One or two people were annoyed with how much Blake and Adam were "sandbagging" against Adam – saying that since they beat him later in the show, they should have been able to here easily. I'm not sure that's the case. Though we don't see much of it happening we're supposed to believe the characters all grew a lot at Beacon off-screen in lessons and training and such. I.e. Jaune going from complete amateur to mildly capable. Same goes for Blake and Yang, who lost insanely easily to Roman and Neo respectively, but then later beat them. I.e. Roman was able to pretty much handle Blake and Sun at the first docks incident, almost even having a chance to kill Blake, but then gets solo'd by her later on the train. Meanwhile, Adam is so miles above Yang that he finishes her in one blow at the end of season 3 and is weak (or distracted) enough to lose to her and Blake later on.
That's normal character progression over the course of a series. Since this is pre-vytal and pre-losing an arm, the Yang and Blake here are not at their finest. This is "loses to Roman" Blake and "curb-stomped by Neo" Yang.
Don't like it? Well, fair enough. Okay. I won't tell you what to like and not – but the show did establish a pecking order for a while in terms of combat ability. Adam didn't just beat Blake and Yang in Beacon; he beat those huntsmen-in-training on the floor when they arrived on the scene. Adam was put forward as a big, scary and very strong fighter capable of ripping Yang and Blake to pieces – quite literally in Yang's case.
In before they forgot that and turned him into the worst caricature of a toxic ex-boyfriend ever seen. Weird that he literally acted like he was over Blake in S3 and then relapsed immediately after and died a chump. Oh well.
P.s. There's a teaser for the upcoming story to be released after Knight of Salem ends at the end of this chapter.
Cover Art: Curbizzle
Chapter 19
The metal cane squeezed tight over his throat, cutting off his air just enough to make it hard to fight back. Jaune gripped at it, pulling himself up so he wouldn't suffocate, one eye shut and the other staring at Yang, Blake and Magnis. The girls snarled back while Magnis kept his sword pointed at Adam to cover them.
"You've heard my terms." Headmaster said. "I'd say they're generous. You get your Jaune back, the new one and to call today your victory – a rousing success for everyone. You even keep the White Fang you've captured. I get a faunus supremacist with a hateboner for humanity. Really, I'm getting the short end of the stick here."
"Kck! Ngk!" Jaune kicked his legs.
"How do you intend to get out of here at all?" Yang asked. Jaune really wished she'd have asked it a little quicker. "We have Knight outside with the rest of our team and Team JNPR. You think we'll just let you walk out the door?"
"I have an arrangement."
Headmaster snapped his fingers. For a moment, nothing happened and Jaune heard the man grumble, and then a whistling sound echoed outside. Adam and Magnis both threw themselves away from the nearby wall a moment before it exploded inward, pelting everyone's aura with chips of rubble. A large chunk smashed off the cage, protecting the injured iteration within. The whirr of a large turbine engine caused the smoke to dissipate quickly, revealing the open side of a military Bullhead hovering in the air. The door was open and a man stood there, gripping onto the railing above with one hand and his bowler hat with the other. His white coat flapped wildly in the wind.
"Good day ladies and gentlemen!" Roman Torchwick called out. "This is your in-flight attendant speaking, if you would kindly bring all passengers and luggage on board, we are currently waiting on a Mr Headmaster and a Mr Taurus. Final call for the two of them."
Adam took full advantage of the chance and backed away from Magnis. He kept his sword out, gauging if the man would charge, but when Magnis stood to cover Yang and Blake, Adam turned and leapt onto the aircraft. Now it was just him. Just Headmaster and his hostage. Jaune gagged as he was wrenched to the side, Headmaster side-stepping while dragging him along.
"That's my flight I'm afraid. I hate to leave a lesson unfinished but duty calls and all. Congrats on your win today, though. A White Fang base shut down, numerous captured and Adam bereft of his champion. That's a win no matter how you look at it, so don't feel too bad about this."
"Why are you doing this?" Yang demanded. "You're a teacher – you're headmaster of Beacon. Why are you on their side?"
