You know, I wasn't expecting to do this so late. But life really do be like this.
Some Funny Spelling/Grammar Mistakes From the Previous Chapter (Did you find them all?):
- 'snapped backed' → 'snapped back' (not fixed; I'm not bothered to do it though)
- 'reunion' → 'reuning' (fixed)
Also this 'prologue' has no Chapter Notes because I
actually forgot what I intended when I wrote some of these lines. It's been what- five- six months? My memory lasts a week at most, chief.
Prologue 5b: "Psych Bitch You Thought There'd Be More Prologues." ((not really))
-/-
[Beginning of the 'Vacation' Period]
[Arc Estate | Third Person; Following Matthius | Evening | Rem-English]
-/-
"Slow down, Jaune, you're only going to force your own body to go into shock."
Whether Jaune heard him or not, he must not have cared, because he still continued to shovel food down his throat at a blistering pace.
Matthius shook his head at his student's disregard for his advice; "By the Gap Hag… he's like one of those 'shōnen anime protagonists'… or like that monkey dude whose hair turns gold for some ungodly reason… I think the latter is part of the former though.".
"Question!"
The brunet-amongst-blonde-(and two blonds')-company snapped to attention as he tried to find the small voice amongst the table of food; and what a challenging endeavour it was. The Arcs spared no expense for the return of their prodigal son–understandable since he was going to leave in two months. There was a somewhat disturbing presence of obviously factory-processed ingredients… since he couldn't detect a very large presence of factories anywhere but a significant tick north-north-east of wherever 'here' was.
Also, mass factories in an arctic glacial landmass… that's an implicit form for "hey, we want to make the sea levels rise faster than our poverty rate". He understood they were powered by Dust for the most part, but that's still energy that's gotta be releasing heat in some way, shape or form.
"Mister."
Also all this food is nigh indistinguishable from Earthen counterparts. Actually, since was so bored, he might as well take a moment to look at the fashion here; despite the fact he had no idea what most clothing items on Earth were called, he was willing to just wing it.
The one he cared about most, Jaune, who was wearing a new set of clothes to rid himself of the old, damn near rotting rags that twenty months of constant usage, and getting wet, does to any piece of cloth. It was a brown coat over a black undershirt, coupled with more comfier looking leggings, with an awful lot of pockets too; those were called cargo, right? Either way, combined with the boots, made it perfectly clear that he was prepared for winter to come around.
John and Mary, both wore very… combat-ish clothes? They were still meant for everyday use, though he could spot the occasional glint of light armour plating hidden underneath. Granted, he would never wear what they wore to a fight, but it seems like a huntsman thing; Really flashy clothes with their colour-schemes on it. Funny that John and Mary, who both came from very old, traditional families, flipped this particular tradition right on its head.
Jeanne, who Matthius found to be worth teaching, wore similarly cold-bearing clothes. The rest of Arc's sisters, though, seemed to be particular on dresses. Dresses. In winter. He even walked in all of them putting Jaune into a dress, which was really awkward to hear him try and explain his way out of.
The only exception was Sherisse, who was… It was hard to remember she existed; if it weren't for the fact that she had red hair.
"Mister!"
"Yo…?"
A different voice, Jaune's twin sister Jeanne, responded, "You zoned out again.".
"Sorry, can you pass me the High⸱Velocity⸱Armor⸱Piercing⸱High⸱Explosive⸱Squash⸱Head⸱Anti-Tank⸱Depleted⸱Uranium⸱Core⸱Rigid⸱Fin⸱Stabilized⸱Discarding⸱Sabot⸱Satellite⸱Guided⸱Missile?"
"What?"
"What?" Matthius parroted her.
"Such an asshole." She muttered.
Merreine gasped, "Jeanne! You shouldn't insult our guest with such language, especially in front of your two younger sisters!".
"She's right Jeanne, asshole isn't what you use to describe teach, it's better suited for that piece of sh~eep manure that tried to force himself on Char'."
