Jaune just stood in the same position, his back towards the elevator door of Ozpin's office. He closed his eyes as the onslaught of emotions washed over him. His heart ached over what he just did, but it was what was best for them. He was pulled from his thoughts by a familiar gruff voice, "Was that really necessary, Kid?"
Jaune opened his eyes and sent a glare at Qrow, who was still leaning next to one of the windows. "Yeah, it was. Considering this was some ploy by you two." He said with a very noticeable edge.
"They had the right to know, Yang was right about that." He defended them.
"That doesn't matter!" he shouted. "When I went to fight Cinder, I had Oz promise not to get them involved in all of this, unless they wanted to. I gave up my life to keep them safe. I'm doing everything now to make sure they live a life they deserve." He motioned to the room, "We all know that once you are told the truth, everything changes, and you can never go back to the way things were before. They have such bright futures ahead of them and I don't want them to give up on their dreams to fight in this war."
They were quiet for a while, "I understand, Jaune. I don't want Yang and Ruby involved in this either." He looked back at Qrow. "But this isn't helping you. I mean going off on this suicide mission- "
Jaune cut him off, "You said anything about a suicide mission! I didn't come back when we agreed because shit had gotten serious and something new had come up. I wanted all the information before I gave it to Oz. But you two just jumped to the conclusion that I just wanted to get myself killed? For Oum sake, if I really wanted to end my life, I would've already!"
He stopped when he felt someone smaller hug him tightly. He looked down to see Neo giving him the tightest hug possible with her head buried into his chest. He took a deep breath and calmed himself before he hugged her back. "Don't worry, Neo. I'm not going to leave you. I swear." She just nodded into his chest but didn't let go of him.
They were all quiet for a while but Qrow had to say one last thing. "You were at this low point before…"
Jaune just looked at him, "Drop it." His voice held finality but no longer anger. The Huntsman just looked away with that and Neo slowly pulled away from Jaune. She wiped the few tears from the corner of her eyes. Jaune gently patted her head to apologize further.
"Mr. Arc." He looked up from Neo to turn to Goodwitch. "How much do you two know?"
Jaune thought for a second, "All of it probably. Salem, the Maidens, the Relics, magic, Oz's curse." He turned back to Neo, "That's it, right?" Neo gave him a look that she was thinking before she nodded. "Yeah, that would be it, Miss Goodwitch."
She nodded and continued, "And you trust her?"
Neo looked away and he just put his hand on her shoulder, "With my life. And she's saved it a few times already. Qrow had the same suspicion as you but she has done nothing to sabotage us." He told her with full conviction.
Goodwitch looked at him for a bit before she looked down at the clearly panicked girl, who had pushed herself up against his side. Goodwitch then sighed, "Very well. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and trust your judgement."
Jaune smiled at her and Neo looked up, for the first time since she revealed herself, to look the Huntress in her eyes. She gave her a small smile and bowed her head slightly. Ozpin then cleared his throat, "Now since that is settled, what did you find out, Jaune?"
Jaune sighed and started to reach for his scroll. He placed it on his desk, "This is definitely gonna make things tougher for us."
As soon as he said that, a hologram appeared over Ozpin's desk. A miniature version of a Drake. The other four people in the room observed it as Jaune started to speak, "The Grimm out there are acting more savage and unruly, well more than Grimm usually are. But what was really disturbing is that they are turning cannibalistic."
"The Grimm are eating each other?" Goodwitch asked, both disturbed and shocked by this.
He nodded, "Normally, I'd say this was a good thing. Grimm attacking Grimm would help us out. But, these cannibalistic Grimm become more powerful the more they feed. I saw a young Beowolf take down an Alpha after it devoured its pack."
"So, these Grimm can be as strong as the older ones just by eating their own? Lovely." Qrow added as he drank from his flask.
