THE CHAIN (Part 1)

I think I was only about six when my dad first told me about our lineage.

The Arcs were originally a family of respected Christian merchants who came into possession of a vast sum of land thanks to discovering a new trade route from Mistral to Vale before bullheads were invented. However, they fell from grace several centuries ago. Apparently, one heir to the Arc plantation had supposedly squandered our wealth. On what he squandered it on, I was never told, but Dad told me that Antonio Arc was an alcoholic who sold our property to Vale's government later in life.

Several generations passed, and the Arcs found themselves in possession of another large sum of land. Not because of their trading, but because of Jeanne Arc's exceptional military achievements during the war against the combined forces of Menagerie, Mistral, and Atlas.

I'll try to be brief when talking about said war, but it was ultimately fought over religious tolerance. Back then, Valeans mostly consisted of people who believed in the Brothers or Jesus Christ alike in coexistence, unlike now where the vast majority of people worship the Brothers. Vacuo allied themselves with Vale, mostly thanks to a lot of people in Vacuo not really caring about that kind of stuff as long as they had access to alcohol and something to beat up.

Menagerie, Mistral, and Atlas, on the other hand, had all been united by one key historical figure named Osiris Tyrannus, who apparently sought to unite the world through military conquest and religious doctrine about the Brothers alike.

Yet, surprisingly, Vale and Vacuo came out victorious, which Doctor Oobleck attributes to the Battle of Deadwood. Thanks to the negativity that battle created for the enemy forces, legends say that the Grimm fought alongside the forces of Jeanne Arc against Osiris. Her performance ended up being rewarded by Vale's government with the Arc plantation that my family still lives on today.

Unfortunately, Jeanne Arc went crazy one afternoon in a freak medical case when she started making outrageous claims over being burnt alive.

She wasn't my hero as a kid growing up though. That title belonged to my grandfather, Nicholas Arc. I never met him in person, but Dad, Ronnie-James Arc, used to tell me stories from when Grandpa was an active huntsman. Apparently, Grandpa would come home every month or so and tell Dad and his redheaded half-brother Alex stories from his time on the frontlines. Although, I never got to meet Alex, allegedly thanks to some family drama involving him running away from home.

One day, however, when Dad was telling stories to me, Mom busted in and asked to talk to him for a quick second outside. I think I was ten at the time.

"Hey, Dad?" A younger Jaune Arc looked from his comic book to his father. His legs dangled up in the air, kicking back and forth excitedly. The socks on his feet were mismatched, but he didn't care. Pressed against the hardwood floor, his baby-blue tee-shirt stretched slightly as Jaune leaned back to look at his Dad.

"Yeah, Jojo?" Ronnie-James Arc replied as he oiled his blade Crocea Mors with an orange cloth that was covered in black stains. Crocea Mors was a very durable piece of equipment that his father maintained daily. Being a family heirloom, it was the symbol of the Arc lineage, and Jaune yearned for the day when he'd pick it up and become the same kind of hero as his ancestors.

"When do you think you could start training me?" Jaune stopped kicking his legs in the air. "You promised to do so several weeks ago, but we haven't even done anything yet."

His father stopped oiling Crocea Mors midway, and a young Jaune failed to notice the conflicted pained look on his face that appeared for a split second.

His friend Tom Tom from elementary school had already begun training nearby with his own mother, and he had been bragging about it to Jaune all week incessantly, teasing Jaune for his lack of progress. If his father just taught him, oh, how he wished to see the look on Tom Tom's smug face when he beats him!

Although… Tom Tom had apparently moved far away from his family after the last time he saw him. At least, that was what his mom told him.

He hadn't talked to Tom's parents since.

"... We'll begin when your mother approves, Jaune."

Jaune wasn't worried. An Arc always keeps his word! Or that was at least what Dad said time and time again whenever Jaune wanted to draw during Sunday service or wanted to not go to school. People who didn't keep promises were losers, according to Dad.

"'Kay." Jaune went back to his comic. The villain of the story didn't make any sense to him.

If Raoh (or was it Ken-oh? This comic was much more confusing than the normal ones Dad brought him) was the hero's brother, then why were they fighting and killing each other over the hero's girlfriend? Why was he killing Kenshiro's friends?

Raoh cried when he fought Toki and spared him, so why couldn't he…?

