Not dead, just sleep deprived and zombified.
Visitors, Part 3
Internal augments ached at the change in atmospheric pressure, the warm climate at odds with Atlas cold. The stitching itched in his chest, a sensation he hadn't had for a long time. It put him on edge, something was coming. Soldiers were naturally superstitious. Rituals were performed, like drinking from a rare bottle of alcohol, charms from loved ones or of significance were stashed on their bodies, and prayers were always said before battle for good luck, and veterans who lived through their engagements, often swore by them that they worked.
Omen followed the same suit. Things too good to be true, instincts honed by living through war. You could pick up the signs if you observed carefully, keeping your situational awareness. Little tells in a person's behavior, oddities in the environment that might be an ambush, hair standing up on the back of your neck. Soldiers trusted their instincts no matter how strange they seemed, it kept them alive to see another day.
Naturally, James had the same thought process.
The halls of Beacon were full of students from the four academies scattered across Remnant. All trained in destroying Grimm and protecting the people. Some of varying disciplines, but he knew the value of diversifying. More options against a threat meant more ways to exploit its weakness. He even saw a few familiar faces from his own academy among them, socializing with other students, making bonds for the future.
So why did he feel like he was walking with the enemy?
Paranoia and caution rode a thin line, the only difference is if you were proven right. Would he be paranoid to want to interview everyone? Yes, it would be paranoia if you didn't find anything. But on the off chance you found a discrepancy and a traitor in your midst? Now it became caution. A very thin line indeed in his mind, and one he struggled with. Safety of the people or the freedom that could open them up to attacks? With the White Fang at large and other forces moving in the dark, the decision was always hard.
Stepping onto the elevator, he pushed those thoughts to the side. While pertinent, he had business to attend to. Like greeting an immortal friend. The doors opened to Ozpin's office, the grand desk dominating the spacious room with clockwork hanging from the ceiling. Never understood the symbology behind it until you knew what Ozpin was. Perhaps he was a clockmaker in a past life. Ozpin looked up from his desk to see him enter.
"James, it's good to see you." The Headmaster looked tired as he stood from his desk. "I thought you were arriving tomorrow morning."
"An assignment finished sooner than expected." James met him midway and embraced the old friend. "It's good to see you're still concerned about us mortals."
"Can't let humanity run itself." He said, releasing him. "Learned that lesson the hard way."
"Indeed." James wasn't ignorant to the behavior of humanity and how violent it was at its core. The White Fang spawned from that ignorance, and sometimes, violence was the only way things could be solved. "How goes the preparations?"
"Well enough." Ozpin said, walking back towards his desk. "The council are dragging their feet as usual, and Huntsman from across Remnant are being recalled for the event."
"And the White Fang?" James asked. He would be an idiot not to keep tabs on the current events in Vale, especially with the Festival so close at hand.
"It's being handled." The Headmaster poured a dark liquid from his thermos into his black mug. "Qrow is investigating their movements as we speak."
"I thought he was tasked with Salem's agents."
"We believe they're connected." He explained. "And as much as I believe both you and he are being paranoid." Ozpin shot him a knowing look. "If there ever was a time to strike, it would be now."
"Precisely." James was glad they agreed on the sentiment. "Let me station my forces here. The White Fang here is reason enough to mobilize. With your support, the Counc-"
"No, James." He interrupted him. "There is more than enough Huntsman here and, on the way, to handle any threat that may come."
"But you don't know that. There will be too many people just for Huntsman to protect if Salem strikes."
"If, James. If. The people of Vale don't need to worry about Atlas invading their home."
"Criminals are running rampant through the streets, Ozpin! I saw the reports. The only reason you caught wind of this now was because of a rogue student! An ex-terrorist, on top of it!" She could be a sleeper agent for all they knew, just waiting for the right time to sabotage the CCT or even the festival.
"I'm aware. I also read about Mrs. Polendina's involvement." Ozpin stated, sipping his brew. James held his gaze, Ozpin daring him to look away. Polendina's actions had… mixed results when she returned. Combat wise, she performed well above what was initially projected. But when it came to the android's cognitive functions…
"She's being debriefed." James looked away, crossing his arms. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't have tighter security for the event."
