JoJo's Bizarre Adventure – Wayward Son
Chapter 6: You Give Love A Bad Name
"Take it nice and easy, Jauney." Amber instructed as both she and her student were sitting in Valkyrie's saddle. Only this time, Amber was sitting behind Jaune as he held the reins.
The beautiful mare was walking along the dirt road the pair have been on for almost two weeks. Two weeks of near-death experiences, Spin training and stand practice.
They've been on the road for about a week straight with no pit stops. So that meant camping in the woods, keeping watch through the night in alternating shifts so both could get a good night's sleep.
Jaune nodded as he kept his eyes on the road. He had Amber's goggles on to keep any kicked-up dirt out of his eyes (she thought he looked absolutely adorkable with them on). "This is kinda fun. Makes me feel taller."
Amber slapped his shoulder playfully. "If you get any taller, we're gonna have problems."
Jaune smirked. "How so? Not like you'll be able to reach my head. You gonna kick me in the shin?"
"Nope." Amber said with a sweet smile. "I'll punch you in the dick. Or I'll use my steel ball."
Jaune's face paled. "W-Well I-I hope it won't come to that."
Amber laughed as she patted his head. "Good answer."
Before Jaune could respond, a noise came from Amber's pocket. This got both Spin users' attentions.
"Was that your scroll?" Jaune asked.
Amber pulled it out and her eyes shined with joy. "I've got a signal!"
"That means…" Jaune started for her.
"We'll be in Vale today!" Amber said with uncontained joy. She dialed a number into the scroll and called someone on speaker.
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEE-.
"… Hello?" A man's voice said over the scroll.
"Hey, is that offer still good?" Amber asked.
"Wait… Ms. Zeppeli, is that you? Are you alright?" The voice asked with concern and surprise.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'll tell you the story when we get into Vale." Amber mulled over a thought before continuing. "After lunch. I owe someone a damn good meal."
"Ms. Zeppeli, are you sure this is wise? You should come straight to Beacon for your safety." The voice said.
"Dude, I've had a long two weeks on the road and I picked up a student. If anything gets between us and something tasty that wasn't scrounged up from the forest or made in a cheap inn, we're going on a warpath." Amber stated.
Jaune would've said something, but he agreed. One can only have stew or random fruits so often before they need a palette cleanse. Hell, he was hungry right now just thinking about it.
The voice sighed. "If that's the case, please inform me where you'll be eating so that I can send an escort to Beacon."
"Yes sir." Amber said cheekily before hanging up.
"So," Jaune asked, "What are you in the mood for?"
"Linguine and wine." Amber said without hesitation.
"I could go for some chicken." Jaune said.
Amber grinned like a maniac. "Well then, we better hurry up. I'm starving."
Jaune nodded. "How do I make Valkyrie gallop?"
"Whip the reins and yell hi-yah. Just don't hurt my horse." Amber warned him.
"Gotcha." Jaune said before he steeled his nerves as Amber wrapped her arms around Jaune's stomach. If he wasn't so focused on lunch and Vale, he would've been blushing in embarrassment.
He tightened his grip on the reins. "Okay, Val. Hope this goes well." With a whip of the reins, he yelled "HI-YAH!"
Valkyrie immediately went full speed down the dirt road.
"HOLY CRAP!" He yelled, truly in awe the true power of the beautiful steed.
Amber just started laughing as they zoomed down the road with buildings starting to come into view.
The pair have finally made it to Vale.
(Downtown Vale)
After looking like a bunch of maniacs while riding into town, followed by Jaune holding onto a trash can for dear life after violently expelling his breakfast, the pair found a small Mistralian restaurant that had exactly what the pair wanted. They got a nice spot by the front window that was clear of the sun.
Amber ordered some linguine and red wine while Jaune ordered a chicken Caesar salad with water.
As the two waited for their food, they couldn't help but to be amazed that they even made it into town.
"Talk about a few close calls." Amber said as she sipped her wine.
"A few? Three rounds of assassins are way too many for anyone. And I almost got mauled by two Beowolves!" Jaune said. He was still kicking himself over how lucky he got with that case.
Amber pursed her lips. "Yeah, but it's weird. Usually, those kinds of guys looking for me show up once every other month, sometimes twice a year if I'm lucky. But three rounds within two weeks is just… suspicious."
Jaune thought about it. "Maybe the people who want 'you-know' are getting desperate?" He knew better than to say Fall Maiden Aura in public. You never know who's listening.
