Hey, New Year! New Chapter! Woohoo. Just letting you all know that submissions for Mae's semblance is still a thing. If you don't want to click back to the previous chapter, then here's the form!
Semblance Name:
Semblance Type:
- Conjuration
- Physical
- Elemental
- Manipulation
- Status
Brief Description/Capabilities:
Yeah, so that's the form! Time to get on with the show!
I don't own RWBY. Rooster Teeth does.
"Move it in!"
Several trucks moved across the forest, disrupting the silence of the night. Each truck parked and several people dismounted and began to unload the packages that the trucks had been carrying. The people who had gotten off the vehicles were met by men and women wearing black uniforms and wearing Grimm-masks. Their most distinctive features were their animalistic traits, indicating that they were faunus.
One of the drivers stepped forward.
"Our payment. It wasn't easy shipping this you know. Getting it was even harder," the man said.
One of the masked faunus walked forward and grabbed the object that the man was holding and inspected it. He tossed it up in the air only for the man in front of him to berate him.
"Are you fucking crazy!? You'll blow us all sky high!" the man said.
The masked person stopped and placed the object in his pocket. He motioned for one of the other masked people to bring forth a suitcase. He handed the suitcase to the man and the man opened it.
The man whistled.
"Pleasure doing business with you," he said. The masked person nodded before signaling one of his compatriots, a man with deer antlers atop his head to run into camp.
"Sir, we have everything ready to strike. We only await your orders," a deer faunus said as he kneeled before a figure. The figure looked out over a small cliff that overlooked the town of Kinrin.
The man looked at him. His face was hidden by a white visor mask much like the faunus who had met with the drivers. Two small horns stuck out and moved into a small slanted position. He wore a black high collar coat as well as black pants. On his feet were black combat boots. At his waist, was a sheathed katana in which his hand rested on its hilt.
"Good. Make sure that everyone is ready," he said. "We'll strike the mines in a few days."
The faunus nodded and walked off to inform the others. The man turned back to look out over the town.
"Soon, humanity will remember what they've done to us. And the Schnee will know what the consequences are for their actions against the Faunus," the man said.
Outskirts of Kinrin, 8:45 AM
Jaune panted as he gripped his knees for balance. Sweat fell from his face like a river feeding into a waterfall. Around him, his new weapons which he decided to name Sol and Luna. Maria thought they were odd names but commented that they were less odd than her former weapons' names Life and Death.
Jaune had been making progress with his sword skills thanks to some videos that Pyrrha had sent him to his new scroll. But with his scythe skills, he was struggling more than he would like to admit. He had tripped and fallen over his own two feet, trying to wield the dual kamas with the instructions that Maria had given him.
"You're being too stiff. Wielding a kama isn't the same as wielding a sword. Kamas require more dexterity than wielding a blade. Scythe combat isn't built for thrusting like sword combat is. Scythe combat employs the use of slashing, stabbing, grabbing, trapping, and disarming your opponents with the grabbing and stabbing both usually falling into the same category," Maria said.
"Well, sorry, this is my first time ever using one of these," Jaune said as he straightened himself out.
"I can see that. Which is why we're out here. We're going to do some exercises to build your arm strength so as well as your dexterity. While we're at it, we'll also do your stamina," Maria said.
"Right, so now what?" Jaune asked.
"I want you to do 10 sets of 100 push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups. Then, you will run around the perimeter of this town five times. After that, you will learn how to juggle and then we'll resume combat and semblance training," Maria said.
"Juggling?" Jaune asked.
"Yes, if anything builds hand skill other than household chores, it's learning how to juggle," Maria said.
"Alright," Jaune said as he walked up to a tree branch.
"I'll be watching your progress so don't think you can slack on me!" Maria said.
"Yeah, yeah, crazy old witch," Jaune said as he hopped up and grabbed the tree branch. He pulled himself up.
"One!"
Several minutes later, Jaune dropped to the ground. His arms were on fire. Every muscle from his biceps to his pectorals felt like they were being torn apart. This was harder than anything Pyrrha had ever put him through. Maria sat on a rock observing him like a hawk. She clapped her hands and pointed to the ground.