Jaune nodded, "Although, that's not the worst part." He took a deep breath before playing a video on his scroll. They all watched as the saw dozens of cannibalistic Grimm tearing each other apart in a thick forest. It was disturbing to all of them but they all kept composed faces. Jaune because he had seen it multiple times before. As all the Grimm were dying or dead, they all rapidly turned into smoke before it all coalesced into one place. That's when a deep red light erupted from the smoke and as the image came back, a Drake was standing in its place. The video ended as it roared. They were all silent for a bit.
"Yeah." Jaune spoke up and gained the other's attention. "If enough of these Grimm get together, the negativity and miasma they give off from tearing each other apart, fuse them together into this kind of Grimm. Luckily, it takes a large amount to form even one. I've been calling them Drakes."
"How powerful are these Grimm?" Ozpin asked seriously.
Jaune sighed, "Very. Their hide is pretty durable, regular bullets have a hard time penetrating it. The armor is highly resistant. Takes a lot just to crack it. They're also very fast for their size and strong, obviously. And finally, is this." He played another video.
This one showed the camera looking at the Drake as it was charging red energy into its mouth. The light grew brighter and they saw the camera go rolling. It eventually went upright and turned to see that a red beam going into the distance. When it vanished, a few hundred feet or more of the forest was vaporized. "That was one of my first encounters with them and it was recorded directly from my mask. These Grimm can focus this energy into a powerful attack. Only thing I've seen to put up a defense has been my Void but even that gets worn down by it. Maybe Aura could do the same, but I don't think anyone would like to test that out."
"If Salem could get her hands on these…" Goodwitch trailed off.
Jaune nodded, "Exactly. If she had maybe a dozen of these, no Kingdom would stand a chance. Luckily, I've fought them enough to find a few weaknesses to them. I've put down everyone I ran into and they haven't manifested anywhere else, yet, or we would've heard about it."
"How many of those things have you fought?" Qrow asked in concern.
Jaune shrugged, "Eight or nine over the six months I was out there. Latest one was when RWBY came to find me." Jaune ran his hand through his hair. "Honestly, if I didn't have Void, I probably wouldn't have made it against the first one." Neo gently took his hand in hers as he said that. Jaune just gave it a slight squeeze as he brought the hologram of the Drake back up.
"First, these things act on pure instinct. Especially, when they first form, so its easy to outsmart or outmaneuver them. As for weak spots…." He pointed to the chest armor. "The energy for their strongest attack is charged here. If you hit it hard enough or better yet, pierce into its hide, the energy will destabilize. Stopping the attack and causing enough damage to it so it can't use it again. At least, for a while."
The image spun and Jaune pointed to the area between the shoulders. "The armor here is slightly weaker compared to the rest of its body. If you can get to this spot and pierce it, it'll have a paralysis effect on them for as long as whatever is piercing it stays in place. Also, from my last encounter, I found out that if you can inject lightning Dust or electricity into that spot, it'll extend the paralysis effect. Even after removing the weapon."
The image zoomed in further to the creature's head. "Finally, the area where the head connects to the neck is the vital spot. With enough force or Aura, you can remove the head completely. But, it's the riskiest spot to go for. If someone or a group can hit these spots in this order, it becomes that much easier to bring it down."
The three other members of the group just took all this in. Ozpin gained a small smile, "You've certainly been thorough."
Jaune just chuckled, "Rather we had all the info on theses things before anyone tries to take them down. Although, I wouldn't recommend a single person or even a pair to engage a Drake. A team should be the absolute minimum."
Ozpin nodded, "Good to know. I would like copies to send to the other three Academies."
He nodded, "Of course, last thing we need is for them to start popping up without anyone being none the wiser. But, I'm not done. There are two variants to these Grimm."
Goodwitch and Qrow just looked ta him stunned. "You're kidding." Qrow said.