"Maybe. I can't think of anything else." Amber said, feeling a knot in her stomach that made her uneasy.
Deciding to change the subject after seeing the look on his teacher's face, Jaune asked "Who was that on the scroll?"
"Oh, just Professor Ozpin." Amber said nonchalantly.
If Jaune was drinking his water at that moment, he'd have spitted it out like he was in a cartoon. "You have a direct line with the headmaster of Beacon?!"
Amber looked confused. "Didn't I tell you that before?"
"No! You just said that you were on your way to Vale when we met." Jaune said.
"Huh." Amber said. "Well, he offered me a place in Beacon for my safety. He was able to get a message out to me after years of trying through one of his guys. I thought I'd be better on my own, until after my last close call before I met you. I called him up and said I'd be on my way to him. He said he'd sent someone to meet me on the road to make sure I got here safe, but the guy never showed."
"I'll be sure to punch him in the face for that." Jaune said.
Amber grinned. "Don't worry about it. It's because of that we met. And I'd not have it any other way." She sipped her wine again. "I meant it when I said being on the road gets lonely. Traveling from place to place, not really able to make friends, having to look over your shoulder all the time… it's just tiring."
"And now you don't have to worry about it." Jaune said.
"Yeah, I won't be missing the assassins anytime soon." Amber said with glee.
Jaune nodded.
Amber took another sip of wine. "Still can't believe we were banned from a whole town." Amber grumbled.
"To be fair, we did nearly kill a guy while you caused a shit-ton of property damage." Jaune pointed out. "Most of it came after you got drunk and a guy threw a bottle at you when you started singing." Jaune only remembered that much before the chaos erupted. When things settled down, the bar they were in was in even worse condition from before. Didn't help that Amber somehow started in the bar and ended up beating the crap out of ten guys in the middle of the road.
"Hey! At least ten percent of that was you." Amber argued.
Jaune held up his hands. "Alright. You did ninety percent of the damage."
Amber kicked his shin from under the table.
"YOW!" Jaune said, jumping up in his seat and hitting the table with his knees. He looked around and saw the few patrons in the restaurant turn their attentions back to their meals as if they weren't staring in the first place. Jaune shrunk in his seat in embarrassment. "Did you have to do that?"
"A student should always respect their teacher." Amber said.
"Speaking of teaching," Jaune started, causing Amber to raise an eyebrow, "I think I'm ready for more."
"Jaune, it's only been two weeks." Amber said.
"But you said I'm a prodigy! Hell, my stand is dedicated to the Spin!" Jaune said as he summoned [Tusk] to appear next to him. The little fellow looked just as determined as it's user.
Amber grinned. "Good points. And I guess we are already done with the basics."
Jaune raised his fist in victory as he dismissed [Tusk].
Amber tossed Jaune her scroll.
"Do you have notes or something on this?" Jaune asked.
"Nope. Take a good look at it." Amber said.
Jaune inspected the scroll. The rectangular amalgamation of metal and glass was pretty unremarkable. Amber didn't keep it in a case or even have a screen protector. Somehow, the glass was still in one piece.
"What do you see?" Amber asked.
"Uh... it's a rectangle?" Jaune said uncertainly.
Amber snapped her fingers. "Bingo. It's a rectangle. But what kind of rectangle is it?"
Jaune looked at it again. "A rounded rectangle?"
"You're not wrong, but that's not my point." Amber said. "There is a natural beauty in the world. Many things in art, math, nature and more have this perfect shape in it. It's called the golden rectangle."
"Golden rectangle? What does that have to do with the Spin?" Jaune asked.
Amber's grin let Jaune know he asked the right question. "Everything. Inside of the golden rectangle is a perfect spiral. The perfect Spin. As a Spin master, we tap into this perfect idea of a spiral to form and strengthen our Spin."
Jaune inspected the scroll again. "This is a golden rectangle?"
Amber took her scroll back. "Nope. But the golden rectangle is within it. When you can see the golden rectangle all around you in the world like I do, your Spin will go much higher and further than ever before. And maybe one day, you can tap into the Infinite Spin as laid out by the golden rectangle."
"Infinite Spin?"
Amber grabbed a napkin and pulled out a pen. She drew a rectangle and drew lines within to section it off in squares. She then started a spiral from one of the corners and drew the line through corners of the sections within.
When she was done, Jaune could see what she meant by infinite spin. Jaune knew that if he could truly imagine it, the Spin inside the golden rectangle would go on forever.