"Will it be more droids?" He inwardly filched at the posed question. How Ozpin knew that she was a robot eluded him. Though being as old as he, little did get pass him. On top of the fact that their most advanced model was having reasoning problems, the massed produced replicas might have problems distinguishing friend from foe. Was the risk of friendly fire worth the manpower?
"Point taken." James sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But if this escalates, I will be bringing in reinforcements."
"As long as the Vytal Festival happens." Beacon's Headmaster stepped away from the desk and looked out the vast open window, taking in the view of Vale. "How's the Winter Maiden?"
"Deteriorating." He said, taking a position next to Ozpin. "Winter has been visiting with her regularly. It doesn't help that her mind is worse than her body." Turns out, Aura and magic couldn't cure neurodegenerative diseases, only prolong the suffering. "She might have one, maybe two years left."
"I see."
"How's Amber?" The current Fall Maiden's status was unknown.
"Critical condition, I'm afraid." Lights of the city twinkled in the twilight, a herald to the nightlife of Vale. "There is no sign of her waking. Half the Maiden's power was taken, and it seems like her soul with it. Thankfully, the machine keeping her in stasis is complete."
"Some good news at least." The Aura transfer machine beneath Beacon was a joint project between Atlas and Vale after the breakthrough of storing Aura into physical batteries. "Have you chosen a successor for her yet?"
"Well…" Ozpin paused, still gazing at the city. "There are a few promising candidates. I've not yet decided yet. Too many variables are still at play." He drank again from his mug. "She still needs to grow." James grunted in agreement. The conditions of passing on the power where strange at best. They had to be a young woman and the last one the previous holder thought of. Plenty of things could go wrong with a power transfer like that and could easily end up in the enemy's hands.
"Whoever created them is an idiot." James spoke his thoughts on the matter. A tired sigh escaped Ozpin.
"Don't remind me."
"Come on, come on." Ruby dragged Jaune through the halls of Beacon at the godforsaken hours of the morning, leading him by the wrist. After Kali thoroughly embarrassed Blake with her childhood and breaking the ice with Wiess, she went back to her room for some shut eye after traveling. Hell, he was just glad to sleep for a bit. Even his dreams weren't that bad, just him beating mini-Beowulf's with a plushy toy while they ran around his legs.
Don't ask him why it was relaxing, it was a fucking dream.
Then Ruby shook him awake, saying she needed him to follow her. So that's how he was in his sweatpants being dragged by his partner to god knows where. Now that he thought about it, he probably should ask her where they were going. "Where are we going?" He asked rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Upgrades, Jaune. Upgrades!"
Oh. She broke.
I don't feel safe. Ruby's questionable mental state aside, that still didn't explain what she was doing. "Have you slept at all?"
"Sleep is for the weak." Was her answer as she pushed open a door, revealing lockers, tall tables, stools, machinery, and thick aprons. Their bare feet padded on the concrete floor. Pulling Jaune towards a table, she sat him down on a stool. "I need your arm." Still groggy from the rude awakening, he presented his right arm. Ruby swatted it away. "Not that one, the better one." Jaune's eyebrow twitched.
"Not until you tell me what you're doing."
"Upgrading your arm." She said looking up at him with those vibrant silver eyes. Dark circles of sleep deprivation lined them. Ruby disappeared in a burst of roses to a nearby locker and fiddled with the lock. Jaune yawned as he watched her, his mind finally catching up to him. She rematerialized in front of him a second later, holding components and tools he could even begin to understand.
"An upgrade? When did you have time to come up with one?" He asked. Jaune knew Ruby was smarter than the average student, but this was just ridiculous.
"Whenever I have an idea, blueprint, diagram, whatever, my brain starts putting it together. I usually can't sleep until I write it out or actually create it. And it's a shotgun attachment in your hand. Not the best for long range, but it's always good to have options. Disconnect your arm. I can't' modify the thing while attached to you."
