So here's another chapter! Thankfully I have someone helping me type this rewrite...but sadly we're both terrible at grammar:( But at least he's helping me out.
And I took out the prequel chapter. Cause someone PM me, saying I should make it, it's own story. Which I had some time to think about it, and I will. But I want you guys to tell me if I should add two chapters from when Jaune started his tour. Or keep going from Patch?
Reviews
Guest:Yes, I've always planned for Ruby to hear this song since the beginning. It'll come up later in the story, while she has a chance to talk to Jaune alone.
I honestly can't wait to write the part when Ozpin is in Ansel. I have some ideas but maybe it'll cause more drama between Oro and Ozpin. Let's just say they both have history before Oz became Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon academy. And Sienna is also coming face to face with Oro, soon.
Just wait till Jade, Lizzie and Timmy get together;)
And I have plans for those letters near the end of this act. And Team RWBY will be joining them soon with Ozpin and...Glynda
Actually the Weiss thing will be answered in chapter 17. But there will be parts in the story where she'll treat Jade as a little sister she never had. And Pyrrha has a part in later chapters.
Yea the wrist thing sucks!
Songs
1. Another Way to Die
Song by Disturbed
2. Bottom of The Top
Song by Five Finger Death Punch
3. Hello
Song by Boyce Avenue
4. Wrong Side of Heaven
Song by Five Finger Death Punch
5. Sleepy Eyes
Song by Nick Lachey
--
Jaune stuffs the scroll in his pocket after blocking Ren and Nora's numbers. Can't have them calling him through Jade's scroll. Turning to his guitar, grabbing it and leaving his room. Making his way to the living room, where he spots team CFVY, Professor Port and Kim. With his family, but the soon to be wed are nowhere to be seen. Jade looks up "Hurry, I'm about to start the live video!" Jaune walks down the stairs. He's wearing a black long sleeves shirt with two buttons that are undone. Showing a little bit of his chest and his sleeves are rolled up. And he has a silver necklace with three ring bands. Two of them are silver and the last one is gold. He's rocking brown pants and black boots. And to add one last piece, he has one piercing on his left ear.
Coco looks him up and down, giving him a thumbs up. Velvet has a small blush and keeps staring at him. Which Oro and Jonathan notice, and Jasmine noticing the look she's sending to her son. But seeing her brown hair and bunny ears while remembering a little kid from that performance Violet did on live television. She starts to imagine Timmy being between Jaune and Velvet while holding their hands. Like a family would, she starts to imagine taking care of him. And having him calling her Memaw. "Mom!" She snaps out of her day dream and looks at Janice. "Sorry I was just thinking about something hehe" she tells her oldest daughter. Janice rolls her eyes "I have a good idea of what". Once Jaune makes it down the stairs, Kim is the first to be right in front of him. "Wow, you look amazing Johnny", "Thanks" she starts to squeeze his bicep. "Oh my god!, you're rock hard" Jaune blushes at the complement.
Velvet gets annoyed by Kim's actions towards Jaune. Coco notices her partner's mood so she leans to whisper something to her. "It seems you have some competition bun-bun" Velvet just ignores her. Saphron turns to her bisexual wife, who keeps staring at Jaune. She gets this mischievous smile "We can forget about Violet and just let Jaune be the donor~". Terra looks at her wife with a small blush "I already told you, I want to ask Violet first" she crosses her arms. Jonathan can't help but smile at his son. And the same could be said about Oro, who has this big smile. While Jade is trying to pull Kim away from her brother's arm. "Let go of my big brother!" Jade shouts to Kim who is holding onto Jaune. "Is that anyway to talk to your future sister-in-law!", "No your not!, big brother is mine. And if he wants a girlfriend then I know someone better!". Everyone gives their attention to Jade, who finally gets Kim to let Jaune go. Even Jaune is staring at Jade "Who are you talking about?". Jade starts to feel shy when she feels everyone looking at her, so she starts to look down to the floor. She pokes her index fingers together "I was thinking that you might want to be my teacher's boyfriend?" Jaune kneels down. "And who might she be?", "Elisabeth" she whispers to Jaune. But sadly Kim hears the name "You can't be serious, she's insane".
Jaune looks back at Her "Kim-", "She thinks angels are real. Saying one of them saved her-". Jade starts to get angry, which makes her tear up from rage. Jaune glances at Jade and then he stands up, looking down at Kim "That's enough". His becoming more harden and deeper, with power behind it. Causing Kim to stop ranting about how Elisabeth is crazy. Oro and Peter are impressed by his voice, so Oro leans closer to Port. "That's my grandson" he said with pride. Velvet has never heard his voice like this before. But for some reason she feels kinda hot. Coco just lowers her sunglasses to see Jaune's expression. "Now apologize to Jade and we can forget this ever happened" Jaune's eyes turn cold. Kim starts to feel ashamed by how Jaune is looking at her. She caves in "I'm sorry" she says but she keeps staring at Jaune's eyes. So Jaune takes one step closer to Kim and grabs her chin gently "Not to me". Kim's face turns completely red, he turns her to face Jade. Who's looking up to her, with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry Jade for saying that" Jade wipes away the tears.
She doesn't say anything else but look away from her. Jaune releases Kim and sighs, turning to Silver, who's standing next to Alfred. "Is there anything to eat?, I'm starving" Jaune rubs his stomach. "Yes, we made your favorite Master Jaune" Silver said while doing a small bow. Jaune walks up to him "Thanks Silver, but please call me Jaune. None of that master stuff". "As you wish" Silver and Alfred gave the family and guests a bow before going into the dining room to set up plates. Jaune looks at Velvet and her team "So your the bodyguards for Violet?" Velvet finds it hard to meet his eyes. But that didn't stop Coco from walking to him "Yes we are and now that your here". Once they are face to face, Coco extends a hand to him "I want to thank you for helping my partner and getting that trash expelled from Beacon". Jaune gives Coco a confused look "Sorry what?" He plays dumb. But after getting ready for the meeting with Aries and Kong. He got a text from Ozpin explaining what happened to Cardin and his ex team.
"Come on Arc, or should I say D'Arc?" she says. He embarrassingly coughs into his fist Yea sorry about that", "water under the bridge, so don't play dumb, I know it was you" Jaune still playing the dumb card. Jonathan looks at his son "What is she talking about Jaune?", "I have no idea honestly". "Oh yea, then why did you tase Cardin's balls?", "You did what?!" Jasmine shouts at her son. Who winces from the sudden shout "If that's all he did to him, then he got off easy in my opinion" Jamie tells her mother. Jaune chuckles at the memory of Cardin's pain/shocked face. "This isn't funny Jaune" Janice tells her little brother. "I guess you should have been there when it happened" he says with a big smile. "I wish I was there for that" Coco admits, while smiling. "Coco!, don't encourage him" Jane shouts at her, while giving Jaune a glare. Before Coco could reply Jaune just rolls his eyes. His aura turns red by a split second. The only ones to notice the change are Oro, Yatsu and Fox. "Just stop it, that asshole deserved it and more" his expression turning cold. "I could have put that motherfucker-", "JAUNE!" his sisters and mother shout. Jade magically appears with a jar that reads Jaune's sins. Getting confused looks from their guests, and Jaune to roll his eyes. Stuffing his hand in his pocket and taking out his wallet.
He puts one lien inside the jar "Two" Jade says with a pout. Making him to sigh in defeat, putting another lien. "What is that for?" Velvet asks Jane. "That's Jaune's sin jar. Every time he drinks, smokes and cusses. He has to put a lien in the jar" she explains. "So why is he putting two lien in the jar?" she asks. "We found him drinking in his room with our beloved grandfather" Jamie tells her. Jade gives him a small glare "And remember, no smoking and drinking too", "Fine, but he was black mailing Velvet" his voice went back to normal. But images came to him of Cardin. His temper rises again "So that fucker better not show his face or I'll fucking end hi-" while Johnny was ranting. Peter notices Oro going over and smacking Jaune over the head. Sending his face to hit and burying it in the cemented floor. Startling everyone who hasn't seen Oro and Jaune's sparring. "What did I say about CUSSING IN MY HOUSE!!!" his voice making Velvet and Fox shake from the killer intent they felt in his tone.