"Miss Xiao-Long, please, I've said it once and I'll say it again. A teacher does not tell you the answer to a problem; he or she leads you to figure it out on your own. I know full well you're an intelligent young woman despite how you act." Headmaster laughed. "You'll figure it out eventually."
He manoeuvred the two of them so that their backs were to the huntresses, and now even more as Ren, Nora and Pyrrha reached them. They looked on in horror, fearing the worst and only held back by Magnis pushing an arm out to stop Pyrrha racing forward. Even so, Jaune felt the tug on the metal cane, the strange feeling of it vibrating in Headmaster's grip.
"Miss Nikos, please," he said. "Less of that. You're going to make me struggle and that might crush Mr Arc's throat if you lose the battle." Immediately the tugging stopped. "Thank you. Well, you've been as good as to indulge me so I shall be as good as my word as well."
Headmaster slid a hand down Jaune's back all the way to his jeans. Then, suddenly, he pushed. The cane was swept up at the same time and Jaune stumbled forward, landing on his feet and gasping for air. The second he was let go, the instant, Yang and Blake surged forward. Headmaster leapt back as well, flicking his cane to parry a dust round from Blake and turning his side to take the full brunt of Ember Celica's blast on his arm and shoulder. White aura flickered as he did, but the force of the impact only pushed him further back into the waiting arms of Roman. The thief hauled the huntsman up onto the Bullhead while Adam started to drag the door shut.
"Until next time!" Headmaster Arc called with a pleasant wave. "Pay attention in class and do your damn homework for once!"
The door slammed shut and the Bullhead began to pull away. Sparks flew from its hull as Ruby shot at it from below, finally having run around the building, but though Crescent Rose managed to punch one or two holes through, she didn't hit anything volatile enough to knock it out the air. It listed sideways over the nearest trees and quickly broke contact with the sniper, hurrying away in the opposite direction of Vale.
"Damn it!" Yang swore. "We had him!"
"We really didn't." Ren pointed out. "If it were just Headmaster and Adam, we could have taken them out, but there was Roman and whomever was piloting that Bullhead. Probably Neo if Fate's information is anything to go by."
"We might have been able to win if Ruby, Weiss and Fate came to fight, but it would have been a tough battle." Pyrrha agreed. "And he was right in a sense. We've taken down the White Fang's base of operations and captured their iteration. That's a win."
"I don't think it's captured." Nora said. "More like rescued…"
/-/
General Ironwood and Winter landed in person to take their statements, secure the site and take the prisoners away. Jaune expected him to be upset or angry about Headmaster escaping with Adam, but he couldn't have been more wrong.
"Excellent work!" Ironwood enthused. He was smiling broadly. "I could not be more pleased with your work today."
"You couldn't…?" Yang asked.
The man laughed heavily. "Well, you could have single-handedly stopped Salem, saved the world and brought an end to all the Grimm, but realistically speaking this is as good an outcome as we could have wished for. The anchor escaped and that's a shame but it sounds as though he wouldn't have worked with us anyway. I'd have thought the best we could get after that would be killing his iteration but finding out he's been abused by the White Fang presents a new opportunity. He might join us willingly."
Yang wasn't sure she liked that being chalked up as a good thing. The guy – they didn't have a name for him yet and the Jaune had been adamant he not be called Fang; she couldn't blame him after being kept in a cage – looked like a mess. He had a haunted look to his face and often muttered and talked to himself, scratching infected cuts on his arms and gasping for air. He had a dark ring around his neck where a metal collar had been affixed, and bruises dotted his body from top to bottom.
The White Fang had tortured him. Not with sharp implements or anything crippling thank goodness but beating a man then starving him and sticking him in a cage like an animal was torture all the same.
"I don't understand why Taurus wouldn't join us." Weiss said. "White Fang or not, Salem's end-goal is the destruction of Remnant. What's the point of saying you're pro-faunus if everyone dies?"
"Many people are corrupted by their ideals." Ironwood said. "Perhaps he started as that once, but I expect the White Fang is just a convenient excuse for him to vent his fury on people. It was well-thought of you to try, Belladonna."