"Hold up, you want to put a shotgun on my arm? And since when could I detach it?" As badass as that sounded, it might be troublesome with daily living. Like eating… Or going to the bathroom.
"Not on your arm, silly, in your arm. And yeah, did no one tell you?" She dropped her tools on the table and invaded his personal space. "I read in the manual that there's a release switch beneath the shoulder plate." Her fingers deftly manipulated the metal, undoing latches and locking mechanisms. More often than not, Ruby helped him with his arm's maintenance, speeding up the process.
"Wait, there's a manual?" He didn't remember getting one.
"Scroll-net." Ruby said, like that explained everything.
Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
Don't worry, she knows what she's doing. Ruby sneezed, scratching his bare chest.
"M'sorry." She mumbled, distractedly patting the mark. After realizing he was constantly using and draining his Aura, Weiss was kind enough to teach him to turn it off and on. "Stupid freaking engineers, do they not understand people might want to customize their augments?"
"I don't think they thought people would modify them."
"Then they're idiots. Who wouldn't want to customize their own body?" It might have been her sleep deprivation, but that sounded far more disturbing than it should.
I don't like this. Run Jaune! I haven't found the sacred texts yet!
Sacred texts?
"Ha! Gotchya you little…" Removing the cover, she exposed the machinery that connected the limb to his body. Strands of titanium muscle were connected to his body, connecting flesh to metal. His shoulder seemed meshed with metal, but beside the joint, there was a port that connected the arm to his torso. Large red latches at the end of the fake muscle attached the limb to his body. Before he could stop her, she started undoing them. "Now there should be a neural switch somewhere…"
The texts lost in the deep reaches in your mind.
"Ruby, I don't feel so good about this." Seeing your own limb being dissected was unnerving to say the least. Sickening curiosity kept his eyes glued to the sight, despite the nausea. Peeling back the synthetic wires, what looked like a small motherboard dotted with blinking lights greeted them. The sensations didn't hurt, per se, but it felt extremely uncomfortable. Nothing felt right.
I feel funny, do you feel funny? Maybe if we-
"There it is!" She pressed a tiny button next to a blinking blue light. Feeling in his arm instantly went haywire, and the voice disappeared. Pins and needles shot through his arm, akin to shoving his arm into a closet full of blades.
"Ow, Fuck!"
"Sorry!" Ruby apologized. "They said it might be painful, just hold on." Reaching underneath the board to his armpit, Ruby pressed a button and felt something in his chest unlatch, and all feeling in his arm vanish. Ruby pulled the arm gently, and Jaune could feel something draw out from him. With a squelching pop, Jaune's arm was separated from his body. A short black shaft of that was inside of him that connected from the shoulder joint dripped with some unknown clear liquid.
"Ew…" Was Ruby's reaction, scrunching up her face at the drippage. Jaune, on the other hand, vomited violently onto the concreate floor, falling off the stool and passing out. Ruby hugged the arm to her chest for comfort as she looked upon her unconscious Jaune, the limb twitching slightly. "I should've planned for that." Gently putting the prosthetic back on the table, Ruby knelt next to him to make sure he was still breathing.
He was breathing, which was a good sign that she didn't accidentally kill him. "Jaune, Jaune." She lightly slapped his face. "Wake up, you're freaking me out." Being careful to avoid the vomit, she dragged him onto her lap. "Great job Ruby, what else can you screw up?" One step forward and two steps back when she tries to do anything. Making sure that Jaune could still breathe on her lap, she pulled out her scroll and dialed.
"Hey, Weiss? Yeah…. Funny story about that, I need you to come down to the forge and look after Jaune… Because he passed out." Pinning her scroll to her shoulder and ear, Ruby started stroking his hair to calm her nerves. "I removed his arm and he vomited." Cringing from the volume, she removed the scroll from her ear while Weiss yelled through the speaker. "He's fine… Just taking a post barf nap. My family does it all the time…" Ruby assured her, hoping the perfectly good excuse wouldn't get her chewed out.
