Hey guys! Welcome to the end of the first event! Jaune has found a new place to call home, has reunited with his family, and must now fight to secure the safety of his home kingdom. With all of this chaos, old and new forces stir in the shadows of conflict. The second event will be called Gang War, and will focus on the hold that the Friends of Humanity and the White Fang have on the under belly of Vale. Conspiracies and trickery are a foot, as unexpected allies and unwanted enemies show their faces to Jaune and crew. This event will span (presumably, I don't like enforcing chapters) a longer run than the Claws that Fangs have borne. Finally, to answer the question of one Axis1247 the reason that Pyrrha's semblance effects Jaune's bones is due to the fact that her aura itself is not affecting him. Pyrrha's ability allows her to manipulate magnetic fields, and through those fields affect Jaune. The magnetic fields themselves are not born through aura but manipulated by them. As an example of a different power, say Qrow's bad luck semblance, that would still affect Jaune. Somebody with a fire manipulation semblance would still affect Jaune simply because only the flames that touch his bones/claws would disperse. Velvets semblance would break the second they connected with Jaune's bones or claws because her weapons are constructed by AURA and would break apart as the Adamantium dispersed the aura. In short, Jaune's Adamantium skeleton negates aura and aura alone. As such only specific semblances are in danger of being negated by Jaune's bones. Well that and said semblance needs to touch his metallic skeleton to even be negated in the first place XD his body is fair game.
Now onto important news. The Ultimate Weapon will be going on a small break. As some of you are aware, my first story Journey has been on a ridiculously long break. When the quarantine hit, I used that time to try and get my groove back for it. What ended up happening was a total rewrite instead. So rather than just restart the story I am offering you guys to vote on what should replace Journey! (All available choices will be displayed with summaries at the end of the chapter) Due to this situation the Ultimate Weapon will be on break until the release of the first chapter of the new story. However, that's not to say Ultimate Weapon will be put on the shelf. At the moment two arcs with no planned ending are all I got penned for this story. It's the same failing I had with Journey and I definitely won't allow this story to reach the same end as Journey did. No matter what this story will END as it should, not because I lost my way.
Now enough of this boring shit XD let's get to the chapter! For those of you interested a variation of the summaries for the possible third stories are at the end of this chapter! (visit Arcane Craftsman chapter 6 for a different take on the summary for these stories, a little variation to liven things up).
The Ultimate Weapon Chapter 11: The Claws that Fangs have Borne (Finale)
Jaune sighed as the plane finally neared the Mount. Glen.
"About damn time" muttered Jaune.
"Quiet" said Glynda "Your impatience won't help us here. Now listen. At the moment there has been no signs of life within the vicinity of Mount. Glen. As such we will be employing a drop point about 60 kilometers away from our objective. From there we will make our way to the southern entrance. We will break and compile information before moving forward. I want all of you to be aware of what's going on around you. Jaune, are you ready?"
Jaune nodded, holding his Hand Cannon in view.
"Can't shoot worth a damn" he admitted "but I got a good back up."
SHINK!
Jaune showed his claws, before retracting them back into his left hand.
"Very well. The rest of you I assume are ready to go?"
Ren nodded, his eyes still closed. Storm flower was seated in his lap within plain view. Pyrrha had her weapon in Javelin form, with her shield stored on her back. She wore her usual combat attire. Nora grinned as she handled her grenade launcher.
"Alright then. Pilot, open the hatch."
"What hatc!"
Jaune, who had not worn any form of seat belts or safety equipment was sent flying out the hatch of the dust plane when it opened.
Nora just started laughing as she unbuckled, falling out into the open air. Glynda sighed as she rubbed her eyes, her aura infused strength keeping her secured on the pole she was gripping. Ren sighed as he unbuckled with Pyrrha and the two flew down in a far more controlled manner.
"The things I do for that man" she muttered.
With that said, Glynda to fell to the winds, her semblance allowing her freedom in the skies. She aligned with Ren and Pyrrha quickly, with Nora in a sky diving position slowly aligning with them too.
"Where's Jaune!" yelled Pyrrha.
Nora just grinned madly as she pointed below her, showing Jaune careening out of control at high speeds. His metallic skeleton weighing him down to the point he sped up from gravity faster than the others.
Glynda cringed as Jaune smashed into the ground with a loud thud.
"We best check on him. His aura is still unstable from being awakened so early. Has he attempted to train it?" she asked.
Ren nodded.
"He's managed a few exercises…but the aura seems to simply dissipate more often than not. It's like his aura is only skin deep."
Glynda nodded, signing to her team to keep silent. The group glowed in their respective colors, smashing into the ground as well. The difference however, was that the aura they all surrounded themselves in cushioned the impact.
Instead of a loud crash that would've shattered the earth, they all landed in a dull thud the aura protecting them and dispersing the force through the ground. Pyrrha immediately began running to Jaune, making Nora burst into giggles. The giggles ceased as they heard a disgusting meaty screech.
There was no other word to describe it as they watched Jaune's twisted neck right itself, his shoulder's popped back it place, and a few twisted ribs settle.
Jaune groaned as he stretched, a few segments of his spine straightening out.
"There we go" he muttered "next time tell me about the air drop."
Glynda glared at the boy.
"I've told you explicitly numerous times on the way here that we were going to drop by air. Landing the plane at Mount. Geln could have been too suspicious for the White Fang if they have any surveillance….are you alright?"
Jaune rolled his shoulder with a pop and shrugged.
"About the usual. Healing's all done with. Gun's alright. I'm good to move."
Jaune's nose twitched as he tilted his head north east.
"Hmm…I smell gun powder."
"Already?" whispered Nora.
Jaune shook his head. He closed his eyes, filtering out the sounds and smells of the forest. Here, in the thick regions of the Valish wilds, Jaune's senses had a lot more to work with. The smell of gunpowder was so against the natural scents of nature that it was easy to make out.
"Don't worry about it. Its miles out. My sense of smell beats any Faunus, so I'll be able to sniff em out pretty quick. But if the air gets smothered in gun powder or any other stench, than my sense of smell will be shot."
Glynda rose an eyebrow.
"What about hearing?"
Jaune sighed irritably.
"Hearing is better as well but my ears are sensitive. Anything louder than a gun fire tends to hurt. Nose is more reliable anyways. I can filter out scents as we go."
"Excellent" murmured Ren "this should save us some time. Can you take lead Jaune?"
Jaune began to jog lightly, testing the pace. Glynda began running as well, reminding Jaune that the headmistress of Beacon Academy was not wearing her usual skirt ensemble. Instead she was wearing what had to be a modified dress shirt with a dust infused vest with a pair of black combat pants. Her boots were streamlined for her feet and aimed to be as out of the way as possible. She looked like a well-dressed mercenary. She lacked her usual glasses and had her hair done in a tight bun.
She trailed her students with relative ease. Jaune picked up the pace, surprised that his team was keeping up rather easily. Jaune went full throttle moving as fast as he could, he smiled as they all maintained the same distance. Jaune had limited experience with actual aura users after all, it was easy to forget that aura made Hunters relatively superhuman. Jaune's body may have been stronger than any normal human and was augmented slightly by aura, but he lacked a training and was weighed down by his metallic skeleton. The truth was that he was moving as fast as the slowest beginner with aura.
That worked for Jaune, as the man's fighting style didn't revolve around speed and agility. Yet, even with his slower than average speed for hunters, the group still made excellent time. What would have slowed them down with tracking was easily skipped with Jaune's enhanced senses. The mission parameters would have taken them to the southern entrance of Mount. Glen. An entrance that was located North East from Vale's position.
Yet, instead the group found themselves in front of a cluster of rock formations. Deep within the vast forests that surround the City's capital, and miles away from any civilization, the cluster of rocks was obviously home to a makeshift gun range of some kind. Numerous rocks had bullet holes or were outright destroyed.
"Seems the White Fang have been busy" said Nora.
"This may not be them…but I doubt it" muttered Pyrrha.
Glynda glared at the cluster of rocks.
"It would seem that Ozpin's intel may be off. This isn't training for infiltration, but outright assault. This is probably training for a different operation… but now I worry the stakes for stopping them just got higher. Damnit" grumbled Glynda "are the White Fang willing to go this far? Try to find anything that can give us a clue as to where they've gone and what their plans are."
Jaune knelt down, noticing the foot prints, the spread of the bullets, and not to mention the left over scent. He took a deep breathe, closing his eyes, focusing his senses to the maximum. Its been a while since he last tracked a person, and the information that came with it could get overwhelming if he wasn't careful.
"I smell…kids. Teenagers, probably younger than us" corrected Jaune "the foot prints are somewhat smaller than average, not to mention there is only three of them. The wide bullet spreads indicate a lack of skill…I should know" he chuckled "not to mention that the scents I'm getting reek of pheromones and hormones as well. An overly sweet scent…one strong enough to track."
Glynda blinked.
"How on remnant can you smell that?"
Jaune shrugged.
"Like I know the science behind it, I just do. Mutant remember, anyways its going north east…how much you want to guess that it goes to Mount. Glen?"
"Still a fair bit away" said Nora "who'd want to go all the way out here just to shoot a gun."
"From what I'm smelling it wasn't about shooting guns. This place reeks of alcohol and sex".
Glynda rose an eyebrow but kept her surprise to herself.
"huh…well didn't need to know that" muttered Nora.
Jaune shrugged.
"Its why the scent is so strong even though its been a while…it also means this group must have been here for some time…I think this Mount. Glen operation holds more than just a few spies and infiltrators."
Glynda nodded as she began to lead the way to Mount. Glen, her crop at the ready.
"Indeed. If we take the information you've discovered at face value, it indicates that this is a large group, with new young recruits, who have been in the area long enough to get comfortable…this may very well be a base."
Glynda closed her eyes as she placed her hand on the left side of her head.
