The blow couldn't have hurt Emerald, but it did unbalance her, and on the wet and no doubt slick inflatable log, that was a death sentence. Emerald flailed and fought for balance, only for Vernal to spin and slam her stick into her midriff, launching her off with an angry cry. He laughed.

"Yeah. I'd say it's worth the pain. Sometimes anyway."

"Well for what it's worth, I think you're doing a wonderful job. And there are plenty of women around who seem to agree!"

He'd noticed. Nora always called him oblivious with Pyrrha, but Pyrrha had been a hundred times subtler than some of the women here. Again, it was probably mostly due to his physique. Cardin would have turned just as many heads, while Sun would have caused heart attacks. With his hands stretched up and behind his head, his chest was pulled tight and Arcs always did tan well.

It was strange to think, but he'd actually experienced the same in his last life when they'd gone to Atlas. Not that he'd realised what all the offers of being invited to women's homes for casserole meant until Yang spelled it out for him.

"My fiancée is busy," he said. "And lives in Atlas."

"Are they hers?"

"No. They were both adopted. Sort of."

"That's even sweeter," the old lady said. "You've given them a much better childhood than they would have otherwise had. Your fiancée is a lucky woman."

"Dad!" Emerald yelled his way. "Stop flirting and come in!"

Jaune groaned. Luckily, his new friend only giggled and covered her mouth. "Excuse me," he said. "I need to go drown my daughter."

What followed was a good half hour of wrestling and throwing Emerald and Vernal around the pool. The wrestling wasn't intentional, but as soon as he was in, those two decided to work together to try and dunk him, and then it was all an excuse for training. He tossed Emerald into the deeper section, hooked Vernal's foot out from under her and sent her splashing back into the water with a cry. When she came up spluttering and dove on him again, he dodged and sent her under again with a tap on her back.

Emerald landed on his back with her feet hooked around his stomach and her hands on his head trying to push down. Grabbing her knees and taking a deep breath, he dove down, taking her with him and forcing her to let go.

Before long, it was an all out brawl and for some reason a bunch of other kids had decided he was free real estate, joining in or splashing him and forcing him to – much more gently – toss them into the deeper parts of the pool. The fact their parents just watched and let him do it would have shocked him before, but now as a parent himself he finally understood why.

Free babysitter. Take it while it was there.

/-/

It was official.

Summer and Taiyang were Gods.

Emerald and Vernal fell asleep on a shoulder each on the taxi ride home, totally exhausted and smiling from their long day. The taxi driver obviously found it cute, not realising that the sight of the two asleep was actually not cute at all, but actually nirvana. No fighting. No squabbling. Peace at last. It was like a great war had come to a close.

The cabbie offered to wait while Jaune carried the girls into the house and set them down on a sofa each, then paid the man and closed the door before carrying the girls one at a time up to their bedrooms. They'd nap it off soon and come down angrily demanding takeout for dinner later, but for now the waterpark had proven its worth to parents everywhere. He tucked Vernal in and pulled the blanket up to her neck, then crept out as she mumbled and rolled onto her side.

Even if he only had a few hours, it was time he could spend translating. Brewing himself some coffee and taking the mug over to the library table, he pulled the two books out and got back to work, matching words for words and piecing together a story that he read out loud as he worked.

"A schism forms within our people. Those granted the power of the divine protect all from the Dwellers and are rightly beloved, but some grow arrogant and entitled. They demand that we call them by a new title, and they have claimed the title of Ashari. To demand a new name is fair and just given their sacrifice, but to claim a title as has been granted to all Ashari is to rob those of their name and call them lesser. This, I disagree with. My only solace is that the Mother and the Father share my lack of interest. They are focused on greater things; the bestowal of the divine gift, and a new home I have heard referred to as the Vault."

Divine gift must be aura, Semblance or whatever they used the Relics to make people strong with. Or it could just be higher levels of magical ability since those literally came from the Brother Gods.

"When I told the Father of my intention to go on a Pilgrimage to the Temple of Knowledge, I was left confounded by his rejection. The pilgrimages have been sacred to all Ashari, and though the danger from the Dwellers is great, I am unsure why the Father says no. More confusing, he suggested I could conduct my pilgrimage to the Temple of Creation, Destruction or Choice freely. It is only the Temple of Knowledge that he would bar, and yet it is only Knowledge that I seek. I have told him that I shall seek Choice, but once I leave the Kingdom, I shall change my path and approach the Temple of Knowledge. I hope only that the guardians will permit me entry."

