A/N: I'd like to thank Aetheling for his help in this chapter's flashback sequence. You should give his work a look, if you're so inclined: he's quite the Arkos expert and quite apt at portraying the Arc family and their many quirks.

Chapter Three: The Empty Black

The Past

Birthday celebrations weren't always ideal for Jaune. His elder sisters doted on him, but they were also quite detached from his interests. Other than patiently indulging him in conversation and buying him gifts, they didn't contribute much else to the party. His younger sisters were still carefree enough to join in games with him, but also smaller and less able-bodied than himself, and they couldn't keep pace with his energy and enthusiasm. Only his father could match his strength, though with seven other children to manage, he could only ration so much time for his son, even on his birthday.

He was helping Jaune to assemble a toy when his mother called him away to tend to something. Jaune was left alone for several minutes, trying to make sense of the instructions on his own. In his peripheral vision Jaune occasionally saw his father trying to get away from his mother's grip and rejoin Jaune, but again and again she assigned him some other task. Jaune eventually left his task unfinished and tried to convince his younger sisters to play with him again, even if it meant waiting longer for something he'd been eagerly anticipating having. At eleven years old, even a few hours of waiting was an eternity when the present had been unwrapped and lay half-assembled on the floor.

When his father did finally manage to rejoin him, Jaune asked a question he'd been holding in: "Why's mom bossing you around so much?"

His father laughed. "That's what she's good at."

"Yeah, but you don't have to let her," Jaune pointed out.

"Oh, but letting her's the best part," his father argued. "She's so much happier if I fight her a little bit and then let her have her way. That's how she knows she accomplished something."

"That's weird, dad," Jaune remarked in his eleven year old eloquence.

His dad laughed again, before gently explaining the facts to his poor, ignorant son. "Someday, son, you'll understand. You'll have to find a wife of your own so you aren't lonely."

"When would I ever be lonely?" Jaune asked. "I have seven sisters. If anything, I never have any time alone."

"Son, eventually your sisters will grow up just like everyone else," his father solemnly continued. "It breaks my heart to think it, but it's not too far off that they'll be getting married and having children of their own. At least that's what I hope they'll find when they're out of the house."

"You hope they'll break your heart?" Jaune asked, trying to make sense of his dad's wistful remarks.

"I hope they'll be happy," his dad clarified. "I hope they have someone to share their life with. I hope they find good men to boss around, and I hope you find a good woman when you're old enough, so you won't be lonely. Don't get me wrong, I'm in no rush; my girls would stay here until their thirties if I had my way. But I wouldn't ever want them to be lonely."

"Wait, why do I need to find someone to be happy? I don't get it," Jaune told him.

"Not yet," his dad allowed. "Just know that there's nothing worse in this world than being alone. And there's no greater joy than finding the person you want to spend the rest of your life with…" He ruffled his son's messy blonde hair. "…well, at least until your kids come along."

Jaune reached up to try and push his father's large hand off his head. "I don't think I need to get married to be happy."

"Well, you've always been a slow learner," his dad joked. "Come on, let's see if we can finish putting this thing together."

Tonight

Jaune had always envisioned he'd be the one making the proposal, after a long time spent dating someone exclusively. He hadn't ever pictured the moment clearly, but he had a general idea of how it'd play out, with him taking his hypothetical beloved somewhere nice, maybe a fancy dinner. He certainly hadn't expected to be asked by a woman clearly older than himself (he did his best not to speculate on exactly how much older) he'd met merely seconds before she asked.

His eloquent response to Raven's offer was a very understated: "Um…"

Raven raised her head to look up at him. "Is there something you need? A dowry? A trip to visit my forces and see our might firsthand? Tell me what you require of me and I will grant it if it's within my power to do so."

"Wait, hang on," Jaune requested. "Why do you want to marry me? We just met. I've heard of love at first sight, but this is-" He noticed Yang's arrival out of the corner of his eye and abruptly put a stop to whatever half-formed bad joke he'd been in the process of making. "Uh… I mean, can you just start from the beginning?"