"There" she muttered "Ozpin has received my message. He's preparing back up squads as inconspicuous as he can. It will take some time to mobilize them, but he hopes that he can avoid the scrutiny of the army and James now that he has some sizable proof, not to mention that the timing can throw them off."
This was the root of the reason that Ozpin couldn't use huntsman teams. With the military and police forces unreliable, huntsmen would have been the next natural choice. Hell it should have been the first choice.
However, with Ironwood in the area the man would have simply use this as an opportunity to "Show him up" and further enhance his field of influence in Vale. The Atlesian military was only a stepping stone for Shield after all. Ironwood would have scorched the earth around Glen before any team sent by Ozpin could investigate. Glynda would know, because Ironwood had done it before time and time again. Such tactics did indeed work but only as a stop gate measure. Ironwood's tactics would have set the remnants of the White Fang forces into hiding for another time. This required finesse and a clear mind, not raw power and zealot hatred.
It was why Jaune was such a concern for Ozpin at the moment as well. His history with the White Fang gave Jaune more than enough reason to simply kill everyone that shared the mask and uniform. A notion Jaune hoped to dissuade Ozpin of. Jaune sniffed around the area a bit more, trying to familiarize himself with the specific scent as much as he could.
As Jaune sniffed around and his team looked for anything useful, Glynda reached around to the pack she had strapped to her back. From it she pulled a small black cylinder the size of a peanut. She flicked it carelessly between a set of rocks, letting it disappear down the rubble.
"There. Ozpin's marker has been set, lets move out. This has already evolved further than we anticipated but the mission has not changed. Patrol and monitor the hostiles and only engage when necessary. When the attack squads come in we can assist them. Ready to move out?"
Jaune kept his face low to the ground, making sure he only locked onto one scent in particular rather than a potent mixture. The second the scent trail splits from a mixture, his brain would jolt, making for a rather extreme headache that he'd rather not suffer with. The sad fact was that no amount of healing would fix such a headache quickly.
Jaune's nose twitched as he finally latched onto it and immediately began to move, driving his team through the forest at a breakneck pace. The area, while including some uncomfortable information, revealed yet another aspect for why this mission was so much more important than simple surveillance. It was a very real possibility that an army lied in wait. This was supposed to be left to actual huntsmen or military…but the corruption within Vale made depending on them…difficult.
They were the last resort and failure was NOT AN OPTION.
Pyrrha ran a bit faster, matching Jaune's pace and keeping to his left. She smiled as she kept his flank, but turned serious as she directed a question.
"What do you think we'll find?"
"Who knows" muttered Jaune "I'm expecting we'll run into a full-blown infantry ready to shoot. Either that or an entire pack of Grimm. The more likely scenario though is just the entrance and some patrols."
Jaune turned his head to look at Glynda, who was guarding the back.
"What's the plan? Are we going to camp and settle down? Or start mapping out the base?"
"We'll settle first" said Glynda "see if there is any patrols or form of military. Ozpin's extra teams are not a guarantee for us, but it would be best to prepare for them in the chance they do arrive. We must gather as much information as we think we can gain before infiltrating the Glen."
Jaune nodded.
"I'll find a spot then."
They ran continuously for another twenty minutes. Slowly the rooted grass covered soil gave way hard stone and gravel. The trees disappeared and stones took their place.
They had arrived at the foot of Mount. Glen. Jaune rolled his shoulders and whistled. Damn they made good time, an easy forty minutes. But as he looked up, he scowled.
Jaune clicked his tongue in irritation.
"They must have a semblance that lets them climb up. There are barely any foot holds, man made or otherwise. No tools either. Would take us a good hour to get u!"
The ground quietly shook as Glynda began to lift the ground beneath them with her semblance, it was slow going but quiet. The constant motion made better time than simply jumping up the cliff, for the higher they climbed the more dangerous the fall would be. Better a safe and constant route, than a quick perilous one. Already the group was working with only three quarters of their aura, the air drop having taken some of it. Jaune started to check his gun with Pyrrha while Nora looked at Glynda.
"Do you think the White Fang will notice this?"
"No" said Glynda "I sense no aura signatures around us. Not to mention that any technology out here would have been detected by the Bulk Head's instruments. Speed is of the essence at the moment, so please be ready."
Jaune drew his pistol. The few days of training on his rifle was not pleasant. Hopefully his shitty aim had more to do with the gun than his own.
Jaune didn't think so, but he could hope. He drew the pistol to his chest and tried to mimic how he watched some cops hold the gun. Immediately, Jaune noticed that the gun's handle was not designed for that. It was firmly designed to be held in one hand, so that the other could fan the hammer.
It was a difficult weapon to aim…but in return?
The power was unreal.
So unreal that it took special bullets for Jaune to use. Forge had helped immensely by giving Jaune a good twenty bullets on short notice. Ren pointed at an opening in the mountain, a perfect circle that had a spike sticking from it. The spike was obviously for careening down the mountain. Jaune couldn't help but think that a few of these recruits must have been thrill seekers of some kind. Who the hell just ropes down the entire side of a mountain just to get drunk and screw? Jaune's ears twitched, the sound of something…crunching echoing in his ear drums.
Jaune moved to the edge of the rock facing the cliff and as his began to see in the darkness of the tunnel, his gun flew from its holster on his leg and was fired.
BANG!
"Why would you?"
Jaune ignored Glynda's scowl and pointed at the end of the tunnel….
Showing a decayed White Fang corpse.
A bullet hole clean through the head. The skin had been picked clean, showing bone and badly decayed muscle and skin. Beside it was a small grimm the size of a mouse. A screecher. Called as such for its irritable screeching that called forth its more powerful brethren. If Jaune had not fired as quickly as he had, the flood of Grimm would have ended the mission right than and there….at least that's what it looked like to his team.
Jaune was of course unaware of what the creature was, but his quick shooting had killed the creature and prevented the team from being discovered. With Glynda's mention of a lack of aura Jaune felt he didn't need to worry about noise just yet. Jaune frowned a the Grimm he had killed. He had gotten the little bugger with just one shot…but his aim was still trash.
For instead of hitting the dog sized rodent grimm in the head, his bullet missed and blew its ass apart. The sheer force of the bullet punched a fist size hole through the grimm. The fact it died from such a wound showed how young and weak the little Grimm was.
"This has been stinking this place up for weeks….I don't have any proof, but my guts telling me this is like Jack. A fight between members. If whoever killed them did so here, they must have been confident that they could just leave this guy here."
"….Jesus" whispered Glynda.
Ren grimaced and tried to hold his stomach like the others. The stench alone was disturbing. Jaune continued like it wasn't a problem. He had seen and made enough corpses in his day to get used to it all. He grimaced as he stared at the body. Young, bones not yet fully developed. Some were longer than others, signifying either a deformity or simple growth spurts. Jaune of course knew none of this, he was not trained as an investigator after all. But animal instincts told Jaune all he truly needed to know.
Female.
Young.
And that the bullet came from behind.
"…I stand corrected, I don't think this has anything to do with politics" grumbled Jaune "execution shot."
Jaune let his nose trail the air around this poor woman. Her hands were clawed, showing a type of feline faunus, perhaps canine? Either way no one deserved to simply be killed….
Jaune closed his eyes, his hands rubbing his knuckles.
"Jaune?"
He stood up at Pyrrha's voice and frowned.
"I have a scent. The same one from the rocks, but stronger. The trail ends here."
While the scent may have been stronger, that was simply because the person was here before Jaune and seemed to spend a lot of time in front of the corpse…the scent couldn't have been more than a few hours old.
"Fuck" growled Jaune "Whoever did this comes back to this corpse…and they stay a while"
Glynda frowned.
"Can you follow the scent?"
Jaune nodded. The scent was decayed and broken up, but it was still traceable.
"The entrance to their base can't be around here" said Glynda, her tone morose "whoever did this left the body to rot."
"God" muttered Nora "I knew I wanted to do a bigger mission but…..god".
It was hard to put into words the feeling that everyone felt. The realization that the stakes were much higher than they thought being a key emotion. But more importantly came a sense of purpose and drive. The willingness to fight back and push such senseless violence down….with a hammer….and breaking legs. The sight of this body reminding Nora of a time when she was weak and afraid. The corpses and bodies of the village hitting the floor from the onslaught of Grimm. An image she wanted to make sure no one else needed to see…
And yet here it was once more.
"I'm ready" thought Nora.
Jaune nodded. Glynda placed a marker on the body, making sure that Ozpin would get the poor girl a burial.
"The scent keeps going in the tunnel" said Jaune "if it can even be called that."
"I…this is too unusual" muttered Pyrrha.
"I've never seen rock carved this smoothly before" said Ren "it would seem to be the product of aura."
The group's trip down this "tunnel" was definitely unusual. It was obviously made by semblance usage, for their existed no uneven edges or shattered rock that a machine would leave. It was perfectly smooth and cylinder in shape. The floor they walked on was just as smooth. Glynda frowned as she noticed the tunnel beginning to dip down. It was a straight shot so far, but it was entirely possible that would not always be the case. Glynda's scroll vibrated, showing that her mapping app was doing its job. Every step they took was being tracked.
Glynda narrowed her eyes as she noticed that the tunnel never lost its light, no matter how far they got, the yellow crystal of dust within the walls keeping the sun's light strong. Much like the rest of the tunnel, the dust was just as smoothed out.
"Do you sense anything else?" asked Pyrrha.
Jaune gave a savage grin as he nodded. The group had arrived at a seemingly dead end.
"The scent congregates here. I wonder why" he drawled.
Jaune gestured towards a flat rock that was situated at the left of the wall they hit. A couple of Vale beer bottles littered across it.
"…Perhaps they come here to reminisce and make sure they didn't get caught" muttered Ren.
Jaune grunted. He tapped the wall, the sound echoing through the tunnel.