"I can see this perfect ratio all around me. That visualization allows me to empower my Spin. My family has done it for generations, it's why we mastered the Spin." Amber explained.
Jaune leaned back in his seat, stunned. "This is amazing."
"And one of the hardest things to pick up. It has to click in your head. It's like when you hear a random sound in a song you like. When you notice it once, you'll notice it every time after." Amber said.
Jaune inspected the napkin. "Thank you, Amber."
Amber laid her hand on Jaune's. "I got your back, Jaune. After all we've been through, I'm not letting it all just fade away. When we get to Beacon, I'm gonna see your training through to the end."
Jaune and Amber shared a moment of smiling at each other before Amber drew her hand back as a waiter approached. Jaune pocketed the napkin with the golden rectangle drawing.
Their food arrived and the pair dug in.
"I know it's just a salad, but this is the best salad I've had!" Jaune exclaimed.
"Screw salads, these are fucking authentic noodles! Oh, gods above, I thank you for this wonderful meal." Amber said with a mouthful of linguine.
Jaune laughed as he devoured his plate.
When the two were done, Amber called for the check like a loud tourist.
Jaune looked outside while he laughed and saw something odd. A tiny satellite-like object made of four blue wings and a set of keys dangling in the middle was floating just outside the window where they sat.
The chill that ran down his spine informed his next actions. He kicked Amber's chair out from the table while using it to push his own chair back.
BANG!
"OH, COME THE FUCK ON!" Amber screamed as she ducked when another gunshot rang out.
The pair knocked their table over and pushed it against the window for cover as the other patrons and workers of the restaurant ran out of the building screaming.
"ONE DAY! CAN'T WE JUST GET ONE DAY TO REALLY RELAX?!" Amber vented as the pair held off against the gunfire.
Jaune's mind cranked like a machine as he put the pieces together. "I saw a little satellite-looking stand just outside. I think it's firing at us or is helping the user to shoot at us better."
"Did you see anyone else on the street?" Amber asked, with Jaune flinching as another gunshot rang out.
"No… the user must be long-range, far from the street." Jaune deduced.
"Wonderful, we got a sniper." Amber bemoaned. She took a deep breath to compose herself.
BANG!
The next shot came by next to Amber's head, only off by five inches. Amber didn't flinch now as years of dealing with stuff like this steeled her resolve for moments like this.
"We gotta fall back and figure something out." Amber said.
Jaune nodded and the pair looked to the restaurant's counter that also served as a bar. It was on the opposite side of the large room, the furthest point from the window. The decision was made without any words spoken as the pair pulled their feet up and got into position.
BANG!
The next shot barely missed Amber as the pair dashed towards the bar. The pair hopped over it and took cover as another shot impacted where Amber was a moment too late.
"Think you can find the user with [Scan]?" Jaune asked as he took a breath to steel his nerves.
Amber grinned. "Already a step ahead of you."
Jaune poked his head up from cover and he saw that Amber left behind a steel ball channeling [Scan] by the window.
He turned back to the Fall Maiden whose gaze was locked onto the floor, seeing through [Scan].
"Tch." Amber clicked her tongue. "Wherever he is, he's far or really high up."
Jaune poked his head out again and saw the stand float inside the restaurant. A bad idea flashed through his mind, but he and Amber were full of them.
"Keep [Scan] focused on the stand." Jaune summoned [Tusk] and his nails started to Spin. "I'll shoot at it. If I hit it, good. If not, he'll fire, and you might be able to track the trajectory of the shot."
Amber grin was full of pride. "I know for a fact I didn't teach you how to strategize like that. That's natural talent, Jauney." An ego boost was helpful in moments like this.
Jaune smiled and aimed his finger at the stand with a look of confidence.
He fired.
The nail bullet zoomed across the room. The stand didn't move and Jaune felt hope that it might take out the user in one shot.
But the stand dodged at the last moment and Jaune ducked his head. Good thing he did so, as another sniper shot would've gone right through his skull if he didn't move out of the way.
"Great, it can dodge attacks. Any other tricks?" Jaune bemoaned.
"I've got a trick: it's called having Ozpin on speed-dial with actual scroll service." Amber said as she whipped out her scroll.
BANG!
Amber's scroll exploded in her hand with a gaping hole in it. The sniper shot through the wood of the bar.
Their cover was compromised.
"MOVE!"
They hopped through the small window in the kitchen and took cover by the concrete and brick barrier.
