Friends with the Mercs
Chap 2: Pyro Part 1
"Everyone, meet the Pyro." I said as the individual in the asbestos line suit raised its flamethrower again and shouted in triumph.
"So, this is the individual that you claim can essentially traumatize anyone." Ozpin stated while taking a sip of his coffee. His eyes never left Pyro.
"Yup." I answered as Pyro stepped off the teleporter before it closed up and returned to looking like an ordinary toolbox.
"Should we be concerned?" Ren asked nervously. His hands were ready to grab his weapons at a moment's notice.
"Not really." I answered before turning to Pyro. "Hey. Pyro. Good to see you."
"MMMPH -MMMPH!" He cheered before enveloping me in a tight hug. The smell of propane assaulted my senses as he crushed me in his hug.
"Um, what did he say?" Pyrrha asked as he let me go.
"That's Pyronese. It's what we named how it speaks. Pyro just said that he is excited to see me as well." I explained while stretching a bit.
"Now that he is here. Are you actually going to leave us, Jaune?" Nora asked sadly.
"Unfortunately, yes." I answered.
"If you can control your friend here from setting anything on fire, you can remain here." Glynda told me.
"The thing is, Ms. Goodwitch. You would have an easier time getting Ironwoods to admit that he has a giant ego and get Ozpin to stop drinking coffee permanently. It's just not going to happen." I told her.
"Um, Jaune." Ren said, getting my attention. Turning to him, I saw that he was pointing to Pyro, who had already set a plant on fire and now is sitting down and staring intently at it. Heavy breathing came from his mask as he continued to stare at the fire.
"Like that." I said while moving to the window and opening it so the smoke could escape.
"Mr. Arc. Have him put it out." Glynda told me while taking out her riding crop.
"Ms. Goodwitch. There are rules in this life that everyone must follow. But there is one that all must follow without question. And that is never to separate or put out a fire that Pyro is interested in." I warned her.
Yet, it only fell on deaf ears. Just like when Spy tried to lecture Scout on how to take Ms. Pauling on a proper date. And as you can probably imagine, it ended in disaster. Turning back to Glynda, I saw her tighten her grip on her riding crop before turning to glare at Pyro. But as soon as she took a step towards him, Pyro's gaze instantly shifted towards her. She stopped dead in her tracks. And while the rest became confused as to why Glynda suddenly started sweating, I immediately knew the reason behind it.
"Pyro. I got you something." I told him. His attention shifted from Glynda to me. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a fancy lighter and gave it to him. He bounced a few times in place while clapping his hands. He then thanked me in his own unique way before flicking the lighter on and off.
"Are you okay, Ms. Goodwitch?" Ren asked.
"Fine. It just feels like I saw something horrifying." She answered while taking a seat. Going over to the water dispenser stand, I took a cup and filled it with cold water.
"Can you describe what you saw, Glynda?" Ozpin asked, worried while I gave her the cup of water.
"Thanks." She said before drinking the whole thing in one gulp. "I couldn't see anything quite clearly, but I believe I saw an entire town filled with people in blue uniforms. The thing is, though, they were all burning alive. I think I also saw a few of them killed with an ax. But that is all I saw before I was brought out of it."
"I'm not sure what brought this on, but I think you should take the rest of the day off to rest, Glynda." Ozpin told her while eyeing me, silently asking me if Pyro caused this. I just nodded my answer.
"Are you sure, headmaster?" She asked, uncertain.
"Yes. The day is almost over anyway. It will be fine." He assured her. She still seemed hesitant but nodded anyway before getting up and leaving the room. Yet, as she left, she cast one last nervous glance at Pyro.
"Is that how he instills fear into other people?" Ozpin asked once Glynda closed the door.
"Only one of the ways, Ozpin." I answered. "Now, since you can't excuse me for a few days, I will be taking my leave now."
"Do you have to, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, sad.
"Yes. It's to protect everyone here and not have this school be burned down in a magnificent fire." I answered before pulling her in close and whispering in her ear. "But remember this, I'm leaving the school. Not you. I don't want to see you get hurt."
"Do you have a place to stay at Mr. Arc?" Ozpin asked.
"Yes. I have a place to stay for the time being." I answered before turning to Pyro. "Come on, mumbles. We need to pick up a few things before we head to my place."
"Okay. I will call you later." She said, smiling as Pyro got up and walked over to me.
"Before you leave, what should we tell Team Rwby if they ask where you are?" Ren asked.
