Arc - Day 21: I brought everyone back alive. Somewhere out there, wherever there is, I hope the guardsmen I failed can finally forgive me- even if I still can't do so myself. The fighting was a return to what I know best, and I recognize that now, the risk of failure is ever present- ever looming. Like a blade above my neck, I can only work each day to push it a few inches higher. For now, I can finally rest easier. The soft hum of airships overhead will take some adjusting to, a far cry from those quieter nights with the stars above me, the cold wind biting against my sides as I lay in the trees. Beacon is my home now, our two teams—my new family.
The remaining push to the ruins had been a slog of fighting and running, Jaune alternating his rifle out for his sword and shield as the blonde duo smashed through the treeline and into a clearing, their focus pulled away by the decaying tower standing across them. An Ursa tumbled through the brushwood only to be speared through the neck and into the ground courtesy of Crocea Mors, Arc quickly wrenching the foible free with a small crack. The origin of the gunshots they'd heard earlier now had a source; four initiates embroiled in combat against a stream of Grimm.
The Mistrilian boy Jaune had been next to on the platforms fought side to side with a ginger-haired girl- the latter of the pair sending round upon round of explosives from a mechashift rotary grenade launcher into the back line with reckless abandon. To the ginger's right were two more figures, the girl in black he'd seen in the altercation between Ruby and Weiss weaved through the onslaught of Beowolves, Ursa, and Borbatusk- supported by an all too familiar white-haired Atleasian sending a flurry of ice, fire, and lighting dust attacks into the horde.
"Yang, shock and awe; let's make ourselves known." Arc slid his family blade between his belt, drawing his sidearm and sending a full magazine across the clearing and into the storm of Grimm. A few puffs of black smoke erupted from the horde as Jaune watched several Grimm bodies crumple down into the mass of creatures; as the horde's attention turned to the blondes, Yang took off headfirst into the thick of the melee.
Jaune's feet kicked off the ground, executing the retention reload he'd spent countless hours practicing the last week- the supersonic snaps of seven more rounds of +P hollow point meeting their mark. The ginger looked over, eyes bright as she called out to her companion in a singsong tone.
"Renny! Look we've got reinforcements, and they're not airborne this time!"
The girl's weapon transformed in her hands from launcher to hammer as she twirled into an incoming Borbatusk, delivering a lower strike into the spinning Grimm and sending it back into the fray with devastating effect. Her partner looked between the shots of his dual pistols and nodded.
Returning his handgun to its holster and closing the distance to their fighting line, Jaune grabbed the attention of the ginger girl, a hand floating over himself before gesturing over to his laughing partner, "Jaune and Yang. What do you mean by not airborne? Were Schnee and the other girl launched directly here?"
"Nora and Ren!" The girl looked at him with a grin, "—and nope!" Her finger shot skywards to the black mass circling the temple, a nevermore with two red figures desperately holding on. Ruby Rose, sister of his partner, the girl he'd promised said partner he'd look out for— was currently screaming for help from the back of a massive bird.
A roar brought him back to the fight, Crocea Mors cleaving through the maw of an Ursa before the Arc's shield smashed into the half-dead Grimm's face. He'd fallen back to Schnee, and the black-haired girl's position, pistol coming up once more to cut down an advancing beowolf meant for Weiss' rapier, eyes scrutinizing the treeline for threats as the white-haired girl shot him a dirty look. Schnee quickly skewered an incoming griffon with a shard of ice before setting it ablaze.
The sound of Ember Celica discharging next to him brought a delicate ringing to his left ear. Yang, along with Nora and Ren, had fallen back to the mouth of the temple ruins.
The collective heads turned skyward to watch as the cloaked girl slipped from one feather to the next before plummetting into the air- the faint-but-growing-louder scream of "Heads uuuuuuuup!" emanating from the scythe wielder. The girl's figure dropped through the air, evolving from a controlled descent into chaos as her now-falling partner slipped from the avian Grimm.
"Jaune, please tell me that isn't my sister."
Arc looked over at his partner. "She seems to be doing alright Yang..."