The book continued for another page going over his preparations and farewells, mentioning only briefly the state of fear the Ashari were in thanks to the Grimm. There was no mention of magic yet, not how to use it or where it came from, but he was still less than ten pages into the tome with many to go. The latter half of the book seemed more based around instruction, with sketched images and drawings where the early pages had none.

It must have been the Temple of Knowledge where he found this. It must once have contained the Relic of Knowledge; an early vault Ozpin had changed once Salem and he turned on one another. Translating onward, he found more references to that.

"In times long past, streams of pilgrims would travel to the Temple of Knowledge for answers. Those times are gone. My path is a lonely one, and dangerous not only for the Dwellers but those who have forsaken our way and taken to savagery." Bandits or criminals, most likely. "I stick to the quieter paths and avoid the main routes. The travel is arduous, and I have little time to rest and write."

The page ended there. Early. Flipping to the next, Jaune sighed in relief as he saw the symbols he'd quickly learned meant `Knowledge`.

"The Temple of Knowledge is sealed," he translated slowly, crossing from one book to the next before writing down his translation on a third. "The Guardians deny me entry. They have denied entry to all but those chosen by the Mother and the Father. I leave, then loop around and return, this time in hiding. Thrice and ten times – thirteen times - have I visited the Temple and I know it's hidden pathways well. I had sought my path to the Cloistered Chamber and prayed for answers. To my awe, answers I did receive. Answers I was told, that only one remained, and that should I wish it, I might ask one question."

He'd found the Relic. How? Where? The detail was so scant, and yet the handwriting had also become worse, rushed. This section must have been written after he used the Relic, which might explain why it became more erratic. Jaune forged on, desperate to know what final question this man had asked Jinn.

"Many questions are those I would have had answered, but with but one to choose, I thought as carefully as I was able. No visions of the future was I told could I claim, only that which has happened or does exist. My greatest desire was to know what would happen to my people, the Ashari, and so I asked for understanding – I asked to understand that which the Mother and the Father know and intend for our people. In turn, I was granted this, in but a moment that left my head heavy and blood running from my face, I understood and knew all that the Mother and the Father did. All. In a moment, I understood just how doomed our people were. Some knowledge is best left hidden, and I fear this knowledge will break me. I do only what I can. I shall write. I shall recount. I shall share my newfound understanding."

Turning the page, Jaune found the changes began there. Erratic entries, diagrams and sketches drawn by the shaking hand of a man driven mad by too much information. This has to be like what Jinn did to Raven, he thought. Jinn had slammed all the knowledge of his previous life into Raven's head, practically making her live it in an instant. That had been shocking for Raven, but how much worse would it be to have everything Salem and Ozma had gone through tossed inside? That was hundreds, if not thousands, of years in the blink of an eye. It was knowledge of Gods, magic, the end of the world and so much more.

The human mind was only able to handle so much.

A blood red portal swirled into life several feet to his left. Jaune heard it and leaned back, sipping some coffee as Raven walked through and into his home. It'd been a while since she'd visited, it usually being him going to her now. Her crimson eyes took in the books and twisted in distaste. Walking up to the table, she hefted a leather bag on a long strap and let it fall with a loud clank and a tinkle.

Jaune dared to open the flap and gaze inside, seeing gold and blue before snapping it shut and pushing it away. "You brought the Relic here?"

"I can't leave it with the tribe," she said. Moving to the kitchen, she opened the fridge and helped herself to a can of beer, cracking the ring pull with a snap and a hiss before coming back to sit down. "A pretty piece of fancy like that would draw anyone's eye, and I don't feel safe having it in my tent. I can feel her watching me." She took a long drink and swung her boots up onto his mahogany table. "Judging me. I don't like it. Lock it away in your basement. It's safer than a tent."

He supposed it was. Pushing the satchel aside, not willing to deal with it just yet, he turned the translated notepad around and pushed it across the table to her. Raven leaned forward, eyed his handwriting and then leaned back.

