Hey! I know that this chapter has been a long time coming, but I'm sorry for the wait, I've had a rough few months and my health has declined, but things are looking up again, I hope this chapter finds everyone well, and I hope you all enjoy, and I understand if it isn't my best chapter. Have fun and enjoy!- PLZnostabby
The Drifter 7
The stone stairs of the crypt led down slowly, the old architecture showing itself as the shape of the stairs both ascended and descended with the right foot. Cobwebs and age wore through the stone, time had been harsh to the ruin.
"Ava, you feel, that right?" I said softly my hand falling to War, the heavy handgun lifted from its holster. Her form appeared and spoke, her eye locked on the surrounding stones.
"Yeah, I feel it kid, you're not hallucinating. Something is here." She said as I aimed the handgun, my hand rose and aura pulsed from it, lighting up the antechamber of the crypt.
Encircling a stone vault were three coffins of hardened crystal, each one branded with a symbol, six coffins, six houses, one symbol was familiar. A dual crescent that seemed to shine as I got closer.
"The coffins have aura, like it's emanating from them." I said softly as I drew out a knife and got closer to the crystal.
"Look, the symbol is responding to you, like it knows you." Ava called out to me as I slowly and gently set my hand on the coffin. I felt my aura hit the coffin's and the lights of the room flickered to life.
In the center of the room, the floor lifted to show a staircase, the stone cracked and grinded as it lifted, the light that came from the structure was fascinating and mesmerizing. I stood and slowly made my way to the structure.
"Do you think this crypt was for the Arc's? Or do you think that part of history has been very hush hush?" Ava said and I looked down, dad had never mentioned anything like this before.
"Got no choice now, we need to make sure that this place is empty, they always said it was infested, but I've yet to see anything." I said as I kept my handgun leveled with my head, the light that was glowing from my palm shined against the stones as I made my way down into a dark great hall.
"This looks less like a crypt and more like a keep." I said as I stepped forward and the torch sconces on the walls were set ablaze.
In front of me I saw a gaping maw, a massive head of a wolf that was split in four parts, the eye flew from the sockets and were held up by a set of tendrils and the beast rose to stand.
"Jaune!" I heard Ava yell as I rolled away, a massive paw hit the ground and tendrils spread across the stone, the flesh grabbed my leg and slammed me against the wall, I felt the air get ripped from my lungs as I roared, blood spattered from my mouth as I cried out as the tendril slammed me back into the ground.
Blood poured down my head as I stood my handgun shaking as my hands trembled. I had never encountered such a powerful grimm, but the eye that it bore, the blood red frenzied organs stared at me. I had never felt such bloodlust, such hunger.
The wolf stood on all four legs and roared against the great chamber that we were in, I drew my machete in my other hand, the steel shined as the beast charged me. Blood dripped onto the stone as I slid under it, I growled and jumped, my body twisting in the air as I aimed my handgun and the round fired, but as it almost made contact the blood and flesh and bone of the beast moved, creating an opening for the bullet to fly through. I was feeling things from this monster, I felt something much worse though, a soul.
I felt a twisted and mangled thing from this monster, bloody and angry, the soul inside raged against the evil thing it was locked within. Someone had bound a soul to a grimm, and then they left it to rot, that must be why it was such a twisted, evil thing. I felt the soul biting at the edges of the form of the beast. Then a swipe sent me flying again, my body lurching as it hit the wall, I cried out as I felt my bones break and begin healing quickly.
I heard it laughing, the twisted creature was getting off on my pain, I grit my teeth and stood, I roared as it charged and held my machete with two hands, the blade slashed across the monster's chest, blood splashed my body as I slammed my shoulder into it, the beast toppled over, and I felt my body get gripped by a tendril. And the world seemed to go into slow motion as I felt my body being slowly crushed, the air in me being voided as I felt the mass of flesh crush me.
"Jaune! I need you to focus, think on what you need to do, remember how to get out of this! I can show you!" Ava yelled as I felt the weight grip tighter, my aura flared and then was pulled into my body.
"Take the aura, the energy around you and find it in your center, then let it gather, and right as you're about to find death in it, release." She said as I roared, the aura surged in me as I charged it and then forced it out, the flesh around me was vaporized as I roared louder, my body levitating over the monster as I kept pushing out more aura until embers sparked on the dying beast, blood spattered the ground as it tried to reach me only to be eviscerated by my aura.
"One last push! Jaune finish it!" I heard Ava yell, then the grimm was torn into nothingness. And the room fell silent as I landed on the ground harshly, blood soaked me as I looked at the crystal that was left of the monster.
