Spirit of Rebellion
Summary: Jaune hated being weak, he hated it more than anything. Disgraced, humiliated, kicked out of Beacon, Jaune went to the Emerald Forest, deciding he'd rather die fighting than live in misery… But in the depths of despair, the Spirit of Rebellion rises. "I am Thou… Thou Art I…" Jaune/Harem Many Xovers (Primarily Persona)
I: Rebellion
"It is with a heavy heart, Mr Arc, that I must inform you that you are hereby expelled from Beacon Academy."
I, Jaune Arc, felt numb as I stood in the headmaster's office, alone, being informed that I was being expelled from Beacon.
How did this come to pass?
It had all started shortly after the start of the second semester. The guilt of my friends not knowing the truth ate at me, and I called them all up to the roof to speak with them in private, and I revealed the truth. I'd hoped they'd react like Pyrrha did, and be willing to accept it.
They weren't.
Weiss screamed and sneered at me, calling me so many names that I couldn't keep track of them all, but many of them bounced around in my mind. It especially hurt when she called me nothing but a criminal.
Ren was, shockingly, the next one to scorn me. It seemed Ren had little tolerance for anything criminal, as he gave me a solid punch on the cheek, and told me that I was a disgrace for what I'd done. I didn't have the heart to disagree with him.
Nora didn't say anything, but that was the worst part. She just looked at me with pure disappointment in her eyes, and it was a blow that hurt a lot.
Blake didn't say anything, just gave me a look and left the roof without another word. Honestly, I was glad for it.
Ruby was the next one to scorn me, saying that my actions were horrible, that the 'Legacy' of my family had been disgraced by my actions, and that I should be ashamed of myself.
To hear that from someone I considered my best friend, it hurt. It wasn't as bad as what some of the others had said, but it still struck at my very being and left me feeling even worse.
Yang, surprisingly, didn't say anything bad, in fact she tried to calm the others down, saying they were getting too riled up about this, and even trying to point out that I was clearly working hard to earn my place here, but it fell on deaf ears. Nobody wanted to listen.
In desperation, I turned my gaze to Pyrrha. She'd sided with me before, surely now-!
Pyrrha looked at me, and her look froze me… I should have realised… Pyrrha was weak to peer pressure, she found it so hard to say no or to not follow the crowd sometimes…
"You did something wrong, Jaune. You should never have attended Beacon."
All of them left the roof except Yang, who stayed behind to check on me, concerned.
"Jaune, don't listen to them, okay?" she'd said to me. "They're just a bit upset, I'm sure they'll come around, okay?"
I didn't respond, instead just letting tears cascade down my cheeks. Yang saw she wasn't getting through to me, and told me that she'd be available if I ever wanted to talk.
I didn't actively start sobbing until she'd left the roof, curling up into a little ball and crying to myself. Was it childish? Yes. Did I care? No, not really.
Besides Yang, and maybe Blake, all of my friends had turned their backs on me in the short span of maybe 10 minutes, if even that.
The next few days following my reveal were the worst.
My team wouldn't talk to me, all of Team RWBY and my own team refused to sit with me at any point, though I did catch Yang giving me apologetic looks. I don't know if Pyrrha did, because I refused to look at her face any more.
I knew it was cruel of me, I knew she'd been subjected to peer pressure… But it didn't lessen my rage at her. Yes, I'd cheated, but she'd been on my side. To turn her back on me, and then not even send me a text saying that she was sorry?
It hurt. It hurt a lot.
Yang at least messaged me regularly to check on me, and I just lied and told her that I was fine.
It was all that I could do.
And then, finally, two weeks later… Here I was. Standing in Ozpin's office, being told I was getting expelled because someone leaked my transcripts. Cardin? No, definitely not, he'd have done it before.
Which meant it was…
"… You knew from the start, didn't you?"
"No," Ozpin shook his head. "Truthfully, I had no idea, or I would have never allowed you into my school. The law is the law, Mr Arc. I may skit around it, but I never outright break it as you have. Consider yourself lucky that you are only being expelled."
I didn't say anything as I stared at Ozpin… I thought perhaps the headmaster would be comforting… Ha, why wasn't I surprised?
"… Whatever…" I took my sword off my waist and put it on my desk. "Do me a favour, send that back to my family…"
"Mr Arc…?" Ozpin raised an eye. "What are you…?"
