HEEEEEEELLLLLOOOOOOOO! I'm glad to see there were no complaints about the last chapter, despite that I'm pretty sure it wasn't my best chapter.
Also after watching the first episode of RWBY volume 4... *sobbing* MY BABY BOY IS GROWING UP!
"They were here. Ozpin they were here!"
"We are very much aware of that," Glynda responded, her voice laden with sarcasm and anger, "thank you James."
"Fantastic, you're aware," he shot back, "now are we going to do something about it, or should we just stay the course and continue to ignore what is right in front of us?"
Jaune leaned over to Nathaniel and whispered, "so are you going to get involved in this or..."
Nathaniel shook his head, "I value my skin too much."
During the dance last night someone had infiltrated the CCTS tower. All of the guards had been killed, but they had managed to set off an alarm that alerted Ironwood and every Atlesian soldier within a mile of the building to the break in. The general and his men had rushed to the tower, but by the time they had arrived the infiltrator had escaped. Though numerous cameras had caught them on video whoever it had been had been wearing some type of disruptor that had made all footage of them so distorted that it was impossible to tell anything about the appearance of the infiltrator, even gender. Atleasian technicians were hard at work in the tower trying to discover if the intruder had downloaded any documents or planted anything, but so far they had found nothing, and believed that the quick response by Atlas forces had scared off whoever it had been before they had completed their mission.
Ozpin sighed and held his hand up, which immediately silenced both Glynda and Ironwood. "Bickering will get us nowhere," he said calmly. He turned to face Jaune. "Mr. Arc, the night you and your friends went to try and find information on Torchwick and the White Fang, did they gain anything of use? This intruder could have very well been working with them, so anything you know that can contributes to this conversation will help a great deal."
Jaune ran through everything they had learned that night in his mind. After returning to Beacon the three groups had pooled the information they had obtained and filled him in. Yang and Neptune hadn't learned anything of use from her friend, While Pyrrha and Weiss hadn't found anything in the string of robberies that suggested a pattern or specific target. Blake and Sun however... "Blake and Sun infiltrated a White Fang meeting and learned that they have a base of operations southeast of Vale, just outside of the kingdom."
"Well I think our next course of operations is obvious then," said Ironwood as he stepped to the window and stared out of it. "We send as many troops as we can to the southeast. Find out exactly what's going on, and eradicate any forces standing in our way."
Personally Jaune agreed with the General on this matter, despite their little... disagreement the night before. A quick and powerful response was needed to ensure anything worse than a break in couldn't happen. Judging by the fact that Nathaniel was nodding to himself Jaune assumed that his mentor agreed with the good general too.
"Why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado?" It seemed that Glynda did not agree, which made both the squire and the knight take a step backwards towards the safety of the elevator. "You treat every situation like it's a contest of measuring d-"
"Glynda!" interrupted Ozpin before she could say anything too vulgar.
Jaune glanced at Nathaniel in shock, who seemed equally surprised by the outburst.
"Well he does," she defended.
Ozpin turned in his chair to face the teacher and the General as Jaune and Nathaniel stepped forward and stopped on either side of the headmaster. "She's right," the headmaster said after taking a sip of coffee, "as much as I would love to end this situation once and for all we must remember that this may go beyond Vale, beyond Beacon. If this truly is a part of some master plan for which we know not the final move, then we mustn't be so bold." He took another sip of coffee, "nor can we risk the spread of panic."
Ironwood turned and faced Ozpin, a pleading look in his eyes. "I have served you faithfully for years," the look in his eyes hardened with determination, "but if you mean to tell me that your plan is to really hold the defenses and wait-"
Ozpin shoved himself to his feet and pointed at the general, "it is not!" Jaune and Nathaniel stepped back in shock from the sudden outburst from the normally calm headmaster. The headmaster relaxed, but didn't sit back down. "You're a general James. So tell me, when you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag bearer, or the scouts?"
Weiss couldn't believe Jaune had taken such a foolish risk by telling Ozpin what they had learned from their investigation. It was like the dunce was trying to sabotage them! "That was risky, too risky," she scolded.
He opened his mouth to respond, but then shrugged and looked away from her. "Whatever," he muttered.
With some surprise Weiss realized that that was first word he'd said to her since Neptune had asked her to the dance. Ever since that night Jaune hadn't said a single word to her. While she appreciated the silence, and the fact that he seemed to have finally gotten the message that she wasn't interested, she had to admit that it felt... odd not having him flirt with her.
"I think you handled it well," Blake said, shocking Weiss and everyone else by coming to Jaune's defense.
"He already knew about our investigation anyway," Jaune said, only he was speaking to everyone in the room, not just Weiss. "At least this way we can count on his help in getting to the southeast."
"Or him stopping us," countered Weiss. Both teams RWBY and JNPR had met int RWBY's dorm to discuss the meeting Jaune had attended. She didn't know what about being a 'Knight-Lord' or whatever made him so special that he was privy to meetings between a general and a headmaster of a huntsman academy, but at least it meant he could get information straights from the horse's mouth. The horse being Ozpin, Glynda, and the Ironwood.
"Jaune took the only course of action available to him," said Ren calmly. "By informing our superiors of the hide out in the southeast he has ensured that, even if we are not the ones who go there, someone will who can deal with the White Fang."