Jaune pulls his face out from the ground "Sorry Gramps, I kinda lost my temper. But I don't regret doing that to him" he tells him, while getting up and going to the kitchen. "Now then, give me five minutes before I have to perform " he left everyone there. Just staring at his disappearing figure. With his upper classmates shocked to see that. He eventually got to the dining room and saw a big plate of chicken nuggets. And some side dishes with french fries, salad and two burgers. And a glass of orange soda with a crazy straw. He takes a seat and starts to dig in. While he's stuffing his mouth, Joan and Jade join him. Jade takes a seat at his right and Joan to his left. They sneakily steal some of his fries and nuggets. "Are you serious right now?" Jaune asks them. "Yep" both of them said while taking another nugget from him.
"So...what happened in Vacuo?" his twin asks. Jaune stops eating and looks at her "Nothing happened" resuming his eating. They stayed quiet throughout the whole time. Before he has to get ready go up on stage. So after finishing his meal, they went to the theater that's outside in the back.
--
While that happened, Max and Kong are in Max's guest room. Many don't know this but Max and him go way back. Kong is staring at Max with a sad expression. They're sitting next to each other on the bed. Max just told Kong about his condition and asked him to keep it to himself. "Is there anything that could help. Maybe there's some treatments that could help or-", "There's none". Kong holds his breath, but eventually sighs "Damn...I'm sorry to hear that". "It's okay, I've come to accept it...but there's something I want you to do for me", "Anything man, you just name it" Kong instantly says. Truth be told, Kong respects Max for everything he did for him. Without him, Kong wouldn't have had career in the music industry. By helping him find talented Faunus who were ignored by bigger record companies.
"Can you keep an eye on Violet for me when I die" he asks him. Kong is speechless by this favor. Everyone wishes to have Violet as a client, everyone knows he wouldn't accept anyone but Max. "Sure" he answers him as best as he can. Max gives him a small smile "Thanks man, this means a lot to me. Your the only person I trust that will have his back" he stands up. Kong gets up too but pulls out his scroll "Alright then, but can I ask you for a favor too. I wanted to talk to you about your friend Jaune". he hands him the scroll with a video ready to play. Max is confused till he presses play and sees something that makes him worry. It's the same video of Jaune singing while being high. Looking at the way Jaune is moving and staring randomly to the empty areas and not the audience. "I thought maybe you could help me get him as a client. Before Josh gets a shot at him" he notices how Max looks worried. "When and where did this happen?" Max asks him while watching the remaining video.
"It happened last night" Max tightens his hold on the scroll. His worries becoming fear, fear of it happening again.
--
"WHERE IS HE?!" Max storms through the hospital hall. Looking panicky, while pumping into nurses or patients. But once his eyes land on the very person who called him. Jinx sitting at one of the waiting chairs. With Juliet beside her, trying to calm her down. And Drake talking to one of the doctors. He goes over to Drake "Where's Jaune?!". It didn't take long for him to be taken to him. Seeing Jaune in a comatose state, with tubes on his nose, mouth. Laying there, barely breathing. "What happened?" he angrily asks them. "We found him in his hotel room...in his bedroom" Drake says. Max looks right at him, to continue. "I...I wasn't the one who found him...Jinx was the one who did. She yelled for us to call the ambulance. After calling them, I went into the room and saw her holding him" Drake looks away. "He overdose with morphine" Max looks away.
"I want you and the rest to leave and never contact-", "You can forget that!" Drake shouts.
--
"Max" Amethyst calls for him. He excuses himself and asks Kong to keep this between each other. Kong understands and leaves to his hotel at the rising sun.
Team CFVY is sitting together near the stage. While Jaune's sisters are beside them with shirts that have his name in color gold. Kim is next to the twins and Peter is sitting next to Oro. The maids and butlers are there too. As Jasmine and Janice take a seat next to their husbands, Jade comes out on stage. With the same shirt like her sisters are wearing but her's is pink while her sisters are black. Alfred who is sitting next to the camera, that's on a tripod. He gets the signal to turn it on by Jade who's close to the mic and adjusts it for her height. "Testing testing, I'm Jaune's favorite sister" she said while getting her sisters to yell "HEY!". She has this smug smile "But it's true, right big brother?". "No comment!" Jaune shouts behind the curtains. He's inspecting his guitar and plugging in Steve's device.
--
Menagerie
Ghira finally finished his paperwork for the day. So he went to spent some time with his wife. As he's entering his living room, he spots a guest. Sienna talking to Kali when they hear him come in. "Sienna, what do I owe the pleasure?" he asks while sitting next to his wife. "I came here today because of your invitation to Violet" she thought of it. "We don't need a human on this island" Sienna tells him. Even if Violet said all of that in his last interview. He's still human and can't be allowed here. "It's not your choice to make" he stands his ground. She wanted to do this civil, but hearing his voice being all authoritative, really pisses her off. "Why let one of those humans on the island. We have enough Faunus performers coming to do their part". "That's not the point, we want equality. And to do that we need to extend a welcoming hand. Not go off stealing, blowing things up and making us look like terrorists!" Sienna was about to respond back.
But Kali's scroll gets a notification, which played a part of the song, soul sister by Violet. That seems to kill the tension between her husband and friend. She pulls out her scroll and sees a notification from Jade's Dustube channel. She notices a live video happening so she hits play. Looking at them while connecting to her hologram projector "If your going to fight then leave. I want to watch this". Ghira gives Sienna one last glare and takes a seat, she does the same.
Ilia is in her room when she got the notification as well. She's on a bunk bed with Trifa on the top bunk. She hears Trifa getting a notification too. They presses play, while in the next room, Yuma is bunking with another fellow White Fang. He also got a notification and started to watch it.
--
Camp Sight
Vernal is pissed, she didn't hear or see Violet appear on that stupid video. So she's taking her frustration on Shay. As Shay falls face first to the ground by a furious Vernal. Raven is watching them by her tent and she's not impressed. Shay starts to get up and rubs his jaw. "What the fuck is your problem?!", "You men are the problem!". She sprints towards him, ready to beat him even harder. But her scroll rings when she's only two steps away. She stops and hesitates to check her scroll. But she gives in and sees Jade starting a live video again. "What is it?" Raven asks her, she walks beside her. Seeing the notification "Is this what you've been watching?". Vernal just keeps staring at the screen. Raven is becoming annoyed by how Vernal is just staring at the screen. She looks like a person who's afraid to open their test results. So Raven snatches her scroll and presses play.
And to add more panic to Vernal, she makes the video display in a hologram. Getting some of the bandits's attention.
--
At A Safe House
Roman and Neo are seen relaxing on their couch. When Neo gets a notification on her scroll. Looking at it, pointing to it and then to the hologram projector. Roman just rolls his eyes "Sure, there's nothing good on anyways"
Beacon
Nora finishes explaining how she found out about Jaune's secret to Ren. Who's sitting next to her on his bed. They gave up once they found out about their numbers being blocked. So Nora told him about how Jaune found her in the mall and how he helped her with everything. It was a lot to take in for Ren so he just remained silent. Nora places her hand on top of his that's on his leg. She gives it a little squeeze to shake him out of his silence. "We need to talk to him Ren. So I was thinking maybe we can talk to Ozpin and go visit him" she seems hopeful. "What about Pyrrha?" he asks the million lien question. After hearing about how he feels from when he came back from his interview. And the last time they spoke to each other outside the cafeteria. "We ask her if she wants to come too", "It's not that simple" he tells her. She's about to say something, but then it clicks. Everything he said in the diner. As all of this was happening, her scroll gets a notification. She looks at it and sees a live video coming from Jade's channel.
Emerald is in her dorm with Cinder waiting for Mercury to come back. Cinder's going through her scroll to kill time while Emerald is listening to one of Violet's songs through some headphones. Cinder turns to her and sees her popping her head to the beat. But she stops when she also gets a notification from Jade. She takes off her earphones and gets up from her bed. "I just got a notification from that D'Arc child" she tells Cinder. Since that night when Violet sang that song at the club before being rescued by her and Vernal. Cinder became interested in him, not his music. Which kinda bothered her, but she can't argue about it anyway. She kinda shared her crush with a complete stranger and hasn't told Cinder or anyone else. "Then start it, we have nothing to do but kill time" after saying that. Emerald starts the video.
Ozpin is in a meeting with James and Glynda. She had to come to a meeting that started after seeing Jaune. They're discussing about Amber and finding someone to be the next Fall maiden. When Glynda gets a notification from Jade. She's disappointed by the lack of Violet from her earlier video. And seeing one of her students going down a dark path. But she's happy to see he's reunited with his family "What is it?" James asks her while Ozpin knows to well what it is. "Is that Mr.D'Arc's sister, Jade?" Glynda is blushing while trying to avoid Ozpin's eyes. "Why don't you play it for us" Ozpin wants something to distract him for a bit. James wanted to continue the conversation but not anymore. After hearing D'Arc, he would rather see now. Glynda starts the video with a small smile.
