Chapter 3: Highway to Hell
Team RWBY's Vacuo designs are directly based on the outfits designed by acclast on Reddit. (I tried my best to describe their outfits to the best of my abilities.) Meanwhile, I had to come up with VOLEN's Vacuo design based on different fanart's and what I think would go well with them.
Also, just wait till you read Jaune's outfit. Ilia, Trifa, and Yuma are wearing their White-Fang outfits. (Due to them being used to functioning in them, Ilia will also wear her casual outfit eventually).
Any way! Reviews!
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CartoonFF: Thank you!
Guest: I hope you stick around to read more... and maybe it is a SilentKnight Fic
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Anyway! I hope you all enjoy today's chapter and hope you stick around to read upcoming chapters!
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It was in the dead of night, and right now, Bane-saw was with a large force of vehicles with almost his entire force of White-Fang with him. He waited on the inside of his large modified vehicle, which was a monster truck with the symbol of the White-Fang atop the good and he also had long spiked sticking out from the back and front. Anyway, he was currently waiting to hear a report from any of the scout groups he had sent the night before to look for those responsible for breaking into their home and killing some of their own.
However, he had not heard anything the whole day and his patience was growing thin. He was ready to just go out blindly looking for them in the fast desert, but that would be foolish of him. He needed to wait and hear any report.
And if he heard nothing, then he would have no choice but to split his war party up and search for them all across Vacuo's desert roads, which would either end with them finding the intruders or waste their time and give the intruders time to flee back to one of the large settlements or even back to the City of Vacuo.
"High-leader! High-leader!" came the cry of a female member of their war party.
Bane-Saw sat up as he heard the cry of his title and saw a female member rush up to him and make her way to his door's side, and once she was looking at him through his window, he looked back with a glare.
"This better be good," he told her
"A bit good and bad High-leader" She replied nervously, "one scouting party managed to find them and a few had chased after them but failed to capture them as they were killed and heavily injured"
Bane-saw growled, "How is this good news?" He asked with a low and angry tone
the female member gulped, "The direction they were heading and the road they were taking leads right through Boris bandit territory!" she said
Hearing this, Bane-saw raised a brow under his mask, "Are you sure?" he asked
"Positive!" she replied
he looked at the wheel of his vehicle and began to think. If what the member said was true, then this was good, very good for him. The thought of using the many bandit tribes out here to his advantage had not occurred to him, but when it did, that's when a devious thought crossed his mind. He worked out a quick plan that may just get him what he wants and save them time.
He quickly, looked back to the member, "Have a few small groups of our brothers and sister head to Brois's tribe and a few to the other bandit tribes out there, tell them that they will be rewarded greatly should they find and bring me the intruders to me... alive" Bane-saw told her.
The member nodded back, "Yes, High leader!" She said before climbing down and giving his order to the other members.
As she did so, he also told another member to tell everyone to leave him be as he wanted to rest, and they did so. Bane-saw began to relax and knew that they were going to be a least a day behind the intruders, but he didn't need to worry.
The bandit tribes were ahead of them and if the bandits did as he had asked of them, which he knew they would, then they would wait ahead of the intruders and attack them from the front, and capture them.
He would still pursue them in case they failed and he needed to take matters into his own hands, but if it all went right, then he would also need to just wait and hear from one of the tribes about capturing the intruders.
But no matter what, he would not let them go. He would chase them to the ends of Remant if he needed. Because no human or Faunus would oppose him and his order, They were the White-Fang! They were the Faunus that would rule this world as the superior race!
And nothing was going to get in the way of that goal, and any who did dare to oppose them would pay with their lives.
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Currently, it was very early in the morning and Team RWBY and VOLEN were ready to go and head out to save Ilia. They had been told by Headmaster Theodore that Ilia had contacted them yesterday. She confirmed that she and her team had managed to rescue the Summer Maiden, also known as Furiosa, but the town she was in was attacked and they had lost contact with her since.
They had gotten new clothes and rides to take so that they didn't have to walk, as well as some supplies such as enough dust, both for the Vehicles and their weapons, and enough food to last them the estimated time of their Journey as well as tents and sleeping bags.
Their outfits have of course changed to fit with the climate of Vacuo.