Matthius looked at the empty plates stacked next to Jaune with a complicated expression; "That was strange timing…".
"Wait-"
He could see how everybody but the youngest two in the room instantly narrowed their eyes at Jaune; Matthius was glaring at him too, but for wildly different reasons.
"Jaune… What do you mean? Which piece of shit tried to take advantage of my daughter?" John growled with menace so great, Matthius had actually believed that were the promise of violence directed at either himself or Jaune right now, he actually would have won.
Iris and Lilac's ears were covered as best they could by Merreine and Mary respectively.
Mary's voice had managed to dip a whole octave and a bit lower; "Why yes, Honey-Bun~, who was it that dared touch my sweet little Sea Princess?".
Matthius watched idly as Jaune had to dig himself out of the hole he had already excavated for himself recklessly; "Remember that one snobby kid from Charlemagne?"
Jaune's mother scoffed, "Most of the kids from Charlemagne are snobby; You will have to specify.".
"The one with the stupidest name."
"Yaourt?" John simmered.
Merreine seemed to take Jaune's word for it; "That… Concerningly, I could see him trying something like this. The way he treats all the girls around him is horrid; I just didn't think he'd go so far as to-".
John immediately stood up out of his chair; "Well, I think I'd want to pay that little bastard a visit.".
"Wait until the Mint-Green family buries the body first." Jaune dropped that sentence like a bombshell, "And to be honest, good riddance.".
"Seriously?… You couldn't have thought to have been more subtle?"
Jaune didn't look any disturbed at the idea of a murder, especially given who was the culprit; "Turns out one of his little goonies must have had enough, smashed in the back of his head with a piece of metal scaffolding while he was distracted. In the end, he must not have thought it through, because he pissed his pants and fled the scene with Yaourt's other backup dancer; if he weren't such a coward, I might have respected him.".
Matthius sighed, and everyone turned to him; "If you want to know why Jaune knows who did the Frenchie in, it's because I was approached by Arcadia's law enforcement immediately after, when we separated at the cafe.".
Iris, who had wiggled out of Merreine's grasp on her ears, spoke up; "But if you were at Sundrop with mommy and daddy when he was killed, why'd the police go to you?".
"Because it happened to be a coincidence that I'd arrived in Arcadia barely a day prior to the bashing in of this kid's skull. The Patrol really don't want to think anyone living within their walls would be capable of killing another human, so they immediately blamed the outsider; makes sense, since the only other option for scapegoat would be the prince." The brunet snided, gesturing to Jaune, who was blowing raspberries at him.
"But, as it turns out, soon after the police approached me, I happened to catch the punk who painted that alley's floor with his padrone's brain red handed; literally." Matthius fibbed, casting a side glance at Chartreuse and causing her to flinch. He then turned to his student with a carefully crafted expression.
Jaune's breathing hitched a bit as he recalled something, before he spoke up once more;
"See, the culprit, Yam, also killed his brother Taro, soon after; the Patrol suspects insanity."
[Arc Twins' Birthday (Unknown Day occurring within The 1st Lunar Month of Winter) | Third Person; Following Jaune]
Time flew by quickly after that, and the outrage over the death of Yaourt had lessened after Char', Yam, and Matt gave their descriptions of what had happened. Though it was still scandalous as the first and subsequently second murders to have happened in Arcadia for nearly two decades, the residents, especially the older ones, were willing to brush it under the rug after they found out just the kind of character Yaourt Mint-Green was.
But the past should stay in the past, today was a special day; for it marked the thirteenth year of his life, and the halfway point of his vacation. His mentor, who Jaune was slowly starting to consider a fraternal figure, always made it a point to sleep standing on the roof like some sort of gargoyle, and would slip into their room the exact moment the twins would wake up; it was scary only the first two times.
As always, he'd made his way in through the window, which was left open, exposing the room to direct sunlight.
"Still can't believe their family name is Mint-Green."