Raven narrowed her eyes as she lifted up from her bent knee. "I've been looking for you, Jaune Arc, since I found your path in Higabana. The amount of Aura you left behind made it possible for me to track your movements and find you here."

Pyrrha had mentioned to Jaune he had an unusually large amount of Aura, when she'd embraced him in the Emerald Forest and bound her soul with his. She hadn't known him much longer than this Raven had when she'd been willing to take such an important, intimate step… that thought only troubled him further. Feeling Yang's eyes behind him only made things that much worse.

"Okay, so you followed me, fair enough," Jaune nodded. "Why do you want to marry me?"

"I don't," Raven bluntly replied. "But I have to. You have something I need –something my people need- and I really do need you to cooperate with me. Otherwise I'd have just taken you by force."

"Romantic, isn't she?" Qrow remarked from his bed. "Just like-" He spotted Yang in the doorframe behind Ren and Nora and very abruptly bit his tongue. Fortunately, his falling silent coincided with Raven turning to glare at him, and he allowed her to think she was the one who'd silenced him.

"Why?" Jaune asked again. "What is it you think I have?"

"It's what I know you have, Jaune Arc," Raven assured him, meeting his eye again, though she continued to squint. "Your Aura. It is the key to saving my tribe."

Jaune wasn't sure what Raven was saying. "Um… could you maybe explain how that's supposed to make sense?"

Raven glanced back at Qrow, who remarked: "I told you he was a little slow." Jaune was gratified to see Ruby elbow her uncle very hard in his side.

Raven turned her attention to her sword, hoisting it up by its hilt. Jaune, Ren, and Nora all instinctively reached for their weapons when they saw her slash with it, only to relax their grip when they saw her cut at empty air… and then immediately jump back on their guard when they saw a swirling portal of red energy and empty blackness manifest -seemingly from nowhere- directly behind the armored woman.

"Your Aura makes you special, Jaune Arc," Raven told him. "This is what makes me special: from the moment I discovered my Semblance, I have traveled through this darkness."

Ruby popped up from Qrow's side to examine the strange portal. She may well have been concerned like the rest of her friends, but she seemed quite interested in this strange hole just the same, extending her index finger as though to poke at it. Raven eyed her warily, though she seemed patient in indulging Ruby's curiosity.

"And this darkness is everywhere," Raven explained. "It intertwines and weaves all through this remnant, but most people can't see it or interact with it. This portal I've created is a tear in reality itself, a little gap between this world and another."

Jaune stepped closer to it, driven by curiosity much like Ruby was. As he stood beside Raven he quietly took note of how tall she was; almost exactly the same height as Qrow. Her hair was really long and thick like Yang's… Jaune tried desperately not to make that comparison and focused his attention on the crazy portal and did everything he could not to think about the physical similarities between the woman who'd proposed to him and the girl he'd just taken to bed.

"Do you see them, Jaune Arc? Staring through the empty black?" Raven asked.

All Jaune could see was darkness past the red energy encircling the portal. He didn't see any movement, he didn't see any shapes. He just saw black. Jaune turned to look at her and shook his head.

"There are things in that darkness that would very much like to find their way out of it," Raven explained, still squinting when she looked at him. "Which is why I need you. Once, I was able to keep them at bay and move through the pathways. Now… now there are too many. Now I can't use my Semblance without alerting them to my location. And whenever I weaken the boundary between the two dimensions, they pounce, trying to force their way in after me."

"How will my Aura help?" Jaune asked, turning away from Raven to look at the portal again.

"The creatures in the dark pathways may want to find their way into this world, but there are still things in it they fear," Raven answered. "There's something in your Aura that repels them."

"Something," Jaune repeated. "You don't know what it is?"

"Not… precisely," Raven admitted. "You have an unusually large amount of it, but something about your Aura –something about the strength of its light- is what they're really afraid of."

"Okay," Jaune took a moment to compose his thought. "So spell it out for me. What happens if these things get loose?"

