Sorry for getting this out so late. So much happened recently that I simply haven't had the time to sit down and do anything other than watch a few episodes of Peacemaker. I also started a second job so I can't guarantee any faster updates at the moment. Other than that, I do plan on playing Legends Arceus and Elden Ring when it comes out so...even less free time sorry.
Edit 2/15/2022: I'm not sure when I'll have this finished, especially since I've gotten more ideas that prevent me from progressing the way I had initially intended. There are characters that show up that weren't in the original RP we did, but I wanted to try something a bit different. But it gives way for more content later that also wasn't planned so I can enjoy doing this a bit more.
Edit 2/16/2022: Huh, I actually finished it sooner than I expected...happy late Valentine's Day to all. Hope you all enjoy this chapter as I'll be going to start the next one immediately. With enough love, maybe I'll have it up before Elden Ring drops...for all of our sakes.
Chapter 3: A Brief Intermission
Jaune didn't truly know where he was. He had underestimated just how large the continent of Sanus was. It had been at least ten hours and he had yet to come across a single village or even person. Several grimm had met their ends by his hands, but without knowing how far he was from actual civilization, Jaune didn't want to use his semblance. Thus, the fights were starting to take their toll on the teen.
Plus, it almost seemed as if he were going in circles. Something just felt off, but he couldn't put his finger on it. A tree he was sure he passed here, and some scuffled undergrowth there. For once he wished grimm left behind a corpse so he could confirm his suspicions. However, he had never heard of a grimm capable of leading people astray as such. But then again, the creature that destroyed Ars Magus was something he had never heard of before either…
'Dammit…' He cursed in his mind and took a moment to calm his nerves. Sanus was indeed a big continent, so maybe he was just further from civilization than he would have liked.
As it had become almost pitch black in the forest, Jaune had wished he had brought camping supplies.
'Looks like I'm roughing it then.' Jaune was no stranger to simply sleeping in trees or small caves. However, those instances were in Ars Magus where he was very familiar with the entirety of the islands forestland. Here in Sanus, things were far different. He even noted that the grimm were more plentiful than they were on Ars Magus.
Without any other option, Jaune found a large tree that seemed extremely old. With grace and ease, he jumped upwards, once again cracking the ground and scaled the tree. He landed on a thick branch more than three times his own body size in width. It wasn't the most comfortable, but it would do. After taking an hour to meditate and expand his senses in search of danger, Jaune deemed it safe enough to sleep.
'Foolish human...unobservant human. Why master show interest in weakling? Not even know trapped in illusion…'
The creature that observed the sleeping teen cackled within its mind. It had been patient, observing the boy and watching what he was capable of on its masters orders.
It wasn't impressed.
'Another brute. Another unintelligent brute. Unlike master. No, master strength impeccable.' The creatures shadowy figure would sink into the tree Jaune slept on. 'But must hurry. Yes, must hurry and return. Dumb human no longer a threat! Yes, must prepare for next invasion!'
The presence of the creature would fade into the shadows of the trees before quickly moving away. A ripple over the area would reveal an entirely different place from which Jaune thought he had been. Once the creature was entirely gone, Jaune would open a single eye, seeming to follow the shadow as it moved until he could no longer sense it.
'Another thing to report to Ozpin. I don't know what it was, but it was definitely far more intelligent than the normal grimm. I only noticed it's illusion when I started meditating but I couldn't sense it's presence until it made itself known.'
The blonde teen groaned in frustration. Sensing was one of his weakest abilities. He could sense presences, but they were faint and undefined. He couldn't even really sense aura very well. The only consolation was that he could feel the presence of grimm sometimes, but he could easily simply confuse them for normal woodland creatures.
The most disturbing thing to Jaune at the moment was the possibility of the creature being connected to the one that destroyed Ars Magus. He was truly worried now. Something big was obviously stirring in the world of Remnant and he felt as if he were in the middle of it.
However, having used up quite a bit of energy, the teen couldn't stop himself from falling asleep.
"Well if you aren't a sight for sore eyes."
The familiar gruff voice made Jaune snap awake. The blonde looked around for a moment before looking up and seeing the smiling visage of his surrogate brother above him. The smirk on Qrow's face threatened to split into a full blown smile as the look on Jaune's face turned from confusion, to shock, to unbridled excitement.