Jaune, who had heard Matthius chuckling, also commented, "I can't believe the Mint-Greens raised a child that shit.".
Jeanne stared at him pointedly.
"What? He had it coming to him!" He defended, with Matt nodding along in the background.
"I know; he bullied you real hard when he was your senior in school didn't he?" She muttered sleepily.
"Yep."
"Didn't he toss you into Arcadia's well?"
"~Yep."
"Honestly if you'd just told dad or even mum they'd have killed him themselves." Jeanne yawned as she stretched her arms behind her back, showcasing her own Pumpkin Pete™ hoodie/onesie combination.
In the background, both Jaune and his sister turned to his mentor who had made a weird sound in response; "So… Toxic masculinity affecting even kids now?".
"That, in conjunction with the fact that I'm the son of the Arcs; people had a lot of expectations for me and I was never taught how to meet them."
"Get used to it buddy, people will always have expectations you don't know about."
*Knock×2* ((Lmao fuck you I'm not describing it))
The three of them turned to the door, which was immediately kicked open, revealing a smiling Sherry; "Hey kids… and Matt…".
"Hey."
Sherisse rarely ever smiled, but Jaune guessed being able to actually celebrate his birthday was something worth smiling for; for all the Arcs.
"Come downstairs, none of the guests are here yet."
Sherry turned heel and left, curt as usual.
"Oh, it's dye."
"Hm?"
"Her hair; I was wondering why it was red and not blonde. It's dye. She was actually close enough for me to smell it." Matthius explained.
Jeanne smirked, "Sniffing our sister's hair? You got something going on or-".
"If I actually 'sniffed' I would have smelled it from ten miles out; And no, that would be weird."
"Why would it be weird?" Jaune questioned genuinely.
The unqualified teacher stared his student down; "You… You really are asking that aren't you? It's because I umm…".
Jaune narrowed his eyes as Matt stumbled over his next few words.
"Look uh- it's because I already have someone back home?"
…
…
…
"Bullshit; who would want to date you?"
"Hey! You two rascals! Get down here already!" Came the gaunt call of his dad, "And tell Matthius to get off the roof!".
… *Inaudible voice*
"Oh. Well tell him to come down too."
"I'm gonna kick his ass tomorrow." Matthius said whilst tinkering with the watch on his right hand; and for the first time since Jaune had met him, he'd taken the primitive looking gadget off.
"Why tomorrow?" Jeanne humoured.
"It's your birthday today."
As they wrapped up what small talk they had before they grew somewhat bored, Jaune, Jeanne, and Matthius made their way downstairs.
The first person Jaune came into contact with was Char', who beckoned them over towards the kitchen. As each of them passed her on the way, Jaune noted that her gaze fell on Matt for a few extra moments. His teacher and closest pseudo-familial confidant had met her stare on his own, only breaking it when Char' eventually let up; after which Matthius continued on to sit at the small dining area near the kitchen with relative normalcy.
Jaune thought that it was a crush at first, but it turns out Char' thought that Matt was the one who had come to her rescue the first day back.
Okay so maybe it was a crush-
"So anyways," Jaune interrupted himself as he came to a disturbing revelation, "Matt, I know it's supposed to be a surprise; but did you actually bring a present?".
"Fuck's sake kid you won't stop calling me that now." Matt complained. "Whatever. Here.".
Matt threw something at Jaune, which he caught with relative ease.
"This is… the watch that you took off this morning; five or so minutes ago."
"Yep, figured I might as well give it to you now so you can learn its features."
His mum examined the watch, "It looks quite old though; What unique features could it possibly have?".
"Well, Mary, I'm glad you asked. It's an indestructible watch which used to only have a couple menus for survival parameters; now it houses a very particular OS."
Matt reached over and strapped the watch to Jaune's left wrist, entering a few inputs.
Staring at the screen of the watch, Jaune watched as it blinked to life and displayed a series of texts that Jaune struggled to read.
