Uh, hey folks. It's been a while. I apologize immenselyfor the wait. Writers block hit me hard and I wasn't able to work on this as often as I wanted to. Any who, after many months, enjoy.
Chapter 8: Bullies and Lies.
Summary: Weeks after the arrival of three Psuedo-Wyverns, our heroes quickly find that Grimm aren't the only evil in this new world.
Disclaimer: I don't own any material in this minus my original content. All rights go to RoosterTeeth andCapcom.
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Glynda's Arena, a few weeks later...
It was a heated and quite dramatic battle. Between the leaders of a so-far pretty good team and an unimportant team nobody likes. It was Jaune against the leader of team CRDL, Cardin Winchester. And Jaune was on the losing side, visibly exhausted and having to put a good amount of his weight on his sword while Cardin hadn't seemed to have broken a sweat, chuckling arrogantly and easily shouldering his mace. Jaune then rushed in and swung, but Cardin managed to avoid it, causing Jaune's strike to hit the ground. Cardin then swung and hit Jaune with his mace and in spite of hitting the smaller boy's shield, sent him flying and losing the shield.
Jaune then quickly got up and swung down at Cardin, but he easily held him back after blocking the strike, forcing him back as well, despite Jaune's best attempts to push back. "This is the part where you lose." Cardin told him.
"Over my dead-" Jaune started, but then Cardin kneed him in the gut.
In the stands, Jaune's team and Team RWBY (Monsters included) winced along with the everyone else in the audience. Everyone, except for one Tigrex.
Boomer looked down at the scene before him in disgust. This was not only his partner, but a "team leader". Hah! Team leader his ass.
"You know, if he were a competent leader, he wouldn't be in the position he is in now." Boomer whispered to Pyrrha, who sat next to him.
"I'm certain he's trying his best." Pyrrha said, trying to hide the irritation at the beast in her voice.
Jaune fell to the ground after this, holding his crotch and chest, Cardin raising his mace above his head as if he were going to smash Jaune like a bug.
"Welp, that's a concussion coming up." Boomer commented.
But as he was getting ready to swing, a buzzer sounded and the dramatic lights turned off, revealing this to only be a sparring match that was now over, Cardin obviously the winner. "That's enough." Glynda said, stepping in between the two combatants, pulling out her scroll. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red." She explained. "In a tournament style fight, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and the official may call the match." Glynda explained, Pyrrha looking concerned.
'And get himself killed on the field.' Boomer thought to himself. He turned to look at the others.
"What do you morons think? Do you think he'll live past the first year?" The Tigrex asked.
"He has room for improvement, but that's why he's here." Ren told the Roaring Wyvern.
"Yeah! We'll kick the crap out of that jerk next time!" Nora declared.
"I hope so." Ruby said.
"Considering that he is a wimp, it won't be long before he gets kicked out or killed." Shade said from his spot next to Ruby.
"For once, I agree with him." Douglas, a Barioth who, in Boomer's opinion, was the opposite of Shade. Their conflicting personalities is what started so many fights between them.
Glynda then turned back to Jaune. "Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your aura will help decide when it is appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more... defensive strategy." She explained.
Jaune looked at his scroll and sighed. "We wouldn't want you to get gobbled up by a Beowulf, now would we?" Glynda asked in a somewhat lighter tone.
"Speak for yourself." Cardin said to Glynda, shouldering his mace again and walking off.
"Remember, everyone! The Vytal festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students in other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing!" She said, all the students getting excited: Yang punching the air a couple few times, Weiss shaking her fists with anticipation, Ruby fidgeting out of control and Pyrrha looking excited. "Those of you who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale." She finished, then the bell rang.
As they got up to leave, Boomer took a glance back at Jaune, watching him limp off of the Arena floor and towards the lockers. He noticed Pyrrha was doing the same. The Tigrex waved a paw in her face to get her attention.
"Something on your mind, spartan?" He asked. "Got eyes for blonde and lanky over there?" He added, smirking as Pyrrha blushed at the monster's crude antics.
"I-I don't think that's any of your business! You're certainly the last person I would look to for relationship advice." Pyrrha said, quickly getting up to follow the others.
Boomer chuckled at the redhead's response. Oh, humans, never change. With the aid of his wings, he jumped and landed next to the Spartan girl with a loud thump, making the redhead jump at the sound.
"Relax, girl. I'm only teasing." He said, still laughing. His paws were folded behind his head, holding it up . "In all seriousness, though. Any particular reason why you were staring at Arc back there?" He said, his voice losing its humor.
"I know he can be better than what he is now. He just... needs a push in the right direction. And Cardin needs to stop tormenting him." Pyrrha explained.
"I see your point." Boomer said in agreement. "But you saw what happened out there. That asshole has beat him every time they fought, and every time, he uses the same. Fucking. Strategy." Boomer whisper-yelled.