"You're not angry?" Blake asked, surprised.
"I'd have put up with him despite his crimes if it presented a stronger front against Salem. I would not have liked him, but I would have worked with him. You should all feel free to try and recruit anyone you can for this war. Their race, age and previous affiliations don't matter. We need all the help we can get. We'll see our new friend back to Beacon where he can be given a medical examination."
"Not as a prisoner."
"Not as a prisoner." he agreed. "I dare say he's had enough of that." He nodded briefly to Winter and then to the new Jaune, indicating his wish to speak with him. Yang stepped aside along with the rest, opening a channel for him to do so. General Ironwood strode forward and extended his human hand. "Mr Arc, is it? We'll have to come up with a new name for you, but I understand you don't want anything related to the White Fang."
"N-Not this one." His voice croaked a little, the stutter sounding more hoarse than nervous. "It's not the… same as mine." He winched, and General Ironwood quickly drew a pouch off his waist and offered it.
"Water. Drink."
"T-Thank you." The Jaune swigged of the water and let out a breath. His voice sounded much stronger. "Thanks. I guess you have questions."
"Many of those can wait until you're safely in Beacon and checked over. Would you be willing to tell us anything of note relating to Adam Taurus and the White Fang's plans here?"
"Absolutely! They need to be stopped!"
"Good." General Ironwood looked very pleased. "We'll cover that back in Beacon. Ozpin will want to hear and there no need to make you explain it twice. Can you give us the briefest explanation of your past? Just enough to understand you and your abilities."
"Sure. I was – am – a member of the White Fang. It's… ah… leader."
Blake made a strangled sound off to the side, and despite her bad mood Yang felt a tug at her lips. Oh yeah, this was prime material for a little teasing on the side.
"It's not the same White Fang, though. We're peaceful there. Or, well, we're a little in the middle. We do raids on corrupt businesses and politicians and expose them to the public. Most people like us – faunus and humans both – and we don't target innocent people."
"What's your relationship with Beacon?" Ironwood asked.
"Ozpin and I have good relations. We've done raids alongside Team RWBY as well. Ozpin even let me speak at the opening ceremony for the Vytal Festival."
"Hm. That's good enough for me. It sounds like an alternate line of events where the White Fang didn't fall to the same violence it did here under Sienna Khan."
The Jaune's mouth opened as Ironwood said that, but he closed it a second later and agreed with a shrug. Yang got the impression it wasn't that simple but that he didn't see the point in arguing. "Yeah, pretty much like that. I'm not really a fighter. I mean, I can, but it's not my strong suit."
"You're on the good side though, right?" Ruby asked hopefully.
The Jaune smiled back at her. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. Jinn explained this war thing. Part of the reason I was locked up like that was because I told Adam I wouldn't fight for Salem's side. Even if I could have a wish back home, I wouldn't accept destroying this world."
"We're a thing, aren't we…?" Blake asked suddenly and hopelessly. Everyone turned to her, but she didn't care and carried on with a haunted look in her eyes. "It's obvious. You're White Fang, you're doing good, you're peaceful and don't harm innocents. We're dating, aren't we? Or married? Or I'm pregnant with your baby?"
The Jaune made a confused sound. "Uh. No. You… uh… You kinda hate my guts."
Yang simply couldn't hold her laughter back at Blake's dumbstruck expression.
/-/
Jaune fiddled with a small piece of card as everyone else cheered their success for the day. An iteration captured and then liberated on their side, the White Fang pushed back and Cinder's forces split by Ironwood and Warchief's attack in the city. Better yet, no one had died on either mission, making Jaune feel even more inadequate. Not that he wanted anyone to die, but if Warchief could organise an attack on such dangerous people and not lose anyone then how much of a genius was he? He'd organised normal soldiers against Grimm and come out with all of them in good shape.
It was insane.
Conversely, he'd gotten himself captured and used as a hostage to let the bad guy escape, and despite Magnis' kind words that it had been all their faults for not clearing the rooms and finding Headmaster waiting in ambush, it didn't make him feel all that better. Would Yang or Blake have just let themselves be captured? No. They'd have fought back and broken free.