[/《Parallax》: [System Operator] Registration Service (Activ…
Service Status: Running
\Checking System File Integrity…
\Searching for Available [Operators]
\Last Known [Operator] M#██████;██████-███ Missing
\Clearing Cache
\Default Settings Restored - True
\Loading Core Menus… Complete;
\Initialising Add-ons… Complete;
\Declaring New Values… Complete;
\BIOS Update… Requested;/]
Jaune noticed Iris peeking over his shoulder; "What's it doing?".
"I'm not sure." He answered honestly.
[/BIOS: Status Update
\Failed to connect to network
\Returning to Safety Mode
\Booting S⸱O⸱R⸱S… Success;/]
[/[System Operator] Registration Service (Active)
Service Status: Running
\Creating New Profile
\Access Subject Bio - True
\Auto-filling Administrator Credentials
\Prompt Receipt: 199N18bds&2bX0c
\Auto-filling Receipt/]
[/[System Operator] Registration Service (Active)
Service Status: Running
\Subject Name - Yes
\Subject Age - Yes
\Subject Stats - Yes
\Subject Documents - No
\Other - No
\Configuration - True
\Force HUD Activation on Startup - True
\ADV. COMBAT MODE ACCL.? - False
\Cinematic Combat View- False/]
[/OS《Parallax》has been installed.
Please select a category:]
[/#Parallax Menu
#Restoration Menu
#Save-State Menu
#Interactivity Menu
#Parameters Menu
#Augmentations Menu
#Missions Menu
#Dossiers Menu
#Ephemeris Menu
#Quit to [Watch]/]
"What the actual fu-"
[Later that Day]
As Jaune was fiddling around with the watch, he decided to listen to the conversation that was happening between his sister, her fiancé and Matt.
So as he 'tuned in', he first heard Saph talking; "So you only trained him to make sure he was safe, right?".
"He ran once, he might run again, at least I could guarantee he'll survive if that happened. What it was, couldn't even be called running. -kept bustering about how much he wanted to see you all again; but there was always a sort of trepidation. Either way, this is his way of learning independence, and it is always a reminder that distance does not make the heart grow fonder."
"Wait, what does that mean?" Terra asked, audibly confused. "No seriously; What does that mean?".
"It means that consistent contact is required in order to maintain relationships of any kind, whether it's between friend or foe; in either case, a lack of contact will cause all parties involved to forget about the others. There are outliers, of course; but generally this is… the case…"
Jaune turned to see that Matt's mouth was still slightly open as his face portrayed a very… distraught emotion… which lasted only a second before he became stone faced.
"So I just remembered I am an absolute hypocrite, but I'm also not gonna change that because I am not allowed, it would ruin the lore and the canon of whatever the hell the 'main' timeline even is; if there is even a distinct canon for us Matthiuses-" He vaguely exclaimed. "Matthii? Nah that sounds stupider than Matthiuses. What I mean to say is; the fact that 'Voidsoul', 'Anti-ha' and 'H⸱E⸱L⸱L' are about to meet pretty much spells the creation of another Experimental Cycle.".
He decided now would be a good time to step in and try and assuage his family that Matt wasn't a lunatic…
And after only a few more minutes the party was over.
Matthius had only told Jaune a few basics before telling him to figure everything out on his own; and he did just that. Whilst he was no closer to figuring out what the hell 'Parallax' was used for, the male Arc twin just liked to pretend that it was like the menu system of an RPG game. He was able to complete twelve of these 'missions' by just celebrating his (and Jeanne's) own birthday, but didn't feel any stronger from it; nor did he get any items or money, which was a total bummer.
~"Kid, if I could make shit out of thin air with this I would have done so on a very large number of occasions; this thing is a computer, not a benefactor."~
Something did change though, he wasn't sure what just quite yet…
[/《Parameters Quick Menu》:
Operator: "Jaune"
S-LVL: 82
VITL: 40/40
HLTH: 5020/5029
PSYK: 6795/7022
AURA: 0/?