"Don't act dumb, Ozpin," Jaune told him. "You, of all people, know about the Arcs. We may not have as much influence as we used to, but I'm sure you know about us. Do you really think I can return home…? When my father learns my transcripts were faked, he'll disown me faster than you could say 'I'm ashamed of you.' So, don't call me Mr Arc any more… I'm just Jaune…"
I turned and made my way to the elevator in silence before I stopped. "… Who told you?"
"Pardon?"
"Who told you about my transcripts?"
Ozpin said a name.
I clenched my fists… and stepped into the elevator. I didn't look back at Ozpin as I slumped down the wall and sat on the ground.
I should have been surprised, but I wasn't. How funny was that? I couldn't even cry.
I slowly got up as the doors opened… And I stared as I saw a sea of students, sneering at me, immediately hurling obscenities and throwing things at me, calling me a cheat, a fraud, a loser.
I said nothing as I walked forwards and they parted for me, yelling at me the whole while. All the while I just walked forwards, before finally stopping as I saw Team RWBY and what was left of Team JNPR standing there in front of me.
Weiss smiled smugly at me, clearly pleased. Ruby looked conflicted, but resolute, clearly in agreement. Ren was only nodding, and Nora just stared at me, I couldn't tell what she was thinking.
Yang looked at me with a sad look, clearly upset that this had happened… Yes, I imagine the one who spilled the beans hadn't exactly let her know what they'd done beforehand.
Blake just looked at me before she looked at her feet, not showing any expression or saying anything.
And Pyrrha… Pyrrha just looked at me mournfully.
"I'm sorry, Jaune," she said to me. "I never wanted this…"
"Don't comfort him, Pyrrha," Weiss scoffed. "This dunce is getting what he deserves. He shouldn't have cheated his way in, this is only his just reward."
"I'm not happy about it, but it's the right thing," Ruby nodded in agreement.
"Criminals have to be punished," Ren nodded along with them.
"You're all jerks," Yang scowled. "What Jaune did didn't hurt anyone, and he's been working hard to prove he belongs here! This isn't fair on him!"
"It isn't fair on us!" Ruby shot back. "I worked my butt off to get into Beacon two years early! And everyone else here worked hard as heck to get in! And Jaune just cheats his way in with no hard work!? That's not fair at all! Like I said, I'm not happy he's getting kicked out, but this is what he deserves!"
"Heh…"
"Don't you talk to me about fairness, Ruby!" Yang growled. "You've been handed everything in our lives! I'm the one who's had to work my ass off to get to where I am, only getting taught the basics by dad, having to study my ass off to get my grades! Everything has always come to you naturally, learning everything quickly! Even Uncle Qrow- who isn't even your blood related uncle- taught you over me!"
"Don't make it sound like I've put in no work at all! I do work hard, I worked hard to make Crescent Rose, worked hard to train, worked hard to help people! While he's just cheated and lied to get to where he is!"
"Hehe…"
"You disgust me right now, Ruby," Yang scowled. "If Summer could see you right now-!"
"Don't you dare use mom against me like that!" Ruby snarled at her, furious. "Mom would support me in this, and you know that she would!"
"She's support you in ruining a young boy's future without even bothering to learn his reasons!?"
"His reasons don't matter! What matters are the results, and his results could have endangered countless people!"
"Hahaha…"
"Ruby, do not talk like you know Summer, you barely remember her!"
"And don't you talk like she wouldn't agree with this! She was an ally of justice, and even if this might seem cruel, it's justice!"
"Ruby's right," Weiss cut in. "This is justice. Jaune committed a crime, and he's paying for it. That's the way the world works."
"Do you really think that way?" Blake asked softly as she looked up at Weiss with cold, amber eyes. "Is that really what you think?"
"Of course!" Weiss said promptly. "People who commit crimes should be punished, no exceptions!"
"I see…" Blake turned her head away from Weiss. "I guess you really haven't learned anything, have you Weiss?"
"What does that mean-?" I saw Weiss's face change suddenly to one of comprehension. "I- I mean… That's not the same…"
"'No exceptions,'" Blake repeated. "You're a hypocrite, Weiss. Jaune… He doesn't deserve this. I was right after all; you can never trust a Schnee."
"Maybe we should all calm down," Pyrrha tried to interject… And I could hold it back no longer.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I laughed loudly, making all the jeers, insults, all conversation halt as everyone stared at me in dumb confusion and shock. All the while, I just laughed, tears starting to cascade down my cheeks.
