"Paranoid" by Garbage
(In case anyone is wondering. Yes I do listen to the posted song on repeat while I write each chapter)
Hazel left to seek out Arthur Watts, leaving the cowering Cinder Fall and manically smiling Tryian Callows in the throne room, with her.
"Tyrian."
"Yes my Goddess."
"Take Cinder with you."
"For what my Goddess?" he asked.
"It is her last chance. Find him and kill him." Salem answered, "If she should fail..."
"I understand." Tyrian laughed.
Cinder heard her mistresses words. They sent a cold shiver down her spine; and drove daggers of ice into her heart. She knew what was being implied. She couldn't fail. She wouldn't fail; her very life depended on it.
"How shall I find him?" Tyrian asked.
"I shall find him." Salem replied. "I have thousands of eyes to search with. Be ready to leave the moment I know his location."
"As you decree my Goddess."
/=/
On the train ride to Argus; in their one of their two private sleeping cars, the assembled teams turned on Qrow and Oscar. The questions came fast and frenzied. So fast that neither Qrow or Oscar had a chance to utter a single word. For it Jaune remained silent. He sat in a corner causally strumming a wordless tune. He kept his focus on himself, not wanting to risk influencing the already high emotions in the sleeping car. In fact they were giving him such a headache that he had to leave. Standing up, guitar in hand he made to exit the small room.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked worry in her voice.
"I'm fine. I just need some air."
"Are you sure?" asked Ruby as the rest of RWBY and JNPR turned their attention from the original targets to settle on Jaune.
"There is just too much going on. I need some space." Jaune replied. "I'll be fine. I promise."
With that he exited and taking a minute to pick a direction made his way towards the back of the train. Behind him, he could feel the emotions of his friends once again begining to rise, as no undoubtedly they had turned their attention back to Qrow and Oscar. The waves washing over him dissipated with distance, and after a couple of cars he was free of it. He knew he was the cause of the new stance they were all taking in regards to their travels. They were no longer bound to blindly just follow, and it was because of him.
/=/
Seating himself outside in the chill air at the rear of the last car, Jaune returned to what he had been doing in the sleeping car. With his guitar situated on his lap, he leaned forward and began once again to strum a soft wordless tune. His mind turned inward to all that had happened to the small group since the battle at Beacon. He closed his eyes trying to let the song wash over him to remove the feelings that filled his mind.
Again and again his friends had been forced to protect him. All he could do was use his semblance to assist them, and not even directly. Or that was at least how he felt, never considering that without him at both the battle of Beacon and the conflict at Haven, would have turned out much differently without his application of his useless semblance. The door opened beside him and Pyrrha stepped outside.
"Are you okay Jaune?" she asked as she took a seat on the chilly floor of the porch of the caboose across from where Jaune was sitting.
"I'm fine."
"Don't lie Jaune. Something is bothering you, I can tell."
"Do you know what it is like to always have to be protected. To be useless? To be weak?"
"You're not weak Jaune, nor are you useless."
"Really? You think that? What have I done that has been of any help to what we are doing?"
"You alone caused the tide to turn at Beacon." Pyrrha continued when all she revived in response was a scoff from Jaune. "You broke the White Fang. Because of you they've lost most of their people"
"As if you Ruby and the others needed me for that." Jaune muttered, "You're all powerful, all skilled. You could have handled it all without me."
"That is doubtful Jaune. There is only eight..."
"Seven. I can't fight remember."
"There is only EIGHT of us, we couldn't have succeeded against those odds, no matter how powerful we are. We couldn't even capture Cinder, and that man that was with her."
"So what did you find out?" Jaune asked changing the subject.
"Not much. Ruby and Nora are still demanding answers, while Blake, Yang and Ren are watching." Pyrrha replied knowing that Jaune had purposefully changed the subject from his own self worth.
"Why are you even here? Afraid I'm fall off the train like the useless idiot I am?" Jaune asked unable to stop himself from blurting out his frustrations about his own abilities.
"You're not useless, and not an idiot." Pyrrha replied in a soothing tone. "You know we all care for you. You're important to use all, and more so to me."
"I know. I could hear you when I was in the hospital at Beacon."
