Somewhat shorter chapter this time around, but that's cause this chapter is all action. Next chapter will probably be an omake so we can have a bit of a break from all the drama. Feel like we need it since, you know, this is still meant to be primarily a comedy fic.
Also, wow people went way more in-depth with the smoking question than I thought. Would it have helped if I clarified that it's not meant to be cool and a reaction to the PTSD he's no doubt going to have after this chapter? Team RWBY also wouldn't have approved of it.
Oh well, people made their thoughts clear so I'll avoid smoking. I'll just have him get drunk and maybe carry a flask like Qrow, cause weirdly enough no one seems to mind it when a charaacter is a drunk over them being a smoker. Either way it's not gonna be good for Jaune so expect some interactions from that.
On a side note, the kidnapping means we can't continue the Arc-Belladonna spite war or meet the parents again. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.
Jaune awoke to a splitting headache and a dry mouth, "Ngh..." He shook his head and held back the urge to vomit. Felt just like he'd gone on an all-night bender, except this time he wasn't spooning someone in bed. Actually, he wasn't on a bed at all. He was sat up on an old steel chair with both his arms and legs bound with thick chains. A quick attempt to move his limbs showed the chains refused to budge.
Reinforced. People with awakened Auras were hard to pin down if they were trained so you either had to use reinforced restraints or Aura dampening drugs. Or both. Right now he still felt his Aura, weak as it was, so at least they didn't have the latter.
His head pulsed again and he let out a weak groan. Apart from the rapidly swelling bruise on the right side of his head, he didn't have any injuries. He didn't count on that lasting too long, though. The White Fang didn't like humans too much.
Especially ones who killed some of their own.
The bubbling sense of guilt threatened to rise again before he shook it off. No, he was just defending himself. He did nothing wrong. Besides, it wasn't like he never thought it would happen someday. Huntsmen mostly fought Grimm, true, but they also protected people from other threats. Criminals, bandits, slavers...human scum that would put even some Grimm to shame. He just...had an early start, that was all.
Jaune shook his throbbing head. He needed to focus.
He looked around the room he was in. It was dark with just a small bit of light seeping in through a crack in the door in front of him. Apart from the chair he sat in, there was nothing; not even a table or a lightbulb.
"This isn't what we planned." A female voice said, words laced with barely veiled frustration. Jaune looked back to the door and saw three shadows through the small seep of light.
"Your plans and mine are different." A man's voice; the same one he heard before everything went dark.
"Taking him will only attract the Maidens." Maidens? They knew about team RWBY. His blood went cold and his struggles against the chains renewed. He had to leave, to warn them. He'd be damned if he was the reason they were lured to some kind of trap.
"Wasn't that your plan?" The male figure scoffed.
"Not so soon!" The woman yelled, just barely restraining herself from yelling, "We aren't ready to fight them! One Maiden is a struggle, but four? And Huntress trained on top of it? It's suicide! They can level this entire place if they so wish it. You're playing with fire."
"Cinder, calm down..." A third voice, another woman, said. Cinder...that was her name. He had to remember.
"They won't, not with their pet in our hands." The shadows moved, though he couldn't tell whose was who.
"You would take that risk, and for what? All just to spite your ex-girlfriend?"
The sounds of steel being drawn echoed along with the click of a level firearm. Sadly for him, that was all that happened, "You forget yourself, Fall. Our alliance is one of convenience, nothing more. If you have issues with my actions then you're free to turn around and leave. All I care about is Blake. Anything else - especially the others on her team - are secondary."
"You're going to regret this, Taurus."
"I heard you before. Now if you have nothing else to say, leave, I have to talk to Blake's new pet." Two pairs of footsteps left, leaving him with just his captor. Jaune flinched and looked away as the door slammed open and light flooded into the makeshift cell.
The man strode towards him and Jaune's heart beat faster with every step. He didn't have a chance to brace himself before a backhanded slap knocked his head back, his barely recovering Aura almost breaking again at the force of the hit, "Ngh..." Another hit, this time a punch, and his Aura sputtered out. He didn't have time to dwell on that before a hand grabbed the back of his head and harshly tugged up, forcing him to look at his captor.
The same mask as before, but with the blinding light he saw more of his features like the black horns nestled in-between the blood red hair and the fact that his left hand, the one grabbing onto his head, wasn't flesh. The cold feel of metal felt stark against his burning scalp and he bit back a wince as the grip almost tore his hair out. Did he even notice, Jaune wondered.