"It's hollow" stated Nora.
Glynda placed her hand on the rock, immediately the rock glowed purple.
"It's placed in a groove of some kind" she muttered "I can move it but it won't be quiet."
"Whoever did this probably built this in a location that noise doesn't matter. I say go for it" said Jaune.
"Perhaps we should be more careful?" suggested Pyrrha "we have no idea what's on the other side. We could be walking into something we can't simply run away from."
"Can't do something like this without a bit of risk" sighed Nora "besides, not our call."
Ren looked at Nora worryingly, her morose attitude slightly worrying. But he said nothing. After all, he to was feeling the atmosphere of this whole mission…and it was far from pleasant.
Glynda contemplated her next choice of action. She sighed as she looked around the small tunnel. Wide enough to encompass their entire squad and then some. The use of a semblance was obviously in play here, the smooth circumference of this tunnel too perfect to be made by machines. It meant there was aura users here which increased the danger significantly.
But on the other hand, this was obviously built far away as Jaune said. The body they saw just confirmed the confidence the killer had in this location being undiscovered.
"….I'm going to open it" said Glynda "if we don't encounter anyone we immediately find a spot to lay low and plan further."
With a click on Glynda's phone a few dozen small spiders crawled from her backpack. The size of a coin and pitch black in color. From a distance they were almost indistinguishable from normal spiders but in truth were powerful surveillance devices. They lacked the ability to record video or sound, but in return were capable of sending geographic information. In other words, they helped map out an area courtesy of Stark Industries. Glynda slowly began to move the wall to the side, a dull groan echoing down the tunnel. The small robots zoomed at the opening, dashing towards the room.
As the door opened in full, Jaune took point, his indestructible body making the logical vanguard. Pyrrha took his right while Ren to his left. Nora remained in the pack, her grenade launcher ready and a serious expression on her face. This was not fighting Grimm. The chaotic combat style they were used to would not help them here. Instead a more tactical approach was necessary. The area they found themselves in was massive. The height of the cave was easily several kilometers, and the expanse seemed to go beyond even what Jaune could see. Built the same way as the tunnel, but it was apparent that this place was in use.
Why?
The dozen or so vehicles, ammo crates, and large racks of guns spread haphazardly made that all too clear.
Ren switched with Jaune in a practiced motion. This formation was the only one team JNPR had practiced, just for this mission. A diamond shape that ensured constant eyes on each of the four cardinal directions.
Pyrrha was already looked down her scope. Her years of arena fighting gave her an extra edge in fighting human and faunus. Yet, no amount of arena fighting would have prepared her for the sheer weight of what was occurring.
Here she was in a cave investigating the White Fang. It was absolutely insane just how much her life had changed in such a short amount of time. Yet, the pressure she felt was not one that made her weak or nervous. Instead it was a pressure that made her more aware of herself. Never before had Pyrrha been so precise in her movements, so quick to react. Pyrrha was in her element when she was challenged, mentally or physically.
Suddenly an idea came to her.
"Jaune, can you sense anything?"
Jaune shook his head.
"No one smells or sounds near us. Although now I'm starting to get hit by a dozen or so scents I have to filter through."
"How are your eyes?"
"Can see in the dark and a lot father than any Faunus, why?"
"Sending you up."
"Sending me?"
Jaune felt his skeleton freeze up, the magnetic fields that Pyrrha could control levitating Jaune into the air. Glynda, who had just finished carefully placing the wall they moved back into place, turned to see the ludicrous sight, sighed, and than simply rolled with it.
Jaune remained in the air, his eyes darting across the entire place as much as he could. Pyrrha slowly turned his body around a full circle, before bringing him back down.
"Anything?"
"Nobody knows we're here" confirmed Jaune "We have a successful intrusion. I did see a door in the distance but nobody is in here with us. This place seems like a warehouse almost, they seem to store all their unused equipment and guns here."
"Are they White Fang?" asked Nora "it may just be friends of Humanity or something? I mean it'd be stupid of them to be here when they're already in the city but…well they're kind of stupid to begin with."
"One hundred percent White Fang" said Jaune "they got their logos everywhere."
Glynda rose an eyebrow at Jaune's calm demeanor and militaristic actions, but then remembered what exactly the White Fang was using him for. A weapon Jaune may have been, but a weapon that couldn't follow orders was useless. Rose revealed to Ozpin and Glynda that Jaune had been trained to be an assassin of sorts. A master of infiltration and elimination. He had no combat training, but he was instructed on how to properly break in and out of bases and remain unseen. He was subjected to certain training methods that instilled the skills necessary for Wet Work while ensuring he understood hierarchy and tactics of his masters.
It was probably why Jaune was so damn effective when he went to slaughter said masters. Glynda however, gave a small smile at the control that Jaune was exhibiting. It would seem that the event with Jack and Beacon truly affected him. Whether that was truly the case was remained to be seen.
"Excellent. We'll set up there" said Glynda pointing at a rather high up cliff on the walls of the cave "you lot can relax for a spell. Leave the stake out to me for now."
Without waiting to hear their complaints Glynda already began moving to the cliff.
"Man a lot of climbing right now" muttered Nora "It's actually kind of boring."
"Perhaps, but we're not here to fight" said Ren.
Jaune let his claws out and began jabbing them into the rock and climbing. He titled his fists at a ninety-degree angle as he climbed. If he didn't than his own body weight, mixed with the absurd sharpness of the Adamantium, would have resulted in Jaune simply sliding down the rock as his claws cut through it.
The group climbed for a good few minute, before sitting with Glynda at the face of the cliff.
Calling it a cliff was a little too much though. It was simply a bit of rock jutting out of the wall, a natural formation. The four students sat at the back of this formation, the widest part, with Glynda laying stomach flat at the tip of the cliff. Her eyes constantly scanning the room.
It took a few minutes of silence before a few White Fang members filled the room. But they didn't stay long. Jaune kept his eyes closed, focusing entirely on his sense of sound and his nose.
One.
Three.
Seven.
Two.
The number of people within the area kept changing by the hour. Jaune left the actual gathering of information to Glynda. What he kept track of was the number of separate individuals. 9 different people entered this place so far. Eventually though…Glynda sucked in a deep breath.
"NO!" she hissed.
"What happened?" asked Ren.
The group tried their best to huddle with Glynda, but only Pyrrha and Ren could fit on either side of her. Two White Fang members were carrying football sized devices. Perfectly cylinder with ends of red and yellow dust on each side respectively.
The two members carried two each, moving carefully and with hesitance.
"Kyper bombs" grumbled Glynda.
"Shit" muttered Jaune.
Kyber Bombs. Made by the world's nuttiest inventor Kyber, a demolition specialist that created the Nova bomb, Remnants equivalent to a tactical nuke. Their design was originally for the destruction of large scaled buildings.
Except…the woman was a nut job. She decided that it was either go big or go home. The result? It was like a C4 burped hell, sucked it back in, only to fart it back out three times worse. The red and yellow dust created a plasma discharge hot enough and potent enough to shatter stone with pure kinetic force and disintegrate organic matter within a certain radiance.
After Kyber died of old age, the bombs original name was changed to honor her as her last will requested. The original name you ask?
The Sol Breaker.
In essence, the batty idiot attempted to create a miniature exploding sun. The result? Kingdoms around the world of Remnant banned the use of commercial Kyber bombs and instead limited production solely for Grimm combat at the front lines…. sadly the likes of Hydra and Shield kept a strong supply of them going for their own personal use.
While the radius on a normal charge was only a few feet due to their original design, the bomb itself was highly versatile, merely increase the size of the canister and the proportions of the ingredients and the bombs power would increase exponentially or should I say…. explosively?
Yea I know I'm leaving now, back to the story.
As the White Fang has shown, this was no longer a simple shoot out. An assault was bad, hands down. But the idea that this terrorist group was somehow filled with enough people that thought bringing bombs that mimicked exploding suns was a good idea?
Well like Jaune said,
Shit.
"What's the ETA on Ozpin's backup?"
Glynda was already concentrating on Ozpin and her frown said it all. Their connection was weak, but it was still enough to relay messages to each other.
"Another two hours at least. Ironwood caught wind of the hunter deployment. He's delaying them, trying to figure out what Ozpin is doing."
"Are you fucking serious?" demanded Nora.
"I don't wish to be" growled Glynda "god that man! He's paranoid cause he thinks Ozpin is going to screw up. The man is foolish enough to believe that he is the only one that can keep the peace."
"Jesus" muttered Jaune "I heard of arrogant people but that takes the cake."
"We don't have a choice now" sighed Glynda "we cannot let those get into the city…I'm sorry but be ready for combat."
Jaune stood and rolled his neck. He rolled his shoulder's and let a breath escape his mouth.
"I doubt the White Fang knows I'm part of Beacon. I think I can distract them for a time."
"….."
Glynda narrowed her eyes. Was this a ploy? A means of…legally taking the fight to the White Fang.
"Be careful" whispered Ozpin's thoughts "things may not be as they appear. Perhaps hear him out first."
The presence of her lover's thoughts eased Glynda. It made her happy that he was keeping a constant vigil on her, even if it wasn't necessary. The man would never fight her battles, always knowing she was more than capable. But the fact he still worried, ready to go to her side whenever she needed or requested it…well what person wouldn't love such devotion from their partner?
"Explain".
Jaune pointed to the vehicles and canisters of remaining Kyber bombs.
"Take the bombs and use them. Can't afford to let them into the city and taking them is just trouble. I plan on sneaking around, knocking out any White Fang I can. I won't take lethal action unless needed. Even if they catch me, they'll believe I'm working alone. The White Fang may be large, but their information always sucks."
