Hope you all enjoy the latest Chapter!
Chapter 9
Whitback stood at the center of a mass of tendrils that webbed outwards around the forest, whatever wasn't completely destroyed by his attack was now covered in the black veined material. It designed the attack to cover as wide of an area as possible, hoping to have killed or at least seriously injured its prey.
"The chances of all of you surviving that were minimal at best." Whitback couldn't believe it failed to dispose of a single target with that attack, it may have been impossible to precisely aim it but its devastation was undeniable.
"Maybe you're just unlucky?" Qrow drew whitbacks attention, was he really mocking it? The grin of his face suggested he did not think very much of the attack. "You… are different from them." Whitback motioned to the nearby faunus, one of which was knocked unconscious from the impact while the other struggled to stand.
"Well, I do have a big scythe." He replied without missing a beat, giving a careless shrug and spinning his weapon around as if to prove his point. "Yes, I suppose you do" Whitback hesitated for a moment, it just released out a lot of biomass and didn't want to lose more by attacking recklessly.
Qrow flew towards Whitback suddenly, his scythe spinning and slashing its way through the web of material with ease. Whitback, now with minimal material, acted quickly and withdrew its body from the armor and weapons to strengthen them further, giving a pure white appearance.
The impact that hit Whitback's shield a moment later shook Jaune's body within the armor, causing Whitback to lash out with its blade only for it to be deflected by the massive spinning scythe. The scythe bit into the armor a second later and sent Whitback a few feet away with a loud thud.
"Damn you're heavy, been eating too much?" The man looked at his scythe thoughtfully, he seemed bored more than anything. Whitback let out a furious growl while jumping to its feet. This was not supposed to be happening, even James's specialists failed to hit so much force.
Whitback wouldn't wait this time, lunging in for the attack and attempting to skewer the arrogant bastard. That earned a scoff and a smashed head as the back of the scythe contacted its helmet, cracking the white material.
Qrow didn't let up, spinning around he came with a combination of attacks that Whitback struggled to block. The rapid succession of attacks forced Whitback to put more material into its shield, weakening the armor as its body spread into it to move said material.
Suddenly Qrow shifted his attack and sent the back of the blade to Whitback's stomach with a loud crack before spinning once more and sending him directly downwards. The armor shattered with a crash, sending splinters of bone-like material everywhere.
"A kid?" Qrow sounded confused but Whitback wasn't listening, it needed to think of something quickly to protect Jaune. "You awake kid? Cause I'm gonna need some answers." Whitback remained silent, choosing instead to prepare material underneath Jaune and wait for the hunter to get closer.
Qrow took another step, leaning down to flip the kid over, he didn't expect a deathly white hand to come from underneath the unmoving body and grab him. "The he-!?" He tried to jumped backwards but Whitback already had ahold of him and refused to budge.
He slashed at the black veined arm instinctively, attempting to severe the material but tendrils suddenly sprung from the child's body at the same moment. At such a close range and with a steeled grip keeping him from jumping away, Qrow began to feel the pressure.
Whitback focused on wrapping around whatever limb it could get to and tightening to restrict movement. It was surprised by the human's strength as he continued to struggle but Whitback just pushed more material as thousands needles began to work away his aura.
"Jaune That's enough!" Ironwood's voice bellowed forth, causing Whitback to freeze suddenly while its victim to let out a confused "Huh…?".
"Put him down" Whitback hesitated for a second before relenting, Qrow had only tried to stop Whitback, not kill Jaune. Perhaps it overreacted but it was only following the "no witnesses" order.
"Jaune's unconscious, the White Fang had a powerful semblance on their side." Whitback explained while withdrawing its material from Qrow and the surrounding area. Jaune's body twitched slightly before standing up a bit unsteadily, still recovering from Qrow's attack.