Ruby was wearing a red crop top with an open grey short-sleeved crop-top Jacket that she had to connect to her red cloak, she also wore a pair of long grey sheer gloves with an x-strap pattern around the elbows and a dark red pattern around the wrist, she also wore a pair of grey harem pants and a pair of black knee-high boots with red lacings. Atop her head was a pair of red-tinted goggles that would keep the sand out of her eye while they drove.
Weiss wore a light blue double-breasted coat with long dark blue sleeves with an asymmetric cape, and on her hands were a pair of fingerless white gloves, she wore a white box pleated skirt, a pair of dark tight to also protect her skin from sunburn, and a pair of ankle-high dark greyish blue boots. Her hair was tied up into a bun due to the weather being too hot, and the hairpin was no longer a snowflake, it was a gold-colored crown.
As for Blake, she wore a black and light purple open vest over a white tunic shirt, and on her arms were baggy zipped up sleeves disconnected from her vest and a pair of black tight fingerless gloves. She wore a pair of tight white pants underneath a pair of black skintight shorts with some white bandages wrapped around them, she also wore a pair of knee-high boots.
Yang was wearing a tight dark yellow tube top over a long-sleeved tight black shirt and over it all, she wore a dark brown Pancho, she wore a pair of tight black shorts, and she wore a brown belt covered by a pleated brown piece of material reaching from hip to hip around the back of her waist, and a pair of calf-high boots with black lacings.
As for VOLEN, their styled of clothing had also changed along with their sister team.
Nora wore a pink sleeveless turtleneck top with a short, a navy blue sleeveless vest, and she also wore a white skirt with a pink layer under it, and she also wore a pair of black shorts with the skirt and she still wore her white fingerless gloves and the black boots with silver heels, sole, and toe plates that she got back in Atlas. She too also wore a pair of orange-tinted goggles similar to those that one would use to ski.
Ren still wore a sleeveless turtleneck dark green top showing off his muscular arms, though he also still wore the black half of a jacket/arm guard combination on his right arm with his father's dagger still attached to it, and he now wore a pair of black fingerless gloves and a pair black leather boots. His braid was also gone as he had cut it off.
Oscar's outfit hadn't changed that much, he wore a different white shirt with green buttons, he still wore his orange gloves, and also wore a forest sash where his cane was holstered and a pair of black pants, and finally, he wore dark maroon-colored boots with bronze plated toes.
Emerald wore a black tank top under a long sleeve mint green crop top, and with a pair of white skinny jeans and brown chaps, her weapons holsters were strapped around her and still at her back.
As for Neo, she wore a brown long-sleeved turtleneck sweater crop top under a light pink poncho with white accents and a pair of tight white pants with a pair of brown and white knee-high boots, He hair was also put into a ponytail and she still had her parasol.
As for Penny, well she decided not to change her actual outfit, but she did buy actual calf-high black boots with green accents and a small pink bow.
They all arrived at the front gates of the city and there waiting for them at the gates were Headmaster Theodore and Winter, as well as their vehicles.
Their vehicles consisted of a maroon-colored Motorcycle which was going to be driven by Yang, a tan-colored 4x4 Dorf Truck driven by Emerald, and finally a tan armored Lenco BearCat, driven by Ren.
Winter saw them and smiled at them, "You're ready to go, I made sure that everything is up and working" Winter told them
"Thank you, Winter," Weiss said with a smiled
Winter nodded and looked at them, "Come back safe," Winter told them "All of you"
Ruby looked at Winter and gave her a quick nod, "We will," Ruby said
Winter nodded and hugged Weiss before leaving them to get in their respective vehicles. Theodore told Oscar to be safe and Oscar nodded, knowing that he mostly meant that toward Ozpin, but he took it anyway.
Yang got on the Motorcycle, while Emerald got in the driver's seat of the truck with Oscar in the passenger seat, and Ren got into the Lenco with Nora in the passenger seat as Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Penny, and Neo got in the back.
They started up their vehicles and the front gates opened as Yang drove out first followed by the truck and Lenco. They all drove southbound but in the direction of the last town that Ilia had reported, which was Thunderdome, which was one of the farthest towns away, it would take them at least 8-10 days, but since they were also told by Headmaster Theodore that Ilia was trying to meet them have way, it may cut their time in half, but that's if everything went alright, which was a bit doubtful as there were the Remnants of the Terrorist White-Fang and a lot of bandits within the desert.
they just prayed that everything was hopefully going smoothly.