This time it was Weiss turn to shrug and look away.
"Well enough talking about hide outs and evil terrorist organizations," said Yang as she picked up a tube from off the table. "Rubes and I got a package from our dad, and we're gonna open it!"
"Ooh something from home!" squealed the little reaper as she zipped up Yang and tried to grab it out of her sister's hand, to no avail.
"what is it?" asked Nora excitedly.
"Dunno," said Yang. She shook it once, and a black cylinder fell out onto the floor. The eight of them leaned closer as it began to rustle and shake, then suddenly unfolded...
Into a black and white Corgi.
"ZWEI!" squealed Ruby as she scooped the dog up into her arms.
"How..." Weiss dimly heard Jaune whisper in shock, "I don't think dogs are supposed to be that... flexible. Are they?"
"He sent a dog?!" shouted Blake.
"In the mail?!" shouted Weiss and Pyrrha.
Ruby was too busy laughing and being licked by the family pet to respond. "Oh he does stuff like this all the time," said Yang.
"Your father or your dog?" asked Blake and Ren, who had both somehow managed to get up into Ruby's bed without anyone noticing.
"...Yes."
Pyrrha, Weiss, and Nora leaned closer to Zwei, then squealed and started petting him. Weiss vaguely heard the blonde dunce mutter something about a dog getting more action than he did, but she was far too focused on the absolutely precious little bundle of love and doggy kisses before her to respond. Zwei barked and wriggled around in Ruby's arms, then dropped down to the floor and scampered away from them on his adorable little stumpy legs...
And then leaped into Jaune's arms.
With a shout of surprise Jaune caught the corgi as the dog began yapping gleefully and licking his face. "Hey you mangy mutt," laughed Jaune as he scratched Zwei behind the ears, the dog still licking him. "Oh you're a sweet boy aren't ya? Yes you are, yes you are!" Weiss could not believe her luck, or lack thereof. Their team gets an adorable little puppy dog, and it liked Jaune the most?!
Yang laughed and took Zwei out of Jaune's arms. "Sorry about that. You kind of look like our dad, so I guess Zwei mistook you for him."
"It's fine," Jaune said as he pulled up the edge of his shirt to wipe his face. Weiss glanced away from his bare and (admittedly) well sculpted abs while Ruby and Pyrrha took the brief opportunity to drink in the sight. "My family has a dog back home, so I'm pretty used to it." He pulled his shirt back down and patted out the creases.
"Jaune," Pyrrha said with clear panic in her voice, "I can't believe I haven't asked this already, but have you talked to your family about Talon?"
"Oh yeah," he said, "I told them as soon as we got back to Beacon from the sanctuary. I try to go to the tower every couple of weeks to talk to them. They were... shocked, to the say the least, but now they think it's awesome. My little sisters have made me swear that I'll let them ride Talon when I come visit during the semester break, my twin apparently uses my fame to score dates, which isn't too surprising for Jean, and my parents apparently put up a sign over the door to the house saying 'proud Gryphon Knight parents'."
"That is so dorky," giggled Nora.
"Where do you think I got it from?" The squire responded dryly, "this is pretty standard. If my village was big enough for a car they'd be those people with the little stick figure family on the back."
Suddenly the P.A. system crackled to life. "Will all first year students please report to the amphitheater."
Weiss frowned in thought and looked at Zwei. "We can't exactly leave him here while we're gone for a week."
Yang looked into tube Zwei had come in. "Oh hey, there's a letter." She pulled it out and started reading it. "Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei to you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang." Yang turned the tube upside down, and dozens of cans poured out of the tube, far too many to fit in there, let alone with an animal.
"How..." whispered Jaune in utter shock, "that makes no sense." For once Weiss found herself agreeing with the dunce.
"Well what's he gonna do with those?" asked Nora. Yang shook the tube and a can opener fell out. "Oh! Okay!"
"I guess we should get to the ampitheater," Yang said, "Zwei will be here when we get back."
As the eight of them filed out of the room Weiss stopped to pet Zwei "Oh I'll miss you so much we're going to be best friends I can't wait to see you again!" Quickly she followed the others, not realizing that Ruby had stayed behind for just a few seconds.
"Quiet. Quiet please," Glynda said as the last of the students filed in. Jaune, along with the other members of JNPR and the girls of RWBY, was in the back of the Vale formation of students. It was intriguing to to the squire to see the mannerisms and dress of the different academies gathered in one place. On one end of the spectrum you had Vacuo, which was less a formation and more a blob of students in outfits of all kinds. On the other end of the spectrum you had Atlas, with every student in their bland gray uniforms lined up in perfect rows of ten, their arms behind their backs as they stood at ease. In the middle of this spectrum was Vale and Mistral. The students of both schools were more or less in formations of some kind, and while most were in their school uniform some, such as teams RWBY and JNPR, were in their normal attire. "Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin." Glynda stepped away from the microphone, and the headmaster stepped up to it.
"Today we stand together, united. Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, Vale. The four kingdoms of Remnant. On this day nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, greed, and oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self expression. As you are well aware that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself." He smiled. "Color."
"It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come, and it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity, through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united, but this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today while the rest of the world celebrates peace, huntsmen and huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students you will be tasked with shadowing a professional huntsman or huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the kingdoms for several days, others may work within the walls for the rest of the week, but no matter which path you choose remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best." Applause filled the auditorium as the headmaster stepped away from the microphone, and students from every academy started walking towards the hologram screens displaying the different missions available.