He could practically feel the sneer behind the Grimm mask, "Pathetic." He let Jaune's head fall back down, "I knew Blake had fallen ever since she left our ranks, but to think she'd keep someone like you as her pet. Ridiculous."
The way he talked about her was personal. Did he really do all this - kidnap him in broad daylight - just to get to her personally? He knew only one person like that. The one she rarely talked about, the one that still gave her nightmares.
"You're Adam...aren't you?" The man paused, surprised to hear his name from a stranger's mouth. Jaune kept going, "I'm right, huh? Of course it's you. Blake always thought you'd come after her some day." And they were all just as quick to assure her that he wouldn't get past them. Well, he'd probably get past him, but the rest of the team? Not a chance.
"Blake talks about me?" he asked, curiosity slipping through his attempt at nonchalance. He really was a a crazy-ex. In any other situation he would've laughed.
"Not as much as you think. She's scared of you. Hates you. After seeing how you treat your guests? I'm not surprised." Guy probably enjoyed that, now that he thought about it. Blake talked about Adam Taurus. How he was charming, how he lured people in by making them feel like he understood, how he led from the front and that inspired loyalty. A leader who was down there in the muck with them and took the time to understand. So many people revered him for that.
It was all a lie, of course. All he cared about was hurting the people who hurt him and he'd sacrifice anyone to do it.
"Ha..." Another backhand, this time from his organic hand. Flashes of white swam in Jaune's vision and he coughed, "She's right to be."
"Is this...really...all for her?" Jaune asked weakly. The woman - Cinder - knew about the Maidens, but this guy...he didn't seem to care. He had to know for sure, "Just because...Blake left...?"
Adam grabbed his jaw and forced him to look up again. Even through the mask, he felt the white-hot intensity of the Faunus' glare, "She did more than leave." He growled, "She betrayed - betrayed me - and turned her back against everything we stood for. Not only that, but she willingly places herself as nothing more than a slave to humans."
"She's trying to be a Huntress...to save everyone from the Grimm."
"And meanwhile her people suffer while she does nothing." He let him go and Jaune gasped, struggling to breath, "She knows firsthand all we've suffered and yet she not only does that, but she makes friends with a Schnee." He said the like a curse, hate dripping from each letter, "Not only that, but she worked with those humans to stop our plan. She truly is lost."
"She saved people, Human and Faunus! She-"
Adam kicked his chest with enough force to knock the chair to the ground then stepped on his face, pressing his left side to the cold concrete, "She's a traitor!" he shouted, "She takes the side of those who've hurt us for decades! And for what? So she can play hero? So she can pretend that she's any different than the rest of us who have to live under the boot of your kind? How does it feel, human?" He laughed, grinding his cheek harder against the floor.
"I never did...anything to you..."
"That's what everyone thinks." He stepped back and set the chair upright again. Jaune tasted blood in his mouth, "Always so quick to make excuses when your life is on the line. Pathetic."
"...What do you want?" Jaune asked, voice so soft it was barely heard even in the room's small confines."
"To send a message." Adam laughed again. He was scared, "Blake thinks she can run and there won't be any consequences? She's got another thing coming. Your body will be the first consequence."
"...You're going to kill me." Jaune shivered. Even through everything - all the fear and all he'd become numb to - he was still afraid. Adam was going to kill him and he'd do it with a smile.
"Eventually, but not yet. It won't be quick and clean, human. For all that Blake thought poorly of me, I never dragged it out. The humans I killed were ended with mercy. But now?" He chuckled, "If Blake wants a monster? I'll show her one."
That was the last thing Adam said before another punch impacted his jaw. Jaune screamed and Adam struck him again in the gut. Bile rose to his throat and a mix of blood and vomit dribbled past his lips and he barely held back tears. He didn't even know why. Pride? Or maybe some kind of small attempt to not give the bastard the satisfaction? It didn't make a difference in the end.
Without his Aura he felt the force of every blow. Bruises forming, skin tearing...Adam made sure to take it slow, to deliberate every hit to cause as much pain as possible. Eventually the barrier broke and he cried, begging for some kind of mercy or relief.
He didn't listen.