"Gods, I hope this gets the cops attention. Ozpin's too." Amber hoped.
"We can take him. Just like the others." Jaune assured her. "Did you see the trajectory with [Scan]?"
Amber pulled herself together. "He's on the building across the street, up on the roof."
Jaune muttered a silent prayer for the blessing. "Okay, so we have to find a way onto a roof with a sniper who's actively trying to kill us. Just another Tuesday."
"It's Friday, dude." Amber said.
"Whatever." Jaune waved off.
The next sniper shot impacted the wall but didn't penetrate the stone.
They were safe for now.
But Amber still had her [Scan] going. "Crap. It's moving this way."
If it shows up through the way they came in, cover would be useless. They were in the kitchen. Just about everything was made of stainless steel. A sniper bullet would easily penetrate the thin sheets of metal.
"We need to distract it. It doesn't have eyes, so it has to be following us somehow." Jaune figured.
"Shoot at it again?" Amber suggested.
"No, it dodged and knew to come this way. It tracked us with my nail bullet." Jaune deduced. But as he was remembering how the enemy stand reacted, a lightbulb went off his head. "It doesn't track sound. It tracks the wind… Movement!" Jaune looked Amber in the eye. "It didn't react to the sound of my nail bullet firing, it reacted when it got close. When it felt the wind that the nail bullet was spinning around it."
Amber grinned. "Wind, you say. How about a tornado?" She re-activated [Scan] in the steel ball she left behind and made it Spin up a tornado. She grunted as she felt the steel ball get shot at. "It's distracted, let's get out of here!"
Amber and Jaune sprinted for the back door, the exit of the building.
They found themselves in an alley that split off to the left and right. Despite which path they could take; the pair would have to make their way to the front of the building and cross the street to reach their assailant.
Amber clenched her jaw, but she knew what to do and wasn't too keen on it. "We need to split up. Attack the opposite building from both sides so he'd have to split his focus." She said.
Jaune had faith in his teacher and nodded. "And how will we get up? Guy must have traps or stuff set up inside the building if we try."
Amber had a technique that'd help her out, but Jaune didn't.
She then remembered something from when Jaune was fighting the Booms.
"Activate your stand and stick your hand into the wall." Amber said.
Jaune didn't question her. He summoned [Tusk] and stuck his hand with all of his nails spinning into the wall.
He suddenly screamed like a girl when he was pulled up the side of the brick wall by his nails. He de-activated his stand when he was about fifteen feet up and fell.
Amber easily caught him in her arms. "And that, my dear student, is how we're going to get this son of a bitch."
She set Jaune onto his feet before a chill ran up her spine.
"The stand isn't firing at [Scan]." Amber realized.
Jaune knew they had to act now. He jumped over to the right alley as Amber ran to the left.
He crouched down and dug his fingers into the ground.
Amber activated her Fall Maiden aura and turned to Jaune. "We do this fast and clean. If anything happens, get out of the line of fire. Understand?"
Jaune nodded. "On three."
Amber nodded and got into a sprinter's stance as Jaune summoned [Tusk].
"THREE!" The pair said in unison, and they were off, with Amber running with the power of the wind behind her and Jaune zipping along the ground.
The pair exited their alleys at the same time.
BANG!
The direct shot was aimed at Jaune, but the boy was too fast as the shot narrowly missed his leg.
He found that odd, considering the enemy stand would have made the shot more accurate.
In a split second, he looked to his left and saw the stand now float out of the restaurant. It moved in two speeds: really slow and fast as fuck.
Amber and him were halfway across the street. As fast as they were going, they were still too exposed.
His stomach sank as he realized enough time had passed for the sniper to reload.
One of them would be hit.
Jaune wanted to warn Amber, but he knew it wouldn't help.
So, he followed his instincts. He aimed one of his fingers back at the enemy stand and fired a nail bullet at it.
The enemy stand didn't even dodge, it just swatted the nail bullet out of the air with one of its keys.
Jaune took a deep breath and braced himself.
BANG!
"AHHHHHHHH!" Jaune screamed as he was shot in the back. He lost control of his travel and tumbled, rolling at high-speed right into a brick wall.
Amber screamed out in horror "JAUNE!"
She snapped her head back to the alley. She made it.
She immediately recalled her [Scan] and punted her other steel ball into the concrete of the alley, making a crater.
It spun up, making a powerful tornado.