STAM: 1198/1200
MANA: 12K/12K/]
Jaune stared at his 'Parameters', staring at his 'Level'. The first thing he'd noted was that the 'Level' changed as his 'Stats' got higher, and not really the other way around. His teacher had told him that people naturally gained 'Levels' through everyday activities as different hormone releases encouraged growth of certain faculties of the body; though he had also told him to place 'Vitals' in his quick menu as that is what determined whether or not he died, and not 'Health'.
And earlier today, when Jaune saw that his 'Health' wasn't full, he had concerns that Matthius also quelled. Apparently hardly anyone had completely full 'Health' and 'Psyche' as a result of just living. People were always receiving small, meaningless injuries and subsequent minor infections that left miniscule effects on their body, just as they were also more likely to experience stress and mental strain from simply perceiving the events happening around them.
Closing the menu and switching his watch back to the time, Jaune stood by and waved all the guests out as Matthius and John both worked together to shove out all the stragglers.
"Oi, kid."
Jaune turned to Matthius, who was washing his hands at the kitchen sink.
"Sorry- I meant Jeanne."
His female counterpart was staring at Matthius with a questioning gaze, "What?".
"Head down to the courtyard; We're training.", was all that was said as Matthius opened a window and jumped out.
Jeanne looked back at him and he shrugged, guessing he was expected there as well. Jaune lazily walked outside to the balcony, and rested the palm of his left hand on the top-rail of the stonework balustrade. Standing there, he admired the scenery without much interruption. It was a large garden filled with various plants from all over Remnant, that surrounded a patio where the Arc family regularly invited guests to have tea parties; with his dad having to beat off anyone who got a little too close to his daughters.
Taking a deep, Jaune turned his left palm sideways, pointing away from himself. He smirked at Jeanne as he kicked up his left leg to the right, and then launching off his actual right leg, angled his body perpendicular to the balustrade. This order of movement made him cross and uncross his crura before he actually dropped down the full storey and managed to pull off a slightly incorrect recovery roll; spraining his left foot–which he'd landed on first.
[/《Missions Quick Menu》:
Auxiliary: "Parkour Mastery G"
Goals- Perform a [Standing Crossed Vault]
Conditions- None
Difficulty- Very Easy
Rewards-
500K [EXP-A]
1000 [EXP-H]
200K [EXP-O]
500 [EXP-Q]
2500 [EXP-S]/]
[/Status- Achieved/]
[/Auxiliary: "Parkour Mastery G"
Goals- Perform a [Recovery Roll]
from a short free fall.
Conditions- None
Difficulty- Slightly Easy
Rewards-
1M [EXP-A]
500 [EXP-H]
750K [EXP-O]
5K [EXP-Q]/]
[/10K [EXP-S]
Status- Achieved
Ignore All Auxiliary Missions?
-(Yes)
-No/]
"That would have gotten annoying pretty fast…"
Within a few minutes, Jeanne was now facing a cross-armed Matthius with Jaune standing off to the side. The atmosphere was tense, but not uncomfortably so, given that both himself and his twin knew what they were getting into.
Jaune heard a loud 'thunk', followed by the slight gasp of his sister. Looking over towards his right showed that an entire spear managed to make it to the floor in front of his sister without him seeing it.
The spear itself was rather nondescript; with an elm wood shaft and a metal tip that was most likely just plain steel.
Though his eyes narrowed as he silently questioned how his mentor managed to constantly pull that trick off. Matt shrugged.
"You just called me 'Matt' again in your head didn't you."
"How do you fig-"
A muffled sonic boom later and Matt violently ripped apart the air with his right leg, kicking him right in the abdomen; knocking Jaune down to the ground effortlessly.
"I'm going to continuously kick you, over and over again, until you can block; and when you do block it, I will kick harder and faster. As for you Jeanne,"
Jeanne nervously stood like Matt was a drill sergeant and she was one of the newest recruits.