Jaune rolled his eyes and summarised. "It's a translation of someone who lived alongside Ozma and Salem back in the time where the first Ashari were around. He went against their orders and used the Relic of Knowledge. This tome is a record of the answer, I think. I've not finished translating it all yet, but it took fifteen pages to get to him asking, and there's two hundred in total."

"That's a longwinded answer. What did he ask for?"

"To understand everything that Salem and Ozma did." Raven spluttered and swung her feet down, catching herself before she could fall. Her eyes met his, wide and alarmed, before she snatched the notepad and started to read. Her hands flipped through the pages before he warned her. "I haven't gotten to translating everything they knew just yet."

"Fuck!" she hissed, tossing it down. "Everything, though?"

"That's what he said. Jinn is usually pretty literal. From what I saw when I picked the book up, I think he gets killed – possibly by Ozpin, but it might have been from one of those Guardians he mentions." He could see Ozpin doing it, though, especially if this guy was looking to share secrets of magic that could endanger the world. "The only thing I'm not sure of is why Ozpin left the book there."

"Magic?" Raven guessed lazily. "The door was sealed, and literally the only people who could get through were him and Salem – the only reason you can is because Salem literally created that body with the Relic of Creation. You're more like a clone of her in your shape then a real person."

He didn't like the suggestion. "Hm. I guess he must have thought sealing it off was enough. Maybe he wanted some record kept just in case anything went wrong later down the line. Or maybe he didn't know, and it was the guardians who killed him, then they sealed the temple without realising the book had been left there. Whatever the case, it's chock full of information."

"You'll be translating it, right?"

"Of course. I did promise to focus on Emerald and Vernal for the holidays, though-"

"I thought I sensed her here," Raven said with a roll of her eyes. "Finally hunted you down and made you see the truth, did she? So, what is it? Are you her father, her teacher or her fuck toy?" Jaune winced at the latter. "You left her messed up and confused when you ran off. Hard to know whether she wanted to hold you, make love to you or kill you."

"It's the father thing."

Raven grinned. "Lucky break. She was a promising one, you realise. You stole her from me and turned her soft. I guess you really are just like Taiyang."

"I happen to think that's a good thing," Jaune said. "Tai is a great father and a good friend. Yang also came out well. She isn't weak; you know that as well as I do."

"Not weak, but not strong either. Your schools and your institutions take over and give, give, give, coddling children and feeding them everything they could ever want. And for what? Half of those there don't take it seriously. They act like it's a given, taking for granted the power they're offered and half-arsing their way through classes."

Was Raven espousing the path of the teacher's pet? Jaune hid his grin, even if he didn't fully disagree with her. Some people could be entitled, and he'd seen plenty of those types join the ASH Gym and give up after a few sessions once they realised there was actual effort involved. Not all were like that, though. He supposed Raven would argue those were just the strong ones, and that if they lived in a world where they had to fight and scrape for that same benefit, they would, further proving their strength, culling the weak and exposing people for how willing they were to work.

In theory, it was all sound, but theory was just that. Vale needed all the huntsmen it could get, and quantity had a quality all of its own. Beacon could refine them, and even the laziest and most arrogant of huntsmen could still save lives. They could also improve themselves as people and mature.

"We'll agree to disagree. Thanks for collecting the Relic. Did anyone notice?"

"No. Haven's new head is too busy and since I'm the Spring Maiden it was as easy as waiting til late and flying down to pick it up. The others will be harder."

"James is prepared to help on Creation, but he's asked it be left in Atlas until the last moment. He says he can fabricate some exercise to bring Atlas to land for repairs and maintenance, but that excuse won't hold for long. We'll need to take the Relic, use it and bring it back before people get suspicious."

"Turning Ironwood against Ozpin. I'm impressed."

"It's not against Ozpin," he reminded her. "We're just striking our own blow."

"He won't see it that way."

"He won't have a say in the matter." Jaune leaned over and drew the notepad back. "I'll keep working on this. I've got Roman and Junior looking into where the Summer Maiden is currently holing herself up, and we can swing by to challenge her once we find her. After that, it's just a case of sneaking the Relic of Choice out from under Ozpin."

"Just," Raven said with a loud laugh. "Sounds easy."

"I never said it would be. Want to help me translate-?"