"This is perfect!" shouted Ruby, "all our teams have to do is shadow huntsmen working in the southeast."
"We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip at night," agreed Yang.
"The southeast is still a fairly large area," pointed out Pyrrha, "and we may not even get missions close to each other."
"Then that will allow us to cover even more ground," said Weiss. "Let's check search and destroy."
The two teams walked over to the nearest board and examined the missions listed on it. "Looks like quadrant five needs Grimm cleared out," Jaune said.
"It is in the southeast," said Blake.
"Sounds perfect!" said Nora.
"Except that's only one mission," pointed out Pyrrha, "what about a mission for the other team?"
"If the Grimm concentration is high enough then both of our teams could get assigned to it," said Ren as he examined the board. "It's a long shot, and probably won't be the case, but it's worth a shot."
"Alright then," said Ruby, "we'll apply for it first, then you can." She tapped the mission and input RWBY in the box that popped up. When she hit enter however a message in red appeared on the screen: MISSION UNAVAILABLE TO FIRST YEAR STUDENTS.
"Wonderful," sighed Weiss as she shot a pointed glare at Jaune, as though this were his fault. Jaune ignored her, and the ache in his chest at her accusatory glare, and frowned in concentration. He knew he had the security clearance needed to access the vault under the school, but would that clearance extend to the mission board? He didn't know, but it was worth a shot.
"Let me try something," he said. If he had the clearance needed then all he had to do was access the mission system on his scroll, and clear both his team and team RWBY. He pulled out his scroll, opened it...
"That won't be necessary Mr. Arc."
Jaune yelped and put up his scroll, turning to face Ozpin. He gulped and tried to look nonchalant, and failed miserably. "Uh... hello Headmaster," he said, "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."
Ozpin smiled. "I'm sure you don't Mr. Arc. I think we all know that the eight of you will somehow find your way to the southeast, even if you were to take on missions that took you to the opposite corner of the kingdom. So instead of breaking the rules, why don't we just bend them a little?" Ozpin tapped on his data pad, and the MISSION UNAVAILABLE text changed to APPROVED.
"Thank you headmaster," said Ruby.
"Do not thank me for this Miss Rose. Teamwork and persistence have gotten the eight of you far, but the things that await you beyond the protection of the kingdom will not care. The four of you stay close to your huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent home if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory."
Jaune frowned. Ozpin had the four of them needed to stay close to their huntsman, not eight. "What about my team sir?"
Ozpin turned his gaze to the squire. "I want team Juniper to remain within the walls Mr. Arc. Not because I doubt the ability of your team, but because five people will be more capable of scouting out the enemy than eleven, counting two teams, two professional huntsmen, and your Gryphon. And let's be honest, subtly is not Talon's strong point."
Jaune shrugged. The headmaster had a point there, but that didn't mean he still didn't want to go. "I understand sir."
Ozpin smiled and closed his data pad, slipping it into his pocket. "You girls prepare for your mission. Mr. Arc, would you walk with me for a moment?"
Jaune blinked. "Uh, yes sir." He turned to his teammates. "Find us a mission within the walls, then go with team Ruby. I'll be there in a minute."
As the seven of them walked away Jaune walked alongside Ozpin as the headmaster paced around the room, watching the other students select missions. "There was another reason I didn't want your team accompanying team Ruby on the mission Mr. Arc, though I didn't want to say anything in front of your friends."
"I assume it's also the same reason you want my team to remain specifically in the city?" Jaune guessed.
"It is," Ozpin confirmed. "The location team Ruby's mission is in is called Mountain Glenn. Are you familiar with it?"
Jaune nodded. He remembered Oobleck telling Nathaniel about it. "A failed attempt at extending the city, right?"
"Correct. If the White Fang does have a base in the south east, or at the very least had one, then Mountain Glenn is the most likely location for it. If team Ruby does find something then two regiments of the Atleasian army will come crashing down upon the Fang, and when they do I want the Gryphon Knights at the head of the charge."
Jaune was shocked into silence for a few moments. "You... you want me and Nathaniel at the front, sir?"
"Yes," Ozpin confirmed. "It will be a good chance for the world to see you in action again against the enemies of the kingdoms. Watching Atlas troops fight alongside two Gryphon Knights, even if you are technically a squire, will inspire hope in the hearts of the people of Remnant. It also might help mend the gap you created between yourself and Ironwood last night."
Jaune winced and looked away from the Headmaster, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Um..."
"Why did you do that Jaune?" sighed Ozpin, "surely it can't just be because his machine shot you."
For a few moments Jaune stared at the floor without responding. He had his reasons, but they weren't easy ones to say. He sighed and closed his eyes. The image of the Paladin smashing aside cars as it charged after his friends was a memory that would forever be burned into his mind. "Twenty four people died on that bridge sir," Jaune said quietly. "Five of them were just kids. I blame three people for their deaths. Torchwick for piloting the mech, Ironwood for allowing it to be stolen in the first place, and myself for not getting there sooner."
Ozpin was silent for a moment. "You can't save everyone Jaune. You have to understand that."
"That doesn't mean I'll stop trying."