"Come on. It's push up time and sit up time," Maria said.
Jaune groaned as he began his next exercises. By the end, Jaune was exhausted. He lay on the ground, inhaling as much air as humanly possible while Maria walked over to him and handed him a towel and a bottle of water.
"Can't *pant* I get *pant* a small break first?" Jaune asked, breathing heavily as he sat down.
"Why not? While you're at it, we can work on your semblance too," Maria said.
Jaune sighed in relief as he stood up and did some light stretches in preparation for his run. After his stretches, Jaune summoned forth his aura. A violet shroud of energy coated his body as he closed his eyes, his hands clasped in a prayer position as the aura grew in size.
Maria watched with apt interest as Jaune opened his eyes. The color had changed from the sapphire blue that she had become familiar with, to this toxic shade of violet. Jaune held his hand out and portions of his aura split off, condensing into small black spheres that gave off a violet glow. Jaune fired one of the spheres at a tree and Maria's mechanical eyes widened as she watched a perfectly circular hole appear on the tree.
Jaune waved his arm and the sphere came back to him. He manipulated the spheres and merged them into a singular basketball-sized sphere and fired a beam of black and violet energy from it. The beam impacted a large boulder the size of a small truck, reducing it to nothing. Jaune fell to one knee panting as his aura spheres dissipated. His aura shroud was still active and was slowly replenishing his energy.
"Damn kid. That semblance of yours is pretty handy," Maria whistled as she stared at the area where the boulder used to be.
"Thanks. I found out I could do these a few nights ago when I snuck out to train," Jaune said. "So far, I can only do one."
"Still though, the results," Maria said.
"This is nothing compared to what my sister can do. She told me that she can make wings out of her aura," Jaune said as he molded his aura into arms.
"Wings? Can she fly using those wings?" Maria asked.
"I never asked her but… it does seem to fall under the category for a Conjuration Type Semblance," Jaune said.
"Oh, how so," Maria asked.
"Well, her semblance, Keter, it's the name of her semblance, by the way, can pretty much do the same things my semblance, Thaumiel, can do but she mas more control over hers. Alice told me that a few weeks ago, she managed to create a sword made of pure aura as well as summon an aura halo where she can fire weapons from," Jaune said.
"So," Maria placed a hand on her chin. "It does fit the criteria needed for a Conjuration Type Semblance. Are you trying to achieve the same effect?"
"Yeah but so far, all I've been able to make are these balls," Jaune said, creating another black sphere.
"You'll get there," Maria said. "I'm more interested to see if you can make wings like your sister and if so, can you fly?"
"Really? That's your takeaway from this. Not the several other aspects I could be focusing on?" Jaune said.
"Well, it's your semblance so that should be your job. But you have to admit that being able to fly is pretty useful in terms of both everyday life and combat," Maria said.
"Not if they can just shoot me out of the sky," Jaune muttered.
"Ah but then we can add one more piece to your training," Maria said.
"What is it?" Jaune asked.
"A basic concept that most hunters will have trouble with," Maria said.
"And that is?"
"Learning how to dodge."
"..."
"Yes, you mock me silently now but you'll learn of its importance in practical combat where there are no rules but to survive," she said.
Jaune nodded.
"Now, isn't it time for you to go run some laps?" she asked.
Jaune groaned and began to make his way back to town.
Jaune walked like a zombie, shuffling back to the Inn where Mae, Nyx, and Maria were waiting for him. His weapon was in its sword form and was strapped to his back. Those laps took more out of him than he thought it would. The town as he estimated from his first lap had an area of at least 10 square kilometers. It was fairly small for a mining town but then again, Maria had said that this was the biggest town for a while since they were on the outer edge of Sanus near the ocean.
As he made his way back to the hotel, he spotted several faunus giving him the stink eye. Jaune ignored them and kept his head low. He didn't want to start something right now when he was tired.
Unfortunately for him, Murphy just wouldn't let him pass.
"Hey! You!"
Jaune groaned and he began to walk faster.
"Hey, human! Get your ass over here!"
Jaune kept ignoring them and began to run.
"Hey!"