The nevermore shifted in the air, lining up a burst of feathers in the falling pair's direction. Ruby's form vanished as she dodged the projectiles, disappearing into a current of rose petals that sailed toward the ruins before reappearing in a tumbling freefall. A flash of maroon and bronze shot past her, Pyrrha Nikos fairing no better, the champion having taken a direct hit from one of the feathers with her shield and was promptly sent flying toward the ground.
Arc kicked off terra firma, a tangent of "Not alright, not alright!" and expletives flowing freely from his mouth to the all-too-familiar sororal death glare from his partner. Yang flew past him towards the falling form of Ruby, firing off Ember Celica as she dove through the air to tackle her sister.
Jaune's attention came down to the figure falling nearly on top of him, pushing as much aura as he could muster into his legs and back as he intercepted the girl midair, the hard earth slamming against him as he struck before the ground, aura taking the brunt of the champion's terminal velocity. The impact of the tall redhead was enough to cause his ribs to scream at him- the boy drawing in a strained breath from beneath her.
Pyrrha was quick to get off from atop the boy, helping him to his feet as he rasped out a series of coughs and pained grunts, ushering in a bout of fumbling attempts to apologize to him from the spartan. A flash of black feathers slamming into the ground next to the two halted any of her efforts beyond that, the pair retreating across a stone bridge to the cover of the temple ruins with Ruby and Yang in tow. A second barrage of feathers quickly slammed into the stone shelter. Jaune turned his focus back to the other seven initiates.
It was like Harlaw all over again.
Jaune lifted the BAR from his back to his shoulder, gripping it tightly as he let the rifle go cyclic; twenty rounds of armor piercing .30-06 flying true across the ruins and into the waning stream of Grimm. A wave of black smoke erupted through the mass of creatures as several seemed to pause and pull back.
A few moments of respite crossed over the group as Jaune took one of the two remaining relics, a white knight figurine, and handed it off to Yang with a slight nod towards her left. The blonde girl craned her head back to smile at the sight of Ruby and Pyrrha examining a knight figurine of their own.
"Okay, if we want to get out of this we'll need to coordinate to take out that-"
"Who died and made you leader, Arc?" the callous voice of Weiss cut him off as the heiress walked over and jammed a finger in his face looks of confusion and surprise shot up from the group, Schnee's partner surprisingly taken aback by the girl's sudden outburst.
The black-haired girl was quick to come to the boy's defense, "Weiss this really isn't the best time to-"
"No Blake, this is!" Schnee stomped her foot down, "We're tasked with getting the relics and getting back to the Cliffs. There's no point in fighting that thing, much less at the demands of some violent terrorist!" The group paused as looks exchanged between the snow-haired girl's challenge to the blond teen.
At first, it had been an annoyance, then he'd just been frustrated at the girl, but now, in the thick of a life-or-death situation, Schnee had the nerve to give him more shit; it made Jaune irate.
"Weiss, unless you're ready to give me a fucking plan to clear a griffball field's worth of distance without getting skewered by birdbrain up there- I don't want to hear it! There were dozens of wounded and refugees on that train that I had to try and save, so I made a goddamn choice. You don't like that, bite me, now either get in line or get the hell out of my way."
Weiss was taken aback at first, eyes growing wide from the blond boy's sudden outburst, holding her tongue as she searched for a retort to his ultimatum. The uneasy silence that had filled the impromptu stone shelter was cut short by another volley of feathers spiking into the stonemasonry above them.
He wanted to double down, to give the ice bitch of Atlas a piece of his goddamn mind, to tell someone beyond his own flesh and blood about the pain he'd endured- but he knew that wearing his heart on his sleeve now would further damage the cohesion of the group. Risking lives for pride wasn't a line he was willing to cross. Arc had to bring everyone back in one piece this time or die trying, and the teen wouldn't let the past repeat itself.
Jaune's eyes scanned the initiates' surroundings. A small berm adorned the southern ruins- just enough to provide cover for drawing fire from the Nevermore. The gears in his head shifted fast as he ran through a weapons check, ending on his shield and pistol.
"Who here uses dust?"
Yang, Nora, Ruby, Blake, and a still-furious Weiss all responded with a raise of hands.
He doubled down, "Who uses dust primarily?"
