Chapter 7
Jaune and his new friends were walking to Professor Port Class thinking about yesterday and how embarrassing was breaking up in front of Pyrrha, how embarrassing was to lie to everybody telling them that he fled because his motion sickness after coming back with her.
"I cannot look at Pyrrha in the face again" and true to his words he was looking straight never looking at his redhead friend that was talking at him
"It's nice of Professor Ozpin to let you take classes while you're here Jaune" Pyrrha said cheerily
"Yeah, I'm pretty excited honestly. I've always wanted to see how classes were on an academy"
"Classes are pretty standard Jaune, but I have to admit that our teachers are… very peculiar" Ren said
"What class do you have first?"
"Today we only have three classes! Grimm anatomy, advanced dust, and Combat class. Perks of being third years" Nora said joining the conversation "You have to be prepared Jaune Grimm Anatomy is Professor Port Class if you need the urge to sleep you can take a nap" Jaune just raised an eyebrow.
"What is she talking about?"
Jaune couldn't understand what Nora was talking about. He was having the time of his life! It was like he was hearing his grandpa stories again!
"And that's how I defeated the Beringel with nothing more than a stick a banana peel and my manliness!" the always boisterous Professor exclaimed. Then proceed to deploy a hologram of a Grimm on his desk "Now I wanted to show you something very particular, who of you can tell me what type of Grimm is this?"
On the desk appeared a hologram that brought Jaune particularly annoying memories, small primate figure, no bone mask, spikes on its back and arms, sharp claws, and a tail that ended on a bone spike.
"A Nightstalker" Jaune said to himself looking at the hologram with narrowed eyes
"Oh, you must be Mr. Arc. Professor Ozpin told me that you would be taking classes while you stay here. So you have the answer of what kind of Grimm is this one?" All the eyes on the class turned at Jaune who felt really awkward
"Yeah that is Nightstalker" he said wanting to end the spotlight that he put himself into
"Precisely this creature of Grimm is a Nightstalker, and what can you tell us about it?" Jaune just sighed. "I should have kept my mouth closed"
"I've encountered Nightstalker on a few occasions.
Close to the border between the forest of Vale and the dessert of Vacuo. They are fast because their lack of Bone plates and that's made them relatively easy to dispatch" Jaune was interrupted by a big orange-haired guy
"So those are just another weak Grimm that aren't worth mentioning" the three around him laughed at his comment
"Not necessarily" Jaune started again "Individually they're not a problem. But the thing if you encounter one you must be prepared to face fifty if not more of them. They move in packs and they're one of the few Grimm out there that actively organize themselves to hunt" That statement made the class focus completely on Jaune
"The moment the first Nightstalker appears in front of you, you're already surrounded by the rest of the pack. The worst part of it is that they only hunt at night, that's the reason for its name. Their lack of bone-plating made them near invisible on the darkness"
"They may lack of raw strength but their agility made up for it, their claws are razor sharp and their teeth can tear apart steel plates without much effort but as I said their strength resides on its numbers and organization"
"They overwhelm you with something similar to hit and run tactics, tiring you and hurting you before going all-in on their attack"
The class was silent. They've learned about lot types of Grimm but, what Jaune said, seemed impossible. Of course older Grimm can develop a certain grade of intelligence but what Jaune was suggesting was on another level.
"Jaune you said you've encountered this Grimm before.
What did you do to win against them?" a concerned Rose asked from the seat below him
"Well the first time I burned part of the forest" Jaune said with a hand on his chin remembering
"YOU DID WHAT?" was the question almost anyone shouted to him
"It was the only thing that I could think of at the time, I needed to see them to kill them!" Jaune defended himself. He sighed "I was getting desperate okay, but I learned something about the Nightstalker that time. They absolutely hate the light, the moment I set a tree on fire I noticed they started missing their attacks and the ones that I couldn't kill swiping my sword like a madman, were on the floor trying to cover their eyes"
"Since that occasion every time I went close to the borders, I always packed a lot of flares. But even with that ace on my sleeve, the Nightstalkers are something I prefer not encounter."
"Thank you for sharing your experience with us Mr. Arc, I can assure you that hearing it, will make some the students here be prepared if they ever meet this Grimm" Jaune nodded at the professor
"Well, it seems that's all the time we have for the day! Remember to stay vigilant!"
