Welp, another month, another chapter. Hope you all are doing fine.
Vale: The Vital Festival's First Week
Jaune walked through the packed streets of Vale as many onlookers crowded around various screens on the streets. The first fight of the day was something that he had to use all his strength to not obsess over it.
The fight between his nieces and their team against one from Haven. He was a bit torn as for all the hatred he felt for Ozma he was still proud of Yang and Ruby for all they've managed to do.
But he forced himself to turn away from the screens and walked through the streets as a normal passerby.
He passed a bar with a fairly simple name, the Crowbar, and was barely shocked by what he saw inside. Qrow, drinking his morning away, and making idol chat with the bar tender.
Jaune walked in and sat himself next to the drunken huntsman.
"Uh, you aren't a minor are you ?" The bar tender asked, eyeing Jaune over. Jaune passed him an ID and he nodded before going back to his glass cleaning.
"So, how's your journey been ?" Qrow asked, his speech seemingly sober.
"Ok, ran into a lot of nuisances, Sapentaoi was broken, and I have some kind of regenerating half-grimm rival now" Jaune summerized.
Qrow looked at him as if he was crazy for a second before downing his glass of liquor. The bartender was busy preparing drinks for another set of patrons.
"What are you gonna do then ?" Qrow pondered.
"Bury him" Jaune stated.
"Pretty blunt way of putting it" Qrow retorted.
"Just my point" Jaune said as he stood up and walked out of the bar. Qrow following suit as an Atlas ship approached from the sky.
Jaune walked through the city scape before finding himself at the air docks leading to Beacon. He breathed a sigh before ordering a bullhead ticket to the Beacon grounds.
His every nerve screamed to get the hell out of there as he sat down in the bullhead and adjusted his scarf to cover his lower face.
He gripped his seat tightly as the the bullhead took off and he closed his eyes in an attempt to take his mind off the fact that he was now flying in a metal box hundreds of feet above the ground.
He breathed in a calming, deep pattern, as the flight ended and the craft landed.
He picked himself up and got out of the flying death machine as fast as he could, bags in hand.
Jaune walked past the crowds at the arena grounds, concession stands as far as the eye could see. Some gave him a quick glance while others ignored him.
Jaune waded through the crowds before a familiar voice reached his ears.
He could recognize it anywhere, it was Ruby's.
He followed it, passing several stands and multiple crowds of people.
He then made it, their backs were too him and it wasn't just Ruby. Both Ruby and Oscar's teams were there.
Most were just talking, enjoying themselves, though Oscar seemed to be holding his stomach.
Jaune considered what to say, what to do, for about a second. He then breathed calmly and approached.
"Well. Well. Well. It's been a long time since we've seen each other" Jaune greeted, drawing the attention of the occupants at the stand.
The two teams turned to Jaune and he was met with mixed reactions.
The trio he had worked to help train was first, excited smiles widened across their faces.
The faunus girl, Blake if he could remember, and the heiress, Weiss, had looks of confusion.
The Valkyrie and Ninja Boy, Nora and Ren, seemed like they had just seen someone that they hadn't for a long time.
Miss Nikos had a mixture of all three.
"UNCLE JAUNE" Ruby shouted in joy as she leapt from her seat and wrapped him in a hug. Yang following suit while Oscar just smiled and waved.
"Uncle ?" Weiss. "Yeah, he's their uncle Jaune, wasn't around much but he's a nice guy" Oscar answered.
"And we haven't heard about him much because?" Blake asked.
"The topic just never really popped up" Oscar said.
Jaune put an arm around the two girls' as they continued trying to crush him in a death hug. He chuckled before pulling them off him and taking an unoccupied seat at the stand.
Yang and Ruby returned to their seats while Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora decided to chip in.
"You seem quite familiar" Ren stated. "I get that a lot" Jaune responded. "You look like you got drove through a mountain" Nora said. "I also get that a lot" Jaune said.
"You seem to be quite the experienced huntsman" Pyrrha said.
"Yep, been at it for a long time" Jaune said, taking a seat next to the teams then ordering some food.
"Well, it is nice to see you all again" Jaune said.
"All?" asked the two teams.
"Yes all, While Yang, Oscar, and Ruby know me the most I have met each of you before, you probably just don't remember me" Jaune explained.
Jaune proceeded to eat his newly arrived food while the two teams were just left wondering.
When he was finished he left the lien for the meal and got up. "Anyway it was good seeing you guys, good luck with the Vytal festival" he said as he started walking away.
"Also Qrow's here" he said as he began gaining distance.
"Wait, you can't just show up then leave you at least make small talk" Ruby said, as she burst from her seat and grabbed his arm.
"Sorry, there's some things I have to do in Vale that will take me a long time, but I will be cheering you guys on for the Vytal festival" Jaune responded before shaking off Ruby's grip and walking away.
