Well another story idea and a RWBY one at that. With the newest season of RWBY going strong and several mind blown lore reveal, I decided to show one of the ideas we have on the backburning. This one is simple: When Jaune Arc has his aura unlocked, one of his armor abilities is reveal, one that will change the course of Remnant's History. No more spoilers, just will have to read and see.
Overlord RWBY
Deep inside the Emerald Forest that surrounds the cliff where Beacon academy the newest students were tracking their way through the Grimm infested forest. They all had their mission which was to find the ruins in the northern part of the forest and retrieve an "artifact" and return to the school. They all didn't travel alone due to the fact as soon as they landed the first person they saw ended up being their partners. All the students were partnered up and while some had rocky starts or still rocky when it came to a red and white pair of students, some have gotten off well. One such case was Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc. After Pyrrha manage to save Jaune in his landing strategy they pair threaded through the forest to complete their task. Jaune pause as he hears the faint sound of gun fire in the distance, not loud enough for it to be near them. "What's that?" Jaune asked aloud.
"It seems our comrades have encountered the enemy," Pyrrha reply glancing back as well.
Jaune frowned, wondering if his new friends Ruby and Yang were alright. With this train of thought he didn't notice Pyrrha moving a branch out of the way before it snapped back and some of the branches caught him in the chest and face. He gave a small cry before he landed on the ground. Pyrrha stopped hearing him and turned to see her partner down. "I'm sorry," she stated as she helped him up. Once on his feet, Pyrrha notice that one of the branches cut Jaune cheek slightly. This surprised her, causing her to ask, "why didn't you active your aura?"
"My what" Jaune asked her, confused.
"Your aura," Pyrrha repeated, not showing her concern that Jaune didn't seem to know what aura was.
"Gesundheit" Jaune offered as if she sneezed.
"Jaune," Pyrrha said slowly in a tone that Jaune would hear from his mother when she wants him to explain himself, "you do know what aura is right?"
Jaune chuckled nervously, before he tried to cover for himself "of course I do. Do you know what aura is?"
Pyrrha gave him a blank look before she decided to humor him. "aura is the manifestation of our soul. It protects us from harm and drives us forward. It is the lifeforce that can be used to create or to destroy."
"Create?" Jaune questioned, "Destroy?"
Pyrrha nodded, "much like a flame it can bring us light, warm us and keep out those that would do us harm. But it is also power that can easily do as much harm. All those with a soul has this power."
"What about the monsters?" Jaune asked.
Here Pyrrha scowled slightly. "Grimm have no soul, they are creatures of darkness but all they are, are simply blotches in the cycle of the world. An infection in need to be wiped away."
Jaune was surprised at the way she was saying this, as if she hated the Grimm but not for the same reason as him. "Is that why we fight them."
"It is about knowing," Pyrrha explained before she walked over to him, "let me unlock your aura."
Pyrrha placed a hand on his armor chest and focus. Jaune waited before he felt a rush of power flow through him. Pyrrha's eye opened, stunned before she took a step back. Jaune's body glowed before it vanished. "There; I used my aura to unlock yours. You have a lot of it."
Pyrrha watched as the cut on his face heal over. But something else caught her eye. On Jaune's left hand his gauntlet glowed before it changed. When Pyrrha met him, she had notice the gauntlet on Jaune's left hand seem to be from a different armor set but didn't pay it much mind. Now it was twice as big and bulky with the fingers now claws and a glowing jewel in the center. Jaune blinked at this, "what happen?"
But he noticed that Pyrrha was staring at the gauntlet, stunned at what happen. She looked from it to him before she muttered, "can it be?" she shook her head and said, "Jaune, focus your aura into it?"
"Why?"
"Just do it," Pyrrha said, slightly firmer than before.
Jaune did so and raised his hand and focused. Not far from them, a mound of rock and dirt rose up before it open and something popped out of the glowing hole. It was a small limp like creature with brown skin, flappy ears messed up teeth and wore a small furry loincloth. The creature looked around, "Mashta?" it asked in a broken speech. It spotted Jaune before it seemed to get excited before more popped out and joined the first. "Mashta! Mashta!"
Jaune was confused by this and turned to Pyrrha for answers. But to his astonishment he found Pyrrha was on one knee and bowing to him. "At long last," she whispered before she declared, "I am at service. I pledge my soul to you, my Overlord."
All Jaune could do was blink, look around, and show his confusion on his face with the imp like creatures dancing around him. The fact that Pyrrha Nikos, his partner, had offered her soul to him was even stranger, and the fact that she called him Overlord was even odder.