"Is that dust?" I asked, my words echoing faintly, my wounds healed steadily, and I picked it up.
"It's that soul you felt, I'd keep it, maybe you'll find a use for it. Now that the grimm is gone, the soul has its purity, but within it is still a faint darkness, interesting. Even I can feel it through you Jaune." Ava said as she appeared and pointed at the door the beast stood in front of.
"Time to go see the secret of the Arc clan." She said with a small grin, I followed her and stopped as we approached the door. My hand laid against the cold stone and I pushed it open, the stone shifted and gave way as it opened, my eye rested on the inside. Bound within a cabinet of glass and iron was a set of armor, bearing a long dark trench coat, the inside having a vest and pocket watch, blood had stained the shoulders of the overcoat and the gloved were a rustic brown. Atop it all was a hat, the circular brim of the hat could easily cover someone, and I stepped forward. And as I did, I saw a buckle with a familiar symbol.
The two crescents were there, but now a rusted red, blood had soaked every inch of this outfit, and the weapon next to it was indicative of that. I stared at it and realized what this was, this was before the great war, before the huntsman, this was a time where the world was unformed, I closed the door and looked away. There were legends about what the grimm were, about what the world was like before our time. In the ancient legends, they said that grimm were born of twisted souls of nature and men and that when a being like that was born, men would hunt it down. But eventually they changed, became truly dark, there were no old grimm anymore, only those of pure darkness. The weapon was a thin longsword, guard was stained with rust and wear, age had been harsh on the old blade. I couldn't see much more as it rested in its scabbard and I wasn't daring to touch it.
"Do you believe that a soul can only bear light? That there's no inherent dark in it?" I asked Ava as I stood, my hands holding the handles of the door.
"I believe that we must have both light and dark, if there's only light one cannot withstand the dark, and visa versa." Ava said, my eye locking with the arc crest.
"There were more crests, one that I recognized, one that is very familiar, a clock surrounded by an eye that looks like a bird's wing, there was also one of a rose. Out of the six, I can hazard a guess for the two, probably Ruby's family, and Ozpin's. But the question is, what happened to the other three? And who are they?" I asked softly as I stepped back through the hall and up the stairs.
This crypt will be the base of what I have planned, but I need more intel if anything is going to happen.
"Jaune, does your family keep logs of what has happened in their history?" Ava asked and I looked down.
"Maybe, but I don't know where they are. And dad was the last son, his older brother would know more but we hadn't heard from him since grandad died." I said softly and she looked on at the scenery of the forest. Time had seemed to stop; the serenity of the world had drawn me in and held me there.
I stepped back onto the path and headed back home and sat down on the porch.
"Ava, contact Ozpin, he and I need to talk. Ruby's mom won't be able to give us any details of her family and that crypt, but Ozpin may be able to, I felt something when I was there, something unlike anything else before it, and we need to know what. Set up a meeting with the man in the tower, we need to chat." I said softly and she did, then I leaned back. As I did a message flew across my vision, from Winter of all people.
A single word that cut across my eye that shocked me to my core, the woman who I understood as stronger than me, better than me, simply said one word.
"Help." The text said as I immediately stood.
"Mom! I've gotta go! Be safe, I'll be back soon and get medical personnel ready!" I yelled and raced to my motorcycle and then to the bullheads as I tracked her location, she was just west of Ad Astra.
"Pilot! Head west, this is critical!" I yelled as I got inside and readied my gear.
Blood pumped quickly through my veins as I felt fear and dread rip through me, the feeling of worry never felt so real until now, when it was my life the questions were simple, I'd live or die and that was it, but with Winter… I wouldn't let her die.
In under five minutes we were hovering over a massive barge that seemed to be ablaze, I looked down and took a step off of the bullhead and plunged myself through the smoke. My feet collided with the steel hull of the ship, my eye scanned the area and I saw bodies across the floor, blood dripped down the steps of stairs leading to the captain's deck. The gun in my hand was held steady as I slowly made my way through the ship, the reflective metal was a good thing, I could see around the corners before I turned, then I slowly descended lower, my weapon ready to kill anyone in front of me. Each step brought a new feeling of dread, then a roar ripped through the largest area of the ship, the cargo quarters.
My boots clicked lightly as I stepped inside, then glowing eye shined through the dark.
"Jaune!" I heard Winter yell, her voice echoing as a giant knight of ice formed to block the massive attack coming my way. I stared in awe as the giant figure slammed its knuckles against the grimm.
The dark gore and viscera splashed on it and Winter spoke to me.
