IMPORTANT: It was brought to my attention that chapter 3 is not being shown on FanFiction's website. This is a chapter repost to see if the site would upload correctly.
I'm glad how everybody received the last chapter. So much support! Awww shucks you guys.
But I failed you.
I said I'd update every 2 weeks on Sunday, and it's now 1:00 am on Monday. I am ashamed.
Please accept this chapter as my humble offering of peace.
I wasn't able to proofread it yet, so do be merciful.
Mr. Wolf
[Videos - Boring Military Stuff - Mission Logs - Atlas - Entry#: 203]
"Jaune..."
His eyes opened ever so slowly as they beheld "The Breach", what once were rolling forests of evergreen just outside the kingdom of Atlas now a wasteland of scorched earth and nothingness. This was where they held the line against the coming tide. This was where they stood their last stand time and time again. The juxtaposition of such a statement was not lost on anyone; it was the irony that kept them alive, after all.
A harsh Atlesian breeze caressed his skin, made alabaster by the frigid night air, and tousled the unruly blonde locks that dared peek under his helm. How the wind cut through to the bone so cold that shivering made no difference promised an oncoming storm. A blizzard was underway.
Who would but fools dare tread here?
Yet here they all were again... all fools standing on the precipice of extinction, not of a species, but of life itself.
"Jaune... we're ready," his XO informed him, "just give us the word."
Wolves' Bane let out a deep sigh. Who was he to send these people out to their deaths?
Their commanding officer, apparently.
He would have felt guilty if he hadn't known how there was no other way. But he did know; to feel guilt now, would only mean another distraction.
Yet, guilty, Jaune felt all the same.
"What's left of the armoured core division?" He asked.
"Thirty Myrmidons, seven Paladins, three Zeuses, and an Atlas."
"Infantry?"
"Light infantry: two thousand; heavy: five hundred."
"Militia?"
"Roughly twelve thousand."
He already knew the numbers; he just wanted to ask again on the off chance that there'd be more of them this time. It was not the case. 'So few… So few of us left.'
"Jaune?"
Her fingers weaved through his lifting some of the weight he felt resting on his shoulders. "Make it happen, Ruby," he whispered.
Ruby gave a nod both solemn and resolute. Her free hand reached up to her earpiece, "This is Omega 2, call sign: Little Red. Party time, hunters; let me hear you."
"Snow Angel, ready op."
"Dragon, ready op, little sis."
"Black Fang, ready op."
"Hammer Time, ready to break some legs!"
"Nora, it's 'ready op' not- Oh, uh- Sloth here, ready op."
"Coco bun, ready op."
"Abs-o-fury, ready op."
"All systems green and nominal! Winter Maiden is operations-ready, friend Ruby!"
He heard more of his squad commanders sound off in the coms, their voices echoing inside his helm his earpiece was built into. All his friends, people who trusted him to bring them home safe, and here he was sending them out to their collective doom.
"Alright. Dragon and Snow Angel, I want you and your squads guarding the Paladins. We want them as close to the support lines to keep our infantry from getting chewed up."
"Copy," both Weiss and Yang acknowledged, and he could see their squads' nav signals break off to the north and south of the tac map that hovered on the left side of his Heads-Up Display.
"Hunters, you're all in position?
It was Nora who responded, "Aye aye, Cap'n Ruby! We'll thin the Grimm out as much as we can before they hit the militia. It should make things easier for our boys."
"Good. Atlas."
"Yes, my lady?" The professional tone of the Atlesian mech commander replied.
"As soon as you and your boys get in range, I want Grimm beddy-bye-bye shells hitting that backline like the baseline of the song 'I Burn', ya get me?"
"Copy, Omega 2. I'll make sure to have that on repeat for you."
Her hand squeezed his again, not to let him know that the order had been given, but to remind Jaune that, through thick and thin, she'd be by his side. Ruby didn't know just how much that meant to the young general. "Talk to them," She urged him, "they need to hear their leader."
Leader… a position he'd never asked for but one he would carry gladly if only to spare any of his friends the heavy burden of command. This way, at least, they won't have to feel the guilt that came with failure. When the end came, the fault will be his and his alone.
The end… Was this really the end? If it was then-…
"Ruby…"
"Yeah, Jaune?"
"Did I ever tell you I was in love with you? Because I am." The way he said it made it sound as if the phrase was an ordinary one said countless of times like a greeting told in passing. But the truth was, it's the first time he'd actually spoken those words to her. Jaune Arc, in what must have been the lamest confession in all of history, just admitted his feelings for Ruby Rose.
Oddly enough, Ruby didn't seem to mind. How she smiled at him, she almost seemed pleased with the way he chose to confess. Like it was appropriate or something.
"I know."
"You knew," he acknowledged with a weak laugh, "of course you did," all the while, the tone of his voice, not the least bit surprised. He let the silence stretch out just for the comedy of it before turning to face her with a faux shocked look on his face, "And you still haven't given me an answer? Ruby, how could you lead me on like that?"
What did it mean when what her reply could be made him more nervous than the coming battle? You'd think the general, of all people, would have his priorities straight. The thought amused him enough to shake his head.
"Mmm, nope."
"No?" Gods she was just so... Ruby, utterly and perfectly Ruby. In spite of the rejection, Jaune couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips and the endearing smile that spread across his face. That was just how happy she made him just by being herself. "No, you're not gonna answer or, no, you're not intere-"
"—Nope."
"Guys, your coms are still on," Blake stated flatly.
"Shhh! Gods, Blake, you couldn't let them play it out for a bit?!"
"I'm sorry, Yang; I didn't realize you wanted to hear Jaune getting shot down by your sister."
"Oh, please," Weiss joined in, "if that was a rejection then Yang's a respectable, young woman who cares more of her manners than she does her hair. All false charges, I assure you."
"You callin' me old, Weiss-cream?" Everybody on the coms chuckled.
Weiss ignored her, "No, what this is are two colossal idiots that enjoy the dance of their own thick-headedness just a little too much. For goodness sake, Ruby, just give the man your answer!"
"Hmmm…"
The coms grew quiet in anticipation.
"Nope!"
The coms groaned in frustration.
"For the love of- Ugh… you two are made for each other. Stubborn dolts, the both of them," Weiss's frustrated whispers could still be heard despite the static.
"Well, sooorry, but what can I say?" Ruby shrugged not at all sounding sorry even though she said she was, "If Jaune really wants to know, then he's just gonna have to stay alive to find out, now won't you, Jaune?" She teased but then the lights of her eyes lost all traces of mirth as the hand that held his squeezed even tighter. Her grip begged him to listen, and, listen, he did. "Don't die…" she gazed deeply into his eyes, "and I'll tell you."