He doubted Dad read the comic before he handed it off to Jaune, but he simply was too curious at this point. It was all too much for his own young mind to comprehend. He wasn't even sure if he got the story right. Up until then, the weekly comic his dad brought him after going into Vale were all superheroes or comedy series, but there was something magnetic about this one that just drew Jaune in.

They were brothers, so why did they fight? "Hey, Dad?"

"What is it, Jojo?" His dad resumed oiling the blade absent-mindedly. "Something about the comic I got you back while I was in Vale?"

"Mmm, yeah." Jaune looked back at his dad. "Why do people have to fight even if they're family?"

Ronnie-James Arc sighed as he finished his maintenance on Crocea Mors. A serene smile adorned his face. His heart gave off a calm breeze that filled the room. "Jojo, you know how your older sister Saphron sometimes argues with us about dumb stuff?"

Jaune nodded as he recalled when Saphron screamed at him for 'embarrassing her' in front of her friends by wearing the blue footie pajamas Mommy got him on Christmas. Or for when he attempted to imitate a Grimm at the dinner table during a game of charades. Or when…

Well, Jaune had countless examples of her being nitpicky. He was just having fun, why'd she get so upset with him?

"Uh huh," he loved his sisters, but Saphron was pretty mean. All his older siblings were sometimes.

"Sometimes people just get the idea in their head that the entire world is against them, and it can definitely feel that way when you're older." Ronnie-James Arc pressed the button on the shield of Crocea Mors to transform it back into a sheath. "So they act out and push other people away when they care about them, and they isolate themselves and antagonize the same people who they actually love. Just promise me…"

Putting the sheath away on its holding rack, Ronnie-James kneeled down to his son before picking him up and embracing him into a tight hug. "Even if the whole world is against you, I want you to keep the people you love close and to keep pushing forward, Jojo. Your dad will always be here for you."

At that age, Jaune didn't know how to respond to father.

"M'kay. I promise. I'll keep pushing forwards. No matter what."

The walls in the Arc household were surprisingly thin, which was kind of a short-sighted decision when Jaune thought about it, since a household with eight girls made a lot of noise at night. And when Jaune's mother pulled his Dad out of the room to talk, Jaune desperately wished they had been thicker.

"Dang it, June, the boy wants to be a huntsman! I already promised him that I would train him, so I can't go back on that!" His father yelled at his mother as their private conversation had devolved into a shouting match. "I get that it's a dangerous job, but I promise you, not every huntsman is like my teammate Gretchen! He won't turn out like my partner either!"

"You mean, your brother, right? He's your brother, Ronnie! You can't keep ignoring Alex like he doesn't exist! I'm worried about you!"

"You don't know a Goddamn thing about that piece of shit! And stop trying to change the subject!" His voice started to get hoarse. "Jojo wants to-"

"What he wants doesn't matter! Your promises don't matter, Ronnie! God, it's always like this with you! You just want him to follow in your footsteps!" June Arc took a step forward towards her husband as her voice grew softer and more reserved. "...I don't want to see our little boy get put in a wooden box like how his friend did."

Embracing Ronnie-James, June pulled him closer. "Plus, you promised me that you'd keep him safe. No matter what."

"It's not that simple, June. I don't want Jojo to feel miserable." His dad answered. "And you know me, an Arc always keeps his word. I… I can't just let go of that like how my brother did."

Ronnie-James pulled her closer as well. His wife smelled like burnt oak, but that was okay. He liked that. He liked how she wasn't a traditional wife too. Otherwise, Ronnie-James was unsure he'd ever meet another woman who'd have eight children with.

Sensing his distress, June rubbed the back of his head, caressing his blond locks.

"What's more important, your word or your son's life?"

Jaune's heart plummeted when his dad didn't answer.

And like that, a year or two passed with no training taking place as Dad buried himself in his work.

Apparently, the stress was really getting to him then, and I should have noticed the signs earlier.

It's all my fault.

"Why do you even try, Jaune-Jaune? Dad's never going to train you." Saphron scolded condescendingly as they rode alongside one another across their family's farm on horseback. "You know how he is, once he gets his mind set on something, he doesn't change it. Give up, Jojo."