Glynda double checked with Ozpin. Team CRMS (CRiMSon) was on their way, a mere hour off now. They busted through Ironwood's improvised air blockade by using Connor's battery semblance to accelerate an aerial drop out of their airship to close the distance and would continue on foot. Thankfully blocking a huntsman team from a mission was not something Ironwood would like to be caught doing and as such CRMS was left alone. The other team AQUA (No offense it should be obvious what the team name is XD) was unfortunately held up, lacking such a convenient power. But the team was keeping Ironwood pinned, unable to properly lead his organization for a time.
In other words, the Calvary was coming…but not for another 45 minutes to an hour.
"…..Trust is earned" warned Glynda "….so don't make me regret this."
Jaune nodded. Glynda turned to the other three.
"I want each of you to attach the Kyber bombs to each vehicle and weapons cache you can find. Jaune I want you to use your phone and sync it to mine. It will track your movements for the map and update us as you go. You'll also have access to whatever information the scouts bots have procured. Whenever you can text me of the status of the enemy."
Glynda and the crew began to move further down the walls, quickly moving behind a large hauling truck. Whoever's semblance was at work must have allowed for the manipulation of earth to an unprecedented scale. Regardless, said individual was a secondary target at best…even if they were the likely culprit of the murder they found.
"The mission objectives have changed to the following" said Glynda "Top priority is the munitions of any kind. Stopping their transport into the city is paramount. Second is personnel. If any of us happen to come across Adam and Chainsaw follow them. While their arrest is important, the information they may have is more so. Only interfere if you believe they are leaving the area or enacting their operation. Lastly, if possible, destroy the route the White Fang have gain access to. Remember, the White Fang is indeed strong, but they make up the lack of huntsman with technology. Removing that advantage will make things easier for both ourselves and Ozpin's team when they arrive."
Jaune nodded, ready to move out immediately. Pyrrha clasped his shoulder and gave him a half smile. Her irritated expression obviously aimed at herself.
"Jaune…please be careful. I…I don't feel comfortable you going off on your own again. It feels like the sewers again."
Jaune smirked.
"Don't worry darling, I'll be fine."
Jaune didn't turn around but instead jumped down to the ground. Pyrrha's face flushed red but her frown didn't disappear.
"….That's not the point" she muttered.
The first partner that wasn't a complete douche and every mission they've had together they've been separated….it was annoying to say the least.
"Once again he goes off alone. But that won't always be the case" stated Ren "aside from a few formations we haven't really had a chance to train as a team and work together. Something to remedy when this is over."
Pyrrha nodded. Her face turned to stone as she forcibly calmed herself. Glynda smiled, thankful that for teenagers her current team was capable of focusing on the mission at hand.
"We'll wait till he leaves the area, after I want everyone sabotaging every vehicle and weapon cache you can find. We'll follow in the opposite direction Jaune takes to cover the most ground."
-Jaune's perspective-
Jaune's breathing was even. His heart steady and quiet. The room holding the munitions of the White Fang was large, that was for certain. But when he reached the exit and went through the door Jaune noticed the same unusual formation as the tunnel he went through.
A good portion of the room was like smooth marble. Like more rock was added to the area to either close it off, or make it larger. He had entered a long hallway and decided to go left, rather than right. He'd leave that to Glynda and the others. Jaune took his steps carefully. If this was a normal raid as he had done before, he would have been yelling and screaming away, intent on killing everything that moved. But this was not the time, he needed information. There was a storehouse and a building like structure. What else could be here? As Jaune kept moving down the rather long hallway, filled with doors that lead to small rooms (Jaune would know he checked) he let his thoughts linger on the structure he was walking through.
"This is definitely the work of an Alpha level semblance…maybe even a mutant?" thought Jaune.
ALPHA, a designation derived from the Atlesian ranking system. A system of ranking semblances and mutations in accordance to the level of danger they presented. It was a rather cynical system that judge a semblance based on their power. A way of judging the danger an individual could theoretically possess. Huntsman used it as a way of giving quick and precise information on the utility of their semblance. Huntsmen in training used it for bragging rights. An ALPHA designation was considered the pinnacle of typical human power. Their semblances and mutations made them powerful individual capable of feats that are beyond most people. Such as the manipulation of polarity like Pyrrha. BETA was the designation normally bequeath to those whose semblances were either weaker than an alpha or perhaps geared more towards support. But as Jaune had learned, Beta did not mean weak. Beta was a designation well known for unique and unusual support abilities. Ren's ability to turn invisible to the Grimm is immensely useful, while Nora's buff to her own power with lightning was an incredible boost. DELTA was….well they were unfortunately those whose semblance or mutation was next to useless. A perfect example would be the case of someone who could cause a dull light to shine from their eyes….and that was it. Some say that Delta abilities have room to improve, to grow above and beyond their usual designations if given time and training. OMEGA, the final and rarest designation…also known as a PMD, a Person of Mass Destruction. These are individuals whose power can change the very structure of the kingdoms, a power so great they can crush nearly anything or anyone…Ozpin stands at this summit…but who's to say if he's alone on said summit?
Jaune swallowed as he continued down the rather odd hallways. The doors were made of stone that could be slid out of the way, but every door he opened garnered a risk of getting caught. The noise it made echoing through the hallways. For a time Jaune thought the hallway would never end. Finally he just decided screw it and opened the next door on his right.
As he slowly pushed the door sideways, Jaune became face to face with a White Fang member. Too bad for the Faunus, the Wolverine was too fast. Before a squeak could leave the man's throat, Jaune spun him around, clasping his arms around the man's throat and placing his body weight against the man's head, forcing it downwards into his chest.
The man struggled, but it was weak. A sign that this particular faunus lacked an aura. It wasn't long before the struggling ceased. Jaune looked around, noticing that he was in…
"I'm killing whoever designed this place" muttered Jaune
Once again, he was in another hallway. He flung the unconscious Faunus over his shoulder and saw a door to his left. With one hand Jaune moved the solid stone. Jaune looked around and almost spit take at what he saw.
"What the actual fuck?" muttered Jaune.
It was like the entire place was made from grey marble. Smooth and perfect ten by ten feet room…with a weird ass granite toilet right in the center.
That was it.
Hell there wasn't even any toilet paper.
Jaune rose an eyebrow. He looked around and frowned.
"….I'm not going to question this" he muttered.
He dropped the body and hoped for the best. Thankfully time wasn't a real concern. With the White Fang's intentions made bare, attacking them was the only move they had left. A few escaping was a real possibility, but so long as Jaune could knock out a few and bring them in for questioning…than that was probably ok.
"….Man it's easier just to kill em all isn't it" thought Jaune as he silently stalked the hallways "doing things the right way sucks."
Jaune's animal instincts ensured he moved like a predator, silent and ready to spring. His idle thoughts an example of his autonomous instincts. As he kept thinking, his body kept hunting, to a degree anyway. The hallways were a bunch of confusing mazes, twisting and turning. Jaune's silent steps were a boon in this instance, for the hallways design and emptiness would have caused echoes for sure. Finally Jaune noticed a new door at the end. It was mechanical and made of steel. The door slid open with a whoosh, revealing a female Faunus with a key card in hand.
"S!"
Jaune lashed out, planting his fist into the woman's neck. The woman gurgled as her throat collapsed for a time and she leaned forward in surprise. Jaune rushed forward, wrapping both arms around her exposed neck, and promptly landed on his butt. Once again, his entire body weight bore down on his victims neck, with her arms trapped beneath his own. The odd position gave her no leverage to fight agaisnt him.
She struggled a lot more than the last one. The key card was probably a sign of rank, meaning she most likely had aura. The great thing about aura was that it could prevent physical harm from happening to the body.
What it did NOT do was oxygenate the cells of said body. As such, choking out a huntsman was the same tactic as choking out a typical person…just immensely more difficult.
"Urrrk"
….Usually.
In any other circumstance, he'd wait for the typical crunch of broken bones as the pressure became too much, but for now he simply adjusted his weight and waited for the struggling to cease.
For such a large area, Jaune was surprised at the lack of members he was coming across. The door that just opened revealed a bunch of computers and files.
It was obvious that this had been around for a lot longer than even Jaune had speculated. He planted the woman's unconscious form in one of the closets in this new area. It lacked windows, so he didn't have to worry about being seen. He pocketed the key card while he was at it. Jaune closed the closet and looked around the room, sniffing as he did.
"No one's here" he muttered.
Jaune stalked to the computer and inspected it. It was password locked, and he wasn't going to bother trying to unlock it. Instead he drew his claws and slashed every cord on every desktop he could find. He'd be long out of the room before anyone noticed and the way he cut the line would prevent anyone from suspecting it was him.
As he cut the last of the cords his ears twitched as he heard faint murmuring.
"….Might be best to follow that" he muttered.
And follow he did. Jaune's hearing led him to a pair of doors at the back of the room and up a small set of stairs. On the side of the mechanical door was a pass board. Jaune tapped the pass key on it and the door open quickly. Jaune swallowed as he noticed he had entered a rather…unexpected room.
"HA!"
"YA!"
"HOO RAH!"
Row upon row upon row of White Fang were training in hand to hand combat, some in rifle drills, with a rare few using huntsman weapons.
"Listen up recruits!"
Jaune noticed that he was on a scaffolding of some sort, a pathway made so that people could travel through the room without intruding on training. It was overly thick, allowing for the travel of large groups of people. Large pillars were placed throughout the large scaffolding like support. Jaune didn't really see the need for it considering the entire thing was made out of stone. The room below him looked like something straight out of vale, wooden walls, hardwood floors, but mixed and mashed with the earth in order to accommodate everything.
It was difficult to decipher how long these people had been here. Normally such buildings took years to make, but if the semblance that could do all this truly existed amongst their number, than a few years could be shorten to just a few weeks, days of hard work even. Jaune hid behind the pole as he focused on the man's speech.
"I swear to god Fredrick shut up! Listen, we got Adam and Chainsaw among us today. They had just returned from inspecting our brethren already hidden in Vale. We will be excecuting our plans very soon so be ready!...Oh for the love of, what Kevin!?"