"QROW!" Jaune shouted and launched himself straight up, surprising the dark haired man. Only his huntsman reflexes allowed him to catch the teen, though the force spun them both around on the branch and dropped them down to were Jaune had slept the night.
"Ugh...damn, you're definitely not a little kid anymore." Qrow chuckled in pain. Jaune landed next to the only light left to him in his ever dimming world and couldn't help but shed a tear. Though he quickly wiped it away before the older huntsman could see it.
"What are you doing here?" Jaune asked excitedly, pushing away the darkening mood for genuine astonishment. As big as Sanus was, it shouldn't have been possible for Qrow to randomly find him his first night there.
"Honestly? I was about to head to Ars Magus. Just got word that it was destroyed from Oz. Then when I'm on my way, I felt something...strange down here." Qrow couldn't really explain it. The feeling was like a cold wind washing over him and then he felt a familiar presence appear out of nowhere. It was weird to be able to feel something that wasn't quite aura, but having gotten used to Jaune's own energy all those years ago slightly dulled Qrow to the feeling.
Jaune couldn't believe that Qrow had found him again by random happenstance. Maybe his semblance gave good luck sometimes after all. Or was it more probability based than luck based? Either way, he was happy to see the man.
"So…" Qrow continued as the two dropped out of the tree. Jaune minutely noticed the area around him looked a lot less dense than when he went to sleep. "What happened on Ars Magus?"
The air immediately got colder as the jovial atmosphere vanished. There was a small pause as Jaune's gaze met the dirt, the shadow of his hair darkening his eyes. After several moments of standing in silence, Jaune sighed and explained everything to Qrow.
"That monster was there all those years ago Qrow. It destroyed my home, not me." Jaune growled and his fist clenched. "I don't know how or why, but it might be drawn to me. Even if it has been ten years, it can't just be a coincidence."
Qrow was utterly perturbed by Jaune's story. All those years, he had honestly believed that Jaune had simply lost control of his semblance and destroyed the Arc Manor in an unavoidable tragedy. As much as it pained him, he knew Jaune blamed himself for the event as well. It was something that he couldn't comfort the boy on. However, hearing about this new grimm...it unfortunately made a lot of sense.
Oz had been telling Qrow about strange happenings all over the world, from the deserts of Vacuo to some isolated incidents in Menagerie. Things that didn't seem human but couldn't possibly have been done by grimm. Though they could never truly find any evidence of what was happening at any given place. Jaune's tale gave a little insight on something big happening to the world of Remnant.
As they talked, Qrow began to lead them towards a dirt path that they began to follow as they pondered the strange happenings. Soon enough, both were lost to their own thoughts.
"So I take it whatever illusion or whatever you were under is the reason you're on the Western edge of Sanus now."
Jaune stumbled in his step, getting a smirk from Qrow. "W-Western edge of Sanus?" Jaune's eyes bugged out of his head. Ars Magus was EAST of Sanus. He knew he had been under the illusion of that grimm for a while, but to have traveled so far in just 10 hours was unheard of.
"Yeah, just Northwest of Mt. Glenn and far South of Vale. I take it you meant to get to Ozpin?" Qrow chuckled.
Jaune nodded in defeat. Maybe the illusion did more to his sense of time than he thought. So much time had been wasted too. He grit his teeth in disappointment at himself. If he were better at sensing aura and enemies, he wouldn't have been fooled for so long. But then again, grimm didn't have aura to begin with…
"Seeing as it's a helluva trip to Vale from here, how about you come with me to Patch? Sides, Oz and Glynda are gonna be busy for at least a week out of town. Dealing with the other headmasters."
The blonde teen shrugged. It would have been awkward to show up to Beacon while Oz and Glynda were gone. Plus, Qrow had told him a lot about Patch when he was younger. Specifically about his two nieces, Yang and Ruby. He was pretty excited to finally meet them.
"GET DOWN!" A shrill cry caught both men off guard. They paused for only a moment before the sound of gunfire followed by a small explosion pushed them into gear.
Neither needed to say a word as they darted back into the foliage of the forest. In just ten seconds at their speed, they reached a small cliff. Looking over the edge they found what looked like a small hover carriage broken at the bottom. There were a few people around it but the seven Beowulves cornering them clearly held the advantage. The cry had most likely come from the blue haired woman standing at the forefront, what looked alike a spent RPG in her hand.