All the students got up with one thought in mind "I need to have some flares prepared for my next mission"
"I for once don't know what you were talking about Nora, Professor Port class was really entertaining, and I feel bad to have stolen the last part of it" Nora and the rest of his friends looked at him like he had two heads
"Jaune-Jaune I think you're the only one that enjoyed the class. He just talks about himself!"
"I mean yeah, but he has some amazing stories!" Jaune defended
Their bickering was interrupted by a clearing of a throat. They all turned around and saw Professor Ozpin
"Good Morning students, in my way here I heard a lot of students talking about buying flares. Do you happen to know what they're talking about?" Jaune just grinned and scratched the back of his neck
"Well Jaune gave us a few tips about how to handle certain Grimm and I think people took his advice at heart," Pyrrha said while chuckling a little
"Well then I'm glad they took your advice, Mr. Arc, you certainly have more experience than everyone on that subject. Now the reason I came here was to fetch you Mr. Arc, the… arrangements I talked to you about were sorted in less time than expected" Jaune wilted a little after hearing that, excluding the event while training with Pyrrha, he was having an amazing time.
"I understand headmaster" Jaune nodded at his new friends "I guess I'll see you later guys"
"Why? Where are you going Jaune- Jaune?" Nora suddenly gasped "Is the headmaster going to give you an amazing mission where you'll have to save a princess that has been cursed by an evil witch that took half of her life force, leaving here in a sleeping state, and she'll only wake up if you use your semblance on her?" Everyone looked at Nora with deadpan expressions. Only Nora seemed to notice the headmaster choking with his coffee behind them. "Are you okay Headmaster?" Nora asked innocently. A few moments later Ozpin seemed to recover
"Yes Ms. Valkyrie I'm good" he coughed on his hand "Now Mr. Arc could you accompany me the sooner I give you the details of what I'm asking you, the sooner you'll come back to your friends" and saying another quick goodbye to everyone he started following Ozpin
"So how did you feel at Beacon Mr. Arc?" Ozpin said trying to make a little conversation
"It's been amazing Headmaster" Jaune answered sincerely
"Well you're more than welcome to stay here Mr. Arc, for someone with your capabilities it would be easy to join Beacon" he sighed "And after your help with our… situation I would like if you stayed here" That made Jaune turn at the Headmaster, this secrecy was getting on his nerves
"Yeah talking about that, you haven't told me. What do you need my help for exactly?" Jaune couldn't hide the concern in that question
"I know I haven't been upfront with the information Mr. Arc, but you need to understand that what I'm about to show you need all this secrecy and precautions," Ozpin said while pressing the button to enter the elevator in Beacon Tower. Jaune just nodded it seemed sketchy but he decided to give the headmaster the benefit of the doubt, after all, Jaune understood better than no one what meant keeping big secrets.
Both entered the elevator and Ozpin was about to press the button but hesitated. He sighed again and looked at Jaune
"Mr. Arc I just need to be sure that you understand that what I'm about to show you is one of the most guarded secrets for the safety of Remnant, and you'll need to keep this secret and burden. Now is your last chance to turn back, I won't judge you if you do" Jaune had seen a few faces of the headmaster but this completely serious face was something he didn't believe was possible in the carefree looking man.
"If this is as important as you say for the security of Remnant, I'm glad to be of help Headmaster" was the only thing Jaune thought he could say. Ozpin nodded and pressed a button on the elevator. For a moment everything seemed normal but Jaune quickly noticed something different from his last time on the elevator. They were going down.
The next moments passed in a very uncomfortable silence at least in Jaune's perspective "I really should have gone to the bathroom before coming here, this anxiety is killing my bladder" it took a full minute to reach their destination and when the doors opened Jaune eyes widened at the sight in front of him.
A large corridor in front of him, dimly lit by torches in every corner and pillar, Jaune got more anxious than ever, whatever Ozpin needed his help for must be important if it needed to be this hidden.
"Welcome to the vault Jaune," a feminine voice said and Jaune couldn't help but jump a little. At his right was Glynda with her frown really deep on her face "I'm really sorry that you had to be annoyed with this, but even if I protested against, Headmaster Ozpin seemed to think you should carry this burden" She said while glaring at Ozpin who seemed determined to not look at her direction.