The unspoken plea for him to come back to her safe was left just that: unsaid, but it didn't matter, not to them. Though subtle the turn of phrase, all they needed was one look at each other, and through the bond that somehow only they could have, they'd know exactly what the other was trying to say betwixt the innocent little words. It's what made them such a good team and even better partners.
"I could do that."
An adoring smile replaced the brittle one she plastered onto her face for the sake of morale.
"You two are just insufferable, I swear," He could almost picture Weiss massaging her temples.
"Well, I think it's sweet. Don't you think it's sweet, Ren?"
"Hm."
"That's 'yes' in Ren-speak."
A howl filled with anger and malice echoed over the breach cutting all lightheartedness out of those gathered.
Time was up.
"WNTR, patch me through," Jaune said, and soon his audio was fed into every single speaker, scroll, and earpiece of everyone who stood there in the breach with him.
Jaune took in a breath.
~ • ~
Pyrrha let out a breath as she woke to the sound of whispers. Consciousness came to her slow and the first thing she noticed was how dark it was. It must have been night time. Oh wait, she had her eyes closed. She opened them and discovered nothing's changed. 'Night then,' she concluded.
The whispers continued and Pyrrha craned her neck in the direction of the sound.
"How are you feeling?" The voice asked quietly; it didn't exactly help her in placing whom it belonged to. The one who answered the question, however, was all too familiar.
"I'm-… I think I'm good."
'Jaune?' Then she realized where she was, the infirmary, and remembered how she had come to be there in the first place, bested by her own partner. Suddenly the quiet conversation he was having held more of her interest.
"That is good. You had me worried there for a moment. Taking a twelve-gauge round to the stomach without aura-"
'What?!' Pyrrha almost let herself shout the question but reeled herself in quick enough to keep her eavesdropping from being found out. It did nothing to alleviate the worry she was feeling, however. 'He's fine… He said that he was fine. Calm down.'
"—not just anyone could boast walking away from such an injury."
"I guess not. I'm sorry if I worried you, Headmaster."
'Headmaster?' So it was Ozpin who Jaune was speaking to. How odd. Why would someone as busy as he bother himself with visiting a student, injured or otherwise?
The headmaster did not reply immediately, the air about him feeling as if he were pondering something. "To whom am I speaking to right now?"
'What?' Pyrrha thought.
"What?" Jaune asked out loud.
What an odd question that was. He was talking to Jaune, wasn't he? She couldn't really see him all that well in the dark, but she couldn't exactly mistake his voice either. Then again, he was her partner.
"You're… different from yesterday."
"I am?"
He was?
"Yes, more like the boy I met during initiation. So is this Jaune or-…"
She quickly had to play dead- ur, asleep- ur, dead-asleep—'yeah'—when she felt the headmaster's gaze look over to where she was on her bed. A relieved sigh then squeezed out of her lungs when his attention returned to the injured boy.
"—or am I speaking to Wolves' Bane?" Ozpin finished.
Wolves Bane? Who on Remnant was Wolves' Bane? Curiouser and curiouser.
"I'm… not quite sure myself. But if you're worried he's gone, he's not. What you want to tell him, you can tell me."
There was another pause.
"Very well. Do you mind if I sit?"
"Please."
She heard a chair being placed near Jaune's bed.
"I watched your match earlier; I feel I have to apologize for that. I told her to have you fight Cardin, but Glynda had it in her head to test you."
"She doesn't trust m- Wolf?"
"She does now."
"And you?"
"Wolves' Bane has given me no reason to distrust him. That is not the point I wanted to raise, however. Back at the arena, why did you not activate your Aura?"
Jaune didn't activate his aura?! Images of her sword cutting straight through her secret crush flashed before her eyes. The gruesome picture made her hands clench her bedsheets in fear.
"Would you believe me if I told you I forgot?"
"You forgot to activate your aura before an announced fight?"
That was a very good question; so good, in fact, that it had the champion gritting her teeth. How could he be so careless?!
"No, what I forgot is that I had aura at all."
What did he mean he forgot that he had aura?! It had only been a few weeks when she unlocked it for him! How could he have forgotten already?!
"That is… rather farfetched, yes."
Jaune chuckled, and the fact that he would make light of such a fatal mistake angered her to no end. Oh, Pyrrha will have words with her leader; she would make sure of it!
"How far have you gotten with my scroll?"
"Not far. It's only been a day and still a vast amount of data to sift through."
"Fair enough. Keep going; the answer's in there somewhere."
"Does it have anything to do with the headaches you've been having?"
"You saw that?"
'Hard not to,' Pyrrha thought remembering all the times Jaune paused in their fight to sport that pained look on his face. If she had been more ruthless, she'd have taken the openings those presented and ran him through. He would have died.
Pyrrha almost let out a whimper.
"What I saw was you freezing up when miss Rose called out your name."
Jaune did not answer.
"Will she be a problem, Jaune? I understand that she's your wife but-"
It was safe to say that, at that point, it was no longer within Pyrrha's considerable capabilities to stay quiet, "WIFE?!"
She could feel the weight of their surprised stares settle on her even in the dark. When those wore off, it was the headmaster who broke the silence, "Ah, miss Nikos, so good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"
"I-"
He didn't let her finish, "Good. Good. Mister Arc, we will continue our discussion later. Your teammate looks like she might require your attention."
Jaune gave him a dirty look before using two fingers to rub his eyebrow in what looked like frustrated resignation. "I'll come by your office later."
"Grand." Ozpin stood, and with the sound of chair legs scraping against the tiled floor, two teens were left alone in a room where an abundance of questions floated in the air (most of them, if not all, belonging to the champion).
It was Jaune, however, who first thought to ask, "How are you feeling?"
How was she feeling? She was feeling a whole lot of things at the moment, not all so easily named. But, if she were to choose one, the most prominent would have to be, "Confused," and that was what she told him.
"About?"
As if he had to ask! Sure she might have been confused about a whole lot of things about his and the headmaster's little talk (more important things), but she already screeched the damned question.
Honestly, Jaune.
"The Headmaster said that Ruby was your wife."
She saw him wince, never mind that he hesitated to answer immediately as well. It all just confirmed everything in her mind. Confirmed what, she did not know.
"Pyrrha, come on. That's dumb! I mean Ruby's fifteen! Ozpin just probably thought that I had a crush on her or something."