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The day was long as they continued the drive for hours. Yang was still ahead but on the right side of the Lenco while the tuck was keeping the same speed as the Lenco and it was at the Lenco's left.
Inside the front of the Lenco, Ren drove as the radio of the Lenco played softly, while Nora looked outside of her window, staring at the scenery of the vast desert, they could hear the chatter of the others in the back but didn't pay attention to what was being said.
Nora kept looking outside and her mind began to wander as it did when she was on long trips and had nothing to do.
"Ren?" She called
Ren looked over to her quickly before his eyes went back to the road, "Yes Nora?" He asked
"Do you... Do you ever think about them?" Nora asked with a heavy sigh
He knew who she was referring to. She was talking about Pyrrha and Jaune. Ren also sighed heavily, "All the time Nora... All the time," he told her
Nora looked away from the window and slowly turned to him, "we haven't talked about them since Mistral, since we met Saphron... I hate that" Nora said "I hate that we don't talk about them because... Because each time we do, it just brings up the times where we were all happy" Nora said sadly
Ren knew what she meant, he hated not talking about them too. Pyrrha and Jaune we're the family they had made while at Beacon, and having them both be gone that night... It crushed them. It made them feel alone again. But it was Ruby who had offered them a way to help avenge their friend's deaths and help save the world, and they agreed because if they didn't if they just left Ruby and the others to deal with such a problem, it would be like they never cared for their fellow teammates at all. However, they rarely talked about them, only because it made them remember the happier times back at Beacon and it would tug on their hearts.
It got worse as team RWBY regrouped, as Ren and Nora felt as if they were being left behind, but that changed as Neo had joined up with them and understood their pain, and when Oscar had come to them for help and had become something akin to a little brother, and even when Emerald joined and they traveled through the desert with her, they had grown find if her sass and her quips, and while not fully forgiving her, she had shown them that she could be trusted and offered her a second chance. It made them feel less alone and less forgotten, it made them feel the same way that they did when Pyrrha and Jaune were still alive.
But no matter what, they knew that a part of them would forever be lost because Jaune and Pyrrha were no longer with them.
"You know as well as I that I do anything to bring them back," Ren told her, "I'd bring them both back with every fiber of my being of I could, Nora, but I know for a fact that if Jaune was here, he would be telling us not to dwell on this, he would tell us to keep moving forward and take the path that made us happy"
Nora smiled a little and nodded her head in agreement, she giggled "and then Pyrrha would tell him he's starting to sound like a real leader and he would get all embarrassed from her praise" Nora said
Ren smiled and nodded in agreement, knowing that is what would have happened back at Beacon.
"Ren... Can we... Can we talk about them more? Talk about how it used to be?" Nora asked, "I know we have to move on but not talking about them... it feels like we're forgetting about them..." Nora said
Ren looked at her and gave her a soft smile, "Of course Nora," he said "And we won't ever forget about them. Ever," he told her
Nora gave him a soft living smile and they both had smiles on their faces as they continued to drive, never knowing that the people in the back heard their conversation.
In the back, it was Ruby who had heard their conversation, and she turned away from the small divider and sighed heavily.
Hearing them talk about Jaune and Pyrrha made her sad. She missed them just as much, sure she wants as close to Pyrrha but her death weighed heavily on Ruby, after all, had failed to save her, and Ruby blamed herself for it, sometimes, she wondered if Jaune was still around... Would he blame her? She wouldn't blame him... She felt terrible about their deaths. Jaune was the first friend she had ever made at Beacon and they were Team leaders together, and he was one of the few people outside of her team that she could talk to. She... She missed him.
"Ruby?"
Ruby was taken out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Penny was looking at her.
"Are you ok?" Penny asked
Ruby wanted to say that she was fine but, she couldn't. She sighed and shook her head, "not really" Ruby said
"What's wrong Ruby?" Weiss asked
"It's just... I overheard Ren and Nora talking about Pyrrha and Jaune" Ruby said
Hearing this, everyone who knew them understood why she was now so glum.
Ruby sighed heavily once again, "I miss them both," she said
Weiss nodded in agreement, "So do I" Weiss said "I wish they were here because I regret that I never got the chance to apologize for how I behaved back then" Weiss told them
"I regret not getting to know them as well as you, Ruby" Blake chimed in, "I mean we hung around them so much, yet, I hardly tried to talk to them," Blake finished.
Suddenly, their scrolls dinged, and on it was a text from Neo.