Only one hand remained attached to one now far more disgruntled Weiss Schnee.
The initiates who'd been here fighting by the time Jaune and Yang arrived were worn down, Nora and Blake each sporting some form of supportive bandage on a leg or arm. Their auras had likely tanked since then- the risk would be too high to send them in first.
"We've got a cliff face behind us, a single defensive position from this tower, and one means of retreat from the bridge. If we want to make it back to the Cliffs alive, everyone will need to operate as a team to kill that bird and clear the way. Ruby, Pyrrha, Yang, and I will push across the bridge to draw the Nevermore's attention through small-arms fire, once it comes within range, Nora and Wiess from the tower should be able to bring it to the ground by immobilizing the wings with ice dust."
A quick look around the circle didn't give Jaune the vote of confidence he'd been hoping for, but it was better than nothing- "If we can't bring ourselves to the bird, we bring the bird to us. Ren and Blake, hold here until the Nevermore is grounded, then come in to support Pyrrha with pinning the damn thing in place. We execute the thing from up close, Ruby can take the head off. Yang and I will concentrate on mopping up any incoming Grimm."
It was by no means foolproof, far less than even adequate... but it would have to do.
After a few cursory checks of gear and ammunition, the two impromptu teams split off, with JYPR watching as Ren and Blake helped Nora and Weiss to more advantageous sightlines overlooking the air above them. According to Yang, Jaune's aura supply had gotten dangerously low, something he'd worry about once they were out of the forest.
Jaune sucked down a deep breath and nodded to his impromptu teammates, breaking away from the temple's archway and sprinting across the bridge. Twenty yards. Thirty yards. Forty. The shriek of the avian Grimm above them echoed as a spray of feathers slammed into the stonemasonry, Arc pivoting to lift his BAR, sending off a volley of his own into the bird's wings.
Ruby disappeared in a flurry of rose petals only to reappear behind the cover of several ruins, the shorter girl stabbing an extended Crescent Rose into the rock before sighting her target. The earsplitting reports of half a dozen 12.7×99mm rounds rippling through the air above him granted some comfort.
Yang and Pyrrha cleared the bridge soon after, and the spartan quickly fired near the reaper. Eighty, ninety- another hail of feathers skewered into the bridge. A glance back confirmed what he'd hoped. His busted ankle slowed him enough that the damn bird had taken an interest. Jaune watched as the black and white mass dipped through the air into a sweeping dive toward the bridge.
"Nora, Wiess! NOW!"
Some hundred yards behind him, the audible Thump-Thump-Thump of 40mm ice dust rounds leaving Nora's launcher quickly paired with the soft whir of the Schnee family's hereditary semblance. The bird's rightmost wing promptly froze over, the massive figure careening through the air into a nosedive for the clearing just past the bridge.
The impact shook the bridge to its foundations, Arc stumbling as the figures of Lie Ren and Belladonna shot past him, Blake throwing one end of her kusarigama into the hands of the silent boy. The two ran parallel to the Grimm's body before staking down each end into the earth. A red and bronze spear pierced through the bird's right shoulder, held firmly in place by Nikos.
Arc reached the left side, drawing his sword and slicing it across the stomach of a boarbatusk as it rolled out from behind the treeline, the stream of Grimm having begun to infill the lull from before. It was as if they were reinforcing the now-clipped bird.
Somewhere to his right, Jaune watched as a flurry of rose petals flew down a series of inclining ruins, the red-cloaked reaper appearing some twenty feet from the Grimm's head, firing off a magazine of ammo as she passed through the air- the razor-sharp edge of Crescent Rose clipping into the Nevermore's neck. It was as if the girl's weapon moved in slow motion, the blade pressing against the hardened feathers momentarily before digging into the blackened flesh, cleaving down and through as it sliced across and out the other end.
The act was enough to draw his attention away from the tree line, his focus springing back as a thunderous roar broke through the brush- vision filling with black and white as a massive fist connected with his shield arm. The limb shot backward into him, and the already weakened muscles in his left forearm gave out as the bone splintered with a muted pop. The world spun around him as the teen was flung across the ruins, impacting the now dissolving, nevermore corpse.