"What do you mean that's not normal?"
Sun shone through the blinds of the dorm window, the gentle light rousing him from sleep. A familiar weight was on his body, and he didn't have to open his eyes to figure out it was Nora. The wet drool on his shoulder didn't help in disguising who it was either. Since they started living together, Nora shoved her bed next to his and it had been a daily occurrence for her to end up using him as a pillow. He offered to trade places with his teammates, but Pyrrha politely declined, and Yang just said no.
Cracking open a bleary eye, Ren saw Nora hugging him like a body pillow. The sight of her low-cut tank top and scandalous short shorts were a sight to behold on Nora's athletic frame. Oh, how tortuous it was, being so close yet so far. Ren was certain Nora saw him as a friend, since they relied on each other for so long. Not to mention she was bubbly with everyone and not just him. And he was certain if they hadn't met a such a young age, there was no way they'd be this close.
Before too much blood could rush into unwanted areas, he tore his eyes away from the attractive sight of his friend to the others. What a mistake that was. Yang's covers where pulled to the side; her body sprawled out over the bed. The white tank she usually wore barely covered her breasts, giving him a generous view of them through the side. Her toned legs on fully display from her shorts. The only saving grace was that she blocked Pyrrha's bed, saving his sanity from her beauty as well.
Many a man would be jealous of his position, but they didn't know the true dangers behind it. Each one of them could destroy him. Nora and Yang with their strength, then there was Pyrrha who was in a league of her own. Which was why he kept his Semblance on a hair trigger to avoid any unnecessary events. That and to keep him alive. Slowly disentangling himself from Nora, Ren began his morning routine.
He was just thankful this was all he had to deal with.
Fluttering his eyes open, Jaune groggily sat up. Thing is with being off balance by a couple pounds, you tend to lean one way while doing it. Reflexes beaten into him over a short period of time had him flailing for balance, only to have him grab the back of the couch he was on to stay steady. Well, one hand grabbed it. "Oh, you're awake." Came Blake's voice from beside him. Looking over, she was sitting on a couch in her uniform, watching the news.
They were in the common room next to their dorms. Sitting back into the couch, he looked down to see his left arm still gone. The metal base that they grafted onto him was still there, just the missing the rest of the shoulder. Staring at the augmentation made him a bit uneasy. Better yet, he was still in his sweatpants and his face felt like it rammed a wall. "What time is it?" He groaned, rubbing his face with his only hand.
"Eight thirty." She sipped her mug and continued watching the news. Awesome, only a half hour to get dressed for class.
"-ports of Dust robberies and shakedowns plague Vale. National criminal Roman Torchwick suspected to be responsible for the recent strings of theft, including the events that happened near the docks a few days ago. Eyewitness accounts say he was working with the White Fang when a vigilante Huntsman attempted to thwart the burglary, leading to eight arrests as a result. In other news, a plentiful harvest fro-"
Jaune watched the anchor woman report the event, and how they skirted the truth. How they left out key details of what happened but didn't lie at the same time. "Damn. Makes it sound like not a lot happened." Even though it was far from the truth.
"They're covering up for the festival." Blake explained. He could hear the annoyance in her voice. "Wouldn't be good for business if people thought there was a murderer running around, a Huntsman one at that. Need to keep everyone nice and happy for those fat profits." Her voice was thick was sarcasm. "They always need just a little more. Probably paid off the media executives to keep the public happy. Bastards."
"I'll just be happy if we don't run into them again." He would be. Just hunting Grimm sounded like a welcome change of pace. They weren't complicated, just nice, easy monster bashing.
"They're planning something. All that Dust is being stolen for a reason." Oh no.
"Blake…"
"And who knows what they'll do when they get enough? The White Fang are running circles around law enforcement right now." Blake ignored him and continued ranting.
"Blake, I ne-"
"And the White Fang will sniff out anyone undercover. It's not that hard either, most of VPD is human, barely any Faunus working for it."
"No, Blake." Jaune loudly interrupted and fixed her with a level glare. "I'm putting my foot down. You're not going off again on your own. I am not putting you or anyone on the team in danger."