{You all already know that I regret everything I did to help Beacons fall} she said, {I am truly sorry about Pyrrha, and this Jaune guy... I am sorry that I had a part in taking two friends from you...}
Ruby looked over to Neo, "It's alright, we forgave you Neo" Ruby said
{Still doesn't mean I forgave myself} Neo texted with a solemn expression on her face.
They say in silence as the mood was brought down. They didn't talk for a while as the reminder of the deaths of their friends weighed heavily on their minds.
Outside of the Lenco, Yang was driving ahead and that's when she looked down at the Motorcycle's dashboard and she looked at the time, it was already 5 PM. She knew that they had been driving for hours and didn't mind it, but when she saw it was 5, she felt hungry. She signaled for everyone to slow down and they all began to slow down before coming to a complete stop next to a clearing.
Ren and Emerald rolled down their window and looked over at Yang,
"Why'd we stop Blondie?" Emerald asked
"It's 5, we should stop for now and eat something," Yang said "we've been driving for hours, I'm sure we're all hungry," She said
"Yangs right," Ren said "We haven't eaten anything since we left this morning,"
Emerald turned to Ren, "Then should we also think about setting up camp here?" She asked
Ren nodded, "Yeah, it's not dark yet but it will be soon so we should rest for now" he replied
"And we'll wake up early in the morning again and start driving again after we pack everything up" Yang chimed in
"Alright then," Emerald said "Me and Oscar will get the food and tents out, tell everyone else what's going on"
Ren nodded, "Got it"
And with that, they began to set up camp for the night.
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Much later, and on the other side of the desert, Max, now really known as Jaune Arc, was sitting outside of the humvee while Furiosa slept. Meanwhile, Yuma and Trifa were checking their supplies and counting the amount of Ammo and dust they had pulled off the seat White-Fang members that had chased after them the day before.
He had managed to get a haircut and a nice shave thanks to Trifa. His hair looked like it once had back in his Beacon days. Thankfully he also managed to get a new pair of clothes thanks to Trifa yet again. He wore a high collar black shirt under a dark brown aviator jacket with white fur around the collar, and he wore a pair of navy blue jeans and a pair of dark brown ankle-high strapped boots. (A/N: the jacket is similar to Yang's Vol.7 jacket and the reason I chose to have him wear the jacket was that I like the way it looked on him thanks to the art of Seshirukun in their Dragonslayer family art, the only change to it was Jaune's pants since I think he looks better in jeans).
"Hey,"
Jaune jumped a little and quickly turned around only to see that it was Ilia that had called out to him. He sighed in relief and relaxed, he still had to remember that he no longer needed to be so paranoid now that he was out. He was already as crazy as it is, no need to become crazier.
"How are you feeling, Ilia?" Jaune asked as he turned back to the scenery
"Better, thanks to you," she said
Ilia then walked over to him, and she sat next to him and looked over the scenery. The sandhills looked beautiful with the big starry night sky above them.
"So, Jaune Arc huh?" Ilia asked with a smile
"That's my name," he told her
Ilia looked at him, his expression hadn't changed. The only time she ever saw him smile was when Furiosa hugged him. "Why not just say that the night we rescued you and Furiosa?" Ilia asked as she looked at him
Jaune looked at her before he once again turned back to the scenery, "It doesn't matter" He told her
"Really?" Ilia asked
Jaune nodded, "Yeah,"
"Then why hide behind a fake name if it doesn't matter?" Ilia asked him, leaning toward him a bit, "What are you running from, Jaune?"
Jaune continued looking at the scenery, "Ghosts" He told her "I'm running from both the living at the dead"
Ilia looked at him and she could see the faraway look he had in his eyes as he continued staring at the scenery. She didn't even need to guess, she knew what Jaune must have suffered a lot during his time as a prisoner, and from what Trifa had told her earlier, he had been locked up for two years. Ilia was sure that in that time, he was treated terribly, no doubt forced to do unspeakable things and endure the harshest of punishments.
"What happened to you?" Ilia asked, "What did they do to you?"
"A lot" Jaune replied,
Ilia looked at him with a sad expression written on her face, "Were you the only one they took that night?" She asked
Jaune shook his head, "No, there was a lot more" he told her "But most of them are dead now" He told her
Hearing this, Ilia could tell that it was a hard subject for him. He must have forged some bonds with some of the other prisoners and must have also seen their fates, just then she heard Jaune sniffle and she looked at him and saw his expression. It was one of great suffering.