Then why the face? Why the hesitation? Why couldn't he look her in the eyes for longer than a second? Pyrrha might have been the most accepting of her friends, but even she had to admit that it was all very suspicious. "Then why 'wife' of all things?"
She saw him wince again as if the very word pinched him the wrong way.
"It was obviously a mistake. He must have meant something else like 'wifu' or whatever. You know how he is with slang."
Okay, now she was sure that he was making things up! Wifu? Was that even a word? "Wifu, Jaune?" How dumb did he think she is?
"Hey, you tell me. I'm not the one from Mistral here."
She turned on the soft lamp attached to the infirmary beds to show him just how impressed she was by his retort. She was not.
"Look, if you don't believe me then why don't you ask Ruby? If she really was… my wife-"
There see? He hesitated. Again!
"—then she would know."
Well, that was true. How could Pyrrha question such simple logic? Was it possible that he might very well be telling it as it is? Common sense alone was enough to convince her that he was. What sort of explanation was she even hoping for exactly besides the already obvious?
But there was just something about how the headmaster said it that rose flags in her head, something that told her that if only she hadn't interrupted then Jaune wouldn't have denied anything.
Again, Pyrrha berated herself for losing control like that. She could have learned so much more! Er- not that she condoned eavesdropping or anything of the sort.
But that was besides the point!
The fact that he was trying so hard to convince her told her that there was more to the story. Pyrrha was a smart girl, and she knew well enough that the topic itself was a bizarre one. It wouldn't have taken much for Jaune to simply just dismiss her concerns as something of a joke and laugh it off. Instead, he looked for an excuse, an excuse that shouldn't even have been an excuse at all under virtue of being the only thing that made sense.
And yet he did.
He was "try-harding", as Nora would put it. The question was… why?
Her eyes narrowed at him in suspicion while his kept to the sheets that covered his legs. He busied himself with patting down the creases in the fabric, all but ignoring the questioning glares she kept throwing his way.
In the end, she had to give up. She had nothing on him, and all her glares were accomplishing was growing the stitch in her brow that would surely pester her the entire day. She sighed dejectedly as she leaned back against the headboard.
What now?
All evidence seemed to point to her simply overreacting, but try as she might, she just couldn't let it go. The silence between them grew as she pondered what that meant for her if her crush really was married. Did that mean that she was interested in a married man? Was she that kind of girl? [Gasp!] Was she a homewrecker?! Suddenly she was a lot more in favour of being mistaken in her suspicions.
She was overreacting; that's all.
Yeah, that's all… definitely.
That still left her with her other questions though. "Is it true what you said that you forgot to activate your aura in our fight?"
She tried very hard not to notice how he visibly relaxed when she finally dropped her previous line of questioning.
'He's not married to Ruby. He's not married to Ruby. He's not!' She reminded herself rather vehemently.
"Yeah, I guess I did."
"What do you mean, 'you guess you did'? How could you forget?! It wasn't long ago that I unlocked it for you!" She was getting upset again. Unlocking someone's aura for them was a very big, not to mention: intimate, deal!
"I'm sorry Pyrr."
"Sorry won't mean anything if you got hurt, Jaune! And you did get hurt! A shotgun shell to the stomach?! I'm surprised we're even having this conversation right now!" Her outburst, though whispered so not to disturb the others that might have been in the infirmary with them, surprised even herself. She didn't think she'd ever used so many exclamation points in a conversation before. They were not enough to stop her from tearing into him, however. She swung her legs over the side of her bed so that she could face her leader. "What would have happened if you weren't fast enough, hm? What if- if I hit you with Miló? I could have ki- I could have… I-"
She didn't notice how she began to shake; how her eyes grew blurry and unfocused when she pictured herself hurting Jaune. The moment his arms wrapped around her, only then did she realize she was crying. "I'm so sorry, Pyrrha," he said burying his face in her bedridden, red hair, "I didn't mean to make you worry."
Hands rose tentatively as they glided over his chest to wind themselves behind his neck. Only when her cheek settled against his did the reality of the situation sink in. This was their first hug, the most contact they'd shared with each other. It amazed her how all the negativity she had felt earlier seemed to just... melt away. 'So… warm.'
She woke up when she felt him poking her ribs with his fingers. And once she did, she quickly realized that she'd actually fallen asleep on him! Naturally, she blushed and refused to acknowledge the line of spit that stuck to her chin even as she wiped it off. "S-Sorry about that." She said while separating herself from the boy like he was on fire.
"Nah, it's no big. I'd let you sleep longer but," he chuckled quietly, "my butt was falling asleep too." Pyrrha joined in his laughter.
"I'm sorry," she said again, "and not just for…" Her finger gestured around the wet spot on his shoulder. Groaning she covered her face so that she couldn't see the amused expression on Jaune's, "but also for getting upset. I didn't mean to be so cross. It was silly of me." Her hands rose up to her hair to distract herself from the guilt and embarrassment by tangling her fingers in it.
"I don't think worrying about your partner is silly. I think it's sweet." He shrugged.
Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at that but then frowned again when she asked, "Does- does your head still hurt?"
"Nope! All good in the hood," he demonstrated by knocking on the side of his head. "Not that I'm, uh, wearing my hoodie right now but you catch my drift."
He placed a hand on her shoulder when she still didn't look convinced.
"Don't worry about me, Pyrrha. I promise I'll be more careful next time. I was just- I wasn't feeling too hot this morning."
'You felt hot enough to m- no! Control, Pyrrha! Remember your training,' her treacherous thoughts were thinking while she busied herself saying, "Of course I'll worry. I'm your partner, Jaune; it's my job." Her hands settled on her lap.
"And there's no better partner a guy could have ever asked for."
In her mind, there was only a high pitched 'e' sound when she had heard him say that. First, she was angry then weepy, and now she was happy? Talk about a roller coaster. Maybe she was still tired. Jaune seemed to think so too.
"Get some rest; you look like you could do with a bit of shut-eye."
Sleep? But there was so much more she wanted to talk about! Like his newly discovered combat prowess. Where did that even come from? He had to be a huntsman. She simply refused to believe that her leader was anything less than trained like he had led everybody else to believe, not after that showing in the arena.
She was just about to protest when a cavernous yawn told her "Nah".
"Very well. Perhaps you're right. What about you? Aren't you going to sleep with me?" The sound of glass breaking echoed somewhere in the back of her mind. That came out wrong. "S-Sleep as in to get rest! And in your own bed preferably, fully clothed a-and not at all inappropriate… ha. Haha."