Yang and Oscar rushed to join Ruby, trying to keep him there just a little bit longer. Yet they were unsuccessful as Jaune sped up and vanished between the crowds.
The three returned to their teams with glum expressions. Yet it was dashed the moment the next set of fights were called.
Jaune sighed as he rubbed his face while walking between the crowds. He hated himself for having to be so blunt to the three but it felt necessary. If he could just keep them away from Ozpin's machinations for just a little bit longer then they could live better lives.
His train of thoughts then changed to the teammates of the three. The heiress of the largest dust company with daddy issues and a diminishing high horse. The daughter of the mayor of Menagerie who also fought in the White Fang, during both its peaceful era and its spree of senseless violence. These were the two girls that were partnered up with his nieces.
He had met them both before, neither being how he had expected to meet those of their stature. He smiled about at the memories.
Jaune stood still as he kept himself from puking due to the movement of the train. This train was recently built and was quite fast. The other passengers in the room were a pair of sisters, one was dressed in an Atlas academy uniform while a sabre was kept close to her. The other was smaller than the first, busy reading a book on dust combination while a small training sword was kept close to her.
There were several similarities between the two; from their white hair too their porcelain skin he could tell these two were sister by blood. The most glaring part being the fact that the two carried themselves with a similar air of superiority.
Both would glance every so often only too turn back, their expressions a mix of pity and disgust.
Jaune had tried small talk yet neither would listen to him. So he just kept a grip on part of his bed while the world passed by.
Hours seemed to pass before the silent suffering was interrupted by a slight nuisance... For him anyway.
A large Nevermore began circling over the train, now amount of fire power that the defense turrets held seemed to stop it before it took its first strike.
Grimm seemed to amass underneath it as its claws struck the train, severing the connection and throwing the mass of metal tumbling to the ground.
Jaune reacted quickly to the situation.
Grabbing Sapentaoi he rushed to the girls and used his body to shield them from debris and shrapnel while holding them to stop either from being flung around as the two screamed in fear.
Metal warped and snapped as the train car struck the ground and the screaming of other passengers began to echo through the wreckage.
Jaune let the two go and dusted himself off, glass and metal bits dropping off him. He turned to the two and watched as they kept a strong grip on their weapons, and one another.
"What the hell happened?" the younger asked.
"Train crash, grimm can get quite brutal if they attack just the right way" Jaune explained as he grabbed his bag out of the cabinet, which was miraculously unharmed.
The two let go as they started grabbing their bags and holding their weapons close.
"How come you're so calm?" the older asked.
"Not my first train crash, not my first grimm attack, not my first train crash caused by a grimm attack" Jaune summerized as he pulled Pars Lunea out of its holster and began loading it.
Any cohesion was stopped as the growling of a beast made itself known, the shattered remains of the window giving them the veiw of an Ursa Major as it got closer.
The older pulled the younger behind her and held her sabre in a guard stance. Jaune glanced at her and put a finger to his lips in a shushing motion.
He calmly walked out of windowsill, much to the shock of the girls, and approached the large bear Grimm. The Ursa barely had a chance to realise that a man was close to it before its head crashed into the ground.
Jaune sheathed Sapentaoi and returned to the windowsill and held his hand out.
"Come one now, the Grimm aren't a patient bunch and there are a lot of other people out here" Jaune said while gesturing for the girls to follow.
The girls swallowed their momentary shock, grabbed their bags, and got out of the train through the windowsill.
The two followed Jaune as he cut down any grimm in sight and pulled anyone he found out of the wreckage. By the end of it they had a large mob armed with anything from huntsman grade weapons too decently shaped pieces of scrap.
The shadow of the nevermore loomed overhead once more as it swooped down and took a large talon full of people into the sky. The rest scrambled into finding spots as Jaune watched the beast through its shadow.
He withdrew Sapentaoi and began charging the kinetic energy into his sword. The Nevermore swooped down once more with its talons ready to slice him to peaces.
A shockwave broke the treeline as the Nevermore seemed unharmed as it lifted itself back into the air.
This notion was quickly dashed as the beast seemed to split into two when it tried turning. It's two halves plummeted to the earth while many of the other grimm started a retreat, lest they be cut down by either the man or the mob.
Jaune breathed a sigh of relief as he sheathed Sapentaoi and the people cheered.
Cheered for Jaune's victory.
Cheered for their own survival.
Jaune took a seat as many of the people prepared a rescue beacon while others started prepping meals. The two girls ran up to him and asked him something.
"What's your name sir, we never got it" the younger one asked. Jaune chuckled and answered; "Its Jaune, just Jaune". The two nodded before Jaune asked his own question; "Now what are your names? I never really got to talk to you two before this mess started".