A timid Faunus that had a pair of doe like ears glared at their leader.
"I thought we were just infiltrating Vale to save our fellow Faunus? When were you going to tell us this training was for a full on assault!"
A surge of people talking began to echo through the room. Jaune rose an eyebrow as he watched.
"Well this was interesting" he thought.
"Plans changed" gruffed the leader.
"…..What does the Khan have to say for this!"
"Yea where's her seal of apporval for this?!"
"I didn't sign up for all out war!?"
"Cowards all of you! The Humans won't listen to reason!"
"All they know what to do is take!"
"Are you even listening to yourselves? Have you forgotten about the Unity foundation!?" screamed one Faunus in particular.
She stood tall, having jumped onto a large container in the room, growling like the lion that she was.
"The Unity foundation was built by humans for the same cause as us! They have helped us! They supplied us even in the midst of our growing ill reputation. They didn't believe a word of it and…and we're acting exactly like the human news describes us as! Tell me Garrick!"
The room, silent in awe at the audacity this woman had, turned their attention to the gruff bison of a man that stood with a frown on his face.
"Is it true what the humans say?" she asked "That we are responsible for the attack on the Schnee train? The one that killed dozens of humans and Faunus alike!?"
Garrick mearly scowled even further.
"Classified".
"That was a stupid move" thought Jaune "you basically just said it was you guys."
"So what if they did!" said a trainee "I say the Schnee's deserve it! They fucking torture us! TORTURE! What on Remnant does that have to do with "working efficiency". Whatever we had to lose to make sure the world had less of those sadists the better."
"So that's it than!?"
From there the discussions went worse and worse. Jaune clicked his teeth as he realized this was going to go on forever. It may have been best to attack now if anything. If Jaune had to hazard a guess this wasn't the first time someone made a complaint against the…White Fang's questionable bullshit…Jaune would bet his damn bike that the corpse they found was another nay sayer. The extremists verses the extreme extremists…
Shit that wasn't going to end well.
But Jaune kept his cool and moved along…
Well…
That was before Chainsaw busted into the scene. Literally. The man just shouldered through a door blasting it off its hinges. With Jaune's enhanced sight he noticed a derange look in the massive man's eyes.
"ENOUGH!" he yelled "this is not the time for bickering!"
Chainsaw than pointed at the militaristic leader.
"You, what is this classified nonsense, we are brothers and sisters of the White Fang! We do not cower with the words the human scum use to hide their transgressions."
There was a primal charisma to the man, his mere presence demanding attention. A savage but natural charisma that was the most dangerous kind anyone could muster. All natural and difficult to work agaisnt.
"Here me! We did indeed attack the Schnee train but never, NEVER, did we endanger the Faunus on board. No, instead a traitor amongst us sabotaged the mission, activating the defense droids within. The fight almost cost the lives of Adam and myself, ended the lives of a few fellow warriors, but the Schnee's burned with their train that day…but even in victory we could do not but mourn. Do not assume we have strayed from a righteous path!" he cried "the Schnee's must DIE, that is true. But we have not changed. We fight as one! We are the fangs that will sever the binds that restrain us to usher in the freedom of our people! FOCUS ON THE MATTER AT HAND AND WE WILL SEE THE FUTURE!"
Jaune narrowed his eyes. The man's speech was certainly emotional, if a bit choppy. If he had to hazard a guess that man was more concerned with breaking up the fight…but the way chainsaw looked at the people yammering on about innocents and the true White Fang way….
Jaune knew chainsaw would kill each and every one of them. The reason eluded Jaune, chainsaw seemed the more pragmatic type despite his emotional out pour. Jaune checked his phone. It was 1:16 when Glynda told them about the arrival time for the reinforcements. It was now almost 2:10. He sent a quick text.
JAUNE: Glydna, found chainsaw, permission to engage?
…..
Glynda: Permission granted. We found Adam, he and a few White Fang members are loading a train of some sort with the Kyber bombs. They are planning to use the train to bust through the sealed entrance in the middle of Vale. It's reinforced with several plates of a Vibranium sub alloy. The Kyber bombs are the only thing that can bust through them. Massive attack on Vale unlikely. Cause a commotion and fight until reinforcements arrive. Need the distraction for Adam to leave and have the train open for sabotage.
"Jeez it's called text not an email. But understood" muttered Jaune.
There was really a proper way to do this he supposed….but nah.
Jaune ran full throttle to the railing and leaped over it. He drew his hand cannon, firing six shots as he fell, leaving one bullet left in the chamber. The Faunus recruits scatter mostly due to surprise.
Then they scattered in fear as Jaune's claws slowly drew. His origin was always in question. A vast majority of Faunus dismissed the idea that he was a subject experimented on by their group. After all, human experimentation was something HUMANS did, the White Fang would never stoop to such a level. Arguments such as that prevented a large mass quitting as it were.
However, what was not disputed, was the corpses that Jaune would leave in his wake. Base after base, battalion after battalion. It was little wonder that the average new recruit reacted as such to Jaune.
"FUCKING RUN!"
"OH SHIT!"
"….I thought he'd be taller?"
"DAMNIT MORON RUN!"
After all, Jaune was a living boogy man to the Faunus, an urban legend that they prayed was simply a human created lie.
"Hey bub".
Chainsaw was already growling as he turned to Jaune, his chainsaw came roaring out of a small rectangle kept at his waist. At first glance the weapon seemed purely mechanical. However, the teeth seemed to be comprised of high density vibrating aura.
Jaune gave a dark grin as he pointed his claws at Chainsaw and motioned them towards himself.
"Come here."
Jaune would hand it to the giant, he moved with a grace and ferocity that none of the Faunus Jaune had faced bothered mustering. Not to mention there was zero hesitation in Chainsaws movements. Chainsaw hefted their namesake and slammed it against Jaune's claws as Jaune braced himself. The chainsaw's scream turned into a puttering gurgle as Chainsaw's auric blades, normally heavily effective against aura, dispersed at contact with Jaune's claws.
Chainsaw looked at his weapon.
Jaune grinned.
Chainsaw that headbutted the boy.
Jaune's face faltered a little at the slight ringing but he just stared at Chainsaw.
"Really?" he asked.
"Hmph, so you are made of metal abomination."
Jaune rolled his eyes.
"I am what you made me."
"HMPH. A traitor than as well."
"…..hmmmm".
A deep growl, not at all an uncommon trait of aggression amongst the Faunus population, rippled in Jaune's chest.
"Breathe" thought Jaune "breathe. Buy time, that's the whole point. Keep him distracted, but fight him like you mean it!"
Jaune roared as he charged forward, he swung at a too obvious opening in Chainsaw's defenses, located at slightly below the ribs, allowing the man to counter Jaune's outstretched left hand with his bare weapon.
Jaune was counting on that sadly. With a quick swipe of his right handed claws, Jaune neatly cut right through the middle of Chainsaw's weapon. Chainsaw gasped and than began attacking Jaune with his fists. Judging from the notches on the weapon Jaune could tell that it was used not only as a tool for killing, but also as a makeshift shield.
Sucked to be him.
The newbies had already run away but in return the more harden members were flooding in. They began shooting at Jaune, but the wolverine just grinned. He didn't need aura, hell he didn't even need to worry about death. The idea of dodging? Getting out of the way? Laughable. It was all so laughable. The White Fang was so concerned over Jaune's true origins being discovered that they were never truly prepared for a man that couldn't die.
Jaune slashed at Chainsaw. He couldn't retract his claws, it would have been obvious that he was stalling. However, he could outright kill the man even if it was on the table. It was a dangerous game to keep Chainsaw's attention, one that couldn't go on for long.
A slash at Chainsaw's leg made the giant man stumble. A slash at Chainsaw's right arm made him fall back. A random white Fang member charged in, but Jaune simply turned around at slashed at their chest. They grabbed their wound, firmly believing that they were dealt a mortal blow if their screaming was anything to go by.
The man was fine, just unconcious at the moment.
Buuut…
He certainly looked dead now didn't he?
The group kept their distance, but one large ram woman kept firing head shot after head shot. Before long Jaune's aura broke and her bullet went through, forcing Jaune's head back a sickening degree. They cheered!
Only for said cheer to die as Jaune's neck straightened and the whole on his head revealed pure white metal with skin already healing over it. Jaune kept an eye on Chainsaw in his peripheral vision and focused on the ram woman. She was large, much larger than most men. Her biceps were the size of his head.
A true amazon of a woman, she hit like a truck too. Jaune found himself almost gagging when he misjudged her speed and her fist buried itself into his stomach. She rose both hands to slam them into Jaune's exposed back, but cried out when Jaune stabbed his claws into her thighs. He twisted for good measure and as the woman fell to her knees he grabbed her head and slammed his skull into hers.
She was out like a light. Thank god for metallic skeletons.
Jaune rolled his shoulder's and grinned. Chainsaw was already back up, his aura now slowly healing his wounds. Adamantium dispersed aura on contact true, but the effect only worked when in constant contact with the metal. If it was just a cut than the aura would return eventually. Perfect for assassination. Not as effective in a frontal fight if you're distracted like Jaune was. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt though. Jaune spun around and smashed his fist into one mook. He slammed his foot on the knee of another, breaking it to the ground. Jaune ignored their pained cries, at least they weren't dead.
What? Did you think he became a pacifist or something?
Jesus, leave such crazy notions for marvel or something, we all know what we want here.
Jaune spun around, his claws tearing through legion after legion of the vast scores of White Fang now trailing in.
It was one after another, a stab, a swish, a slash, and a crunch. The sound of tearing flesh and breaking bone bringing a disturbing sense of zen to Jaune. No matter how human he looked, he was in the end a feral mutant. To Jaune, combat was a state he was naturally born to and as such was something he never truly grew uncomfortable with.