"Pick up the spear. Whilst your brother is recovering I will be teaching you the most basic spear techniques I can remember."
An inquisitive look took over Jeanne; "Basic techniques… that you can remember?".
Matt shrugged his shoulder, "Yeah, I may fight pretty often with a spear—weapon reach and whatnot—but I have never actually bothered to master it. When you have the strength and speed, skill with a spear isn't really necessary."
Jaune pushed himself off the ground and got ready to block the inevitable attack-
"Oh- hold on a sec-"
-only for Matt's kick to push his wrist in, causing the sword to tilt backward and allowing the kick to follow through to his torso.
"Huack!" Jaune wheezed, "I think that broke a rib…"
"You can heal… apparently.". That last part was whispered, but it was clear that Matt himself was somewhat perturbed by how easily he picked up that trick; it gave Jaune something to be proud of. "Alright Jeanne, let's get down to it shall we?…"
-[One incredibly stupid and unnecessary training montage later]-
With only a few more hours left of daylight, Jeanne was forced to back as a fist came close to her face. She spun, and releasing the grip on the spear from her left hand, she used her right to slam the spear as hard as she could into Matthius' guarding forearms. Jaune took this chance to slip into the opening on his side, driving the Crocea Mors out into a thrust, only to be kicked away once more.
"That's good enough!"
Upon hearing the call, Jaune sheathed his blade; "So… how'd we do?".
"You're losing yourself a bit, but that shouldn't be a problem for the next four years." Matthius responded, "And as for Jeanne, she's subpar for the average 'Hunter Trainee', but I don't doubt there would have been worse to have passed through the halls of any of the major academies.
Honestly, just don't worry about it.".
John, who had been watching from the sidelines with most of the Arc family, suddenly spoke up to question his statement, "What do you mean it's not going to be a problem for the next four years? If you're going to be training my son, I expect you to have him at his best at the very least.".
"Well, as I was explaining to Jaune's sister and her girlfriend-"
"Fiancé!" Said sister of his interjected, "We just got engaged!".
"Well, as I was explaining to Jaune's sister and her ex-girlfriend-"
"What‽"
"You did walk into that one Saph." Jeanne—who hadn't bothered to pick herself up from the ground, apparently—admitted, "He does that a lot.".
Ignoring his family, Matt continued, "Jaune is independent, yes, but not entirely self-sufficient. So, I'm going to have to throw him into the deep end.".
"What does he mean by that Jaune?"
Jaune turned to his littlest sister and shrugged, "First I've heard of it.".
"The next four years will not be spent training in some random jank-ass forest, and that's final. I'm so fucking sick of that damn forest, and I used to live in one so, so much worse." Matt growled. "No, we will be going to the city of Vale.".
"What?" Jaune let out in surprise.
"Yeah. I'll land you a job and a place to stay at, but after that you'll provide everything for yourself; I won't be staying more than a block away if you do need help. Oh, and yes, you all can visit, just keep the gifts to a minimum." Matt then turned to him; "And I expect you to be the one treating them, not the other way around, yeah?".
"As long as you can get me paid a decent amount, I'll manage."
"Perfect." Matt clapped his hands together with a smile.
"Absolutely perfect!" Mary cheered, "Jaune honey, do expect us to be dropping by every week!".
His father, on the other hand, groaned, "Uuughh, Mary, sweetie, being able to visit him in the city is great and all; but every week? I don't think I could schedule-"
"You will find a way to schedule it, otherwise Iris and Lilac won't be getting another sibling."
Everyone who wasn't below the age of thirteen pretty much spat out whatever they were drinking at that.
Jeanne choked on the dirt that Matt made her eat.
Word Count: Good enough.
Date: Uhh… november 2021; maybe 2022 if I'm that much of a fucking failure.
*I will not update this fic much; we're talking possible bi-monthly updates at best