"What's so funny you dunce!?" Weiss demanded.
"So… This is the truth…" I slowly stopped laughing as I stared at them. "All this time, you've been wearing masks… But now, now I can see your true selves, can't I…? You were never my friends at all, were you?"
"That's not true-!" Ruby tried to interject.
"Don't lie to me." I hissed at her coldly, making her freeze up. "A friend… A real friend never abandons you no matter what… Unless you've done something truly unforgivable, they will never abandon you… And so many of you turned on me… For what? Pieces of paper? Disgusting… This just proves you never cared to start…"
I turned to Yang and Blake, and I wrapped an arm around them, making them both squeak in surprise. "… Thank you for defending me… Goodbye…" I didn't say it like it was a 'see you later.' I said it like it was finite, that this was the last time I'd see them.
I slowly let go of them and walked past them, stopping and looking back at the other group, the traitors, and I gave them a heartfelt smile. "I hope you're happy," is all I said before I walked out of Beacon… And towards the Emerald Forest.
I'd made my choice. I… Didn't want to live in this world any longer. Beacon was my last shot, I'd be disowned soon, and I'd be all alone…
So, I'd at least put myself to use and kill as many Grimm as I could before I died.
.
.
.
I wiped blood from my lip as I stepped over the body of yet another Beowolf, breathing heavily as I stumbled deeper into the forest.
I didn't know how long I'd been at it at this point. An hour? Two? Longer? Shorter? All I knew was that I was starting to reach my limit of constant fighting without my weapon, and that I'd definitely be dying soon enough…
And I was at peace with that.
Ritualistic suicide. A long-held tradition of the Arc Clan for banished or disowned members to regain their honour. To kill the Grimm until they kill you.
I may die, but I would regain my honour. I would go down in the history of my clan as an awful man, but one who had regained his honour and done his part for humanity.
I stepped into a clearing… And stared out… So many Grimm… I smiled sadly… This was the end, huh?
"If this… Is the end…" I breathed out, lifting my bloodied fists. "Then I'm going down swinging, damn it!" I roared as I charged into the Army of Grimm, determined to take down as many as I could with me.
No matter how many came at me, I didn't waver or retreat. I didn't run away or hesitate… I was going to die anyway; it was better to die with honour than live in misery.
But my body just couldn't keep up.
Finally, my aura broke completely and the Grimm pinned me down, claws at the ready to tear me to shreds.
I only smiled as tears streaked down my cheeks and I closed them slowly. "… Goodbye…"
The claws of the Grimm descended.
.
.
.
Eyes of blue opened, a young boy with blonde hair looking confused as he looked around the room that he suddenly found himself in.
The young man found himself sitting in a room that took on an appearance just like the club his older sister owned and sometimes took him to when work and taking care of him intersected. The difference being the room held a beautiful blue light.
"Welcome…" A voice spoke, drawing the young blonde's attention to a long-nosed man sitting behind the DJ Booth. "To the Velvet Room. It seems we have a guest with an intriguing destiny… And so young. How very rare."
"Who are you?" the young blonde asked, showing no fear of the strange man sitting in front of him. "Where am I?"
"My name is Igor… I am delighted to make your acquaintance," the man informed him. "This place is the Velvet Room. It exists between dream and reality, mind and matter It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter."
"Mr Igor, are you a chuunibyou?"
Igor paused at that question, seeming a bit baffled by it, and a laugh came from the young woman sat next to him, drawing Jaune's attention towards her.
She was a beautiful sight, clad in a red skirt and sleeveless white shirt, wearing striped black, white, and red gloves that ran up to mid-way past her elbows. She wore white and black striped socks, and black boots. A tie was loosely done around her neck, with a blue hat resting on a head of raven hair, green eyes dancing in amusement.
"Can't believe that's one of the first things the kid said to you," the woman snickered. "Who knew accepting this job would be so hilarious?"
"Marie," a woman's voice came from the other side of the man, an older woman in a blue dress with black stockings, platinum blonde hair, and golden eyes staring at him. "Please maintain some form of dignity. This is the young man's first time in the Velvet Room, we must be professional."
"Oh, come on, Margaret, how can I not laugh at that?"
"Enough," Igor's voice came, both women instantly falling into silence. "No, young man, I am not a 'Chuunibyou,' as you put it. This is a very serious situation, as it seems that an interesting fate awaits you in the future. Not the near future, but sometime in the future. But for now, why don't you tell us your name?"
