AN: Welcome to ch 3 of TPA. I hope you will enjoy it.
Proper grammar as always ensured by JJD.
CH 3
It was a tale as old as time.
Young boy from some backwater town, comes to big city to make name for himself. There he soon finds out that dreams, determination, and a willingness to work hard don't matter - at least not as much as documented qualifications and connections. And just when it seems like the only remaining option is to come back home in shame, a "generous stranger" appears. He offers said young man a job in his "private courier company", that handles "delicate orders" for "influential people."
Jaune wasn't sure when his mark realized said people were Vale's most wanted criminals, and the packages he was carrying around were drugs, stolen goods, and dirty money. In anycase, at some point after discovering the truth about his job, he decided to quit. Whether it was because he had enough, double-crossed someone, or stole from his boss - it didn't matter.
What mattered was that he caused a mess - one that Jaune had to clean up.
He sighed, and took one more glance at the surrounding area. He was in Vale's warehouse district. This particular part contained the old workers' barracks - most of them long since abandoned.
It was one of such buildings that his mark had picked for a hiding spot. Jaune had spent the last 40 minutes scouting his surroundings, to get idea of how many potential witnesses were around. To his pleasant surprise - there were none.
Deciding that it was as good time as any, he strode towards the building in front of him. It was an ugly, square block, with each wall stretching 20m, with a single corridor going through the middle. Immediately after entering the building, there would be an open kitchen with a seating area on his left, and a bathroom on his right. Slightly further, there would be two rooms, one on each side of the corridor.
Coming closer to the doors - now just an empty hole in the wall - Jaune reviewed the message he had received twenty minutes ago. It was basically an uncoded, and more detailed version of the original.
Harrowed Existence Sighted in West Vale, warehouse district.
Class: 1
Combat Experience Pre-Corruption: none
Aura Status Pre-Corruption: locked
Approximate Threat Level - low
Approximate Corruption Level - very low
Additional information - Target appears to retain partial awareness.
So a Ghoul, huh? Not even fully corrupted.
He thought, staring at the photo of a young man - or what was once a young man. The creature that was in the photo still resembled a human - albeit a very twisted human. One arm was almost twice as bulky as the other, and covered in large black marks. Similarly, its face - left side was mostly intact - not counting traces of severe beating person received before he died, But the skin on right side was mostly black. There was a visible cave-in on the side of its head - probably the killing blow.
So the kid tried to run. They caught him, probably dragged him to one of their hideouts and made example of him. Looks like they put quite a beating on him while he was tied up judging from his body and wrist. Then they got tired of that, and tied him to a car and drug him around a bit.. The blow to the head had to be what finished him off though.
His mark had one friend in Vale - a girl around his age, a student at a local medical school. He had been staying at her home for the past few days. According to the girl and her parents, he was "good boy" who "wouldn't hurt fly, even if his life depended on it". It was her that reported his disappearance to the Police - two days ago.
Judging by the corruption level, he was probably up for no more than four to six hours when this photo was taken. Ghouls usually get up after eight to twelve hours.
The Harrowed was spotted around two hours ago.
So, the young boy wants to get out of the criminal organization because he found some good people that believe in him. He tries - and fails. They catch him, and made an example of him. Took their time too.
Jaune sighed.
Yep, that's a recipe for a Ghoul spawn right there.
He made it to the door, and slowly peeked inside. Besides some broken furniture, the building appeared empty. A quick check confirmed that his target wasn't in the bathroom - so the only hiding place left were the two rooms.
Now which one should I check first? I'd prefer to not be ambushed. Or worse - let him escape.
Drawing his sword - not Crocea Mors, but his longsword with the pitch-black blade - he slowly made his way inside.
Left or right - which one should I pick?
His decision was made for him, when he heard a rustling and some muffled sounds coming from left room.
As he came closer, Jaune quickly recalled what he knew about his target.
Class 1 Harrowed (often referred to as "Ghouls") were the most common type. They didn't possess any crazy abilities, besides a high-level of strength and durability. They usually retained at least a vaguely humanoid shape, and were relatively easy to deal with - if you knew what you were doing. Sometimes, in very rare cases, they retained some of their memories. At least for a short while. They formed when someone died slowly, filled with regret, and were fully aware of what was happening - for example, if a young man had tried to run away from some criminal organization, but was caught and made an example of.
Jaune closed the remaining distance, and slowly looked inside room. The Ghoul was easy to spot - he was just sitting in one corner - the farthest from the door - and poking at the wall. Jaune took deep breath, and entered the room.
