BLAZING CHAINS

Jaune Arc nervously looked back and forth through his dorm room as his eyes darted from one side to another, quadruple-checking to confirm to himself that he was alone. Well, he was probably being overly cautious over this, but Mrs. Arc didn't raise no fools.

Well, now that he thought about it, she actually had, but Mrs. Arc wouldn't ever admit to the possibility that her son might just be a lucky idiot stupid enough to fake his way into a combat school and barely get by thanks to his wonderful partner. If he was being honest, Pyrrha was too good for a loser like him.

Then again, feeling like he didn't belong was definitely better than staying at home and feeling miserable again.

Jaune peered through the door hole of JNPR before twisting the metal lock to the right as the scroll in his back pocket began vibrating. Reaching into his jeans, he promptly examined the fiftieth unread message from the family he had been ignoring since he left for Beacon several months back.

A sigh escaped from his lips as he turned the device off, and a guilty pang welled up in the back of his throat when he accidentally let his eyes drift over to his weapon Crocea Mors, which currently sat in the corner of the room near Pyrrha's bed.

"Tch."

Did he feel bad for ignoring them? Obviously.

Was he going to stop ignoring them? Probably not.

As he sat down on his own bed, Jaune carefully lifted his wrinkly pillow case off before pulling out a seemingly-ancient large, leather book that he kept secret from his friends, lest they look down or treat him differently for it and the implications of him reading it. The faith regarding the Brothers of Light and Dark had basically almost made his own disappear from history and persecuted them for a very long time after the countless religious wars. There was a reason his pops wasn't around anymore.

Now, to be fair, he doubted anyone in his direct circle of friends would think differently about him for it. Most people nowadays didn't care…

Except for MAYBE Weiss… and Blake, but that was only because he literally knew next to nothing about her other than she used to be part of the White Fang and read porn in public.

Oh, and Nora couldn't find out either, given that she couldn't keep a secret even if she tried.

Being gentle as to not crumple it any more than it already had been by the older Arc sisters whenever he lent them his own copy after they forgot their own each Sunday, Jaune slowly turned the page to the red and green Pumpkin Pete's bookmark he used (which now having realized Pyrrha's connection to the cereal explained a lot).

His hands clasped together as he closed his eyes and opened his own obligatory private Sunday worship with the memorized prayer he had always done with his mother.

It was nostalgic, but his passion for his faith had definitely sputtered out with time. Still. He had promised them to do this every Sunday.

"O God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee: and I detest my sins most sincerely because they displease Thee, my God, Who art so deserving of all my love for Thy infinite goodness and most amiable perfections: and I firmly purpose Thy holy grace never more to offend Thee."

Sweaty and soaked after her morning jog, Pyrrha Nikos' face twisted impatiently as her hand squeezed the doorknob of her room only for it to be locked. Didn't she tell Jaune that she'd be going on a run?

Why did he lock the door? That was rude of him. Typically, Jaune was the type to forget to lock the door anyways, but maybe he was just feeling out of it? She knew he was pretty unsatisfied with his current skill level at Beacon despite their daily training. That much was obvious from the desperate look on his face when he failed time and time again even after he put all his effort into something.

The most heartbreaking part of it-at least to her-was that Jaune already was pretty strong, he was just inexperienced and untrained. Though his loose clothing may make him look like a scrawny (yet pretty cute) blonde, his physique actually rivaled if not surpassed most of his peers. Something he attributed to living on a farm where the only other person who could (or at least was willing to) help his father with the work was himself, which she had learned when she asked him about it in one sparring session.

Although at the time, she failed to ask him about the tattoo on his trapezius. Honestly, she never thought he was the type to get something like that. Did he used to be a punk or rebel?

The mental image of Jaune wearing a leather jacket adorned with spikes and tight jeans made Pyrrha giggle softly.