Amber jumped in as her [Scan] was almost back in her hand. She was jetted up by the gust of air.
The moment she flew above the ledge of the building's roof, [Scan] flew right into Amber's hand. In a snap, she spun around and threw [Scan] with all her might.
Amber was out for blood.
But it made her sloppy as the enemy stand user used his sniper rifle as a baseball bat and sent her steel ball flying.
In a moment, Amber got a good look at the guy. He was a tanned Faunus, judging by the exposed scales on his face and neck. He was dressed in camo cargo pants and a black button up with a pair of black loafers. His short orange hair was slicked back. He had hundreds of tally marks tattooed onto his exposed arms. Judging by what he is and how many tallies he had, Amber knew this man has killed hundreds for a paycheck.
That only made her angrier as she used the arc of her launch to try and crash into the Sniper. As she did that, she had [Scan] curveball back towards herself.
He jumped back at the last moment as Amber slammed her fist into the roof, breaking the ground and kicking up a lot of dust. Amber effortlessly caught her steel ball.
The assassin pressed a button on his sniper rifle and it mecha-shifted into a heavy cross. With a flick of his wrist, a bladed chain-whip from the tip was making its way to Amber.
Using the steel ball in her hand, Amber deflected the blade.
"WHY WON'T YOU PEOPLE LEAVE US ALONE!" Amber yelled as she played defensively. Her plan was to take him head on with both steel balls. So, Amber activated [Scan] in the other steel ball to have it fly up to her from the alley.
She deflected the next three attacks before the assassin answered in a deep, cold voice, "You're worth a million lien now. And I heard you'd be a hell of a challenge."
Amber glared and held her right hand out as her other steel ball flew back into her hand.
Now she was ready to rumble.
She flared her aura and charged, with her eyes covered in the Fall Maiden aura.
The assassin grinned and changed his approach. Now was the time for him to be on defense.
Amber threw her steel ball ahead of her. The assassin batted it away with his chain-whip.
Amber used her other steel ball as a melee weapon. She was trying to jam the damn thing into his neck to destroy his windpipe.
But the fucker is too fast.
He ducked as the second steel ball flew over his head and back into Amber's palm.
She threw it at his feet to make a mini tornado to get him off of his feet, but he jumped back fast enough to dodge.
She stood her ground and went into a pattern of throwing her steel balls, infused with her Fall Maiden aura, repeatedly until they destroy his defenses.
The assassin grinned as he used his chain-whip to deflect her volley with a loud CLANG!
"I think we got off on the wrong foot here. Name's Franco Copperhead."
CLANG!
"I already know your name, Amber Zeppeli."
CLANG!
"I know you are the Fall Maiden."
CLANG!
"And I know how much you care for that kid."
CLANG!
"If you know what's good for him…"
CLANG!
"Give up now or I'll finish him off."
CLANG!
"Then you."
CLANG!
"I'll kill him with my stand…"
CLANG!
"[Manhattan Transfer]." Copperhead said.
Amber heard the jingling of keys.
She made the mistake of looking to her right. She turned to her right where [Manhattan Transfer] was floating.
Her eyes snapped back to Copperhead, who had already mecha-shifted back into being a sniper rifle.
He winked as he fired his gun towards his stand.
Amber tried to dodge, but the bullet was too fast after the stand basically punted the round towards her.
It hit her in her chest.
She screamed in agony as she fell backwards and collapsed on the roof. Her grip weakened and her steel balls rolled out of her hands.
Her scream woke Jaune up.
He had no time to think. He needed to act now!
He focused his aura and pushed forward as the bullet fell out of the last remaining part of his chest plate.
Jaune dropped the dead weight that was his armor and ran into the alley.
"[Tusk]!" He called.
His stand appeared beside him as all ten of his fingernails began to Spin.
He took a second to breathe. He put the pain he was feeling in the back of his mind as he stuck his hand into the wall. With his other hand, he engaged his shield with Crocea Mors still in said shield.
As he zipped up the wall, he tried to formulate a plan.
All he got before he reached the roof was to take out the assassin's stand, or use an opening to get the assassin first, then try and tend to Amber.
Good thing Jaune had gotten his shield up, as he deflected the sniper's shot as soon as he landed on the roof.
"Shouldn't you be dead in an alley by now?" Copperhead asked in an annoyed tone.
Jaune fired one of [Tusk]'s nail bullets at the assassin without a verbal response.
[Manhattan Transfer] swatted it out of the air before ricocheting one of the sniper's shots right back at Jaune.