Jaune didn't know long the beating lasted, but eventually Adam stepped back and let out a satisfied breath. The chair had broken from all the beatings and he was on the ground at his side, lying on a pool of his own blood and spit. It was hard to see, hard to breath, and Jaune knew he was still holding back. Without Aura it would've been simple to break his neck with a single punch, but like he said, he wanted it slow.
"Haha..." Adam wiped his bloodstained knuckles on the walls and let out a satisfied breath, "I'll have to hand it to you. You might be pathetic, but you can at least take a punch."
"Fuck you..." The curse was weak and tinged with more than a hint of fear.
"Still talking back? That won't last long." He stepped out of the room and for a moment Jaune thought that it was over. Instead he came back minutes later with a burning hot branding iron. The words SDC were lit up in an ominous orange glow.
There wasn't any warning before Adam tugged his head up and forced the brand against his right cheek. Jaune screamed, the sounds echoing in the small confines of the room. The psychotic terrorist showed no signs that he'd even heard him and kept the brand pressed against the skin till the three letters were burned, the skin an ugly red, before forcing their eyes to meet once more.
"I was tempted to brand your eyes, but I need those intact for later. Consider yourself lucky." Two more people stepped into the room, "Take him to the next room and make sure he's bound," Adam said.
"We're not gonna kill him?" One of the figures asked. At his side was Crocea Mors' sword and shield and Jaune felt a burst of rage seeing someone else using his family's weapons.
"Not yet. I still have plans for him." Sadistic bastard, Jaune thought. He'd kill him if it was the last thing he did. Adam knelt down in front of him and grabbed his hair, "No one's coming to save you, human. Enjoy your last night of rest."
Jaune spot blood at his mask.
That earned him another slam to the ground before Adam stalked off. The two figured, both also masked, dragged him to another room and he was too weak to struggle. This time they didn't tie him to a chair. Instead they tied the chain binding his wrists to an overhead pipe and let him hang there, feet barely scraping the ground just to make sure the weight would keep dragging him down.
"We should kill him now." The second masked figure said.
"Adam said he still ahd plans."
"He killed our brothers and sisters. That deserves blood."
"And it will be paid, but not until Adam chooses. Don't you wish for the human to suffer?"
"What if he escapes? Leave him too long and his Aura will recover."
"With those chains? Unlikely. All the Aura will do is prolong his torture. Now come on, I'm hungry."
And just like that the two left the room and shut the door, leaving him in darkness again. Jaune looked down at the ground and cried weakly. One eye was swollen shut and the other was smeared with drying blood. He could barely see two feet in front of him and he was so weak. All that training, all those months of pushing himself forward, and he still got caught. He was pathetic.
Was this how it was going to end? Killed to send a message because of Blake's ex-boyfriend? How would Adam even do it, he wondered. Would he just dump his body at the street and wait for someone to find it? He could see how they'd react now. They'd all be confused, sad, and angry. One day he was there making jokes with them and the next he was a mangled corpse.
They weren't the only one. His family, Peter, Penny, maybe Mercury, even if he called himself a sociopath.
Most of all was Ruby. He saw an image of her finding his body, crying as she realized one of her best friends was gone. He didn't...he didn't want that, not for any of them and not for her.
He had to escape.
Jaune twsited his hands and tugged at the chains agains. They still refused to budge, but the pipe he was attached to creaked. Could he break it? He pulled again, harder this time, but the pipe refused to budge despite the noise. Not strong enough, at least not yet. His Aura would recover given enough time, but how much time would Adam give him? He could come back any second now.
He just had to chance it. He had no other choice.
Jaune didn't know how long he stood there, hanging like a piece of meat left to rot. Thoughts of the others - his team - kept him from thinking of Adam and what awaited him if he failed. His talks with Yang, Weiss' confessions, Blake dragging him into trouble, and all the times he hung out with Ruby. He'd find a way back to them. He had to.
Eventually he felt his Aura trickle back. Slow at first, but he felt some of his strength returning and some of the wounds slowly began to heal, "Come on..." He looked up at his bound hands, each laced to a different chain, and activated his Semblance. The light of Aura lit the room with a dull glow and he felt more his strength returning as he amplified himself as much as he could.
Jaune grit his teeth and pulled. The chains pulled against his raw wrists, but he refused to stop. With one last tug, the pipe overhead burst and fell to the ground, "Haha..." He sat up and loosened the chains, untangling the knots now that his hands were free. The bindings weren't impossible to pull apart even through the darkness.