Their horses neighed respectively as they trotted along the dirt path leading to the stables next to their house. His horse, Petey (named in honor of his favorite mascot), had to be ridden by Jaune in order to control it. Mostly because Petey wasn't a fan of any of the other siblings. Whenever Saphron tried, she'd get bucked off, much to a younger Jaune's pleasure as he saw his sister land into a pile of horse poop face-first. His relationship with his eldest sister was tedious at best, but they got along well when no one was looking. Even if every other moment with her was Hell.

"I…" Jaune hesitated. "I made a promise to someone that I wouldn't give up no matter what opposition I faced."

He hadn't seen Tom in a long time.

"You know that's a dumb reason. You're just not very good at much else unlike moi."

For all intensive purposes, she may have been right, teasing or not. Sure, she wasn't trying to be a huntress, but she did naturally do well in school and had plenty of friends. The teachers loved Saphron, and he couldn't help but be envious of that.

Jaune knew that she studied hard when nobody was looking, but still, when Jaune tried doing the same thing and followed her advice, he always failed to see any results. It had always been like that. He'd try his hardest, only for someone else to outshine him.

The only skill he really had was horseback riding, but when was that ever going to come in handy? Even then, it wasn't like he was the best at it.

It was wrong of him to be selfish, but he couldn't help it. He made a promise. Jaune didn't want to be a loser.

"Yeah."

I know this paints a bad image of Saphron, but I really did loathe her when she was a teenager, as messed up as that is. We've recently been trying to patch things back up, but it's just hard for me, you know? I couldn't just forget how much of a burden I was that easily. I knew it was against my religion, but I'm sorry…

I just couldn't. Not back then at least.

It wasn't too much longer after this when I became a loser. Only about three years. Looking back, I definitely took this time for granted.

As they hitched their horses to a nearby post, Jaune's father reached into his bag before pulling out a chainsaw. The morning dawn was upon them, so Ronnie only had a couple hours to show Jaune the basics of how to do the chores he wanted for Jaune to complete.

"Jojo, watch me closely if you want to learn how to cut down a tree, okay?" His father sauntered up to the nearest tree in the forest. "First, you want to get the chainsaw and rev it up by pulling back on this string here, and then you-"

Jaune interrupted Ronnie-James as he attempted to explain the safety precautions for using such a device. "Dad, why are we doing this?"

Slumping his broad shoulders over, his father sighed. "I'll be direct then. I have a Grimm extermination mission later today, and I need you to take care of some chores around the plantation in the meantime."

His boots sank down in the muddy patch of grass. "I get that, but if your concern is over my safety when I become a huntsman-"

"You mean if." Ronnie-James corrected as he knew where this conversation was headed.

"If I become a huntsman, then wouldn't it be better if I just was trained how to fight instead? Why teach me how to use dangerous weapons like a chainsaw and not a proper sword and shield like every previous heir in the family?"

And there it was! Man, why was his son so stubborn? He had no clue where he got that from.

Mosquitos buzzed around Jaune's face.

"Maybe I don't want to see my son die uselessly in a fight that's not worth it, Jojo!" His father begged his fifteen-year-old son, "so please, PLEASE! Listen to me for once, boy! You don't have the skill to be a Huntsman! You'll never be able to survive out there!"

The boy exploded. "Well, maybe if my dad would actually train me properly, I could actually do well! Maybe if my dad wasn't such a fucking cowardly piece of shit, I could actually stand a chance! Maybe if any of you actually believed in me-"

His blond father sharply slapped his arrogant, idiot son with a deeply miserable expression adorning his face.

Regretting it immediately, Ronnie attempted to apologize. "I'm sorry…"

Jaune shook his head back and forth. Sure, his dad was hot-headed sometimes, but he had never done anything like this before. He doubted it would be a repeated event. Besides, it was his fault for getting slapped in the first place. His fault for speaking up. His fault for ruining the relationship he had with his dad.

"No, no. It's fine, Dad. I deserved that." Jaune picked up the chainsaw before revving it himself. "Now, how about you tell me how to do this?"

Ronnie-James didn't smile despite Jaune's attempt to brush off their argument. Things got heated fast in the Arc household (likely due to his mother's hearing problems), so this behavior was likely just growing pains right?

So why did Ronnie's chest hurt?