SHINK!
Jaune removed his claws from the arm of a random sword wielder he just stabbed. His one claw through the arm destroying whatever will the man had. Jaune rose an eyebrow at the quality of soldiers he was seeing. It was mixed. Some had a harden gaze against him, willing to fight to the last. Other's were…for a lack of a better term green. Both literally and figuratively! Hell there was one guy who threw up.
The stink was awful.
But what it showed was that this particular group was…unusually underdeveloped. Say what you want about the White Fang, they lacked funds, they lacked aura users, and so on and so forth, but their training, zeal, and organization skills were the equal of any kingdom! The thought that they were training new recruits here of all places instead of in someplace like Menagerie?
Perhaps what Ozpin mentioned was true, the White Fang was truly just multiple groups using the same name. Would go a long way explaining the lack of information the new recruits had.
"Perhaps they don't have the numbers they wanted?" thought Jaune "so they started recruiting newbies from Vale, but didn't tell them the full plan…but doesn't make any sense though? what on earth are they thinking?"
Smack!
Jaune was launched by a shoulder check from Chainsaw, whose injuries had closed from the reemergence of his aura. There was an audible noise, like glass shattering, as flakes of aura burst from Jaune.
"Now to put you down mad dog!"
Jaune tried to jump away, sadly Chainsaw was not like the usual grunts he fought. This was a warrior that had survived many life and death battles. The difference was stark, Jaune would admit. Chainsaw had taken the sheared half of his weapon, and quickly thrust it through Jaune's back.
The relish of victory for Chainsaw did not last long though. He stumbled back as Jaune simply KEPT fighting. It was like the heavy shard of his weapon lodged into the man's back did nothing to deter him. The blood that flowed from Jaune's mouth only made his savage grin even more manic.
"What are you!" demanded Chainsaw.
Chainsaw was a man that didn't believe in the rumors that his people have been spreading of this Wolverine. The man would have to change that opinion. Even the most battle hardened of the White Fang veterans in the base began to become unsettled. It was unlike anything they've ever seen. However, that didn't stop a few from shooting. Bullets tore through Jaune's shoulders, his stomach, and even his legs.
That was enough to forcibly bring Jaune to his kness. They kept shooting, while Chainsaw through the other half of his weapon at Jaune, lodging it into his left thigh. Jaune began to growl, his eyes suddenly gaining a light to them, the onset of a berserker rage.
"NO"
"Never again" thought Jaune "never will I let my rage control me again."
His eyes locked on the mask of a random White Fang member. The smile on their face showed a zeal for winning. A zeal for killing. It just made the rage burn even hotter. Jaune's muscles bulged slightly, the onset of a chemical native to Jaune's physiology not dissimilar to adrenaline began to burn through his veins. The Berserker rage was a survival mechanism, a way to temporarily enhance his abilities to slaughter everything around Jaune to keep himself safe. Instinct was not something so easily overcome.
However, that didn't mean it could be redirected, focused.
"JAUNE! I am with you, breathe. Reinforcements just entered the mountain. I can help you, show you the way, but you need to let me in!"
"Ozpin?" he thought.
Jaune let his mind open. It was like someone poured a calming balm in his brain. The rage was still roaring to be released, his instinct screaming to murder everything around him.
Click
Click.
Jaune smiled. Then he lunged, right into the middle of the makeshift firing squad. The rifles they used were an older modle of the Atlesian varient that was popular in the militaristic kingdom. It was cut in half like the rest. If Jaune took a small pleasure from also leaving gashes on the turds that were shooting him down?
Well that was just a nice bonus.
"Jaune, focus."
Ozpin's voice was like a beacon, something that tethered his conscious mind to the waking world. If not for the telepath's interference, Jaune would have succumbed to the Berserker…and it was likely not many would have survived what would happen. But Jaune could tell that Ozpin was tiring. He wasn't exactly in the most stable condition when they left, and Jaune could…feel? Yes, feel the strain that Ozpin was under. To project ones mind and contain another's from such a colossal distance must consume a stupid amount of power.
He needed to finish this, breathe, and find his center.
SLASH!
"AHH!"
"MY ARM! MY ARM!?"
"Shit" thought Jaune "FOCUS!"
In his absent thoughts Jaune had severed the arm of Chainsaw….he tried to feel guilty, really, but honestly he really didn't care about that. The man should be happy he wasn't dead in the mindset Jaune was currently in.
"CHAINSAW!"
"Adam run!"
"We can't, we've been invaded. Vale has figured out our operations here. I'm calling for a mass retreat."
Adam was young to Jaune's surprise. He couldn't have been more than a couple of years older than Jaune himself. He was surprised at the poise the man held as well. His posture was immaculate, as expected of a master swordsman. His face was covered with a personalized mask, and the sword he drew was thrumming with power. Jaune's put his claws across each other right in front of his body and in the way of the crescent of aura that was flung at him. The blade of highly concentrated aura dispersed at the contact of his claws.
"WHAT!?"
Jaune roared, a bestial echo that shook the bones of what few White Fang were still conscious. They had many gashes and stab wounds, but the White Fang on the floor were obviously alive. The only ones left was Adam, a few grunts, and Chainsaw. The grunts were already retreating, having heard Adam's order.
Adam grunted. Cowards.
"Chainsaw, retreat."
"Never. I won't leave your side."
Adam smiled, thankful for his loyalty.
"The goal is not victory. The longer we fight the more likely we are captured. We are strong Chainsaw, but it is unlikely that we can defeat a full huntsman team and Glynda."
"The assistant of that oaf is here? Why is that monster here!?"
There was real fear in Chainsaw's tone, for some reason Jaune felt jealous. He was the one with the fucking claws that could kill anything here, why the hell was Glynda so much sca-
Jaune rescinded his statement, he just needed a moment. It made sense in a way, Glynda was famous the world over as a world class huntress as well as being the deputy headmistress from time to time. Jaune felt the berserker rage finally settle down, the brief moment all he needed to take a breath and calm down.
"Keep them dist-"
Jaune felt Ozpin finally let go, his power likely run its course.
"Understood" muttered Jaune.
He rushed Adam, ignoring Chainsaw as the man clasped his lump of an arm. His aura had returned, but the most it could do was stem the bleeding.
"DON'T PARRY HIM!" yelled Chainsaw "HIS CLAWS WILL CUT RIGHT THROUGH."
To everyone's surprise, even Jaune's, Adam parried with his sheath, the clang of metal as Jaune's arm was flung away shocked the room. Adam smirked.
"Vibration is such a valuable metal, wouldn't you agree?"
Adam quickly sheathed his sword and drew it out again, a slash of aura directed at Jaune. Jaune slashed the aura attack, dispersing it into nothing once again.
"More of an Adamantium kind of guy".
The two rushed each other again. Adam having sheathed his sword and using his sheath blush to fight Jaune on even ground. It became apparent of Jaune's lack of skills. He was trained to be an assassin after all, the embodiment of one strike, one kill. The issue that Jaune was facing with Adam was that Adam was not an idiot. He used his sheath to deflect and hit Jaune. Unlike his…beefy coutnerpart Chainsaw, Adam actually had skill and used it to deadly effect. Unknown to Jaune was that Chainsaw's entire fighting style revolved around huntsmen underestimating him, allowing a strike from his weapon to hit them so they could get a sure shot. Aura was a shield after all, might as well use it.
The teeth would have shredded their aura, killing them within twenty seconds. Chainsaw was a devastating killer, who unfortunately met his match with Jaune. That was not the case here.
CLANG.
A side swipe parried and Blush buried itself into Jaune's throat.
CLANG.
A gut stab spun from, and Blush slamming Jaune's claws far away. His chest wide open, Adam used Blush to shoot three bullets into Jaune's chest. Jaune spat the blood pooling into his mouth at Adam, it landing on the man's mask.
"Tsk, you really are immortal aren't you" grumbled Adam.
BANG.
BANG.
Two more shots screwed through Jaune's legs, but to Adam's shock Jaune powered through, about to stab Adam right in the gut.
At least…that was the plan. The ground shook as spikes of earth jutted out at hit Jaune. The earth suddenly wrapped around Jaune like a prison, leaving only his left arm, claws absent, and his face exposed. A woman walked in her eyes glowing an odd brown and what seemed like energy escaping from said eyes as well.
"Well well well" she muttered "The Wolverine itself. Never thought I'd see the likes of you."
Jaune tried to struggle, but the earth around Jaune was normal rock, not an auric construct. As such, his claws were useless on such a prison.
"Samara what are you doing here? You're supposed to be hiding the route."
Samara was a beautiful woman, hair as white as snow that pooled around her back and the front of her chest. Her large ram horns that curled from her skull doing nothing to detract from her almost ethereal beauty. Her brown eyes looked at Jaune with something akin to interest. She wore a long white jacket, with black fur around the hood. On her shoulder was a leather strap with a symbol of some kind. Her black pants and combat boots completed her look, and it she looked like she was decked out for the winter. Her figure was not entirely noticeable, but it was obvious that she was more voluptuous than some.
Her eyes held scientific gaze as she quickly studied Jaune's face. Jaune growled and unsheathed his claws, making her eyes glow even brighter. Adam turned away from her, a bit put off by the smile she was giving. Her look made Jaune's stomach boil in anger…and fear.
"A true immortal" Samara muttered "how quant. I wonder, if I cut your organs out, will they still regenerate? I heard they subjected you to a Kyber explosion? Blew your skin and muscle to dust and yet you still got back up. I admit I am intrigued with your condition."
Suddenly the woman clasped her hand onto Jaune's face, her scientific gaze moving way to reveal an earnest gaze filled with compassion and grief. Adam was now busy with Chainsaw, having cut off a piece of his black uniform to wrap around the larger man's wound.
"Oh what they did to you" she whispered "you poor boy."