The beast still hadn't noticed him, so he used the chance to examine it. It still looked mostly human, with only its left hand being much bulkier and black. There were a few more black spots on its body, and two very short bone spikes growing on its back.
Jaune took a few careful steps towards the creature. Somehow it still hadn't noticed him.
Good. It's probably distracted by the noise it's making. If I'm careful I should be able to sneak up on it and…
The Ghoul whipped around, staring straight into Jaune's eyes. One of its were red and glowing - much like that of Grimm, the other still a brown-ish hue.
Or it could just turn around and make it harder for me. Sure, why not.
Jaune tensed, sword at the ready, and waited for an attack. It didn't come.
A few tension-filled seconds passed. Neither of them made a single move.
Is it seriously waiting for me to make my move? It shouldn't be that intelligent.
Then he saw flicker of... something in the beast's brown eye. Something human.
"You're still in there, aren't you?"
The beast let out a low growl.
"It must hurt a lot."
With a snarl the Ghoul jumped. Jaune danced out of the way and slashed, cutting off the Harrowed's black hand. It landed heavily, stumbled, and fell. It tried to get up, but Jaune was already on it. The black blade easily pierced the creature's back, pinning it to the floor. It let out a surprisingly human cry of pain, struggled for few seconds, then stilled.
"I am Guide for damned,
I am the Ferryman of lost souls.
With this blade I release yours, dear Brother.
I will cut down the chains of sorrow that bind you,
I will vanquish the fear that crushes you.
I will bring you peace."
Just as the last word left Jaune's mouth, so did the last black spot disappear form the Ghoul's body.
He got up and let out a loud sigh.
Still, the real monsters here are his former employers.
He spared one last look at the, now completely human, corpse.
Rest in peace. I hope you didn't suffer too long.
He sighed, and made his way towards the exit.
"FREEZE!"
"HANDS IN THE AIR, YOU SCUM!"
"DROP YOUR WEAPON, ASSHOLE!"
These were the first words he heard when he left the building. Each sentence was uttered by men wearing the uniform of Vale Police Department, each pointing a gun at him.
I knew today started too well. Is this punishment for having an extra serving of Mei's dumplings?
And as he was pushed to the ground, his hands being cuffed behind his back, and his rights being read to him, he couldn't help but think:
Still worth it.
Jaune looked around the interrogation room. It looked oddly familiar - even though it was the first time he was visiting this one.
Well, you've seen one - you've seen them all.
He had been sitting there for about 20 minutes now - it was almost 7 pm, and Jaune was starting to get nervous.
I really need to wrap this up quickly. Still need to make it to the plane.
His thoughts were interrupted when the doors opened, and man who was clearly not a police officer entered the room.
He was wearing a black suit of good quality, sunglasses and black tie. At first glance he looked like your average office worker. No one would bother with a second look.
"Please accept our apologies." He said, taking seat in front of Jaune.
"This… situation is the result of an oversight on our part. It appears that the local authorities were not informed that one of our Representatives was operating in the area. Of course, we've already resolved this misunderstanding. You can go now, your belongings will be returned to you at the front desk. I wish you good night."
With that, the man stood up and left.
Well, that one was talkative for a Company agent.
Thought Jaune, as he followed the man towards the exit.
Usually they hardly say anything at all. And he even apologized.
When he was collecting his things at the front desk, he heard a nervous cough behind him. He turned around, and saw one of officers that arrested him.
"I just wanted to say sorry." He said
Jaune shrugged.
"Don't worry about it. You thought you were dealing with some sociopath murderer. Not the first time it has happened to me, and probably won't be the last".
Yes, that was one of biggest drawbacks of Jaune's not-really-secret occupation. Even though he was the Company's Harrowed Extermination Representative, situations like this happened from time to time.
After all, when some policeman found you with blood-soaked sword over a mutilated body, they tended to jump to conclusions. Explaining that said corpse was monster just few seconds ago usually didn't work out too well.
The policeman just nodded and handed him a small plastic card - his Company ID. Jaune looked at it and smiled. It had only some basic info - his photo, name and Company identification number. Just like hundreds of thousands of other IDs
What was different were seven words written at the bottom:
Worldwide Independent Taskforce Company Harrowed Extermination Representative
I wonder if anyone actually uses the full name?
Jaune suspected that the answer was no. At least, he preferred shortened version.
WITCHER had such a nice ring to it.
Jaune was not in a good mood.