Raven had heard them whisper every time she walked through their territory. She'd seen the weak ones draw close, and seen the strong ones wait in the dark to pick their moment. She looked Jaune over: his armor was showroom new, but it already had a few prominent battle scars on it, with fresh scratches contrasting pristine white plate. "You were studying to be a huntsman," Raven observed. "Did you get far enough to fight Grimm before Beacon fell?"

That was a bit of a sensitive subject. Jaune tried not to let Raven's implication bother him. "Yes," he answered simply.

"These creatures are not Grimm," Raven told him. "They have minds of their own; they have voices of their own. And they all say the same thing: that they want to be let out, so they can spread their darkness further."

"You sure that's what they want?" Jaune asked, before joking: "Maybe they're just misunderstood."

Raven had been squinting every time she looked at him. But when she narrowed her eyes into the glare she gave him now, Jaune could swear the room got colder. "I have heard them say the same thing -over and over again-all of my life. Yes, I am sure."

Jaune backed off. "Okay. Bad idea to let these things out; got it. So how exactly am I going to help you?"

Jaune nearly jumped back when Raven waved her sword again, the portal she'd created slowly collapsing in on itself and eventually disappearing entirely, as though it'd never been there. Ruby continued to poke the empty air where it had been, before casting a quizzical look at Jaune and moving back to her uncle's side.

"Come," Raven instructed, sheathing her blade and then taking hold of Jaune's arm, pulling him along. "I'll explain the particulars to you: after I've shown my future husband hospitality so he knows the sincerity of my intent."

"Hospitality?" Jaune repeated as Raven dragged him along behind her.

"Do not get ahead of yourself," Raven instructed. "I was going to suggest we share a meal first."

"Um-" Jaune began before Raven continued on her way out with him in tow. When she passed by Nora, Ren, and Yang she stared determinedly ahead, offering them neither a word nor even a second look.

Jaune's eyes met Yang's as he was dragged along behind Raven. She seemed quite irritated, even angry… but oddly, it wasn't Jaune she was glaring at. Her vitriol was directed towards the woman who'd proposed to him, but…

Jaune had seven sisters. He knew what jealousy looked like. Yang wasn't glaring at Raven because she was some romantic rival for Jaune. Her hate had a very different flavor to it.

Nora turned her attention to Ren and jerked her head after them. Ren nodded and moved to follow, keeping the two in his sights. No doubt Nora wanted someone to keep an eye on Jaune and the crazy lady who could whisk him away to just about anywhere in an instant, so she sent their resident ninja in to watch their leader's back.

Nora's eyes moved from Ren to Yang, and she coughed very awkwardly as Yang continued to glare after Raven. Ruby immediately turned her attention to Qrow, getting up in his face and pointing an accusatory finger at him. "Were you ever planning on introducing your sister to the rest of us?"

Qrow looked past Ruby to see Yang in the doorway, still seething after Raven. Apparently he wasn't the only one who'd kept a secret. "I wasn't planning on seeing her anytime soon," Qrow admitted, choosing his words carefully. "And she doesn't play well with others."

"Yeah, I noticed," Ruby dryly observed, before walking over to Nora and Yang, both of whom had their attention pointed after Raven. She attempted to defuse their obvious tension and discomfort with humor. "Wow, so Jaune's getting married, huh, guys? Think he'll..." She really didn't have a good joke in mind. "…invite us to the wedding?"

Nora coughed and scooted away, clearing a path for Ruby to Yang. Yang clenched her right hand, the cold metal of her fingers grinding against each other. Ruby didn't seem to notice as she sidled up beside Yang. "Sheesh, what's with her?"

Yang wasn't sure if Nora knew, but between her boundless energy and Ren's quiet observation –and how impulsive Yang and Jaune had been-it wouldn't be too surprising if their friends knew why Yang had vanished for a bit. Yang was certainly grateful Nora managed to refrain from mentioning it, if she knew.

But her thoughts were all for Raven now. Her mother, the woman who abandoned her when she was a baby, then saved her life at Mountain Glenn, then showed up out of nowhere to propose to Jaune… walked right by her without any acknowledgment. Clearly she had plans for Jaune, but Yang apparently hadn't warranted a moment of her time. Raven must have recognized her if she was able to find Yang on a moving train seventeen years after she last saw her.