The two girls nodded and answered; "My name's Winter Schnee, this is my younger sister Weiss Schnee, we are thankful you helped to save us and everyone else" The now named winter answered.
Jaune chucklef once more and responded; "Just doing my duty as a huntsman".
'It took two days for rescue to arrive, probably cause the heiress was there' Jaune thought as he remembered the faces of the two schnee girls as they tried to stop him from leaving when the rescue crews were pulling people into bullheads and treating those who needed it.
His mind then shifted to Blake, his encounter with her was much tamer than the his encounter with Weiss, yet it was interesting none the less.
Jaune held an umbrella close to him as he treked through the Vale forests in the midst of a rainstorm. He had no particular destination in mind, he had already visisted his nieces and student, there was no big grimm attack.
He just walked for the longest time before a sound stopped him. It was a most quiet and small sound, yet noticeably never the less. The sneezing of a small child.
Jaune glanced around the forest looking for the source before another sneeze made itslef known.
He turned to where he thought he heard it from and waited. It wasn't long before a third sneeze was heard from that direction.
Jaune followed the sound of the sneezes before finding a small shelter made of leaves and twigs. He looked around the sight of the shelter, found nothing, then looked inside.
He heard a gasp as the sight of a young girl, a young faunus girl at that, crawled back as far as she could inside the shelter and trembling at the very sight of him.
He was quite intimidating, with all his baggy and clothes heavy sense of fashion making it hard to tell his facial features.
The girl was trembling as she saw she was backed in as far as she could. A knife was close to her but she was hesitant to grab it.
Jaune's investigation was abruptly stopped as a yell grabbed his attention before something crashed into him.
Jaune turned back as groaning was heard from the boy, also a faunus from the horns on his head, that had most likely just tried to tackle Jaune.
He stood up as the boy put up his fists and Jaune got a better look at him. His hair and horns were blazen red while bandages covered much of the left side of his head. His entire body seemed to be soaked and a pile of wet wood near the sight showed he had been trying to get some way of warming up. The boy had both of his fists up while his face held deep anger.
"Get away from her" The boy said curtly, as though he was attempting both a demand and a command.
Jaune held his hands up in a mock surrender before digging them into his pockets and standing up.
"I wasn't trying anything, so don't be so brash kid" Jaune said as the boy attempted to rush him again.
Jaune sidestepped this time and the boy barely stopped himself from slamming into the shelter.
"Didn't I just say not to do anything brash kid" Jaune said in a parental tone.
"I don't care, just-" the boy's demanding was cut short as the girl started coughing heavily. He glance at Jaune before getting into the shelter in an attempt to help the girl.
Jaune stood in silence as the sound of the two kids whispering with one another was all that left the shelter.
The rain hammered heavier while Jaune sat on a wet log in the sight, keeping his eyes on the entrance to the shelter.
"What if he has medicine?" was the first sentence he heard from the shelter as the girl glanced outside. She was then pulled back by the boy as lightning struck off in the distance.
The following thunder shook the woods while Jaune heard the kids scream.
He had enough, he stood up, walked to the entrance of the shelter, and stuck his head. He was greeted by the sight of the boy holding the girl protectively while he glared at him.
Jaune sighed as he brought his bag out from its caped cover and opened it. He kept a small amount of pharmaceuticals in his bag for situations with people who weren't immortals.
He pulled out a small bottle and placed on the floor. "Its cough medicine, though you should take it in smaller doses as it's made for adults" he explained while taking a spare blanket out of his bag.
The boy seemed unconvinced as he held one of his fists up in case of an emergency. "Why would some guy walking around the woods have cough medicine on him for no reason?" the boy questioned.
"Good question, but another question is what would I gain from trying to hurt or kidnap you?" Jaune questioned the boy back.
The boy didn't seem to care as he just growled at Jaune before taking the bottle.
"You take it first, full dose" he said while pouring the contents of the bottle into its cap.
Jaune didn't objected so he took the cap, opened his lips, and downed it quickly. He barely contained a shudder from the horrid flavor but he'll be damned for his soft spot for the plights of youth.
The boy watched Jaune for any sort of reaction, he probably thought it was poison or a powerful sedative, yet he found nothing.
The boy looked Jaune right in his eyes the entire time he poured a smaller dose in the cap (Jaune reached his hand over to them and made sure it was the proper amount, much to the boy's disdain), before holding to the girl's mouth. She didn't protest much as she downed the medicine, though she did gag at the taste of it.
The boy watched as the girl held onto him, her breathing slightly calmer, before she eventually fell asleep. Jaune put the cough medicine back in his bag as the storm continued outside
The boy just spent the rest of the rainy night watching Jaune from their side of the shelter while Jaune kept an eye on the entrance.
Morning came as Jaune had rings around his eyes from never sleeping. The boy and girl were just waking up before another coughing fit from the girl broke out.