He made it to the plane without much of a problem. The trip to Silver Lake was uneventful, but not very comfortable. He spent the whole five hours long flight in the cold cargo bay, his medicine had stopped working somewhere around the third hour, and he had to rely on his Aura to fight off the motion sickness. He had hoped to let out some of the stress dealing with his new target - but the guy proved surprisingly hard to find, and lure to some secluded location where they could… "talk." This, combined with a longer than expected flight, left Jaune with very little time to work with, if he wanted to make it back for the meeting. The flight back, while faster, was just as unpleasant. He couldn't afford to take his medicine now, since it made him sleepy for a few hours.
So, now he was sitting at small table in Hunter's Rest, one with a good view of the entrance, and close to kitchen door. That way he could get good look at anyone who entered, before they could notice him, and if someone who he didn't want to meet appeared, he could retreat through the back door.
Jaune checked his scroll again. It was 7:45. The client should be arriving any moment now.
There were already a few patrons inside, with new ones filing in from time to time.
A few minutes passed, and a few more people entered Hunter's Rest - but not a single one of them spared more than a single glance towards Jaune.
He sighed, and just as he considered ordering something to eat, the door opened one more time, and a single, well-dressed, middle-aged man entered the room. He didn't even bother to look around as he headed straight towards Jaune as soon as he passed the door.
Jaune recognized him instantly - how could he not? Anyone who was in this line of business had at the very least heard of the man.
So this is my client, huh? This should be… interesting.
"Jaune Arc, I presume?"
The man said, extending his hand.
"One and the same."
Jaune shook his hand, and pointed to other chair for the man to sit.
"So, how can I be of assistance to Headmaster of Beacon Academy?"
Professor Ozpin smiled.
"Well, I think it's obvious isn't it? I need some… professional help."
Now that's bulshit if I've ever heard it. He probably can call dozens of Hunters with much more experience than me anytime. And that's not counting the Beacon staff, or students.
"Pardon my bluntness Headmaster, but I'm sure you could easily reach out to someone with much more experience than myself."
"True." Ozpin easily admitted. "But for the task I have in mind, your unique skill set would be of the utmost value. There are some… other reasons I'm coming to you as well.
"Other reasons?"
Other reasons could be bad for your health.
Ozpin took the previously ordered cup of coffee from Mei, took long sip, and smiled contently.
"Before I explain, please tell me: how much did your teacher tell you about this job?"
I hate this playing coy shit.
"Only thats it's in Vale, and the client is someone he knows personally. Nothing more."
Ozpin nodded, took another sip, and spoke.
"I'm sure that you are aware that Beacon will soon start its academic year?" The older man waited for Jaune to confirm before continuing. "Usually, around this time of year, I'm hiring several Hunters to check out the initiation area in order to ensure potential students do not run into something over their heads."
That actually makes sense… now that he mentions it, Leon always insisted we come back to Vale around this time of year.
"I make sure to always include at least one WITCHER in this group. Usually it's your mentor, but as you know he is unavailable at the moment. He mentioned you would be in the area when we last spoke, and assured me you are more than qualified for such a task."
"But that's not everything, right? You could hire any Representative for this. Even a regular, more experienced Hunter would probably do the job." He leaned across the table. "So I ask again: why me?"
Ozpin took a long sip. Then another. And another.
Just when Jaune was starting to get irritated, he spoke.
"Would you like to come to my school, Jaune?"
What?!
"What?!"
Ozpin took a long sip. Then another.
Take one more. I dare you, take one more sip. See what happens.
Whether the older man heard his mental message, or just had enough coffee, he spoke again.
"It's simple Mr. Arc. A few weeks ago, I was contacted by your teacher. He made a request - to give his pupil chance to attend Beacon."
"What?" asked Jaune.
Very eloquent brain, really. You're doing great.
Ozpin just smiled.
"I assure you, I was just as surprised. Usually, I am the one making requests of him."
All Jaune could do was stare at the man in front of him.
So, this is the "special bonus" Leon mentioned…
"So, you're going to let me attend Beacon? Just like that? And what does this job have to do with it?"
"Yes, I'm more than willing to accept a skilled individual into my school. Especially if said individual comes with a recommendation from one of my trusted friends - one that I know is not easily impressed. As for your job - it's simple. You can think of it as your entrance exam."
"Entrance exam?"
"Yes. As you know there are two way to get accepted into Beacon - either graduate from a combat prep school, and get a recommendation from there, or pass our entrance exam. There are a lot of people who couldn't attend schools afterall. Unfortunately we couldn't contact you in time to schedule you for such an exam. That's why, after discussing it with my colleagues, we decided to bend the rules a bit and offer you this opportunity."