Qrow and Jaune jumped down the cliff, going ten meters before kicking off the side of the cliff and landing in front of the woman.
A quick glance back showed the woman was surprised to see the men but not ungrateful. Jaune saw another woman with blonde hair back near the broken carriage tending to an unconscious older man with graying hair.
"Stand back, we'll take it from here." Qrow called and pulled out his weapon in sword form. He noticed Jaune just took a fighting stance and frowned.
Before they could contemplate anymore, the Beowulf sprung into action.
The two closest lunged at Jaune just to have the boy do a spinning roundhouse. He caught the first in the side of the head, an audible 'crack' signifying its broken mask and neck. The momentum carried the body into the second Beowulf, knocking it away but not killing it.
Qrow jumped up and stomped on the flying bodies to get even more air before spinning and coming down with a powerful slash on a third Beowulf, cleaving it in half right down the middle. He kicked backward as a fourth Beowulf slashed at him and performed a backflip, stabbing his sword into the chest of the Beowulf that Jaune failed to kill before finishing the flip on the opposite side of the enemies. The fourth Beowulf continued to rush towards him just for Jaune appear in a frightening burst of speed.
The teen began to strike the creature rapidly with his hands shaped like claws. After more than ten strikes in less than two seconds, Jaune made a slashing motion with both his hands, ripping right through the Beowulf. "Wolf Fang Fist!" He cried as he finished, a wolf howl seeming to echo from his voice.
Without missing a movement Jaune placed a hand on the ground and did a handstand, dodging a bite from a Beowulf as it soared over him. He kicked the monster in the midsection as he finished the handstand, sending it into the air. Qrow once again leaped upward, kicking off of Jaune's outstretched legs and performed a rising slash on the airborne enemy, decapitating it.
He spun while in the air and slung his sword with incredible force down at the sixth Beowulf, impaling it to the ground through its chest. The last Beowulf had forgone attacking Jaune or Qrow and instead began to bound towards the blue haired woman.
The woman's eyes widened and she fumbled with her pistol as the creature leaped for her. However, it would never reach her as Jaune moved with insane speed once more and caught the creature by the leg. He began to spin the creature around in a move he called the 'Dragon Throw' before hurling the creature away from the woman. On instinct alone, Jaune spun once more, forming a glowing ball of what the woman could only call pure energy in his right hand before throwing it at the sailing monster. The energy orb exploded on impact, killing the Beowulf instantly.
As the dust cleared, the forest grew silent. Qrow retrieved his weapon and walked over to Jaune with a smirk. "Good work kid! Glad to see you've still got some tricks up your sleeve." He patted Jaune on the back and gave him a knowing gaze.
Jaune nodded, knowing that Qrow would want answers on what he had just done. It was the first time he had used ki physically in front of the older huntsman, another secret he had been wanting to show to the man. However, he got caught in the moment and showed off a bit too much it seemed.
"Haaa…" The woman's sigh of relief drew their attention. The woman collapsed to her knees but they could see that it was more out of finally relaxing than an injury. "Thank Oum for you two."
"What happened here?" Jaune asked as they approached the woman. Finally taking a look around, Jaune saw the small hover carriage had been carrying all type of computer and mechanical equipment. Even a large black server was smashed against the cliff side.
The blonde woman stood, helping the now conscious older gentleman stand.
"Bandits…" The blonde woman spoke, her curly hair seeming to sag with her mood. Her eternally closed eyes still somehow portrayed sadness.
"Mom, dad, take it easy!" The blue haired woman stood and ran to her parents. She tried to get her father to sit but he gently eased her away.
"It's fine, Bulma. I'm fine. Minor injuries all things considered." He cringed a bit, but stayed standing, showing a tenaciousness Jaune could respect. "But as my wife said, we were attacked by bandits just on the main road to the east. When my daughter was able to fight a few of them off, the Beowulf showed up to pick up where they left off."
The woman known as Bulma continued. "I was running low on ammo after dealing with the bandits so we tried to run. The cargo was too heavy for how fast we needed to go and we lost control and crashed here." She sighed as she looked at what was possibly millions of lien worth of damage. "If it weren't for you two, we would have lost more than just our cargo though. Thank you so much." The woman held out an arm to shake their hands.