"Are you okay, Jaune?"
"Hm?" He looked up, noted Pyrrha's concern and flashed her a grin. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about all the other versions of me. Kinda crazy."
His partner giggled, swept her skirt under her legs and sat beside him. He made room for her on the sofa. "Tell me about it. They're an interesting lot, right? A peaceful White Fang, a commander of men, a literal knight in shining armour. It's like you started a fantasy comic franchise. All we need now is a superhero version and we're set."
"That'd be cool. X-Ray and Jaune. Man, I'd look good in spandex."
Pyrrha burst out in giggles at his joke and lightly punched his arm. It felt good to know that he could still get a reaction out of her even if there were much better versions of him all around.
"It would be a sight to see for sure," she said. She leaned back and let out a quiet sigh. "It's exciting, all this, but I won't be sad when it's all over and done with. When the war is won."
Assuming they would. He wasn't dumb enough to point that out when they both knew. Better to remain confident. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Back to when our biggest worries were not sucking at the Vytal Festival or how to smuggle you to the cinema without being mobbed by fans."
"Hmmm. We never did get to see that movie. After?"
"Sure." It felt good to make plans for the future as if they'd definitely happen. "I'm down for that. I just need to survive training with Magnis. He's like you but twice as harsh."
"Is it good, though?"
"It's good." He nodded and looped his arms around his legs. "He's constructive with criticism like you." Better in some ways. Magnis softened his words but wasn't afraid to give them whereas it sometimes felt like Pyrrha was worried she'd hurt his feelings. "It helps that I know he had a life like mine, so I can actually try and reach up to him. There's a chance I could become him."
"You shouldn't try and become any of them."
"Hm? Why not?"
"You should be who you."
"I am me," he said. "I just mean that if I'm the baseline then I can grow into one of them, and I'd much rather pick Magnis than someone like Fate or Ashari. Unless you want me to start smoking and being an asshole?"
He expected her to laugh but she didn't. Pyrrha stared back at him sharply. "I think you should just be you. Be the Jaune that's my partner, not some precursor to someone else's growth." She pushed herself off the sofa suddenly, not meeting his eyes but stiff shouldered and obviously upset. "I prefer you the way you are. I don't want you to change."
Jaune watched her walk away and wondered what he'd said wrong. He hadn't meant to sound like he was insulting himself or that he wanted to undergo a metamorphosis. He'd only meant that he might grow into Magnis over the next twenty years. She didn't expect him to not change at all in that amount of time, did she? They'd all change. That was part of life.
Well, I mucked that up somehow. Nice work, Jaune. He twiddled his fingers around, flashing the thick white card he'd been fidgeting up so he could see it. Now what am I supposed to do with you.
It was a business card. Trim and expensive, with a soft finish and black ink indented in. Crisp, clear and professionally made with an icon stamped in green in the top corner, the sigil of Beacon Academy. The text read simply:
Jaune Arc
Headmaster
Beacon Academy
Beneath that were a set of contact numbers, one of which was Beacon's own number with a three-digit extension that he imagined would connect straight to Ozpin's office. It was the one below that caught his attention though, the one that someone had taken the time to underline in blue pen before they'd shoved the business card into his back pocket. Headmaster Arc's personal scroll number. Jaune flipped the card again, sighing to himself.
What was he supposed to do? He could tell Ozpin and give it to him and Ironwood. They'd try and contact Headmaster, he'd blow them off and that would be that. Scrolls would be changed, numbers would become invalidated and the whole thing would go nowhere. Nothing would happen.
It was stupid to even entertain the idea of calling himself and doing what the man wanted, but it couldn't hurt to try, could it? The worst that happened, his scroll got hacked and he ditched it. He could go to Ironwood and Ozpin after and they'd take care of it. If he were lucky, he might even get some information out of Headmaster that could be of use.
Ironwood did say we should try to recruit anyone and everyone we could. Headmaster in on the wrong side but would it hurt to listen to him? It's not like I'm going to be won over to the idea of destroying the world.