"My name?" the boy asked, tilting his head. "My name is… Jaune. Jaune Arc."
"Hm… I see," Igor nodded. "Well then, young Jaune, shall we take a look into your future?"
"You can do that?" Jaune asked him.
"But of course, the cards can tell us many things…" Igor summoned forth a deck of cards: tarot cards. "Do you believe in fortune telling?"
"No," Jaune responded. "I like to believe that the future is what we make it."
"An excellent mindset for one to keep," Igor nodded. "But we can use it to glimpse at the future none the less. Each reading is always done with the same cards, yet the result is always different. Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?"
Jaune considered the man's words before he nodded. He was only around nine or ten, but that sounded about right. His parents always told him life was different for everyone, so the man's analogy made sense to him.
Igor shuffled the cards and dealt them out, before he flipped one over. "Hm…? How very interesting. In your immediate future, the Fool in the upright position. It seems you shall retain your naivety for quite a deal longer… But what lies in the future beyond?" He flipped another card. "Hermit, in the reverse position. It seems a great loneliness shall be imposed upon you…" Two cards flipped. "Followed by Star in the reverse position, indicating betrayal. And then death, in the upright position, indicates a great change shall come to your life as a result."
Jaune tilted his head curiously. "So, I'm going to be naïve until I'm forced to be alone, then someone will betray me and I'll change as a result?"
"Yes, it seems you understand," Igor nodded. "Let us see what else your future holds…" Another card flipped. "Oh dear. Tower, in the upright position. It seems a terrible calamity shall be upon you after your change," two more cards flipped. "Temperance in the reverse position speaks of a lack of balance… And the Devil in the reverse position tells us that you shall be liberated, that you shall experience what true freedom is."
"… This seems very elaborate for some supposed fortune reading," Jaune told Igor, which only made the man chuckle in amusement. "What's so funny?"
"You are young, I suppose you will learn as you grow," the man said. "In the future, though we know not when, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The balance that has been broken must be restored, else you will never truly understand for what purpose you were brought here."
"And how am I supposed to do that?"
"Fear not," Igor smiled. "My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen… And of course, my assistants shall help as well," he nodded. "Though you know their names now, I shall introduce them," he nodded to his left. "To my left is Margaret, and to my right," he nodded, "is Marie."
"My name is Margaret," the platinum blonde introduced herself again. "I shall accompany you through your journey."
"I'm Marie," the other girl introduced herself. "My job is… Well, you'll see when we get there."
"We shall attend to the details another time," Igor agreed. "Until then, young Jaune, farewell."
Jaune tried to speak more, but the world faded away from him… And, due to being but a child, he would brush this dream off as nothing but that: a dream.
But it would not change that something stirred in the depths of his soul…
.
.
.
"No!"
My eyes burst open, a violent gust of wind shooting from my body, the Grimm being blasted away from me, thus preventing them from dealing the killing blow.
"I can't die yet…!" I growled, my bloodied form slowly rising despite the agonising pain coursing through my body. "Ritualistic suicide…!? I clearly wasn't thinking, because there's no way in hell that I'm just going to die like this! I'm going to prove them all wrong…! RWBY, Pyrrha, Ren, CRDL, every student, every fucking teacher…! And Ozpin too! I'll show them all they made a mistake in sending me away! I'll become so fucking great they'll beg for me to come back to Beacon! That is a promise! And I will never break a promise!"
"Well, look who finally grew a pair!"
I let out a gasp as a voice shot through my head, holding the sides of it in agony as I fell to my knees, the Grimm around me slowly regaining their bearings and beginning to make their way back towards me again.
"Come on!" The voice egged on. "If you want to win, you gotta fight dirty! You gotta rebel against everything! You wanna be strong, don't you!? Then how about you swear an oath to me!"
I let out a scream of agony, eyes flashing to a bright gold as a mask began to form on the upper half of my face. Simple, elegant, black, like one you'd see at a masquerade gathering.
I gripped the mask instinctually and tugged on it, but it wouldn't come off. And so, I ripped it off with all my strength and screamed as it felt like I was ripping off my very skin, blood pouring down my face… And for the first time in my life, as blue flames encircled me and covered me, I felt truly free.
"I Am Thou…" I could hear the grin in that voice, and I grinned right alongside it. "Thou Art I. If you desire my power, my other self, then it's yours! Take up the sword of rebellion, and let's tear down everything in our path!"