"Just tell them I had a family emergency that I needed to leave for and won't be back for a while." I answered before Pyro and I left the room. Closing the door, we began to walk down the hallways. Only stopping when we were far enough, and we're sure no one was following us. Turning to face Pyro, I raised my hand.
"Slap my hand." I told him, smiling. He cheered before hi-fiving me. "Damn good to see you, Pyro."
"Mmmrpgh crpyha drghya!" He mumbled while pointing down the hall.
"Yes, she is my girlfriend." I confirmed.
This caused him to cheer before pulling me into another hug. Yet, like usual, I did not mind and just laughed until he let me go. Dusting myself off, I then motioned for him to follow me. We headed down the halls to the elevators. Getting in, I pressed the first-floor button with the elevator's doors closing right after. A few minutes later and we were on the first floor. Stepping out, we then made our way to my team's dorm. Turning to Pyro, I told him to stay there and that I'd be back out in a minute. He nodded while giving me a thumbs up. Chuckling, I quickly opened the door and went into the dorm. I gathered some items that I initially brought to Beacon and put them into a duffel bag. Once I had everything, I exited the dorm. Closing the door, I noticed that Pyro was standing guard there like he usually does when protecting the Engineer's sentry guns or dispensers. He even had his Homewrecker out and at the ready.
"Ready, Pybro?" I asked, using the nickname we gave him when he kept guarding the sentry guns against annoying spies. He nodded while putting the Homewrecker away. Smiling, I reached into the duffle bag and pulled out a surprise for him.
"I made you this, Pyro." I told him as I showed him some pink headphones that resembled the balloonicorn. He seemingly gasped before jumping up and down like the deranged little kid he was before grabbing the headphones and putting them on. "Let's go."
He nodded before following me as we made our way through Beacon. As we walked through the halls, we quickly gathered the attention of everyone we passed. They all looked on in confusion and concern. I did not need to be told to know that everyone's gaze was on Pyro as he had his flamethrower out. This made me realize that I had spent so much time with the 2fort mercenaries that someone carrying a flamethrower or minigun became normal. Shaking my head, we ignored all the students and the whispers the students shared with each other. After a few minutes, we reached the front doors of Beacon. Turning right, we started to make our way towards the bullheads.
"Hey, Pyro." I started getting his attention. "Been a while since I been with you guys. Did Engineer create any items for you guys?"
"Hudda Hudda, huh." He answered before as handles appeared on either side of him. He then turned around and showed me that he now had a jetpack. "Nice."
He then began to fly around a bit with his jetpack. A small crowd had gathered to see what was going on. But they all scattered when they saw Pyro put the jetpack away and take out his flamethrower. Giving a light laugh, we continued our way to the bullheads. But before we reached it, a pained scream caught our attention. Turning around, we saw a small group had formed not too far off. Looking towards each other, we decided to check it out. Getting there, we pushed through the crowd, which wasn't that hard as most immediately back off when they saw Pyro. This also allowed us to see what was happening. And to my great annoyance, it was Cardin and his team picking on Velvet.
"Please stop." Velvet begged as Cardin roughly yanked on her ears.
"Why?" He taunted her before giving her ears another rough yank.
"Yeah! Why-AAAHHHH!" Russel agreed before screaming as he was suddenly launched into the air. Everyone was surprised by what had just happened and began to look around for what had caused it. But it became clear pretty quickly when they saw Pyro with his flamethrower.
'Oh, no.' I thought, worried that Pyro might go into a frenzy. While the other mercenaries and I have gotten the general grasp of what Pyro sees, we still don't know everything he sees. For all we know, he could just be seeing a baby Velvet crying with monsters surrounding her.
"HEY! WHAT-AAAAHHHHH!" Cardin shouted before being launched away by Pyro's compression blast. Thankfully, this told me that he was not about to go into a frenzy and was just confused about everything.
"Mrghfrrl?" Pyro mumbled towards Velvet. She did not respond immediately, yet when she lifted her head to look at Pyro, her eyes widened before she passed out in fear.
'That's not good.' I thought, knowing that Coco doesn't take too kindly to anyone harming her bunny. It became clear on day one that Coco cared deeply for Velvet.
"GET HIM!" Cardin shouted, getting everyone's attention. Sky and Dove charged at Pyro with their weapons drawn. Most would have changed their stance to avoid the attack that was coming. Yet, Pyro simply tilted his head while mumbling before using his air compression again. But unlike last time, Pyro aimed his flamethrower at their feet. This caused them to get sent high into the air.
