Distortion
Everything was going normally at Beacon, or at least as normal as it could be. It's not every day that a dead student comes back and destroys a team so badly that their careers are ended before they ever began. On top of that, was the fact that said ex-student took down Goodwitch without touching her then promised the same kind of pain to any others that got in his way. Jaune Arc went from a memory to the thing all the students at Beacon feared. What would he do if they tried to stop him or even accidentally got in his way? That was a question that no student wanted answered.
For RWBY and NPR, things were very different. They were all sitting in RWBY's dorm, not doing much besides sitting around and deep within their own worlds. NPR were in RWBY's dorm because being in their own filled them with so much negativity and painful memories of their once leader. Their worlds were flipped so much over such a short period of time and they had no idea what to do next. Jaune's words just echoed in their heads on repeat.
Pyrrha was sitting on Yang's bed and staring down at the floor. 'I hoped you were different, Pyrrha, but you were just like them. The way you cared for me and loved me. I thought you'd stay by my side. But I guess, the great Pyrrha Nikos didn't need a weak partner." Her hand went to the cheek that Jaune had cupped when he said that. A tear started to run down at that. No one knew, but after everyone abandoned Jaune, he had opened up to her. More so than he ever had before and with that she told him her feelings for him. She promised that she would never leave him and all he did was hold her close and thank her profusely while crying his eyes out. They were pretty much a couple after that. She ruined it by distancing herself from him but she was doing so to try to convince the others to forgive him or at least talk to him. But doing so tore his heart out and the last hope, the last pillar of support, he had for himself was gone. She just kept thinking, that if she didn't do that, maybe he'd be the person she truly loved and not whoever he was now.
Nora was sitting on the floor, she had her headphones on but no music was playing. 'And I thought you'd be like another sister to me. Someone I could always be myself around.' She was shaking with that. She remembered back to anytime they were alone together, Jaune would just be happy and looked like he had a great weight was off his shoulders. Now she realized it was because he didn't have to worry about being a leader or student. He could just be himself and she'd be okay with that. That made her feel terrible now. Jaune treated her so well, like a sister. He never saw her as loud or annoying or even just a problem, like others did. He was just happy that she was happy and that was enough for him. But she turned her back on him and destroyed that safe haven he had with her. So, every day, he had no way to escape the world around him and the pain it gave him. He just had to endure it with no hope for it to end. She started shaking more and cried silently.
Ren was sitting directly behind Nora and was holding her, trying to calm her. But failing, like he always did. Like with his family and Jaune. 'I thought you'd be the brother I never had. Someone I could lean on.' He clenched his jaw slightly with that. He felt the same. Jaune was the only guy he really got close to and the way he cared for him and wanted to always help him with anything; that's what he imagined having a brother was like. He remembered when the responsibilities of his position or even just life got to Jaune, he would either give him some advice or just talk with him. He just wanted Jaune to know that if he fell, he'd be there to help him stand again and Jaune appreciated it. But when he needed him the most, where was he? Nowhere to be found. So, Jaune fell far when his world shattered. And so, with nothing to lean on or to help him stand up, he kept falling farther and farther into the darkness. He placed his forehead on the back of Nora's head and closed his eyes, allowing his self-hate to consume him.
Blake was sitting on her bed, leaning against her pillow and reading a book. If her eyes were actually reading the words and not just staring at the page. 'We hung out because our teams did. We had no relationship.' That was true. She never tried to have a relationship with Jaune, but she did respect him. He was someone who would stand up for what he believed in. She remembered on the few occasions when CRDL would bully Faunus, he'd be the first to try and stop it. That made her happy. To be close to someone who didn't see humans and Faunus as anything different but as one and the same. And he was so supportive when he found out she was a Faunus, he didn't see her any differently. But, when everything turned against him, when he was surrounded by hate. She did nothing, she just kept her distance as usual and let him suffer, to be torn apart everyday by that hate. She knew more than most the pain of that kind of hate and she could've helped him. But she did nothing. The one time she could've made a difference, she didn't. And why? Because he had a shady past? She had no right to judge anyone for that. She clenched her book tighter, wrinkling the pages.