"Don't worry. You did good to hold out against bandits and grimm for as long as you did." Qrow shook her hand. "But with cargo like that, I take it you're not just merchants passing through."
Bulma shook her head. "Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Bulma Schnee. That's my father, Dr. Brief Schnee, and my mother Panchy Schnee."
Qrow rose an eyebrow. "Dr. Brief? As in the leading bio-mechanist?"
"The one and only." Dr. Brief answered. He coughed a bit before moving away from his wife to stand tall. "It's a pleasure."
"The pleasure's ours. But I think we should get the hell out of this forest before we continue. I'd hate to say but your cargo is pretty much lost. Grab anything you can't leave behind and we'll escort you to Covedale."
"That's where we were headed anyway." Bulma called as she went to scrounge through what was left of their cargo. "We were gonna catch a bullhead to Patch."
"Seems we've got the same destination then."
"That's wonderful!" Panchy cried. Dr. Brief nodded his agreement.
"Even with this loss, we will spare no expense in repaying you both for this." He declared.
Jaune was about to open his mouth to refute Dr. Brief but Qrow elbowed him. "Thanks. We didn't do this for compensation but we'd be grateful for any reward you deem necessary."
The younger teen rose an eyebrow quizzically at Qrow, but bit his tongue either way. He hoped Qrow wasn't just being greedy.
After a few more minutes of Bulma and Dr. Brief grabbing some things from the wreckage, the small group made their way back to a beaten path and began to head towards their destination. They were quiet at first for a while until both Jaune and Qrow relaxed. The odds of another attack the closer they got to a main road decreased substantially.
"So what were you guys transporting that required such discretion?" Jaune asked Bulma as she looked over a small black box in her hand. She jumped a bit at the question before blushing sheepishly.
"Well, most of it is confidential. Stuff me and my dad are experimenting on for now. Patent issues and such." She mumbled. "Using a bullhead to get our stuff to Covedale wouldn't have been very dangerous, but we were trying to be careful. Thankfully the most important data we need is in here." She showed Jaune the black box. "Replacing the hardware is going to be annoying, but manageable."
Jaune nodded. "But the fact that you all decided to rough it with just your family means it has to be something groundbreaking right?"
Bulma admired how astute Jaune seemed to be. Not just the typical muscle headed fighter a lot of huntsman turned out to be. Plus he wasn't that much younger than herself. He seemed about 16 or 17 while she had just turned 19. She found it refreshing to be able to talk with someone around her age without feeling like an egg head.
"Again, I can't really give you any details. It would make all this secrecy pointless if I did. But yeah, what we're doing could possibly change the entirety of the technological world. Hell, we could make Vale the leader of technology over Atlas."
"In due time." Dr. Brief called from next to Qrow. "But please refrain from saying anymore."
Bulma blushed in embarrassment and shot Jaune a sorry look. The teen just shrugged and chuckled.
"Well how about your family?" Jaune started. "If I remember correctly, aren't the Schnee based in Atlas? Are you not part of the SDC?"
The frown that marred Bulma's face was mirrored with her father. "We're...distant relatives...to the main Schnee family." She answered.
Dr. Brief scoffed. "My cousin, Willow Schnee, married the current head of the SDC, Jacques Schnee. That pompous oaf and I never saw eye to eye and I moved my family here to Sanus. We've cut most contact with them, though I still talk to my cousins occasionally."
Qrow let out a huff of understanding. "I can relate. Family isn't always the easiest to get along with…"
Jaune, on the other hand, could only think about his two remaining siblings in Saphron and Amethyst. He wondered if they were okay. But mostly, he wondered if they still hated him...
Seeing the look on Jaune's face, Bulma's frown soon left as she looked up at him. "Doesn't matter though!" She called to get his attention. "We're going to make a name for the 'Brief' family, not the Schnee."
Qrow held back a smirk at the blush that adorned Dr. Brief. He heard him mumble something about 'That name is ridiculous' and chuckled as Panchy giggled at her husbands misfortune.
In only another ten minutes, the group hit a paved road and just further down was the entrance to the town they were headed to. In the short time, the small group had grown somewhat close, with Dr. Brief and Qrow discussing drinks they loved and Bulma and Jaune discussing weapon and armor tech. Even Panchy joined the two when the subject came to cooking and Jaune now had several recipes he wanted to test out.