"But someone has to! It's my fault they turned out this way."
"How? Did you tell them to do this?" He gestured to the Tv, which now showed a segment on health food and why coffee might not be the best morning beverage. Blake raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not responsible for bad coffee."
"Not what I mean, smartass. Did you tell them to raid Dust stores?"
"No, but I left them when they needed me." Blake leaned back in her seat. "I could've told him to stop. I could have told him there were other ways to change people's minds. Suggest stopping the violence. I should have. But I ran, like a fucking coward."
"Sounds like you aren't responsible." He shrugged. "You didn't tell them to do anything."
"But I could have, and I didn't! I ran instead of fixing the problem." Blake banged her head against the back of the couch. "I could have stopped Adam before everything went to shit."
"I could've not been an idiot and kept my arm, but here we are." Jaune gestured with one hand around him.
"I get it, you lost your arm." Blake sighed. "And it sucks."
"Now you know how I feel when you talk about the White Fang. Annoying, isn't it?" Not that he could help it. It's like having the ultimate pity card, but he was starting to hate using it. "It doesn't change what happened, no matter how much we bitch about it. You're still not responsible for what they do no matter how you feel about it, and I'm still one limb short from a full set. At least for the moment, until I can get my grubby hand on Ruby."
A snort of amusement came from Blake. "You'll have to wait until Weiss is done with her. She was pissed when she woke me up."
"I'm glad she cares." An alarm on his scroll buzzed and rang the annoying tune he was oh so familiar with. He had ten minutes before class. "Crap!" Scrambling from the couch, he bolted down the hallway to get ready for first period.
Fatigued still plagued Yang, not being able to sleep soundly last night. She tossed and turned feeling like shit. The insult just slipped out when she was arguing with Jaune. Of course she knew she had anger issues. Try growing up with a single father, an alcoholic uncle, being both a sister and a mother at the same time and see how you turn out. Not to mention her semblance fed her anger to fortify her strength. It was either lean into it or stay weak.
But no matter how she justified or reasoned, she still regretted what she said. She thought she was past that stage in her life, finally getting control of her impulses. Gods, sometimes her mouth just had to run off for her, didn't it? Even didn't have enough energy to make a pun this morning. Well, New morning, new Yang. She'd have to corner him at some point and apologize. Once she was able to work past her pride.
"And now, the Dark Lord casts his spell, entrapping you all in a vivid dream of your darkest fears." Nora said from behind the screen. "Roll your wisdom save!" Multiple sets of dice rolled on the table, displaying their character's fates. "And only Renegade, the masterful monk, stays focused enough to resist his spell. The rest of you fall on the ground, asleep for…" Nora rolled some dice. "Two turns."
"Nora, he's a cleric." Ren deadpanned. Pyrrha could only giggle as they started their banter again. She felt normal among them, a welcome change from her career. Yang was next to her at the table, looking down at her character sheet and rolling dice in her hand. It was Nora's idea to play G&G or Graveyards and Grimm. She only heard about the game in passing from her manager, saying it was beneath her and didn't fit her image. And unfortunately, the only place with big enough tables were the library.
Well, she could go fucker herself because this game was awesome. She could be anyone she wanted to be here and fail as much as anyone else. 'The Dice Gods dictate our fate, and only we can humble survive by it.' Was how Nora described the game. Pyrrha enjoyed the chaos of it, something she didn't have growing up. Always with the regiments, planning, strategies, and thinking when it came to every action.
Not giving a damn was fun.
"As the Graveyard Master, his name is now Reneges the Tempest." Nora stated crossing her arms and ending the argument. "Yang, can you believe this guy?" The brawler stayed silent, deep in thought and rolling dice along the table. "Yang?"
"What?" Yang snapped out of her trance. "Yeah, no way." She looked at her watch. "Shit." She started gathering her things. "Sorry, gotta go to Oobleck's for detention."
"But we just started!" Nora's outburst was immediately shushed by the librarian.