Weiss was laying on her bed and was just looking up at Ruby's bed dangling above her. She should've been studying but she didn't have the drive to do so. Not with his words running through her head. 'You thought I was a waste of space and convinced yourself that I wanted you for your money and power.' She sighed as she remembered that. He was right. She found him annoying and she saw his constant flirting as a nuisance. And yes, she ridiculed him all the time. Sometimes, she was just as bad as CRDL with her attitude towards him. Sometimes worse. He did eventually stop but she didn't give him a break, she still called him out on everything he did wrong and didn't recognize anything he did well. He was so full of hope and light but she only ever gave him negativity and contempt. But what was worse, was the other thing he said. 'I can't believe I actually loved you.' She bit her lip with that. He actually admitted it. He, at one point, had loved her. But she saw herself as someone above him and he would never be worthy enough for her. If she didn't break his heart before the transcript fiasco, she certainly shattered it then.
Yang was sitting cross-legged on Ruby's bed, holding her sister. Trying to give her some sort of comfort. She was just staring at the far wall while slowly rocking with her sister in her lap. She had a mix of pain and anger inside of her ever since that moment. 'You only dealt with me because I was your sister's 'best friend' and I think, you thought that you could tie me around your finger like any other guy.' She was angry that he had the gull to say that to her and hurt because she never thought Vomit Boy, Jaune, would ever do so. But she couldn't deny that his words held some truth in them. She probably wouldn't have even given him the time of day if it wasn't for Ruby. And she teased him more often because she liked his reactions. She took a lot of liberties with him because she knew that he wouldn't say anything because she was Ruby's older sister. Meanwhile, she did nothing for him. Looking back, she was probably the cruelest to him. She didn't see him as a friend, just something to use and play with when she was bored. And like a spoiled brat, she threw him away when she was done with him. Her eyes flashed red for a second with her next thought, 'I'm no better than my mother.'
Ruby was just sitting in her sister's lap with her head leaning on her shoulder as she just looked out the window. Every time she thought of his words, her eyes would tear up. Just like they were now, 'I was only your friend because you were desperate for any kind of friendship. But as soon as you had 'better' friends, you didn't need me.' Those words hurt so much. They weren't true at all but with all the pain she put him through, how could she blame him for thinking that? Jaune was so much like her and she loved having him as a friend. He was her best friend and sometimes, she thought maybe she saw him as something more. She never considered to explore those feelings because Pyrrha liked him and she didn't want to ruin their friendship if he didn't feel the same way as her. But she did that anyways. She turned her back on him when she found out about how he got into Beacon. She was hurt that he lied but, he was still the same person she cared so much about. Was it her pride that caused her to hurt him? She didn't know but regardless, she was one of the reasons he became what he was now. He wanted to prove himself, he always did, and when she turned her back on him, he decided that he would do that, no matter what. And now, he was someone cold and dark. Nothing like the warm and a so full of light person she knew. And that broke her heart.
They were all taken from their thoughts when they heard Goodwitch's voice through the intercoms. "Attention. Will Teams RWBY and NPR, please come to the Headmaster's office. Again, RWBY and NPR to the Headmaster's office."
They all got up and slowly made their way to Ozpin's office. They were quiet the entire way; not sure what to say or even if they wanted to say anything. The elevator up to Ozpin's office seemed to last for an eternity. But soon, the doors opened, revealing to the students Ozpin and Goodwitch. But what surprised them was the third occupant of the room. "Hey Kiddo, Firecracker." Said Qrow from the side of Ozpin's desk.
Ruby gained a small smile with that, "Hey Uncle Qrow. What are you doing here?"
"Well, Oz here asked me to look into something for him and as luck would have it, I found him almost immediately." He said this without a smile.