He even found out that Bulma and Panchy had several green houses where they were attempting to solve the food crisis. Panchy herself while not a mechanical scientist, was a Horticultural Scientist. She had developed the popular Aurorus Fruit. It was a fruit high in Vitamin B and C that could only grow in extreme cold. Even more, it could somewhat replenish a persons aura and promote minor healing. It was a breakthrough that if the fruit could be grown on normal fertile soil would have been the number one must have item for hunters and huntress. However, due to its limited growing option, it was a fairly expensive and extremely sought after fruit. Usually it could only be given to those associated with well known hunting associations.
"So you've got the best of both worlds." Jaune noted to Bulma as the group approached the wall of Covedale.
The blue haired woman blushed and looked away. She hadn't exactly made a name for herself yet, but the few that knew of her skills praised her and had high hopes for her future. "I was lucky enough to be interested in all forms of science. Even luckier that these two are my parents. Beyond just creating some of the best technology in the world, I hope we can eventually have a world where the grimm aren't feared and hunters aren't constantly in danger."
Jaune was extremely surprised at that. He had never heard of a civilian hoping to make the lives of hunters and huntress easier. From what he had learned on the internet, most companies only wanted to make profit off of the grimm situation. More money was actually thrown at hunter tournaments and public events than actually supplying hunters and huntress with things to defend themselves and others.
"Travel permits and reason for visiting." A voice echoed out of speakers that sat on the walls of Covedale. A large iron gate stood before the group, big enough for two cars to travel side by side. There were two guards atop the wall, but they stood stalwart; always on alert for a threat.
The voice was from a young man inside a booth that was built into the wall. Dr. Brief and Qrow approached the booth and handed the man their travel permits. Seeing that Qrow was a huntsman would have immediately allowed them entry, but seeing Dr. Brief made the man perk up.
"S-sorry for the delay Dr. Schnee and Mr. Branwen!" He stuttered out before opening the gate. Dr. Brief bristled at being called Dr. Schnee but let it go. Qrow just grunted before motioning the others to follow.
Entering Covedale was exciting for Jaune. It would be the first town he visited since leaving Ars Magus. Even more, it was a moderate sized town. Entering Covedale put them on a hill that overlooked the entire town. From his vantage, he immediately took in the entire towns 4 by 4 grid. There were a total of 16 blocks, with 6 of them seeming to be residential houses. The center of town as open and the tallest building looked to be about 5 stories. Past all of the building was a rather large dock area and a small bullhead airport. There was even a dock amusement park with two rollercoasters and a ferris wheel.
Covedale thrived by having a fairly strong defense force, having its entire western edge and most of its northern edge on the ocean, and having a large chunk of mountain to its south, making a natural wall. The only true way into the town was the front gate that was always manned. Jaune was happy to see a place not considered one of the major cities so well protected and maintained. So much so that they could even afford entertainment.
"Well looks like this is where we part ways." Qrow turned to face the 'Brief' family with a somewhat sad smirk. Jaune paused at that, not wanting to go separate ways with their new found friends. A quick glance at Bulma showed she felt the same. "You all probably already have your arrangements so me and the kid are gonna have to go book a flight to Patch for ourselves."
"Nonsense!" Dr. Brief called with a wave of his hand. "There is no way we'd let our saviors travel in some public bullhead! You can ride with us to Patch in style!"
Jaune and Bulma both let out small cheers and blushed sheepishly when eyes fell on them. Panchy seemed to have a gleam in her forever closed eyes as she looked between the two young adults.
"We really shouldn't impose..." Qrow started halfheartedly.
"Think of it as me officially hiring you to escort us to Patch then. I'll pay premium price for you two." Dr. Brief dismissed. It clearly wasn't the first time he had done something like that.
"I'm not an official huntsman yet, sir." Jaune admitted.
"Hm? You say something? I swore all I heard was, 'Thank you Dr. Brief, let's be on our way!'." The old scientist smirked at Jaune before simply turning and heading towards town.
Jaune was flabbergasted but smiled anyway.
"Dad likes you." Bulma chirped as she got behind Jaune and pushed him to get him to move. She fell into step beside him. "He usually never likes young people."
"Saving his life probably had something to do with it." There was a little pride in Jaune's reply, but no ego.
"Saving his family probably meant more." Bulma corrected with a grateful gaze. "Thanks again."