Jaune shook his head, "Wish I was. The one I just told you about is the weaker of the two. The other is virtually the same but with two big differences." Another image came up and it was identical to the first, but the white armor now had red designs on it. It looked almost exactly like the one Jaune and RWBY fought. "These are formed differently from its weaker counterpart. It is only formed when a single Grimm starts the process. But for that to happen, the Grimm has to be powerful and consume a good deal of Grimm beforehand." He showed the video of the Taijitu that transformed the day before. "When that happens, the Grimm essence fuses into the single Grimm. The Drake that forms actually does have some intelligence, similar to an older Grimm. Plus, it gains an additional ability. They can control other Grimm."
That bombshell had them all shell-shocked, "Before you say anything, no, not like Salem. It's more like a Queen bee giving commands to its colony. It makes it harder to deal with because now you have more Grimm protecting the big bastard. These Drakes I would recommend at least two or three teams to deal with."
Qrow, Glynda and Neo were just stunned by all of this. Ozpin sighed while massaging his forehead, "In all my years, I've never encountered anything like this." He looked back at the hologram as he took a calming sip of his coffee. "I doubt Salem has anything to do with this. Otherwise, she would've done this long before now. So, what could cause this?" Ozpin asked out loud.
Everyone was silent, thinking over what the Headmaster had said. Then Jaune cleared his throat, "I know I dumped a lot on you all, but there is one last thing." Goodwitch massaged her head to stop a migraine and Qrow groaned before downing the last of his flask.
He tapped on his scroll and another hologram appeared. It looked like the Drakes, but it was smaller, maybe twice the size of an average person. It was quadrupedal but had a shorter neck and tail. Also, its armor was smaller and had a more aerodynamic look, besides two curved blades that extended from its shoulder blades. Its mask looked similar but had two horns, one on either side of its head, that curved backwards. "This thing showed up a few weeks before our rendezvous. This image is the clearest one I have of it and this video."
He played it to show two Drakes, one of each variant, squaring off against each other in a canyon. The one had a horde of Grimm with it. They all watched as the two Drakes began to battle, tearing apart the land around them with little effort. They were even but the weaker one was being worn down by the horde of normal Grimm. It would kill or devour them, but the other Drake would capitalize on those moments. It came to a head when both Drakes fired their energy blasts. The two held even for a while but the more advanced one was slowly pushing it back. That was when a Goliath charged into the 'inferior' Drake and slammed into its chest, cracking it. The beast roared in pain as the energy stopped. That's when the other beam engulfed its head. The beam dissipated, and the headless Drake's body fell lifelessly to the ground.
The 'superior' Grimm roared in victory as its Grimm followers did the same. Afterwards, it started to feed on the fallen Drake. When it was halfway through its feeding, it pulled away and roared again. That's when the carcass and the Grimm horde vaporized instantly. The smoke gathered around the Grimm and it started to condense smaller. When it was a fifth of the original size, the same deep red light erupted from it. And when the image was restored, you could see the new Grimm from earlier. But only for a second, because in the next, it was gone.
"Okay. What the hell was that?" Qrow asked.
"Honestly?" Jaune asked. When Qrow nodded, he shrugged, "No idea. Maybe that's a further 'evolution' of the Grimm. The stage after the Drakes. I can't say for sure. I was indisposed when this happened, that's why I didn't interfere. And by the time I was back on my feet, I couldn't find a trace of it. This is why I didn't wanna come back yet. I wanted to get some information on it. But no luck. The only thing I can tell you is the name a gave it, the Draco."
Ozpin sighed, "Thank you for all this, Jaune. This will help all of us in the long run."
Jaune just shook his head, "No problem. I just wish I had more."
He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Goodwitch looking at him with a gently look. "You did everything you could and did what few would've. Don't look down on that, Jaune."
Jaune just looked at her before he had a small smile, "Kinda weird to hear you call me by my first name."
She just gave him a glare with no heat before she walked over to Ozpin. "So, what will we do now, Ozpin?"
He looked out his window for a bit. "We'll send the files to the other Academies and carry on as normal. Salem hasn't made a move, so our priority should be to deal with any Drakes that appear as quickly and quietly as possible. While also keeping an eye out for this Draco."