Jaune was quick to pull the medicine out from his bag and pour a dose of proper size for the girl. She took it without much hesitation, though the boy protested it, and fought through the gagging sensation of its taste.
Jaune sealed the bottle once again and walked out of the shelter with his bag, the bottle being left for the girl.
The boy ran out and got in Jaune's way and asked him; "Why did you help us?" while glaring at him.
"What's wrong with a man helping kids in need?" Jaune questioned back.
"But we're faunus, don't you humans hate us?" the boy just about yelled.
"What reasons would I have to hate two kids out in the woods?" Jaune shot back.
Their talk was interrupted by the girl walking out of the shelter and resting on the nearby log "We were protesting, they sent dogs after us and we got separated from everyone" she said, slightly drowsy from the medicine.
Jaune gave the boy a look, something along the lines of 'see was that so hard?'.
"Alright, sense she answered my question I'll answer yours" he said as he sat on the log next to the girl.
"Remnat is locked in an eternal conflict; on one side stands us, human and faunus-" he points at himself then at the boy while saying this. "- On the other side... is the grimm, all this petty conflict over human supremacy does nothing more than drive rifts between people, making it easier for the grimm to overpower us" he explained.
The boy seemed unconvinced however and just glared at him.
"What I'm saying is that as long as there are people, and some faunus, who believe that they're superior because of some genetics then Remnant will never truly safe" Jaune clarified while the girl got closer too him.
"What's your name?" she asked. "Jaune" he responded. The girl nodded before her eyes grew heavier. "Mine's Blake" she said before falling asleep, leaning into Jaune's side as she did.
The boy looked at Jaune before walking over and picking Blake up. He took her back into the shelter then walked back out.
"Now something else important while I'm still here, do you kids have any food?" Jaune asked while looking at the boy. The boy was about to answer before the growling of his stomach made itself known. Jaune seemed to nod at this and ran his hand into his bag, pulling out a small pack of what seemed to be canned food.
"Vacuo grade canned survival food, doesn't taste the best but it fills your gut" Jaune explained as he put the cans down near the boy.
The boy was hesitant for a second before he took the cans. He inspected each of the for anything malicious before reading the label on the side.
"They're prepared so you just have to open and eat" Jaune said.
The boy then took initiative and brought out a knife, Jaune wasn't sure where it came from but hey he's opening it, and plunged it through the can's lid.
He then tore the lid off and started drowning its contents. Jaune got closer and slowed the kid down. "Not so fast, you might cut yourself on it" he said as the boy just enjoyed the feeling of food in his stomach again.
The boy them walked into the shelter then back out, the can left with Blake. Jaune passed the rest of the pack to the boy as he nodded and took them into the shelter.
"Now one last thing" Jaune stated, confusing the boy. Jaune put his hand on the boys shoulder and spoke.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release my soul and by my shoulder protect thee". As Jaune spoke a glow of white fire gleamed off of his person and into the boy. The boy's body seemed to respond with a manifestation of crimson waves. Jaune then took his hand off the boy's shoulder, causing the glow to disappear from both of them.
"What was that?" the boy asked as he patted himself. "I unlocked your aura, you're going to need it in these woods" Jaune explained as he channeled his aura into his hand and the white fire returned.
The boy was mesmerized before trying the same with his. Only a faint glow of crimson waves appeares, leaving the boy disappointed.
"Its so small" he said. "Its only just been unlocked, no one's is ever that big when its first unlocked" Jaune explained while the boy nodded.
"Adam, my name is Adam" the boy said as he picked up the knife.
Jaune looked at the kid as he picked up his bag. "Alright Adam, I'll be going, if you can remember what I said when I unlcoked yours then you could unlock Blake's" Jaune said as he started leaving the sight.
"I'll remember everything you said" Adam shouted as Jaune disappeared between the treeline.
Jaune finished reminiscing as he stopped in front of a dust shop. Blake and Adam were reunited with their fellow White Fang members just a few days later. Though by now the White Fang was a violent mess, neither of them seemed to be with it anymore.
Blake was now a huntress in training alongside his nieces and the schnee heiress, a bit ironic when you think about it.
Adam on the other hand, last he heard the man was breaking underground slaver dens with intense ferocity.
Jaune was quite proud of them, all of them.
His thoughts continued as he browsed the various shelves. Yet they were interrupted by the sound of the door opening, the clerk cowering, and a familiar voice defending all the dust in the shop.
Jaune sighed as he as going to get some answers.
So yeah, its a bit later than most updates. Its mostly exposition. But this is telling you guys somethings.
1. Adam isn't a bad guy in this.
2. Jaune knows each member of both teams (I'll do the storys for the NPR side some later chapter).
3. Some more plot points.
Either way, have a good day. Keep up with social distancing and other Covid precautions. Hope you guys enjoyed this.