Jaune shook his head. "Anytime and anyday. That's the hunter way."
The group was silent for a moment.
"Cheesy, but I like it." Qrow answered. "Just don't say it on national tv or anything."
Unfortunately the group wouldn't have time to sight see around the town. Jaune made a note to return to the town and hit up the amusement park. Bulma agreed to come with him. As much as she had been through Covedale, she hadn't spent any leisure time there.
The group made their way to the airport and were quickly signed in by Dr. Brief. After being checked and led through a few back hallways, the group found themselves at the Doctors private jet.
"Don't think me vain," Dr. Brief started. "But discretion doesn't need to be stuffy."
"Having money means having fun sometimes." Bulma agreed.
"Until I saw this, I wouldn't have really believed you all were this rich." Jaune joked. Bulma bumped him playfully, giving an indignant huff.
"I'd rather spend 1000 lien on servos than clothes, sue me."
The ride to Patch was spent in jovial conversation, though Dr. Brief excused himself to make several calls. It would only take about an hour for the jet to reach Patch. Jaune looked out the window and swallowed. He could see Beacon off in the distance. He knew it was the school from what Qrow had described to him as well as the few pictures he had seen on the internet.
About 10 minutes before they would land, Qrow called Jaune over to him. The two sat alone, Qrow asking the small family for privacy for the moment.
"Alright kid, I waited a while but the curiosity is killing me."
"I thought you were a crow, not a cat."
The deadpan look from Qrow made Jaune scratch his head sheepishly.
"Right, serious time."
The blonde teen took a moment to get his thoughts together. "I wish I could explain it better. That energy I told you about, ki. I learned that it's like having a separate aura. Or even magic." He whispered the last part. Qrow's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward as Jaune continued to whisper.
"Qrow...I can channel that energy far more precisely than I could ever with aura. You saw me throw a ball of ki that looked like energy. I can rapid fire them, I can charge them. And it feels just as natural as aura, maybe even more so. I think...I think there may be more to my semblance than just a power boost. Maybe my semblance is this ki energy, and I haven't even scratched the surface of what I can do with it."
"But you said it isn't powered by aura. It's separate right? Then I doubt that it's your semblance at all Jaune."
The teen looked away at that. Qrow rose an eyebrow before his eyes narrowed.
"You knew that already didn't you?"
"...Yeah…" Jaune admitted. "I figured whatever I was able to do wasn't my semblance. But...I don't understand Qrow. This power has been a blessing so far but…" He trailed off. Qrow knew he was thinking about that night 10 years ago.
"Hey, look at me lil bro." Qrow placed a hand on Jaune's wrist, making him look in his eyes. "You're not a monster, no matter what anyone says. Believe me, there are powers in this world that are just as hard to explain as your ki. It's just another thing that's unknown to people, but it doesn't make it wrong."
Qrow really wanted to tell Jaune about magic and the maidens, but it just wasn't his story to tell. After all that time, Oz still hadn't decided whether or not to trust Jaune with the information. Qrow himself didn't want to get Jaune caught up in the web of secrets yet either. However, he couldn't deny that Jaune was probably already within his own little fairy tale hell.
Jaune nodded at Qrow's words but didn't know how much he could accept them. His power was an anomaly, even among semblances.
The last of the ride was somber for the most part until Bulma and Panchy drug the two back over to discuss Jaune cooking. By the time the bullhead landed, everyone was back in good spirits.
The group landed in a small port town called Valkenhayn Village. It wasn't nearly as large as Covedale; most of the village was taken up by the small bullhead airport and shipping wharf. The small residential area was made up of a few small houses, a pub, and what was probably supposed to be a town hall. The wall that protected the town was shabby at best. Jaune frowned at the disparity between Valkenhayn and Covedale.
Seeming to notice his ire, Qrow placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Get used to it kid. This is the sight of most villages. Covedale just happens to be a major trade port. Plus it's not run by a shithead like this place."
"Who's the village leader?" Jaune asked.
Bulma approached and heard Jaune's question. She scoffed as she pointed to a large picture of a man with blonde hair wearing regal looking clothes and a mask that covered his eyes and nose. "That shithead, named Relius Clover. A pompous, egotistical, shits-for-brain, fuckwad of an asshole that would rather see his town overrun with grimm than go a day without caviar."