"Jaune, there are civilians here, I need you to get them out of here, whatever this thing is, we can't kill it." She said, I saw various cuts on her body, blood dripped down her side.
"Where are they?" I asked and she pointed to a dome of Ice she had made, I nodded.
"You're hurt, you get them out of here, I'll cover you." I spoke quickly as a tendril slammed in between us and I slashed against it with my machete, I heard the monster roar and I grinned.
"Go now!" I yelled as I charged at the grim and slammed my palm into its head, my aura pulsing out against it, recoiling its body as it slammed into the steel walls.
Winter didn't argue, she raced to the dome and quickly started moving the civilians out of the cargo hold, then a tendril spiked out and shot at a young boy, my hand flew out and gripped the tendril and I felt the flesh being ripped off as I held the tendril, my other hand slashed with the machete, the edge sinking deep into its flesh, I channeled my aura into my hand and the sparks that flew burned against the monster. I saw another tendril come flying out and spike through the hold of the ship, water started flooding in, I roared and stabbed my weapon into the monster, then I drew War, the barrel pointed right at the center of the beast and I started firing as many times as I could, then the gun ran empty.
Blood splashed out and spattered across my chest, I grunted and kicked it and felt my body be sent flying. My machete clattered to the ground as the beast wrenched it from its wound, the fleshy tendrils seemed to spread more around the room, I gripped the weapon and sheathed it quickly, then I heard a voice from behind me.
"Jaune! Time to go!" Winter yelled as I spun and raced toward her, as soon as we both raced away, a mass of tendrils spread throughout the room and the then filled the hallway we raced through.
Our lungs burned as we raced to the top deck and then I saw the tendrils speed up to get to the bullhead, their mass combining as they twisted together like wires, ready to spear through the bullhead.
"Winter! Tell it to get out of here!" I yelled and she screamed in her radio.
"Get out now! Leave us!" Her words screeched through the radio and the bullhead lifted, the engines roaring as the tendril shot up quickly, but just in time the bullhead veered to the left.
The tendrils spun, now pointing down as they suddenly lurched and slammed into the ship, the metal screeching as it was torn apart, the flesh flew out at us and slammed into both of us into the crashing waves, our bodies flew through the water as the grimm tore through the ship. The world seemed to grow dark, then a hand gripped my leg and pulled me up, ice formed on the water, as I was pulled up and Winter climbed up next to me, the ship sank quickly, the grimm trapped inside and sinking with it.
"Fuck, that was something." I said as I coughed harshly and looked at Winter, her cuts had started healing and she sat up.
"Yeah, we need to get back to Atlas, what was on that ship needs to be told to the general." She said and I nodded, my feet hit the ice and I stood.
"Why'd you call me?" I asked and she looked at me as she pulled her knees to her chest, her eye was fixed on the sinking ship.
"Because I knew you'd show up, I knew you'd help." She said softly and I sat down next to her.
"Of course, I'll show up, shit I owe you a lot for all of your help. Why the hell were you out here anyway?" I asked and looked at her.
"A doctor has been working on making a type of grimm that could be worse than any other, he wants to turn people into them. So we're trying to find him, but every lead has been a dead end except for this one." She said and I nodded, my eye falling on the sun as she set her head on my shoulder. I smiled lightly and let her as I pulled her closer.
'Poor girl is exhausted.' I thought as I heard Ava.
"I know what you're feeling kid, you can't let yourself feel that you can't get attached, it'll slow you down." She said and I looked to my right and saw her as she appeared to be walking on water.
"I know, but I can't help it." I said softly as I felt a tear roll down my cheek, my hand brushed it away and I looked closer at the sun.
"Ava, I know what's at the end of this road, but I want no regrets. When the time comes for the last fight, I'll die there, but until then, I'm going to carve out as much peace and happiness as I can. I've earned that much." I said solemnly, my words seemed to make sense to her.
"I know kid, it's an unfair hand you've been dealt." She said, her eye hit the ground.
The ice we sat on eventually drifted to shore with some help from me, when we hit land, I lifted Winter and carried her back to my house, the sun had set when I laid her down on my bed and sat down with my back against the wall. Hours seemed to pass, and the moon rose high in the sky.
The door clicked and my mom poked her head through, and I looked at her, my eye met hers and I spoke.
"She's still out cold, seems to me like aura exhaustion, but I'm no doctor." I said softly and she sat next to me.
"Well, it looks like you've made some interesting friends." I nodded, my hands gripped Winter's sword and I sat it next to her.
"Mom, do you think the good guys always win?" I asked her, my childish beliefs resurfacing if only for a second.