He flipped it again, considered the number and then groaned. Standing, he made for the door, pushed out and into the hallway, travelling up to the rooftop where he'd normally have trained with Pyrrha. He was just going to call. If it went bad, it went bad. He wouldn't give any information up; he wouldn't tell Headmaster anything and he sure as hell wasn't going to be convinced into joining Salem's side. Nothing more than a call. Jaune pulled out his scroll and dialled in the number. It rang four times. Four, long rings that almost convinced him to call it a lost cause and hang up, before it was answered with a click.
"Hello!" a familiar voice – his own – said. "Who am I talking to?"
"Who do you think?" Jaune snapped.
"Well, I wasn't convinced you wouldn't pass it straight onto Ironwood. Or not even notice I slipped my card on you. How are you by the way? I hope I wasn't too rough with you."
"I'm fine."
"Great. And how is your new friend? Is he receiving medical care?"
"I'm not answering that."
"Fair enough, fair enough." Headmaster laughed cordially on the other end. "I only asked out of concern. I am the one who let you take him after all. I hope Ironwood isn't assuming him a spy or some such and mistreating him. I hear he received enough of that from Adam."
No one had been thinking him a spy until this moment, and the fact Headmaster brought it up had Jaune nervous. What if that was his plan, though? Jaune decided to ignore it and trust Ironwood and Ozpin to figure out the truth later. "Why did you give me your card? What's this all about? You don't actually think I'll help you or your side, do you? I won't."
"I'd be disappointed if you did, Mr Arc. I'd hoped you would be loyal to your team."
"You hoped? You're me. Shouldn't you know?"
"I was never a member of Team JNPR. It didn't even exist in my world. You're as much a new and strange to me as I am to you. Imagine, a world where I was a student at Beacon. Incredible."
Was he mocking him? How could anyone be interested in that? A world where he'd somehow become a teacher and then a headmaster was much more shocking. It was downright impossible to believe. Had he been trained by his dad first? Had he joined a school like Signal, excelled and been promoted early like Ruby, then graduated and joined as a teacher straight after? He'd said Yang was his student, so he must have been a teacher at seventeen, which was ridiculous. He must have been a child genius.
"What's the point of this?" Jaune asked again. "You didn't answer."
"Did I not? I apologise. The point, young man, is to extend an invitation."
"I'm not joining Salem."
"Not to that. In truth, they wouldn't care to have you. They only care for your more capable selves. You're nothing to them. No, I'd like to invite you to a little soiree I have in the works."
"A party," Jaune deadpanned. "You held me hostage, slipped me a card and this was all so you could invite me to a party?"
"Yes."
Bull and shit. Jaune contemplated launching the scroll off the roof before remembering it was his. "And would be the point of this party other than as an obvious ambush for me?"
"More an ambush against me I imagine. I'd have to give you an address and you would only bring the entire military down on my head. But…" he said, "That's a risk I might be prepared to take. You see, I'm arranging a little get-together. Jaune to Jaune, face to face, no fighting and no nonsense. Not all of us are violent psychopaths looking to bring about the end of the world and this little game of the gods is no reason we have to be enemies. Don't you agree?"
"Agree with what?"
"That this battle royale is stupid for one."
"Yes. Of course it is. I mean, Gods exist and that's a shocker, but instead of omniscient, all-caring and forgiving entities they're a pair of idiots holding a grudge and plunging the whole world into chaos."
"My thoughts exactly. Here we are, ripped out of our worlds and told to dance for their amusement. It's pathetic really. I, for one, am not really interested in cutting a bloody swathe through my own students."
"You could have fooled me."
"Then I must have. Tell me, how many of you have I killed?"
None.
"How many of you have I injured, crippled or left bloody and dying? How many have I put into the care of Beacon's resident psychopathic doctor, hm? I could have. I could have quite easily crushed your windpipe before my escape, or harmed Ruby when she lay injured from her brush with Null."
Yang told them he'd handed her a medical kit and instructed her to look after Ruby. It wasn't something that saved her life – Ruby would have lived either way – but it made her condition better and got her back out onto the field in a day rather than after a week's rest and maybe some minor surgery.