Pyrrha was grateful that he chose not to comment. "You go on ahead. I still need to talk to O- the Headmaster."
'About what?' She wanted to ask but didn't. She really was that sleepy and couldn't hold onto a longer conversation even if she tried. "Okay, Jaune. See you in the morning?"
"Yeah. Goodnight, Pyrrha." He stood up, the mattress under him shifting to occupy the space he just left. Just before he could leave, however, Pyrrha spoke up.
"Jaune…"
"Yeah?" He turned to face her.
"You know... if there's anything, anything at all, you want to talk about, I'm more than happy to listen."
There was a beat of silence before he replied, "I know. That's why you're 'best partner', remember?" She smiled sleepily at hearing it said again and then he left. "G'night, champ."
"Good night."
~ • ~
"You know, for someone who wants to keep things secret, you sure have no problem blurting stuff out even when there are people around."
"I thought she was asleep."
"And I thought you didn't take any chances."
"I don't."
"Then what gives?"
Instead of an answer, the Headmaster turned to stare out the large window of his office, but Jaune understood his refusal to speak well enough.
"You wanted her to find out."
Ozpin remained silent.
"Any particular reason why you want my partner in on our little secret?"
The bespectacled man did sigh that time, and it was all Jaune needed to catch on to his little charade.
"I told you to find someone else to be the Fall Maiden. You're not painting a target on Pyrrha's back a second time. Not while I'm here."
"Then who?" He turned to face him. "There is no other I would trust with this. Would you rather I choose miss Xiao Long? Or perhaps even Ru-"
Hands slammed onto the headmaster's desk so hard that the glass of the windows shook in their frames. "Do not… go there, Ozpin. I did not come to you just so you could put the people I care about in danger all over again. I came to you because you have connections, connections I need to stop what's happened in my time from happening in this one."
The headmaster didn't look at all put off by his little display, "There you are, Wolves' Bane. Nice of you to join us," he said, but Jaune would not be goaded.
"Are you telling me that, in this entire school, you have no one else but the women in my team and Ruby's as candidates for Fall Maiden?"
"Tha-"
"That," Jaune didn't let him finish, "was a rhetorical question." Taking his hands off the table, Jaune straightened his spine, the younger huntsman challenging the Headmaster in both height and presence, "I know there are others, but, for some reason, you won't choose them. What are you hiding from me, Ozpin? What is so important about the Maiden that you would risk my team for it? Tell. Me."
Ozpin knew he was caught. He was used to dealing with him as a teenager, but not the soldier he was forced to become. He could see the cogs in the other man's head turning, measuring the words he thought he could get away with. In the end, all he could say was, "I can't-"
Jaune's hackles rose, and the Headmaster was quick to try and placate him.
"—for now, Wolf, only for now. You have to trust me. This is what's best for everyone. The reason you lost your world is becau-"
"—The reason," his voice boomed and staggered with barely restrained fury, "everyone… I have ever loved is... gone, is because we didn't know what we were up against. Because the one man who was supposed to have all the answers died before he could tell us anything."
The aforementioned man was decent enough to pause and give that statement the thought that it deserved.
"Trust you?" Jaune, continued, "I did trust you, Ozpin; look at where that's got me."
"Mister Arc- Jaune, where are you going?"
Jaune had turned and was already walking towards the elevator. "I'm not just gonna stand here and let history repeat itself. I'm not interested in playing your little games, Oz. I have my friends to look after."
"Mister Arc, please," Ozpin went around the table to follow, "if you won't listen to me then listen to reason! What do you think would happen if you do find and kill Cinder Fall? Do you honesty believe that would be the end of it? No, someone more dangerous will take her place, putting your team and miss Rose in even more danger. At least this Cinder woman is a variable we could predict but only if we act rationally."
Jaune spun on his heel and marched straight back up to the headmaster. "Then what would you have me do, huh?!" He hissed, "Do you honestly believe that I would just sit on my hands while the people who want to hurt my family are out there doing gods know what?! I will protect them, Oz, and no one: not Glynda, not Ironwood, not Qrow, and not even you could stop me."
"And I won't. I want your team safe just as much as you do. All I'm asking is for a little bit of trust and patience," Ozpin beseeched him.
"Trust" he says. "Patience" he says. If that was all it took then he wouldn't even be here, would he? Jaune wanted to point that out but knew it would only take them back to his first argument. They'd be going around in circles, and Jaune was too tired for that.
Suddenly the fatigue of getting shot, waking up in the middle of the night, and then arguing the merits of passivity caught up to the young blonde soldier, and, with it, a sort of lackadaisical cognizance of the way things were. Ozpin was right to an extent; Jaune knew far too well that doing nothing sometimes was better than doing the wrong thing. It was just the inaction of the situation that was making his teeth itch and driving him insane.
Ozpin put a hand on his shoulder. "We are all on the same side, Wolf. We all want the same thing."
Did they? Jaune sighed.
"I want to trust you, Headmaster," tiredly, he admitted, "but that's a luxury I just can't afford, not when it comes to them. If you really want me to go along with whatever it is you're planning then you have to give me something."
It was Ozpin's turn to sigh, but, after a while of contemplative silence, conceded, "In light of recent events, I believe it is no longer wise for you to remain a student of Beacon."
That was not what Jaune was hoping to hear. "I said 'give' me something, Ozpin, not 'take', and now you're telling me to leave Beacon?"
"Well, now. I didn't say that."
The way the Headmaster was grinning at him did not inspire confidence.
~ • ~
Ruby wasted no time. When headmaster Ozpin told her yesterday that today was the earliest she could see Jaune, the moment she woke up, she was already putting on her usual gear and was well on her way to the infirmary. Imagine her surprise when she found him missing.
"Gone?" Yang asked.
She nodded noticeably distraught.
"Maybe he was let out early?" Blake proposed.
Giving up on sleep and joining the conversation, Weiss put in her grouchy, two liens, "It's six in the morning; this is early."
"Well, have you tried his room? Maybe he's already there."
"I-" Ruby's eyes widened comically before the redhead shot out the door faster than anyone could blink.
The WBY of team RWBY all stared at each other when they heard their leader knock on (more like assaulted) JNPR's dorm room door. Sleepy as they all were, the three were slow to follow, but that didn't mean they couldn't hear Nora Valkyrie's loud greeting.
"G'mornin', Ruby!"
"Hi Nora," she said distractedly while stood on her tiptoes trying to look over the hammer wielder, "is Jaune there?"
Ruby saw the other girl frown and her own feelings of apprehension began to gnaw at her. Did something happen to Jaune? Was her best friend okay? The suspense was torture on her young, teenage nerves!