He turned to see a group of four faunus running after him.
Really!? He thought as he turned a corner. Jaune looked behind him to see the Faunus still following him. Jaune rounded another corner only to find himself at a dead end. He turned around, his arm reaching for Sol and Luna.
I need to find a name for them in their merged form, Jaune thought as the Faunus stopped in front of him.
"Look, I don't want any trouble," Jaune said as he tensed himself, ready for anything they might want to do to him.
"What? No, I'm here to thank you," a male faunus said, stepping forward. Jaune saw a pair of bear ears from his head.
"Huh?" Jaune relaxed as he looked at the Faunus with visible confusion on his face.
"Um, you saved an old man and a girl the other day," the bear faunus said.
"Oh. I guess I did," Jaune said, rubbing the back of his head. "Did you know them or something?"
"Yes, that was my sister and father that you saved from those Schnee thugs," the bear faunus said.
"Oh, it's not a big deal really. They look like they needed some help," Jaune said.
"If you need anything, just come to our shop. We'll give you a discount whenever you make a purchase as thanks for saving my family," the bear faunus said. "I never got to introduce myself did I? My name is Bruno and you are?"
"Jaune. My name is Jaune," he said, shaking the Faunus's hand.
"Anyway, just come by the shop and tell them I sent you. I might not be there since I work down in the mines," Bruno said.
"Oh," Jaune said.
"Yeah, it's not much but it helps keep the lights open in our shop since the Schnees have basically driven everyone out of business involving dust when they moved in," Jaune said.
"That must be hard. Do you guys sell dust?" Jaune asked as he walked out of the alley with Bruno.
"We do but not as much as the other dust stores here. We're more of a general goods store," Bruno said as they walked to the Inn. Bruno noticed that they were in front of the Inn.
"Is this where you're staying?"
"Yeah," Jaune said.
"Huh," Bruno said. "You might wanna watch out. There's word going around that members of the White Fang are staying in this inn."
Jaune frowned.
The White Fang here? In this town? Jaune's thoughts were racing at a million miles per second.
"I feel ya. I get that the Schnees are assholes and all," Bruno said.
"Preachin to the choir here," Jaune said as they entered the Inn and sat down in the lobby.
"Right! Anyway, I don't think that attacking the Schnee Dust Mine will make living for the Faunus any better here than when they moved in. It'll only make things worse," Bruno said sagely.
Jaune nodded in agreement.
"Right. The best thing they can do right now is for Humans and Faunus to band together and get the Schnee kicked out because if you haven't noticed, they're kinda overstepping their bounds," Jaune said.
The clock rang seven times, signifying that it was now seven o clock. Bruno sighed as he stood up.
"As much as I'd like to start a counter-revolution with another like-minded individual, I have to get home and make dinner. I'll see you around during your stay here," Bruno said.
"You too. Be careful out there. The Schnees aren't the only thing that's dangerous in this town," Jaune said. Bruno nodded and waved goodbye as he left the building.
After Bruno left, Jaune just sat there, thinking about their next course of action. The revelation of the news that the White Fang was becoming an increasingly active presence within Kinrin did not sit well with him and he did not want to see the town become an active warzone between the SDC and the White Fang.
We might have to have to leave town with the way things are going right now. I do not want to get caught in between a guerilla war between the White Fang and the SDC. Brothers know the amount of damage that could cause to a town like this, Jaune thought.
"Ah, you're back."
Jaune turned to see Maria walking up to him. The elderly woman walked over to the chair that previously held Bruno and sat down.
"You sure took your sweet time getting back here," she said.
"I ran into some trouble or what I thought was trouble," Jaune said.
"What kind?"
"I thought that it was someone who sympathized with the White Fang's 'No Humans Policy' so I ran. Turns out, it was just the brother of the girl I saved the other day coming over to thank me," Jaune said.
"I get where you're coming from, kid. The SDC aren't doing the human-faunus relations in this town any favors. Especially now that the White Fang have moved in," Maria said. "There are better ways to deal with a problem than violence. The White Fang was a result of the prejudice put forth by my generation and now, you have to deal with the consequences."