"Nora, it's been two hours." Ren helpful supplied the length of their session.
"Traitor." Yang left in a rush for her scheduled punishment. The group watched her leave. "Has she been acting weird or is it just me?"
"Probably because of detention." Ren shrugged.
"Nah." Nora shook her head and rested it on her fist. "It's something else."
"Yang has been quieter…" Pyrrha added. After coming back to the dorm from the Headmaster's office, she showered and went straight to sleep. Yang would usually stay up and gossip with her and Nora, otherwise. It was a bit odd. "And Jaune was missing his arm in class today."
"I didn't know he could do that!" Nora thumped the table as she leaned over. "Do you think he Rocket punched an Ursa? That would be so awesome."
"Ruby was working on it." Ren informed. The two women looked at him in confusion. "What? I was curious and asked him during third period."
"So he did rocket punch an Ursa!"
"I don't think so, but we'll find out soon enough." Ren said, gathering his papers and dice. "Don't you have an assignment due for Ms. Peach?" He asked Nora.
"Let me live my life in sweet, sweet ignorance."
"No."
"You're sure this is safe?"
"I mean, taking it out was probably the worst part."
"Are you positive it will connect?"
"Do I get a say in this?"
"You know they can't here you, right?"
"It'll be fine. I mean it's just reverse what I did to take it out. Really not that hard." Team JBRW was gathered in the arena center, Ruby holding his modified arm while Weiss grilled her. There was a toolbox at her feet that she kept dancing around to avoid the heiress's wrath.
"He passed out!"
"I said I was sorry! I didn't think it would happen."
"Which is why I'm supervising this time." Weiss said tightly. "We don't need Jaune passing out again."
"I'm right here." Jaune sat next to Blake on a bench while they argued, still with one arm.
"And you're going to stay there until we're absolutely sure this won't kill you." Weiss snapped back. "What on Remnant possessed you to agree to this!?"
"I was half asleep." He shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea. I don't have ranged weapons like the rest of you."
"You should have at least told us first before removing body parts." She huffed and glared at the two of them. "I hope you know you're both idiots for doing this."
"Got it, we're idiots. Can I get my arm back now?" Jaune was already missing the limb.
"Please, Weiss? I wanna see if it works!" Ruby pleaded, giving her the signature puppy dog eyes. Weiss stared back at her, unimpressed. After a moment, the heiress turned back to him. "I'm supervising. And if anything goes wrong, I'm getting Goodwitch."
"Deal!" Ruby agreed in his stead and zipped over to him. "Now strip."
"Please don't say that. It's weird." Jaune sighed, but still did as he was told and started unbuttoning his shirt. If he looked over, he would've seen Blake's eyes widen at Ruby's command.
"Need access to the base."
"Yeah, yeah." Jaune shucked the shirt off, exposing the metal connection underneath. Ruby kneeled down beside him and lined up the plug with his shoulder. Weiss and Blake watched, a mixture of concern and curiosity. Aligned with his torso, Ruby pushed his arm into the connection port. Uncomfortable pain lanced through his body and he reflexively gripped Blake's leg to steady himself. A yelp of surprise came from, not expecting it. "Sorry."
"We're stopping this." Weiss moved to interrupt the process.
"No!" Jaune waived her back. "It's fine, just pain." Looking over to Ruby he nodded her to continue.
Weiss didn't look convinced, but she paused, nonetheless. Ruby swallowed nervously and put her weight behind the prosthetic. More discomfort came with it as it the connection moved into his torso. He felt as a click as it snapped in place once the arm was flushed with his shoulder. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ruby hovered her finger over the button that connected the nerves. "Are you ready?" She asked. Biting his only hand to brace for the pain, Jaune nodded.
Her finger pressed the button and sharp agony followed. Blood would've been drawn if not for his Aura. Metallic fingers twitched at the connection while Ruby quickly reattached the muscles to his body. Then a familiar warmth came washing over him. Finally, I'm free of that witch! The voice was back, reminding Jaune that he hopefully wasn't crazy. You have no idea what she did to me, man. She opened my up like some grade school research project and… Dissected me.