It was then that Jaune appeared next to the conversing duo.
"What're you guys talking about?" He asked, unintentionally scaring both the monster and prodigy, the former nearly hitting the ceiling from jumping.
"Fuckin' hell, kid! Don't do that!" Boomer roared.
"J-Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out. "Oh, i-it was nothing! Boomer was just stating that... He doesn't like how Cardin's weapon looks." She lied.
Oh, yeah. That thing sure hits hard." Jaune winced and clutched his side. "Hope I didn't fracture a rib again."
"Ah, don't sweat it twerp, I'm sure your aura will heal whatever that bastard did to you in no time." Boomer gave a fake-smile.
"That's...actually something nice to hear." Jaune gave small smile, feeling a little better. "Thanks, Boomer."
"Not a problem, buddy. Now catch up with the others, we'll be with you in a minute." Boomer said.
As Jaune left down the hallway, both the Spartan and Roaring Wyvern dropped the act and looked at one another.
"We'll have to come clean, and soon." Boomer warned the redhead, who waved him off.
"It can't be affecting him that badly, right?" As much as Pyrrha tried to be optimistic about it, even she knew that Jaune wasn't alright.
Later, in the cafeteria at lunch...
"So. There we were... In the middle of the night!" Nora told some epic sounding story, her eyes in a glare until she said "night", at which point she snapped them wide open.
"It was day." Ren corrected.
Everyone was listening to various degrees, but Yang was the only one in awe by the story, the rest of the group telling it was bull simply from the fact Nora was telling it and making it sound dramatic, Ren correcting it only helping to confirm this theory. "We were surrounded by ursai!" She continued.
"They were beowulves." Ren corrected again.
"Dozens of them!" She said, shooting up from her seat.
"Two of 'em." Ren corrected again.
"But they were no match! And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of lien selling Ursai skin rugs!" She finished, sitting down, crossing her arms and closing her eyes happily, Ren sighing.
"She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." Ren explained.
"Yeah, and don't Grimm usually disintegrate when killed?" Boomer asked while he tore into a platter of steaks.
Nora sweat dropped and looked from side to side. It was obvious no one was believing her, especially the monsters. She sighed in defeat and deflated visibly.
"Y-Yeah." Nora said, her vibe ruined. Ren gave her a pat on the back to comfort her.
"Don't feel too bad, Nora." Douglas reassured the redhead while gnawing on a sheep's leg. "I'm sure that if we could skin a Grimm, the potential for Halloween costumes would be endless."
Shade, who was resting his eyes and laying his head on the table, rose up and glared at the White Wyvern. "Oh please, you're only saying that to be polite. Her story is still ass either way." Shade said blankly, eliciting a gasp from everyone who wasn't Jaune.
"It's not about being polite, it's about being a gentleman, something you clearly aren't." The Barioth accused the Nargacuga, who was taken aback.
"I may not be a gentleman, but I'm not a bottom bitch either." Shade countered, his ears lowered.
Everyone let out a collective sigh. This argument happened every time they ate together.
"Not again..." Weiss and Ruby groaned as the two Wyvern's continued to accuse the other.
Pyrrha sighed, knowing it would be useless to try and stop them. She then turned her attention to her downtrodden leader.
"Jaune? Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked him.
It took him a minute to respond, but then he did. "Huh? Oh, yeah, fine. Why?" He asked.
"It's just that... You seem a little... Not okay." Ruby said.
"Yeah, I'm surprised you haven't said anything." The Tigrex added. "In fact, I don't think you've said anything at all."
"Guys, I'm fine. Seriously, look!" He said, striking a fake-happy smile, laughing nervously.
Everyone (minus the arguing Nargacuga and Barioth) gave the blonde a knowing look.
"You know, you're one bad actor." Boomer deadpanned.
"Is it Cardin? Is he bothering you?" Ruby asked, concerned.
"Who? Cardin Winchester? Naw! He just likes to mess around, you know! Practical jokes!" Jaune said dismissively
"By practical jokes, you mean bullying." Boomer still wasn't buying it.
"Oh, please. Name one time he's 'bullied' me." Jaune said, putting quotes on "bullied" with his fingers.
"Well, to name a few..." Boomer began.
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"He regularly smacks your books out of your hands whenever you two pass by one another in the hall."
Jaune is walking down the hallway with some books in hand. Things were going smoothly until he passed by Cardin, the bully slapping the books out of Jaune's hand.
"GAH! Come on!" Jaune yelled as Cardin continued walking, chuckling and shrugging like he did nothing wrong.
Next...
"That time he trapped your shield in the doorway." Nora added.
Cardin was walking out of a classroom Jaune was walking into, the two either fist-bumping or some form of hand maneuver, but when they passed, Cardin pressed the button on Jaune's sword sheath, causing it to turn into its shield form and got lodged in the doorway. "Oh, come on!" He grumbled as he attempted to free his shield.
Next...
"And the locker incident." Ren finished.
Everyone stood around, listening to Glynda's instructions as we were getting assigned lockers. "Each of you will be assigned rocket-propelled locker to store your weapons and extra armor. Additionally, your locker can be sent to a custom location based on a 6 digit code." She explained. All the while, Cardin and Jaune were standing next to an open locker, Cardin looking at it and Jaune with a devious grin when Glynda reached the word "Additionally". When she finished, he shoved Jaune into the locker and entered a 6 digit code as Jaune protested, the locker going flying.
"Oh, come on!" Jaune screamed from inside the locker.
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They all looked at him expectantly. "I didn't land far from the school." He said.
"You're screams attracted Grimm." Boomer countered. "I had to hold off those things while Nikos heaved your crying ass over her shoulders like a sack-o-potatoes." The Tigrex then winced and rubbed his shoulder. "I still have the bruise from that Ursa..." he murmured more quietly.
"Jaune, you know if you ever need help you can just ask." Pyrrha said.
"Ooh!" Nora said, standing up. "We'll break his legs!" She said.
Everyone looked at the hyperactive redhead in horror and shock. Even Boomer, who was quick to violence, was stunned. Chuckling nervously, he slowly sat Nora back down.
"Yeah, no." The Roaring Wyvern said. "As tempting as it is, if we were to attempt to do such a thing, we would get the boot." He explained, crushing Nora's dreams and causing the girl to deflate once again. "We need a new approach..." he concluded, lacing his paw digits together and taking on a scheming pose.
Jaune then grabbed his tray and stood up. "Guys, really, it's fine. Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone." He said. They then looked over to see him pulling on a rabbit Faunus' ears.
"Ow! That hurts! Please stop." She pleaded shyly.
Everyone's eyes narrowed at the sight. Boomer's own jade eyes contracted to slits as he growled, all students in the immediate area of the table immediately stopping their conversations and glancing over at the Wyvern. Both Shade and Douglas, who were about to attack each other, stopped their bickering when the Tigrex's growls vibrated in their rib cages.
"Uh...Boomer, you alright there?" Shade asked, forgetting about his quarrel with the Barioth. The wyvern ignored the panther-mimic and leaned next to Pyrrha.
"Who is she? The broad with the Lagombi ears?" He asked, startling the redhead.
"Who? The rabbit Faunus? That's Velvet Scarlatina. She's second year here." She explained.
"Second year? Like a higher caliber?" Shade asked, getting a nod. "Then why isn't she fighting back? She definitely has the capabilities to literally kick their asses!" He whisper-yelled, noting the girl's taut thighs.
"Oh she can fight, she's just...timid." Pyrrha said that last part flatly.
"Doesn't she have teammates?" Douglas inquired, glaring at the brute as he continued to pull Velvet's ears.
"Yes, though at this time they're usually somewhere else." Pyrrha explained. "Her leader creates designer clothes as a hobby, and with this she has to eat lunch in her dorm while she tackles her business. Not only that, but her other teammates like to hit the Gym, so they usually stop by here to grab their meals before heading that way. She's probably used to sitting alone, though, as you can see, she's kinda regretting it." She said as Velvet was lifted by her ears, the Faunus crying out in pain as Cardin and his lackeys laughed.
The sight sickened the three wyverns. Rabbits have lots of blood vessels in their ears, which not only fuels their excellent hearing, but also let heat vent out in desert dwellers like jackrabbits. If the ears were to tear, their hearing range would decrease, and if a predator didn't kill them first, then infection would. This cruelty would not be allowed as long they stood on this planet.
Boomer growled something incomprehensible to Shade and Douglas, the two nodding and standing up. The Nargacuga slinked into the shadows beneath the tables while the Barioth began to circle the outer edges of the cafeteria. Boomer then looked at Ruby and gestured the crimsonette to follow him. Nervously, the weapons prodigy stood up and followed the Roaring Wyvern.
"What are you up to?" Pyrrha whispered, her emerald eyes inquisitive.
Meanwhile, Boomer wrapped a wing around Ruby and began explaining the plan.
Yang couldn't help but grin, sensing a wonderful scheme coming from the Pseudo-Wyverns. "Oh, this is gonna be good." She told Blake.
"As long as it doesn't put anyone in the hospital." Blake said.
Ruby listened to Boomer's plan, nodding until it came to a part where that caused her to gasp and back up a few steps.
"Are you serious!? I can't do that!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Look, it's a lot simpler than you think." Boomer explained. "You distract Cardin and his crew while Shade sneaks away with the girl. Once she's out of here, the others and I will take it from there." He then pushed her along with his snout. "Now move it."
Ruby grumbled to herself. 'The things I do for people.' She thought as she approached Cardin, putting on a forced smile.
Shade, from his hiding place beneath the table, made no sound as he crawled until he was behind Velvet, who looked on the verge of tears. As he waited for the opportunity to grab the girl, he listened in on their conversation.
"P-please, stop! My ears are very delicate!"
"Pfft, relax cutie. Your aura wouldn't allow them to tear anyhow! Right boys?" Cardin said as his cronies snickered behind him. The Nargacuga was tempted to burst out from underneath the table and maul the bully and his friends, but he restrained his temper. Stick to the plan, and wait for Ruby.
"*snif* Please! I'll do anything, just make it stop!" Velvet cried, a few tears falling out of the corners of her eyes. Cardin's smirk only grew and his teammates drew closer.
"Anything?" He asked.
"To get away from you, you ass!" Velvet whimpered.
"You drop by my team's quarters tonight and service us, you'll be free from us for the rest of your time here." Cardin's smile turned predatory, his eyes raking up and down Velvet's toned frame.
This prompted Velvet to shift from fear to anger and disgust.
"WHAT THE-!? NO!!" She screamed. "There's no way on Remnant that I would ever service pigs like you!" She kicked Cardin in the knee, her leg kicking forward like a spring, making Cardin stand and clutch his knee while hopping on one foot. Shade would've chuckled at the man's suffering, but kept his beak shut.
"You little bitch..." Cardin growled, grabbing Velvet's ears and yanking her to where she was looking him in the eye. "I'll have you bred like the animal you are, and then have your bare ass tossed in a heap in front of your Team's dorm. That way, everyone will-" His monologue was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder.
"Grr...who is-." He turned, and there stood Ruby. "Oh, it's you." He let's go of the Rabbit Faunus, letting the girl slump unceremoniously to the ground as he turned to face the crimsonette. "You lost, kid?"
"No," She deadpanned. "in fact I came to address an issue with not only my friend but quite a few other individuals." She explained.
"Mind specifying who?" Cardin sized up the weapon's prodigy. Ruby gulped silently, but steeped her resolve. Stick to the plan.
Meanwhile, Velvet was rising to her feet when she felt something grab her by her skirt and pull her under the table. In a matter of moments, she felt a warm, lean body press against her. Something wrapped around her legs to stop her from kicking, a thick limb trapping her arms, and something rough and leathery covering her mouth to muffle her panicked screams.
Looking back, she saw two eyes, burning in the dark like hot coals, observing her from a beaked head, covered in fur and equipped with two twitching ears. Slowly, the creature raised a paw to its beak and did a shushing gesture, telling her to be quiet.
Slowly, Velvet stopped squirming and relaxed in the monster's grip. She took a minute to get a good look at her visitor. Almost the entire body minus the beak, parts of the wings, and tail, were covered in black bristly fur, with the exception of it's dark grey underside and the red covering from the interior of its ears to the area right in front of its eyes. The wings were partially covered in fur, but had exposed scales as it continued downward. A look down at the tail revealed that it was also covered in feathers, and was long and whiplike in design.
Velvet didn't have long to admire her savior, as she suddenly felt herself being carried. Passing by the legs of several students, the Faunus and monster slipped out from beneath the tables and went to a far off corner in the Cafeteria.
Gently, her savior placed her on the ground, and did a "stay here" gesture with its paws. While baffled by its intelligence, Velvet nodded and stayed put while the creature slipped back towards the commotion.
Back with the others, Ruby was quickly finding herself being backed into a corner (metaphorically speaking). She shivered as the four tall men that made up Team CRDL surrounded her.
"H-hey, lets be reasonable here. All I want is for you to stop targeting my frie--EEP!" Ruby's pleas were silenced as she was picked up by hood and held to Cardin's eye level.
"CUT THE CRAP! There are people that need a reality check, and you're the worst case of them all!" He pulled back his fist. "I don't care if I get in trouble for this, an example has to be made!"
Before he can pummel the crimsonette, a loud crash on the table behind him made the bully jump, dropping Ruby in the process. Spinning around, Cardin was met with the scent of decay and the sight of a maw full of teeth.
Boomer loomed over the arrogant student, his eyes narrowed in irritation. He snarled, the sound loud enough to shake the ground and queuing onlookers to back the hell away.
Cardin, despite keeping a straight face, couldn't stop himself from gulping as he felt the jade green eyes of Jaune's familiar burning into his soul. If that thing was here because of what happened this morning, then he needed to find a way out of this situation, and FAST.
So Cardin used the one and only solution to his problems...
Hit it.
Drawing his Mace, he aimed for a downward strike on the beast's nose. But instead of sending the Roaring Wyvern to dreamland, the weapon simply bounced off, the sharp edges clearly bent from making contact with the Tigrex's hard scales.
Cardin looked at his damaged weapon, then the monster, who appeared to smirk at his misfortune. Around him, his teammates gave him looks that said "You really thought that would work?".
The bully only had a few seconds to reconsider his life choices before he and his teammates were slapped aside, the blow sending them flying several meters into an unoccupied table. The resulting impact caused the wooden table to break in half, sending splinters everywhere.
Groaning, the bullies slowly lifted themselves up, and glared at the Roaring Wyvern, who stared back at them smugly. With a paw, the monster did a "come at me" gesture, taunting them. Cardin, his blood boiling, would not let this animal bully them. He stood up and re-equipped his mace as the other's rose to their feet.
"Grrr...Team CRDL! LET US SLAY THE BEAST!" With a cry, they charged. Boomer only rolled his eyes with a snort before sending the Bullies flying with a concussive blast from his jaws.
Cardin and his cronies landed in a heap on the floor, groaning as they tried to regain their bearings. Of course, they wouldn't get the chance as they were sent into the air by a projectile that exploded into an ice tornado on impact. The owner of the twister, Douglas, roared as he leapt in and bashed the bullies with several punches, leaving bruises in numerous places.
To finish the combo, a black blur appeared behind CRDL, and with enough force to shatter their spines if it weren't for their aura, extended the spikes on its tail to send all four crooks flailing to the far end of the Cafeteria, landing with a loud crash in a dumpster, which closed on impact.
"And stay out!" Shade, the black blue, shrieked upon landing.
Shade gave a sigh and looked around the Cafeteria. The whole room was silent in shock and awe at what had just happened. Team RWBY and JNPR were all in varying degrees of surprise.
Then, everyone broke out into various cheers and laughs at team CRDL's misfortune. Jaune also smiled at this, but was upset he couldn't do anything to stop Cardin, so he simply put his tray away. Cardin lifted the lid of the dumpster and glared at Jaune, knowing the monsters all hung around him, but that the T-Rex monster specifically that beat him up was Jaune's personal familiar, so he blamed the leader of team JNPR for this.
The three pseudo-Wyverns were surprised by the positive feedback, due to the fact it was coming from humans of all creatures, but...for once they didn't mind.
They returned to their teams table, with Ruby being the first to speak as she zipped up to Shade.
"That was awesome, guys. But maybe next time, come to help BEFORE I'm stuck in a corner." She told them.
"Ah, don't sweat it, pint-sized." Boomer waved her off with a paw. "'Sides, the bastard had it coming."
"They were lucky they had..um...what's it called?" Shade asked.
"Aura." Ruby answered.
"Yeah, aura. If they didn't have that, that last blow by me would've snapped their spines." Shade explained.
"They are lucky that we didn't aim to kill them." Douglas growled. "Hopefully, they'll get the message and stay away."
The sound of approaching footsteps brought their attention to behind the three Wyverns. They saw it was the Rabbit Faunus, Velvet.
Velvet looked at the monsters nervously, but took a deep breath and put on a brave face. "Th-thank you for helping me." She said meekly, stroking her her rabbit ears.
"Oh, it's nothing." Ruby said. "We were only doing what's right."
"Right." She once again looked at the monsters. "Are they with you?" She pointed to them.
"Yeah. They are our familiars assigned by Ozpin." Ruby explained. "Shade, the black one, belongs to me." Shade gave a chirp in greeting. "Boomer, the Yellow one, belongs to Jaune." The Tigrex gave a grunt. "And Douglas, the White one, belongs to Weiss." Douglas gave a polite rumble.
"Fascinating. It's nice to meet you all. I'm Velvet Scarletina." She smiles cutely. "I hope that we can see each other more often. Maybe I can introduce you to my team some time."
"Sure." Ruby beamed brightly before checking her scroll. Her eyes then widened. "Oh crap! We have to go! It was nice meeting you! Hope we can talk again soon!" She called out before jogging off.
"You too! Your monsters are all handsome, by the way!" Velvet called out before walking away.
Whether or not the three pseudo-Wyverns were touched by the compliment was anyone's guess. They went to join their human companions as they walked out the Cafeteria.
Boomer, however, looked back at CRDL, who were pulling themselves out of the dumpsters. He caught Cardin conversing with the one called Russell, occasionally glaring at the retreating forms of RWBY, JNPR, and the other monsters. They seemed to be scheming.
"Hey, Boomer! You coming with us to class or not!" Jaune's voice called out from behind him.
"Uh...yeah, I'm coming." Boomer turned and assumed a brisk walk to catch up with the others. Even though he was looking forward to the next class, he couldn't help but feel like that scrap with Cardin was only the beginning.
Later on, at Dr. Oobleck's class...
Cardin, Velvet, Blake, Pyrrha, Weiss and Jaune, along with the familiars of the latter two, were now in history class with the fast-talking professor. "This! Is before the Faunus rights revolution, also known as the Faunus war. Human kind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing the Faunus population in menagerie." He explained, taking another sip from his mug.
Oobleck then zipped up in front of his desk. "Now then, while this may feel like ancient history to you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events!" He said, continuing to zip around in front of the class as he explained. "Why the repercussions of this uprising can still be seen to this day!" He continued.
"Now, have any among you ever been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" He asked, looking around. A LITERALLY faceless student (one of the silhouette characters) raised his hand. Shortly after, Velvet hesitantly raised her hand. "Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breathes violence."
'He isn't wrong.' Boomer thought to himself.
Behind him, Cardin was kicked back with his feet on his desk, which just conveniently behind Jaune. Boomer's ears were focused on both paying attention to the professor and making sure the leader of CDRL didn't try anything.
"I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to the White Fang." He said, continuing to zip around. "Now, can any of you young scouts tell me what MANY theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?" He asked, Weiss' hand shooting up first.
"The battle at fort castle." She said in her usual proud, confident tone.
'Kinda sounds like the fight at Castle Schrade.' Boomer shivered, though no one noticed. 'Gog forbid anyone from here would find out about that. Everyone, especially pipsqueak, would be scarred for life.'
"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" Oobleck asked again.
Unseen by the professor, Cardin flicked a paper football at Jaune's head, causing him to wake up. "Hey!" Jaune cried out, looking around.
Boomer spun his head around to glare at Cardin, his eyes briefly flashing bright red, but then came Oobleck, who had heard Jaune's outburst.
"Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! EXCELLENT!!" Oobleck exclaimed. "What is the answer?" He asked.
"Uhhhh... The answer... The advantage... that the Faunus..." Jaune dragged out, stalling for time as he looked behind Oobleck's focused face at Pyrrha, who coughed and motioned to her lips as she gave him the answer. "...had over that guy's stuff..." He drew out more as he saw Pyrrha cup her hands around her eyes.
'Night-vision?' Boomer wondered. He was about to open his maw to answer when the blonde beat him to it.
"...Uh, Binoculars!" Jaune said proudly, causing the Tigrex's expression to turn blank.
'Well, fuck me.' Boomer sighed internally as his paw met his face along with Pyrrha. The rest of the class either laughed, gave an amused look at the blonde's confident incorrectness, as was the case for Blake and Douglas, or simply sighed at the Jaune's idiocy (Weiss in particular was wondering why she had to be in the boy's presence anyway.).
Oobleck only sipped his coffee and zipped back behind his desk. "Very funny, Mr. Arc." He said flatly, before looking to Cardin, who was chuckling at the success of his prank. "Cardin, Perhaps you could share your thoughts on the subject."
"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin declared
Douglas snarled at this, which required Weiss to stroke his muzzle to calm him down, while Boomer whipped around angrily, jumping up and pinning Cardin back against the seat behind him before Jaune could react. "Are you sure about that, bird brain? Because Jaune's been trying to get me to stop biting people's faces off, but that lesson's not really sticking!" The Roaring Wyvern snapped, opening his mouth as if he was going to bite off Cardin's entire head. The bully, who didn't have translation device, only heard bone-rattling growls, which frightened him to no end.
"Boomer! I know Cardin isn't the most open-minded of individuals, but this is uncalled for!" Pyrrha scolded the Tigrex. The monster gave a snort in indignation. "This numb-skull clearly doesn't see that folks like that rabbit girl-"
"It's Velvet!" Said rabbit girl corrected.
"Whatever. The point is, Faunus are not that different from humans. They're literally just humans with random animal parts on their bodies, like fuzzy ears or different skin texture." Boomer explained.
"Are you saying Faunus are no better than us humans?" Oobleck asked. (He thankfully had a translation device in his ear.)
"Of course not." Douglas cut-in. "Faunus presumably have several advantages because of their beast-like traits. That includes night-vision, advanced hearing, and advanced strength. The possibilities are endless with what a person such as a Faunus could do with these abilities. But we're getting off topic." The Barioth turned to Pyrrha. "So what did General Lagoon do that made everything go the hell?"
"Well, unfortunately for the general, many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark." Pyrrha explained as Cardin growled at the correct answer.
"General Lagoon was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured." Blake explained before she turned to Cardin. "Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." She said.
"If I wasn't in this position I would give you a piece of my mi-ACK!" Cardin was cut off when Boomer reapplied pressure on his chest.
"Enough of this. Boomer, release him." Oobleck ordered. The Roaring Wyvern growled, but reluctantly let him go and sat back next to Jaune, letting the bully behind him catch his breath. Beside him, Jaune was laughing at the bully's karma, but quickly clammed up when the professor approached him.
"You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings." He said as he took yet another sip of his coffee.