Whatever aura Arc had left shattered the moment the Grimm connected with him, his left arm seared with pain as the teen grappled for his rifle. The canine-like darting of Beowolves he'd grown accustomed to was nowhere to be found, instead- as Jaune's vision dipped between searing white and pitch black, Jaune's attention was caught on the nearly twelve-foot tall gorilla-like Grimm currently barrelling towards him.
The bodily cocktail of epinephrine and norepinephrine he'd been relying on since landing ran dry- a stabbing pain etching its way up his left forearm as the blond took hold of the BAR- flicking the safety and loosely shouldering the firearm. The gun's stock bounced out from his loose grip, clearing free from the center of his shoulder to crack hard against his cheekbone.
Ten or twenty rounds? It didn't matter, did it? The damn thing kept coming.
Arc stared into the glowing red eyes of the Beringel as it shrugged off the chunks of sinew being torn away from its body.
The deafening thunderclap of Cresent Rose behind him shattered through the charging ape's shoulder blade, blasting the joint clean from the Grimm. It seemed to slow only for another round to crush into its center mass, ripping a dinner-plate-sized hole out as the bone plating shredded through it.
The Grimm's attention broke from the clipped blond towards its new adversary, only to be met with a 40mm high explosive round to the face. Half-dead, the Beringel swung at the now far closer Nora- the more petite ginger's aura crackling as she blocked the strike with her hammer.
The beast seemed to punch wildly towards the now encroaching initiates, landing only one on an incredibly pissed off Yang Xiao Long- the girl tanking the hit head-on as she screamed bloody murder, delivering shotgun blast after shotgun blast to the creature's face. The world seemed to slip away as he watched his partner mangle the Grimm's head into a fine paste.
Jaune could feel someone collapse next to him, sensing hair cascade over his body as a dulled voice called out to him. He fought back the pain, forcing himself to focus on the world around him. Yang was above him, hands tentatively held inches from his swelling limb, her head whipping back to shout to the group.
The girl took his wounded arm carefully in her hands and brought it into her lap. His forearm was limp, swelling into his sweatshirt sleeve; the limb fractured along the radius, and from what little he could manage to gather, the bones miraculously hadn't moved much from his impact with the ground.
The last of his painkillers slipped away- countered by far clearer, considerably more sharp pain flashing up the limb. But with the pain came clarity, Jaune's eyes meeting Yang's as the girl dug into the trauma kit at his side.
Arc gritted his teeth as he spoke, "Splint. Red on the far right."
The girl quickly unraveled the aluminum splint into her lap, carefully positioning her partner's forearm atop before pausing, meeting the gaze of Jaune.
"I've broken my arms a few times in sparring, this is going to hurt a lot." Her voice was shaky but focused, the brawler pausing to adjust the splint under his arm before wrapping it tightly down the length of his limb.
A tearing pain sliced clean through whatever clarity he'd cobbled together, Jaune silently crying out as Yang compressed the bone into place. A series of snaps whizzed over the pair's heads as Pyrrha moved to cover them, the four-time champion firing round after round from her now shifted rifle towards the Grimm pouring from the treeline. Jaune fought back the wave of infirmity that had swept over him, sucking downwind into his lungs and forcing himself to stand— giving a reassuring grimace to Yang as he returned his rifle to his back.
His arm out of commission or not, this would be a losing battle of attrition. The potential for success had grown far too slim, a risk Jaune was unwilling to take again.
Arc pulled his pistol from its holster, cocking back the hammer and leveling it in front of him. The push south was their only feasible means of survival. A griffon dove into his crosshairs, only for its head to deflate into black smoke from two rounds of .45 Grimmchester.
"Push the treeline, thin the ranks as you move! Keep south and watch your partner's six, we are leaving!"
A few nods followed as the initiates pulled back towards the rich evergreens surrounding them, firing off rounds and cutting down the beasts that came too close as the droves of Grimm poured in from the north.
"Switch to fire dust if you have it! Set the damn forest alight, we need to slow their maneuverability, buy us time to run!"
A deafening click came from Jaune's pistol, the blond cursing to himself as he let the empty magazine fall to the forest floor- the thought of grabbing it was overcome quickly by muscle memory. His last magazine slid into the well, Arc drawing the weapon to meet its next target. His group had used their previous munitions, a series of brushfires forming quickly around the dry kindling that made up the forest floor.