Ruby is on her bed thinking about Jaune and his appearance. After the call with Jaune, she left to think. Later the Super Duper Violet Fan Club called it a day. For some reason she can't stop and think of how she never noticed her Jaune like that. Weiss is just thinking of how wrong she was about Jaune. Seeing and hearing him, really puts Jaune in a whole different prospective. Seeing how his family seems normal, loving and caring. She feels a little bit jealous of him having that. Yang keeps replaying his song by memory. And hearing his voice sound so manly. While she can't stop hearing his voice, Blake and Winter are thinking of his body. Seeing his musclier, tone and prefect body. And how tight those jeans hugged his buns of steel.
As they're thinking all of this, Ruby's scroll alerts her of Jade's channel.
--
As Jade's talking to her remaining subscribers. Jaune is back stage, getting ready. He's checking his guitar and ear piece that's connected to the usb. After that, he looks at himself over at the mirror. Which is hanging on the wall. He makes sure his hair is well maintained. While he's doing this, a image of himself as Johnny starts to flicker behind him. Focusing his attention on the image. "What the fuck" he says, but his eyes go wide when Johnny starts to move towards him. Then he feels a hand land on his shoulder. He grabs it by reflex "Jaune!" he turns to see Max right next to him. Max sees his panicked eyes "Are you okay?". Jaune releases him and takes a deep breath "Yea sorry" he rubs his eyes with his left hand. "Just thought I saw something", "You don't have to do this. If your not feeling okay". "I'm fine, just a little tired from last night" Max gets more concerned. He wants to say something else but Jade shouts for her brother to go on stage.
Which means, it's show time. "Well, I best go out there and rock their socks off" Jaune playfully says. But before he could walk out on stage, Max grabs his arm. Jaune turns to him "After this, we need to talk, alright" Max seems nervous. Jaune wants to ask him what's going on but Jade keeps shouting his name. "Just go, we'll talk after" Max releases him. Jaune hesitates but he knows after the performance Max will tell him what's going on. So he marches out there and sees Jade giving him a small glare. "Where were you!, I called you twice" she says with a pout, which gets some viewers to squeal by how cute she looks. "Sorry, I was talking to Max about something hehe" he scratches his cheek with his finger. To say many of the females and some males couldn't help but see this hunk of a young man.
Standing there looking embarrassed with that tight, tucked in shirt. And letting them see a little bit of his chest. And his rolled up sleeves, showing his tone forearms. But then he looks at the crowd and spots the camera. He turns his attention to it and waves at it "Hi, and thanks for giving my sister another chance". He walks up to the mic and adjusts it to his height. Jade moves away but stays on stage with her brother. "So I'm going to sing you guys some songs instead of Violet. He wanted to be here but something came up...so he asked me to perform for you guys instead" he gets in position and pulls his guitar out. "But before I start playing. I want to give a shout out to Steve Urkel. Who invented a device that can make music by your brain waves or something like that"
Oro is intrigued by this and so was Ozpin and James. "And the first song I'll be singing to you is about pollution. I came up with this song when I saw a documentary with my twin sister, Joan...there's four hours of my life I won't get back", "Hey!" he just sticks his tongue out to her and she does the same. But once done, his trade mark smile comes. After hearing that, Raven wants to turn off the video, but stops when she hears him play. "The indulgence of our lives. Has cast a shadow on our world, Our devotion to our appetites. Betrayed us all, An apocalyptic plight. More destruction will unfold, Mother Remnant will show her darker side. And take her toll" his voice sounds so different. Coco and Velvet are stunned to hear him sound so professional. Raven starts to like it, and the rest of her bandits too. They were skeptical at first when he said this song was about pollution. "It's just another way to die" he taps his foot to the beat. Ghira does same, but with his finger on the table. Kali notices this and smiles "There can be no other reason why. You know we should have seen it coming. Consequences we cannot deny, Will be revealed in time. Glaciers melt as we pollute the sky. A sign of devastation coming. We don't need another way to die, Will we repent in time?".
Team RWBY and Winter have heard Jaune sing before but this still surprises them. "The time bomb is ticking, And no one is listening. Our future is fading, Is there any hope we'll survive?Still, we ravage the world that we love. And the millions cry out to be saved, Our endless maniacal appetite. Left us with another way to die" Ozpin is surprised to hear Jaune sound so rugged and deferent from his Violet persona. Glynda's amazed by Jaune's new style and his voice. James leans back on his chair and listens. Not many know this about James, he's always been a fan of rock. "It's just another way to die" Jaune looks around the crowd and meets Velvet's gaze. "Ooh can we repent in time? Greed and hunger led to our demise. A path I can't believe we followed, Black agendas rooted in a lie. Ooh can we repent in time? Species fall before our very eyes. A world they cannot survive in, Left them with another way to die. Are we dead inside?" Ren and Nora can't understand how Jaune can change his voice like that. But one thing is for sure, Nora is enjoying his song. "The time bomb is ticking, And no one is listening. Our future is fading, Is there any hope we'll survive?"
"Still, we ravage the world that we love. And the millions cry out to be saved, Our endless maniacal appetite. Left us with another way to die. It's just another way to die" he focuses his attention on his guitar. But never breaking eye contact with Velvet. Vernal is hypnotized by the way Jaune's playing. "Still, we ravage the world that we love. And the millions cry out to be saved. Our endless maniacal appetite. Left us with another way to die" he starts to move his head back and forward to the beat. Sienna doesn't hate the song but she also doesn't like it. "It's just another way to die, Ooh can we repent in time?" Kim keeps on squealing, she's listening to Johnny again. "It's just another way to die, Ooh can we repent in time? It's just another way to die. Can we repent in time?" Once finished he raises his fist into the air. Everyone present starts to clap, but Kim can't hold it back so she springs up and claps like a maniac.
But then the twins get an idea, Jamie then gets up on her chair. When she's standing on the chair she yells at her brother. "You call that metal!" Then Jane follows her sister's lead. "What's wrong Jaune, lost all that tense, aggressive, raging tone!" Joan understands what they're trying to do. So she joins them "What's the matter Jaune?, did Beacon soften you?!". All three sisters have a shit eating grin, that ticks off Jaune. But what drove him over the edge is what came next. "JAUNE!" He looks up to his grandfather "YOUR A PUSSY!", "Dad?!" Jonathan shouts in disbelief, while looking at him. Who also wore a shit eating grin. Everyone watching the video are left shocked to hear that. Nora has wide eyes and Ren has his mouth opened.
"What did he just say?" Blake asks Yang, who's also taken back by the insult. But she eventually bursts out laughing. Ruby starts to look around for something but eventually she finds it. The ultimate weapon that is known to hurt anyone if they speak any forbidden words...the swear Jar of doom!. Weiss keeps staring at the screen "They consider that soft!" she's never heard metal music in her life. So she wouldn't know there was even heavier metal out there. Winter just remains quiet after hearing her sister's question. She may or may not hear some in her spare time. Nora keeps looking at Jaune, who starts to grip his guitar. They can hear his grandfather and father arguing. "You want metal, then I'll give you metal old man!" he takes a deep breath and starts to conjure up his rage. His aura flickering to red and black.
Eventually he starts to play again but this time he keeps staring at the camera with this rage, sinister eyes. "Is this metal enough for you, Is it heavy enough. Destructive enough, Am I dead enough for you, Am I tough enough, Corrupt enough, Am I bloody enough, Am I broken enough!" Yang's eyes go wide from Jaune's voice getting more aggressive. Ren is startled by another voice change. "Can I be, Can I be, One of the cool kids, The dumb shits" Weiss and Winter are taken back by his vulgar language. Sienna is confused by his new attitude shift from a nervous looking man to an angry one. "All I ever wanted to be, Is one of the brightest mother fuckin' falling stars. Can I be, Can I be, One of your heroes. The zeros" Ruby can't believe what she's watching. "Can somebody tell me, Am I the top of the bottom. Or the bottom of the top" he then starts to move his head harder then before. Which is making his hair to get messier with all the moving "Yeah".