"Knowing that, doesn't that tell you why I would protect you regardless of how strong you are. You could be the most powerful huntsman in all of Remnant and I would still stand before you, to prevent anyone from hurting you."
"I'm not..."
"Don't even say it." Pyrrha snapped cutting him off.
The pair fell into an uneasy silence. Jaune having stopping strumming his guitar when Pyrrha appeared.
"Play something?" Pyrrha asked, to break the silence.
"Like what?"
"Anything. I just want to hear you play."
Sighing, Jaune just nodded, and adjusted the guitar on his lap, and started to pick a tune. He didn't sing, he didn't mumble. There were no words to the tune. It was nothing but a simple tune he would play to pass time, as he thought about his life. Neither noticed the small Nevermore that was following the train.
/=/
Tyrian gave Cinder a quick boot to the ribs, rousing her from her bed. It wasn't meant to cause injury or pain, it was just enough to cause her to quickly wake up. Turning to face him, her blankets bunched about her waist, she glared at him.
"Get ready. He's been found. We are leaving."
"Where?"
"Argus." Tyrian chuckled.
"Don't underestimate him." Cinder warned. "He's been able to turn the tide of what should have been victories for us. Twice."
"It makes no difference." Tyrian chuckled, "He'll never see me coming."
"What about me?"
"You're the distraction."
Cinder didn't like what that implied.
/=/
Arriving in Argus, Jaune was met thorough chance by his sister Saphron. After a quick set of introductions, and questions on why they were there, she lead the entire group to her home, where she introduced them all to her wife Terra and son Adrian. All the girls showered the cute bundle of innocence with attention as Jaune still in a mood took a seat on the couch. When Adrian suddenly started to fuss under the avalanche of attention Saphron stepped in and picked him up, before moving towards Jaune.
"Could you?" she asked him.
He simply nodded and reached out to accept the youngster. With in minutes the boy calmed, and started to nod off.
"Best babysitter in the world." Terra chuckled as Saphron picked up the drowsing toddler and left heading to put him down for a nap.
"Did you just?" Pyrrha partially asked.
"Yes." Jaune replied, with a dissatisfied sigh.
"It's what makes him the best." Saphron stepped in as she returned from Adrian's room, "As soon as it was discovered what he could do, Mom always had him to the babysitting, and as a reward she stepped in to protect him from the rest of us, at least when she was around."
"That's kinda using him." mentioned Pyrrha not happy at the insinuation that his family had taken advantage of his semblance.
"Sort of was, but it also taught him how to control it." Saphron offered, "and he needed lots of practice in the beginning. Have you ever told them what you can do?"
"I've shown them, a couple of times." Jaune replied.
"I think you need to tell them, make it clear." Saphron countered.
"Maybe later." Jaune commented, "Not really in the mood to do anything right now."
"Well it was along trip. Anything anybody wants to do?" Ruby asked.
/=/
Karaoke night was ruined, and Jaune felt like it was his fault as he took in the sight of Cinder Fall and some some scorpion faunus standing in the middle of the a mostly empty bar. Well empty aside from Yang, Nora and Pyrrha standing in a defensive line before him. Pyrrha had stepped in as soon as Cinder was noticed, and it was only by happenstance that when she turned her attention to Jaune that she had noticed the shadowed form descending from above towards him.
She took a hit as she pushed Jaune out of the way, having a large chunk of her aura shaved away. It was the combined superman punches by Yang and Nora that drove the faunus back. He laughed maniacally as he rolled with the double hit and regained his feet with surreal ease. Everyone else fled once the conflicted started.
"Nice, nice." he chuckled as he cracked his neck. "This is going to be so much more sporting than I had first thought."
"Who are you?" snapped Yang as she brought her fists up.
None of them had their weapons, having come to the karaoke bar to waste sometime and to enjoy each other's company. Half their group had stayed behind to relax at the house. The long trip from Mistral to Argus, combined with the constant questioning of Qrow and Oscar having worn them down to the point of just wanting to laze about.
For Yang, Nora, and Pyrrha, to unwind meant taking time to go out and do something fun, or at least for Nora and Yang it was. For Pyrrha it was to be with Jaune. With that came the idea to drag Jaune out, and hear him perform, and also see if they could get him out of whatever was causing him to be so sullen.