Raven was gone. In her place, a small black bird dipped its beak into a puddle of beer on his table, supped and then squawked. "Kaw!" it opined. "Kaw! Kaw!"

"I thought crows cawed. Doesn't raven's tweet?"

"Kaww!"

"I should put you in a bird cage."

The bird raised one wing and drew down some of its pinions, leaving one raised in a gesture that needed no explanation. Fluttering off to a curtain rail, it bunched up and let its chin fall to its feathery chest, snoozing away and leaving him to shake his head, finish his coffee and go back to his research.

/-/

"He went to a waterpark."

"That is all?"

Cinder hummed in the affirmative, holding the scroll away so that Salem could not see her face. "That's it," she promised. "He took his daughter and Vernal with him."

"This Vernal. Is there anything unique about her?"

"Only that she's obsessed with him. I'm her partner in Beacon and to say anything bad about Mr Ashari is to make an enemy of her. I'm fairly sure he just sees her as a second adopted daughter, ma'am. He's not doing anything wrong."

"You seem awfully defensive of him, dear Cinder."

Her blood ran cold. "N-No. I… I was just offering my thoughts on the matter, ma'am. I've been keeping an eye on him as you ordered me, and he keeps a strong divide between his work and home life. I don't think Emerald or Vernal know he's even met you, let alone that he works with us."

"Us? It's rare for you to take such a co-operative tone."

"He's not as annoying as Watts or Tyrian."

"Hmm. Even I can admit that." Salem chuckled. "Continue to watch him."

Cinder bit back a sigh, responding with an obedient "as you command." Spending a day stalking someone who knew you around a waterpark wasn't a simple task. There had been plenty of people there, but you couldn't exactly disguise yourself when everyone was wearing swimsuits. More aggravating was the number of guys, and some girls, who had tried to hit on her. Beautiful woman alone obviously meant she was looking for company. It couldn't possible be any other reason. Ugh. Fools.

All she'd gotten for her effort was the knowledge that Jaune Ashari was the perfect father – something she'd already known since Vernal wouldn't shut the hell up about it. Idyllic scenes of him playing with children aside, there hadn't been much else. Cinder hadn't even had the time to enjoy herself since she had to follow them.

"Has he told you anything?" Salem asked suddenly. "His weakness appears to be young children, especially girls your age. He lost all composure when I was making an example of you."

Cinder tensed. He hadn't been the only one to lose composure, and the reminder wasn't a welcome one. Was that all it meant to Salem? An example? The agony had been unending, digging right into her soul, and that it happened without warning and without her having done anything to deserve it twisted her stomach into knots.

"N-Nothing, ma'am."

"Nothing? Nothing at all? He took you away from me. I find it hard to believe he didn't talk to you in private." Salem's voice dipped. "You would not lie to me, Cinder. Would you?"

"No! No." she said in a quieter voice. "He did say things, yes, I only meant that I didn't think it was anything important. He asked me if I'd ever felt that before, how often you used it and how much it hurt."

"He must be worried I'd use it on him. Good. Fear is a valuable motivator."

Was it? Jaune had disagreed.

If someone has to use pain to convince a child to do something they want, then they're not fit to rule. Cinder swallowed at the reminder of those dangerous and awfully ill-advised words. Salem would not take them well and would surely reward her for sharing them. Reward her just like she had with that mind numbing pain.

Cinder's teeth clenched together so hard they hurt. She'd been left with shakes for days until Jaune used his Semblance to ease them, and it was only today that she could properly sleep without waking up to sudden muscle spasms. And for what? Because Salem wanted to make an example of someone, and she just happened to fit Ashari's so-called weak spot.

"Is there anything else you wish to report, Cinder?"

"No," she forced out. "He's said and done nothing suspicious."


Thanks to those offering thoughts for my mother on Thursday and sorry for the sudden cut off of the chapter. My mother is okay from her hospital stay Thursday night. They have discovered a weakness in one of the lower chambers of her heart and she is going to need to be on new, somewhat still experimental, medicine to take care of it.

Been warned it may leave her woozy and confused until she gets used to it, but it should prevent what was essentially an oncoming heart attack. There isn't too much that can be done for her as she's had a stent and so many other treatments. It all stems from her breast cancer and all the treatments she's had from it, etc, but we count our blessings for what they are.


Next Chapter: 10th October

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur