It took about four minutes for team SSSN to converge on their location, and another three after that for team ARBN. Dr. Cortez raised an eyebrow at their arrival, checking a non existent wrist watch.
"What kept you so long?" he asked them, standing up from the rock he had started sitting on. Not bothering to wait for the answer that either Sun or Arslan would provide him, he moved to the boulder, feeling around for something. Eventually he did find what he was looking for, pulling on some mechanism.
Jaune had to cover his ears as a terrible grinding sound came from the boulder, the apparently false facade lowered. Arslan and Sun had to actually move away from the sound. Even Sebastian winced, looking at the mechanism with a grimace.
"I suppose I really should do a check up on all my bunkers…" he trailed off, stepping aside to let his students in.
Reese was the second to walk in, following after Jaune. They looked around the light up hole in the wall. In front was a selection of shelves, holding various things from ammunition to first aid kits to just seemingly random collections of survivalist gear. In the back there was a closed off room that, when opened, led to a tiny, cramped four person set of beds, two on each wall. Beyond it was a tiny little shower and stovetop. But the main attraction to the room was the large augmented G-1 19.50 Jeep. Someone had cut off the back end and extended it by another solid meter or so. They had also gone ahead and replaced the tires with something that looked a little more out of a Mad Max movie than from military surplus. Jaune was mildly interested, while Reese looked like someone had just started to piss on a bible.
"What did you do to this thing?" She exclaimed, darting around it. It was a vehicle that had taken a lot of abuse in its life, with sometimes entire sections of metal plate being welded on and painted over.
"I improved it." The teacher said nonchalantly as he checked some gauges. Nodding, satisfied with their levels, he threw open the back end, where there were two rows of seats lined up along the sides, and fasteners in the floor indicated that something could be attached in between the two benches. But what would go in there would never be known, as Dr. Cortez dragged his students over. "Alright, everyone inside the suspicious rickety van." He said, moving towards the driver's seat. Sage moved up to the front, but found competition with Reese. The much smaller skater practically body slammed the behemoth as she got up to the door. She pushed the door open, getting herself stuck as Sage did his best to slide himself in between to sit down. They managed to get stuck in the door frame.
Sebastian gave them an amused side eye, doing his best, and failing, to force down a smile. "To the back Reese." He finally managed to say, starting up the car.
Reese looked a little insulted. 'What? Why? Why am I being shoved in the back! I got here first!" She exclaimed, trying to wiggle out or in.
"Because he's about six times your size." The teacher explained. "Trust me when I tell you that the largest person sits in the front. My par-" He cut off, stopping to take a moment to crack his neck with a swift side to side turn. "Just trust me. Biggest person sits up front."
Reese looked at him, searching for a counter argument. "You're not the biggest person, or even the second biggest person." She argued. The teacher just gave her a flat look. He leaned back to the collection of huntsmen.
"Jaune, can you drive?" He asked deadpan.
Jaune looked up, surprised that he had been called. "uhh…I mean I drove a Jrod 1455 some time ago if that counts." he offered. Reese looked surprised.
"You owned a Jord?" She asked. "And just exactly how old are you?"
A made a face of mock offense. I mean, we didn't own the Jord… he trailed off.
Bolin looked surprised. "I'm sorry, We?" He asked. Jaune turned to look at him, tilting his head.
"Sure." he responded before turning back to his teacher. "Technically, yes."
Sebastian nodded. "See?" he recentered his vision on the landscape ahead, rubbing his right eye. "So in the back, skater girl."
Reese sighed, relented and wriggled her way out. Once everyone got inside, and in their assigned seating, the car took off. It bounced down the rough forest side, swerving around trees and skinning itself on boulders. Everyone was suddenly very, very glad for the grab handles by each seat.
Sage was suddenly regretting wanting to sit up in the front as the ricocheted and tumbled down the shallow mountain side, the mad doctor laughing all the way. He reached over to the stereo system hard wired into the dashboard, looking like some kind of frankensteinian mechanical tumor growing out of the rudimentary vehicle. "You know, there's nothing quite like driving and rock and roll. There's just something about it, you know? Something primal, oh, that's a tree-" He rambled, tuning the speakers to Queen's One Vision. Sage didn't bother answering him, far too concerned with his impending death by insane Spanish drivers.
"Slow down!" Arslan screamed from the back, watching over said driver's shoulder in horror. She saw them narrowly duck under a branch from one the trees and practically do a front flip over a jutting boulder.
Sebastian waved it off, leaning backwards so that the lioness could hear him over the roar of the engine and the scream of Neptune. "Ah, don't worry!" he called, "I am a trained-whoop, shit- a trained professional." He countered, swearving in such a way that would have terrified even the most hardcore low city mistral taxi drivers. Arslan looked in forlorn terror at jaune, who was a stoic as normal. He seemed like a statue, eyes locked ahead and jaw clenched as Scarlet and Sun clung to his arms like it was a lifeline that could save them from the certain death that was Sebastian Cortez. There was one final jostle and then smooth driving. Sage opened his eyes, not sure as to what he would see. He was greeted with the open but rocky plains of this area close to the mountains.
"See? And not a scratch." Sebastian said with a smile, looking at the low rolling hills that dotted this region. "You guys were so worried for nothing."
A shaking Sun Wukong looked at him, stunned. "Are-are- are you insane?" He managed to ask, collapsing into his seat. The car just puttered along as the song ended.
"No, not clinically anyway." The teacher responded, looking at the radio as a new song came on. "Is that- what is that song?" He pondered, trying to place it.
Arslan decided that Dr. Cortez was insane, no matter what he said. "How in the world did you manage to be so calm?" She asked him.
Jaune gave her a tired look. "I've been through worse." He stated as the vehicle went over a rocky jut, sending them bouncing in their seats. Sun turned his head to him, looking incredibly dubious.
"I'm sorry, you did what?" He asked, his jaw clicking with the last word. "What in the world wack ass ride did you take that topped that trip from hell."
Jaune tilted his head to look at him, straight on. "I fell several miles down a mountain once." he said, thinking back to the Northern Mountain and the Dwarvish city below. He wondered how long ago it really was. Some days it felt like weeks, maybe months. Others, on harsh mornings when every scar seemed fresh and he felt the entirety of the abuse he had subjected himself to, it felt like only minutes ago. Some days the stench of his sins simmered in the back of his mind. On other days, they were up front, heavy like sand in the joints of a machine or heavy chains dragging locked boxes, the metal rusted and the wood splintering under what they held.
After Jaune didn't answer Scarlet's next question of "Do I want to know?", the conversation died, leaving them with Dr. Cortez's eclectic collection of music. It jumped from Weird Science to Intro III to Dancing to Cat Guitar and the Muppets theme song. Very wide arrangement of music pumped through the speakers as they traveled to the Aldar mountains. Eventually, with the sun long gone and the moon budding in the sky, and sleeping children and soft somber jazz, the small mountain town of Aldar Ahamkara came into view. Sebastian sighed, pulling off the main road and turned the key. The car shuddered to a halt as the gunslinger gently stepped out.
"Oh? Have we arrived?" Jaune asked softly, moving up to speak with his teacher so that he wouldn't disturb his fellow students. Sebastian shook his head, pulling out a can of beans out from a pocket somewhere in his long coat.
"Nah. We still got several hours left." Sebastian pointed to the speck of light in the distance, showing Jaune their eventual destination. "I didn't want to arrive at midnight and have to wake everyone up. And besides." he shook the can in his hand. "I was hungry."
Jaune smiled as he moved to the back of the van, sitting in the doorway. "I think I could do with some food myself." He said. Sebastian hummed, gripping it tightly. The can started to vibrate, humming lightly as it was warmed. With a sound that was familiar to a soda can opening, Sebastian handed Jaune the warm can of beans.
The ranger furrowed his brow, looking confused at the can of warm beans. 'Why's it warm?" he asked his teacher.
"Semblance," he explained. "I can pretty freely manipulate sound waves." A spoon was passed between them. "Although heating things up like that is pretty damn hard, not blowing up the can and all that."
Jaune hummed, taking a mouthful of the beans, lost in the sauce as they were. "That sounds like a… useful semblance." He said.
Sebastian gave a light chuckle, making sure he was quiet enough to not wake any of his students. "Yeah, it's more versatile than most people give it credit for." He said, holding his hand out for the beans. Jaune handed it over without a sound.
There was a shuffling sound from behind them, indicating that their quiet conversation had awoken someone. Jaune turned to see Arslan slump forward, pulling herself sleepily from her seat.
"Do I smell something?" She asked, dropping herself down next to Jaune.