"SAMARA!"
The ram rolled her eyes.
"There's no point. Glynda and the others already-"
BOOOOOOOM.
Suddenly the entire room shook as numerous small scale Kyber bombs exploded all at once. Adam was picked up by Chainsaw, as the two moved from a collapsed ceiling. The debris fell onto large groups of the unconscious or barely moving White Fang groups. Samara cringed at the sight making Jaune raise an eyebrow in confusion. Wasn't she a crazy scientist lady? The debris avoided them would a translucent shield that appeared above them like a bubble. The door Samara had entered through was thankfully unblocked.
"Thank you" muttered Samara, her voice barely a whisper "it was getting difficult to thwart them."
"What?" asked Jaune.
Samara gave a sad smile as her hands glowed brown. Suddenly Jaune felt a burst of…something echo in his bones. It was like a tamer soothing an animal, he felt relaxed, content. It was the most relaxed he had ever felt in a long time, it was like he was lying against his mother's chest as a child, content and sleeping. A warmth unlike any other.
"I'm sorry" said Samara "I joined up like everyone else thinking we were changing the world…and all we were doing was doing more of the same. Human, Faunus…we're all the same people making the same mistakes. You…you opened my eyes to what the White Fang was becoming. This cannot change what happened, but I hope this spell can bring you some peace as it did my animal companions."
Jaune's eyes began to flutter as the feeling of contentment began to spread even further, an odd rumble reminiscent of a purr echoed in his chest. Samara just blushed a bit at the young man before her. Then she grew serious as she heard the faint echo of Adam and Chainsaw. They had been hit by the debris yes, but their aura infused flesh would not yield to simple rock.
"Ozpin I know you can see this, I want you to know that Summer still stands with you. I was a child and angry and I'm…sorry that I can't rejoin you…there's something dark in the White Fang, somewhere. Until the movement becomes what it once was again, I will not return, I cannot turn my back on my people when madmen lead them."
"SAMARA!"
The Ram Faunus clicked her tongue.
"Ozpin you did well to stop the assault…but droves of the White Fang have already infiltrated Vale. You need to hurry up and weed them out! Vale is weak and vulnerable and."
"SAMARA WHERE ARE YOU!?"
Samara sighed.
"The Queen is coming" she whispered "the Friends of Humanity have begun fighting a war in the streets of Vale, and the White Fang have something planned. I won't be able to contact you often so don't depend on my for information…but I am your ally Ozpin…I just wish I didn't learn so late."
Jaune gave a dopy content smile, the power of the summer maiden soothing Jaune much like it would any other beast. Samara rose an eyebrow and then gave a small motherly laugh. She caressed Jaune's face like Joan would, her eyes watering, wondering what she would have done if it was her own child that had suffered like this boy.
She couldn't even think about it. The thought was too inhumane for her.
"Oh, you are adorable" she muttered "yet another sin the White Fang has committed".
"SAMARA WE NEED TO MOVE!"
The rocks around Jaune disappeared with a large one covering Jaune's prone body laying on the floor.
"The Wolverine escaped" muttered Samara as Adam rounded the corner of a large rock "crafty little thing."
Adam scowled.
"Damnit. We could have studied him."
Samara nodded, a look of sadness on her face.
"A shame. He would have been fun to study. Come, let the cowards scurry off, I'll bring us back to Romnick".
ROMNICK, echoed in Jaune's head, as blurry as it was at the moment. Unseen by Jaune was a large brown portal that opened up, allowing Adam and Chainsaw to escape. Samara walked in last, ignoring Glynda as she screamed no.
"SAMARA PLEASE!"
Samara looked at Glynda and smiled. The older woman flinched, not expecting such a response from a woman who spent the last thirty minutes fighting her old teacher and demeaning humans. Glynda knew right then and there that something more was going on.
"Jaune, where's JAUNE!"
Nora was looking around frantically for the last few minutes for her new teammate.
"Who?"
A large beast of a man with smoking red hair and hazel eyes looked around lazily. Over his right shoulder was a couple of unconscious White Fang members.
"Yeesh, blood bath here" he muttered. Pools of blood from the crushed unconscious White Fang warriors pooled around them.
"Oh god damn it Rick, again?"
"It wasn't me damnit!"
Glynda shushed the two huntsmen that accompanied her team. Her connection with Ozpin was too weak for words, but brief images showed gave Glynda an idea what happened. Injured and maimed, but alive.
"At least he did that much" she mumbled.
Pyrrha had already broken off from the group and began looking around in earnest.
"Found him!" yelled Ren "he's uh…"
Pyrrha turned around and saw Jaune…smiling. He had a content expression as he dozed off into lala land.
"Is…is he alright?"
"He looks high" said Nora.
Pyrrha reached down and patted his hair, trying to wake him up.
"It's surprisingly soft" she thought.
"Hmmmmm."
A deep rumble escaped Jaune's chest. Pyrrha removed her hand and the rumbling ceased. She patted his hair again lightly and the rumbling resumed.
"Awww" she cooed.
"My turn!" yelled Nora.
Nora violently began rubbing Jaune's head and the boy was suddenly shook awake.
"FUCK!" he yelled, sitting up.
He was now breathing deeply, the experience while peaceful was also terrifying.
"Oh sure he purrs for Pyrrha, douche".
Jaune looked at Nora and rose an eyebrow.
"I what?"
"You were purring and high as fuck!" yelled Nora "and Pyrrha gets the adorable shit while I get the swearing, I thought we were bros! Bros before hoes!"
"….I don't purr" stated Jaune.
His scowl only made Nora give him a flat look.
"Ya do."
"I don't".
"I assure you, ya do!"
"No."
"yes."
"NO!"
"YES!"
"I DON'T PURR, DO I LOOK LIKE A CAT!?"
Nora just flung her shoulder around Jaune and looked at him seriously.
"My boy, my guy, my DUDE….you purr…and it was adorable. NOW PURR FOR ME DAMNIT!"
Nora began rubbing Jaune's head frantically, a burst of a rumble tore through Jaune's chest. Nora laughed in victory as she kept going, ignoring Jaune's cries of bitter revenge.
The two huntsmen with Glynda gave her a look.
"So uh?"
"Not a word" she muttered.
Glynda rubbed her head, a headache forming. Almost immediately it was soothed by Ozpin's power.
"I swear to god Ozpin if you don't stop expending yourself, I will punish you" mewed Glynda.
Ozpin's power flared a little, killing her headache. Glynda blushed at the implications. For within that burst was a torrent of emotions. Relief that she was safe, happy that she was coming home, and proud for a job well done.
"Alright" muttered Glynda "let's go home. Children, let's move!"
"Yes" they muttered, the fighting cease.
Jaune noticed that Ren and Pyrrha looked a little worse for wear, with Nora having a hole in her shirt at the stomach.
"What happened to you guys?"
Ren shivered.
"We faced an unknown combatant. It was she that was terraforming the base as we saw. She fought us using a wide variety of powers…it was like magic. I couldn't see where the dust she was using came from, probably a semblance of some kind."
"It was difficult that was for sure. Even when we got in close, she proved quite skilled in hand to hand combat. The droves of fighters she had at her disposal was also a problem. She was exceedingly difficult and seemed to have a history with Glynda."
"Sheesh. I got stuck with Chainsaw and Adam."
"Wait you foguht both of them?" muttered Nora.
"Chainsaw was easy enough" admitted Jaune "but Adam kept knocking me around. His sheath was made from Vibranium and was also a gun. Last time I checked Vibranium was not that good a material for fire arms."
It was than the group noticed that Jaune's new jacket was torn up.
"….You weren't kidding about your clothes" muttered Ren.
"It was nice while it lasted I admit" sighed Jaune "I don't think the auto repair feature in this thing fixes dozens of bullets and large gaping holes."
The group of friends kept talking away, a form of stress relief after a harrowing mission. They all knew it could have gone a hundred times worse…especially when Jaune revealed what Samara had said.
-3 hours later, Ozpin's office-
After spending two hours making sure that team CRMS wasn't getting reprimanded by shield and then checking his office for bugs and listening devices, Ozpin asked for the team's report.
"…" Ozpin closed his eyes and smiled "Samara" he whispered.
As it turned out, Ozpin had been pacing himself quite well, the distance was not a problem for his telepathy, but the constant checking in did not help his condition. Thankfully he had long healed from his overexertion.
"Was Samara a student of yours?" asked Jaune.
"Yes, a few years ago. She was a prodigy but cared deeply for the White Fang. It wasn't unusual for here to debate with me the ethics of the human kingdoms. It was quite a fun time I admit" smiled Ozpin "so many people yell in this day and age, but forget how to talk and listen. To accept and move on. She felt that Beacon wasn't doing enough for the Faunus and moved on. I'm thankful she hadn't fallen like a few of her fellow Faunus, not to mention that it would appear quite a few are being manipulated. This…this is worrisome. Shield won't care about that so for now we keep this to ourselves. I hope Qrow finds Sienna quickly. We can't let this division between Faunus and Humans go on, its long since time that the rifts between our people started healing."
Ozpin smiled as he looked at his first-year team.
"Well done all of you and thank you for returning safe and sound. Jaune, you did well. I am sorry to say that I had underestimated what afflicted you, if it is alright with you perhaps we may have a session to learn more about that part of your psyche?"
Jaune smiled, the help that Ozpin had given in his time of need cementing his trust of the man even further.
"I'd like that. By the way what did Samara do to me?"
"…." Ozpin kept quiet.
He looked at each of team JNPR and sighed.
"Magic."
"Seriously? Like the Sorcery supreme wind bag?" muttered Nora "thought that stuff was all baloney."
Ozpin chuckled.