And Jaune, Yang understood him not asking her about feelings or where they were in whatever their relationship was given the circumstances… in the back of her mind. The rest of her thoughts were mostly irrational jealousy at her mother absconding with him; that Jaune had another woman's attention and that her mother was more interested in whatever Jaune's deal was than reconnecting with her daughter.

Why should she care? What was Jaune to her but… what? A friend? A friend with benefits? Why should it matter if he caught another woman's eye? It wasn't all that long ago she was encouraging Jaune to chase after Weiss.

Ruby placed a hand to Yang's back. "Yeesh, what happens if Jaune gets married to Uncle Qrow's weird sister? Think we'll ever see him again or will he live in one of these villages in Anima or something?"

Ruby was still playing around. There was no way she'd let that woman take Jaune; they were tight from their very first day at Beacon. At one point, Yang had entertained the thought they might eventually become an item. Now that thought only made her even angrier.

It wasn't Ruby's fault- she was trying to raise spirits. Yang really didn't want to tell Ruby about her and Jaune just yet. It was going to be an uncomfortable conversation even before Raven showed up. Now she had the possibility of two uncomfortable conversations with her baby sister. Or more. She wasn't sure how many times she'd have to explain the truth about Raven. Or about Jaune. Or if she'd have to clarify any points in between her own potential for explosive, frustrated ranting.

Ruby had some sort of revelation at Yang's shoulder. "Oh, but what if he sticks around? Would we have to call him 'Uncle Jaune'?"

Uncle Jaune…? Yang wouldn't call him that. If he was married to her mother… she'd call him…

Yang felt her temper flare. Her eyes burnt over red. It was the first time she'd truly become angry since she'd left from Patch.

"She's not marrying him," Yang assured Ruby through gritted teeth.

"Well, yeah, I was only joking," Ruby pointed out.

Sitting upright in bed behind them, Qrow tented his fingers. He recognized that his traveling companions were attached to the blonde kid, but there was a bigger game being played here, both with Raven's extradimensional enemy and the role Raven herself could play.

Qrow had never seen the monsters Raven spoke of, but he'd just seen Raven beg a man she didn't know for his help on bended knee. Clearly she believed the threat was real if she was willing to admit weakness.

Qrow had no stake in the boy's life. But he did have a stake in Raven's, and he knew what an asset she could be in the fight with Salem, both with what she and her tribe could contribute…

…and more importantly, who she could lead them to.

The inn had a meager selection of food, but they were able to prepare two plates for Raven and Jaune. Ren watched them from afar with only a cup of tea to occupy himself, leaving them to their meal. Raven initially kept an eye on her prospective husband's teammate, but eventually gave all her attention to the blonde, even if she had to squint to look at him. "Should we discuss the particulars?" she asked him, direct and businesslike.

"Um," Jaune eloquently replied, before composing himself. "Yeah, probably. You said there'd be some sort of alliance…?"

"It's a tradition that dates back to the tribe's inception," Raven answered. "When the leader marries, she places the spouse's family under her protection. She then either names them to her tribe as members of her clan, or enters a formal military alliance, if the tribe is big enough."

Jaune's mind raced. If Raven was referring to his immediate family, seven sisters and two parents may not be a big enough group to join Raven's band of… actually, she hadn't been entirely clear on that. So Jaune tried to probe for information. "And how big is your tribe?"

"Big enough," Raven flatly replied. "I have no intention of adding anyone else to it. There are enough mouths to feed, and I don't need any weakness tainting us further."

"Unless you count me," Jaune deadpanned.

"Make no mistake," Raven continued, still picking at her plate. "You will not enjoy your stay with me. You'll be ridiculed constantly, by those far more powerful than you, who see you as unworthy. Your very presence will undermine me, because it'll remind my people that I needed an outsider's help. I wouldn't be surprised if someone tries to assassinate you on your first night in camp."

"You're really selling me on the experience," Jaune dryly remarked.

"I want to be honest," Raven explained. "Do you think I enjoy begging a favor from a stranger? I wanted you to know my efforts were sincere."