"Him?" Yang asked.
Qrow sighed before he continued, "Jaune." The seven of them went rigid with that, shocked. "After his return, Oz asked me to look for him. I found him but who I found him with…complicates things. A hell of a lot." He took out his flask to take a quick swig.
"Who was he with?" Pyrrha asked, wondering and worrying for her partner, or now, ex-partner.
Qrow sighed. "Raven Branwen." Most of them were confused besides Yang and Ruby, whose eyes flew open wide. "My twin sister and Yang's birth mother." Everyone understood and turned to the two sisters, shocked.
"What was he doing with her?" Weiss asked since the sisters were nonresponsive.
Qrow took another drink before continuing. "Apparently, he is helping her with some sort of plan. And to really screw with everything, he is now her husband."
"What!?" shouted Yang, Ruby, Pyrrha, Weiss and shockingly, Goodwitch. Nora, Ren and Blake were just stunned silent and Ozpin was just sitting there in his usual calm state.
Yang's brain restarted soon after, "You're telling me that Jaune is now my step-dad?!"
"That's one way to put it, yeah. He's also, my brother-in-law, if that helps." By the look on Yang's face, it didn't.
"Are you sure Jaune is actually married to Raven?' Ruby asked hesitantly.
Qrow nodded, "Showed me the tattoo on his ring finger as proof." They looked confused. "Where me and Raven come from, marriage can be fickle. If someone was wearing a ring, it pretty much said, 'I'm taken, for now, check back later.' But, it was truly serious if someone got a tattoo on their ring finger. That said, 'I'm taken, keep walking or else.' When Raven was with Yang's dad she wore a ring but if Jaune has a tattoo, well…" Qrow trailed off but everyone got the gist of it.
"Why exactly are we here though?' Blake asked, trying to get it back to the point of this meeting.
Ozpin sighed, gaining everyone's attention. "Qrow here, has a recording that has some information on it. He felt that you all should hear it as well." He looked at all of them. "It is entirely up to you. If you don't feel you can handle this, we will understand." The seven students looked at one another, having a silent conversation before they turned back to him with determination in their eyes. "Very well." Ozpin turned to Qrow, "If you would?" Qrow placed his scroll on Ozpins desk and as it synced up, he pressed play.
The ten people in the room soon listened to the recording. They heard that Jaune's and Raven's auras were now fused, a fact that shocked everyone in the room. Ozpin was surprised to hear someone managing to do that in such a high quantity. Jaune revealing he knew about Qrow's Semblance, mentioning an inner circle that none of them were going to ask about and him threatening the students if Ozpin sent any after him. Them included. That hurt but hearing him say he was indebted to them for abandoning him was like a stab to the heart. The knife was shoved further when they heard him talk about being their confidant and them not being the same. That knife seemed to twist when he restated that he was convinced they were never friends and that the guilt they felt was from purely selfish reasons, not actually caring for him. But what hurt the most, was when he said he doesn't believe or care if they ever cared for him. Along with the fact that nothing they said or did would ever convince him. Ruby was practically in tears when he said that the old him was gone and Pyrrha was there as well, when he said his death was a favor for his family.
When the recording ended, Qrow took back his scroll and Goodwitch spoke up, "We wanted you to hear this because you had the right to know. As sad as it is, it appears that the Jaune Arc you all knew, isn't the Jaune walking around now."
They were quiet for a while. "Maybe but a part of him is still there." They all turned to Ruby when she said that.
"What makes you say that, Miss Rose?" Ozpin asked her intrigued.
"If Jaune truly didn't care for us, he wouldn't have this 'rule of one' for all of us. He may be different but I refuse to give up on him. I already did that once and I've regretted it every day since. Even if there is only a small piece of him left, I will find it and help him remember who he is. To bring him back and show him just how sorry I am." She said his with complete conviction as her eyes were misted over.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Pyrrha in a similar state. She had a small smile. "Well said. But I'll be by you side the entire way. He is my partner after all."