Qrow was taking a swig from his flask before Bulma's tirade and began to choke in shock. Jaune was surprised by Bulma's language too but had to stifle laughter at Qrow's reaction. He patted the mans back with chuckles while Bulma had the grace to blush in embarassment.
"Sorry...it's just that guy really pisses me off." The blue haired woman huffed and began to walk towards the exit of the airport.
"Yes, he does have a face you could just punch." Jaune added with mirth. As they exited the building, Jaune noticed Dr. Brief and Panchy weren't with them. "You're parents running late?"
Bulma shook her head. "They're gonna call me when our ride gets here. Said we should just hang out in town for a bit. But if you asked me, the sooner we're out of this shithole the better."
"Here here." Qrow agreed, having recovered gracefully from his coughing fit.
"UNCLE QROW?" The excited voice of a young girl echoed loudly, stopping all three in their tracks. In the blink of an eye, a blur of red and black, as well as rose petals, slammed into Qrow.
"What the heck? Ruby?"
Jaune looked to Qrow to find a cute dark haired girl clinging to his arm with a hug. He and Bulma exchanged looks before looking back at the man.
"Hi Uncle Qrow! Did ya miss me?"
"Nope." Was his natural answer before he realized they were quite a way from the Rose/Xiao Long household. "Hold up, what are you doing here Pipsqueak?"
Ruby let go of Qrow's arm and pulled out a bullhead ticket. "Dad finally said I could go into Vale by myself. I was gonna go check out all the cool weapon and dust shops! Wanna come? Please, please, pretty please?!"
The girls boundless energy was infectious and Jaune and Bulma couldn't help but smile. Jaune was even more ecstatic to finally meet one of Qrow's nieces. She was exactly how Qrow had described her, but somehow even cuter.
"How can you say no to that Qrow?" Jaune teased. Ruby finally took notice of the two people with her uncle and let out an adorable 'eep' before using her semblance to hide behind Qrow.
"Still haven't grown outta that I see." Qrow chuckled as he turned to the side so Ruby couldn't hide behind him. "That's Jaune pipsqueak. And the blue haired nerd is Bulma."
"Hey!" Bulma shouted indignantly.
Ruby looked at Jaune shyly, playing with the hem of her dress. "Um...it's nice to meet you Jaune...um, uncle Qrow mentioned you a long time ago…" She clearly wasn't used to meeting new people. Plus, whatever Qrow told to Ruby had to be from when he was about 7 or 8 years old. Jaune glanced at Qrow with a questioning gaze.
The older man just shrugged. "She was a weapon nerd just like you."
"Do you still like making babies Jaune?" Ruby suddenly called excitedly. She appeared right in front of Jaune with her semblance, making both him and Bulma blink.
"B-babies?" Jaune stuttered.
"She means weapons...I think…and hope…" Bulma helped.
"Yeah, like my baby Crescent Rose!" Ruby moved her cloak aside in the same swift motion unsheathed a massive black and red scythe. "It's a mecha-shift scythe that's also a high-impact sniper rifle! It even modified it recently to have standard bolt action rounds for mid-range!" She suddenly folded the weapon down until it was a compact gun that she could aim easily.
"Ruby, not at the airport!" Qrow suddenly called, grabbing the girl and forcing her to put Crescent Rose away.
The girl pouted, ready to whine to her uncle, however, the sparkles in Jaune's eyes drew her attention.
"SCREW THE AIRPORT, LET'S GO SOMEWHERE SO YOU CAN SHOW ME YOUR BABY IN DETAIL!" Jaune shouted and grabbed the girl before dashing towards the town, leaving a dust cloud in his wake.
Bulma and Qrow looked at the fading sight of the two.
"What have you done?" Bulma asked.
Qrow pulled out his flask and held it to his lips before pausing and deciding to hold off for then. With a sigh, he began to trudge after the two weapon nerds.
"I've doomed us all..."
Not the ending I planned really. I had hoped to be at the Rose/Xiao Long residence this chapter and adventures in Vale next chapter. However, introducing the 'Brief' family was a bit more fun than I expected it to be. Let me know if you would like to see more of them later on, specifically Bulma. If not, they'll all be taking a backseat until the plot needs them again. Next chapter will be with the Rose/Xiao Long family and possibly the intro to Vale.
Til Next Time Loves~