The two of them stood in silence for a few minutes as the amphitheater slowly cleared out. Eventually Ozpin spoke. "Jaune, if team Ruby does find something, if you do join the assault, I need to know something."
"Yes sir?"
"If you had to do it in order to achieve victory, or to protect an innocent life, could you kill another human being?"
Jaune thought about that for a few moments. Could he kill someone, take the life of another person? A person with hopes and dreams? A person who might have a family and friends? A person who loved and laughed and breathed the same air as him?
He thought about battling Torchwick in the Paladin. He thought about how he and Talon and tried their damnedest to tear through the machine and get to the man with intention of ending him. He thought about how the man had killed twenty four people with little to no regard for the lives he had ended, or for the suffering he had caused for the friends and family of those twenty four people.
"Yes," Jaune said, "I could."
Ozpin sighed and seemed to grow older in that moment. "I see. Most huntsmen, even old veterans, wouldn't be able to say that. Most would simply disarm or disable their human foes, but I have to remember that you are no longer a huntsman in training, not really. You are a squire of the Gryphon Knights, who will some day inherit the mantle of Knight-Lord. From what I know of the knights from recovered documents and Nathaniel they had little issue with slaying any and all who would dare harm an innocent life. There was one account I read about a warlord who ruled his land with an iron fist. He was a horrible man, and his soldiers were little better. They subjugated the civilian population of the lands he ruled, raping, murdering, and pillaging with the slightest excuse. That was, until Cailan learned of the atrocities taking place. He personally led a force of five thousand knights against that warlord, and slaughtered his soldiers to the last man. Not one who bore arms for the tyrant lived, including those that tried to surrender, and Cailan personally beheaded the warlord with that very halberd, then burned the corpse. Afterwards Cailan converted the warlord's castle into a fortress of the Gryphon Knights, and what had once been considered one of the worst places on Remnant to live at the time quickly became known as one of the safest places in the world, right up until the fall of the Gryphon Knights." Ozpin gave Jaune a sidelong glance. "You could do that? Kill thousands of men? Or at least give the orders that would result in the deaths of thousands of men?"
The squire crossed him arm over his chest. "I... don't know. I don't want to take a life, but someone like that... is that what the White Fang is like?"
Ozpin shrugged. "Some, but there are more than a few faunus of the Fang who simply feel as though they have no other choice than to fight against the four kingdoms. They're downtrodden and desperate. The idea that you could be a part of something that would change the world... well, for someone who's had almost nothing their whole life, that's a very seductive prospect."
Jaune nodded. In his mind he saw Blake with her bow off the night she confessed to them her past allegiance with the White Fang. Of them all, barring Ren, she was always the most level headed and reasonable, but she was also kind and compassionate. Certainly not a cold blooded murderer. "I think I understand."
"The warlord and his men were evil, fighting for nothing than their own gain, but more often than not the situation is never so black and white. The White Fang is one such situation. Yes they're a threat, and yes innocent people have been killed in their attacks, but the four kingdoms are not innocent in this either. The inability or unwillingness of the councils to accept the faunus as equals, and the violent responses to peaceful faunus rallies, is what eventually drove the White Fang to become what it is today. They are our enemies, and we must fight them, but that doesn't mean we can't hope to mend the divide. More often than not compassion will kill your enemy faster than a bullet, and it may gain you an ally in the process." Ozpin smiled and patted Jaune on the shoulder. "If team Ruby does find anything, and if you do decide to join the assault, remember what I said. Everyone, human and faunus, will be watching to see how you deal with the Fang. As the Gryphon Knights are a bit of an up and coming power it could very well shape the politics of Remnant."
Jaune's mouth suddenly felt very dry. He licked his lips in an attempt to wet them. "No pressure then. Good to know."
Ozpin smiled. "Go see your friends Mr. Arc. If you hurry you should be able to catch team Ruby before they leave."
"Yes sir. Thank you sir." Jaune jogged out of the amphitheater and towards the landing pads. It wasn't too hard to find his teammates and the girls of RWBY. They tended to stand out. The seven of them were standing in front of a Bullhead, and it was clear the girls were about to get on. "Guys!" he shouted. The seven of them turned to face him as he finally caught up. "You headed out already?" he asked.
"Yeah..." muttered Ruby, who didn't look nearly as delighted as Jaune knew she would normally be on her first mission.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
Instead of responding Ruby pointed over her shoulder to a familiar green haired man in the Bullhead who was arranging the bags. "Oobleck's our huntsman," she groaned.
That wasn't too surprising considering where the mission was and the doctor's love for ruins, but still... He winced. "That's rough, but it could be worse. You could have gotten Port."
Yang shuddered, "don't even joke like that."
"Girls!" shouted the doctor, "thirty seconds left to say your farewells!"
Jaune looked to his teammates, "you all said your goodbyes?" They nodded and he turned back to team RWBY. "You girls be careful, got it? Remember team Juniper plus one awesome Gryphon won't be there to pull your asses out of the fire." He said it as a joke, which the girls seemed to understand judging by the smiles on Yang and Ruby's faces, and the scowl on Weiss's, but deep down inside of himself he was pleading for them to be careful. "Please please please be careful. I couldn't imagine losing any of you." He glanced at Weiss, but forced himself to look away before she noticed his gaze. "Especially you."
Shoving those emotions down he grinned at the girls. "When you get back I'll get Ren to make you guys pancakes. The special kind with sprinkles."