"Don't worry Glynda I'm really glad that he thinks I can help" another voice intervened in the conversation now coming from his left side
"So you're already in first name basis with the Headmistress of Beacon, your reputation precedes you Mr. Arc" the voice was deep and commanding even if the man seemed to be trying to make a funny comment, to Jaune it seemed more like a scolding
"Could you not James?" Glynda said a little exasperated "Jaune let me introduce you to James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas academy and General of the Atlesian Military" Jaune eyes widened. What was the general of the most advanced military of Remnant doing there?
"A pleasure to meet you Sir" Jaune managed to croak at the man who just laughed a little
"The pleasure is mine," he said extending his hand, when Jaune took it Ironwood put his hand on an ironclad grip "You really must understand that being here made you one of the few people on Remnant with knowledge of this secret Mr. Arc so please be aware that you need to be careful with this information" He was silenced by the sound of metal bending
"I already accepted to help, and the headmaster already told me about the importance of keeping this secret, so I would really appreciate if you stop trying to intimidate me sir" Another screech of metal being bent filled the room "After all if I'm doing this it seems that I'm on your side isn't it?"
On the outside, Jaune seemed serious and angry, but in the inside, he was freaking out "OH MY GOD WHAT AM I DOING? IS HIS HAND BENDING?!" Jaune would gladly say that he hated being intimidated, after all, most of his teenage years he was intimidated by the curse inside him, so now every time someone tried to he reacted defensively "BUT I SHOULD NOT ACT LIKE THAT WITH A GENERAL OF AN ARMY!" he was saved by a laugh a really loud laugh. A rugged man appeared walking around a corner "WHAT IS WITH EVERYONE TAKING TURNS TO APPEAR?!"
"You really shouldn't try to intimidate our new friend Jimmy. You don't want to end without a few fingers" Jaune took the opportunity to release the hand of the headmaster
"I wasn't trying to intimidate anyone Qrow," Ironwood said with narrowed eyes "But I must say that you are strong Mr. Arc" he said looking at Jaune with what seemed like an approbatory smile "Was that some kind of a test?"
"Please just this one time behave both of you" Glynda sighed again she seemed tired of those two "Jaune let me present you again our other colleague, it seems none of them have the minimum decorum, this is Qrow Branwen he is a huntsman that specializes in gathering information"
"Hey kid! Sorry you have to be in this mess but Ozpin here seems to believe you're the key to help us" The now Named Qrow said with a shrug and with a quick motion he took a big gulp from a flask that appeared out of nowhere
"Now that everyone here knows about each other maybe it's time to get to the reason Mr. Arc is here" Ozpin finally said, and then started walking to the end of the Vault. Their walking was in silence until Glynda got close to Jaune.
"We'll answer all your questions Jaune, you must have a few" she said with a small smile that made Jaune breath caught on his throat
"That's the understatement of the century Glynda" he looked at the front "Do you really think I can help you with your… situation Glynda? It doesn't seem like something that a guy that's been living on the wilds for five years can help"
"Honestly Jaune I don't know Jaune but… Ozpin seems to think so and he is rarely wrong in these situations"
"You could say he has a lot of years of experience in matters of world security" Said Qrow grinning
"Don't believe what they say, Mr. Arc, I've made more mistakes than any man, but asking for your help is not a mistake, I have a really good feeling about this" Jaune didn't know what to say about that "So it either works and you have a new ally or doesn't work but you have a new ally… is a win-win situation for him" Jaune mused on his head "If it's for the greater good I should see where this lead me"
The rest of the walk was made in silence and a few minutes of walking later Jaune could see something at the end of the corridor, getting closer step by step he finally realized it was a machine, a big machine with two pods, and inside of a pot was-.
"Who is she?" Jaune whispered
"Before answering your question let me ask you Jaune… what is your favorite fairy tale?"
