I wasn't really happy with how I originally wrote the story, so here's a redo. Same story, hopefully a more realistic way of telling it. Hope you enjoy! (depending on your definition of what counts as gore, there will be graphically described gore multiple times throughout the story.)
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"Jaune!" His mother's voice made its way into his room, forcing him to crack a bleary eye open. "Jaune, you'd better be awake up there, young man! Your sisters have already left!" He wasn't in a rush as he slowly stretched his limbs outwards, yawning loudly with a groan.
"You're bound to miss the train at this point!" That had him out of his bed and getting dressed in an instant. How could he forget? Today was the day. How could he have slept in?!
A simple Tee shirt and jeans were thrown on quickly before he rushed out his room, going straight for the front door. He had to catch up, he just couldn't be late.
"Ah ah!" He found his path blocked as his mother redirected him to the nearby dining table. "Just where do you think you're going, hmm? Just because you woke up late doesn't mean you get to skip breakfast. Now, park it." She all but pushed him into his seat. A plate of eggs and bacon was placed in front of him a moment later, pulled from the warm oven.
"Aww, but moom." He whined, "I'm gonna miss dad's train!" He just had to be there when it showed up! His dad had been gone on a two month-long mission, he had to have loads of stories by now! Stories about Grimm bigger than mountains and faster than lightning, his excitement was already making it hard to sit still.
"I guess you'd better hurry up." She leaned against the counter, making his options clear with a single look.
It took years to finish his plate, even if his mom insisted it was only a few minutes. They were out of the house a few seconds later, headed towards the only trainstation in their small frontier town of Ansel.
"Do you think he brought presents again?" He asked as his mother took his hand, leading the way down the pleasantly quiet sidewalk. He doubted Ansel's sidewalks ever got loud, there was never more than a handful of people out and about in the small hamlet.
"I wouldn't get my hopes up." His mother warned, "He brought those last time because it was a special occasion." His ninth birthday a few months earlier, he remembered. But that didn't mean he couldn't hope!
"Hey, big brother!" His little sister's voice drew his attention to the entrance of the small train station, any previous conversation completely forgotten.
He could see the youngest of his sisters, Rouge, waving at the entryway with a large smile plastered on her face. She was just as excited to see their dad as he was.
"Took you guys long enough! Come on, everyone is already waiting!" she spoke excitedly while motioning past the entrance, inside the large building.
"We didn't miss the train, right?" Jaune asked as she rushed over to wrap their mom and him in a tight hug. Her curly, auburn hair splashed against his face over and over as she continued to bounce excitedly.
"Nope! But you gotta hurry; it's supposed to be here already!" The smile she flashed could have outshone the sun.
Jaune laughed as his little sister dragged them along to where his other sisters were waiting. None of them seemed to notice their arrival at first, too absorbed in a heated debate that he didn't quite understand. He heard something about who was faster, dad or a pack of Beowolves, but that couldn't have been right. Dad already told them he could beat a Beowolf in a race, so clearly that argument was already decided.
As his mind began to wander, Jaune noticed how empty the station was. Besides his family, there was only one other person dressed in jeans with a jacket that looked way too big for him.
Huh? Didn't his mom say their dad was the only one coming? What was that guy doing here? Jaune shrugged to himself, it didn't really matter, he had more important things to worry about.
"Look!" Rouge shouted, drawing his attention down the tracks where said "important things" were quickly getting closer. "It's almost here!" Even as his little sister yelled, the sound of the approaching train drowned out her voice along with any other noise.
He waited excitedly next to his family, his smile getting bigger as the train came to a full stop before letting out a hiss of steam. The doors opened slowly to reveal the Arc Patriarch, ocean blue eyes sparkling alongside a joyful grin.
"Did ya little runts miss m-whoa!" Jaune, and he was sure most of his sisters, tried not to gag at the familiar sight of their mom jumping into their dad's arms. She always reacted the same when they saw their father, planting a firm kiss on his lips no matter how her children might protest the sight.
"We missed you, Jack." she said lovingly. A second later Jaune and his sisters crowded into the train car, unable to contain themselves any longer.
They all started talking at once, asking questions ranging from what he had to do for his mission to how the weather was where he stayed. Jaune had to laugh, a warm feeling growing as he looked at the familiar chaos his father's victorious return always brought.
"Careful now," his dad said, his tone only half serious. "There's enough Dust here to send us all to Atlas." He chuckled, drawing Jaune's attention to all the containers of Dust surrounding them. It looked like all had the SDC snowflake plastered on their surface, but it was hard to see past the man standing in front of them.
Wait, when did he get there? Jaune thoughts worked slowly.
The man from before…?
"Hey buddy you aren't supposed t- JANE THE KIDS!" Jaune didn't think he had ever heard his father yell so loudly, nor had he ever thought his father would tackle him to the ground with such force. Despite the shock, Jaune heard the hooded figure's words with perfect clarity.
"For the White-Fang."
Who were-? His thoughts were cut off suddenly.
He never knew how loud an explosion could be against his ears, or how hot fire could feel against his flesh. For the first time in his young life, Darkness forcibly claimed his mind.
\-/
"For it is in life that we achieve happiness. Through this we become an unyielding shield against the darkness, tireless in strength and untouched by death. I release your soul, and by my honor, I defend thee."
Jaune woke to his father's voice, rough and hoarse but undeniably powerful. It felt like a bolt of lightning striking him, shaking him from his stupor. His eyes snapped open suddenly and his body screamed for air only to receive more smoke.