"I'm Tyrian." the faunus replied, as he flexed his wrists and brought his weapons out and centred his tail over his left shoulder. "The pleasure is all mine."
Pyrrha had been lucky when she tanked Tyrian's attack. The scorpion faunus had never considered that anyone would have their aura up, so he didn't use his semblance when he attempted to strike the blond haired singer with his stinger.
As Jaune scrambled to his feet; Cinder deployed her own twin swords. This was bad, Jaune thought, and he scorched his mind to figure out something to do, something that would help his unarmed friends face the threat before them. Looking down at the karaoke machines, and idea came to him. It was time he really put his semblance to use to the benefit of his friends. Spinning the dial he found a song, slammed up the volume controls; and hit the repeat function. He moved to the microphone as the system loaded up the selection.
"Cover your ears!" he shouted to his friends as the first notes began to blare out from the sound system arrayed all around the low stage.
Pyrrha turned slightly and saw Jaune grabbing hold of the mic stand, instantly knowing what he was going to do.
"DO it!" she shouted to the others and she shoved her fingers into her ears and ducked down. Nora and Yang not sure why, followed her example.
"You can look, but you can't touch." he spoke sang in time to the words appearing on the monitor at his feet. A monitor he wasn't even looking at, as he focused his entire attention on the pair before him.
Tyrian leaned back finding the actions of the quartet puzzling and entertaining, before taking a step forward; with all his weapons at the ready, and his semblance activated. This was going to be so easy, even as the first words of Jaune's song rolled over him. Cinder hesitated, and took a step backwards. She wanted to follow the example of Jaune's friends, but fear of Salem's displeasure and what Tyrian could do to her, over riding any thoughts about countering Jaune's semblance.
"I think I'm PARANOID!" Jaune sang out into the microphone, his voice amplified over the speakers, his full intent focused on Cinder and Tyrian.
Cinder faltered and dropped her weapons; rocked by the hammer of emotion Jaune projected right at her. Tyrian paused and shook his head, before taking a step backwards. Jaune pushed every once of his anger, frustration and insecurity into his voice. He hoped his friends efforts were protecting them as he pushed even more of his aura into his attack.
Cinder weaved and fell to her knees whimpering, completely overwhelmed. Tyrian took several more steps back trying to shake the violent feelings crashing into his mind. Screwing his eyes shut he attempted to focus on his devotion to his Goddess as Jaune continued to sing; assaulting the pair before him with pure and unfettered emotion.
Jaune ignored any feelings that tried to invade his mind, intently focused on showing everyone he wasn't as useless as he thought he was. Cinder three times exposed to Jaune's ability finally broke and collapsed face down onto the floor a whimpering and cowering mess. Tyrian weaved trying to force himself forward, attempting to put a stop to the noise that was assaulting his senses and mind.
Kneeling before the stage his friends pushed their fingers harder into their ears, and squeezed their eyes shut. Even muted his voice was bleeding into them; causing them leaned forward towards the floor, almost pressing their foreheads against the warm wood. Jaune could see he was affecting his friends to at least a lesser degree, but he kept it up, and pushed even more aura into his words. He had one chance to keep his friends out of a fight. He had one chance to prove his was more than a distraction.
Cinder openly cried, and slowly began to crawl forward towards Jaune. Any thoughts of attacking him had fled from her wrecked mind. She was going to debase herself, to beg and plead with him to stop. She would do anything he wished, she would let him doing anything he wanted to or with her, if it would all stop. She was broken; past any fear of Salem, and worries of punishment from authorities; she was completely broken.
"Get out of here!" Jaune shouted as he nudged Pyrrha's back with his foot, while the song ended and reloaded.
Pulling her fingers from her ears she heard him and nodded. Tapping Nora and Yang, she indicated that they needed to go, and as the music started up again, the trio fled from their friend. This was a battle they would be of no use in. Tyrian attempted to regain his footing, during the small pause, only to reel back as again the semblance powered words smashed into him.