Nora moved to the side to reveal the rest of team Juniper already awake. Pyrrha was sitting on her bed and was the one to answer, "Jaune isn't here."
"Wha- but, where is he? Wasn't he with you?" The slightest pang of guilt niggled at Ruby at not even greeting Pyrrha and asking how she was after yesterday, but her focus had tunnelled already and could not find it in herself to be bothered.
Pyrrha shook her head no, "Not since talking to him last night."
Talking? So- wait. He woke up? He's not dead! 'Oh, thank you!' Just knowing that Jaune was okay was enough to make Ruby slump against the doorframe in relief. But where was he? "Do you… know where he is?" She asked tentatively.
"He said that he needed to speak with the headmaster."
That got Weiss's attention, "The headmaster? What could Jaune possibly want to discuss with him that couldn't wait 'til morning?"
"Who cares? I'm going back to bed." Her sister turned around and went back inside their dorm. She was still upset about yesterday, it looked like, but Ruby knew her well enough to know that she did care. She wouldn't have gotten out of bed otherwise. Knowing that he wasn't dead was enough for her though.
Everyone else chose not to comment on her sister's attitude for which Ruby was infinitely grateful for. She really couldn't deal with that right now.
"I don't know, Weiss," Pyrrha continued once Yang had closed the door, "but I plan on asking him that myself when I see him. We're hoping to catch Jaune during class."
"Class which won't start for another three hours," Blake deadpanned while looking pointedly at her.
Ruby replied with a head scratch and a nervous titter, "Well, at least now we know that Jaune's okay. That's good, right?"
"You're the one who went out at such an ungodly hour to go see the goofball; you tell us if it was worth it."
Her partner got her there, "I wha- That's not what I… I-I wasn't- I was just, uh..." Everybody waited for her and how she would finish that sentence. The problem was that she didn't know either, so Ruby fired back instead, "You were worried too Weiss!" She smirked, 'Ha! Let's see you handle the attention, ice queen!'
She didn't even deny it like Ruby hoped she would (well, there went that idea), "Of course I was. A comrade in arms had been injured; I was worried for him just as much as I was for Pyrrha—how are you doing by the way?" She squeezed in the question gracefully.
"Still sore but can't complain." Pyrrha shrugged and smiled.
"Good, good. That's a relief to hear," Weiss sympathized, and without missing a beat (curse you Weiss and your singer beat keeping skills!), rounded on Ruby again making the shorter girl shrink even further below the you-must-be-this-tall-to-ride-the-rollercoaster line, "But unlike you, I didn't think to bother everyone by waking up so early."
"Oh yeah? Well, I-…" Darn it! Didn't she know how to finish this sentence either? 'What gives, brain?' "I-…" Weiss crossed her arms over her chest as everyone waited yet again on what new and innovative ways she was to put her foot in her mouth.
Luckily for her, her stomach rumbled.
'Nice save, tummy! I could always count on you, not like brain,' Ruby thought. "Well, I'm hungry, and as leader, I say we get ourselves some breakfast!" Totally logical, hundred percent. 'I'm just too smooth. Like- like a… smoothie. Yieeeah.'
"Ruby, that's not-"
She interrupted Weiss, "And, seeing as your leader is currently MIA, I as Jaune's backup and bestest friend here by commandeer team JNPR, or NPR, in this case—krk krk. Nipper," she snickered. "Let's see some hustle team! To the pantry!"
With a "pew" like in one of those silly Saturday morning cartoons she loved to watch so much and a scattering of rose petals, Ruby disappeared down the corridor that led to her esca- ur, breakfast.
~ • ~
Jaune had a lot to think about. Having two sets of memories that were slowly intermingling with each other would do that. However disorienting that may be, it wasn't what got him looking like he was sucking on a lemon, it's what Ozpin said to him this morning that did.
Now more than ever, he needed to organize his mission parameters.
Unconsciously, his hand reached up to his breast-pocket only to realize that his scroll wasn't there; neither was there a breast pocket to reach into, to begin with.
With a sigh, Jaune opened his locker. 'One step at a time, Jaune,' he reminded himself, 'just one step at a time.'
There was one thing, at least, that he would make sure to check out first before he threw himself into the chaos of the day, something he hadn't thought possible for the longest time.
That was until he was told he had aura again.
Taking a candid look around before reaching into his locker, Jaune brought out his—again, he wanted to say armour, but, despite the weathering, it really was just too fancy-looking to be called that—his suit but just the chest piece. A sense of nostalgia and child-like wonder gripped him. It was like meeting a new friend as well as greeting an old one. The feeling made him smile despite them being complete contradictions.
He looked around again making doubly sure he was alone, and when he saw that he was, Jaune gripped the breastplate where the arms were supposed to go and pushed his aura into the metal. The crystal-shaped core in the middle of the chest piece began to glow.
Wolves' Bane's eyes turned watery.
He almost couldn't believe it… 'After all these years…' Hands becoming frantic, Jaune reached inside his locker again to grip the jaw guard of his suit that deployed into his helmet. After infusing it with some aura, it did just that, and Jaune did not hesitate in pressing the right side of the helm against his ear. Inside he could hear-
["Reactor: Online"]
["Sensors: Online"]
["Servos at: 12%"]
["Armour Integrity: 27%"]
["Initiating Neural Handshake…"]
[Pending…]
[Pending…]
["Neural Link: Established"]
The cool sensation of his AI interfacing with the positronic brain installed to the back of his neck surged through his body like a soothing downpour.
Not soon enough, the cold, digitized tones of Winter Schnee feathered against his consciousness, ["Warfare and Navigations Tactical Relay: Online. All systems: nominal, General Arc…"] but then became melodious and teasing, ["or at least, as nominal as you could keep me. What? Didn't have time to give me a good scrub? Honestly, Jaune."]
"Gods, WNTR, I've missed you."
["Missed me? You? Well now, things must be dire."]
"Heh. You could say that," he chuckled.
["Mm. So what's the op? And is it just me, or do you sound younger?"]
~ • ~
It was already lunchtime, and RWBY could be found sitting with their sister team, JNPR, at their usual table. It did not escape any of them how Juniper was still very much just nipper without their leader, and as juvenile as it was, Weiss had to admit that the name was rather funny sounding.
"Still no Jaune?" She asked the obvious question and was met predictably with headshakes by everyone at the table.
"I don't get it; didn't you say that he only went to see Ozpin?"