The flames grew quick, lapping at the sides of the evergreens as the heat covered the group's retreat. Soon the howls and shrieks of Grimm were drowned out by the roar of the fires around them, the plumes of black smoke nearly indecipherable aside from soot.
The stark white splint running up his arm was uncomfortable. Jaune tugged down at the left sleeve of his sweatshirt in a fruitless effort. It was a proper replacement from Beacon's infirmary, fresh from a sterilized package and still reeking of the medical wing's iodine. Not that it mattered much, Arc and the rest of the "Ruin squad"— as the three and four years had taken to calling him and the other seven— still smelled like a campfire.
A very exhausted, sore, and hungry campfire.
"-ssle Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark. You four were successful in the recovery of the black bishop pieces. From this day on, you will operate jointly as Team Cardinal, led by... Cardin Winchester. Congratulations."
Overhead, each student's initials were mended to form the acronym CRDL. The four students celebrated, clapping each other on the back as they cheered on their newfound leader to an ovation from the audience, Jaune whistling with his free hand and giving the newest students a thumbs up.
The headmaster nodded as Glynda signaled Team CRDL offstage and towards processing. A slight pause caught the grey-haired man as he flicked to the next team. The portrait photos of Weiss, Ren, Blake, and Nora filled the amphitheater's overhead screen.
Jaune watched with a small pang of pride as the four students took their spots on stage.
"Lie Ren. Nora Valkyrie. Weiss Schnee. Blake Belladonna. The four of you successfully retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will operate jointly as Team Woodburn, led by... Weiss Schnee. Congratulations."
Nora cried out of joy as the girl pulled her partner and new team leader into a hug; Schnee looked on in dumbfounded surprise. The second quietest of the group, Blake, smiled warmly and gave a simple high-five to the elated ginger girl.
Again Glynda motioned for the team to follow her off stage, Jaune turning his attention back to the screen only to see his student photo appear, followed closely by Yang, Pyrrha, and Ruby. Following the path the others before him had taken, Jaune and the three girls crossed down the amphitheater and onto its stage.
The lights were oppressively bright, and the hundreds of eyes on him—on his injury—were nearly overwhelming. Ozpin turned to look over the four students, a smile crossing his face as he spoke.
"And finally... Jaune Arc. Yang Xiao Long. Pyrrha Nikos. Ruby Rose. The four of you recovered the white knight pieces. As such, from here forward, you will operate jointly as Team Jupiter, Led by... Jaune Arc."
Wait... Leader?
A light smack to his back brought Jaune out of his shocked state, the teen looking over to see his bright grin of Yang.
"Attaboy Lady Killer!" his partner's playful tone was followed by a cheer from her sister and a playful jab to the right shoulder from Pyrrha.
Jaune turned back from his celebrating team to catch the headmaster's gaze, Ozpin easing the microphone to his side and smiling at the newfound leader.
"Congratulations, young man, and best of luck."
A grin broke out on Jaune's face.
He'd made it. Grimm, Bandits, and transcripts be damned.
The walk from the main stage to processing was filled with excitement amongst his teammates: they'd finally be rewarded with Beacon synched scrolls, uniforms, and dorms. The works, as a zealous Ruby had dubbed it.
Some twenty minutes later, Team JYPR opened the door to their dorm room. Their leader promptly found the nearest bed and collapsed on top of it.
Ozpin pinched his brow as he brought the umpteenth mug of coffee today to his lips, drinking down the brown libation he'd cherished these many eons. His eyes turned to Glynda, a small sigh escaping his exhausted figure. If he could go back and strangle the reincarnation of his that thought of doing such drawn-out formal ceremonies, he would.
"Glynda, tell me again why we elected not to use a teleprompter?"
His second in command laid the PDA on the desk before him, a list of names and teams filling the screen.
Goodwitch poured herself a small cup of water, dropping it in a small tea bag before returning to the headmaster's desk, "Because you decided it would have taken away from the connection each team forms with the school, 'making us more robots than man' you called it."