Yang, Ruby, and Nora cheered for pancakes as Ren's shoulders slumped in resignation. Even Blake and Weiss were smiling a bit. Suddenly Ruby zipped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. "We'll be careful," she promised.
He smiled and hugged her back, "I know, but I would hate to lose you cause you fell down a hole or something. That'd have to be the uncoolest way a Huntress would have ever died."
"I won't fall down a hole," she giggled as she unwound her arms from around him.
"Girls! Five seconds!"
"Come one Rubes," Yang said as she picked her little sister up by the hood of her cloak and carried her into the Bullhead. She dropped the little reaper in a seat and sat next to her. "Stop flirting with Jaune, and let's get this party started!"
"I was not flirting with Jaune!" Ruby shouted back, though the sound was muffled by her hood, which she had yanked down over her head.
Jaune smiled and waved at them as the bullhead lifted up into the sky and sped towards Mountain Glenn. When the Bullhead was gone his hand fell, his smile disappeared, and his shoulders slumped. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder, and he looked over to see Pyrrha standing next to him. "You're worried about them, aren't you?"
"Yeah," he admitted as he watched the Bullhead shrink in the distance. "I know they're all way better fighters than me, but that doesn't stop me from worrying, you know?"
"Especially for Weiss?" the champion asked. Jaune shrugged and looked away, but didn't answer. He didn't have to.
A pair of arms wrapped around his neck as a pair of legs wrapped around his waist. Jaune stumbled back as the sudden and unexpected addition of Nora's weight put him off balance, but he managed to catch himself before he fell. "Don't be such a downer!" giggled Nora. "Let's go to the cafeteria and see if they have any pancakes!"
He smiled, "you do know they stopped serving breakfast several hours ago, right?"
"Maybe they have some leftovers we can have!" Nora leaned to one side and then the other, forcing Jaune to adjust his stance so they didn't crash to the floor. "Come on fearless leader! Please can we go check? Pleeeeeeeeeeease? Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-"
"Okay okay!" he laughed, "we'll go check as soon as you get off my back, and I do mean that literally."
Nora frowned in thought and unwound an arm around his neck to stroke her chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm... nope! I'm a sloth right now, and sloths don't do anything themselves, right Renny? Pyrrha?"
The ninja smiled, "right Nora."
"I do believe that's the case," giggled Pyrrha.
Jaune couldn't help it. He burst out in laughter at the ever unexpected antics of his teammates. By Vaya, he loved his team.
Jaune stepped back as Talon swooped in for his landing and came to a halt on the landing pad. Nathaniel hopped off the back of the Gryphon and grinned at Jaune. "I'm never going to get tired of flying."
For the past couple of weeks Nathaniel had been practicing riding Talon after Jaune. The three of them had decided that it would be best if Nathaniel was capable of riding Talon, should anything happen that kept Jaune from getting to the Gryphon. Nathaniel had, perhaps unsurprisingly, quickly proved to be a natural at flying. Within the span of a couple weeks he had caught up with Jaune, and was on the fast track to surpassing the squire. Honestly it didn't surprise Jaune one bit. His mentor was a fully fledged Gryphon Knight, even if he didn't have his own Gryphon.
"Jaune? Are you coming?" The squire blinked and came back to reality. He'd been staring off into space, or to be exact in the direction that team RWBY's bullhead had taken when it had left.
"Yes sir, I'm coming." Nathaniel had removed Talon's saddle to allow the war beast to go find food and left it on the ground for Jaune. Anyone else might think that Nathaniel was being lazy and forcing Jaune to do all of the heavy lifting, but this was a part of his training. Talon was still the blonde's Gryphon, and thus caring for the war beast and his equipment was Jaune's job. He picked up the saddle and jogged after Nathaniel. "Sorry, just thinking."
"About team Ruby?" guessed Nathaniel.
Jaune nodded and had to resist the urge to pull out his scroll and text Ruby to be sure they were okay. He told himself that they were more than capable of defending themselves from Grimm, and that they had Oobleck, who was a professional huntsman, if a hyperactive one.
But he couldn't silence the growing dread in his heart.
"I'm worried about them," he admitted. "I know they're all way better fighters than me, and they have Oobleck, but I just... I'm really worried. That's probably silly, me being worried for a group of people who could take me apart in a fair fight."
"Perhaps not as foolish as you think," said Nathaniel. He glanced around to be sure they were alone before continuing. "Remember, you know who our true enemy is, your friends do not. It's natural that you would be concerned for them. They think of the Grimm as mindless and leaderless, and while they are for the most part mindless they are certainly not leaderless. Salem is too weak to personally be a threat, but she retains control over all Grimm. No matter how far away the Grimm are they bend to Salem's will, a fact that makes her even more dangerous when you take into account just how powerful she will be when she does eventually rise."
Jaune frowned. "How is she so powerful, and isn't Vaya just as strong? Couldn't she kill Salem?"
Nathaniel shook his head and frowned in thought. "It's... hard to explain, but I'll try to. I've told you that Vaya isn't all powerful. Her strength does have its limits, and this is also true for Salem. In the beginning both of them were equally powerful and thus incapable of killing one another without assuring their own destruction. In the beginning Salem ruled Remnant, and her Grimm roamed the eternally dark world. Vaya brought life and light to Remnant, but at the cost of her own power, forcing her to rely upon her strongest creations to battle Salem, woman and man."