"Yes. He said so himself," Pyrrha replied to Nora clearly quite worried herself.
"Guys, come on, I'm sure he's fine! You're all getting worked up over nothing. He probably just ditched classes today to avoid all his adoring new fans," Her blonde teammate tried to lift everybody's spirits with her usual Yang brand of optimism.
Pyrrha was in no mood for Yang branded optimism.
"Forgive us if we want to make sure that our leader is okay. You might not have a vested interest in him, but we do."
"That's not-…" Weiss saw Ruby stop her sister's retort by placing her hand on Yang's balled-up fist that was on the table. The scowl on her face melted into a guilty frown when she looked down at her little sister. "Yeah… sorry, Pyrrha."
That got the usually kind-hearted woman looking guilty herself. "N-No," she assured her, "That was... uncalled for; I shouldn't have snapped like that. It's just-…"
"It's just that everybody's under a whole lot of stress. Tensions were bound to run high," she finished for the champion when it looked like she couldn't. Weiss was given an appreciative nod for her thoughtfulness. "But whether we like it or not, Yang is correct; worrying accomplishes nothing except bringing the mood down further."
"Yeah. Let's talk about something else," Nora suggested.
"Agreed," Ren concurred.
"Then what about how no one from our class would shut up about the fight yesterday? Jaune's become an urban legend around these here parts," Ruby shot a finger gun while saying the last bit with a West-Valian accent, "There are even rumours floating around! Krk, have you heard the one where Jaune is like a secret super-soldier from the future that came back to save Remnant from the Apocalypse? Krk krk! Priceless."
"No, but I have heard the one where it was staged and Yang actually threw the fight," Blake supplied.
Yang groaned, "Uuugh, don't remind me. I don't even know how many times I've been asked how much Arc had to pay me to throw the fight, and if I would give them a discount."
"Mm, I as well. Is it really that surprising that someone beat me?" Pyrrha asked.
"Hm, four-time Mistral regional champion, Pyrrha Nikos," Nora raised one palm up representing said champion, "losing tooo~…" Nora raised the other, "Jaune," and let the words hang, all the while an expression where her lower lip curved over the upper said that she was anything but convinced, "nope. Nothing strange there! Compleeetly normal."
"You have to admit, it was rather surprising," Weiss agreed.
"But he really did though."
"And that's why no one's shutting up about it," Yang lamented, "It wasn't enough that he beat you; he had to go and beat me too! The scandal!"
"Yeah, that was pretty cool," Ruby put in helpfully while she drank her milk through a straw and smug smile.
"I will take away your cookie privileges."
"I kid! I kid!" Ruby laughed.
"And what's your take on that?" It was Blake who suddenly asked the question addressing team JNPR as a whole rather than just Pyrrha.
Ren waited, spooning a helping of macaroni into his mouth first before he asked, "Take on what?"
"How do you feel about your leader hiding something like this from you."
It was obvious how the question took them aback, and even after sharing a look with each other, none of team JNPR was ready to answer. It came as a surprise when it was Nora that was first to speak.
"We… We told him stuff about us; shared our stories. I just thought that, if there was anything, he'd trust us enough to tell, but I guess that was pretty dumb. I mean the semester's barely even over; it's not like we've known the guy for long, but… yeah. It kinda sucks." She said dejectedly.
Ren put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Everyone is entitled to their secrets, Nora. Not everyone could be like us who've known each other for years."
"Yeah, I know that. I guess I was just hoping that we could be like a family you know."
"Families keep secrets," Yang said and Weiss could only agree. Heavens only knew what secrets her Schnee heritage kept from her, "but that shouldn't stop them from caring."
That, she did not quite agree with, but she digressed. "Pyrrha, what about you?" The heiress asked instead.
"More… intrigued than hurt, really. I agree with Ren and Yang with what they said about secrets. There's still time Nora; we still have years to learn about each other."
The orange-haired Valkyrie couldn't help but beam at all the encouragement.
"Secret or no" Pyrrha continued, "I'm actually glad that he beat me."
"Why," was Ruby's question.
"And what intrigued you?" was hers.
"I… don't really want to answer the why," she looked apologetically towards the younger girl who pouted at the rejection, "but as to the what, well," she paused, turning her head ever so slightly to see if anyone else had been listening in, "during the fight, did anyone notice how Jaune moved?"
"I did. Moved like a little bitch, that guy; didn't wanna stand still and take my punches like a man!"
Cussing while at the table, ugh, "Yang, must you really?" Weiss reprimanded the blonde.
"What? He is!"
"That is no excuse for such vulgarity especially when people are eating."
"Vulga-" Weiss could see that she wanted to argue, but raising one frosty eyebrow in challenge was all it took for Yang to realize that it would only mean yet another lecture of etiquette from the ice queen. "Tch, fine… he's still a little bitch though," she whispered the last part so Weiss wouldn't hear.
She did but chose to let it slide in favour of something more to her interest.
"Please continue, Pyrrha. What do you mean by the way he moved?"
"Well, he moved… like me."
Did he? Weiss tried to recall the fight and vaguely remembered the fighting style Jaune adopted. It was somewhat similar to Pyrrha's. No, not somewhat. Very. "He did, but I fail to see how that would be intriguing."
"It's intriguing," Pyrrha explained, "because the Myrmidon stance is an old military form only few know about today. The only ones I know who still practice it are me and my father."
"And I take it your father hasn't taken on any new apprentices?" Weiss deduced.
"None that I know off."
Well now, that was intriguing.
"Maybe he was just… copying you?" Ruby proposed but didn't sound all too sure herself.
"If that were the case then he wouldn't have won," plain and simple, Pyrrha stated, and it wasn't even a boast, just the truth. "For him to best me in single combat, it would have required mastery of the form I myself have been using for years," she gave everyone time to absorb that rather significant piece of information before adding, "and I had Yang."
"Woah…" Both Ruby and Nora said at the same time.
"Wait a minute," Yang suddenly slammed her fists on the table, "Why that sonovab-" A cold glare from her put an end to that sentence, "—son of a gun was using my fighting style too!"
Ruby paused halfway to her straw when she asked, "Your fighting style? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure! Even started giving me pointers near the end. Pretentious, little-" Her eyes quickly flicked at Weiss, "—rapscallion."
"But how? Dad taught you that, and he made it up!"
"Where on Remnant did he learn all this?" Nora asked, but it was Ren who raised the better question.
"How did he learn? It takes years just to get a grips on any fighting style; to master two vastly different from each other…"
He didn't need to finish. They all knew exactly what that entailed. Jaune was young, far too young, to have mastered one, let alone both of those martial arts. Weiss had her own theories as to how, one of them possibly being his semblance that heightened learning, but she couldn't be sure.
