Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY and Demon's Souls characters.
There was this thing they called Demon's Souls
"At last….at last…my duty is fulfilled."
Jaune Arc stopped and took one last look at the Maiden in Black.
For a moment, he wanted to speak. But nothing came out. His thoughts were there, he could put something into words. But he couldn't say it, not when all the things they did until now was for this moment. There was only one way to save Boletaria and the world around it.
Even if he didn't agree with the fate the Maiden had chosen, Jaune fully understood it was the right thing to do. She and the Old One would go back to slumber. A sleep that would last forever so long as the passage of time continued to exist. Boletaria and the world would be free from the Demons.
This was his last chance. Jaune took a deep breath.
And finally, he decided to ask one and only question.
"Will you be alright?"
It was a needless thing. Jaune knew that much. Still, knowing the answer was better than leaving it entirely. The Maiden in Black briefly turned her head. He wasn't sure if her eyes were looking at him through the wax.
"…"
Jaune stood there, listened to the unvoiced reply.
It was enough of a reason for him to bid her farewell.
The sky became clear once the thick fog began to fade away.
Slowly, he walked back to the coast. His expression changed to surprise as he saw a familiar figure waving at the high ground.
"Jauney! Over here!"
Cardin Winchester rushed toward him, slightly stumbled his own feet along the way. The silver-gray armor set seemed too heavy on him with all those ragged breaths.
"Hey, man. I just woke up. Thomas told me you jumped into the big hole with the Maiden lady to stop the, the eh…..whatever that is I forgot." Cardin spoke. He looked a bit stricken with the dressed wound on his head. "Dust. I'm still feeling funny after Ostrava's phantom kicked me off that ledge. Anyway, what did I miss?"
Jaune pointed at the ancient existence lied on the beach. Cardin widened his eyes in awe.
"It's done. Cardin." Softly, Jaune exhaled. His shoulders relaxed. "King Allant is finally gone. Boletaria is free from the demons. The others are no longer bounded to The Nexus, everyone can go home now."
Cardin blinked, letting the words slowly processed in his still hazy mind.
"That means we did it? We can go back to our world? Back to Remnant?"
"Yeah."
Cardin couldn't hide the joy and raised his fist, punching the air and giving Jaune a good pat in the back. He had been released from the impossible task of carrying the weight of the whole world.
Jaune felt the same. The whole struggle so far had been challenging for the two Huntsmen-in-training.
It all started with the sudden call for help from the Maiden in Black, who brought them to this world without notice. A final attempt to save Boletaria from being consumed by the fog and the demon's rampage. It took a full month. Jaune counted each day.
Right now, they finally reached the end of this journey. They could finally go home.
Everyone at Beacon was waiting.
His mentor was waiting.
"Hey, do you think Ms. Rose'll be mad at me for disappearing a whole month?"
"Well, things were a bit sudden back then. I mean, I didn't even get the chance to tell my team, man. If we explain to everyone, the worst thing that could happen is both of us getting detention from the Headmistress or a pile of made-up homework. But yeah, I kind of want to see Professor Rose get mad at you, Jauney." Cardin wiped his nose with a smug look. "It'll be a blast."
"Ahaha, very funny." Jaune was not amused.
"Wait, where's the Maiden in Black?" Cardin looked around.
"She's in there." Jaune said. "She decided to stay with it."
"In there? She didn't forget to send us back, right?"
The ground shook. The Old One began to move, released its chain on the world.
In an instance, Cardin's worried was blown away as circles of light appeared beneath their feet. The Maiden kept her promise. It was about time.
"Shame. I didn't get to say thanks and goodbye." Cardin shrugged. "Is she going to be alright?"
"I asked her the same question."
The light continued to grow around their bodies.
"Oh yeah? What did she say?"
Sapphires stared at the beach, now empty. Somewhat sad yet hopeful.
"She just smiled."
Jaune groaned. His eyelids opened to the blinding light on the ceiling. The scent of medicine herbs filled his nose.
The boy soon realized that he was laying on a bed. The familiar comfy sensation was godly compared to the concrete floor back in The Nexus. If only Cardin's annoyingly loud snore coming from a corner of the room didn't take the peaceful silence down a notch.
Regardless, Jaune couldn't stop smiling. This was it.
This place was Beacon Infirmary. They got back to Remnant!
"Jaune."
Jaune froze at the calling, he slowly turned to see the woman sitting at his bedside.
Silvers shone, filled with worry and kindness.
"Hi there, Ms. Rose."
Summer Rose sighed in relief. Her hands were gripping one of his, gently let go and moved to his hair, caressing it. She looked like a mother waiting for her son to recover from a horrible accident.
"How are you feeling, Jaune?"
"I feel alright. How did Cardin and I end up here?"
"Some students found you two unconscious in front of Beacon statue after you disappeared for days. We've been searching, I was so worried something bad happened to you." Summer wiped a tear from her eyes. "Now, I'm just glad to see you okay."
Sapphires widened after noticing trails of dried tears on her cheeks.
"I'm sorry." Jaune felt bad that he let this happened to his mentor. "There was a call for help. And we kind of got dragged away. It's a…I can't find the right word for it but it's really a long story, we ended up in a different...world. I doubt anyone would believe it."
"Don't worry. I believe you." She smiled.
"You do?"
"Yup." She popped the p.
He pushed the blanket and sat up, leaning against the bed frame.
"Ms. Rose. If it isn't too much. Can I-?"
Jaune didn't even have the chance to finish as Summer already wrapped her arms around him for a tight embrace.
"You've been through a lot, sweetie."
Slowly, he returned the gesture. Jaune felt his throat choked a bit with the urge to cry.
"You've been through a lot, too, because of me. I let this happened to you again. Just like back in the Grimmland. I'm so sorry, Ms. Rose."
"It's okay. I'm happy now that you're here, safe and sound."
They pulled away. She looked at him in the eyes while stroking his hair.
"And you should know that it's never too much to ask me of anything. What were you going to say?"
"I was going to ask that can I taste your cookies again because I miss those. But the hug is fine, too. Actually, it feels nice!"
Summer chuckled.
"Just rest for now. Glynda will be here shortly to check on you both. She's been worried."
"Well, I think I slept enough. Right now, I just wanted to tell you lots of incredible things I saw in that world, Ms. Rose. Oh! And uh…...my combat skill has improved!"
"Easy there, mister. Alright, I'm listening."
Jaune nodded, eager to tell the story.
"There was this thing they called Demon's Souls…"
/
Author's Note: So, about this strange snippet, the premise is that Jaune and Cardin being isekai-ed to the world of Demon's Souls and this story is about the ending of that journey. Why did I choose Demon's Souls? It's rather random, actually. Maybe I just wanted the character to have one last dialogue with the Maiden in Black before the good ending starts, something like "Will you be alright?". It's not necessary considering the lore of the game, but for this sort of scenario, Jaune seems fitting to be the one to say that. Anyway, I just wanted to mess with the idea and Cardin happened to be a comedy factor.
As for the last part of the snippet, it's about how Jaune and Summer react to the aftermath of the former's isekai journey. I picked an AU where Cardin is not a jerk but a friend-rival of Jaune, Summer Rose lives and she became Jaune's mentor, best friend and mother figure. I thought of a scenario with team RWBY and NPR but the idea doesn't appeal much so this snippet is the final result.
That's it. Thank you for reading and take care!