"So, long physics." A random student said, confused and curious as to why it sent Sky and Dove into the air this time.
"LET US DOWN!" They shouted as Pyro continued to use his air compression to juggle them in the air. This caused everyone to laugh at their unfortunate yet hilarious predicament.
"If you say so. Pyro." I said while shrugging my shoulders. He turned his attention to me before tilting his head in confusion. And because his attention was on me, he was no longer using the air compression on his flamethrower, which resulted in Sky and Dove falling to the ground hard.
"Ow." They both groaned in pain. Shaking my head, I turned to Velvet and tried to wake her up.
"Velvet. Come on. Wake up." I said as I gently tapped her face.
Unfortunately, my only response was a weak moan as she was indeed out like a light. I should have expected this as very few people do not pass out when meeting Pyro for the first time. I was confused about what to do but quickly remembered that I had some smelling salts in my duffle bag courtesy of Medic. Reaching in my bag, I grabbed one and broke it before putting it next to Velvet's nostrils.
"WHAT!" She shouted as she instantly regained consciousness.
"Are you okay, Velvet?" I asked her.
"Fine. Just a headache for some- AAHHHH!" She began to answer but screamed when Pyro turned his attention to her.
"Don't worry, Velvet. Pyro is a friend. He won't hurt you. " I quickly assured her. She seemed uncertain still as her gaze never left Pyro.
"A-are y-you sure J-Jaune?" She asked, afraid.
"Trust me." I told her.
"Um, kid. Jaune." A student said, getting my attention.
"Yeah?" I asked, turning to him.
"What is your friend doing?" She asked, confused and worried. Turning around, we saw that Pyro had gotten bored and was now playing in a small kiddie pool filled with gasoline.
"Oh, playing with the rubber duckie that's in the pool." I answered as Pyro lifted a yellow rubber duckie and began to play with it.
"But why did he/she or 'it,' fill the pool with gasoline?" Another one asked, deathly afraid and confused. This reminded me that not everyone was accustomed to Pyro's strange behavior. However, before I could answer, a voice shouted, getting everyone's attention.
"VELVET!" The voice of Coco shouted as she and the rest of her team came running up to us.
"Are you okay, Velvet?" Yatsuhashi asked, worried while Coco examined her for any bruises.
"Fine." She quickly lied.
"Doesn't seem like nothing." Coco said when she discovered the bruising on her rabbit ears. And she and the rest of her team instantly knew that Team Crdl was behind it.
"It's nothing. Cardin didn't hurt me too badly." Velvet quickly told them.
"I'm sorry, Velvet. But Cardin obviously did hurt you bad enough that you passed out." Yatsuhashi sternly said while Fox pointed at the smelling salts next to her.
"Actually, she did not pass out because of Cardin." I interjected before slightly wincing when their steel gazes turned to me.
"So, you made her pass our Arc?" Coco asked through gritted teeth.
"No. My friend accidentally did." I answered while pointing to Pyro, who was still playing in the kiddie pool.
"Um..." That was all they could say as they were unsure of what they were seeing. And honestly, who could blame them. A grown man in an asbestos lines suit playing in a kiddie pool filled with gas isn't something you see every day. Hearing some groaning, we turned and saw Cardin helping his teammates up.
"Though, they were the ones who started this whole thing." I told them.
"We knew it." Coco seethed as she took her purse and transformed it into its gun form.
"Come on. Let's get out of here." Cardin told his team. They nodded as it was pretty easy to see that they were afraid of Coco and her team.
"OH, NO, YOU DON'T!" Coco shouted angrily as the barrel of her gun spun up. Seeing this, Team Crdl immediately turned around and tried to run away. Only to bump into Pyro that somehow got behind them without knowing. They tried to go around but were air blasted back.
"OUT OF THE WAY!" Cardin demanded as he raised his mace. Yet, Pyro just tilted his head and mumbled out something. Irritated, Cardin tried to attack Pyro with his mace. Only to become both confused and shocked when Pyro quickly blocked the attack with a giant lollipop. Or, as the mercs, and I call it, the Lollichop.
"Where did that come from?" A random student asked, surprised at the sudden appearance and size of the lollipop.
"And why a lollipop of all things?" Coco asked, equally confused. From the corner of my eye, I saw that she had taken her shades off and rubbed her eyes, thinking that she was hallucinating at seeing the giant lollipop.