Of course, if she asked him about it, then she'd make things awkward between them once Jaune inevitably realized that Pyrrha somehow knew what he looked like shirtless when he hadn't ever gone bare chested in front of any of his team.

At the time, the values instilled into her by her religious mother utterly failed to prevent her from falling prey to temptation, and she was still ashamed from purposely taking a scandalously l-lewd and completely d-degenerate photo of a shirtless Jaune one evening! She wasn't like Blake, she swore! She wasn't some pervert!

Pyrrha shook her head as her cheeks flared up, bringing her hands to her cheeks as if to cover up her own embarrassment and the back of her spine tingled.

Inhale. One. Two. Three. Four.

Exhale. One. Two. Three. Four.

She repeated the process as she stood in front of her dorm until the sweat on her skin began to feel slightly sticky.

"Aw fooey," exasperated Pyrrha as she reached into her leggings pocket for her key only to be met with nothing.

The corners of her mouth went into a frustrated frown at her own forgetfulness before the redhead brushed the now unfortunately frizzy scarlet hair from her eyes and reluctantly used her semblance to force the door to unlock.

Spinning the knob counterclockwise, Pyrrha opened the door with an eerie creak and took a step inside only for her to freeze upon making eye contact with Jaune.

Pyrrha gasped as Jaune spontaneously panicked and scurried to hide whatever he had been trying to read so intensely.

"A-ahh! It's not what it looks like, I s-swear!" Jaune's face blushed nervously as Pyrrha's mind unwillingly drifted to her previous thoughts while Jaune accidentally fell out of his bed.

WAP!

He hit the floor with a loud thud as he failed to activate his aura thanks to the surprise.

"Owwww…."

No. There was no way. There was absolutely no way her precious partner was doing… doing something like m-ma-

Well, something like that!

Pyrrha was a lonely girl for the majority of her life prior to Beacon. She knew next to nothing about boys her age except from what she had heard online.

Well, and from what she heard from Yang too, but that didn't help either.

That small detail about the Invincible Girl was definitely not helping her right now, but… well, if other guys did stuff like that, she couldn't really blame Jaune for it as well. It was natural right? Blake read stuff like that publicly, and no one judged her for it!

Okay, well, that last part actually wasn't true, but the point was still there!

"Don't worry, Jaune, it's okay."

Jaune recoiled back as he brought his attention to the beautiful redhead in the room.

"R-really? It's okay?"

Having recollected her thoughts, Pyrrha rolled her eyes with a slight nervous grin. "Yeah, Jaune. I mean, as long as you don't go public about it, I don't mind."

"Oh thank God. I was terrified you'd think less of me for having this. Seriously, I thought about you a lot while looking at it, and I gotta say, it's a relief to not have to skirt around it with you."

Wuh?! What?! He thought about her while doing that!

When had Jaune gotten s-so courageous?

She latched onto that like a moth to a flame. He thought about her, not that prickly Weiss who he chased after for months. Her.

Wow! It sure was hot in here! She had already started sweating again! Had Jaune turned up the temperature or something?

Her throat went dry as she placed a hand on his shoulder with a wobbly smile adorning her face.

As her pupils dilated, Pyrrha accidentally opened her mouth before she could stop. The acting skills and polite, plastic smile that she learned as a celebrity utterly failed her from holding back.

"Yeah! I don't really do it myself, but I'll definitely think about you a lot too when I do!"

She clasped her hands over her mouth and died a little on the inside.

Mama would be so mad right now!

"Oh! Huh, you must be pretty open-minded then Pyrrha! If you want, I can show you some of it, and we can look at it together right now!" Jaune clasped his hands over her own as he excitedly pulled her aside.

Yes! Wait! No! It was still too soon for her! For them! She needed to prepare mentally f-for this! She needed to be stronger! Don't give in! She was a champion! She wouldn't be defeated like this!

…

"O-okay, but let's lock the door first. Don't want anyone barging in."

Pyrrha immediately gave into temptation.