"Ironwood!? you can't be serious!" Qrow reverted his scythe into its sword form but didn't sheath it. "What the hell is this?!" Whitback would have listened further but got distracted by the notable lack of faunus. "James! I'm going after those White Fang." Whitback yelled out, interrupting the arguing men.
"Whitback stop! The mission is already failed, it's time to retreat." Ironwood's voice left little room for argument.
"You don't say? You sure you don't want to let your pet directly into the city?!" Qrow added, clearly furious with Ironwood's secret.
"They were the ones to burned his family…" Whitback muttered more to himself, ignoring the bickering men. Jaune still suffered from that fateful day, and Whitback couldn't let the cause of such pain escape without retribution. Jaune? I know you're still a bit sore but it's time to wake up.
\-/
"W-what…?"Jaune had trouble thinking straight at first, like waking up suddenly from a unexpected nap. I found them. The voices that left you to burn. Jaune went rigid, the smell of smoke already filling his nostrils as the memories began flashing across his mind.
"...You what?" His voice was barely above a whisper, he must have misheard Whitback. The ones that took your family. Jaune could see them now, scattered around the burning building. A blank look in his mother's remaining eye, charred flesh covering the rest of her face.
"Where…" The word was strained, not a question but a demand. I can follow their scent, they've fled but I've exhausted them. They can't be far. Jaune took a shaky breath, trying to ignore the smoke that choked his lungs and the fire that burned his eyes. "Lead me to them…"
"They won't escape!" Whitback hastily wrapped a thin layer of material around Jaune and sharpened the fingertips for better traction. With little wind up Jaune bolted forward, letting Whitback weave around the trees while he focused on going faster allowed them to leave both Ironwood and Qrow far behind.
It didn't take long for Whitback and Jaune to sense aura but they were surprised to find only a single one standing on the edge of a town. "Cowards!" Jaune roared, the innocents would surely get caught in the collateral if Whitback went all out inside a city.
They landed in front of the cat faunus who remained just outside the town. Why didn't she attempt to hide like the other? Jaune shook the thought and extended his arm while Whitback created a jagged blade in his hand.
"Why do you remain? Why not follow your cowardly partner into the city? It would be far more difficult to hunt you if others got involved." The faunus glared at them, clearly displeased with the question.
"They have nothing to do with this. I won't run from you if it means innocent people will get hurt!" The emotion in her voice drove a spike in Jaune's mind, she had to be lying! "Liar! You let an entire family die without turning back!" Jaune tore off his helmet and glared at the young teenager.
"You left me to burn." He hissed while readying his blade to take her head off, with low aura it wouldn't be too difficult. She looked confused for a second before the light of recognition flashed in her eyes "At the train station… You were apart of that family…"
"Yes… I was." He looked downward, the lump in his throat refusing to budge. "The last words I heard were "For the WhiteFang"... before you friend blew my family to PIECES!" He lunged forward suddenly, planning to skewer and devour the girl alive.
But she just leaned back and let her weapons fall to the side, a mournful expression on her face twisting Jaune's gut. His blade smashed into the dirt at her feet, Jaune having dropped it he to grab her by the collar.
"WHY!?" He couldn't stop tears from falling, though he barely noticed them as he shook the girl. "Why were they taken from me…?" He needed to know the reason why someone had to take them away. Why he was left alone.
\-/
Blake couldn't look away from the face of a person no older than her, begging for an answer she knew wouldn't make him feel better.
"He lost his wife." She spoke quietly and looked away "She died inside the Schnee mines, a common occurrence but that only drove him further into despair." She paused for a moment to steady her breathing.
"He decided to get revenge… I tried to stop him but…" She could remember hearing about it from Adam, that his father decided to sacrifice himself "for the cause" and force the SDC to listen.
"...But I was too slow." She felt herself shake, she remembered seeing the corpses of the boys family, trying to convince Adam to help but in the end choosing to run away. Like she always did.