"As did I for quite some time. I was led to believe that magic had died out from the human race eons ago. But no, it is alive and well if only under certain restrictions. In this case Samara is a prodigious magic user, the spell she used was one a spellcaster would use to calm beasts. Her variation of the spell gave her companions a sense of peace, healing them of injuries both body and mind. A soothing spell if nothing else."
"Magic" muttered Jaune.
"You have all proven yourselves trustworthy to me" said Ozpin "but understand that magic is very dangerous and powerful. I ask that you keep the confirmation of magic's existence to yourselves."
"Of course," said Pyrrha.
If Ozma had retained control, the man would have definitely kept it a secret, beginning the threads of lies and deceit that would eventually ruin his partnership with Glynda and his relationship with many of his peers. However, Ozma was never in the picture. He never was.
Why you ask?
Well that's a story for further down the road.
"Now" said Ozpin "I believe you all deserve a reward. You all will officially have two weeks off from school activities. Please get some rest and spend some quality time with friends and family. You all deserve it. You'll also find payment for a mid grade mission transferred to each of your accounts."
"What about what Samara said? About the White Fang and the Friends of Humanity?"
Ozpin scowled. The first true sigh of aggravation the man had ever shown.
"I trust Samara, but we must confirm first the validity of both her information and Jaune's. We need to know if the police are truly our allies or enemies. Who in the government can we depend on, and how much of this must we keep close to our chests. I'll notify you when I have more information."
Jaune rose an eyebrow.
"Really?" he asked.
Ozpin smiled.
"Of course. You all said you were a part of this. You are admittedly beginning such actions far too early in my opinion, but you have also proven yourselves with this mission in particular. For now we'll be working on a case by case basis. Team JNPR, you are dismissed."
The group nodded, each moving towards their dorm rooms.
Ozpin however, closed his eyes. He placed both his hands on his skull, focusing intently.
"Ozpin, what are you doing?"
He smiled even in the midst of his concentration.
"Contacting an old friend."
-In an undisclosed location-
Samara was currently in the middle of meditation, a practice that she commonly did after she used quite a bit of magic. A tickle poked at her mind, a feeling she hadn't felt in years. She felt some tears grow as she let it in.
"Samara, it has been quite a while" said Ozpin "I trust you're doing alright?"
Samara gave a small smile as she mentally nodded.
"Yes, yes I am. It's good to hear you Ozpin…I feel."
"I know" said Ozpin "no need for apologies. I'm here to help you if you need it. You are not alone Samara."
Ozma had built his empire against Salem through lies and deceit. He kept his secrets close to his chest, pushing everyone away with his single-minded determination to bring his wife down. Ozpin was unburdened by Ozma's psyche. He had the memories, the magic, but he lacked Ozma's mind and mentality. He would not make the mistakes his predecessor did. It was not wrong to believe in people.
Would this be enough to change the world?
Who knows, find out more as the Ultimate Weapon continues after a small break.
CHAPTER END
Hey guys woooeh! That took a while. I took to heart a review that stated that the story felt rush. I can kind of see where the guy is coming from but at the same time I don't. So, I tried slowing down the pace in my head and I hope it translated well here. Let me know what you guys think. Now for the whole break situation. It will work out like this. The next chapter update is Arcane Craftsman, after Arcane Craftsman will be the first chapter of the story you guys have voted on! (All summaries after this voting is live!) The poll will close on the release of Arcane Craftsman's next chapter so you guys should have a while to vote. After that I'll update as follows:
Ultimate Weapon
Arcane Craftsman
Voted Story.
I may hold a poll far in the future that will dictate what the new 1,2, and 3 story focus will be. This will just alter the order of updates really and just when and how things are planned. Now onto the summaries! From these stories you may vote on at the poll, the story with the most votes will be my new third story! The summaries included in Ultimate Weapon and Arcane Craftsman are purposely different. In Arcane Craftsman you will find basic summaries, in here you will find basic summaries with a few key points. This is to help fans make a more informed choice so as not to be confused what the story is truly about. No plot elements involved, but perhaps a few key points and ideas.
Journey Revised:
The Witcher caste had long been near extinction. What few of their numbers remained prowled the wilderness of Vale and the outer settlements in search of monsters to hunt and slay. The trail of the grasses had long been cancelled, no new witchers were to be born. That is, until a witcher desperate to be human kidnaps a child. A revised trail of the grasses, a boy torn from his family. This is the story of Jaune Arc, the youngest Witcher and his journey to find the family that he had been torn from. After years of searching with the help of his witcher brethren, he had finally found a solid lead, the capital of Vale itself. What adventures awaited him Jaune did not know, but that would not stop him.
Fate/Counter:
The story of the Grand Order, the mission to save the history of man and prevent their extinction. In a billion universes it was one of two heroes…in this one? Well they both died. Counter Guardian Emiya had always been an unknown within the Chaldea Organization. Watching, making sure that the extinction of humanity never came to pass. In those billion universes he was a servant for the order. In this one? He was the fourth successful Heroic Spirit summoned by Chaldea. His master? One Olga Marie Animusphere. How hilarious, his master lacked the computability to be a master of Chaldea, but the servant she summoned? His quality as a master broke every parameter they could judge. The servant that summons other servants. "By the root why am I here?" asked Archer. Current Servant list: Scathach, Lancer Arturia, Sanzang, Sigurd, Brynhilder, and Jack the Ripper. More temporary servants and original singularities included.
Fate/WTF:
What the fuck. No seriously what the fuck? Those were the thoughts of one Counter Guardian Emiya. He had been forcibly sent to his timeline's past in order to ensure that one Arturia Pendragon got her wish granted and became a Counter Guardian. Saber, the woman who had captured his heart so long ago was not someone Archer would ever give to Alaya. He fought and screamed, using Rule Breaker on himself. It never worked hell it didn't work. But Gaia did not appreciate Alaya trying to take the sword of the world Excalibur into their clutches. The split second that Rule Breaker freed his soul, only for Alaya to reclaim it was all that Gaia needed. Caught in the middle with the conceptual forces of the very planet and man itself Archer was suddenly wrenched from Alaya's service and spat out by Gaia. By the twisted screwed up forces of fate Archer finds himself in the time of King Arthur. No way home but freed of Alaya Archer quickly settles into his new life. But the thought of what awaited Arturia would always haunt him…until finally the broken hero resolved themselves. He would likely be strung back into Alaya's service when he died. But with his new freedom he would ensure that Arturia would never suffer the same fate…the only issue? "Where the actual hell am I?" Archer X Saber time travel fic, Eventual true Heroic spirit Emiya (Grand Archer Candidate Requirement, the ability to kill "ANYTHING". Orion holds this ability by imposing the concept of hunter and prey. EMIYA holds this quality due to the noble phantasms that he has at his disposal. When summoned as a Grand Servant, and only as a Grand Servant, he can use any Noble Phantasm or Divine Contrast that he had ever seen with no restriction or harm, thus giving him that ability to kill anything. It was only though his work as a Counter Guardian that he obtained the ability to become a Grand Servant due to the countless phantasm he saw in his work, otherwise he would have remained a normal Archer.)
The Devil on my Shoulder…er I meant Grimoire:
The story of Asta falling unconscious after his first fight! In his unconscious state so newly introduced to the Devil Grimoire, Asta meets the devil residing in his book. The conversation they have results in Asta learning the true nature of his affinity with anti-magic, and a leap in his practical abilities. Except…now he has a devil laughing at his misfortune every single time, a church official who has it out for him, and not to mention the numerous enemies that are now constantly wishing to fight him. Well shit, Asta almost wished he just had normal magic. Life would have been easier.
Endure:
A bleach/ My hero academia fic made in honor of Bleach's return! For a short time Midoriya thought he was quirkless…until Bakugou's bullying goes too far and a dark semblance bursts from Midoriya to protect him. He woke up to the screaming of a one of the teachers and Bakugou looking at him with shock and a small cut. He had been told he looked like a monster covered in bone. But what terrified him the most…was how everyone changed. Just a day ago he was a quirkless nobody. Now he was being praised for having a quirk? It was…disgusting for a lack of a better term. He was a monster wasn't he? He hurt those two other kids? WHY DOES NO ONE CARE!? Terrified of what he had become Deku represses his quirk. Bakugou wishes for a rematch, relentlessly pushing Deku to unleash the beast as he called it. They learn that Midoriya's quirk can heal him of any injury, a shot of bone white goo repairing anything at an astounding speed. They named his quirk, survival…and All Might had found the perfect inheritor for his power...now if only the kid would stop crying and calling himself a monster.
Jeez.
Fate/Shield:
The Holy grail war had ended. Everyone had lived, Arturia moved on, and all was well as it could have been. Shirou had gotten numerous accolades to his name over the years. He killed Zouken, defeated Apostles, and even prevented the Einzbern from taking Illya. Hell, the man even had a relationship with Sakura, Rin, and Rider. How that worked out he never knew…but he was thankful all the same. But not everything was perfect…far from it. Illya was dying. The rejection of her magic circuits was destroying her body bit by bit. Thanks to the combined efforts of the Emiya household they were able to keep her alive for another ten years. Illya, in her final moments, requested that everyone be here for her, read a story, watch a show, whatever. She wanted her final moments to be with family. Shirou and the others did so without complaint, reading a story that Illya had found in the library, a story of heroes just like her "Onii-chan". The story of the four heroes, a book from Zelretch of all people…honestly Shirou should have seen something coming. The book had transported all of them to a new world, a world where Shirou found a sword soul bonded to his him and was proclaimed a hero! Here with his family Shirou must weather the storm known as politics. But Shirou was no ordinary hero, as the world would soon find out. "I am…the Bone of my Sword."
Strong evolving Shirou, Strong Sakura, OP as fuck spell spamming Rin, Rider as usual, and…Demihuman Illya? Oh come Zelretch really!? The magical girl show wasn't enough? WARNING: Fic is fluffy in nature with inclusions of extremely badass moments and romantic moments.