"I heard that the White Fang weren't always like this from my parents," Jaune said.
"They weren't. The White Fang used to be an activist group for the rights of Faunus across Remnant. They were lead by Ghira… I forgot his last name, before the new leader, Sienna Khan took over and turned the White Fang into a militia group with the same ideals that Ghira had but different methods," Maria said.
Jaune looked down at the ground.
"Do you think that it'll be like this forever?" Jaune asked.
"If people like the SDC and the leaders of the White Fang continue to exist, then it'll always be here. There are many things you can change easily but to change the hearts of humans and Faunus, especially after they've been conditioned and taught to hate someone all their lives is extremely difficult," Maria said.
"But they can change," Jaune said.
"Hmmm, let the others focus on that kid. Right now, you need to get stronger," Maria said. "Come on. I got us some of that chicken sandwich the entirety of Sanus has been raving about."
Beacon
Pyrrha sat in her dorm, brushing her hair. She took a few strands of her hair and sighed.
Is my hair too long? She thought as she eyed the red strands that were on her fingers. She frowned as she stared at it.
Does Jaune like girls with long or short hair? Wait, he liked Weiss so that means he likes girls with long hair but does he like her hairstyle specifically? UGGGHHH! Calm down, Nikos! Jaune is yours! Pyrrha thought as she slammed her fist down on the dresser.
"What's wrong Pyrrha?" Alice asked, looking up from her X-Ray and Vav comic.
"Nothing… just… should I cut my hair?" Pyrrha asked. Alice blinked while Ren and Nora both looked up from what they were doing to look at their leader, slack-jawed.
"WHY!?" Nora asked. "Your hair is your best feature!"
"Nora aside, it's kind of sudden. If I recall, you're rather fond of your hair. Not Yang level but enough to not let anyone other than Jaune touch it," Ren said.
"It's just that… I want to try something new," Pyrrha said. Alice eyed her curiously before walking over to her bedside table and pulling out a pair of scissors.
"So, how short do you want it?" Alice asked.
"Wait! No, not yet. I was just thinking of cutting it! I never made any plans to actually cut it!" Pyrrha exclaimed, waving her hands defensively.
"Okay, but just know that these are here for you to use," Alice said, placing the scissors back inside her bedside table.
Kinrin, 7:45 AM
"HAAAH!" Jaune lunged for Maria's cane, his arm held out in an attempt to grab her cane. She sidestepped, making Jaune eat dirt as he landed face-first on the ground.
Jaune held his hand out as an aura arm shot towards Maria. She swung her cane, batting the arm aside and jumped back as Jaune lunged again in a feeble attempt to disarm her.
"Come on! You're closer this time!" Maria said as she twirled her cane.
Damnit! I'll need to stratergize to pull this off, Jaune thought. That's it!
Jaune closed his eyes and readied his Semblance for the right moment. He dug his heel into the ground and took off towards Maria. He threw a jab towards her, forcing her to dodge left. He brought his foot up to strike her side.
Maria, without looking, used her cane to deflect Jaune's kick. Jaune's eyes widened as he saw her block without looking. He gritted his teeth as he sent another punch towards her.
She dodged and thrust her cane, striking Jaune in the abdomen. Jaune staggered back, gripping the center of his stomach as he looked at Maria with weary eyes. They had been here for three hours and while he had gotten closer, he was nowhere near close to even grabbing the cane from her hand.
Jaune eyed her carefully before taking off in a run towards her. Surprised by his action, Maria stood there and barely dodged when Jaune brought his foot up to kick her cane away from her.
Jaune smirked as he rapidly brought his hand underneath her arm and smacked it upwards, forcing her to let go of the cane. The cane flew into the air and Jaune stretched his arm out and sent an aura arm to grab her cane.
He looked down at a dumbfounded Maria while twirling her walking stick.
Maria smiled before laughing.
"HAHAHA! I didn't expect you to come running at me. You usually take your time to analyze my movements," Maria said as she skillfully took her cane back from Jaune.
"Well, I was in 'fuck it' mode and just decided to run at you like a lunatic," Jaune said.
"Hehe, good job kid. Now, let's continue training your scythe skills," Maria said.