"Ah yes, I forgot. If you ever get the opportunity, kindly go back and shoot me of fifty years ago."
His tongue clicked as he frowned, flicking through the PDA before landing on two teams, "Where are we again with Frostfall?"
"The Council has granted approval for one Huntsman Expeditionary Unit from our first-year pools. A proof of concept if you will."
Ozpin took a deep breath, dragging the two teams from their stock and flicking them up to the holographic display, "Any candidates in mind?"
"Cardinal, those boys are bound to make trouble; best they do so on a short leash."
"What about Jupiter and Woodburn? Two teams, both with several legacy students each—" Ozpin paused, turning back to Glynda with a hint of displeasure, "How exactly did the name Woodburn finalize?"
"Would you have preferred R-W-B-N, Ruben? A team named after a sandwich Ozpin? Really? Not many options to choose from, be happy you got your color requirement. Lie Ren was my safest option for leadership, but it was you who selected Schnee." Glynda scoffed, bringing her cup of tea to her lips, "And don't think my hiccup absconds you from suggesting JYPR and WBRN- Jaune Arc as a team leader? You're taking quite the risk there alone, doubly so if you think the boy can manage to field four more consistently."
"He's halfway there already Glynda, what he needs now is the challenge. Give them a week to acclimate to the campus, then call them in. Emphasize that this is optional and will not negatively reflect on them if they decline. Full transparency of the risks. If all goes well, I'll personally inform the Council that they'll have their Expeditionary Unit."
So much for that one chapter a month, eh? Fuck you midterms! Anyways, I'm happy to say that Part Two of Initiation is good and done! It took roughly two months of writing and over twelve thousand words. As December rolls in, I'll be taking a bit of time to focus on my finals and college transfer applications. But I'll still be putting in plenty of time toward the next chapters of Arm and Sword. I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge some of the milestones we've crossed, 200 followers, 140 favorites, and over 11000 views. Seriously, it means the world to me that my first story has been received so well by so many. A massive thank you as always to the wonderful work of Kohago, my Beta Reader, in keeping my ideas on track. As always, feel free to leave a review with any questions, comments, or feedback you've got for me. Everything and anything helps.
Crimson Shikyo, MogtheGnome, BigSmokeYeet, SkyArk, and Uvuvwevwevwe: Thank you all for your encouraging words; it's great to see new and consistent positive voices for the work I put in. Thank you for reading and reviewing!
ClassyFalcon: The fire-blowing idea definitely got a chuckle out of me, but who knows? Jaune's a resourceful guy; the opportunity might present itself! Thank you again for reading and for your reviews.
Toy2jzgte: I have decided on a pairing for Jaune, which is Dragonslayer, but I won't be driving it too quickly. I want it to be a natural sort of slow burn. And before anyone asks, the M rating is for one thing and one thing only on MaverickWriter stories, and that is gratuitous violence. Thank you for reading and reviewing!
Incapacitated Ichthyoid: Glad you're enjoying it, and I hope you stick around! Don't worry; deep down, we all wish we could get three for three on the Schnee scale for handsomeness. Thank you for reading and reviewing!
Kuman: I was worried at first that I hadn't given enough time and introspection for Jaune's growth, but I'm glad it feels somewhat natural. Really happy I was able to get the rest of the RWBY cast down well, I will admit I'm modifying Blake and Weiss's characters a bit due to the new WBRN team and some views on Remnant's revamped history (Hinted on, and to be revealed soon). Schnee's much more elitist and (for lack of a better word) bitchy, because certain things have happened in the years leading up to Beacon. Much in the same vein as Blake, I'll be trying to make her less of a voluntary shut-in and more eager to move on from her past but reserved and cautious because of what she's running from. As for Jaune's pistol, it's a LAR Grizzly, specifically a Mk1. It was a 1980's magnum-caliber autoloader designed for hunting and target shooting and is essentially a suped-up 1911. I personally love the 1911 and originally planned on giving Jaune one, but in the end I figured giving Jaune a sidearm with a bit more power and a more imposing presence would be cooler for the story, so the Grizzly was kind of a godsend. Lastly, with the transcripts, let's just say for all the authenticity Ozpin puts forth, he is still hypocritical.