"Oohhhh..." Jaune groaned, shoulders slumping.
"Now! Moving on!" Oobleck continued, zooming away and leaving the boy to wallow in his misery.
Later, after class ended, Jaune, Cardin, and Boomer were asked to stay behind for a talk. Pyrrha had told Ren and Nora to go on ahead while she waited for both the blonde and monster.
Inside the classroom, Oobleck stood before the two seated students. Boomer, as usual, sat beside Jaune, glaring at Cardin as the bully, who seemed to not acknowledge the professor at all.
"You two have been struggling in my class since day one." He said to the two students, then to the Tigrex. "And you have been a thorn in my side since you were brought back from Emerald Forest, especially with behavior such as what happened in class today."
"I'm aware of that, but I have a reason for being a prick to everyone." Boomer said casually. "'Sides, there's only one guy to insult Vomit Boy, and that guy is me and me alone."
"I see..." Oobleck said. "As I was saying though, I'm not sure weather or not it is from a lack of interest, or just because your stubborn nature. But whatever the case may be." He set down his cup. "It stops NOW."
"You two have fought hard to get into this school, and you know that we only accept the best of the best." Oobleck lectured the two boys, who refused to meet his gaze. "I, along with the rest of staff, expect you to act like it."
"He's right." Boomer spoke up. "Either you boys start acting your age, or..." His nostrils had steam billowing out of them. "I'll have to beat it into you." He growled as he cracked his knuckles, making the two young men gulp.
"Now, Mr. Boomer. We are only supposed to give a message, not scare them." Oobleck reminded the Tigrex, before turning back to the two students. "It still stands, gentlemen. Either you learn from history, or will be destined to repeat it."
Oobleck gave his assignment: Read pages 51 through 91 in their History textbooks, write an essay about it, and hand it to him next time they have his class. With dampened spirits, they walked out the door, Cardin taking the opportunity to shove Jaune to the floor before running away from Boomer's snapping jaws. Pyrrha quickly moved to get Jaune back up.
You know, I really will break his legs." Jaune sighed and Pyrrha looked like she was struck by inspiration. "I have an idea! Here, come with me!" She said as she grabbed a confused Jaune by the arm and dragged him along as she turned down the corridor.
On a secluded roof...
A dejected Jaune and Pyrrha came onto a rooftop of one of the buildings, with a clear view of the glowing green orbs in the central tower of Beacon.
"Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not that depressed." Jaune said as he looked over the edge of the roof, to the confusion of Pyrrha "I can always be a farmer or something..." He said, still looking down.
Pyrrha looked over the edge herself, realization hitting her with horror. "N-n-no!" She cried out, dashing to push Jaune away from the edge. "That's not why I brought you up here!" She said. From down below, a certain bully eavesdropped on their conversation.
Boomer stepped out. "Yeah, the Spartan wouldn't hurt ya even if you roasted her entire family line." He padded over to them. "She brought you out here for a reason."
"Yes." Pyrrha turned back to Jaune. "Jaune, I know you have been having trouble in class, and you aren't the strongest of fighters either, so..." she took a breath to steel her nerves. "I want to help you." She declared firmly.
"Uh...what?" Jaune stammered, perplexed. Boomer scoffed and stormed up to the boy.
"You heard her, twerp! She wants to help you be better!" Boomer paced between the two humans. "For crying out loud, I knew you were an idiot, but I didn't think you would be a complete DUMBASS!!" He spat, making Jaune shrink back.
"You think I need help?" He asked.
"N-no! No, that's not what I meant." She said.
"But you just said it." He said sadly.
"Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!" She assured him.
"You're wrong. I-I don't belong here." Jaune said sadly, turning away from her, lowering his head and voice.
"That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you do!" She said.
"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't earn my spot at this Academy!" Jaune admitted, his voice going higher and higher as he confessed, looking at her again. "I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I lied!" He told her.
Boomer growled at this, his veins glowing red along with his eyes, the infamous sign of a Tigrex being enraged, something that was the last sight for many hunters. "Then it's no wonder you're such a disappointment!" He snapped, rushing Jaune and pinning him down, the paw on his chest practically caving in his chestplate.
Pyrrha was horrified at this. "Boomer, stop!" She cried, grabbing his tail and trying to pull him off. But without any weapon or metal to control, there was little she could do against the beast, shrunken down as he may be. His response was to shove her away.
"You only got this far through cheap tricks! You'll never get any further than this without help! You know why?! Because you're a lazy, soft runt! You're not willing to put in the extra effort to learn or become stronger. And now, someone's willing to help you and ease your burden, but you're refusing because of your own damn pride! You think you'll get there on your own, but you can't! She's your only chance, so you'd better smarten up and take it. Otherwise, I might as well make a meal out of you before a Grimm does!" The Flying Wyvern roared in his face.