The boy stood his ground and blocked the bullet head on with his shield. The force pushed Jaune back and made him grit his teeth in pain because of his arm.
He was able to see the shadow of [Manhattan Transfer] float towards his right. Jaune swapped his shield to his right arm and got nail bullets ready in his left hand.
Another shot rang out as Jaune ducked. The shield now covered the spot that his legs occupied and it just deflected the shot in time. He knew the sniper would go for such an obvious weak point.
This also gave Jaune cover so he could fire back.
From under his shield he poked out his free hand as Jaune leaned to his left.
Jaune fired three nail bullets back-to-back.
But [Manhattan Transfer] zoomed back to its user and deflected all three shots.
Jaune fired a fourth while he thought fast.
That stand is the only thing keeping Jaune in complete danger. He needed to get rid of it.
But how?
Even if he got close, the thing is faster than him. It'd easily get behind him and that would be instant death. Caused by this assassin's preferred methods.
He needed to fight it off.
His stand was the only thing that could hurt it. Only a stand can fight another stand. Weapons are useless. Hell, only a stand can touch another one.
Then a bright idea popped off in Jaune's head.
He gritted his teeth and charged.
And right on cue, [Manhattan Transfer] got behind him.
"Gotcha." Jaune said.
"What?" Copperhead asked with an eyebrow raised.
Jaune summoned [Tusk]. "Get it."
[Tusk] nodded and charged at the stand. [Manhattan Transfer] jetted away, but [Tusk] was persistent.
Wherever [Manhattan Transfer] would jet, [Tusk] would follow. The assassin fired a shot at it, but the stand swatted the bullet right through [Tusk] to no effect. Bullets don't affect stands, Jaune remembered.
Jaune stood tall, fixed his shield's grip with his left hand and unsheathed Crocea Mors with his right. "No more tricks. Can't get a good shot while your stand is preoccupied."
Copperhead narrowed his eyes and mecha-shifted his sniper file back into the combat cross. "Won't need it to finish the job."
"Let's see." Jaune said.
Jaune stood his ground behind his shield as he was blocking multiple whip strikes from the assassin.
All he needed to do was either find an opening to shoot him with a nail bullet or get in close. He figured getting within arms-length was the best distance for fighting a combatant with a whip, getting closer would get rid of their advantage.
With a nail bullet ready behind his shield, Jaune moved in. He dived in a path that he predicted would have him miss the chain.
Within a moment of touching the ground, Jaune collapsed his shield while he still gripped it. He activated the Spinning nails on that hand and used it to zoom right towards Copperhead.
He had about three seconds before he could strike. He used one to point the index finger of his right hand and readied a nail bullet. He used his next second to readjust his sword's grip in his fingers, now that one finger was being used by his stand.
As for the last second, Jaune sliced with his sword.
For Jaune, this was a half-calculated move that relied a bit on luck.
For Copperhead, this was a total surprise.
Another surprise was having his right leg cleaved off at the knee.
His screams of pain echoed the rooftops of Vale. He dropped his weapon as he clasped his knee, which felt agonizing.
The blood that sprayed out of his stump was suddenly stopped by his aura making the area clot up. Any blood that would've covered Jaune was sprayed onto his shield.
Copperhead crumpled to the ground as Jaune slid into a stance that allowed him to get right back on his feet. Amber loved making him practice that move. She wanted her boy to have some points in charm and flair.
Jaune faced his defeated foe with a nail bullet aimed with his left hand.
He surveyed the battleground, seeing his foe had parted with his weapon.
With one shot, the assassin's weapon was destroyed by [Tusk].
By this time, [Manhattan Transfer] had been dismissed since it's user was too preoccupied with his injury.
Jaune saw Amber laying on the ground far from both men on the roof.
He had a choice. Tend to Amber or confront the assassin at an opportune moment?
Jaune turned to Copperhead and re-deployed his shield. He dismissed [Tusk] as he felt like his nail bullets would be overkill against the defeated man.
He stood over Copperhead and asked one question. "What's your boss' name?"
Copperhead glared as he hissed in pain.
Jaune pointed his sword into Copperhead's chest.
This got the man's undivided attention.
"Name. Now." Jaune ordered.
The assassin took a few deep breaths before answering. "I'll tell you anything, long as I live by the end of the day."
Jaune wasn't amused.