"No, but they don't always lose, so I have to believe that they won't lose." Her words called out as I put my head back. Her footsteps echoed lightly as she opened the door and left silently.
Memories of my first semester of Beacon were fading, images of a food fight and getting caught by Pyhrra's spear, the day I saw my team and RWBY getting along. Almost all of it was gone, but the feelings were still there. This disease was taking everything from me, but it couldn't take away the way I feel, and the things that I believe.
Then my thoughts fell on what comes next, when I died.
"No, don't think about that, Jaune." I said softly as Winter stirred. I could see the pained expression on her face, the light of the moon showing worry and fear.
I slowly made my way over to her and I gently took her hand in mine, my whispers were barely audible but I'm certain she heard them.
"Shhh, it's all okay, everything's okay." I whispered as my aura flickered out, the white light hitting hers, they seemed to mix as she relaxed, my mind slowly calmed, and I leaned back as I held her hand.
I don't even remember falling asleep. But I remember a soft warm feeling on my cheek and seeing a smiling Winter in short flashes as I faded into a calm peaceful sleep.
In the early hours after I awoke, I remembered seeing Winter, a gentle smile on her face as she held my hand, a balance between light and dark had formed, like two sides of the coin, she was the light. A light I didn't know I had, and one that burned away all of the rotten and harshness of life. But I was the dark, chaotic and harsh, unforgiving yet also cold and gentle. The vision of disparity was pulled from my mind as I looked around and stood, gently laying her hand on the bed.
"Maybe today will go better." I said softly, then Ava spoke.
"Jaune, Ozpin needs to talk to you, it's urgent." She said quickly and I nodded, my hand slipped into my pocket and pulled out my scroll, then I called Ozpin.
"Drifter, we need to talk something happened at Beacon. Come quickly." Then the line went dead. I looked at my scroll, the numbers of the dial screen flashed, and the screen went black.
"We need to go now then, I'll wake Winter." I said and opened the door, as I stepped closer and shook her awake, she looked at me with a small blush on her face.
"Winter, get up, Oz needs us." I said quickly and she understood, if Ozpin was calling then we both had to be there.
"Let's go." I said and stepped down the stairs of my childhood home, it seemed like I couldn't recognize the faces of the people in the photos, like they were wax statues, blending into an inhuman visage.
"Jaune, are you okay?" I heard my mother ask from the bottom of the steps, and then I saw her face, and it looked exactly like the pictures. I looked down my eye fixed on the floor. I couldn't even recognize my sisters in the pictures, I'd never be able to see their faces again.
"Y-yeah, mom. I'm good." I said softly and looked up and kept walking as Winter came down with her gear in tow.
I gave her a gentle hug, my arms holding firmly, and I spoke.
"I love you, mom." I said, almost choking. Then I let go and stepped outside, my mouth was numb, and a cold sweat beaded my forehead.
As Winter and I walked to the bullhead, I found myself struggling to find my way around the town, then we came to our destination, my eye fixed with the floor of the craft. My face was hardened, and I found small tears making my way to my eye.
"Jaune, are you okay?" Her words were clear, but it was like a fog was around my head. Bile that felt somehow both cold and warm wormed its way up my throat.
"I couldn't recognize them, Winter. I couldn't recognize my own family. Why is this happening to me?" I said softly, tears dripping down my face and clinging to my skin. I put my hands over my face, my one eye stared at the steel of the hull.
"I don't know why these things happen, Jaune. I don't know why people die, why we suffer. But I do know that we can take it, we can take the pain, the death, the misery. Because there is no choice." She said gently and gripped my shoulder.
"W-Winter, I-I'm…" I said softly and she looked at me, her eyes meeting my bloodshot eye.
"You can talk to me, Jaune." She said and I looked down.
I had seen soft tears in her eyes, she knew I was dying, she knew what was coming. She knew I was dying and yet she stayed by my side, she was willing to let herself care about me despite the truth of what was coming.
"I'm fuckin' terrified. Sometimes I just shake, and the world seemed to slow down. Some days I think it would be better to finish my suffering early." I said softly, gentle sobs had slipped their way past my lips.
"Sometimes, I wonder, 'Why me?'. What heinous act did I commit to deserve this?" I said and gripped my hair.
"Jaune, I need you to listen to me. I know things are hard, but don't you ever think that you're alone, we don't stand alone, and I'm never leaving your side. Understand?" Winter said and her hand pulled herself closer and she held me gently.
"Winter, I don't want to die, I don't want to forget, I never want to forget you. I don't want to forget the others." I sobbed and she gently shushed me, her hands holding me.