"So let me see if I get it, The tale of the four maidens is real, there are four women with magic that can use the power of the elements" getting a nod from Ozpin he continued "So she is one of this maidens and was attacked by an enemy that took half of her powers" Another nod "And now she is losing aura every moment and that machine is the only thing that kept her alive and stops her aura from leaving her body"
"And that is why I believe that you can help us to save Amber Mr. Arc, I believe that you can amplify her already weak aura, and with a little of luck we'll recover one of Remnant's strongest defender"
Jaune couldn't say he didn't trust him. It would be completely hypocritical from him. After all, he had a curse on him that is practically a legend. But he couldn't completely agree with the headmaster on his plan it had a lot of flaws
"I understand your plan headmaster but, with due respect sir it has a lot of flaws, you don't know the reason for her loss of aura, what if I put aura on her and she just keeps losing it, you're taking a leap of"
"Faith" Ozpin interrupted with a sad smile "I know how flawed this plan is Mr. Arc, believe me when I say that I thought a lot before taking the risk of asking for your help, but we're in dire moments… Jaune, and sometimes all you need is that a little of faith" Jaune liked the way he said that, for the first time the Headmaster appeared vulnerable, it made him seems more… human
"Do you have any idea how much Aura she had?" The headmaster smiled at him and gave him a nod
"We can't calculate exactly how much aura she had, but right now she is at nine percent, and we can safely say that she had at least the aura of three full-fledged huntsmen"
Jaune raised an eyebrow "That's a lot"
"And that is why you're perfect for this Jaune your semblance could help her but if your aura pool wasn't as big as it is I would never ask for your help, after all, I wouldn't risk you suffering aura depletion" Ozpin said looking at Jaune eyes
"Ok, let's take that leap of faith then" he couldn't help but smile, he had the chance to save someone and after all, it was everything he ever wanted to do, save people
"Please Jaune get close to Amber" Glynda said besides him giving him a reassuring smile
"When I open the capsule Jaune her aura will start to go down, and if her aura dips on five percent we'll have to stop this and start thinking of another way to do this" Jaune nodded at the headmaster and a few moments later the capsule opened with a loud hiss
"I'm sorry for this but I need to touch you, I promise is not something inappropriate" Jaune whispered at the unconscious woman putting his hands above her chest and activated his semblance
For a few moments nothing happened, literally nothing happened her aura neither went up nor down but they could see a deep frown forming on Jaune's face
"Something is not right… something is stopping my aura from reaching her… is trying to consume my aura" he said with his eyes closed in full concentration
"Do you think we should stop Jaune?" Ozpin asked in concern, just what the hell they did to Amber
"No, I think we made a mistake Headmaster!" Jaune's eyes suddenly opened wide "Whatever is inside her is getting stronger with my aura if we stop now it would consume her aura in seconds!" Jaune didn't know what was inside her but he was in some way touching her aura and he could feel what was happening
"Ozpin stop this if what he is saying is the truth we'll lose Amber" Ironwood roared and was about to push Jaune when Qrow stopped him, Ironwood was about to yell at Qrow but the look in his eyes made him stop. Qrow was looking intently at Jaune
"Kid you said we shouldn't stop… do you have an idea?" he said in a low tone Jaune turned at him and nodded
"I do… whatever is in her, I could felt it is sentient, I think that if I put aura on it… it will." Jaune didn't finish his idea hearing it out loud it made him feel stupid
"You think you can make it explode," Glynda said with wide eyes "Do you have enough aura for that?" the concern in her eyes made Jaune renew his vigor and gave her a firm nod
"I know I can, I have a lot of aura left and I can already feel that thing in her slowing the speed that is eating my aura" he turned at Ozpin "I know you shouldn't trust me and that you take a big risk asking me for this but I know I can help her just… have a little faith in me"
Ozpin wasn't easily swayed but the look on Jaune's face made him stop for a few moments, this young man's eyes were so filled with determination that even him couldn't help but believe in him.
"Do it, Mr. Arc, it seems we're taking a lot of leaps of faith today" He said tiredly
"You said it, Headmaster… sometimes is all you need" and with that Jaune continued his job with renewed vigor, the minutes passed slowly for everyone, and looking at the frown of concentration in Jaune's face didn't help anybody.
For half an hour nothing happened and all of them were concerned about what was happening and before anyone said something the miracle occurred.
Amber body started to flinch and the eyes of the seasoned huntsmen went wide. Jaune eyes opened wide again this time filled with fear
"Something is coming out of her throat" he said in a whisper
A gasp made everyone look at the wilted maiden, and to the surprise of everyone her eyes were wide open and she was gagging hard, her eyes red and teary.