"I'm so glad to hear that Pyrrha! Nobody has ever agreed to read the Bible with me outside of my family!"

What.

Whatever tingling that was driving her to embarrass herself stopped anticlimactically like a deflating balloon.

Her nervous grin turned upside-down as her face scrunched up as she realized her mistake.

She was grateful it had been a misunderstanding, but Pyrrha couldn't stop her spirits from dampening a little... for some unknown reason to her. Why did she get so… Oh well! She'll have time to think about this later! Or at least catalogue it for the far future!

Her frown flattened a little bit, but she really couldn't be mad at Jaune for causing her to misunderstand him! Something pretty bad could have happened for all she knew!

Then Jaune leaned forwards and sniffed his partner, and then the tingling threatened to return before being promptly squashed when his face scrunched up.

Oh, yeah. She still smelled like sweat.

Fooey.

"On second thought, you should probably take a shower first, Pyrrha. I'm so grateful though, and you really are the best."

Her smile returned to its normal self as she pushed whatever lingering fantasies she had to the back of her mind.

"Well, I'm just interested in learning more about what you believe in Jaune." She paused as she took a pair of clothes from her drawer. "I try to be open-minded with these sorts of things, despite my upbringing."

She was just excited to learn more about Jaune!

Pyrrha squirmed as Jaune explained his religion. Don't get her wrong, she definitely loved hearing his thoughts on the subject, but it was just too different from what she had been taught as a little girl.

Her mother had always talked about how the Brothers had some sort of great destiny to achieve in her lifetime that awaited her. That she was meant for victory and greatness.

And young Pyrrha believed that wholeheartedly as she sharpened her own fighting abilities. Undefeated even as a child, her mother doted on her, calling her things such as "her little champion" as she beat down the competition. She couldn't let her mother down after all.

"...Now for my own views, I personally like to think we have some measure of free will granted to us like how John Milton portrayed it in his work Paradise Lost, and as a result, we have a small degree of control over our destiny, but there's also beliefs like Calvinism which…"

But from the way Jaune had explained it, he seemed completely adverse to the idea of fate, or at least his tone did. There was an almost invisible scowl behind those words, as if he was recalling a bitter memory as soon as the word destiny passed through his lips.

And that made Pyrrha uncomfortable for reasons she couldn't quite place.

No, that wasn't right. It was more like she didn't want to think about it.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BA-BANG!

Jaune trailed off as he heard fists pound against their door as someone began to excitedly sing from behind it.

"Jauney was a man who thought he was a loner
But he knew it couldn't last
Something Something Something!
I can't quite remember the lyrics to this song!"

Ah.

That sounded like Nora alright.

"Nora, stop banging on the door. It's rude."

"But Rennnnny!"

"No 'buts' Nora."

Jaune carefully returned his leather book to its original hiding spot as Pyrrha scooted to the side of his bed to give him room.

She pouted. Sure, she might not have agreed with some aspects of his faith, but she really was enjoying cuddling with Jaune as he explained and had her read with him!

Plus, she could tell that he wasn't as passionate about it as he tried to make it seem like to her. There was just this… despondent look in his eyes. As though he was sad but didn't know why.

The fact that he hadn't actually read any of it himself was pretty telling.

"Professor Thorogood, what are we looking at exactly?" His protégé asked with a nervous expression as they explored the previously unexplored ancient historical cavern. The markings etched into the stone walls around them indicated that their surroundings were well over hundreds-if not thousands-years old.

And yet…

"I'm not quite sure myself, Mr. Kane." The dog-eared historian noted carefully as he recorded his observations on his thin clipboard. "But this is definitely an unprecedented discovery. You should feel excited! Our research will surely change history as we know it!"

"I… I struggle to believe that, sir." Kane adjusted the collar of his plaid shirt.

"Nonsense!" The professor walked forwards into the cavern despite a small voice in his mind begging him to stop at all costs. "We are the impetus! Something that will cause us to grow as a species: human and faunus alike!"