Ozpin took another sip of his coffee and continued.
"You will join a group of experienced Hunters on a simple mission - assessing the Grimm population in the area initiation will take place. Your performance will be observed and graded. Should we judge your performance satisfactory, you will join the rest of the students at initiation day."
"Wait, why would I need to pass initiation, if you're send me on mission in the same area?"
"Because initiation serves not only as way to assess the skills of our future students, but also plays an important role in assigning teams."
Jaune nodded.
"Ok, so to sum it up - I am to go on routine mission to assist some Hunters in assessing
the Grimm population, should I perform well, I'll get chance to attend Beacon."
"That is correct."
Jaune considered Ozpin's words for few moments. The offer looked good - almost too good to be true. If not for his master's message earlier, he would've been more suspicious. It's not everyday the Headmaster of one of most prestigious combat academies in the world offered you a place in his school. But since he knew his master was involved - he was willing to believe him.
"Ok, sounds good to me. Let's talk about details."
Blake Belladonna leaned against the wall and let out a tired sigh. She had done it. She'd been accepted to Beacon.
The last week had been nerve-wracking. She passed the entrance exam without any problems - years of training and fighting in White Fang put her above most hunters-in-training. It was the waiting that really got her - despite what she hoped, she didn't get a decision the same day she passed exam. Only now, almost a week after, and only two days before initiation, she was invited to an interview by Headmaster Ozpin. He assured her it was standard procedure, but she still was nervous - whole time expecting Vale Police Officers to burst into room and arrest her. Nothing like that happened - even though Ozpin had subtly suggested he was aware of her past.
Oh well, she was now formally a huntress-in-training. This was first step on her road to redemption. She wouldn't waste it.
She pushed off the wall, rounded the corner - and collided with someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Are you alright?" She heard a male voice ask.
Thankfully, she didn't fall - that would have been embarrassing. Instead, she looked up at the man in question.
Boy, she quickly amended - he couldn't be older than her. Tall and lean, almost scraggy. Blond hair, blue eyes. He wore a simple hoodie underneath a breastplate, pauldrons, and armored gloves. Simple jeans, and heavy, metal-reinforced boots. This, plus the two swords on his hip suggested he was hunter-in-training.
Is he here for the interview too? I don't recall him from the exam… but he might have taken it at a different date.
His next words all but confirmed her suspicions.
"Are you here for the interview too?"
She nodded.
He laughed nervously.
"So… is Ozpin inside?" He asked, pointing at the door to the room she left a few moments ago.
Why is he so nervous? It's just an interview.
Her eyes narrowed, but she squashed the suspicions that started building inside her.
It's just my paranoia talking. He is just some 17 year old boy about to meet one of most influential people in Vale. Of course he's nervous. Now calm down, and answer him like a completely normal person.
"Yes. I just left - he should still be inside."
"Thanks. So-o.. I'm…" he made to speak, but voice behind her interrupted him.
"Ah, mister Arc. It's good to see you made it. Please, come inside."
He smiled at her apologetically.
"Well I guess we'll meet tomorrow? See you later."
Tomorrow?
Ah, yes. All candidates would gather at Beacon to be prior to the initiation the next day.
Calm down. He is just normal boy. He is going to Beacon, saw another student, and just wanted to talk. Nothing suspicious about it.
She took a few deep breaths and let go of Gambol Shroud.
Gotta take a hold of myself. I can't be so nervous, people will get suspicious.
Damn, she was cute. Thought Jaune as he entered room with Ozpin.
But why so jumpy? I'm pretty sure I didn't accidently grab her or anything when we hit.
The older man urge him to sit on one chair, taking the other for himself. Then he placed his scroll on table between them, pressed a few buttons - and a holographic display appeared over the table.
"This is the area Initiation will take place at," said Ozpin. "As you can see, it's mostly forest, surrounded by mountains. It's actually right next to Beacon. Like I mentioned, we hired several hunters to help ensure that the population of Grimm in the area are kept at a manageable level. We have twelve people in total, excluding yourself. They will be divided into six, two-person teams. Each team will have its zone to cover."
As he spoke, another display appeared - this one was a simple map of the same area, with six zones, each differently colored, and numbered from one to six.
"Since I won't be on any team, I assume you want me to just run through every zone and confirm that there are no Harrowed?"