One of the chains fell to the ground and he was about to go for the other when footsteps drew close. Jaune cursed and stood, pressing himself against the side of the door that'd be blocked when it opened.
"Hope you've had a nice sleep, human. Right now you-" He stopped when he finally noticed the empty space where Jaune was supposed to be. Jaune charged forward and swung the chain at the guy's head just as he turned around.
The reinforced metal crushed through the mask and the guy crumpled to the ground. He didn't take any chances. He smashed him again and again with the chain till he stopped twitching and lay still. Dead, he was sure of it. This time there was no guilt bubbling to the surface.
Jaune stepped back and let out a long, tired breath. This was the same guy from before, the one that had Crocea Mors. Still had it. Jaune picked up his sword and shield with a scowl and used it to cut where the knot was the thickest. A couple of careful swings later and he was able to pry the chain off without further damaging his wrist. Ruby was right; couldn't beat the classics.
Now he had to get out.
Jaune crouched down again, biting back a whimper at the pain. His wounds weren't totally gone and the pain remained, but it would have to do. The swelling in his right eye had gone down and he could see out of both eyes again, "Scroll, scroll..." He rummaged through the terrorist's pockets and cursed when he came up empty. Who went anywhere nowadays without a scroll? ...Besides people who forgot to charge them, that is.
Whatever, it wouldn't stop him.
He briefly considered taking the guy's clothes - both Peter and Qrow told him how it'd save their lives before - till he saw the crushed mask. Damn it, he shouldn't have aimed there. The uniform was useless without a mask.
Wincing at his lack of hindsight, he slowly stepped out of the room and looked around. The door led to a wide open area filled with boxes. A warehouse or storeroom of some kind. Made sense. Places like these had lots of rooms and loud noises meant you wouldn't even have to make your torture rooms soundproof. The sounds of heavy machinery and crates being moved meant no one would hear his screams, if they even cared.
Jaune shut the door behind him and kept his head low. The warehouse wasn't brightly lit and through the windows he saw the night sky. It hadn't even been a night, he thought numbly.
He went ahead and paid attention to the rare shadows he could see. A lot of White Fang, but not a lot of them paying attention. And why would they? They didn't think anyone would be here, "Ugh, this is gonna hurt..." He climbed on top of one of the cargo contained and winced when one of his broken ribs - just sprained now, actually - flared up. He bit his tongue to keep from crying out and made sure to keep out of sight.
He amplified his Aura again. He wasn't sure if it helped, but he did feel better. Maybe it was just a placebo. Regardless, he climbed up another container and got down into a crawl. No one would see him unless they looked up and he wanted to keep it that way.
Jaune inched forward slowly, ignoring the way his muscles protested. The crates looked familiar somehow.
He eyed one of the logos on a red one and scowled. SDC, which meant it was dust, 'They didn't use all of it on the Breach' He closed his eyes briefly. Sienna Khan's and Blake's words from before rang in his mind. The Breach failed and that meant Adam was going to do something even worse. Not too long ago he couldn't even consider it. What would be worse than letting Grimm pour into Vale?
Now he had no doubt he could and would do something, especially with all this Dust.
"Can't leave him with all this..." He could kill two nevemore with one bullet, at least. Jaune unsheathed Crocea Mors and slowly punctured it on the crate he was crawling on. It took a bit of time, but eventually the blade poked through and allowed the dust to be exposed to the open air, "Not enough..." He punctured even more of the crates. The ones whose holes were at the side spilled Dust to the ground and he was careful not to make any sudden movements, remembering Ruby making a crater with a sneeze.
Thankfully the White Fang weren't patrolling. Those that weren't playing cards or watching something on television were practically asleep on their feet.
Made things easier for him, at least. Once he got enough dust to make it combustible, he'd find some way to set them off and light the warehouse on fire. Whole place would be cooked and the White Fang wouldn't have the dust anymore.
He'd punctured his dozenth crate when an explosion rang from outside. Jaune ducked behind the closest crate and listen, "We're under attack!" One of the terrorists shouted as he ran inside. Behind him, the sounds of screams and more explosions came, "A team of Huntresses! We need to stop them now!"
Huntresses? Was it... He shook his head. He'd find out once he was out of here. Jaune waited till the White Fang charged out before slowly stepping out of his hiding place, "Almost there..." He limped to the sounds of battle and stopped only to pick up one of the spare pistols laying on a nearby table. It wasn't his, but a gun was a gun. He couldn't be too picky.