He started coughing and hacking, his lungs taking in what little oxygen they could while he struggled to keep his eyes open through the burning heat all around. What happened to him? Where were his sisters? His father? Why did everything hurt?
...Were those voices?
"There were people here, Adam!" He heard a female voice scream manically; she didn't sound much older than himself. What was she doing here? Was it her fault everything was burning? She sounded surprised and… Terrified? Was that bad?
"Blake, we have to leave!" He heard a male voice yell out, his voice made him sound older and even calmer, but it still held a hysteric edge. "The SDC were already supposed to be here! We can't stay!"
Jaune couldn't believe what he was hearing; were they going to leave him? Why would they just leave him!? He couldn't understand, didn't they know he was there? They had to know someone was hurt! Aren't you supposed to help when someone's hurt…?
"P-people were here…" The girl's broken voice sounded like it was coming closer. She sounded scared, would she help if she heard him? It didn't matter, Jaune realized as he struggled to move, his throat was burning too much to speak.
He was able to reach out, but not nearly far enough. with a gasp he let his hand fall limp, only for his breath to catch as it landed on something too soft to be floor. Something thoroughly charred by the flames around him.
A whimper escaped him as he realized what his hand rested on.
He looked at the body, unable to comprehend why it wasn't moving… or where most of its skin went.
"D-dad…?" His voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. His eyes began burning with something other than heat.
"P-please… get up…" He felt something unfamiliar well up inside him. Something cold that made his limbs numb and shake uncontrollably. "I-it's not real." It couldn't be, none of this made any sense.
'What about the others?' he thought suddenly, looking up and around. He quickly regretted that decision.
A loud sob broke from his mouth just before his breakfast escaped him, adding new color to the charred remains surrounding him. He closed his eyes, but it was too late to forget what lay scattered all around him.
He saw arms and legs but no torso, hands without fingers. A severed head with a pained expression forever burned on its face… He couldn't even tell who it was anymore, it lacked hair and the skin looked like it had almost melted off.
He curled up, putting his head into his knees, trying desperately to forget where he was and what was happening. At least he couldn't hear the fire anymore, not over the blood pounding in his ears.
It was then he finally noticed the tingling sensation spreading across his skin. W-what was this? feels… almost like. Mom and dad…
As it spread, it brought relief from the burning fire that licked at him. He didn't think too hard about why the sensation came, unable to do anything but cling to the safe feeling it brought.
"W-we have to help." The voice was much closer now, she had to have heard him already, didn't she? He felt like he should have called out, done something to get her attention. But he didn't think he could do it. Everything hurt too much. He just laid there, curled in a ball with tears streaming down his cheeks, barely able to let out anything more than a broken sob.
"I think I hear someone!" She sounded unsure, was the fire too loud to hear him? Jaune summoned what courage he could and tried to call out again only to end up in a coughing fit, his throat burning like nothing he'd ever felt before.
'Please!' he wanted to shout. 'I'm right here!'
'Don't leave me…'
"I can hear Bullheads!" The boy's voice sounded just as panicked as Jaune felt, "That has to be the SDC, we have to leave. Now, Blake!" W-what was he saying…? They were going to help him, right? She heard him, she said so! They couldn't just ignore him if they knew he was there!
The deafening sound of footsteps fading away told him otherwise.
They were leaving him, he realized dumbly. They could help him, and they were just… leaving? Why wasn't anyone stopping them!?
Why wasn't anyone helping him...?
He didn't know how long he sat there, surrounded by pieces of debris and flesh alike with his aura wrapped around him like a blanket, keeping the flames and smoke at bay. He only stirred when a group of men dressed in what looked like military attire with the Schnee logo clearly visible on their arms rushed into the building, rifles held high.
Two of them rushed the boy with their weapons aimed at him, but they said nothing, as if waiting for something. Jaune flinched but couldn't do anything but stare numbly, he couldn't even feel the tears falling anymore.
"Lower your weapons, those filthy beasts are gone." Jaune looked up at the voice and found an older man with pure white hair and bright blue eyes staring down at him. That cold, unyielding gaze would normally have him scurrying to hide. Now though? Now he just felt empty.
"Tell me child, did you see who caused all of this?" The man didn't bother with greetings and Jaune found he was caught off guard by the blunt question.
'...Caused this?' His mind slowly turned, 'Someone wanted this to happen? That was crazy! Who would -'
"For the White-Fang."
The memory smashed to the forefront of his skull, bringing alongside a wholly different feeling. That man- no. That monster had said those words before the world shattered.
He found himself nodding to the older man. "…The Whi- fng." He didn't get any further, exhaustion finally taking its toll. Jaune hit the floor limply a second later, unable to hear the older man's final words.
"Take him with us, R&D could always use another fresh body."
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I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Grimm choices! My original writing of this story is still up as of july 2022 but seeing how I really didn't like how i wrote it, at least the earlier chapters, i decided a rewrite was needed. Might take it down later, might just keep it up, depends on my mood and feedback from you all. Since this is a rewrite, a lot of the story is already written, i just need to edit it. Even if i cant/dont want change what's happening, i still would like to know what ya'll think of it. What you liked, what you would have preferred, what you didn't like, all of it would be appreciated information. I just ask that you explain your reasoning so that I might actually learn from it. With that, I wish you all a good morning/afternoon.
Alno