Kim and Jamie start to do the same as Jaune. "Is this empty enough for you, Is it ugly enough, Disruptive enough. Am I angry enough for you. Your time is up, Don't give a fuck, Am I bloody enough. Am I broken enough" Fox is nodding to the drum's beat and Yatsu just remains unfazed. "Can I be, can I be, One of the good guys. The bad guys" Roman doesn't like these kind of songs but. He turns to Neo who's raising her hand up in the air with the rock hand sign. While shaking her head back and forward to Jaune's song. "All I ever wanted to be is one of the brightest mother fuckin' falling stars. Can I be, can I be. One of your heroes, The zeros. Can somebody tell me, Am I the top of the bottom. Or the bottom of the top" his eyes change from rage to compassion. His voice goes back to normal.
He plays more gracefully "Long live the fallen idols, All moths unto the flame. You're chasing your own shadows, Are you not entertained?" His expression changes back instantly. That very same action made Vernal impressed. "Long live the fallen idols. All moths unto the flame. You're chasing your own shadows. Are you not entertained?" James taps his foot. He's really enjoying the performance and wasn't the only one. Ghira feels pumped by the song. Kali smiles from seeing her husband getting pumped. "Can I be, can I be, One of the cool kids. The dumb shits. All I ever wanted to be. Is one of the brightest mother fuckin' falling stars" Ozpin eventually starts to tap his finger to the beat on his desk. "Can I be, Can I be one of your heroes. The zeros. Can somebody tell me. Am I the top of the bottom"
"Can I be, Can I be one of the good guys. The bad guys. All I ever wanted to be is one of the brightest mother fuckin' falling stars" Neo eventually starts to pump both hands in the air while headbutting her head. Roman just leans back and hopes that her head doesn't hurt after all that headbutting. "Can I be, Can I be one of your heroes. The zeros. Can somebody tell me, Am I the top of the bottom. Or the bottom of the top" Jonathan feels kinda uncomfortable seeing his son like this. But he got worse when he notices his wife, starting to take off her sandal "Top" Oro's unfazed by Jaune's singing, but he also notices Jasmine standing up. "Bottom of the top" Port's trying to cover his ears. If there's one thing he dislikes more then grimm is metal music. "Yeah" Janice and Chris are doing the same as Port. "Yeah bottom of the top" just as he finished did a sandal fly towards his head. When the sandal hit his forehead. His aura flickers white again, which causes him to rub his forehead.
"What the heck was that for?!" he shouts at the crowd. But once his eyes land on his mother standing there with her hand extended towards him. And her bangs covering her eyes and the deadly aura leaking from her again. He unconsciously shakes from fear. "M-mom?" He takes a step back "Don't you dare take another step young man!". "Don't do it Jaune-Jaune!" Nora yells at the screen. She can't see his mom but she can hear her. So Jaune panics till he sees his mother lifts up her other sandal. Thinking of a way out, but there's only one thing that can save him. So he swallows his pride and tries to regain his composure. "As a apology to those who didn't like that song. I'll sing you a love song I was planning to sing to...someone who I wanted to...say...I love you"
This makes Jasmine to slowly take her seat, but she keeps the sandal in hand, just in case. "That's it, let's turn it off before he starts singing his heart out" Raven hated those romantic music. Even after hearing Tai's playlist none stop when she lived with him. So she turns it off before hearing anyone disagreeing with her. Roman's about to roll his eyes when he heard the kinda song he's going to play. But Neo perks up after hearing his announcement. But before he can start playing, Roman's scroll starts ringing. He picks up and starts to nod a couple of times before hanging up. "We have to go" he tells her, causing her to protist. But he just turns off the screen "We can watch it later, we got a job to do remember. The animals spotted the armor truck getting near the ambush we set up" she crosses her arms and pouts. He sighs "I'll buy you ice cream on the way" she narrows her eyes and gives him a weak nod.
Velvet leans forward and seems more focus then before. Coco seeing her do this, makes her chuckle. Kim starts to smile and is thinking that maybe Jaune finally came around. Weiss shuffles on her seat, which Winter noticed. "Are you alright Weiss?" all she got is a small nod. "How much do you bet that this song is for ice queen" Yang whispers to her partner. Which Blake nods "Who else would he be singing to". Ruby hears this, but remains quiet. Nora gets closer to Ren and tries to hold his hand. Which is laying on the bed between them. Ren notices this and moves his hand to hold her's too. Jaune closes his eyes and thinks of...Pyrrha. Her beautiful hair and her emerald eyes that just shine in the night. He starts to play and focuses on the love he's feeling.
"I've been alone with you inside my mind" his voice is more gentler then his rough one, from the last one. "And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times. I sometimes see you pass outside my door" that gets Weiss's heart to skip a beat. "Is this for me?" she thought to herself. "Hello, is it me you're looking for? I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in your smile, you're all I've ever wanted and my arms are open wide" Winter can't help but tear up by how beautiful he's singing. "Cause you know just what to say and you know just what to do. And I want to tell you so much, I love you" Ruby puts on her hoodie, but her eyes never left the screen. She tries to hide her blush from her teammates and Winter. But they're to much into Jaune's singing to notice."I long to see the sunlight in your hair. And tell you time and time again how much I care" Yang unconsciously starts to pull her hair forward and brushes it with her hands. "Sometimes I feel my heart will overflow. Hello, I've just got to let you know. Cause I wonder where you are and I wonder what you do. Are you somewhere feeling lonely? Or is someone loving you?"
"Tell me how to win your heart, for I haven't got a clue. But let me start by saying I love you" Cinder feels her cheeks heat up while Emerald feels like she's betraying Violet by hearing Jaune's romantic song. Glynda isn't doing any better "He's a student, which means off limits Glynda" she tells herself. "Hello" that just killed her will. Kali turns to her husband and gives him the old fuck me eyes. "Is it me you're looking for? cause I wonder where you are and I wonder what you do. Are you somewhere feeling lonely? Or is someone loving you? tell me how to win your heart, for I haven't got a clue. But let me start by saying, I love you" he finally opens his eyes "Hello" then he winks at the camera. That action making many viewers faint. He looks down to see Velvet being one of his many victims. Coco has a nose bleed but she's still conscious. After all, she's the one fanning Velvet and telling her to wake up.
He turns to Kim, who seems normal till Jamie pats her back. And she falls to the ground face first, which makes Jade to giggle. "Sorry bro, she fainted the second you opened your eyes!" Jamie tells him. He just rolls his eyes till he sees his parents giving each other them fuck me eyes and Janice doing the same to her husband. But his grandpa is the only one clapping and giving him a proud nod. He turns to Port, which he's giving him two thumbs ups. He starts to think about the next song he would end with. But when he looks at his grandfather. An idea of which song to end with comes to him. But before he can start with the song. He needs some kinda feeling to sing it. So he starts to remember a moment that showed Jaune how much he still has to learn.
--
Flash Back
Jaune is thrown to the ground by a punch from his grandfather. "You got to understand, strength doesn't mean anything if you can't land a hit boy. Now get up and use that small brain of yours" Jaune gets up and starts to loosen up his muscles. They both got on a fighting stance. It's been two months since Jaune started his hand to hand combat with his grandfather. He rushes him as fast as he can but to Oro. It meant nothing, he dodges his grandson's hits. Till he sees an opening and does a sweep kick. Knocking Jaune on his ass. He can see Jaune trying to catch his breath. "We'll take a small break" he tells him as he goes and sits under the tree. They're in the backyard training. Jaune slowly gets up and walks towards the tree and takes a seat next to his grandfather. Sliver comes to them with cold water bottles.
They start to drink when Oro looks at his grandson. "Why are you so determined to become a huntsman?" he asks while looking at the sunset. Jaune never looks at his grandfather, but he answers him. "I want to be someone who can make the D'Arc name proud, like you and Jon-" Oro smacks Jaune's head. "Show some respect for your father!" Jaune rubs the spot Oro smacked. "Why should I, he doesn't want to teach me how to fight or doesn't want me to uphold the family legacy" Jaune leans back on the tree. "It's like I'm not even an D'Arc...just a freak born into the perfect warrior family", "We're not perfect" Oro tells him. Jaune finally looks at him "How are you not perfect?. You've been fighting since you were twelve. You fought two wars and your still standing" Jaune stands up and turns to look at him. "And if that wasn't enough. Your filthy rich and have a big family!" Jaune is out of breath from that outburst. But he sees how his grandfather feels uncomfortable by his praise.
