Writing this for two reasons: Getting that sweet, sweet timestamp for New Year's Eve, and because while I have seen fics that feature Jaune's father in different regards and to different degrees, I've yet to see one that is from the older Arc's point of view and wanted to correct that.
In this version of RWBY everything we've seen on screen up until when everyone falls into the abyss when evacuating Atlas has happened normally, but offscreen I'm putting in my own version of things. Namely that there are multiple ways to become a Huntsman that doesn't include going to an Academy, there is still sporadic communication between the Kingdoms using the cripled CCT network and more old school methods like short ranged radio and paper messages, the Arc family once were the rulers of a proto-Kingdom and while they don't hold royal titles anymore and don't get involved in things if at all possible they are still rich and own several estates of various sizes in several locations, the Arcs are also 'known' for being high tier Huntsmen on average but still almost always dying in the field with very few ever living to retirment- and most of those that do still die young from injuries and stress- and they have more than one Ancestral Sword. Basically, I wanted to give Jaune more of a reason to feel Ancestrial pressure to be a Huntsman and to make things more dramatic for him and his family. Hope you all enjoy, remember to leave a comment below and keep an eye out for chapter 2 on New Year's Day!
His son was gone. He had run away, chasing a dream that Charles had been trying for years to make him abandon. He stole one of their ancestral blades, Crocea Mors, the blade of the Emperor General, and vanished into the night only to call days later to tell them he had been accepted into Beacon Academy and was preparing for Initiation. Charles supposed he should be proud about his son being accepted into such a school if nothing else, even if he himself had never attended an academy Beacon's renown wasn't something that could be overlooked. Still, his son was untrained, his Aura locked, and while his mind was sharp and his body was stronger than it had any real right to be given his build and somewhat sheltered upbringing so Charles had little doubt that he would fail the Initiation test and would soon be back home where he could grow up safely and happily.
Only his son didn't fail. Somehow Jaune had passed the Initiation exam and had even been made the leader of his own team despite the literal figurehead of his generation of Huntsmen being on it as well. Despite himself Charles had felt an intense feeling of pride when his son had told them that particular fact, the news briefly overshadowing his fear and rage over one of his children going against his wishes to become a warrior. Didn't Jaune understand that their family had already done their part for Remnant? That Charles alone had suffered and lost enough in the name of protecting the Kingdoms, Humanity, and Faunus Kind to pay the dues of the Arc family for five generations at the very least? Why now did Jaune have to live a life like those who came before him?
Charles wanted to tell his son, order him to come home, but he knew his blood well enough to know that if he did that all that would happen is Jaune would cut contact with him. He wanted to march to Beacon and drag his son out of the damn school and lock him in their compound until he was thirty, but knew his wife, despite how much she clearly wanted to do the same, would be against it. Damn it all of his daughters had the good sense to have and follow dreams that if nothing else didn't ensure PTSD and an early grave, why couldn't his one and only son have the same intelligence?
Charles' feelings began to run even colder after the aptly named 'Breach of Vale' when a cell of the White Fang blew up an old subway tunnel connected to Mountain Glenn, giving dozens of Grim a path right into an inner district of Vale that bypassed all the city's defenses. Even with the quick intervention of several teams of Huntsmen in training and a handful of Beacon professors there had been nearly two hundred casualties ranging from injuries to even a few deaths. And his son had been right in the middle of it all. His son, with his barely passable swordsmanship and shield usage, had stood near the gods be damned front lines of the Breach with other children to try and keep the horde of monsters at bay until their teachers, their superiors, could close the Breach and save the day. His son had cut down an Ursa, his son had stood in front of a crying little boy to block the lunge of a Creep, his son had stepped over the bleeding and dying bodies of his fellow man so that others would not join their ranks. Charles had been forced to watch second hand from amuature caught footage as his son stood tall at the gates of Hell vastly under equipped, prepared, trained, and supported all while refusing to retreat, fall back, or fall. His son, his dumbass dreamer of a son with a head full of stories and some foolish need to uphold a family legacy of death and misery had stood his ground. And Charles dearly wished he hadn't.
Jaune's next emails home– his son had the good sense to never send or accept calls from his parents, knowing they would have much better chances to convince him to come home– were full of equal parts false cheer and admissions to nearly breaking down from the nightmares the Breach continued to give him. It broke Charles and his wife's hearts every time the pain their child was going through was hinted at, but the fact that he was still taking the time to contact them, the fact that they hadn't been contacted by the counselors or professors at Beacon, helped ease their pain ever so slightly.
For a brief time it seemed that things would calm down, that the relative failure of the Breach had demoralized the Fang enough for the monsters to scurry back to their dens of depravity and leave the world alone. The Vital Festival bagan, his son's team won their first match rather handedly thanks to the short girl's incredible strength and massive hammer, even if his son had briefly made a fool of himself using what Charles assumed were meant to be team attack names that his team didn't actually know. True his son could have done far better as an active combatant, but he wasn't a punching bag and had helped his teammates in minor ways throughout the fight, which was something at least.