"But Salem created the Grimm, didn't she? Wouldn't she have had to expend her own power to do that?"
"Yes, but it's different. You see, Grimm aren't really alive. Yes their hearts beat and their brains work, but they don't have souls. Making physical forms is easy for Vaya and Salem, and the amount of power they expend in doing it is so unbelievably minuscule that it's not even a concern for them. Souls however are another matter. Living things created by Vaya, from men and women to the smallest bug, have souls, and thus have aura, albeit at varying levels. Bug souls are the weakest, while human souls are the strongest. The soul of one human being is worth quite literally billions of bug souls."
"Souls are fragments of Vaya's own power that she gifted to us to give us the ability to have free will," the knight continued, "Grimm do not have this. They are wholly subservient to Salem and her will. Even the smarter ones capable of making decisions don't actually have free will, because every decision they make is for the singular task that Salem has given, which is the destruction of all humanity. Even now Salem continues to create Grimm despite her weakened state, because the loss of power from creating their physical forms is so small it doesn't even matter. On top of that when a Grimm dies the power she expended in making it returns to her, allowing her to make another Grimm."
"But if that's the case then doesn't mean that when a person or animal dies its soul returns to Vaya and strengthens her?"
"It does, but much like the power Salem gains from a slain Grimm the power that Vaya re-obtains from those souls is quickly dispersed as more beings are born. Living things are born and die at such an even rate that Vaya's power is usually balanced at a certain level. Certain things such as devastating wars, times of great peace, or ecological disasters can strengthen or weaken her depending on how many lives are lost or brought into the world, but eventually her power returns to that state of equilibrium. That is why she needs us to battle Salem. The only way Vaya could ever be strong enough to defeat the dark goddess would be if everything she ever created was to die, but she doesn't want that. Vaya gave us souls willingly, and wants all living things to thrive as best they can on Remnant."
"Well... that's a bit terrifying. Does that mean that every time I eat meat I'm going against what Vaya wants?" Jaune hoped that wasn't the case. He really liked hamburgers.
"No," Nathaniel said, "where there is light, there must be darkness, and where there is life, there must be death. Vaya understands this, and understands that living things will struggle against one another to survive. The strong dominate, while the weak are subservient. That is why Gryphon Knights exist. We are the strong that defends the weak against those strong that would wish to harm them, be they human or Grimm. Our primary role is to protect, a task that involves more than a little offense. In killing those who bring harm to the weak ones we do our duty to Vaya and the world. It's not pretty, it's dangerous, but it is rewarding in its own way."
Jaune thought back to his conversation with Ozpin. He had told the headmaster that he could kill someone to achieve victory or protect an innocent life, and he had meant it, but that didn't mean the idea of having human blood on his hands didn't make Jaune shudder.
However, if killing one evil person meant saving more innocent lives, then wasn't it worth it? In the end didn't ensuring the safety of even just one person make it all worth it? "Yeah," Jaune said, "I suppose it can be pretty rewarding."
He stood in someplace completely devoid of light. The squire turned in a circle with Brillant Mors in hand, trying to get a feel for where he was, but there was nothing. No light, no sound, not even smell. The air was completely flat.
Suddenly there was a light in the distance. Jaune began walking towards it, and after a few seconds it became brighter as he drew nearer and he was able to make out shapes in the light, shapes that quickly solidified into the silhouettes of people. These silhouettes soon changed into the forms of the other members of JNPR and the girls of RWBY. They were running to him with arms outstretched, and Weiss was at the head of them. Jaune smiled and picked up the pace, running towards his friends with joy in his heart.
However as he drew closer to them he saw that his friends were not smiling. Rather their faces were twisted in horror as they ran not just to him, but away from something.
Thud.
Thud.
THUD.
Footfalls. Something was chasing his friends. Something big, and it was gaining on them. With fear gripping his heart Jaune sprinted towards his friends. Brillant Mors gripped in one hand Jaune reached his other out to them, but he was still so far away from them.
Then he saw it.
It's massive black form was illuminated by the light flowing from his friends. It walked upright, like a man, but its legs ended in cloven hooves, like a goat's. It's legs, chest, and arms were protected by white pieces of bone, and it gripped a massive scimitar in one hand that was as black as a starless night. Two red eyes glowed in their sockets with blood lust and glee as the monster raised the weapon.
Jaune ran as fast as he could towards his friends, but he knew it wasn't fast enough. The scimitar shrieked in blood lust as it sped towards his friends.
The last thing Jaune saw before the black blade slammed home was Weiss's terrified eyes filled with tears, her hand reaching out to him imploringly, silently begging him to save them, to save her. Her lips parted and she screamed his name as the scimitar came down on them all.
"JAUNE!"
With a strangled gasp Jaune bolted up in his bed as his hands scrambled for Brillant Mors. He grabbed the ancient halberd in both hands and held it tightly to his chest, shaking in fear.
His scroll went off. Jaune picked it up, and saw with ever mounting dread that it was Ruby. With shaky hands he accepted the call and held the device to his ear. "Ruby? What's- gah!" The only thing that he could hear was a burst of static before the call was cut off from Ruby's end. Jaune stared at his scroll, the dread reaching a fever pitch in his heart.
