Jaune Arc could remember facing Salem, the Queen of the Grimm. He could remember fighting against the hoard as RWBY each held the Relics - their last hope to eliminate the Grimm once and for all.
Jaune also remebered the flash when the Relics were combined, Salem screaming like a banshee, Oscar kneeling on one knee.
Then, nothing. A white sound he usually heard after a flashbang released, his ears ringing and his eyes blinded by the light.
He could feel his body becoming weighless, no surfaces he could find any hold, like swimming in air.
Green.
Jaune Arc screamed as his face felt numbed by the winds, free falling towards a clearing in the sea of forest surrounding it. His stomach churning, heart beating a mile a minute.
Luckily his practice kicked in, spreading his limbs, closing his gaping mouth, narrowing his eyes as he focused on the landing.
No spear to save him here.
'Here goes.'
Jaune found his shield strapped to hid back, Crocea Mors inside a leather sheathe he never equipped.
Seconds before impact, his shield already held in both hands.
Slam, roll and let the force bleed out.
"Urgh.." he groaned, dizzy and disoriented for a while, Jaune laid there to regain his bearings.
The bile rose and bubbled in his throat.
"Uueak, Uhkk, Eurghhh!" he puked his breakfast out - meat chunks, disgusting smell and gooey bits.
'Where am I?'
He looked around, sitting far away from his ex-food. The trees were green, sparce with large rocks dotting here and there.
The sun was currently on the middle of the sky, the heat reminding him of summer. Jaune closed his eyes to better focus on his ears.
Insects, bird song, the sounds of nature.
The snapping of branches.
Jaune quickly found his stance, shield out front, sword rested and pointing towards...
9 men in rags as clothes with a variety of farming implements.
"Hah! This must be your unlucky day!" the biggest among them howled - likely the leader, "Surrender all your valuables if you wish to keep your life!"
The other men cheered.
"Wait!" Jaune called out, relaxing his stance, "Why are you doing this!"
They probably didn't have their Aura unlocked, he could hurt them badly if he misjudged.
"Stop!" he warned.
The men took his reluctance as a signal, charging along with their leader who had a large wooden hammer - no enchanced speed of a Huntsman, untrained and blindly rushing towards him.
Jaune made a decision.
"Aaaahhh!!!"
He ducked the wide swing of the brute, shield bashing a torso while his other hand enforced in Aura snapping a pitchfork in half.
They moved to surround him.
Jaune regripped the wooden shaft in his hand and swept wide, knocking away his attackers like twigs.
4 down.
5 remaining. He sparta kicked a guy, letting his shield tank the sharp edges coming at him.
Letting go of the broken stick, he held his sword in a reverse grip in pommel striked all the others, knocking them out with black bruises.
"Ahhh!" the brute roared, his hammer slamming against his back.
It shattered, the wooden weapon.
A straight jab to the face knocked his attacker out cold.
[Battle Ended]
"Woah!"
A large screen unfolded before him. Like a hologram but he could touch it.
'Just like a game.' he thought, seeing his name on the defending side, two arrows pointing up next to it.
The attacking side had zero under the red skull icon, 9 under the broken shield.
He could figure it out quickly - dead and disarmed respectively. Jaune pressed the End Battle button.
It changed to a units tab, 1/100 above his name. His attackers all labeled as looters - 9 of them with a slider expanded below it.
He pulled it back, watching them transfered to prisoners under his empty troops.
He pressed confirm.
Now, it changed to an inventory.
His slots filled with his sword, shield, armor and clothes. The loot section having grain, random rags and those weapons the looters dropped.
Jaune transfered them all to his inventory.
Confirm.
The hologram vanished.
"...how does all this work?" he thought, seeing the looters all suddenly tied with chains and linked into a group. Kneeling on the ground with nary a word spoken.
'Magic. Did the Relic of Creation do this? Was it the Brothers? Why?'
Jaune laid down tiredly, the adrenaline rush fading as no more threats presented itself.
'Are the others alright? Are they here?'
So many questions swimming in his mind, adding a burden on his shoulders, he needed to know.
"Dammit!"
So...new story. Let's see where this goes.