"Sir, if this is territory no one has even touched before in the past few centuries…" With a shaky index finger pointing ahead, the dark skinned young man continued, "then what in the Brothers name is THAT!"

Defying all logic and established natural laws, the ancient cavern that hadn't had any human contact for the past few centuries…

Contained a modern vault surrounded by a perfectly square room.

"And the horseshoe prints here!" Kane pointed at the mostly dried mud beneath their feet. "Them and the bullet holes indicate the sign of a fight here! A recent one at that!"

"That's where you are wrong, young man. Take a closer look at those 'bullet holes' again."

"What about them?"

"They don't have any indication of heat or burn marks coming off of them." Thorogood scolded. "And the vault must have been made before the cavern appeared. A cave like this would collapse in on itself otherwise if anyone was to construct anything here."

The boy went silent as his professor placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You need to take more pride in your accomplishments, but I'm impressed by your ambitious attitude here, Kane." The man paused as he flipped his blond hair back. "If not for you, we'd never find this place."

The young man smiled as he followed his mentor from behind.

"You are not worthy."

"Huh, did you say something Kane?" The professor turned his head back over his shoulder. "Kane?"

Kane shook his head in protest.

"You are not worthy."

A robotic figure approached from the shadows but remained obscured.

"Kane?" The professor felt something slide down his spine.

"Yes sir?" The boy hesitantly trembled in fear.

"Run upstairs and call my colleague Doctor Oobleck."

Kane gulped as he turned around before taking a final glance back at his teacher as a pair of ethereal robotic limbs grabbed the faunus by the head.

"I SAID YOU ARE NOT WORTHY!"

The limbs threw the blonde into the vault door head first, and the man accelerated to near terminal-velocity speeds before his skull collided with the metal locking system.

Brain matter exploded as shards of bone caved in immediately.

Kane ran away with tears in his eyes and bile building in his throat before reaching to take out his master's scroll from his luggage.

Elsewhere, all across the world, the Grimm population dwindled by fifty percent without any reasons as to why.

And new landmarks emerged from seemingly nothing as the ground twisted and warped into claw-like rock formations that traveled along the ground.

Ozpin and Salem felt what little magic reserves remained from their prime dwindle into near nothingness.

Maidens across their globe felt their own disappear completely, and silver eyes turned gray, losing their metallic sheen completely.

The chains of fate began to spin into a wild inferno that spurred the winds of change into taking action.

This is a story about strength.

Not in just a physical sense, but more in like attaining emotional maturity and standing up for oneself.

Back when I was a kid, my older sisters used to tease me a lot by dressing me up in girls clothes-embarrassing I know-and by calling me names like "Jaune-Jaune" or "Jojo" like how my younger sister did.

It was silly, but I definitely feel like I took those days for granted now that I think about it.

Either way, I'd watch my dad practice over and over again in our backyard, and while that was cool and all, it was how everyone looked up to him that really caused me to admire him.

Saving people and being admired by all, I thought that was just the coolest thing ever.

But… I could never have that. No, what I wanted was more simple than that.

What was it that made me forge my way into Beacon? Was it the dreams that had been denied me for so long as a child? Was it the religious duty I felt towards my family?

Was it just because I wanted to spite those who claimed that I would never find success within my lifetime?

Why did I stay? Was it because of the partner I had grown to love? Was it because of my friends at Beacon?

Or was I just a stubborn idiot?

I don't know, but the day I met that man, it felt like I was looking at an older version of myself. Not just literally, mind you, but in personality too.

My partner thought the same thing too, ironically. He had this quality to him that you couldn't really describe in words, and Pyrrha told me that I share that trait with him.

And because of him, I feel like I finally know what to do with my life or at least what I wanted to do with it. Like I had always known, but it never really occurred to me on a conscious level.

I just wanted more.