Jaune nodded and grabbed Sol and Luna and transformed them into the dual kamas.
"Like I said, your warm ups should have gotten your arms ready for this. Do you remember what I said about fighting with scythes?" Maria said.
"It's about technique. The use of the blades to slash, grab, and disarm," Jaune said.
"Good. Now, hmmm, you can't really practice against a live opponent so I want you to go through these katas," Maria said. "I'll demonstrate."
"Are you sure your arthritis won't get in the way old lad- OW!" Jaune yelped as he gripped his knee.
"First off, rude! Second, pay attention," Maria said. She took Sol and Luna from Jaune and began going through the motions. She moved with precision, swinging each blade as easily as she breathed.
"So like that?" Jaune asked as he took Sol and Luna back from her.
"Yes like that. Before I forget, I had Mae set up some targets for you to practice your firearm with. Don't need a case of friendly fire," Maria said.
"...," Jaune looked at her blankly before beginning his katas.
As he moved, he heard Maria yell.
"Loosen up!" she yelled.
Jaune nodded and inhaled, relaxing slightly. He began going through the motions once more and this time, he heard Maria hum in approval.
"Good. You're more fluid this time in your motion. Remember. Don't be stiff in a fight. Your movements become too rigid that way," Maria said. "Keep going."
After a few hours of repeatedly doing the same katas, Jaune placed his kamas down, panting as he caught his breath.
"I guess that's good for now. We'll repeat this later. Right now, work on your semblance," she said.
Jaune grunted in agreement as he began the repetitive process of summoning his aura.
"Today, I want you to try something new. Your sister said that she can summon wings with her aura. Maybe you can do that as well. Who knows maybe you can fly," Maria said.
"You know that I get airsick right?" Jaune asked.
"Kid, there's a difference between sitting in a vehicle that someone else is driving and driving the vehicle yourself. Think of it this way. If you can fly, you'll never have to get on another airbus or bullhead ever again," Maria said.
Jaune nodded as he began to shape his aura.
Wings. Wings. Wings. What kind of wings should I make? Bat wings? Bird wings? Insect wings? Jaune thought as his aura responded. He closed his eyes and tried to envision what his wings should look like.
Maria watched with apt interest as Jaune's aura spasmed and molded, as two large tattered draconic wings began to take shape. The wings grew larger and larger until they were at full size. The wings spread fully, casting a shadow around Jaune.
Jaune opened his eyes and looked at Maria.
"Did it work?" he asked.
"It did," Maria said. "I guess that it should have. You've been able to shape your aura into various shapes for a few weeks now. Wings shouldn't have been too difficult. Now comes the real test. Climb to the top of that tree and jump off."
Jaune gulped as he walked over to a tree.
"Ah ah ah! That one!" Maria said, pointing to the tallest pine in the clearing. Jaune blanched as he saw its height.
"Are you crazy!? If this doesn't work, I'll get seriously hurt!" Jaune protested.
"You won't. You have aura and even if, just use your aura arms or something ad grab on to a branch to stop your fall," she said.
Jaune sighed as he formed several aura arms and began to scale the tree. As he made his way up, he began muttering about crazy, senile elderly women and their death schemes. Once he deemed that he was high enough, he shaped his aura into wings once more and looked down.
He paled when the ground below him began to sway.
"Oh dear Mikhael!" Jaune said as he clung to the branch for dear life.
"DO A FLIP!" Maria yelled.
"FUCK YOU!" Jaune said.
"JUST JUMP!"
Jaune closed his eyes before resigning himself to his fate. He stood on the branch and jumped off. As he plummeted to the ground, he flapped his wings desperately in an attempt to gain some air. He opened his eyes and saw that the ground was getting closer and in a fit of panic, shot several aura arms and grabbed a branch, halting his descent.
"It was a decent first try!" Maria said from the ground.
"First try?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah do it again!" she yelled.
"What!? I almost died!" Jaune yelled.
"You wouldn't you pussy! Just do it!"
Jaune groaned as he made his way back to the top of the tree.