"Life is not as simple as you may believe, Mr Arc. Nor are we. You say what we are one and the same, then that should surely mean we are also the same as the rest of us. Leviathan, Knight, Grimm, Ashari. I do not believe we are. I think we are different. Unique."
"Let's say I believe you." It wouldn't hurt to, and some of them just were too different to be related. Knight for one, Grimm for another. "What of it? What does meeting up do? Allow us to share stories, compare notes and see who lived different lives and how?"
"Yes."
Jaune squawked out a "What?"
"That's exactly it. I'm not suggesting some grand alliance or some League of Extraordinary Jauntlemen. I'm suggesting a few of our more peacefully inclined versions meet under a banner of truce, not to plot and form allegiances, but to talk things out, get to know one another and maybe even share some stories. There must be some of us you're dying to know about, no? Have you not wondered how Ashari learned so much or what life was like for a young teacher? I must admit I'm curious to learn about what things might have been like had I been accepted as a student of Beacon."
"Why? My life is nothing. I haven't done anything special."
"In my eyes, it is I who has done nothing special, but I'm sure you would disagree. I think you'll find that your life is no less exciting to those who never had a chance to experience it. I'd be happy to trade a few stories. I'd love to know more of what life on Team JNPR is like."
Jaune's defences shot up. "I'm not telling you anything you could use against my team."
"I'm their teacher. I know all their skills, abilities, semblances and more. There's little you could tell me that I don't already know. On the other hand, well, you could use this little exercise as a chance to gather information about us if you wanted to. I'll be there and I'll be inviting a few others."
"What guarantee do I have you won't take me hostage?"
"The guarantee that it would be a stupid move that would only bring Beacon down on my head. You're neither an anchor nor a contestant in this stupid game. You're the only one I'm inviting who doesn't have to worry about putting themselves in danger."
True. Though they could still try anyway, then demand Ozpin give up someone to have him returned. They wouldn't, though. Ironwood would sacrifice him if it meant not losing an iteration or anchor. This was all one big risk with his life on the line, and he wasn't at all convinced it would be worth it.
"How about I go one further." Headmaster said. "Not only will I guarantee your safety but I shall guarantee you some valuable information."
"Yeah?" Jaune asked, more curious than tempted. It was too risky. "What kind of information?"
"The identities of each and every anchor on Salem's side of the war, who they are anchored to, and what the Semblances and abilities of each of their champions is."
Jaune choked. He honestly almost choked and died on thin air. That was… That was insane. He was offering everything-? All of it? They had their suspicions as to who was with who, but Ironwood would have killed for confirmation, and that was before the extra intel on their Semblances. They had theories about Null's at the moment but the specifics were up in the air and it was worrying Ozpin, especially if the guy could punch through Ruby's aura like he had. They were still arguing over what Grimm could and couldn't do, while Ashari remained a literal mystery other than that he was insanely skilled.
Was Headmaster so confident in their chances that he thought it didn't matter, or was this all just a lure to get him to come down and then capture him? Either was possible, but now with this on the table, he couldn't just ignore it.
"Can I bring someone along?"
"This is a private invitation. I'd rather you not bring General Ironwood and the entire military to crash my little house party."
"What about another iteration?"
"Thinking of asking Magnis for back up, are you? Not a bad idea and he would be welcome, but do you really want to risk that? If you're already thinking I might betray you, you're only making it more profitable for me to do so if you bring him."
"Yes or no." Jaune said. "Could I bring another iteration?"
"You can. We're planning it tomorrow night. Let me know if you're up for it and I'll give you an address. Not to my front door of course – someone will come collect you and bring you to me. Someone neutral and not a target for either side."
Jaune licked his lips nervously. "I'll be there."
/-/
Raven's tribe was not Qrow's favourite place in the world. It hadn't been when they were children and lived here. Back then, it hadn't been the Branwen tribe at all. Their former leader, Bosnan, the gods curse him, had been a ruthless and disgusting man that both he and his sister hated. It was part of why they'd been so quick to take Ozpin's offer to study at Beacon. They'd made an oath that day, and despite their differences they'd followed through on it. Once they finished Beacon, he and Raven had come back, challenged their former leader and killed him.