Something was wrong. First it was the dread, then it was the dream, then Ruby tries to call him? He didn't like this. The squire got out of bed and began putting on his normal clothes and his armor, being sure not to wake his friends. According to his scroll it was 6a.m. Team JNPR's mission, which was patrolling the wall, wasn't scheduled until 10a.m, so there was no point in waking them up when they had plenty of time to sleep. He slung Brillant Mors across his back and silently headed out into the hall, shutting the door softly behind himself. The cafeteria staff hadn't gotten breakfast set up yet, but there was always a selection of healthy snacks laid out in the cafeteria for the late night studier who needed some energy. Jaune placed a couple of muffins and an apple along with a granola bar on his plate, then got a glass of milk. He shoveled the food down his mouth in less than three minutes and put the dishes in the dish washer window, then exited the cafeteria, then the school. He walked to the bullhead pads and just stood there, staring out at the city of Vale.
The dread hadn't decreased, if anything it had grown, and the nightmare was still fresh in his mind. Normally they would fade into nothing within a few seconds of waking up, but the image of his friends' horror stricken faces burned in his mind, and the sound of Weiss screaming his name rang in his ears.
Something was coming. Jaune could feel it.
Jaune pulled out his scroll and dialed in Nathaniel's number. It rang three times before the knight picked up. "Jaune? Is everything okay?"
"How much of Talon's armor is ready to be used?" asked the squire. The two of them had been working on armor for the Gryphon and had gotten some pieces completed, but not much.
"Just the chanfron and peytral, why? Is something wrong?" He could hear the knight push himself out of bed. Metal clanked over the phone and Jaune knew Nathaniel had set his phone to speaker and laid it on the dresser as he began putting on his armor.
"I... I don't know," Jaune admitted, "but I feel like something's wrong. It's just... I can't explain it, and now that I'm saying it out loud it sounds stupid, but I want to be ready, just in case. Can you meet me in the forge and help me get Talon's armor on?"
"Of course. Get Talon, and I'll meet the both of you there."
Jaune ended the call and focused on Talon. To his surprise the Gryphon showed up almost immediately. "I could feel your distress all the way from the Emerald Forest. What's wrong?"
"I don't know, but I want to be ready. We're going get the armor that's ready on you just in case." The squire and the Gryphon jogged over to the forge, which was separate from the other buildings of Beacon, due to the fact that some of the projects that went on in there were volatile in nature. Nathaniel was already inside and waiting for them. The three of them jogged over to their private wing of the forge and grabbed talon's saddle, along with the two pieces of armor.
Jaune strapped the saddle to his Gryphon first. Talon didn't like wearing the saddle when they weren't about to fly, but the Gryphon knew that the situation was serious and didn't complain. "What has you so riled up? I was out hunting in the forest when I felt dread radiating off of you like heat off of an inferno. I thought you under attack at first."
"I just don't know," Jaune responded as he strapped the saddle on. "When team Ruby left for their mission I felt worried, but I figured that was just because they were my friends and I was just being protective. But this feeling hasn't gone away. It's been getting worse every second." Jaune finished with the last strap and helped Nathaniel move the peytral into position. "I had a nightmare while I was sleeping, but it didn't feel like just another nightmare, and it's still clear as day in my head."
That sparked Talon's interest, and his worry, if Jaune was reading the emotions coming from the war beast correctly. "What happened in the dream?" Jaune recounted the nightmare for Talon, who listened on intently. Jaune finished telling the story just as he and Nathaniel had strapped the peytral firmly in place. They moved onto the chanfron and placed it in between his eyes. It was a simple piece, devoid of decoration or eye protection, as aura took care of that. "That is very worrying," the Gryphon said, "Cailan would often have nightmares, but sometimes they were more than that. On occasion he would have glimpses of the future, though they were muddled and didn't show exactly what was happening, but rather fed him small snippets of information. Your nightmare was likely a vision of the future, and the creature you described sounds like a Grimm judging by the bone plates and black skin."
Jaune felt his heart freeze over. Team RWBY was on a mission to exterminate Grimm...
"I don't think they're in danger right this moment," corrected Talon hastily, "if they were being attacked by this Grimm right now I think you would know."
The two of them secured the chanfron and Nathaniel left the room to go get something, leaving Jaune and Talon alone. "So what do I do?"
"What you're doing right now. You're preparing to face whatever this Grimm is, wherever it may be. Normally I would say that we don't know when it could attack, but judging by the sheer amount of dread building up within you I think it's safe to say that it will be today."
"Jaune." The squire and Talon turned towards Nathaniel, who had returned. In his hands he held out a mail hauberk to Jaune. "I wanted to give this to you at the end of the semester as a surprise, but considering that something's obviously got you riled up I think it would be best if I gave it to you now."
"Thank you Nathaniel," Jaune said earnestly as he removed his breastplate and spaulders, then took the hauberk and pulled it on over his shirt. The bare mail was cold on his arms, and Jaune made a mental note to exchange his sleeveless shirt for one that was long sleeved and thicker. He strapped his breastplate and spaulders back on over the mail and gave himself a quick inspection. The hauberk went down to his knees and elbows, and had a slit on the front and back that would allow his legs free movement and wouldn't restrict his ability to mount up on Talon. "It's perfect."