"The only way we'll really know is if we ask him. Now if only tall, blonde, and scraggly would- Ah! Ruby?!"
Her partner abruptly standing up and using her semblance startled the heiress into standing herself. What had caught her attention enough to do that? Knowing her excitable leader, it could have been anything. Looking over the heads of the other Beacon students, she found Ruby just outside the entrance to the cafeteria talking to someone.
That someone being Ozpin that just so happened to be passing by.
By that time, everyone else at the table had turned from their seats to observe the exchange. They watched how Ruby prattled at—not with. This was Ruby after all—the Headmaster; the man nodding politely where he thought it appropriate. It was obvious at which point Ruby had asked about Jaune when they saw her mannerisms become more subdued and her expression nervous.
Then her smile fell, and a slowly dawning look of grief-stricken horror took its place. The milk carton she held in her hand slipped through her slack fingers, and the sound of it hitting the floor was both minute and echoing.
Weiss could practically feel the entire group's mood shift at the girl's expression. There were a few more words bartered between the two, but the conversation ultimately came to an end with the Headmaster taking his leave. Ruby just stood there out in the hallway for a good long while before walking back to their table. Walking. That in itself was cause for concern.
Her gait felt stuttered like her feet only had a vague idea of where they were going, but bring her to their spot, they did, and everyone sat at the edge of their seats in anticipation of what she had to say. Ruby kept her head low the entire time.
"Well?" She asked, "Did you ask about Jaune?"
Of course, she did; it was just mentioned how that was obvious earlier, but Weiss felt that the obvious had to be asked if only to knock Ruby out of her dazed stupor.
"I… I did." Weiss had never heard her leader sound so small.
"And?" Pyrrha encouraged, her tone hopeful.
"Jaune was…"
Only then did Weiss notice that Ruby had tears in her eyes.
"Jaune was expelled."
~ • ~
It was said earlier that Jaune needed to clear his head, and what better way to do that than hours of "clearing out" the heads of Grimm?
The blonde soldier could be found currently in the Emerald Forest with Ruby's scythe in hand. He only had the upper half of his gel layer undersuit and chest piece for protection, but his armour was there more for the company, however, rather than to actually shield him from any blows. They were just Beowolves after all; no need to go overboard.
["Let me see if I understand correctly, my General,"] his AI's voice rang in his mind, ["Sooo… time travel?"]
Not at all inconvenienced by the question as proven by him effortlessly chopping the head off yet another Beowulf with Ruby's patented windmill cleave, Jaune's answer came as a simple, "Yup".
["And now you're young again and we haven't lost the war yet?"]
"Yup."
["And you still plan on saving all of Remnant?"]
"More or less."
["While I do not disagree, I do have to ask: how?"]
He had no answer ready for that one.
["Jaune…"]
"I'm working on it."
["Uhuh."]
"I am! It's only been two days. Give me a break!"
It told a lot about Atlas technology when their AI was able to express emotions such as exasperation with utterly human detail. It didn't help Jaune feel better about himself though. WNTR sighed the most human sigh.
["Hopeless. You were right to wake me when you did. Without my supervision, I wouldn't even be surprised if you rose a rebellion the first week you were here if you thought that would help."]
"D-ah, tsk. Hey!"
["Don't you 'hey' me. Need I remind you of Mantle? And wasn't that a catastrophe and half?"]
"Just a small one…" Jaune mumbled in denial.
["You toppling governments is small, Jaune?"] She sighed again and left the subject be for another time. ["So what's our next move?"]
Jaune slowly halted in his Grimm butchering (not that there were any Grimm left to butcher), and let out a near inaudible breath. Seconds ticked past without him answering the question that it prompted his AI to ask, ["General- Jaune?"]
Standing there with his wif- Ruby's scythe stuck to the ground by its tip like he saw her doing countless of times, Jaune was reminded again of how utterly lost he was. He had no plan. At first, he thought he did, but Ozpin was right. The more they deviated from the path, the less predictable the future became.
And that terrified him utterly and completely.
What if he lost them all sooner this time? One false move—what if that was all it took for him to lose Ruby all over again? No, not again. He couldn't take it; he won't!
["Jaune? Jaune! Jaune, breathe!"]
He gasped, and when his vision cleared, found himself on his knees.
["Good gods, Jaune! Things must really be bad if your AI has to remind you to perform the simple act of breathing!"]
"Sorry [cough]… But I- I don't know..."
["You don't know how to breathe?!"] WNTR asked incredulously.
"I don't know… what to do," he admitted in a ragged voice, "How can I make sure that I won't make things worse? How-… How will I know if the choices I make are the right ones?"
["You're afraid,"] WNTR acknowledged.
Jaune stood up shakily and gripped Crescent Rose by the haft. Collapsing it into its compact form and holding it in both hands, he confessed, "I am."
["You're afraid of losing her again."]
"Yes," he whispered.
WNTR hummed, ["I might not be you're wife's AI, but I have gathered enough data on her to hazard a guess as to what she would say if she saw you now. Would you like to know?"]
Jaune closed his eyes and just nodded.
["She'd say: Keep marching, soldier. We're not done yet."] The quote was spoken in Ruby's voice, a recording of one of their many interactions.
Jaune's whole frame shook just hearing it.
A sound equal parts laughter and a sob burst from his lips, "Yeah. She'd definitely say that."
["And you know why, don't you?"]
He nodded as Wolves' Bane pictured his wife in his mind, "Because it isn't about us anymore. We owe it to our people that we do our best. That's what being a leader is all about."
["And then she would punch you either in the gut or somewhere lower. I haven't decoded how she makes that choice as of yet."]
Jaune laughed the first honest to goodness laugh he had ever done since returning to Beacon. It was liberating. He really was glad that he got WNTR back.
["One step at a time, Jaune."]
"One step at a time."
A moment of peace and quiet was awarded the soldier, and he took the opportunity to simply bask in the here and now. He breathed in and felt the cold autumn breeze enter his lungs. He breathed out and felt the warmth of his body tickle his nose. 'Got to keep moving forward,' he reminded himself.
["Speaking of moving forward, isn't it about time that you got going?"]
Right. Ozpin's given him an assignment, and though it wasn't what he had hoped for, it was still something. And right now, Jaune could do with a little bit of something, anything to keep him from going crazy.
Adopting the tone he used whenever he would ask HQ for a sitrep, Jaune asked, "Where's our first objective?"