"What is going on?" Jaune asked as the creatures stopped and looked mischievous for a bit, until Pyrrha seemed to hypnotize them with a look from her eyes while remaining bowed.
"You don't know about your own minions?" Pyrrha asked, revealing what the little imps where. She then added, "Nor the significance of what you are my lord?"
"Uh, no? And would you please stop bowing to me?" Jaune wasn't trying to be mean, but he really did have no idea what was going on, and then added, "Why did my gauntlet even change?! It wasn't like this when grandfather gave it to me."
"I shall try to tell you." Pyrrha said as she got up from her bowed position, "That gauntlet is the proof of being the successor of the Overlord, and the creatures here are minions, your servants from the darkness."
That...didn't really help Jaune as he didn't know who or what the Overlord was. It just left him with more questions than answers.
Jaune glanced down at the gauntlet, trying to study it but between the first form and this they might as well be two different gauntlets. His mind thought back to when he first got it.
(flashback)
Jaune sat around his family as they finished the cake his mother made for him. It is his seventeenth birthday and the family are celebrating at home. He gotten presents from his parents and his seven sisters, even his youngest sister who was four who made a nice drawing of him, and even his grandfather who gave Jaune his shield and sword which was owned by his grandfather. Jaune however gave some important news to his family as well. He told them he was planning on heading to Beacon, to train to become a huntsman. This had mix reactions in the family. His sisters didn't want him to go; his younger sisters didn't want him to leave them (which he could understand) and his older sisters didn't want Jaune to get and hurt himself, his eldest sister Erza bluntly said she was worried he would get himself kill. To be honest that kinda hurts his pride.
His parents on the other hand didn't object to his decision to go to Beacon, however they did say they would welcome him home should he not be able to get in. That honestly hurt him even more. His grandfather didn't seem to react and Jaune wasn't sure what he thought.
However, as the night rolled on and the younger kids were getting up to bed Jaune was asked by his grandfather to join him outside. Jaune walked onto the back porch to see his grandfather sitting on one of the chairs looking out into the yard and woods. By his feet was an old trunk that Jaune knew wasn't there before. Before he could say anything, his grandfather said, "have a seat Jaune."
Jaune did as he was told and sat down next to his grandfather. The man said nothing at first before he took a deep breath "So you plan on becoming a huntsman Jaune? When were you planning on telling us?"
Jaune sighed, "tonight actually. I felt it would have been the best."
"At least you had the decency to tell us," his grandfather said "my grandfather didn't tell his parents when he went to fight in the Great War eighty years ago. He came backed a changed man. Even my son went out without telling me he was training to become one as well. Before he met your mother and settled down that is."
"I want to be a hero," Jaune said firmly "I want to be like you and dad, to be like my great-great-grandfather."
"Don't" the man stated, surprising Jaune. The man locked his gaze into Jaune's "Don't be like me. Don't be like your old man or my old man or whoever. I don't want you trying to copy us. I want you to be better."
Jaune looked at him, stunned. Jaune's grandfather then reached down and unlocked the trunk. "I'm not saying you should go. I'm saying be smart about it. You will need a weapon and I know you don't have one."
Jaune flinched at this true fact, "I'll get one. I'll get a weapon before I get into the school."
"Oh you will," his grandfather assured him as he opens the trunk, "that's because I am giving you this."
Jaune stared as a sword was pulled out. Jaune recognized it at once. "But that's…"
"Our family legacy" the elder Arc confirmed, "if you are going to become a huntsman this you need a weapon that can handle your enemies."
Jaune took the sword before he pulled it from the shielded sheath. Jaune was in awe seeing the blade. He then noticed his grandfather pulled something else out. "what's that?"
The old man chuckled as he gazed at the gauntlet he pulled out "this? This is another family heirloom. One much older and more powerful." Seeing Jaune's confused face he went on "before the four kingdoms there was a powerful ruler. This was his main weapon, or should I say the thing that holds the weapons. With how the world is today I think it might be time for someone to lead the world again."
"But the world is at peace," Jaune countered. "there haven't been any kings since the war."
The old Arc scoffed, "you call this peace? This world is a pulsing dust mine waiting to go off. No, they need someone able to lead us again."
Jaune was quiet as he took the gauntlet from his grandfather. "You think I can even become a king? I doubt that very much gramps."
His grandfather gave a bellowing laugh, "King? No something much more than a king. But use it how you wish. You can figure out the truth when the time comes. And then you can decide for yourself." The old man reached over to grab his mug and took a large gulp. 'After all, evil always finds a way.'
(flashback ends)
It was still surreal that the gauntlet that was also part of his family legacy, was changed into this. Some things did come to mind when he took the time to remember, but the question still plagued him, "What is an Overlord?"