"I could keep my eyes open and let you know." Qrow offered.
"Plus, you can send me out if you need to." Jaune said. "I do have the most experience with these Grimm."
Ozpin nodded, "That should work. But, you'll have to be somewhere I can get in contact with you."
"True. I can find somewhere in Vale or just outside the Kingdom." Jaune offered.
"Actually, that won't be necessary." Ozpin stated as Jaune raised an eyebrow. "When Beacon was repaired, we converted an older dorm building into a building for special guests to stay. It was just finished recently, so it's perfect. It's on the border of the school's territory, far from the rest of the school so you'll have your privacy and you'll be close enough if needed."
Jaune just stared at Ozpin, "And it just conveniently finished as I was coming back?" Ozpin just gave him his usual stoic look until a small smile appeared on his face. Jaune sighed and ran a hand down his own face, "You and your damn schemes." That caused the three older adults to chuckle. "Fine, I'll stay. Anything you want me to do while I'm here?"
"Yes. I'd like you to observe the Grimm in Forever Fall and the Emerald Forest. Peter has been saying the Grimm have been 'acting up.' I'd like to make sure that a Drake will not appear soon or at all."
Jaune nodded, "Shouldn't be a problem, I know the signs." He felt Neo pull on his sleeve. As he looked down, she had her scroll up for him to read. He read her message and had a small smile. "Yeah. You can stay with me until things calm down with you and the others." She gave a silent cheer and hugged him, which he returned. He looked at Qrow, "Mind hanging around for a while? I'll need a hand around the forests and I'm not a hundred percent right now."
He pointed at Neo, "What about the midget?" That earned him a glared from the shorter girl.
"She has class and can't be with me." She looked up at him in surprise. "Yes, you are still going to class. No, you can't skip just because I'm back." That earned him a pout as she broke the hug and crossed her arms.
"Glynda, could you show Jaune and Neo to the building?" Ozpin asked her. She nodded and started to walk to the elevator. The two followed her and slipped back into their fake personas. Neo used her Semblance to become Jasmine and Jaune put his mask back on.
It had been a few days. Team RWBY and NPR were sitting in the library, trying to study. Well, everyone besides Nora, who was reading a comic book. They were told that Jaune was staying in the unused building on the edge of Beacon and Jasmine, no Neo, was staying with him until they came to terms with who she really was. That was still a shock to all of them. That their new friend was someone that tried to kill them all before. But, she never did anything hostile to them since she was put on JNPR. Honestly, she acted like a protector to all of them. That just made this situation even more confusing.
That just added to the complexity to their problem with Jaune. They were all happy to know he was alive. But the fact that he lied to them, hid from them, that just hurt so badly. And worse, he really didn't regret doing so. Plus, what was the whole thing between him and Neo? They all wanted to see him and talk this out but the pain they were feeling made them not want to take that step.
They were pulled from their own worlds when they heard someone nearby. They turned to see Neo, as Jasmine, walk around the corner. She had been keeping her distance from them all over the last few days. When she saw them, her eyes widened before she looked down at the ground. She looked up slightly to give them a guilty look before she turned and walked away, downtrodden.
They watched her go, not sure on what to do. They saw her, literally, bump into Qrow. The two had a small conversation where she practically shoved her scroll into his face. He pushed it away and nodded to her. That's when there was a bright light and she was gone. Qrow looked around before he lowered his head, to probably sigh, before he walked over to their table. "Hey, Pipsqueak, Firecracker. How's it going?" he asked casually.
"Hey, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby said happily. "What're you doing here? We thought you left already."
Qrow shook his head, "Nah, I stuck around for a bit. You know, help the Kid settle in and give him a hand for Oz. Make sure everything is going well." He chuckled. "Two of us were pretty much exterminating Grimm from dawn til dusk." He got a bit more serious, "Also noticed none of you came by to see him."