["Primary is roughly four point five klicks from your position. I've taken the liberty to mark it as nav point Gamma on your HUD."]
"HUD is inoperable."
["That's because you have your ORCL shut off. Turn your left eye on, Jaune."]
He had almost forgotten about that, how he had only one eye. After living so long without the other, it just slipped his mind.
Pushing aura into his left eye socket, Jaune's world gained a dimension he hadn't lived with for an age. "Hello, depth perception, my old friend." He wobbled, unused to having both of his eyes working again.
["You okay there, General?"]
"I-… yeah…" It was a simple matter of rummaging through his memories of a time when he still had both eyes. It didn't take long as those memories were readily available to his younger self, and like flicking on a switch, the vertigo he felt disappeared as if it never was.
For a moment he felt guilty for robbing Jaune of a left eye, but then he remembered that he was Jaune. "I'll get over it."
["How's it looking?"]
"A little bit green and too much saturation." His left eye suddenly telescoped in and out, the colours and focus adjusting until they were just right.
["What about now? Better?"]
"Much. Thank you, WNTR."
["Don't thank me; thank Atlas that they built to last, not to mention survive neglectful users,"] she managed to squeeze in the barb. ["Initiating Optical Reconnaissance Cerebral Link."]
Jaune's world lit up quite literally when his HUD came to life. Tactical information flooded before his eyes, but only two held his attention: the tac map at the top-left of his peripheral and the distance to his objective just below it. "So, nav point Gamma?"
["Aye, my General. ETA: twenty minutes. Five if you run."]
"Well, let's try not to be late on our first day, shall we?"
~ • ~
To Ruby, the day went past in a daze. She barely paid any attention in her last class, and she doubted that, in the next one, she'd do any better. She was just glad that it was the last one of the day, and better still was that it was professor Port's. She could just dose off and forget that her best friend, her first friend was no longer attending Beacon with her.
No more hanging out with her best bud. No more video game competitions between their teams. No more talking about how hard it was being a leader and then telling each other that they could do it.
Jaune was just gone. Just like that, he was-… he was gone, and she didn't even get to say goodbye.
Now she'll never know what that kiss meant…
"Alright. Everybody, take their seats."
Again, Ruby didn't pay attention, just followed her sister and sat where her team sat then buried her head under her arms. She didn't care at all for whatever Port was bragging about now. She just wanted the day to end.
"Unfortunately, professor Port wouldn't be teaching today on account that, according to him, a Boarbatusk had snuck into his quarters late at night, and in no small part of the resulting battle, his arthritis acted up."
If only she'd been at the infirmary earlier. If only Ozpin let her stay to watch over her friend.
"But not to worry. Today I'd like to introduce to you the newest member of our faculty. He'll be the one handling this class for the time being. Some of you might already know him, but let's give him a warm welcome just the same."
Stupid Ozpin expelling Jaune. Stupid Jaune for getting hurt! Stupid, stupid, STUPID Jaune for making her feel all weird, and confused, and- and stuff!
She buried her head deeper in her arms and sighed, 'Stupid me for not talking to him.'
"Come on in, young man. Please, introduce yourself."
If only she got to see him one last time then she'd tell him… tell him that-
"Thank you, Headmaster."
Her arms she had wrapped around her head stiffened as Ruby's ears perked at the familiar voice.
That-
"Hi everybody, the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, the ladies love it."
—that he was SOOO DEAD!
'No way!' Her head shot up and there he was, stupid grin and all, her dumb, blonde, best friend, nincompoop, traitor face, piece of garbage.
Ruby's jaw fell to the floor.
"But you could all just call me-"
~ • ~
["Mr Wolf,"] his suit's onboard AI informed him, ["coms are ready for you."]
Jaune nodded and stepped forward. The sight of one man breaking rank to step onto the battlefield drew the eyes of thousands upon him.
"This is Archon Omega 1, call sign: Mr Wolf addressing the last standing army of a free Remnant."
He inhaled yet another steadying breath, and out of habit, glanced to the side at his XO. He was greeted with an encouraging smile as Ruby nodded for him to continue.
"You all know who I am, and you all know why you're here, so I'll keep it brief."
The coms stayed silent as every brave soul stood in rapt attention. No one dared cough, sniffle, or cry when their commander who had lead them through countless battles was giving what could possibly be their last pep talk.
"Grimm are coming. They're coming to take what you all hold most dear. It doesn't matter what it is; I want you to close your eyes and picture it in your heads. Imagine holding it in your hands. What is it you love?"
His eyes met Ruby's like they were magnets, and the way that they looked at each other told them more than their words could ever say.
They both knew what they loved most, and they would fight for it tooth and nail.
"The Grimm want to take that. The question is would you let them?"
The voice of a thousand soldiers answered, "No, Mr Wolf!"
"Today we are hunters, every single one of us. When you look to the person beside you, you do not see a human nor a Faunus. There is no Vale, no Mistral, no Vacuo, or Atlas. Today there is only Remnant and the hunters that fight for it."
Jaune paused when another earsplitting howl tore through the night. He was made proud, however, when he saw the line hold with barely a flinch. They were all in this to the bitter end. There was no longer room in their hearts for fear.
"So when the Grimm come, what do we do?"
"We hunt!"
"And when we die?"
"Walk it off!"
"Damn right we walk it off! We don't stop marching until the job is done. Remnant, are you with me?!"
"Oo-rah!" The battle cry echoed into the deep, and it was a testament of life that would not go quietly into the night.
The polarized visor of his helmet snapped shut and the core of his Winter Cuirass began to glow, "Happy hunting, hunters."
Done with bolstering his troops, Jaune then switched to private coms before calling out, "Oh, and Ruby," Mr Wolf stepped up to Little Red.
"Jaune?" she asked, and he could hear the smile in her voice despite it now being hidden under her own tactical helm.
He drew a smiley face on her visor when he was close enough then bent to speak into the receiver of her suit, "Remember our deal."
She replied by leaning her helmet against his.
This chapter was so hard to write because it was a crossroads that determined what kind of story this would be. I hope I didn't botch it up too badly
Anyway, so here we see just how much Jaune had to change to become Wolves' Bane in his past life. And it carries over to the Jaune we now have in our story.
Added a few more elements to the plot, and a little bit of lore, you know, if you squint and tilt your head sideways.
I hope no one was too put off with the try-hard military jargon. The only experience I have of such is from tv shows and games—Mech Warrior, if anyone was wondering. I even borrowed some of the tech from there.
Let me know what you think.