"The Overlord is a ruler of the powers and creatures aligned with darkness, monsters you could say." Pyrrha started her explanation and Jaune was paying full attention, "he once ruled all of Remnant until cataclysmic events dethroned his rule with the chaos."
"So am I supposed to be some evil dictator?" That was far from what Jaune wanted as Pyrrha took his hand.
"You do not have to be evil, at least in the sense that people think. It is more a matter of perspective." Pyrrha said, and knew she needed to explain a bit more, "Jaune, if you took over the world, that could be considered evil yes?"
"Well, I guess it would since people would die and I stole it." Jaune answered honestly as best he could with that premise. Overlords were supposed to be big bad villains that slaughtered and killed people regardless.
"But what if you created an age that possessed little negativity, equality, and justice where people who do evil receive their justice?" That was a good question. Was it good if he could enforce the law like that? Pyrrha saw the thoughtful look and smiled, "If you understand that such a position can bring great good, then you are starting to see my point. In one perspective, the heroes that kill past Overlords are nothing more than assassins, and another is that the Overlord is a noble and heroic figure. Good and evil are reflected in action, not birth or allegiance."
Jaune was quiet, never having thought of that before. He always wanted to be a hero but from Pyrrha's little info drop made him wonder if being a hero was needed. He then thought back to his grandfather and how he thought Remnant needed someone to rule. He didn't his words much thought but now he at least understood what he meant. Jaune however wasn't sure if he should be like that. Pyrrha saw her new master seeming to debate and conflict with himself so she decided to guild him in her own way, "I see you are still unsure. Perhaps you should have some time to consider how you will handle you power as the Overlord. Either way we still have to complete the test for Beacon before you can take the path you seek."
Jaune suddenly remembered what they were doing beforehand "the test!" He then glanced at the five minions who were still jumping around. "Umm, should I send these guys back?"
Pyrrha shook her head as she leads the way with Jaune and the minions following behind her, "the most important weapon to the Overlord is not the gauntlet or whatever weapons they make in the forge, but the minions. They are your sword as well as shield. They are the workers to do back braking labor you do not wish to do. They are the one that rush forward to slaughter you enemies as well as whatever else is in the way but also willing to die to protect you." Here Pyrrha giggled slightly, "several times if they have to."
Jaune blinked and chuckled nervously, both at the wording and how comfortable the girl was saying they creatures are willing to kill anything and die many…wait… "several times? How can they die several times?"
Pyrrha smile at him, "minions are creatures of mysterious origins. They lack a soul much like Grimm but instead are born of lifeforce the Overlord gathers. There are different classes and types of minions which includes blue minions which are able to heal your minions, even those that just died in battle. However, if a minion is destroyed beyond healing or it is too late to revive a minion you are still able to bring them back from the dead."
"I can?" Jaune asked, amazed at this. "How can I bring them back from the dead?"
Pyrrha frown for a second, "I recall reading about it but it escapes me. But I do know the Overlord is able to revive their favorite or most skilled minion at the sacrifice or either lifeforce or more minions. They are both the same but to revive one of the skilled minions I believe it would be worth it."
Jaune wasn't sure what scared him more, the dangerous knowledge Pyrrha held or how easily and happily she discloses some of the information that some might consider dark. But even if they weren't partner he wasn't going to leave her since she knew more about being the Overlord then he did.
(scene change)
Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch stood on top of the cliff overlooking the forest, both watching the feeds from the hidden cameras which allowed them to watch their students and their progress. At the moment, both were watching the feed with Jaune and Pyrrha and the discovering of the gauntlet. Glynda however were focusing on the minions with them, "A summoning semblance? Well I know the Schnee family is able to summon but I haven't seen any other semblance like that. They don't look like much but we'll have to see what they are capable of in combat. Of course, he won't be allowed to use his summons in my class." It was then did she notice her superior has yet to say anything. "Professor Ozpin?"
Ozpin however zoomed in on the minions and their actions before the gauntlet Jaune wore on his left hand. 'Could it be?'
And that is all for now. Yes a classic idea I have done differently before but really I do enjoy the Overlord games so much and we wanted to do one for RWBY for a while now. Now Jaune will be the Overlord with minions and a goal. Pyrrha I am sure is the most surprising but in this story she has learned of the Overlord by accident and trained all her life as well as studied so she would be the minion master and loyal servant to now Jaune. What changes will this bring to the teams? Will RWBY and JNPR handle the actions that come afterwards and who will be the willing mistresses to the Overlord? Pyrrha is a duh with her willing to do so much, but who else? There are so many questions that can be answered but as the saying goes: Evil always finds a way.