No one wanted to answer that. Ruby looked back to her book, "We've been busy…"
"Really?" He asked, unimpressed. "Or is it you all are still upset and are avoiding him?" No one spoke up. "I rest my case."
Blake looked up with her ears pulled back as she glared at him, "Well, how are we supposed to feel after he lied to us for so long?"
Qrow pulled out the only empty chair and sat down in it, "Maybe try to understand why he had to lie." He heard Yang and Weiss scoff at that. He just looked at the two, "Trust me, the Kid hasn't been the same since he started to keep you all at a distance."
Yang glared at her uncle, her eyes red. "And how would you know?"
Qrow rolled his eyes, "You know, for people who 'loved' him, you really don't know him that well." It looked like the girls were about to explode at him, but they stopped when he looked them in the eyes, his holding a dangerous glint. "Shut it and listen." He commanded and they all nodded meekly.
When he was sure they wouldn't interrupt him, he started to talk again, "When you five first met him, he was broken. The look in his eyes when I told him Amber was gone… It reminded me so much of Tai." That got his nieces' attention. "Or myself." He added before they could say anything, he pulled out his flask and drank from it. "But this isn't about me. The Kid was so broken, he saw only one option for himself." He looked to Pyrrha, "Remember what he told us in the Vault?"
Pyrrha was confused for a second until her eyes widened. She nodded, and the others looked to her, confused. "He said he wanted to kill himself." She said weakly. Everyone at the table besides Qrow gasped at that. Even Ren and Nora were stunned.
Qrow nodded gravely, "Exactly. When someone loses that much so soon, he wants the pain to just end." He let his words sink in before continuing, "But he didn't. And it wasn't because of some bull like, 'he was stronger than that' or 'they wouldn't have wanted him to do that.' He didn't do it because of you two." He pointed to Ren and Nora, who were further stunned.
"U-us?" Nora asked weakly.
Qrow nodded, "You two had no one besides each other, him and Gin. And he knew, that if you lost him too then you'd be devastated. Not to mention, you wouldn't ever see the Arcs because you'd blame yourselves for his death. Am I wrong?"
Nora shook slightly, and Ren pulled her into a small hug. "Why are you telling us this?" Ren asked.
"I'm getting to that." He took another sip from his flask. "I was worried for him, he's the closest thing I'll ever have to a kid." He looked to his nieces, "Don't get me wrong, I love you girls to death. Never doubt that." The nodded to him with small smiles. "When I saw him again during the festival…" He chuckled, "He was so much like his old self. He still had the pain in his eyes, but it was buried under so much love and happiness. Thanks to you five." His smile fell, and he had a frown now. "But that's what lead to all this."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked confused.
"When he realized you all could be in trouble. Could get killed during the Fall, it made him realize something." He looked at his flask. "After being surrounded by so much love, how would he go on if he lost any of that? Or all of it?" He turned back to the table of students, "He figured fighting and possibly dying would be far better than losing any of you. And he would do it all again because all your lives are more valuable than his own could ever be, at least to himself."
"Well, he did make that clear a few times." Pyrrha said, remembering how far he'd push himself.
"When he came back, he realized how much danger you could all be in because of him. So, when he decided to work with me and Oz, I decided to be there for him. But the more time went on…" He sighed, "The worse he got. He was breaking more and more with each day. But who could blame him? He had lost his old life, his family, everyone he cared for, everything. Honestly, he looked like one bad day from ending it all." He chugged his flask after saying that.
"What stopped him?" Blake asked, unable to hide the concern from her voice.
"Neo." He said simply to the shock of all of them. "A few months into that year, we ran into her being attacked by bandits. She was losing, and we didn't want to know what they were going to do with her. We saved her and rushed her to the nearest village as she passed out. She was severely dehydrated, starving and sleep deprived. If she was out there any longer, she would've died."