"Your a hero amongst heroes Gramps", "I'm no hero" Oro gets up. "I've done things that lead to so many deaths Jaune. I've buried millions of people who've had families waiting for them" Oro becomes sad from the memories. "I've out lived many young men who wanted to make a name for themselves", "But you've made everything for the better. You've fight for the Faunus to have land and freedom to roam on every kingdom". Jaune gets closer to him "You fought for the last king of Vale during the Great War!". Oro's hands turns into fists "And you build this town and city from nothing", "That's enough Jaune". "But your-", "I said that's enough!" Jaune stays silent while looking to his grandfather's emotional eyes. "I'm no hero Jaune, I've killed. Destroyed so many lives just for a fucking idiot" Jaune takes a step back. "Yes I did some good for the world. But in doing so, I nearly lost my humanity. And it took me to see that many saw me like the devil. Bringing nothing but death and destruction just for someone who didn't deserve that power. Every night I would stay up and remember the faces of the people I killed. Just for that pathetic king who wanted nothing more then power!".
They stay quiet for a bit till Oro sheds some tears. "Nobody wanted to work with me. I stood alone against a small army to defend a small village. But nobody wanted to sacrifice their life's for it. They didn't see a reason to risk their lives for farmers or Faunus. I fought them head on til I slain the last person, with their blood dripping from my lips. Hands covered in red" he briefly looks at his hands. Seeing claws stretching "And I nearly died when I succumbed to my injuries" he reaches for his shirt and rips it off. Jaune sees his battle scars "If it wasn't for the Faunus, I would have fallen that night". Jaune keeps looking at one particular scar that is over his heart. Oro notices his eyes landing to that one. "This one nearly killed me, but I lived" Jaune touched his own chest. "I survived from being killed by someone powerful...someone I trusted" he whispers the last part.
"So don't call me no hero. I'm was just a weapon for that pathetic man" he gets closer to his grandson and places his hand on his shoulder. And gives it a little squeeze "But I know you can be one kickass Huntsman like your father was. And you have the makings of a true hero Jaune. That's why I know your my grandson. You've been given this strength, will power by her". Jaune seems confused "By who?" Oro just chuckles "Your guardian angel". "What?" Jaune seems even more confused which leads Oro to laugh.
--
Jaune gets closer to the mic "Thank you for watching and I hope you'll enjoy this last song". He then grabs his guitar and adjusts it and got ready "This last song is dedicated to my grandfather. And is called Wrong side of heaven" he starts to play. Music plays through Steve's device. "I spoke to God today and she said that she's ashamed. What have I become, What have I done. I spoke to the devil today and he swears he's not to blame. And I understood 'cause I feel the same" Oro closes his eyes and can feel this wave of emotions. Jonathan glances at his father. "With arms wide open, I stand alone. I'm no hero and I'm not made of stone. Am I right or wrong, I can hardly tell. Cause I'm on the wrong side of heaven and the righteous side of hell" Ozpin couldn't stop himself but remember Oro from when he was known as the White Fang. Images of a young man running head first to enemies. "The wrong side of heaven and the righteous side, The righteous side of hell"
Three figures stand before a bleeding Oro. Whose around sixteen, with long blonde hair. A image of Jaune, but more muscular. Wearing armor on his shoulders and knees with brown pants and boots to match. "I heard from God today and she sounded just like me. What have I done and who have I become. I saw the devil today and he looks a just like me. I looked away, I turned away" "YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST WALK AWAY FROM ME ARTHUR!" Oro remembers the day he decided to stop fighting for the King. Having his back stabbed by someone dear to him. Smelling the flames across the city of Vacuo. Tasting the blood of his once comrades in his mouth. "YOU DARE FIGHT VALE BROTHER?!" Images of a warrior in silver armor with white angelic wings and holding Crocea Mors. He unconsciously starts to grip his cane harder while a tear escapes from his left eye. "With arms wide open, I stand alone. I'm no hero and I'm not made of stone. Am I right or wrong. I can hardly tell, Cause I'm on the wrong side of heaven and the righteous side of hell. The wrong side of heaven and the righteous side, The righteous side of hell"
Jaune grabs the mic his aura turning red. "I'm not defending, Downward descending. Falling further and further away. Getting closer every day" he puts it back and got back on his guitar. Joan can't stop and admire her twin brother. How his songs can just give you so much raw emotions. Jade is so infested into her brother's song. Even if she doesn't understand the meaning towards it. "I'm getting closer every day. To the end, to the end, the end, the end, I'm getting closer every day" Fox is enjoying his song while Yatsu is also enjoying it for the meaning behind the lyrics. Jonathan can't help but feel this feeling in his chest that he hasn't felt since the last battle in the Faunus rights revolution. "With arms wide open, I stand alone. I'm no hero and I'm not made of stone. Am I right or wrong, I can hardly tell. Cause I'm on the wrong side of heaven and the righteous side of hell. The wrong side of heaven and the righteous side, the righteous side of hell. The wrong side of heaven and the righteous side, Righteous side of hell" he starts to dim his eyes and lean closer to the mic. "The righteous side of" opening them and looking at his grandfather. Who opens his and looks straight into Jaune's. He gives him a small nod of approval. He stops playing his guitar "The righteous side of hell".
Oro stands up and applauds with so much pride and emotion that makes him cry a little. Jonathan does the same as his father. Jasmine looks at her husband and follows his lead. Everyone starts to do the same except Velvet and Kim who're still unconscious from the previous song. Jaune bows with a smile but when he looks up. He sees Johnny standing near the exit door. But when blinks, he disappeared. His smile start: to crumble slowly till he feels Jade crushing into him with a big smile. He looks down and she looks up to him. He can't help but pick her up and raise his guitar up. To show how beautiful it looks when the light hits it. The sliver skulls shining with the strings. Jade raises both hands in the air "My brother rules!". "And my sister rocks!" He shouts after her.
Ilia keeps feeling this joy from seeing his performance. But something about the way he sounds makes her think she met him before. After that last song Sienna turns off the screen and can't help but admit the last song was good. "Thank you all who watched my video and to the first hundred people who tuned in. I've sent you guys these shirts for watching" she waves goodbye to the viewers "Till next time!". Sliver then turns off the camera. After that was done, everyone goes up on stage to congratulate Jaune with his incredible performance. "I didn't know you could sing like that hot stuff" Coco tells him. Jaune just shrugs "You never asked" he winks at her. "Hey Jaune" he turns to see Saphron pushing her wife forward "You got a new fan over here". Terra looks nervous, she can't met his eyes. He felt déjà vu seeing her like this "Your not going to offer me money for a fun time right?". He teasingly says with a mischievous smile and knowing look.
Jade and everyone except Saphron, who knew about that time her wife sneaked into Violet's room and tried to bribe him with money for sex. Have their eyes wide open from shock. Jade raises her finger towards Terra "You were the person who did that?!". Coco and the rest of her teammates didn't understand what was going on. Terra can feel all eyes on her, she turns more red from being exposed like that. So she does the only logical thing...she runs away with her wife following her. But Saphron just walks away instead of running. Everyone just keeps staring at them. Jaune just laughs and turns to the two girls who are still unconscious. "Sssooo we should wake them up" he told everyone. "Leave that to us" Jane tells him. He agrees and puts Jade down which made he frown. The only one to notice is Joan, who saw her trying to hide it. "Well then, I'm going to put away my guitar and go to sleep" he says as he starts to stretch his arms. He didn't wait for anyone to say anything else and tries to leave. But not before getting a look from Max which meant "We need to talk". So he gives him a discreet nod and just keeps walking away.
--
It's been five minutes since the video ended and Jaune takes off his shirt, earring, rings and his necklace. He hides his guitar and makes sure that the dresser is placed back the way it was. And that's when he hears knocking coming from his door. So he goes over to open it and sees his twin. "What's up?" he says as he leans on the door frame. Joan looks at his chest and then his abs "You adjusted real quick from always wearing a full long sleeve shirt to hide your scars to not having any and being shirtless". Jaune shrugs "Yea I know, so what brings you up here?" Joan pushes Jaune to the side. She walks in and looks around "Damn I was to late", "What are you looking for?". "Nothing" she lies, she turns to him "We need to talk about Jade".