Nathaniel smiled, but it disappeared under a worried frown. "Perhaps now you can go into more detail about what has you so worried?"
Jaune quickly explained the situation to Nathaniel as the three of them the forge and headed back to the bullhead pads. A few other people were up and about now, and the three of them made sure to stay out of hearing range of anyone else they saw. A few Bullheads had landed on the pads, no doubt awaiting their teams to arrive so they could shuttle them off to their missions. When the squire was done Nathaniel nodded thoughtfully. "Talon's probably right about your nightmare being a vision. As both Cailan's descendant and the champion it makes sense that you would have the ability to see the future, but what you saw is... disturbing. I've never heard of a Grimm that walks upright like a man and uses a weapon. It's likely that this is some sort of new creation of Salem's. We should be on our guard."
"So, that's it?" asked Jaune, "we just wait for something to happen?"
"Not quite. We can inform Ozpin and Ironwood. I think Ozpin will believe us, and with him on our side we should be able to convince the general to at least have his men on stand by."
"Jaune!"
The squire turned towards his teammates, who were jogging out of the academy towards them. He forced a smile onto his face. "Hey guys. Sleep well?"
"Ooh! nice outfit!" said Nora.
He kept that fake smile on his face. "Thanks. Nathaniel made it for me. It'll be a big help in making sure I don't, you know, die."
"What were you two talking about?" asked Pyrrha curiously.
Jaune opened his mouth to tell her, then closed it and looked at Nathaniel. He trusted his team with his life, but he didn't want to worry them needlessly. Nathaniel nodded. "They need to know."
Jaune turned back to his teammates who now looked confused and worried. "Guys, last night I-"
Sirens began to wail in the distance and were quickly echoed by the alarms on Beacon grounds. Jaune turned and looked to the city of Vale with fear in his heart. A plume of black smoke was boiling up from the middle of the city. "No..." he whispered.
Vale was under attack.
The six of them stared at the plume of smoke in disbelief as the sirens continued to wail. The screams of terrified civilians could barely be heard over the sirens. Those screams were what snapped Jaune out of his trance.
He turned to his mentor. "Nathaniel! go to the school and round up everyone, and I mean everyone, and get them into the city!"
"Yes lord!" shouted the knights as he sprinted towards the school.
Jaune turned to his teammates. "Get on a Bullhead and tell the pilot to take you to the city! Move!"
The three of them ran towards the nearest Bullhead as Jaune hauled himself into the saddle. Just before he could take off at least a dozen people ran up to him. They were other huntsman in training teams who had been outside when the sirens had sounded. Jaune looked at them, and saw in their eyes the same fear he felt in his heart. None of them knew what to do. Grimm getting past the walls of Vale was... unheard of. It had never once happened ever since the walls had first gone up. A student at the front of the group gulped and hefted his weapon. Jaune focused on him, and saw to his shock that it was Cardin.
"What do we do?" he asked Jaune.
Jaune pointed to the bullheads. "Cardin, I want all of you to get on a bullhead and get to the city. Kill every Grimm you see, and get the civilians away from the fighting."
"What if it's White Fang?" asked someone in the back of the group.
"If you had to do it in order to achieve victory, or protect an innocent life, could you kill another human being?"
Yes. Yes he could.
"If it's White Fang then you do whatever it takes to stop them and keep the civilians safe. If that means killing them, then you kill them. Got it? Good, then to the Bullheads! Move!"
As the students rushed to the Bullheads Talon tossed his head back and shrieked into the sky, then tore down the landing pad in a full sprint towards the edge. The Gryphon spread his wings and leapt off. With a single flap of his massive wings Talon shot up into the sky and hovered there as Jaune watched the students begin piling into the bullheads. "They have found a leader in you Jaune. They will follow you to victory."
The image of the massive Grimm crushing his friends with its scimitar came to the fore of Jaune's mind. "Or to death," he muttered. He raised Brillant Mors and pointed it at the plume of smoke. "TO VALE!"
Gryphon and rider sped off towards the city as the Bullheads followed them to war.
Talk about zero to one hundred real friggin quick. We went from a dance last chapter to Jaune having a nightmare that's actually a vision of the future and fearing for his friends' safety. What will happen? Who knows? (well I know, and lemme tell ya it's gonna be somethin' else.)
I decided to flesh out Jaune's reasons for having an issue with Ironwood and his machines. If you go back and watch the episode where Torchwick is piloting the Paladin you know that there is no way that someone didn't die in Torchwick's rampage, and it would make sense that Jaune would hold himself personally responsible for what he sees as lives he could have saved had he been just a bit quicker.
We see Jaune taking charge and issuing orders to those who were frozen with fear. I know the others are trained fighters and them freezing up like that may be a bit of a stretch, but when you think about just how many students and huntsmen from all over Remnant were at Beacon during the breach, and we only saw a couple teams show up to help fight, it makes you wonder where everyone else was at the time. Maybe they were actually frozen in fear? Maybe RT just didn't have the budget to animate that many huntsmen? either way I took a little bit of writer's liberty with that and used it to my advantage.
If you haven't already then please follow and favorite if you haven't already. If you have a friend who likes RWBY and RWBY fanfiction then feel free to tell them about this story! If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or just want to tell me what you think of the story so far then feel free to leave a review or PM me! I love you all. BBBYYYYYYEEEEEEE!