"Don't forget us!" Nora shouted with her usual cheery tone. "It's our job to help our Fearless Leader. And we really screwed up and we will fix it!" Ren stood beside her, nodding silently but with a fire in his eyes.
Ruby was soon hugged from behind by Yang. "You're not going anywhere without me. Besides, I need to make things right with Vomi-" She cut herself off. "To Jaune. I owe him for being your friend and for me being so horrible to him."
"I'm going too." They turned to Blake as she walked over to the group. "Jaune needs help and I can't just sit back anymore. He deserves better than that and I want to be friends with him for real this time."
They were all quiet until the heard a small sigh, "Well, I'm not staying here." They all turned to Weiss in shock. "I have a lot to make up for. I shouldn't have treated him the way I did and I shouldn't have been such a cold bitch to him." Everyone was further shocked that she cursed.
As the seven of them were having their moment, the Huntsmen and Huntress were exchanging looks. Soon, they all came to a consensus. Ozpin turned to them, "Very well. When we track them down, we will inform you all of his location. But, I must stress this." He said seriously. "Do not go after him on your own. We need to do this correctly and you getting yourselves into situations you aren't prepared for won't help. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir." The all said in unison.
Ozpin nodded with that, "With that, you are all dismissed." The students nodded before going to the elevator before taking it down. The atmosphere in the room changed with that. After a minute or so, Ozpin sighed, "How bad is it, Qrow?" He asked as he turned to the scythe wielder.
Qrow was silent before he took another swig of his flask, "Bad, Oz. Bad. This 'kid' was able to fight Raven and was even with her." This shocked Ozpin and Goodwitch. "Take it, those two weren't fighting to the death but they were serious enough. His swordplay is nearly flawless. His fighting style is a combination of Raven's and several other of the bandits mixed with his own flare, it's quite impressive. All his physical skills are top notch along with his tactical mind being superb." He sighed, "Plus, that unique aura of his." He shivered slightly. "The Kid is definitely a force to be reckoned with."
"We were under that assumption when he took me down along with CRDL." Goodwitch stated.
"You don't know the half of it." Qrow said with an edge to his voice. "The Kid is wearing one of the Grimm masks from the Branwen tribe. Those masks were crafted from the bones of Grimm and have been around since the tribes founding. They are the highest honor one can receive and are only worn by the leaders and most powerful tribe members."
Goodwitch was shocked but continued, "Maybe Raven gave Jaune one because he was her husband."
"No." Qrow said instantly. "Raven holds up all the traditions of the tribe. Especially, since she was the leader and the youngest member to claim a mask. Not including Jaune. If he's wearing one, he earned it and proved himself. Which is just more terrifying considering the one he's wearing." With that he was leaning his arm against the window, resting his forehead against it as he looked out over Beacon.
Goodwitch and Ozpin exchanged a glance, "Qrow, I know you don't like to talk about the bandit tribe. But this one time, can you please elaborate and tell us what's going on?" Ozpin asked.
Qrow was silent for a while, "Unlike the masks that the White Fang now wear, the tribe's Grimm masks are all unique. There is one for every Grimm species out there. When someone is wearing one, they showed the qualities that specific Grimm is known for." He turned back to them. "Those few who wear them are claiming to be just as deadly, if not more so, than the Grimm. And trust me, they live up to that."
Qrow started to walk back to the desk, "Raven wears the Nevermore mask. It represents versatility because Nevermore exist in different sizes and are very versatile Grimm in battle. Along with representing superiority, considering that the Nevermore is considered the most dangerous aerial Grimm out there." Qrow chuckled slightly as he stands in front of Ozpin's desk, "Describes Raven to a 'T'."
"So, what mask does Jaune where?" Ozpin asked.