He was almost to the door when a voice came from behind, "Leaving so soon?" He couldn't even turn around before a hand grabbed his collar and tugged him back harshly. Jaune fell to the ground, ribs flaring with pain again, and scrambled back when he saw Adam looking down on him. The mask was different now, exposing the lower half of his face, but it was definitely him, "I don't know how you contacted them, but it doesn't a change a thing. You're still going to die here."
"It's over, Adam..." He stood up shakily and Adam let him. The bastard didn't even think of him as a threat, "You hear it, right? Your men are outside and they're losing. There's no way you're winning this now."
"Maybe, but I can still send that message to Blake."
Adam unsheathed his sword and Jaune did the same. The door leading outside was shut - the White Fang closing it behind them - so it was just the two of them now, 'You can do this...' Both his hands shook. He couldn't fight someone like Adam even when he was at full strength. Now, with his strength sapped and his Aura holding only cause of constant amplification? He'd be lucky if he made the guy break a sweat.
Adam noticed his uneven stance and laughed, "Scared?"
"Shut up."
Adam attacked first, charging towards him almost faster than he could see. Jaune stumbled back and barely managed to block the blow with his shield, "I don't know what Blake sees in you." His mouth curled into a cocky sneer and he sheathed his blade again, "Those other humans aren't any better, but at least they have power. What do you have?"
"I was strong enough to kill your men."
Adam's sneer was replaced with a scowl and he shot the sword out of its sheath. Even when Jaune blocked the blow, the force of the impact made him stumble back and he slammed into the wall. He jumped forward, head held low, and barely ducked the crimson blade slicing his neck.
Jaune stood back up and swung at Adam's back with a rising slash. The terrorist leader scoffed and blocked the attack without even turning around. Jaune kept slashing, desperately trying to find a way through his defenses even as Adam effortlessly blocked every single strike and pushed him back. He wasn't attacking, he was-
And then he remembered what his Semblance was.
"Pathetic. Let's end this."
Adam sheathed his sword then unleashed a wave of energy straight for him. Jaune raised both the sword and shield in a futile attempted to block the attack. He managed to stand his ground for a second, but eventually the wave of energy sliced through both his shield and the top half of Crocea Mors' blade.
Jaune fell on his back, his sword and shield shattered next to him and knowing he was lucky he hadn't joined them, "I knew you were weak, but this was even more pathetic than I thought." Adam stood before him, blade unsheathed with the tip pointed straight at his chest. The wounds of battle outside were growing weaker, "Blake's out there now and she's going to find what's left of you."
Damn it, he couldn't escape, not now. His eyes scrambled for anything he could use and he saw the crates across from them that he'd punctured. If he could bait him...it wouldn't be enough to destroy the warehouse entirely, and he might not survive even with his amplified Aura, but it was better than nothing.
Jaune didn't say anything. Instead he detached the shield and tossed it straight at Adam's head. He easily blocked it with his free hand, but it distracted him long enough for Jaune to stand and rush past him. Jaune unsheathed his pistol and fired all the bullets in the magazine. Adam blocked those as well, but he was counting on that. He had to time this just right.
Another wave of energy - a moonslice, if he remembed Blake's words right - came for him. Jaune hurled himself bodily to the left and the the attack kept traveling, slicing through multiple crates and even hitting some of the Dust in the air.
The reaction was instantaneous. The Dust - a mixture of multiple elements - combusted and Jaune was momentarily deafened by the explosion that followed. The detonation flung him through the air and he slammed against the wall hard enough to knock him out even as more and more explosions rang. The last thing he heard before everything went black was Adam's enraged scream.
He didn't know how long he was unconscious - it might've even been just a few seconds - but when he woke up again it was to the entire warehouse on fire. Jaune coughed and tried to stand. He couldn't. His Aura was gone and his legs refused to obey. He blinked, trying to regain some of his vision, and raised his right hand to cover his stinging eyes. Smoke and fire smothered everything around him and he could barely breath.
Through the fire, he saw him. Adam. Still standing somehow. His mask was gone, exposing the face underneath. A young man - not much older than him, really - with his left eye covered with a brand he couldn't make out. Most of his clothes had been damaged and frayed too. His prosthetic right arm reached into the fire and grabbed his fallen blade without any signs of hesitation or pain.