I hadn't slept properly for more than three hours in days; the wear and tear had taken its toll. My body was weak, and I knew that I was dying just by the way I felt.
"I'm so scared, Winter. I don't want to die from this." Winter pulled me closer and the intimacy of the moment was shattered as the intercom blared.
"Five minutes to drop." The pilot called and I sniffed and leaned up, steeling my nerves.
"Thank you for being here for me, Winter. I owe you." I said softly and she returned the smile I had given her earlier.
"Jaune, you never need to thank me, it's what any good person would do." She said and I smiled.
'Liar.' I thought as I looked up at the roof of the bullhead.
My scroll buzzed gently, and I looked down to see a message from Roman, five words. 'Queen is moving. Mt. Glenn.'
I looked at the message intently, then Ava appeared.
"Mount Glenn? Shit, that place was terrible, even by my standards." She said hollowly and I looked at her. Then the ship lurched to a stop.
As the buzzer of the ship roared, we stood and I wheeled my motorcycle out of the bullhead and saddled up on it, then I pulled Winter on too.
"Not much of a knight on a horse, huh?" She said softly and I chuckled as I put on my mask, then raced to Ozpin's office.
"They were here! In our damned hands, Oz!" Ironwood yelled, his words echoing in the office as Winter and I stepped into the office, my eyes immediately fell on the general.
I looked the man up and down, there were signs of wear on his pristine demeanor. Marks of age had begun to show themselves, worn wrinkles around his furrowed brow, and small amounts of grey hair had begun showing up.
My eye met his and then he looked at Winter, his face becoming somehow more tense than before.
"Specialist I wasn't told you'd be here, along with a stranger no less." He said as he moved away from the desk, his eyes were fixed on my mask and then he stepped closer.
The tension in the room was palpable, like a sweeping tension that seemed to wrap around all of us like a cloak. Making us feel like we were all on the edge of a terrible event.
"Ozpin, who is this?" The man asked, his white coat opened more, and I saw his hand at his belt line.
My boot stepped forward and Ozpin spoke, his rational calm tone seeming to ease all of us.
"He is an ally, a friend." Ozpin said softly and I looked at Ironwood, his gaze never seemed to change. He was stern and looked like he was hesitant.
"Stand down, James." Ozpin said, his voice more insistent. He was now showing his role as the leader of this hidden group.
"I'm who they call, The Drifter. Just a guy from the frontier, but I'm here to help." I said and stepped forward; my hand outstretched for Ironwood to grab.
"What happened, Ozpin? What was so critical?" I asked and walked up to the desk.
As I got closer, I saw the footage of the event, a woman in all black looking like Cinder Fall, had stepped forward to a terminal, then Ruby appeared and opened fire on her. The bullets flew across the CCT building and Cinder fought back.
"So, the campus was breached?" I said, my eye looking at the looping footage.
I heard Winter step forward and speak her words carrying a little weight as she did.
"We need to lock down the school, and then interrogate all individuals." I looked at her and shook my head.
"Can't do that, if the people see Beacon on lockdown the panic could be serious." I said and Ozpin looked at me knowingly.
"Ruby came to us after the event though, she mentioned something that she and her team had found in their little excursions." Ozpin said as he put a file on Mt. Glenn on the table.
"So, the Fang are at Mt. Glenn? The failed colony?" I asked as I looked up at Ozpin.
"It appears to be our only lead. I'm going to ask RWBY to go there on a mission with Oobleck, I want you to tail them." Ozpin said and I looked at the others in the room.
"I'll see what I can do." I said and started to leave. Winter looked at me, knowing that I had trouble around RWBY and JNPR.
I walked back to my motorcycle; the engine roared as I kickstarted it.
"Well kid, looks like you're gonna see all of your old friends." I looked at the bike and revved it.
"Let's get there before the teams so I can scout around." I said and spun the bike and raced away.
The thundering of the engine was enough to rattle my senses to life, I was nervous of what was to come, the world seemed darker and more sinister the longer the illness in my blood took hold.
After a few hours of driving, I saw the entrance to the ruined monument of man's hubris, Mount Glenn.
"I hope things go better than I feel like they will, but I know my luck." I said as I pulled my bike to the side of the road and laid it down, then I slowly gathered leaves over it to hide it.
"Be careful Jaune, Roman said that Cinder might be here, do you remember what she looks like?" I frowned and spoke.
"It'll come to me; I just need time." I said softly and I saw Ava's form appear.
"I know, Jaune, I know." She said as I stepped into the land of the dead.
Thank you for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed, and I hope there will be many more to come! Remember to leave a review of what you like or don't like, and please be kind, thank you!