Jaune is confused "Talk about what?, she looks fine" he tells her while closing his door. She walks up to his dresser and picks up one of his rings. "Come on Jaune, I know your dense but you should have noticed how she's been acting around you" she places it down and grabs the earring. "What do you mean?" He walks beside her. "You haven't noticed how she's been acting!" she's getting frustrated. "Just tell me already!, I got things to do before going to sleep!" he's losing his patients. She wants to scream at him, but she knows that would just make things worse. So she cools down and looks at his eyes "She's been attached to you since you got back. And after her little argument with Kim. She called you her's and wants you to be with Elisabeth", "What does that have to d-". "She wants you to stay!" Jaune takes a step back by the sudden shout. "She wants you to hook up with Elisabeth cause we all know she won't move away. Cause she thinks your still in that forest looking after her from afar". He moves away from her and goes to his closet "I don't know what your talking about". He grabs a blue shirt "How stupid do you think we are?. We know it was you who saved her"
Jaune puts on the shirt "And I've spoken to her and she told me. The angel she met that night was a kid just like her. And that he wore this blue hoodie that covered his face. And the only thing she could see from him was two pure white wings. And these blue eyes that shined through darkness". "That could have been anyone or a-" Joan went up to him. "It was you Jaune and I know it. She told me the last time she spoke to him. Was the same day you were kidnapped!" she lost her breath from shouting at him. Jaune glares at her "Get. to. the. god. damn. point. Joan" she backs away from his glare. But she wasn't going to let him off the hook. "She's been lonely since her big brother left" she marches towards the door. Opening it, waits for a bit before leaving. "And so have we" she then walks out and closes the door. Leaving Jaune with his blood boiling. He turns to see himself through a mirror that's hanging on the wall.
He just keeps looking at his reflection till he starts to see it shift again. But this time Johnny has a freshly scar on his right arm with blood trailing down his ripped jacket. He closes his eyes and shakes his head. So he walks out to go find Jade.
--
Oro retires to his office with Peter who has team CFVY with him. As he takes his seat on his business chair and the rest stay standing. He reaches under his desk and opens a drawer and pulls out a folder. He throws it on the desk and gets serious. "That's your target" Peter picks it up and opens it to reveal a picture of a man with black hair and a red eye. The most notable thing is his right eye being completely black. White pale skin and a large scar on his right cheek. Coco looks at the picture and gets confused. "I thought we were bodyguards, not a hit squad" Peter just keeps looking at the image. He then gives it to Velvet, the picture and file that's under the photo. "Kane Diablo?" Peter says while looking for more information. As Velvet passes the photo to Yatsu, Oro holds his hands under the desk and looks down. "I want you to take him out if you see him" Velvet is the one to take a step closer to the desk. "With all do respect sir, we're studying to be huntsmen. Not killers for hire" Oro just chuckles.
He leans back but never raises his hands to show what he was holding. "To be honest Miss. Scarlatina, I don't care what you think your trying to be" this makes Coco angry by the way he responded to her friend. "Cause if I learned anything in my life" he finally reveals what he was holding. A big white feather "Things never go the way you want it to". He keeps looking at it with a sad expression. He places it down and finally looks at them "Cause after I tell you what that monster did". He chokes on his own words "You'll be begging me to keep you here". He waits for a disapproving answer or them just leaving. But none did, which makes Oro to get some strength to tell them. After a while Oro starts to tear up by just remembering that fateful day. Port tried to move towards him and comfort him. But Oro raises his hand up to stop him.
"It happened some time ago" his voice shaky. "We were tracking down a group of people who belong to a cult. They believed Faunus were not meant to exist" Coco's blood starts to boil. "They also believe in a deity who is the opposite of the god of light" Yatsu becomes interested by this new information. "When we found them in a abandon bomb shelter that was build back in the Great War...we found many bodies belonging to missing people". He balls up his hands into fists "Most of them were children". This made Velvet's heart sink "They were Faunus...none survived". Fox can hear Coco's thoughts and places his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. His fists tighten by the rage that he is feeling "I slaughtered them to quickly...but one of them got away".
He remembers seeing Jonathan holding a weaken Jaune. Covered in dry and fresh blood but the most notable is the lack of wings. Hearing his own son crying for his to wake up. And seeing around the cell and noticing the hay on the ground. Stained by blood and body fluids by Jaune. But he noticed something move in the corner of his eye. He turned to see a shadowy figure disappearing. "Oro?" This snaps him out of his memory. "That man who escaped is Kane and he's coming back", "For what?" Oro remains quiet. Port understands his silence "Is that feather from one of the children?". Oro just nods and that's all it took for Coco to look at her teammates and get a nod of approval from Yatsu and Fox. But Velvet remains frozen from hearing about the children. "Velvet?" she turns to see Coco grabbing her hand. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to" Velvet remains quiet. "You don't have to do this Miss. Scarlatina if you don't want to" Port tells her. She turns and sees Oro looking at the feather and how he just keeps looking at it. She turns back to her Professor and teammates "I'll do it".
--
Jaune is seen walking towards Jade's room but before he can knock on the door. The rest of his youngest sisters came running towards him. Jade is running away from the twins "Somebody save me!". But once her eyes land on Jaune standing in front of her door. She smiles "Big brother!" Jaune just grabs her and pulls her up. Which makes the twins to stop in front of him. "What's going on?" Jamie points at Jade "She ate all the Pumpkin Pete's cereal!". "And she ate the last of the chocolate chips cookies!" Jane shouts at him. He turns to Jade "Is this true?" she looks scared. "I didn't mean to. I was hungry and there was a little bit of them. So I thought of helping grandpa by eating them. And Sliver could see that we ran out and go and gets some more". He just laughs at the respond "Jade!" he hears his mother shouting her name. "We have to go!" once she gets to where all four of them are. She sees Jaune holding Jade and the twins standing in front of them.
Jade moves around, trying to escape Jaune's grip. "Young lady, we have to go now. You have school tomorrow and music class after school" Jasmine tells her while walking up to her. Jade stops trying to escape and uses her super weapon...puppy eyes. "But I don't want to go" she hugs Jaune "I want to stay over with my big brother". "You can't stay, your brother has work tomorrow", "But I want to stay" Jaune can feel Jade's grip tightening. Jasmine reaches for Jade but Jaune backs away. Which earns him a raised eyebrow from his mother. "How about I take her to school tomorrow and then to her music class after?", "Jaune you can't-". "I can and I promise to get her there in time. That's an D'Arc's promise" he got serious. Jasmine takes a moment before giving up and accepting. "Fine but she needs to go to sleep right now", "Understood" Jaune makes his way to Jade's room and opens it. He never noticed but Jasmine smiles. Seeing Jaune taking care of Jade like this again.
He carries Jade in, who keeps saying she's not tired. "But I'm not sleepy!", "It's late and you have school tomorrow young lady" Jaune then places her on a queen size bed. That's colorful and filled with pillows and stuffed animals. But Jade just crosses her arms and pouts while narrowing her eyes at Jaune. "Then I demand a lullaby" Jaune just rolls his eyes. "Aren't you a little to old for lullabies?" Jade gasps and gets angry. She doesn't say another word, all she does is lay down and furiously grabs her blanket and covers herself. And turns away from her brother. The action kinda made him regret saying that. He reaches for her "Leave!" She shouts at him. Jaune just recoils by the sudden demand. He thought of what Joan told him "She's been lonely since her big brother left". So he takes a seat at the edge of the bed "I said that I want you to leave!". Then knocking is heard "Hey Jade, it's me Chris, I was wondering if Jaune is there with you. I wanted to ask him if he could sing something to help put Cerise to sleep?". "Come in" Jaune tells Chris, who opens the door to reveal Cerise wearing a pink onesie with a cute mouse cartoon.
And Chris also wearing a white onesie with a black cat. "So everyone did get a onesie for last Christmas" Jaune says out loud for Jade to hear. "Yes and they are super comfortable" Chris tells Jaune, while walking towards him. Cerise keeps on looking at Jaune like a stranger still. Chris notices Jaune's upset expression and knows why he's like this. "You know your sister doesn't hold it against you" Jaune sighs and gives a weak nod. "Yea I know but it's not right. I'm her uncle and I haven't even been there for her first or second birthday" he keeps looking at Cerise's suspicious staring. "Do you want to hold her?" he asks Jaune who looks at Cerise with a nervous smile. "No I'm fine, but if you want me to sing her a lullaby. We can go to your room-", "No it's fine we can do it here" Jaune nods but he turns to Jade. "Is it fine if I sing here for Cerise?", "I don't care" she answers him with a hint of jealousy.