Jaune chuckled as the pain slowly ebbed away. "Good to have you back."
"I'd imagine so." Weiss commented.
"What? Yeah, sure." He hadn't realized he spoke out loud. I doubt it was that bad.
You didn't hear the things she said to me. Calling me her 'little toy' and shoving me full of metal bits. I was violated. Violated, I tell you!
But you're an arm. Ruby started putting the metal plates back on after attaching the muscles.
"Does it feel alright?" She asked. The pain was starting to fade, and he could wiggle his fingers now.
Hey, how would you feel if you found out you were someone's replaced limb?
"Yeah… It feels fine." It was hard to keep two conversations going at once. Can we talk later?
Fine. But I'm still going to bitch now that I have someone to hear me. Par for the course, that suited him just fine.
"Sweet, let's see if it works." Ruby secured the last of the metal skin and stepped back. Jaune flexed his arm, feeling the weight and response of the limb. "How's the range of motion? Does it feel too heavy? I tried to use light materials."
"It feels a bit heavier." Rolling his shoulder, he swung it back and forth. "But feels fine otherwise. Response is good."
"Awesome! Lemme get a dummy." Ruby sped off to find a target that Beacon had so many of. Looking down at his arm, he saw that there was a hole at the base of his palm if he bent back his hand. Probably the barrel. Along with that, the bottom of his arm looked different. "Alright, so the concept is roughly the same as an 870." Ruby added, putting the target on a stand.
"A what?" He wasn't good with guns.
"It's a shotgun." She sighed, looking to the ceiling for patience. "Load it like a shotgun."
"Now that makes sense." Ruby handed him a Dust round for him to load. Truth be told, he fed the ammunition into the underside of his arm.
"It can hold only three rounds, but that's plenty." Ruby explained. "Now the barrel is at the base of your palm, so just… stop the target?" She mined waving her hand in front of her. "Just do that! But keep it straight. It has recoil and I don't know how that transfers with an arm." Well, it's about time he found out. Raising his arm at the target, Jaune did his best to aim.
Now how did he fire? Did he just feel it? Try it? Oooh, what's this button?
What?
Jaune's arm fired the shell, missing the target by a wide margin and throwing him back from the recoil. The ground's hard surface comforted his fall. Lying on the ground and looking up at the open mechanical ceiling, he wondered where his life went wrong.
Probably with the Beowulf.
"It worked!" Jaune could here Ruby whooping excitedly. Propping himself up with a groan, he looked down to his impromptu gun and noting how his arm didn't hurt. As his eyes traced the wall to see where his round went, finding the wall behind it peppered with holes.
"That's not a shotgun." Jaune observed.
"Yes, it is. It's a Hunter grade round. Perfect for slaying Grimm." She handed him a pouch full of the explosive ammo. "Perfectly safe." He didn't feel safe.
"JONATHAN ARC!" Roared a voice from across the training arenas.
"Why is Port here?" Blake asked as they watched him saunter over to their group, carrying a foldable lawn chair.
"Jaune, what did you do?" Weiss whispered.
"There you are my boy!" The man hauled him from the floor with a meaty hand. "Why I've been scouring the whole of Beacon looking for you. But if I had known you were training with a bunch of lovely ladies-"
"Ew."
"Roll over and die."
"who are your teammates, then I wouldn't have worried so much." Say whatever you want about the portly man, but he can read a room. "Are you ready for the grand adventure that maidens and bards will sing for next century?" A meaty paw came down on his shoulder, almost buckling him.
"No…" Jaune said in both being ready and the realization of where the madman of a professor was taking him.
"That's the spirit, my boy! It's time for a proper hunt."
This is more a filler chapter to put everything in place. Lot of things happening all at once, I know, but now we can get to the meat of it. Also a colleague from my work saw some of my writing and asked if I could write a script for a short he's making. Guess things happen if you enjoy it, ya know? Either way, still updating, might take a little longer but we'll get there.
Until next time.