For a second he thought Adam would double back and kill him. Instead he walked deeper into the warehouse and out of sight. Jaune crawled forward, desperately trying to reach the exit, before even his arms refused to follow his orders. He lay there on the ground, just blankly watching the fire as it drew closer. Well, this idea was a bust. He couldn't even stop Adam. He really was pathetic.
The flames were just about to reach him when a cold wind rend through and waves of ice covered the warehouse, smothering the flames in their chill. The heat was replaced by a bone-chilling cold, though he didn't have time to dwell on that before the warehouse door was smashed down and a desperate voice cried out.
"JAUNE!"
Ruby sped to his side and embraced him, tears in her eyes as she tried and failed to retain control, "Jaune, you're alive! You're..." She blubbered, more tears escaping, "Oh thank the Gods. You're still here..."
"Adam did this..." Blake's eyes flared with Maiden power and her rage was palpable, "I'll kill him."
The others were saying something as well, shouting over one another and trying to get Ruby to let him go so they could transport him, but he barely paid them any attention. Instead all he could focus on was Ruby's tearstained silver eyes as she looked down at him with both worry and utter relief. Despite all the pain, Jaune felt happy and smiled. He was back with his team again.
Not gonna lie, I'm disappointed I couldn't have Jaune use Pocket Sand on Adam. Sadly the guy always wore a mask and/or a blindfold, so the ultimate technique wouldn't have worked on him. Oh well, at least Crocea Mors' shield was able to help save its wielder one last time.
Anyway, yeah, Jaune escaped. Sure team RWBY had to drag him out at the end, but he arguably could've escaped if they didn't stage an assault and leave Adam alone in the warehouse to focus on Jaune. Still think he did pretty good considering he was kidnapped, tortured, then had to fight one of the deadliest combatant's in the series with nothing but some Aura he amplified.
Of course this means team RWBY's gonna be overprotective over their emotional support Jaune, at least for a while; especially Ruby and Blake. Overprotective teammates are bad enough, but when they're all Maidens? Yeesh. He'd be lucky if he can go out for a walk without a chaperone.
Oh, and before anyone asks: Adam has a prosthetic arm cause Pyrrha lopped it off before the Breach. Yeah, she's hardcore.
Questions:
1. Do you guys think Weiss has a point the whole power dynamics and imbalance in the Lancaster ship? Neither Yang or Blake brought it up, and Blake has experience being from an abusive relationship with a power imbalance. Ruby also didn't think about the idea till Weiss broached the topic, and neither did Jaune despite his justified fear of the Maiden powers.
Just curious since a bunch of readers bring up how weak Jaune is compared to the team and wonder if you guys think that would affect his and Ruby's romance. Ruby's not like Weiss who came from privelege and had relationship imbalances drilled into her head so it might never have come up if Weiss never said anything.
2. So what do you guys think of Jaune's combat skills as of this chapter? He's not exactly a Huntsman just yet but he did survive this ordeal, albeit by having to use a suicide attack and just tanking with his amped Aura. He also managed to keep relatively calm despite being piss scared of Adam and being tortured beforehand.
Review Answers:
OldGlory - Ruby's gonna be protective for a bit, that's for sure.
Raj8 - Weiss being hypocritical depends on whether you think the Sun ship is serious or not. Or maybe she just considers the possibility and wants Ruby to be informed as well.
ReadYesyes - Jaune's gonna have to deal with more than guilt for killing people after what Adam put him through...
Chuck B. Winanaki - I'm sure Blanche who has fangs is totally on the up and up :) Also, sorry, I meant Blake and Jaune. Since they keep escalating their fake relationship I can see them getting married with children because both refuse to back down.
sos read - I won't have him go full politician, but Jaune definitely does a lot of talking and non-combat roles for team RWBY alongside Weiss. He won't back out of being a Huntsman, though. He's still a good booster and with training he can hold his own even in a Maiden team. So yeah, I'm partially agreeing with you. Not a full time politician, but still doing the role.
Pahlok - I read a few chapters of Red Sun but I stopped.
BrazeRancor - Well they definitely need to remake Crocea Mors after this chapter...
Argent Energy - I'm not sure if team RWBY would be happy with him buying an apartment on his own after this chapter :/ Also, he's still a student, so he can't exactly buy a place or afford rent.