The SDC Mines were something of a sight to behold. Massive machines moved around, cutting the dust crystals of all kinds into smaller sizes so that they could be shipped out to be refined. Workers moved about, working to meet the quota that they had to meet each time they came here.
A man wearing a dark grey uniform looked out over the mining operation while he sipped some coffee. He smiled as he watched one of the soldiers kick a faunus miner while they were down. His blue eyes shifted to another sight. More faunus bringing in loads and loads of dust crystals. He could almost see the loads of lien that the SDC would pay him as well as the money he would make on the side, selling these dust crystals to the black market.
"Um, sir?"
The man turned around and saw a guard walk in with a scroll in hand.
"What is it?" he asked.
"President Schnee is asking us when our next expected dust shipment is," he said.
"Tell him that we are nearly finished loading all the unrefined dust onto Bullheads and that we will begin our shipment to Mantle shortly," he said.
"I'll make sure to tell him imme-!" the two looked outside the window as a massive explosion shook the entire building. The foreman ran to the window and his eyes widened when he saw several explosions occur across the mine.
"Sir!" he picked up his walkie.
"WHAT!?" he yelled.
"Sir, the explosions have taken out most of our transportation. We think that it's the White Fa- ACK!" the line cut off.
The foreman slammed his fist down on his desk.
"Secure the dust! At all costs! I don't care what you do!" the foreman yelled to the guard. The guard nodded and ran outside his office.
However, before the guard could make it further than the stairs, a red blade jutted out of his chest. The guard's eyes widened as the blade was pulled out of his chest. He fell to the ground, gurgling on his blood. His eyes looked up in fear when he saw the masked face of the individual that stood above him.
"Adam… Tau...rus," he gasped out as the life left his body.
Adam looked down at the corpse in disgust before walking over to the door. Behind him, two White Fang members followed him, spitting on the man's corpse as they passed by. Adam glanced back at the two and motioned for them to guard the door.
Adam walked over and opened it.
"Well? Did you tell them?" the foreman asked when he heard the door open. The foreman turned around and his mouth opened in shock when he saw who was standing at the door.
"A- Adam Taurus," he said, backing away. His heart dropped when his back hit his desk.
"Ao Kurogami," Adam said as he closed the door and locked it. He began walking to the man, his killing intent growing, making his presence more intimidating. Adam's blue eyes glowed behind his visor, making him appear as an angel of death.
"You have been charged by the faunus of this town of raping several female faunus, the murder, and torture of your workers in the mines, as well as being an outspoken spokesperson for the denial of faunus rights. Do you know why I'm here?" Adam asked as he let his arms fall to his side.
"Um, to kill me?" Ao stuttered. His hand slowly made its way to the gun, hidden under his desk.
"Not just to kill you but to take back this town in the name of the Faunus living here," Adam said.
"Huh, yeah… I'll give you the town. I swear! Just let me go!" Ao begged. His heart leaped for joy when his hand grasped the grip of his pistol.
"Oh, you will give me the town," Adam said. In a flash, Adam drew his blade and severed the arms of Ao, causing him to scream in pain.
Ao fell to his knees, writhing as blood poured from the stumps where his arms used to be. Adam walked over and slammed his foot on the foreman's chest.
"No! No! No! Please don't kill me!" Ao yelled as he struggled uselessly against Adam's boot. "It was all Jacques Schnee! He told me to do this! If you let me go, I'll tell you where he is! Even his bitch daughter is too! Fuck the Schnees I tell you!"
Adam looked down at the raving man with nothing but utter disgust on his face. He raised his blade as he stared at the Ao's mad eyes.
"That is a stupid fucking idea," Adam said as he stabbed the blade through his throat.
Ao's horrified face was like a drug to Adam as the man started to fight back harder. His blood stained the floor red as it flowed like a river from the open wound in his throat. It wasn't long before Ao ceased his futile endeavors at trying to free himself and finally died.
"Load all the dust into the trucks," Adam said as he walked out of the office.
"Yessir, though what will you do?" one of the faunus asked.
"I'm going into the mines to get any faunus out of there," Adam said.
The two faunus nodded and took off to perform the tasks assigned to them.