"How is it not breaking?" Yatsuhashi asked as we watched Pyro flawlessly block all attacks by Team Crdl and attack them back. However, I kept silent because while everyone thought he was attacking Team Crdl, I knew that he thought he was only feeding them candy.
"I never thought I see someone beat a group of huntsmen in training with a lollipop of all things." Another student said in disbelief as Team Crdl lay on the ground groaning in pain. At the same time, Pyro shouted in triumph as he raised the lollichop in the sky. Most likely thinking that he finished feeding the baby versions of Team Crdl that he sees. Everyone remained quiet for a moment before bursting out laughing.
"I guess that takes care of them." Coco remarked as she finally regained control of herself from all the laughing.
"Get. Up." Cardin struggled to say as he winced in pain while helping his teammates up. Once they were all up, they began to run away from here.
"Pyro." I called out, getting his attention. Usually, I wouldn't do what I was about to do, but Team Crdl deserves it. " I think they want some bubbles and sunshine."
"Um... Bubbles and sunshine?" Coco asked, confused with everyone else equally confused. And it only grew when Pyro started bouncing up and down while clapping.
"You'll see." I said while pointing to Pyro. They all turned to him and saw him pulling out a weird-looking weapon.
"Is that a flare gun?" Yatsuhashi asked, concerned as he and Fox pulled Velvet up and stood in front of her.
"The Scorch Shot." I answered as Pyro pulled the trigger.
A red flare came out of the flare gun and traveled at high speeds to the retreating forms of Team Crdl. And as soon as it reached them, it exploded, and they all caught on fire. They began panicking while screaming in pain before tossing themselves onto the ground to roll and try to put out the fire. Luckily, they had enough remaining aura not to be badly burnt. And by that, I mean they now have third-degree burns despite putting out the fire in time before they died. Needless to say, this caused most of the students to become filled with fear and panic. And in less than a minute, nearly all of them ran from Pyro. Only a few remained to call Beacon's nurse's office to get help for Team Crdl.
"That was unexpected." Coco said, stunned while Yatsuhashi and Fox pulled Velvet closer to them.
"For you all." I told them while shrugging my shoulders.
"I'm taking it that you are good friends with this thing here and are used to what it just did?" Yatsuhashi asked, afraid.
"Pretty much. Now, if you'll all excuse me, Pyro and I need to get on a bullhead to Vale." I answered while grabbing my duffle bag and ensuring it was secure. We were about to turn around but were stopped when I felt Coco's firm grip on my shoulder.
"Blondie. Tell me. Were you here when Team Crdl started harassing Velvet?" She asked while lowering her shades.
"No. Pyro and I were heading to the bullheads when we heard a scream of pain. We decided to look into it and saw Cardin pulling on Velvet's ears. Pyro then proceeded to push them away while I tended to Velvet." I answered.
"Why do you call it Pyro?" Yatsuhashi asked. But he got his answer when Fox nudged his elbow before pointing to Pyro. Following his gaze, they saw he was pointing to Pyro's symbol.
"Yes. Pyro is an arsonist and has multiple flamethrowers and flare guns that set people on fire. But he is only dangerous when provoked. Which is why I am leaving Beacon to prevent that from happening." I explained.
"Smart move, blondie. We may be aspiring huntsmen, but that doesn't mean we can't be careless." Coco said while nodding her head in approval.
"Thank. Now-" I began, but Coco cut me off.
"But since you and Pyro here helped Velvet, not to mention that you and Velvet are already good friends, I think it's high time we got to know you better. And your friend here as well." She told me with a smirk that told me no matter what I said; I was not going to dissuade her.
"Are you sure about this, Coco?" Velvet asked, surprised.
"Of course, bun-bun. As Jaune said, Pyro is only dangerous when provoked. We'll simply just not do that." She answered with a confident smirk. We all sighed at this as we knew it was pointless to try and convince her to drop her plan. Whatever it may be. Shaking my head, we all turned and proceeded to head to the nearest bullhead that would take us to Vale. Yet, as we took our seats and after Pyro scared off the flight attendants, I knew that things were about to get even more chaotic once we landed in Vale. It was inevitable when the 2fort mercs were involved, after all.
Note:
This chapter was just part one for Pyro. The next chapter will be in Vale, where a massacre will happen, and Remnant will learn to fear the Pyro.