"The Wyvern." Qrow said which caused the two seasoned hunters to freeze. "That mask is the highest honor there is. The person is recognized as being the most powerful member of the clan and the uncontested leader. Just like the Wyvern is the most powerful Grimm and controls, as well as, creates Grimm. That mask has not been worn since the very first leader of the tribe. Since he's claimed it, that just proves how dangerous he's become." Qrow drank the last from his flask before putting it away.
"Do you have any idea what they could be planning?" Goodwitch asked in the Headmaster's stead.
Qrow shook his head, "None. There is a legend that goes along with the masks but that is hidden from all the tribe members besides the ones that wear the masks. But that's all I know."
Ozpin was quiet for a while. "We need to find and try to bring them here. Whether by their own volition or by force." He turned to Qrow, "I need you to try and track them down. Send any information to me immediately." Qrow nodded as Ozpin turned his gaze to the Deputy Headmistress. "Glynda, I need you to find a team to be go with you when that time comes."
Goodwitch nodded before going through her scroll, looking through the team rosters. "No one below fourth years will be able to handle this. Plus, most are terrified by what Mr. Arc did to CRDL. The only third years I would think of would be RWBY and the remainder of JNPR."
"No." Ozpin said immediately. "As much as they want to help, they won't be able to bring themselves to fighting Jaune if it came to it. "
"Very well." She nodded, "Than I suggest the top fourth year team we have. They are practically full-fledged Huntsmen and Huntresses. As well as they had history with Mr. Arc, which may help us." She turned to Ozpin with that. "Team CFVY."
Ozpin nodded with that, "An excellent choice. Inform them of what's going on and have them be prepared to leave in at a moment's notice. And this is to be kept quiet, especially from RWBY and NPR." With that, Qrow and Goodwitch went to the elevator. As they left, Ozpin turned his chair to face the window. "Let's hope we can find them before anything else can go wrong."
At that time, Raven and Jaune were just done killing a herd of Grimm that decided it would be a good idea to attack them. They were on the outskirts of Vale, looking for more people to recruit. But this turned out to be another bust. Jaune sighed as he sheathed his sword, "This isn't working, Raven." She turned to him with that. "The info we are getting is either outdated or not worth our time."
She nodded as she sheathed her own sword, "You have a point. But there isn't much we can do about it."
Jaune was silent for a while. "We may have to have our informants take a more…active approach." Raven tilted her head at him. "We have the gear we liberated from Atlas, we could have them use it to get us more sensitive material. Like more dangerous targets or maybe even the student rosters. We could easily find people that would join us and be worth it. Worst case, we find a few people with Semblances I can steal." He smirked. "Also, we both know our...silent informant in Vale is getting bored sitting around."
Raven considered it for a while. "You have a point but doing that would cause them to have flee from the Kingdom they are in. We could lose out on future information."
Jaune nodded with that. "Then why not only have the ones in Mistral and Vacuo? They are willing to join us anyways and their positions aren't going well. We get info and two more members, plus, we still have informants in the other two Kingdoms and Menagerie."
Raven thought for a bit, "That is acceptable. You'll go to Mistral and I'll go to Vacuo. We'll meet up afterwards." Jaune nodded to her. She walked over to him and kissed him. He returned it and felt a small amount of her aura go into him as he did the same for her. They broke apart. "That should allow you to use my Semblance twice."
Jaune just smiled, "You didn't need to kiss me to do that, Rav."
"I know." She smiled at him and they kissed again with a bit more passion this time. They pulled apart and each put on their mask. They turned away from the other before drawing their sword s and opening two portals. One red, one black. They sheathed their weapons before walking through.
A/N- Here's the next chapter for Distortion! I'd like to thank Jauneforever for being my Beta Reader for this chapter and here's hope he'll be up for helping me more with this story. On another note, if any of you have ideas for OCs, feel free to send them to me and I'll work on making them Raven and Jaune's informants. Just PM me and we can work it out! Anyways, this will most likely only be updated monthly and maybe have an extra chapter here or there. As much as I would love to crank out chapters daily, I don't have the time. Hopefully, you all understand.
See you all in the next chapter!