It had felt good even then, but while he considered it all over and done with, she'd kept ties to the tribe. Claimed it as her own. It should have been the first sign something was wrong, but he'd honestly written it off as Raven being Raven. As her wanting to make sure no one like Bosnan ever led again. Even after she took over, they were no less killers and thieves. Just slightly less vicious about it.
Only slightly. Raven took prisoners and sold them for ransom, whereas Bosnan used them for sport or pleasure. At best, Raven's methods were just a slightly lighter shade of horrible, and he wished his bitch of a sister would realise that.
Landing on the outskirts, he marched through the array of tents. Those that recognised him gave way, respect and dislike going hand in hand, while those that didn't backed away from his harsh glare and the threat of Harbinger. They recognised strength in the way he walked and they didn't dare test it. Qrow marched up to the raised wooden platform that Raven's tent was housed upon, pushed past the two guards and swept the tent flap open.
"I wondered when you would show," Raven said. She threw a bottle at him, that he caught, uncorked and took a swig from. "Sit down. Might as well get this shit over with."
"Might as well," he agreed. "Iteration. War. Do you have one?"
"I had one."
"Had?"
"The boy appeared in my tent while I was in the middle of taking a bath," Raven said with a roll of her eyes and a sigh. "Took one look at me, cocked an eyebrow and asked if I really wanted to cause problems with ARC Corp. by kidnapping him."
"What?"
"My thoughts exactly." Raven laughed. "There I was, in the buff and wondering where my sword was so I could cut the perverted little shit in half, and then the fucking Spirit of Knowledge herself comes flying in, also ignores the fact I'm barely covered under a thin layer of bubble bath, and starts going on about the Brother Gods, a war with Salem and some big battle to end it all. You can imagine how excited I was for that."
"Not very."
"Not very," she agreed, "and even less so when I'm in the bath! Turns out I wasn't the only one. My so-called champion holds out a hand and asks Jinn if she is offering him a wish to do a task. She says yes and he laughs. Then he says something about temporal, dimensional anomalies and how only an idiot would take a gift from one back to their own world. He asks what happens to those that die here, gets told they go back to their world without their memories, then says "that's convenient; I won't even have to ask Blake to do the paperwork for this one" steals my sword and runs himself through. Died on the rug right there complaining about how I should have had a gun to make it less painful. Even called me a bitch. Can you imagine?"
"That you're a bitch, yes."
"I was in the bath! I didn't get so much as a word in! Well, it all worked out for me anyway," she said with a belch. "I wouldn't have wanted to get myself involved in some war with Salem as it is."
"Not even when your daughter is fighting it? You're her mother."
"And you're her uncle. Stop wasting your time with me and go look after them both if you're so worried." Raven turned away and downed her bottle, slammed it down on the table and walked away. "The Gods knew I'd be a shit anchor. That's probably why they sent me a champion who would sooner off himself than work with me."
Qrow sighed and stood, spared one last look for his pitiful sister and turned back into a bird. She was right about one thing; he needed to get back to where the fighting was thickest and support Yang and Ruby. Ozpin wouldn't be happy to know they'd lost an iteration before they even had a chance to gain him, but there was nothing that could be done.
The thing Jaune forgets because he's feeling inferior is that many of these Jaunes would find his life just as interesting as he finds theirs. Not those who have lived them, but there are plenty who never got a chance to be a normal student, and who would find the idea kind of amazing.
Too busy comparing himself to the heights of Jaune Arcs at the end of their stories, however, he keeps falling into the pits of despair and thinking he's boring, dull and uninteresting.
And yes, that's a teaser for the upcoming story. Given that most of my others are deadly serious, it is going to be a comedy AU taking slices of inspiration from SCP, Lobotomy Corp and Library of Ruina. Not franchises where you'd think comedy would normally fit in, but I reckon I can make it work.
Next Chapter: 1st April
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