The armored boy let her go and dropped to the ground with a dull thud. "The Schnee's caused it…?" The boy sounded in shock, as if unable to process what she told him. "I-I'm sorry…" She wasn't sure what else to say, he looked so… defeated.
"-ave…" He mumbled something under his breath so softly Blake wasn't sure she heard him properly. "What?" She asked and jumped back when the boy stood and yelled at her to "Leave!".
Without thinking she turned around began running, the emotion in his voice driving more guilt into her heart with each passing step until she was finally some distance away. She had to find a way to make things right but it seemed the further the White Fang went the further the SDC would go to stop them.
Sienna was leading the White Fang down a path that was creating more violence and Adam seemed all too happy to follow her. He didn't even hesitate to use the city as a hiding place from a gruesome foe, he probably already stole a bullhead to report back to Sienna.
She couldn't be apart of that any longer, not after seeing the consequences of the White Fangs violent attacks. She wanted to stop injustice, not get revenge. She would find the right path, even if it meant abandoning the White Fang.
\-/
Jaune wasn't sure how long he had been wandering the streets but the world around him seemed so warped. So wrong. Jacques' company had created the White Fang due to cruel working conditions which could be lethal at times. In return the White Fang attacked an SDC who created Jaune that attacked the White Fang. It was all just some kind of warped circle.
Please answer me Jaune. We need a plan. Was there even plan to have? Jaune had wanted revenge but now? Now he just felt tired. Do you want to hunt down Adam? we should find Ironwood to help with that.
"I… I can't." It felt wrong after what Blake had revealed, he would only bring more faunus to rise against atlas. How many had already joined the White Fang because they heard rumors of Faunus disappearing amidst the White Fang ranks.
The faunus he had devoured and left no trace of, they would always have a family to notice their absence. An absence he understood at a core level.
Then. What do we do? Jaune didn't know how to answer, he had tried to help by stopping the White Fang but that left a bad taste in his mouth now. "We killed a lot of people… didn't we Whitback?" The idea was surreal, almost like it all happened in a dream.
Yes. We couldn't risk survivors coming back for us. We can't risk the same mistake as our en-... previous enemies. Jaune could understand that, but it didn't help the feeling he got while thinking about it.
"Are you alright?" A high pitched voice caused Jaune to spin around in surprise, he hadn't really planned on someone finding him. He saw a young girl through the thin membrane that Whitback covered his body with. The girl jumped back with a yelp, clearly not expecting his face to be covered
Your armor is thin to the point of clothing Jaune, and this person has an aura. Whitback stated and Jaune could feel it begin pushing its body outwards to defend. The girl in turn reached behind her back, a nervous expression on her face as she saw blackened veins crawl outward from his stomach.
"Wait!" Jaune called out but the girl pulled free a weapon from beneath her red cloak, he realised too late his voice probably didn't inspire confidence. "Whitback, I said wait! We look terrifying!" He yelled at Whitback while backing away slowly with his hands up.
"...Who's Whitback?" She asked slowly while aiming a rifle-like weapon at him. "Oh, well that's what I call the grimm living inside me- wow that sounds weird huh?" Jaune hadn't really thought before speaking, still unsure if the girl would shoot him or not his mind was running in circles.
"Yea kinda. Aren't grimm supposed to be bad and attack everything?" Jaune scratched his head at the question, were they? They had never seemed to bother him, they usually ran away rather than attack him.
"I don't know about that but Whitback protects me, he just gets carried away sometimes." As if in response, Whitback spread through and moved the material from his face while mimicking the girls cloak as to still remain ready but appear less threatening.
Now tell her to lower her weapon, else I'm putting the armor back on. Jaune nodded and relayed the message a bit friendlier. "I promise not to hurt anyone. Can you stop aiming at me please?"
She lowered it quickly as if she had forgotten it was raised, her eyes transfixed on his "cloak". "How'd you do that? Is that black and white stuff your semblance?" She sounded a bit nervous but there was curiosity underlining it.