The assassin then continued. "I've never met the top boss, no one really has. But one of the under-bosses they've got was who I reported to. Crazy fucker named Tyrone or something. Anyways, he paid me to wait out here in Vale for the two of you. That's all I got."
Jaune digested his words.
"Hand over your scroll." Any possible information on the assassin's scroll would be invaluable to him and Amber, who were still pretty in the dark about their pursuers.
Copperhead pulled out his scroll and held it out towards Jaune.
As the boy reached out, Copperhead grabbed his arm and pulled him in close.
Jaune felt two fangs pierce his neck. He was terrified when he felt a hot liquid was injected into his bloodstream. The scales and the injection was proof enough:
Copperhead was a venomous snake Faunus. And Jaune fell right for his trap.
His aura felt like it was leaking out of him as it fought to hold the venom barely at bay.
Jaune fell to the ground, dropping his sword, as Copperhead slithered away from him. The man was smoothly slithering along the ground like the snake-man he is with only one good leg.
"My venom is excellent quality. Your blood will start clotting really slowly, enough to cause enough pain to make a man scream for his mother." Copperhead began.
Jaune aimed his right hand and fired at Copperhead with a nail bullet.
But the assassin slunk out of the way.
Jaune tried two more shots, but they followed suit.
If he doesn't take the scroll from the assassin, then all of this would be for nothing. This man had to be taken down.
He unleashed all of the nail bullets on his left hand, but the assassin was untouchable.
As Jaune was ready to try his right hand again, but he became blinded with pain as Jaune felt like his own blood was trying to set him on fire. Jaune fell onto his right knee and had to use his shield to keep himself sitting up.
If he fell now, him and Amber would be dead. No ifs, ands or buts about it.
If Jaune didn't come up with one last good plan, then everything the pair had done on the road to Beacon would've been for nothing.
Copperhead grinned. "Goooood S-S-S-Stuff." He then chuckled to himself. "Man, I haven't used my natural voice in s-s-such a long time."
The assassin continued. "Now then, over the ten minutes-s-s the venom will s-s-spread. More and more blood clots will form until one of them causes a blockage in your heart. It's a slow and very painful death." He sighed in remembrance. "Haven't used my venom since I got my stand. You look like you got your stand recently, I was your age when I got [Manhattan Transfer]."
Jaune let the assassin talk. He focused on ideas. But all he knew was that [Tusk] was not enough as it was.
If only [Tusk] was a little stronger.
His final bright idea popped into his mind, but it was one hell of a hail Mary.
His free right hand dug around his pocket and he barely pulled out the napkin from earlier.
The napkin with the drawing of the golden rectangle.
If he could figure it out now, if he could visualize it like Amber described, he might have a chance.
His grip weakened and the napkin fell onto the roof.
The napkin fell with the image facing up at Jaune, who locked his eyes on it.
Copperhead didn't notice the napkin, only just that the blonde idiot (who crippled him) had his own head down in what looks like defeat.
"Good. You're the only one who's lasted under the pain for more than a minute. All the rest passed out by now." Copperhead admitted.
Jaune focused on that napkin, his life and Amber's depended on it!
"I've never been hit. Shame I had to put you down, you'd have made one hell of an assassin." Copperhead admitted as he closed his eyes.
He sighed. "That's life I guess. Maybe it's just karma for cutting off my fucking leg." He sounded more embarrassed than anything else.
Jaune paid him no head as he gazed at that damn napkin.
What the hell was the point of the drawing?!
It wasn't helping as he held onto his shield. It supported him as he fought on for his life.
But then his right arm dropped as his grip went slack.
He was able to pull it up and gain some control back, but this further drained him.
Not much gas left in the tank. Not much aura.
Jaune shifted his gaze up to his hand, which had all five nail bullets spinning like sawblades on his fingers.
This was all he had left. His shield and his right hand.
He held his hand a little bit out as he saw the color being drained.
He didn't feel worse, all he could do was hold onto the miniscule amount of hope he had left.
As he gazed, Jaune noticed that the napkin was parallel with his hand.
His heart skipped a beat.
The image of the golden rectangle was also parallel with his hand.
And, in his honest opinion, they looked pretty similar.
Like if he drew a box around his hand, held flat like it is now, he could have a golden rectangle.
He couldn't feel his fingers, otherwise Jaune would have noticed his nails spin faster.
But the venom put his mind in a haze that made him investigate this coincidence.
Must've been like three seconds or something.
Couldn't tell.