"I believe you," Jaune assured her. "Really- I've heard weirder things than that lately. I'm just-"

I met someone. I'm not the right guy. Things are complicated.

What was Yang to make of all this? What would she think if Jaune accepted her offer? What about Ren and Nora? What would they do without him?

Jaune tried to focus on Raven's request, at least hearing her out. Once he knew if it was worth the trouble. "What do I get to ask in return?"

Raven threw up her hands with a whimsical smile. "Not satisfied with the pleasure of my company?"

"Tell me about the alliance," Jaune suggested. "How would you and your tribe help? Would you fight against Salem? Would you help Ruby on her mission? Or defend Mistral? Or… I don't know, do something good?"

Raven turned serious again. "I'll honor a request from my husband. If you want my tribe to fight against Salem, we will call to arms when she finally shows herself. If you want us to help your friend in her mission, we will fight alongside her until she dismisses us. All you need to do is speak your wish, and it'll be the price I pay to forge our pact."

Jaune nodded as he fell into deep thought once again. He wasn't sold on the thought of Raven's buddies trying to murder him, but if Raven was as powerful as Qrow then she could be a huge asset in whatever fight lay ahead of them.

Jaune thought back to the portal. "And the creatures in the pathways, how will my Aura stop them? What –exactly- are you going to have me do?"

Raven was contemplative for a moment before extending her hand across their shared table. She waited for Jaune with an outstretched palm, and eventually Jaune reached over to her. She took hold of his wrist, and closed her eyes, concentrating.

Jaune felt a warm sensation running over his body. He remembered this feeling, as his Aura manifested itself around his body, just as it had when Pyrrha awoke it within him in the Emerald Forest.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality," Raven spoke, in barely more than a mumble. "Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all…"

Jaune knew the words. He remembered the moment clearly. Raven may not have spoken the words with the vigor and sincerity Pyrrha had, but the pledge was the same. The feeling running through him was the same.

She was binding him to her. She was infusing his Aura with her own.

She was claiming him.

Jaune pulled back from her grip. Raven, still in mid-proclamation, glanced up at him, startled, before narrowing her gaze. "Something wrong?"

"I didn't agree to marry you," Jaune reminded her. That pledge wasn't hers' to make. Jaune never wanted to hear anyone else say those words to him, ever again. That bond wasn't for anyone else to have.

"That isn't what I needed your Aura for," Raven flatly replied.

"Then what? Tell me what you need. Show me what you need," Jaune insisted.

Raven shrugged. "Fair enough."

She drew her sword with her left hand. Ren set his tea aside and drew Storm Flower. Raven slashed the empty air, creating a new portal beside their table on Jaune's right. Jaune barely had time to react before Raven reached over with her right hand and took hold of him again… and threw him right into the empty black.

Ren moved to strike, but Raven responded quickly, raising her blade to clash against his attack, easily holding back both of his bladed firearms with only the sword in her left hand.

"I'm the only one who can bring him back," Raven told Ren, still looking in the direction of the portal. "It'd be a shame if this was your friend's last meal."

"And why should I let you go?" Ren demanded. "What assurances do I have you'll bring him back?"

Raven smiled, still looking at the portal. "I told you; I need him to cooperate." She finally turned her attention to Ren, becoming serious once again, her expression turning stern. "Decide. Will you allow me to go after him, or should I leave him to fall further into the gap?"

Ren glared at her, but reluctantly drew back his weapons, and stepped aside. Raven reached down and scooped up a bit more of the meager ration on her plate before reaching over to her mask, standing up and facing the swirling mass of red energy and darkness.

She counted silently as she pulled on her mask. She had to go in after him, and quickly, or she might miss her window. But she had tasted the flavor of his Aura now, and he'd shine brightly in the dark. Raven would find him, and hopefully the deepest shadows would retreat in the face of his light.

Raven really hoped he was strong enough to endure them. Or all of this would be for naught. And this remnant would be a smaller fragment than it was already.

Raven readied her sword and stepped in after him, tracking her quarry into the enemy's den, sealing the crack behind her and disappearing in the dark.