"That's what we initially planned yes." Said Ozpin "But there was a change of plans "
At that, a third display appeared. It was a photograph. Very poor quality, but one could just make out a black, vaguely humanoid creature on it. Well, it was standing on two legs, and had two arms. It was hard to tell anything more.
Jaune's eyes narrowed.
"It's not an Ursa… too big for Beowolf… though it might be an Alpha."
He looked at the older man.
"You think it's a Harrowed?"
"It's a possibility. We noticed its presence only two days ago, though it's possible it was there for longer. The photo you see was taken by one of the cameras we have installed in the forest. It's from yesterday, and only one with the whole thing in it. We have few more if you want to see them - but even though they are of better quality, they only capture fragments of body, sometimes only a shadow is visible."
"What has us concerned, is that on every photo where we got even glimpse of it, it appears to be alone. And most of them were taken in this area," said Ozpin, pointing at a red circle that appeared on the first display. It covered the northern part of forest, with some mountains.
"It's rather unusual for a Beowolf, especially an Alpha, to be alone. Or to stick to one place for so long." Jaune hummed. "Judging by looks, it might be a heavily corrupted Ghoul, but it's really hard to tell."
"Exacily. While it's not unheard of, we prefer to be safe than sorry. That's why we want you to investigated this area, and eliminate whatever it is. If it turns out to be Harrowed, confirm whether or not it originated from this area. We are almost certain it's not, but we want to be sure."
So it's a simple search and destroy.
"What can you tell me about this area?"
"It's mostly forest, not too thick. The ground is even, covered in high grass - but not enough for something this size to hide in. There is one cave." He explained, pointing at the map. "Around here."
Almost exactly at the centre. Guess I know where I'll be heading.
"How do I get there?"
"You will be transported by bullhead. We will drop you with Team 4 around here," he pointed at a spot, roughly a kilometer from his destination.
"All participants will have their scrolls synced to Beacon's network to ensure that you will be able to communicate easily. All Hunters will know about your presence - but not the details about why you are there. Teams 4 and 5 have been informed to prioritize any calls for help from you over their own task. Operation begins tomorrow at 9 a.m. You are to gather at Vale Central Airport, dock number 9. Any questions?"
Jaune shook his head. Everything was clear - at least as clear as it could be when dealing with an unknown threat.
"Good. Then we will see each other tomorrow. I wish you a good night Mr. Arc."
Jaune was at the airport at 8:25. He wasn't the first there - a few Hunters were already standing near dock 9, talking about something. When he came closer, they turned, giving him a nod in greeting, and going back to whatever they were talking about.
At 8:40, the last pair of hunters arrived. One of them was a middle-aged man, who Jaune vaguely recognized from somewhere. The other was much younger, about Jaune's age. He was talking about something with the older man, waving his arms around excitedly.
At 8:50, three bullheads with the Beacon logo arrived. One of them carried Ozpin and a blond woman Jaune didn't recognized.
Probably Glynda Goodwitch, Ozpin's right hand.
They gave some last-minute instructions to the gathered Hunters, and then wished them good luck.
As the teams started to board the designated Bullheads, Ozpin called out to Jaune.
"We got a clearer picture of your target." He said, while the blond woman handed him an envelope.
Jaune opened it and looked inside. There was a photo taken with a night vision filter, and at some distance. The creature was turned away from whoever had taken the photo, but Jaune could see black skin and bone spikes popping out of its back.
"It certainly looks like an Alpha Beowolf…"
"That was our conclusion as well. But it's behavior is very…abnormal. The Hunter who took this picture attempted to eliminate it, but before he could get close enough, it sensed him… and ran."
Jaune looked at man with surprise.
"It…ran? Without even fighting?"
"Yes." This time it was the woman who spoke. "While it's possible that it simply sensed something else, it certainly seem to be too much of a coincidence. The Hunter in question reported that it remained completely motionless for an extended period of time - almost half a hour. Then, when he closed to about 100 meter radius, it suddenly started running away from him. It didn't run in a straight line either - it changed direction frequently. Ultimately, the Hunter chased it down to a cave in the middle of its territory, at which point he decided stop pursuit, deeming entering an unknown cave, with unknown threat inside and no backup too dangerous."
Smart man. Thought Jaune.
The woman fixed her glasses and continued.
"We couldn't obtain any more information on your target Mr. Arc. But based on the information we have, it's almost certainly an Alpha Beowolf. While its behavior is highly unusual, it could be the result of its experience."
Jaune stared at photograph a little longer. It certainly looked like a Beowolf. A very odd-behaving one, but still a Beowolf. He couldn't see the creature's head, since it was facing away from camera, and was hunched over.