What he could tell was that as he closed all his fingers except his index, keeping it Spinning and pointed out, was that the tip of his finger also contained a possible golden rectangle.
He could perfectly see it now, forgetting about the napkin and solely focusing on the shape.
Just then, Jaune was approached from his side by his stand, he knew how it's aura felt.
But it looked different.
Like it evolved.
[Tusk] had a flair for dramatics, kinda like it was in a movie.
This was his stand's second act. It turned from a cute little thing into something that was much more ready for a fight.
Still pink and yellow, with some purple, [Tusk] now looked like a droid. It was a bit bigger than before, still without legs, but he looked covered in armor. His head looked like a helmet with two antennas at the top that looked like droopy ears. The star on Jaune's beanie was emblazoned on the sides of his stand. His arms were longer and looked kinda like those knight gauntlets.
"[Tusk: Act 2]." Jaune mumbled.
It pointed Jaune back to his hand as he finally noticed his nail bullet was Spinning higher and faster off his finger.
He focused on the golden rectangle and burned it into his mind as the nail bullet began to rotate around his finger.
His nail bullet sped up in an instant, Spinning like a drill around his finger.
Jaune immediately snapped his gaze towards Copperhead and pointed his new nail bullet at the untouchable assassin.
He tried to summon more nail bullets, but only the sole nail bullet Spun. New rule, Jaune guessed.
"You don't know when to quit. Call it for the century, kid." Copperhead stated.
Jaune fired. He could feel the force of the nail bullet push off his finger, magnitudes stronger than before.
It was much faster than before, zooming right to his target of Copperhead's chest.
The assassin was taken by surprise by the improved shot, but he still was able to jet to the side right before it could hit.
The nail bullet impacted about ten feet behind him. "You missed, Hero!" Copperhead laughed to himself.
Jaune just followed his gut and focused on his chest. Amber told him how important it was to aim for center mass if you wanna take something down.
He tried firing another shot from his index finger, but his nail hadn't grown back yet.
In fact, it was re-growing at a much slower pace now. It won't be usable for a few minutes, by his guess.
Without thinking, Jaune pointed his middle finger at the assassin and readied a new nail bullet.
This made the assassin laugh even harder.
Jaune held his second shot.
Not out of emotion or anything. He just noticed that the bullet-hole from that first new shot has moved from its spot and up the assassin's remaining leg.
It was like a little spinning void, not much smaller than a coin, and it also left behind the tracks of a tornado.
It stopped at the assassin's stomach.
Then Franco Copperhead's gut exploded with a shower of blood like he was just shot. The force sent him flying backwards.
His screams consisted of repeated lines like "AAAAAAHHHHHH!" among other expletives mixed in with more howls of pain.
What a dramatic bitch.
Jaune did it. He finally put that bastard down for good.
He fell flat on the ground on top of his shield. The hand he fired with laid on the roof of the building ahead of him. It looked like he was trying to reach out to something.
Then the assassin's yelling lowered.
Jaune followed the direction his outstretched finger pointed out and his heart almost stopped.
Copperhead was crawling on the ground towards the unconscious Amber. He was still fast, leaving behind a trail of blood as he desperately tried one last thing before his death.
Jaune immediately knew he was gonna bite her, injecting her with the venom that was killing him.
He gritted his teeth and immediately armed his middle finger with a new nail bullet.
Jaune roared like a beast as he shot the assassin.
The sound made Copperhead turn his head.
For him, time slowed down to a crawl. Copperhead's eyes were locked onto the nail bullet coming right into his view.
He couldn't be more than a centimeter from it.
Copperhead then looked beyond the shot that would seal his fate. He ended up locking eyes with Jaune.
The boy was lying almost-dead on the ground by his own doing, reaching out with a pale arm.
But his eyes told a different story than the one of despair he was expecting.
All Franco Copperhead saw before the bullet impacted, the last thing he would ever see, was a blazing blue fire in the boy's eyes.
Not the type of tender one like from a fireplace. No, this was more like a wildfire: ready to destroy everything in its path.
Jaune saw the bullet punch right between the assassin's eyes. He saw gore fly backwards from the exit wound in the back of their head.
A perfect shot.
His head dropped.
He was getting dead tired.
He couldn't even muster up the strength to keep his head up.
He did his job.
He did as Amber wanted as best he could.
…
Heh…
If only his parents could see him now.
As Jaune felt the world fade to black, he could hear sirens.
He barely saw some something move through lidded eyes a second before he passed out.
Help?