"Jaune took it upon himself to get her back on her feet. She didn't trust him for a while. But slowly and surely, she opened up to him. And they got close." The girls twitched at that but Qrow saw it. "Not like that. The Midget sees him like a best friend or brother. Hell, maybe even a surrogate father. And he see's her as a friend or even a sister. She helped to pull him from the edge and he started to get better. But not completely. And when he went on that mission, he sent her to Beacon. To keep her safe and to make sure you all would be okay."
They were all stunned by this and none of them knew what to say. "How?" They all turned to a shaky Weiss, "How do you know all of this?"
He just looked at her before reaching into his pocket, "I've known the Kid for years and know how he thinks. Also, the two of us worked together for the first year he was Rien. During that time, I tried to help him. Get him to open up. But you all know that he likes to keep his problems his own. Luckily, I was able to get this before he went into his self-imposed exile."
He pulled out his scroll and put it on the table as he played a recording. It was quiet for a few seconds, besides the sound of people talking and the usually background noise you'd hear in a bar. Then they heard Qrow speak up, "Why are you doing this, Kid?"
"What? Drinking with you?" they heard Jaune speak next. "Only a few people know my secret and out of all of them, you're by far the easiest to hang out with. Well, except Neo but she's at Beacon now." They heard him chuckle slightly with that.
"You know what I'm talking about."
There was a small silence before Jaune sighed, "You know the answer."
"I wanna hear it from you." Qrow pushed.
"They're better off without me." he said matter of factly.
Qrow scoffed, "I think the pain they're going through says otherwise."
"Yeah. But them knowing I'm alive and not being with them would be too dangerous." He stopped and after a few seconds, heard a glass being put down. He was drinking.
"Secrets never work out, trust me on this one, Kid."
"Then why haven't you told them that big secret of yours yet?" Jaune shot back heatedly.
There was an extended silence, the two were probably staring each other down. Until Qrow finally spoke, "That's a low blow."
"Like you bringing them up because you don't agree with my decision isn't?" Jaune countered.
There was another shorter silence, "I'll give you that. But it doesn't make my point any less valid."
Jaune sighed depressingly, "Yeah. But they want the guy they all knew and loved. I'm not him anymore."
"Bullshit."
"Fuck off." Jaune shot back but with no heat to it. "Say and think what you want, you're not changing my mind."
"Kid, why are you so dead set on this?" Qrow asked, almost desperately.
They were quiet for a while, then he spoke just over a whisper, "How would you react if someone you loved and thought was dead came back and pretty much told you they were lying to you?" There was a pause and Qrow didn't answer. "That's what I thought. They'd hate me Qrow and as much as that would probably be better in the long run, I'd rather avoid that." Another pause, "I'm not strong enough for that." He ended in a nearly broken tone.
"How would that be better?" Qrow asked, confused by his reasoning.
Jaune was quiet for a while and they all thought the recording was over. But then, "I'd rather them hate me and be alive, than love me and wind up dead." He cut himself off before they heard him slam a glass down. He just chugged an entire drink by that sound.
"That just makes things more painful for you."
They heard Jaune laugh but there was no humor in it. "I've been living with pain all my life, a little more won't kill me." A pause, "Or them."
The recording was done and Qrow took his scroll back. He looked to see that they were all misty eyed. He slowly returned his flask to his coat before talking, "You've all been suffering this whole time, no one can deny that. But while you've had each other to lean on, he's pushed everyone away to deal with it himself. He's opted to be hated and living in pain because he's convinced if you're with him, you'll die. That's how much, no, how deeply he cares for all of you."
None of them responded, so he stood from his chair and turned to walk away with his hands in his pockets. After a few feet he stopped, "You're all too old for me or anyone else to tell you what to do. What you do next is entirely up to you. " He looked over his shoulder at them, "Just be sure you make the decision you won't regret later." He turned back to face forward, "Oh. And if you need further proof, just look at his tattoo. That'll be more than enough." He chuckled to himself as he walked away.
The seven of them just sat at the table, some were crying quietly. They were trying to figure out what to do next. What was the right choice? No, what was the choice they wouldn't regret.