Panicking, Jaune's fist shot out and hit Boomer in the throat, causing him to reel back and release the blonde. Jaune pulled himself to his feet and clutched his fist while the Tigrex coughed.
"Do you wanna know WHY I chose to come here?" Jaune asked.
"Didn't I just say it just now!? You're too wrapped up in your fucking pride to realize you're in over your head!" Boomer roared, regaining his composure.
"IT WAS BECAUSE OF MY FAMILY LEGACY!!" Jaune countered while getting in the Tigrex's face. "I JOINED THIS PLACE BECAUSE I WANTED TO BE REMEMBERED LIKE MY FATHER, GRANDFATHER, AND HIS FATHER BEFORE HIM!! YOU TWO DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH OF A BURDEN IT IS TO BE THE ONLY SON IN MY FAMILY!!" At the end of his tirade, Jaune was panting from the effort while Pyrrha and Boomer stood in stunned silence. These were the words of a man who was willing to do anything to prove himself.
"Your father was a fighter, too?" Boomer asked after a minute.
"...Yes. My weapon is a family heirloom, passed down for generations. My family has had several warriors born from it, so I wanted to be one too." The blonde explained, staring at the floating green orbs of Beacon's tower. "My dad, however, didn't think I was ready to wield Crocoa Mors because even though I was his only son, I wasn't exactly fit for combat."
"Yeah, we noticed." Boomer murmured flatly before Pyrrha shushed him.
"Despite that, I still wanted to continue the tradition of taking the blade. So, I did what I had to do." Jaune explained.
"That still doesn't excuse the fact you have been freeloading off of other's work!" Boomer snarled. "If you don't start putting actual effort into what you do, you'll be more likely end up in some monster's stomach!"
"Which is why we want to help." Pyrrha added to the argument. "You don't have to walk this path alone, Jaune."
"I have to! I'm sick and tired of having people fight my battles for me! This is my battle, and mine alone!" Jaune turned away from them, not even looking at them.
"J-Jaune, I-I-..."
"Leave me alone."
"Kid, listen to-"
"I SAID LEAVE!!!"
Pyrrha shrunk back at Jaune's harsh words while Boomer stood his ground. The Spartan's red hair hid her eyes from view as she hung her head. "I-I understand. I...I will go now." Pyrrha's voice wavered, but held firm as she walked back inside, leaving Boomer and Jaune alone. After a few moments, the Wyvern spoke.
"Ya know. I was in your place once, kid." He began. "I too was scrawny, but at the same time I wanted to make it big as well." As he said this, Jaune didn't make any comment, which Boomer took as a que to continue. "But I didn't just have everything I ever wanted handed to me on a silver platter. I learned that one had to work hard for what they wanted, and if these things are simply given to you without any hard work, then where's the fun in it?"
Boomer then approached Jaune and placed a paw on his shoulder, which the latter thankfully didn't try to brush away. "The point is: life isn't easy, but it can be rewarding if you're living it surrounded by those you like. You got your team, the girls on team RWBY, and..." he spun Jaune around to look him in the eye. "You still have me as a partner."
"But...I was certain you hated my guts." Jaune said, perplexed.
"Oh I do! But I refuse to let you be taken advantage of because you're a wimp. We're in this together, kid. Don't lose sight of what's right." Boomer gave Jaune a pat on the back, the light hit nearly knocking the boy over, and padded off to the door, leaving Jaune alone on the roof.
Jaune looked out over the dark landscape of Beacon. His most valuable secret had been revealed. This night possibly couldn't get any worse, right?
Jaune paced a little until he heard a mocking laugh and Cardin appeared on the roof from his window. "Oh, Jaune..." Cardin said.
"Cardin!" Jaune said fearfully, looking behind him at his bully.
"I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say, Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel!" The taller knight taunted.
"Please, Cardin, please, don't tell anyone!" Jaune pleaded, taking on a begging tone.
"Jaune, come on! I'd never rat on a friend like that!" Cardin said.
"A... a friend?" Jaune asked, approaching the bully.
"Of course!" He said as he trapped Jaune in a headlock under his arm despite his struggling. "We're friends now, Jauney boy! And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time." He explained as he finally released Jaune, who gasped as he leaned on the ground.
"That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Dr. Oobleck gave us today. Think you could take care of that for me, buddy?" He asked with a smirk as he leaned down to rub Jaune's hair and got up with a grin. "That's what I thought." He said as he headed back to hang onto the edge. "Don't worry, Jaune; your secret's safe with me." He said.
And with that, Cardin dropped back down to his room as Jaune rubbed his neck in pain and worry. What did he just get himself into?
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I'd like to thank my dear friend Sai Kunai Blade for helping me complete this chapter.
With his help, chapters will come a quicker rate than before.
See you all real soon.