Jaune just rolls his eyes and got up to go to Jade's desk and grabs a music box. He walks back and sits where he was and Chris sat at Jade's chair. Jaune then opens the box and a peaceful lullaby can be heard. Jade slowly moves to see if Jaune was looking at Chris and Cerise but he was staring at her with his signature smile. "Sleepy eyes say goodnight. Time to kiss the sun goodbye, Sleepy eyes I'll hold you tight. Rest until the morning" his voice is soft, which makes Cerise to look at her uncle. "Favorite books have all been read I checked for monsters under the bed. Teddy's hear and Snowflake too, Off we go to dreamland" he grabs two of the stuffed animals that are at the end of the bed. And gives Teddy to Jade. And got up to give Snowflake to Cerise who accepts it. She hugs it tightly. "No one knows what tomorrow brings. But I'll be here through everything. Sleepy eyes say goodnight, Sweet dreams little one"
He gives Cerise a kiss on the forehead and heartwarming smile. "Cotton candy carousels, Pennies in the wishing well. Shining stars are never far, You can see them dancing. Building castles in the sand, Catch a firefly if you can. Skipping stones and ice cream cones, Morning birds are singing" he turns to Jade and sat next to her and starts to move the covers so she isn't in tangled. "No one knows what tomorrow brings, But I'll be here through everything. Sleepy eyes say goodnight, Sweet dreams little one" Jade's eyes start to dim slowly. "No one knows what tomorrow brings, But I'll be here through everything" Cerise fell asleep in her father's arms, but keeps Snowflake in her small arms. "Sleepy eyes say goodnight, Sweet dreams little one" once Jaune notices her completely close her eyes. Leans in and gives her a kiss on the forehead. He stands up and turns to see Cerise already asleep. Jaune then nods to the door which Chris understands and follows him. Once at the door, Chris goes first and Jaune then walks out and turns to turn off the lights and hears the music stop. "Sweet dreams little one" he softly closes the door with Chris giving him a gentle nod. Which Jaune returns with a warm smile. After that they went their separate ways.
--
After Jaune placed Jade to sleep. He went to the balcony where there was a small table between two chairs facing the ocean view. He has a bottle of whiskey with him and two glasses. He goes and places the bottle and glasses on the table and takes a seat. He pours himself a glass and waits for Max to show up. But it wasn't long till Max joined him and also filled his glass. They were silent, listening to the waves of the ocean. But Max broke it by asking one question that Jaune hasn't answered yet. "What happened last night?" Jaune drinks a bit. After he finishes he keeps looking at the ocean "I never told you why I was in Tom's bar?", "No" Max looks at him. Jaune just chuckles "For you to understand I have to tell you something" Jaune finishes his drink. "When I left the music business and joined Beacon. I went for two reasons, one was to honor my family's name". "And let me guess, your second reason is Weiss Schnee" Max said with a small smile. Jaune nods "Yea, but it didn't work out. She wanted Violet the famous, rich and most of all smooth persona" Jaune reaches for the bottle and fills up his drink.
"So after so many painful rejections. I took the hint and gave up on her and focused on my training" he takes a sip of his whiskey. "But then I fell hard for my partner", "Did she reject you too" Jaune lets out this empty hollow laugh. "No, I never had the guts to confess to her. But after my teammate Ren told me she felt the same. I got the courage to confess but I was to late...she hooked up with someone else". Jaune looks at his drink "So I went back to my old routes and started to drown my pain". Max feels terrible hearing this. They stay quiet for some time before Max speaks "And can I ask you another question?", "You just did". Jaune tries to lighten up the mood but Max wasn't having any of that. "Why did you say Cardin when I told you about the mugging?" Jaune closes his eyes. "Nothing passes you by, does it?", "Not when it comes to the people I care about".
Jaune stays quiet for a bit just to explain what happened that night. "I've been seeing things as of late" Max remembers what happened behind stage. "When I got jumped by Danny I saw Cardin Winchester. My personal bully from Beacon" Max gives him a confused look. "You have a bully?, you. The very same guy whose had training by your grandfather...yea I don't believe you. I've seen you in a bar fight. And that's when you didn't have aura. Heck I've seen you throw tables that are made of black ironwood across the room with one arm". Jaune chuckles at the memories of him fighting in a bar at Atlas. Where he and Max went to celebrate his successful concert on Patch. "Yea I remember that night. It was the night that I lost my virginity to that bartender" he remembers her white hair. But most of all those sheep ears. "Whatever happened to her?" Max asks him. Jaune didn't know honestly, after the quickie they had in a bathroom stall. He never got her number or name "I have no idea but it was fun". "So what happened again with the mugging" Max asked again.
Jaune felt a little bit better after remembering his first time. "Let's just say I heard and saw Cardin instead of Danny. So I beat the shit out of him and got away. But I forgot my scroll while I was walking away from the scene. And that's when I got to this underground hip hop and started to drink. I got drank enough to perform on stage and that's all that happened" he tries to cover the fact he was high. Max waits for a bit till he pulls out his scroll and places it on the table. It showed Jaune preforming last night with his face zoomed in. Jaune keeps staring at it "I know you enough to know that you weren't drunk here Jaune. I've seen you drunk before and perform while drunk too. So why don't you tell me the truth before I tell Amethyst. And she will get your parents involved" Jaune looks at Max, who has this serious look in his eyes. So Jaune leans back on his chair "I hate that you know me so well sometimes. But your right, I wasn't fully drunk that night...I was high on these pills that a stranger I met at Junior's club. He saw me down in the dumps and gave me-", "You just took pills from a stranger".
Jaune just chuckles and shrugs "I wasn't in the right mind set at the moment", "This isn't a joke Jaune. I thought you learned this lesson back at Vacuo. Do you not remember what happened when I had to bail you out of jail. And how many celebrities I've seen destroy their lives with drugs". Jaune starts to drink again "This isn't a game Jaune. You almost died that night beca-" Max stops ranting when Jaune shatters the glass with a bit of whiskey still left. Max just keeps staring at the glass falling on Jaune's lap. Blood dripping from his clenching fist and onto the shattered glass. Jaune then opens his hand to show Max the cuts are already being healed. Small bits of glass being pushed out from the wounds. And then his aura starts to glow this pure white color that leaves Max speechless. Once the healing is done and the scars disappear. Jaune wipes away the blood and whiskey from his hand on his shirt. "Cool right?, with my Faunus healing and aura. I heal so much faster and prevent scars to remain...wish I had my aura back then. But now that I got your attention, let me tell you something. I know what I did was dangerous and there's no excuse" he dusts the broken glass onto the floor.
"But I'm not like those celebrities Max" he looks up to the moon. "I've been through so much, I've been bullied by my relatives. Tortured, amputated by a rusty butcher knife at the at a young age *sniff* and the saddest thing is...I look human now" tears sliding down his cheeks. "In a strange way, I wanted those wings removed" he shakily grips his hands together. "But even then... I'm not happy. I've nearly lost my family to my self loathing, rage and...a stupid mistake that caused me to take a lifes". Max places his glass back on the table and gets up to stand in front of Jaune. He kneels down while trying not to cut himself with the glass. And places both hands on his shoulders. "That was a accident Jaune, it wasn't your fault. I may not know what happened then but I know for a fact. Your not a killer and I don't care what people say". Jaune looks at Max's eyes. "But it is my fault and now I can't even show my face in town because of it" he then starts to remember Leo's face.
"And if that wasn't the worst part. I left everyone behind just to follow my dream to become a huntsman. I'm a terrible person who doesn't deser-" Max shakes him. "What did I say about you insulting yourself. Your an amazing person who would do anything to help the people around you" Max notices Jaune slowly stopping his hands from shaking. "Your the very same person who I had the pleasure to met" Jaune wipes the tears away. "And the same person who gave me so much to be thankful for. So get your head out of your ass and enjoy the time you have with your love ones" he waits for Jaune to argue but all he does is nod. "Alright then" Max then looks at his watch "You should go get some shut eye. Cause tomorrow we'll be filming all day to make it on time for the deadline", "Alright" Jaune gets up and walks to enter the mansion but stops. Max staring at his back waiting for Jaune to leave. "Thanks man, I really needed this" Jaune said before leaving. Max then takes his seat and grabs his drink and leans back on the chair.
He just kept his glass filled with his drink and watching the ocean view. He slowly drinks his whiskey and keeps remembering everything he heard. "Could you use some company?" Jonathan walks up to where his son was sitting. And takes a seat, Max finishes his drink and fills it up. Jonathan brought his own glass and he serves himself a drink. They just sat there in silence til Max broke it. "Did you hear?" Jonathan starts to drink. The burning sensation helps him a little bit. "Yes, I was going to my father's office when I saw Jaune carrying a bottle of whiskey with two glasses. So I knew the other one would be for you so I went to get my own. But when I got back. I heard glass shattering and then I heard the rest" he answers with a sad tone. Max can't help but tear up "I'm sorry" Jonathan finally looks at his direction. "For what?, you didn't do anything wrong" Max can't meet his eyes. "For not being there for him. Not checking up on him when he left". "You couldn't have known. And besides you've had your own life Max" Jonathan then fills up his drink. "I should have been there for him, not you. I'm his father...and I wasn't there for him" Jonathan finishes filling his glass and chugs it.