To the horror of everyone, an insect-like Grimm screeched out of Amber's mouth
"Pull that monster out of her!" Jaune was practically on top of amber now trying to stop her trashing, if he stopped his semblance there was a chance the creature would return to her and end its job. A second after his shout a purple glow involved the Grimm and with a lot of care pulled it out of Amber's body, meanwhile, Jaune was trying to calm her
"Please, listen to me! My name is Jaune Arc and I swear to you that I'm trying to help you, please I'm using my semblance to amplify your aura, you will be fine in a few moments please stop trashing" Jaune whispered practically on Amber's face she seemed wary about him when Ozpin got close to her
"It's true Amber you're safe now let Jaune end your treatment" Ozpin said, and after a few seconds of recognition Amber nodded and stopped her trashing
"What happened?" She asked in a very raspy voice that made Jaune flinch, that creature must have hurt her throat on its way out
"They'll explain everything to you, now I'm going to help with your throat please don't be scared I'm just going to put my hand to channel my semblance on that spot to make it heal faster" Jaune was very specific whit everything he was doing. She looked at him warily but nodded
"You'll be fine, I feel your aura getting filled, and you'll be at max capacity soon, after that, would be a matter of time for your recovery," he said with smiling at her, and she couldn't help but smile back at her savior
"Ozpin what do we do with this shit!" A shout made Jaune look back Qrow was aiming the shotgun on his sword at the creature and Jaune couldn't help but shudder at the thought of that inside of him.
"James do you think is worth checking it?" Ozpin walked at them his eyes never leaving the creature. The question brought James out of his stupor
"Ozpin this Grimm, we've never seen anything like it… in the history of Remnant" Ironwood whispered with his eyes wide open
"I don't like it Oz, I should just kill it" Qrow said
"Qrow this is the first time we see something like this, I think we should make the proper research… see if there is a way to pull it out of the body without the need of Jaune" Glynda said using all her self-control to not squash the ugly creature
"Tsk whatever just put it on a flask or a cage quickly, it's giving me the creeps" Qrow put his sword on his back and drew his flask out, taking a big gulp before walking at Jaune "You did it kid, you should be proud of you, you saved a life and ended on top of a beautiful maiden" he said with a smirk
Jaune eyes widened again and his cheeks turned red, he looked down at amber and she was smirking at him with a little rosy on his cheeks
"It's not like I don't appreciate a young man over me but, at least invite me a drink first," Amber said, her voice sounded a lot better "no seriously can someone give me a glass of water my throat feels like Vacuo's desert" Qrow couldn't help but laugh
Meanwhile, Jaune was as red as Pyrrha's hair "Great another mature sexy woman in my life, and this one is a flirter why god!"
The minutes passed with Glynda and Ironwood leaving to Ozpin's office to call some Atlas scientist to pick up the creature meanwhile Jaune was now at the right of Amber still blushing and Ozpin and Qrow to her left chatting quietly, Amber for her part was just hearing Ozpin and Qrow and sometimes turned at Jaune to say small things to him before falling asleep again, it seemed that after all, she was still tired
"It's done" Jaune whispered and dropped to the floor "Her aura is full, any injury in her should be starting to heal" Jaune let himself rest on the floor this one was easily one of the hardest things he had ever done
"I cannot express how much we appreciate your help Jaune. You not only saved Amber but gave Remnant more protection than before" the sincerity on Ozpin's words made Jaune's heart flutter with pride
"How much aura you have left Kid" Qrow asked Jaune, who withdrew his scroll to check
"Fourteen percent, wow is the first time in a lot of time that my aura dipped that low by only using my semblance" Qrow and Ozpin eyes widened Jaune not only filled the aura of a maiden but made a creature of Grimm escape of her body by filling it with his aura
"Just how much aura do you have Kid" Qrow whispered, Jaune smiled at him and was about to answer him when the sound of running heels made him look at the other side of the corridor, Glynda was running at them with an expression of terror on her eyes, both Huntsmen seemed to noticed it because both asked at the same time
"What happened Glynda?"
"There's been a breach in the middle of the city. There are Grimm on the city"
A/N
Sorry for the delay, the coronavirus is real guys be careful, I have already half of the next chapter done if my calculations are correct maybe tomorrow or the day after it would be up. I'm really excited for the next chapter :)