Jaune and Maria walked into town to notice that everything was in chaos. Soldiers affiliated with the SDC were running, shooting at the faunus in grimm masks that were firing at them. People lay dead on the streets of Kinrin as buildings burned around them.
"Mae," Jaune said as he took off running towards the Inn.
"Hey, kid! Wait!" Maria said as Jaune ran off.
Jaune ducked out of the way of gunfire as he ran down the streets.
"For the White Fang!" Jaune turned and saw a White Fang Faunus running at him with a sword in hand. Jaune sidestepped the Fang Member's attack and jumped back. He reached towards Sol and Luna and drew it, converting them to their sword form. The scythes merged, forming a scimitar.
Jaune blocked the sword and kicked the man back. He willed his aura to form arms and sent them towards the Faunus. The faunus was knocked back as one of the arms slammed into his shoulder, sending him crashing into a car.
Jaune wasted no time in using this opportunity to keep running towards the Inn. He saw a large cloud of smoke at the intersection and turned. His eyes widened at the sight that he was met with.
"MAE!" Jaune screamed as he watched the Inn go up in flames.
"Jaune!"
Jaune turned and saw Bruno running towards him. Jaune felt his heart relax when he saw an unconscious Mae in his arms. On top of his head was Nyx who barked happily when she saw Jaune.
"Mae!" Jaune ran over and took her from him. He sighed in relief. She was breathing but barely. He looked down and saw slight burns on her arms and legs. Her tail was slightly signed alongside with portions of her hair.
"What happened?" Jaune asked.
Bruno shook his head in anger.
"The White Fang. They decided to attack the mines! People are making their way over there to try and evacuate the workers. The SDC is fighting back and shooting down any faunus trying to make their way to the mines," Bruno said.
"Where are the huntsman?" Jaune asked.
"There are no huntsman here," Bruno said.
"What? I saw some a few days ago!" Jaune said.
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble but they must have left sometime over the past few days," Bruno said.
Jaune gritted his teeth as he saw a cloud of smoke rise off in the distance.
"That was from the mines!" Bruno said.
"Take Mae and get her to safety! And if you see an old lady with mechanical eyes and a cane, grab her too!" Jaune said as he drew Sol and Luna.
"What about you?" Bruno asked.
"I'm heading down to the mines to get as many people out as I can," Jaune said.
"What!? Are you crazy? You'll die!" Bruno said.
"Yeah, but I won't be able to live with myself if I abandon those people now," Jaune said as he took off running.
The SDC Mines were a warzone. Explosions and gunfire could be heard as several faunus workers ran for their lives, screaming in fear. Jaune ran past several workers and slid down for cover as a hail of gunfire came his way. Nyx popped her head out of Jaune's hoodie and barked. He looked down at her in surprise but decided to just let her stay.
"You know. Now would be a good time for you to become big again," Jaune said as he peeked out from his cover. He pressed the pressure mechanism on his gloves and aimed at one of the Fang Members, who was busy firing at one of the SDC personnel.
Jaune fired several shots, hitting the distracted Fang member from behind. Jaune ran from cover and made his way to a collapsed drilling unit and ducked behind it. Jaune looked around the side and saw several faunus running out of the mines while White Fang members exchanged fire with the SDC personnel.
"I have to get into that mineshaft but how… and it won't be long before the Grimm get… that's it!" Jaune said. Nyx looked at him and tilted her head.
"We can use the grimm to help get the faunus out!" Jaune said. "They can distract the White Fang and the SDC while you and I go in and rescue them," he said to the Beowolf pup.
"And speak of the devil," Jaune said as he spotted several Nevermore in the sky. The nevermore began to dive down and fire feathers at both the SDC and the White Fang as well as the Faunus miners.
"We need to stop them from attacking the workers," Jaune said. "Time to see how far my powers can reach."
Jaune focused his attention on the Nevermore flock that was harassing the White Fang and the SDC. His eyes glowed violet as he attempted to try and reach out to them and form a connection like the one he had with Nyx. The Nevermore all froze and looked in his direction. They immediately took off and flew towards him.
"Oh, crapbaskets," Jaune said as they landed around him.