"In that hell hole, I kept promising a way out of it, and as our world fell around us, each of us in our own way was broken..." Jaune said, "And the more I kept failing to escape and save and help people, as they died around me more and more, it was hard to know who was more crazy, me for giving them hope only for it to be crushed or everyone else because they just gave up..."
Ilia looked at him and just felt pity for him, he had been through so much and realized that he might not be as sane as he looked. She was sure that a part of him, a part of his mind was broken from everything he had no doubt suffered through.
"I'm sorry Jaune," Ilia told him sadly
Jaune shook his head, "You don't have anything to be sorry for" he said "It doesn't matter anymore"
Ilia placed her hand on his shoulder and he finally turned away from the scenery and looked at her, as she looked at him.
"You're free now Jaune, and you don't have to be worried about saving people anymore, You saved me, and you saved Furiosa, and even if you don't believe it now, you're going to be saving a lot of people," Ilia told him
Jaune looked at her and to her joy, he gave her a soft smile, "You're right, I don't believe it" He said with a chuckle "But I will admit I did need to hear that I guess," he said
Ilia smiled back at him and gave him a nod, "Hey, you saved my life, cheering you up is the least I can do" She said
Jaune still held that soft smile on his face and nodded, "So what now?" Jaune asked "The White-Fang is after us and I'm sure they're not letting us go easily, not with us killing more of their men," He said
"Plan's still the same," Ilia told him, "We meet up with some old friends of mine halfway on the road, and then we do, we then head back to Vacuo and Shade and get Furiosa to Headmaster Theodore," Ilia told him
Jaune nodded, and that's when he decided to ask a question that's been on his mind since Ilia had said that she had come to rescue Furiosa specifically. "Are you giving her to the Headmaster because of her powers?" Jaune asked Ilia
Ilia looked at him, "What do you mean?" she asked trying to act like she didn't know anything
"Don't think I'm stupid Ilia" Jaune told her "I know that her powers... what she can do with them, they go far beyond a semblance,"
"What makes you say that?" Ilia asked, now curious as to what he thought Furiosa's powers were.
"Because I've seen something similar at Beacon" Jaune said "I've seen someone who could do the same things as Furiosa," Jaune said as he balled his fists
Ilia noticed this and she could now tell that anger was building up inside of Jaune but it then quickly dissipated, which made her a bit confused, but she decided to move away from it, "It has to do with her powers, but that's not the only reason we need her in Shade" Ilia told him
"Then what's the full story?" Jaune asked Ilia
Ilia looked at him and sighed, "I can't tell you that Jaune" Ilia said, "Just now that if we don't bring her to shade... the world might just become an even crazier place," Ilia finished
Jaune was a bit agitated, he knew something else was going on but he also knew that Ilia wouldn't tell him, which made his agitation grow, but he calmed himself down and let out a long and heavy sigh, "Whatever, keep your secrets then," Jaune told her bitterly, "But if anything happens to her, anything at all because you and your friend at Shade are using her, I won't let it slide" He told her.
Ilia looked at him and was a bit taken back by his threat and watched him stand up and walked back to the humvee to rest. Ilia watched him leave before she turned her head and looked back at the beautiful scenery before her and she let out another sigh.
The trip was going to get a lot more complicated and a lot more dangerous. She just hoped that she would meet up with Blake and the others sooner than later because she had a feeling that this mission wasn't going to end well...
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The next chapter is going to focus on Ilia, Jaune, Trifa, Yuma, and Furiosa, mostly Furiosa and Jaune, and their growing relationship with their rescuers, and also see hear how Jaune got captured, but we may even get to see Team RWBY and VOLEN run into some trouble and have their desert road battle!
And hopefully, after that, we'll finally get to see the reunion that you've all been waiting for! And I'll make sure it's a real goddamn tear-jerker!
After that, that's when I'll explore Jaune trying to intergrade himself back in with everyone and see how everyone has changed and get information on what's been going on while everyone on Team RWBY and VOLEN sees how much he's changed as well.
It should also be mentioned that Jaune will still be referred to as Max in some flashbacks and sometimes when he has his delusions.
Also, this is not an IliaXJaune story, (since Ilia is Lesbian and I wanted to keep her that way for this story) The real ship and other romantic relationships won't be revealed/happening till the second part of the story.