After he's done he gets another refill "I should have been there when he was being bullied by my brother's family". He chugs again and gets some more "I should have been there when he was kidnapped". He repeats his actions again "I should have been there when the whole town turned on him!" Instead of filling his glass. He threw the glass to the floor and grabs the bottle. He drinks the remaining whiskey, and then wipes the whiskey that didn't manage to go into his mouth. Max just watches his mental breakdown. Jonathan stands up and throws the empty bottle to the backyard. After that he leans on the railing with his head down "I should have been there for my only son". He wipes away the tears and keeps looking at the ground. "And now my son is broken and I can't do a damn thing for him" Max never heard him like this.
Jonathan covers his eyes, remembering what he promised his mother before she passed away. Promising to be a father to his son. Always keep him safe and never be ashamed of his gifts. Max places his glass down on the table and gets up. He goes to stand next to Jonathan, who's breathing heavily. He leans on the railing too "You can't blame yourself for what happened". Jonathan takes his hand away from his eyes and faces him. He would have said something but Max stops him. "All we can do now is be there for him. And help him through this together" Max looks at his wedding band and starts to play with it. "And I'll be there for him till my last breath" he closes his eyes. Jonathan eventually has a small smile "I'm glad Jaune has you in his life. And that my daughter has her whole life to spend with a great man like you". Max didn't dare look into his eyes "Yea". Jonathan pats his shoulder "I think we should go and rest. We have a big day tomorrow after all" Max just nods and follows his father in law.
Jaune walks inside his room and starts to take off his clothes and puts on his spare onesie. He hops on his bed and starts to feel all the emotion he was fighting back there at the balcony. Till he fell asleep from exhaustion.
--
Flash Back
He keeps staring at her face. "I'm hideous aren't I?" he didn't know why but he felt this connection towards her. "No, your gorgeous" he moves his hand to touch her cheek. And starts to caress her, she's so soft. Seeing her blush "Is this the reason why you haven't confessed your feelings to Roy?". That blush disappears as fast as it came, she slaps his hand away from her face. Which leads to her to get up and walk towards the bedroom. "Wow, you missed up, pet" that voice sends chills down his spine. He slowly turns to see his kidnapper there. In his hand is the very same butcher knife he used on his wings. "But don't worry, you still got me" his smile starts to stretch. Jaune gets back up and starts to panic. But then he hears May coming back. He turns to her but sees her eye land straight to her beanie that's on the floor. So Jaune stands in her way to stop her. "Where you going?", "It's non of your business" she sounds angry. "Now doesn't that sound familiar" Jaune hears a second voice. He doesn't need to look behind him to see who it was.
"Those were the same words we exchanged when you left me hanging" That voice belongs to someone he abandon. "And now I'm rotting away in a fucking cell. Because you wouldn't help me back then when I needed you!". Jaune got worse "Please" but she just moves around him and grabs her beanie. She makes her way to the door. "How does it feel seeing someone leaving you in your time of need Johnny?" A figure walks to his left side. Jaune looks and sees Leo there. Glaring at him with so much disgust. "At least your still alive" a third voice comes from his right. He turns to see Jay standing there. With his goons beside him, they have torn clothes with blood. But the most notable thing was the revolver in Jay's hand. "Boys, boys, we have all night" Jaune feels his kidnapper right behind him. He feels his hands on his shoulders. Noticing the rusty blade right in front of his face. He can smell the blood on it "To have some fun with my little pet here" Jaune feels like young self again. He cries "Please don't go, don't leave me here with them". He sees her stop and turn to him "I don't want to be here with them", "Who?". Jaune's legs feels weak so he backs up on to the couch "I can't be left alone again". He starts to see the room shift into his personal hell. His old cell, the five figures get in front of him. He can barely see May behind them. He looks at their faces. Four of them have rage but the other one has a sadistic smile. He then focuses on her "please" but she briefly turns her attention to the door. They get closer to him, so he cries even harder "please don't leave me" his voice cracks. "I don't want them to hurt me" he crawls into a ball. "This brings so many enjoyable memories" he peeks to see him getting closer. "Now let's have some fun before you die", "I like the sound of that" Jay says while pointing the gun at him. "I don't want to die here!" He shouts. He sees May run through them and stands right in front of him "Ssshhh, your going to wake the neighbors" he felt a touch that leads him to jump a little.
"Jaune calm down please" he looks into her eye. He can see her expression soften "Come with me" she says in a soft voice. At first he hesitates, but he seeing them glare at him. So he gives in and follows her to the bedroom, once they're next to his bed. She reaches for his robe and wants to take it off. But he didn't want her to see his scars. "Jaune please, take off the robe", "Nononono I don't want you to see me like this". "What's the matter pet, all she wants is to see my glorious art" he hears his voice right next to his right ear. He can feel his breath too "okay, okay" she gives up. Once he lays down, he sees her turn to the door to the living room. "Seems like she really doesn't want to be here for you" Leo says venomously. But he grabs her wrist just in time. When she looks down at him, he meets her eye. "Please stay" seeing the hesitation in her. Eventually she gives in and lays down next to him. He wraps his arm around her for comfort.
--
"Jaune?" he hears a small voice speak his name. Which wakes him up from his nightmare. He tries to look into the darkness and spots Jade standing next to his bed. With Teddy in her arms, she looks scared. "Can I sleep with you tonight?, I had a nightmare" her voice sounds hopeful. Jaune smiles and pats next to him "Sure" she climbs on his bed and goes under the covers. And lays next to him, once she gets comfortable. Jaune wraps his arm over her sister and holds her. "Jaune?", "Yes?" He looks down to see the top of her head. "Were you having a nightmare too?" Jaune remains quite. "Because I heard you whimpering in your sleep", "Let's just go to sleep. I have a lot of work tomorrow" he avoids the question. He starts to close his eyes when she hugs him. "Are you dreaming of that day?" Jaune is confused "What day?". He feels her tense "The day...Jay died" he's surprised to hear that. But mostly from Jade who shouldn't know about that.
Everyone from the family tried to keep that part of his life a secret from her. His wings, his kidnapping and most of all...the day he killed three people. She feels how uncomfortable he starts to feel. "How do you know about that?", "Everyone at school knows about it. And sometimes people ask me if your in prison or-" he hears her choke. She squeezes him tightly, afraid he might disappear if she lets go. He can feel her small arms trembling. "Shh it's alright, I'm here" he tells her in a soft tone. "I don't want to lose you *sniff*", "And you won't, I'll be there for you. No matter where you are, I'll be there" she lasts a good amount of time before she becomes tired and falls asleep. But her grip on him never loosen and he doesn't dare move, so he falls asleep too.
--
White Fang Outpost
"Status report" Adam says through a screen showing three White Fangs in uniform. "We have successfully infiltrated the D'Arc's castle as servants" a feminine voice said. "And I've seen the guest list sir" the one on the right said. "The Schnee family have been invited to the wedding" Adam is confused. "What wedding?", "The one with Amethyst Luna D'Arc and Max Jones, sir". "Okay, but what of our third target?", "Violet hasn't been seen yet. But he should be here tomorrow morning sir" Adam is pleased by this. "Very well then, keep me posted" he then hangs up the call. "We should have told him about the Belladonna family also coming Emma" as the one on the left said to the one in the middle. "No, Sienna told us to keep quiet of them and her joining the wedding" she said as she takes off her mask and her hoodie. To reveal grey hair and blue eyes "Now we should go to sleep. We don't want to be late for our first day at work" she said as she walks away. Revealing a wolf's tail wagging.
The Grimm Lands
Tyrian is seen in the kitchen making cookies with a twisted smile on his face. "Can't wait for Violet to taste my cookies again" he says in a cheerful voice. Just before he could put them in the oven he pulls out a bag. "Can't forget the best part" he starts to dig in the bag, while he is doing this. Arthur Watts is in the library reading Luna's newest book. He may have hacked into the company that published her books. And gotten a copy or two before they hit the shelfs. He's enjoying the story so much that he didn't realize Salem walking behind him. "What do you have there Watts?" she says emotionless. He's startled by her voice. "Just a book from one of my favorite authors my queen" Salem snatches the book away from him. And sees the title of the book "Rewrite The Stars, by Luna". She's intrigued by the title "Do you have another copy?". "Yes I do", "Very well then, I'll be in my chambers reading this" she leaves.
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