The largest of the flock made its way to Jaune. Fearing for the worst, Jaune found himself pressed against the downed drilling unit. He began to reach for Sol and Luna when the lead Nevermore bowed its head towards him. Jaune blinked before reaching out and stroking its beak.
He looked around and saw that the SDC and White Fang members had resumed returning fire at each other. Jaune turned back to the Alpha Nevermore.
"I need you to attack them but don't attack anyone who isn't wearing a uniform with a snowflake on it or a black uniform with a grimm mask understand?" Jaune asked.
The nevermore tilted its head, confused at Jaune's words. He slapped his forehead.
Jaune pointed to the SDC and the White Fang.
"Only attack them okay?"
The nevermore looked between the belligerent groups before squawking to its flockmates. The nevermore flock took off and resumed their attacks on the SDC and the White Fang, this time avoiding the Faunus that were evacuating. Jaune smiled as he and Nyx snuck past the forces and into the mines.
As he entered, Jaune spotted a downed Faunus woman nursing her ankle. He immediately ran up to her and knelt next to her.
"Are you alright?" Jaune asked as he helped her to her feet.
"Yeah, I'm fine I fell getting out," she said.
"Can you walk?" Jaune asked.
"I think I can," she said.
"Good. Now go. Get out of here," Jaune said as he let go of her.
"Wait! I think there are still some people in the mines. Please. Go help them," she said. Jaune nodded and waited for her to get to the entrance of the mines before making his way in deeper.
As he ran, Jaune felt something slam into his side. He gasped in pain as he hit the wall and slid down. His vision blurred as he saw a man wielding a red katana walking up to him. He wore a black long coat with black combat pants and boots. Jaune's eyes made its way to the emblem on the side of his uniform.
"White Fang," Jaune muttered. Nyx growled at the man as her crimson eyes glowed.
"So they sent a Hunstman to stop the rise of Faunus in this town," the man said, disgust present within his voice.
"Um, Mr. White Fang Guy, I'm not a Hunstman," Jaune said as he eyed the blade.
"Oh, then a Hunstman in Training then? You know what? I don't care," the man said. He raised his Katana and swung it at Jaune.
Jaune barely had time to react, rolling out of the way of the katana. He drew Sol and Luna and held it in a defensive position.
The SDC fell back as the White Fang advanced on their positions, however, the White Fang had to fall back due to the Nevermore onslaught.
"BLOW THE MINES!" one of the SDC guards said.
"What?" the other guard yelled as he returned fire at both the Nevermore and the White Fang.
"There's no point in this! Even if we lose, we can still take out Adam Taurus! He was spotted running in there earlier!" the SDC guard said.
His fellow guard sat down and pulled out a small grey cylinder. His hand fumbled for the pin at the top and pulled it. He eyed the entrance of the mine and saw a stockpile of dust by the entrance.
"FIRE IN THE FUCKING HOLE!" he screamed as he threw the cylinder.
Jaune panted as he fell to one knee. His aura was taking a beating, blocking this guy's attacks. He glared at the man, who was slowly making his way towards him.
As the man drew closer, the mines shook. Jaune's eyes widened when all the lights went off and a cloud of dust began to make its way towards them. The ceiling began to collapse.
On instinct, Jaune manifested his aura wings and shielded himself from the rubble. In front of him, the man looked up and swung his sword, slicing the rocks.
"Look out!" Jaune yelled.
The man turned around too late as a large piece of rubble hit him on the back, knocking him unconscious and pinning his leg.
"Shit!" Jaune willed an aura fist to manifest from his wing and shot it towards the rock, shattering it. He spread his wings and formed an aura arm and pulled the man towards him.
"This is a bad idea, Arc…," he muttered as the cave entrance collapsed in front of him, trapping him and the Faunus in the mines.
Ho ho! Didn't expect that did you? Jaune is now trapped in the mines with Adam Taurus. Adam is a nice character to play around with. I feel like he was a good character in the show overall. Anyway, leave a review! What do you think will happen in the next chapter when Adam boy wakes up! Leave a favorite. Follow.! All that good stuff and remember to have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours!~