"That's Whitback, I don't have a semblance." Jaune shrugged, it never bothered him before. "Oh…" She said quietly, neither sure what to do as an awkward silence settled on the pair.
"Y-you didn't answer my first question though." She said suddenly, remembering the reason she stopped the boy to begin with. "I asked if you're alright?" She asked innocently, she didn't like seeing other people so sad, even if they had grimm living inside them making their eyes glow red.
"I-" He felt his mouth close, he didn't feel alright. He felt powerless, exhausted and stupid. He had killed so many trying to wipe out a group that had every right to be angry and it was making him feel sick.
"I don't want to kill anyone… But I can't just sit back and watch people get hurt…" He wiped away his tears quickly, trying to hide them from the strange girl but more kept coming. "What can I do…?" He tried to say more but his throat felt so tight he had trouble just breathing steadily.
"H-hey don't cry." she said quietly, putting her gun away and approaching slowly. "I don't know who you killed…" she wrung her hands together, unsure if she should be scared or sympathetic. "But I know you don't have to sit back while people get hurt." She nodded her head more resolutely then she felt.
"I wanted to be a hero! Just like the fairy tales, so I'm becoming a huntress." She smiled and extended a hand. "If you become a hunter I'm sure you can protect lots of people from being hurt." His heart skipped a beat and for a moment he stared at her extended hand.
He slowly reached for her hand, the idea was appealing to say the least. Never did he think of becoming a hunter but the idea had flaws. Huntsmen are charged with fighting the creatures of grimm. I will assist if that's what you want Jaune but I am irreversibly intertwined into your DNA. You will always carry a piece of grimm inside you.
"I'm part grimm, Even if I wanted to I doubt a human school would let me in." It stung to think how most people would think of him, making him back away from the young girl. "I don't belong here. This is a human city." He wasn't human anymore but he had no reason to be among humans.
"nope."
"Nope…?" He looked up at her, confused.
"Nope, you're wrong. You promised not to hurt anyone, so you can stay here if you want." She offered with a kind smile "If you want to be a huntsmen you just have to fight for good! doesn't matter what's inside.
What is good? I thought we were already doing that. Whitback didn't sound very convinced but Jaune couldn't help but mirror the girl's positive smile. "We fought for ourselves Whitback, we fought for revenge." He turned his attention back to the girl in red. "I would like to try… fighting for good."
Someone's coming Jaune, someone with an aura. Jaune immediately thought of his failed mission and what Ironwood might do if he found him. Jaune had never let a witness get away, would James even let him go out again after such a failure?
"I have to go." He couldn't risk being locked away now that he knew what he wanted to do! the girl frowned slightly but gave a nod "If you have to. It was nice meeting you, I'm ruby by the way" She scratched the back of her head with a smile "I hope we meet again someday!"
"Nice meeting you too, I'm Jaune" He returned the smile and gave a wave while turning to run. "And thanks" She helped him, a monsterous looking stranger, for no other reason than to do good. He wanted to do that for someone. He didn't want to hurt people anymore.
I will do my best to assist you in "Fighting for good".
\~/
So this chapter i've introduced Ruby and i truly hope I did her innocence justice. I hope I did Jaune good as well, he is a damaged at this point but still clings to his humanity, just needed a little push in the right direction. I plan to show more about Ozpin's reaction next chapter as well as how he will deal with James keeping Jaune a secret for so long. I can't wait to hear from you all! hope you all have a wonderful morning/evening.
Hope I did Qrow well Sm0keyPanda! nailing the snark was a bit difficult but i think i did well, let me know if you think otherwise! I like fleshing my characters out more.
Thanks for the review Artjom435! Glad you enjoyed it and I really hope I did this one just as well! I focused more on Qrow and Ironwood but by the end of it found a way to have Ruby come in naturally (I hope). Let me know what you think! thanks again for the feedback.