Then Beacon Fell.
The Breach had been bad, only saved from being a catastrophe by the fact that the choke point for the invading Grim was manned nearly from the start and plugged within two hours of its opening. But the Fall didn't have a choke point. The Fang flew groups of low level Grim into the city and to Beacon in mass, the robotic shock troops of Atlas were seemingly hacked and turned against the innocent, shooting people in cold blood, attacking Huntsmen wherever they appeared, and even damaging the outer walls of the city before the wall's defenses could be reoriented to target those within its boundaries. Charles watched as much as he could, switching between official and unofficial channels as fast as he could in an effort to locate his son before the communications tower fell and Vale went dark.
His wife didn't sleep for days, he didn't sleep for even longer. Their daughters all but broke down as the realization that their brother may very well have been torn to shreds by the Grim or the White Fang quickly sinking in. Saffron was able to send a single message, the short assurance of her being okay barely being able to slip through the broken communications networks thanks to her wife Terra's connections, but Jaune was silent. There were casualty reports every week or so, mostly sent by physical mail carried by specialized Huntsmen that were too old or injured to be on truely active duty, and while Jaune's name was never listed that didn't mean much when so many were still missing and being recovered and it already being confirmed and widely publicized that his partner Pyrrah was dead.
It took months, months, before they got confirmation about Jaune being alive. Apparently he had hiked all the way to Minstral for some reason and ended up fighting the White Fang and their supporters again, this time barely being able to prevent the Fall of a second academy. They weren't able to get any video of the event, but word of the group of young Hunters and a small army of anti-Fang Faunus uncovering Headmaster Lionhart's involvement with the Fall of Beacon and driving off the monster known as Adam Taurus had been rather librel with identities of everyone involved.
Needless to say Charles was equal parts proud and enraged.
His son was a hero, even more so than he was for fighting in the Breach. His son was also throwing himself in even more dangerous situations than even Charles thought he would. It was one thing to fight low level Grim or patrol some town's borders, it was something very different to declare war against an army of genocidal extremists and trek hundreds of miles through Grim infested lands with nothing but a few children and a single Huntsman for support. For the love of his descendants and ancestors was his son suicidal or just plain stupid? He honestly couldn't decide which answer he would prefer.
Still, at least he finally knew where his son was and that he was alive. Stupid and seemingly with a death wish, but alive and back within the walls of a Kingdom that was relatively secure and stable… at least that's what Charles thought, but apparently by the time he even heard about the whole Haven incident his son and his friends and allies had up and left to hike through the wilds again. Seriously was it too much to ask for his son to at least like, stop by one of the compounds of Charles' friends and ask for a car, or some extra high powered weaponry, or a helmet… or for said friend to join their group… or maybe send a message to the Arc compound so he and his wife knew what the actual hell he was up to?!
That desire for information was fulfilled soon enough when mear days after his eldest daughter was able to get a message through saying Jaune had stopped by her and her wife's home for a few days a message from Vacuo was sent over special Huntsmen dense data transmissions. Immortals cursed by the gods, a crazed woman controlling the Grim, Atlas as a Kingdom being destroyed with barley over half its population being whisked away to the Desert Kingdom by magic gateways, his son once again being labeled as missing and presumed dead! Why did the gods, be they the ones who cursed this Witch or any other, feel like Charles' and his family had to suffer like this? What slight had their bloodline committed against them that required so many of their own and those they held dear to suffer and parish so young?
Luckily instead of months of silence this incarnation of hysteria only lasted a few weeks. Whatever happened when his son 'fell into the void' was apparently quickly resolved seeing as the young Huntsman– fully licensed and everything now apparently, despite him never even completing a single year of a four year Academy program or any kind of apprenticeship– showed up at the gate of the Arc Estate that Charles had chosen to raise his family.
His son was home. His son was where Charles could protect him again… his son had broken Crocea Mors, killed a friend, broken his word, was mentally holding on by barely a thread, and may or may not be in a sexual relationship with an assassin who had tried to kill him in the past.
The family reunion would have to wait. Right now he needed to have words with his son.
That's that, but before I forget, a while back when the site was having issues sending emails and notifications out I posted a story called 'One Shots Galore' where I'm gonna be posting fan-requested one-shots/maybe two shots. Ideas can be submitted on this site, on AO3, or by private message. NSFW requests are fine and I will start picking them up soon, but I want to get at least five SFW one shots posted before doing any smut so if you want smut, be sure to drop some SFW options as well so I can fill that quota first. Thanks again and have a Happy New Year that will hopefully be better than 2021!