Cinder made it halfway to the stage before falling completely unconscious. Tyrian held his ground, refusing to let the tidal waves of emotion to force him away from his target. Gritting his teeth, he took a step forward. He would see the decree of his Goddess through, regardless of what it cost him. Seeing the scorpion faunus starting to move forward, and knowing that his friends now had some semblance of safety from him, Jaune threw every last once of his strength, will; and aura into one final push.
The flood of emotions hit Tyrian like a truck, shattering his resolve and throwing his already chaotic thought processes into absolute disarray. He stumbled weaved and almost dropped to his knees. Releasing the hold on his weapons he slammed his hands to his ears and fled into the street. His mission was forgotten. His devotion shattered. Breathing in rough gasps, his grin was gone. All he wanted to do was to get away from the blond singer, as far away as his legs could carry him.
Seeing the threats evaporate, Jaune stopped singing. Sweat ran down his face, and he weaved on his feet. What he had sought to accomplish, draining him almost as much as his actions at Beacon. He had recklessly thrown massive chunks of his aura into his semblance, fuelling the emotions he was projecting with his sung words. Reaching out he turned off the karaoke machine, and sat down on the edge of the low stage. He was exhausted, not to a drop dead on his feet degree, but enough to warrant him sitting for awhile.
It was a few minutes before his friends chose to return. Nora having been the brave one to remove her fingers and then peer out of the ladies bathroom, in which they sought sanctuary. The insulated walls damping Jaune's words to the point that their fingers could completely block them out. They came out and moved to his side. Pyrrha dropping to sit next to him, reaching out and rubbing her hand on his back. Yang and Nora stayed standing, eyeing the shadows and downed form of Cinder.
"That was something." Yang commented, trying to shake the feelings that had bleed into her mind.
"Are you okay Jaune?" Pyrrha asked as Nora moved to check on the now shivering form of Cinder.
"Just tired."
"That was reckless." Yang spoke as she regarded Jaune with a critical eye. "We could have held them off, until help arrived."
"No, you couldn't." Jaune responded, "Not without getting hurt."
"Jaune?"
"I had to do this. To prove I'm not just someone that needs to be protected." Jaune replied before taking in a long slow breath, "I needed to protect you guys for once."
"You've always protected us Jaune." Nora countered as she took a position behind the slowly rising form of Cinder Fall. "Every time you stepped up to do what it is you do, you've helped and protected us."
"No more!" Cinder cried out and she reached her knees and rushed forward to drop face first on the floor before Jaune her hands and arms wrapping around his exposed ankles.
"What the hell?" Nora and Yang echoed each other.
"Let go!" Pyrrha yelled, as Cinder tightened her grip preventing anyone from pulling her away less they yank Jaune from his seat.
"I'll do anything. Tell you everything. Please, please no more." Cinder sobbed as she resisted Yang and Nora's attempts to separate her from Jaune. "No more. Command me, tell me what you want. Anything and everything I have is yours."
Jaune looked at Pyrrha, with a look of utter confusion and amazement, even while Yang and Nora continued unsuccessfully to extract Jaune from Cinder's clingy grasp.
/=/
No one was happy when the quartet plus one return to the house of Jaune's sister, especially at the reveal of the plus one. Jaune sat on the couch, and Cinder immediately moved to kneel on the floor next to him. Her arms wrapped around his left leg. She clung to him like an affection starved puppy, but the fear in her eyes told them a different story.
"So what are we going to do with her?" asked Weiss, as Blake stood beside her nodding, "She's a criminal. She tried twice to take down academies."
"The authorities?" Blake asked, only to hear Jaune hiss as Cinder tightened her vice like grip around his leg.
"I think she's broken." commented Ruby
"You could say that again." Yang agreed, before stepping forward and letting everyone else know what had happened at the karaoke bar. All through the retelling Jaune sat on the couch trying to fight off the urge to close his eyes and sleep, as Cinder continued to cling to him in desperation.
/==/
A short and small departure, but a what I feel is an important and needed scene. If it doesn't work let me know, and I'll remove it, and just stick to the main theme.
There will be no more deviations from the main concept. This is not cannon, but I think it sets up an indication of what Jaune can do if he has the chance to concentrate on a minimal number of targets.
Hope this turned out and didn't break the flow too much. Enjoy.