"So first you'll have to cut a ninety-degree notch one-fifth of the tree's diameter. I've already set this one up for you with the wedge here and…"

"I'm so, so sorry." Marcus Black, the last remaining registered member of team RRGM (Rivergum), arrived at the front door of the Arc household with tears in his eyes. "It's all my fault. If I was just… stronger, then maybe…"

Mrs. Arc turned around to signal for her children to go upstairs with a faux smile. "It's okay kids. Mommy just has to deal with some of Daddy's friends, okay?"

Saphron had a pale look on her face as she brought her younger sisters to the second floor playroom. "Let's go play Apples to Apples or some other fun game, okay? How long do you need, Mom?"

Saphron failed to note how her little brother lingered by the kitchen bathroom.

"Just a few minutes, please." Her smile wobbled and broke as her eldest daughter closed the door behind her.

"Oh God… It's finally happened, hasn't it?" Trembling, Jaune could tell that his mother was fighting back from violently sobbing. "It's finally happened, hasn't it? He's been taken away from us?"

The dead look in Marcus Black's gray eyes told her everything she needed to know.

"I'm sorry…" His gray hair looked a bit whiter with each passing second. "Maybe if I was just stronger…" Marcus trailed off as he pulled out a bloodied Crocea Mors and a dented shield that bore the Arc family crest from behind his back. "I thought you should have it… I don't think you'd want his kids to see it."

June opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her knees collapsed as she bit down on her tongue to close her jaw and stop herself from crying. She looked like she wanted to ask something, but she was scared of the answer she'd get.

Nonetheless, she pushed forwards. "How did he…?"

Marcus' fist clenched. This was all his fault. This would not happen again. If he trained his son hard enough… then…

Then maybe his son won't have to be the same miserable, half-assed piece of shit he was right now.

He needed to be harsher on Mercury.

"There was obviously something eating him up inside. The Grimm just pounced on him thanks to the amount of negativity he was emitting." They devoured him limb from limb, but Marcus wasn't cruel. He wouldn't tell her that. Softly, he spoke. "... Did he have any arguments with any of you before he went out today?"

Shaking her head in refusal, June explained that was impossible. He had left at the crack of dawn. Nobody would have been awake to argue with Ronnie-James Arc.

Marcus' frown deepened.

Jaune Arc stared out into space in despair.

At that moment, I became a loser.

Why did I act like such a fucking brat then? Why? Why did I have to push him away?

My father shouldn't have died that day.

I should have been. God had meant to take me, but he took Dad instead because I was such a bratty piece of shit. Why did I have to act like such a fucking punk?!

That's why…

That's why fate had it out for me. That's why it targeted the people I loved. It was my sin that started all of this. But…

But I'll push forward anyway until…

…

…

…

Until I destroy myself or until I achieve my goals.

No matter what. No matter the cost. Even if I need to destroy the world to achieve it.

Johnny Joestar did not like the look in that bloodied boy's eyes. Not because it was disturbing or evil or anything sinister.

But because he knew that look.

Pyrrha broke out of her dissipating smoky bonds and rushed over to her partner, who stood upright despite the chains adorning him and the blood pouring out from his body.

AUTHOR NOTES:

So things got intense for this, huh? But I personally enjoyed attempting to create a nuanced backstory for Jaune.

Doobie Wah: Thanks for checking it out on AO3! I appreciate the praise! However, I got to say, I'm sort of ashamed of Duel Between Devils. Mostly because I was pretty immature when I started out, and I really am unsatisfied with where it is right now. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed writing some of it, and it does have its pros. However, I think the pacing was way too fast. The villains were fun though, but it really needed polishing.

DeathlyJazzHands55: Thank you! I never really heard of someone complementing something by calling it retarded, but hey, you're not wrong. Roman is straight up busted in this fic. Though as you speculated, that's intentional. I haven't read Star-Brand Destiny either, mostly because as much fun as I have with villain OCs, I'm not too keen on protagonist OCs unless they're side characters. But hey, I'll take your word for it. As for the identity of the main villain, he's already shown up, but it's not who you expect! Or is it?

Joe Knuckle: Thank you! Yeah, Fleetwood Mac's the CHAIN definitely makes for a cool stand name. I agree. As for requiem or ACTS, I'll come forthright and just say that Jaune's not going to be OP or anything at least for a while. Mostly because post-Part 4, stands stop getting the Star Platinum treatment when they're busted in terms of strength, and I think that helps make the fights a bit more brutal and interesting.

Thank you for reading and reviewing! I hope I get more feedback!