"Yeah," Sebastian said through a mouthful. "Just me and the boys at 3 am looking for Beans." He smirked, emphasizing the word beans. Arslan groaned, shaking her head.
"I hate that you know that." She grumbled. They sat there for a while, quietly passing beans to each other before Sebastian decided to break their bean induced reverie.
"So, why are you guys huntsmen?" He asked, swirling the beans around like it was whiskey. "I mean, most people are in it for the money. But one of you's a monk, and the other pays in gold… so it ain't money, so what is it? Didn't know what to do with your life?" He asked. Arslan answered first, rubbing away her sleep.
She yawned, showing off her fangs. "I suppose because I had limited- yawn- options. With my background, I could have been either a monk or a huntsmen. I suppose it's obvious as to which I chose." She sighed, leaning back on her elbows. "I think I can do the most good here, out in the world instead of behind some citadel walls." chuckling, she looked up at the stars. "I think I would hate to be some scribe, pouring over sacred books and fastening candles to their mantles."
"A life of adventure?" Sebastian asked, almost coy. "I can understand. Something that appealed to me too, at first." He nodded, turning his attention to Jaune. "And you, Jaune? You don't strike me as the adventure seeking type."
Jaune stopped, the can of beans feeling heavy in his hand. He leaned back, knowing that the answer would be expected. Going backwards in linear time, he pawed through the logbooks of his mind, searching for a reason.
Some time ago, he knew the reason. The reason he went to Beacon, the reason he stole away with his family's ancestral sword. Maybe it was still a valid reason, but he knew himself too well to keep that reason, whatever it may have been. So he searched the pages, looking for a reason as to why. He saw endless pages of violence, death and destruction blotted with ashen ink.
"What else could I be?" He posed, passing the beans on. "I have become a machine, built and forged for violence. I just think being a huntsman is the best form of my craft." With a chuckle, he entertained some other ideas. "Although I suppose I could make a solid amount of money doing mercenary work."
Sebastian gave a light scoff, agreeing with the notion. Arslan, on the other hand, looked at Jaune like she had just gone through a therapy session with the man. Wide eyed and a little distrubed, she rested her hand gingerly on his leg. The metal armor was cold in the night. She wondered how closely it mirrored his tormented soul. Jaune turned, surprised at the gentle touch. With equal ginger, and an awkwardness that felt so incredibly in place for a young boy that it was unprecedented for the unearthed ranger. It was so bizarrely human that it felt alien. He patted her head lightly, his arm moved straight up and down like a kind of wooden puppet. Arslan blinked at him. Wat. She reacted, blinking at the ranger.
Jaune, sensing that he had done something wrong, quickly retracted his hand. Sebastian tapped at the can's side, disappointed that it had run out of beans. "Aww, shit. Well, that well's dry." he complained with a head shake. Standing up, he stretched out, popping his back. "I'm going to catch some shut eye. You two want to be left with the stars?"
Arslan could feel her throat instinctively closed up, being more embarrassed at the insinuation more so than being afraid of Jaune. Her mouth went dry, making a kind of smacking sound. Jaune, somehow, managed to be completely unaffected by the titular teacher and give a timely answer.
"We will be fine. You can get some sleep, professor." He said, waving the teacher off. They sat there for a little while, jaune looking up at the stars.
"You know, I almost forgot what the constellations here looked like." He admitted once Dr. Cortez was likely asleep. Arslan turned to look at him, propping herself on her elbows.
"Really?" Curious, and a little confused, she probed further. "For what reason? I can't imagine it's because of the lack of opportunity." It was followed by a well meaning chuckle, designed to avoid compilation rather than an attempt at actual humor. Jaune didn't answer for a while, entranced by the glittering sky. Arslan had to admit, it was rather pretty. There seemed to be almost no light pollution out here, so entire galaxies and nebulous space clouds could be seen, as the ringed system they resided in almost danced in the dark sky. The shattered moon was out of view, being hidden mostly by the van.
"I suppose I see enough of an ash darkened sky that I can trick myself into a sunless one. What's the difference, if no light shines through anyway?" He sighed, falling down onto the van floor. "Tell me, do you have stories for them?" He asked after admiring the astral lights for a moment more.
"I'm sorry?" the lioness abackedly asked. "You wish to hear what?"