The flames died down, leaving me in my new attire; Black pants that led down into brown boots, along with a silver shirt with the top button undone, a sleeveless long white coat with fur around the hood sitting on my head, and dark blue gloves sitting on my hands.
And floating behind me was an imposing figure, only slightly taller than me, clad in armour black as night, wielding a massive bastard sword with one hand easily, golden eyes glowing beneath the helmet.
"Heh… Hehehe… Hahahaha… HAHAHAHA!" I threw my head back, laughing like an absolute lunatic, a short sword appearing in my hand. It wasn't Crocea Mors, but that was fine. Because this sword, unlike Crocea Mors, was mine. And that was more than enough to put a smile on my face. "Let's tear these monsters apart, Mordred!"
Though it couldn't be seen, I knew that the knight grinned under his helmet. "Then, my other self, let us show these pesky daemons what it means to be a Fool!"
I grinned as I spoke a single word, a single command. "Kouha!"
Mordred lifted his blade and swung it down at an approaching Grimm. A burst of light appeared beneath the Grimm, rising up and tearing it apart.
I turned to the rest of the Grimm with a vicious, perhaps mad smile on my face. No more being weak. Now it was time to do what all hunters did and hunt.
"My rebellion…" I charged at the Grimm. "Starts now!"
.
.
.
Ozpin stared at the holographic screen in front of him, Glynda at his side, as they watched Jaune Arc- the cheater, the liar, the disgrace- tear through Grimm like they were butter with that strange being hovering behind him, clad in his new attire.
Glynda didn't know how something like this could happen. From day one, she'd known something was off about Jaune. His combat level was far too low for a huntsman in training, and it was only after the reveal of his transcripts being fake that she understood why.
The instant she'd found out he'd faked his transcripts, she had suggested to Ozpin to not only kick him out, but hand the boy over to the police. The boy had broken the law, and endangered countless people with his reckless actions to 'be a hero.'
Was it cruel of her? Yes.
Was it hypocritical of her? Yes.
But as she stared at the holographic screen, of Jaune's fighting prowess suddenly evolving into more than what his transcripts said, she couldn't help but wonder just what form of power this was. It had displayed too many different things to be some sort of semblance, but he was male and thus shouldn't be able to use magic.
It made her wonder what could change in only a couple of hours to turn a fraud into such an effective and brutal fighter… Were his transcripts fake for another reason? Was he hiding his power for one reason or another? If so, why?
She didn't know the answer to these questions, and it admittedly at her… Had she misjudged him?
"Professor Ozpin," Glynda turned to him. "What should we…" Glynda's voice trailed off as she saw Ozpin's face.
His look wasn't one of contemplation, it wasn't one of shock, it wasn't a neutral face like she was used to, or a small little smile like everything was going according to plan.
It was a look of fear. Pure, genuine, fear.
Ozpin stared at that screen with fear across his face. Because that power was not magic, it was not aura, it wasn't like anything he'd seen… Except once. Once a very long time ago, so long ago that he wished he could forget.
It was a power that, even from here, he could feel and knew.
It was Divine.
It was not the same as the gods, and it felt tainted, but it was divinity, there was no mistaking that. The mere realisation of what he'd sent away, the potential that he'd let go, make him all the more terrified.
Terrified that perhaps he had missed the trees for the forest. That the one insignificant tree named Jaune Arc he'd had to get rid of… Turned out to be something far greater than he'd ever anticipated.
"Glynda…" Ozpin slowly turned his gaze to her, and said the words that Glynda didn't want to hear, but he had to say.
"I think I've made a mistake."
You don't know how nice it feels to get this out of my fucking system.
I've had Persona on the brain for... God, ages. I played Persona 5 Royal- Platinum Trophy by the way- and I've been wanting to write something Persona ever since. And this is that beautiful little thing that resulted from it.
And, for the sake of everyone, I'll put Mordred's stats down.
Mordred
Trait - Immortal Hated - Increases Physical Attacks by 25%, reduced defence by 25%.
Skills
Kouha - Light Bless Damage to 1 foe
Cleave - Light Phys Damage to 1 foe
Tarukaja - Attack Up to 1 Ally
Rampage - Light Phys Damage to foes 1 - 3x
Bloody Resolve - Attack up in critical situation
And that's all for this one. Motivation has been hard to come by, but I'm trying to push past it :/
Until next time, this is Ezras Hargrave, signing off!