Jaune gestured upwards towards the night sky. "Surely your people had stories for the stars. All people do. Even in places where those great balls of flaming gas and space dust have long died and the skies are no longer bright, they had stories of stars. So tell me, Arslan. Share with me the stories of your people. Please." He asked her, looking intently at her face. It was as though he was studying her, as though she were some exotic or rare specimen. Arslan pursed her lips.
"Fine, but only if you tell me some stories from your culture." She offered the deal. Jaune shrugged in agreement.
"I am afraid you will be left wanting." The ranger admitted. "I have no culture to share that is my own. All I have I have taken and stolen from sollom graves and dead cities from some eons past and yet to come. So nothing I tell you will be mine." He sighed. "But I will agree to your terms." Arslan clenched her jaw, trying to ignore the insinuation that he was a grave robber. She at this point would have to accept the expanding Jaune lore that just kind of dropped out of his mouth. Searching the stars for the familiar line, she pointed at a line of stars that stretched across the entire sky.
"You see that? The set that has this weird little blank space from the rest of the sky?" She asked Juane. He hummed, letting her know that he was listening.
"That is Jarathabaoo, the sky snake. The story changes from testament to testament, but I know the first best."
"When the world was first forged and Karmora, god of the wild places and untamed things, had first put life on this earth, he had not accounted for everything. Like death, or growth. So there was this snake, right? This snake was hungry, so it ate fruit. And then the bush. And then a tree. it ate, and it ate, and it ate. Until it ran out of plants. So it moved on to animals. Bunnies, monkeys, Apes and Rhinos were consumed as they got bigger and bigger, without bound and without limit. And because Drharma had not yet been invited to Karmora and Isshuin's world, and his roads had not yet been built, there was no way for the snake to die. And it eventually got so big that nothing could satisfy it but the Sun. So it ate the sun."
Jaune raised an eyebrow. "I honestly expected more than a snake deciding to just eat the sun. So, does the snake make up the entire sky, and the universe, or is it more like-" Arslan slapped him in the arm, cutting him off. With a playful scowl, she scolded him for interrupting.
"I'm getting there, I'm getting there." She laughed as quietly as she could, remembering that there were still people asleep. "But after swallowing the sun, and by consequence the earth, it saw that it had nothing left to eat. So it complained to Karmora. "Karmora!" Jarathabaoo complained. "I have nothing left to eat!""
"Karmora thought about this, and in his infinite wisdom," That was given with a sarcastic inflection, clearly pointing out how she felt about it. "Suggested that Jarathabaoo regurgitate the sun so he could eat it again later. So that's why we have a sunrise and a sun set. It's a massive snake eating the sun, and then throwing it up at night." Arslan almost chuckled. "So, you promised me a story?"
Jaune sighed, doing his best to remember the various mythos he had found in the Dream. "There were a people, long ago, that lived underground. And yet they knew the stars. At first they thought that the sky was just another mountain root, that they were just a pebble in a very large mountain, and the sky was the endless refraction of crystals embedded in the roof of the great cave."
Arslan turned to look at him, resting her chin on her hands. "Oh, and what about the sun? Surely they didn't think that there were crystals on the roof as well?" She asked. Jaune shrugged.
"I don't know, the records I have are less than complete in regards to that. I suppose not, though, that seems rather illogical." he said before pausing to muse. "Although I will admit, people are not the most logical most of the time." The admission was a laugh. They sat there, enjoying the night sounds for some time more before Arslan let out a yawn.
"Tired, Ms. Altan?" Jaune asked her. She nodded, standing up and stretching.
"Yeah. you guys did wake me up in the middle of the night." She yawned. "Be sure to get some sleep, Jaune."
He only nodded, basking in the quiet for a little while longer.
And another one is done. A nice little wholesome ending scene, just as a little treat. Plus Cortez lore, so always a bonus.
next chapter should be a little more interesting/ not a driving simulator, but I wanted to take the time to write this out. I can't decide whether team SSSSNJAMBR (Sunny Jamborie) should go into the town and start their mission, or if we should segway into the dream. Of course we will see both within the next two/three chapters, but it's just a matter of what happens first. Tell me what you would like to see so that I can take it into consideration.
(note: Jaune Saying Jrod and the car being called a Jord is not a spelling error, J-rod or Jrod being slang for the model of the car, due to it's straight rod like piping. I might expand on this in later chapters.)
As always, please leave a review with your head cannons, thoughts, ideas, and scenes for the story. I love reading them and do give them consideration/ it lets me know what I have to explain or explore.