It looks… normal. No apparent deviations, and judging from looks, it could have been a Ghoul… But they usually bulker, and shorter. Plus to reach this level of corruption it had to be very old - someone would have taken notice of it. It could have come from somewhere else. Maybe someone hunted it and failed, so it ran here? Damn, if only I could see its head - could tell for sure then.
Jaune sighed, and handed the envelope back to the woman.
"I think I can agree that it's just a very unusual Beowolf. The photos don't show too many details, but from what I can tell, it's too tall, and its limbs are too thin to be a Ghoul. It might be some other kind of Harrowed… but they tend to have very distinctive shapes."
"I see..." said Ozpin, nodding in understanding.
He seemed to contemplate something for few seconds, then spoke again.
"Your mission remains the same Mr. Arc. You are to locate this creature and eliminate it. If it's Harrowed - investigate area and look for any clues as to where it came from. After you are done with this task, you are to assist the other teams with Grimm control."
Jaune nodded.
"Understood."
They shook hands and Jaune made his way towards the bullhead.
They took off as soon as he strapped himself in. The trip would take only about half an hour - not enough time to try to catch any sleep, so Jaune instead examined his temporary companions. To his left, talking quietly between themselves sat a pair - man and a woman. They looked to be in their mid-twenties. He couldn't bet sure if they were a couple, siblings, or just friends.
In front of him, and to the right sat an older man, who Jaune was sure he knew from somewhere. Judging by how man stared at him the moment he entered bullhead, it was a mutual feeling.
Jaune made to ask, but another voice interrupted him.
"So you are the WITCHER guy, huh? You're younger than I expected."
Jaune turned to the last occupant of the bullhead.
"Yeah, I get that a lot."
The boy - he couldn't be any older than Jaune - looked at him for a few seconds, a friendly smile on his lips.
"I bet. So tell me - why did Headmaster Ozpin hire you?" He asked leaning forward. "If it's not a secret I mean." He quickly added.
Jaune just shrugged.
"They suspect there is a Harrowed in the area. My job is to look into it, kill whatever it is, and then assist you guys."
"Well, you don't have to worry about us - we can take care of ourselves." He said a little too proudly. "My friend here is a veteran hunter." He nodded towards the older man. Jaune looked at him, just in time to notice slight wince at 'friend'.
Probably hired as bodyguard. And by the looks of it, the job not as easy as he thought it would be.
"And I'm no pushover either. You see, my family is very well connected, we're the Dances, so I was trained by the best. I don't want to brag…" He said, with tone suggesting that not only did he want to, but was also more than willing to - and no one could stop him.
Jaune tuned him out after just a few words - and he wasn't only one. It looked like no one was paying any attention to his blaber - but it didn't discourage him.
Jaune's focus was on the older Hunter. Where do I know this guy from. I'm sure we met before, but I can't remember. He thought, making some acknowledging sounds from time to time.
...graduated?"
It took him few seconds to realize boy in front of him asked him a question.
"Excuse me, I got lost in my thoughts. What did you ask?"
"Sunny." The boy finally introduced himself. "I just wanted to know what school you graduated from. You see, before this mission I did a little background check on the people hired for it - I mean, we're professionals after all, and like to know who we're working with, am I right? So I checked everyone out, but you - I couldn't find much on you. There are some records in the Company of you doing job or two, but nothing about your qualifications. So I was just wondering - what school did you graduate from? And when did you passed exam for the WITCHER certification? I mean, from what I've heard, the Company's courses take at least one year…"
"Heartshatter Ridge".
There were a few moments of silence.
"Heartshatter Ridge. That's where I graduated." Jaune repeated.
Everyone was staring at him for few seconds before the boy in front of him erupted.
"Heart..what the hell are you talking about?! I know the place, it's just few houses, and a palisade. There is no school there!"
"Trial by fire," a new voice spoke. It belonged to the boy's older companion, who was now staring at Jaune with a slight smile.
"He graduated by trial by fire." Seeing the questioning looks of other occupants of the bullhead, he explained.
"That's how us old-timers refer to someone that didn't go to school, but proved their skill in the field. "He," the man pointed to Jaune, "traveled for a few years with an experienced Hunter, and learned the ropes in the field. That's how he got his WITCHER licence - you don't have to do any courses to attempt the exam in that case. And if at least five WITCHERS with at least one year experience give you a recommendation - you don't even need an exam."
He continued with a smile on his face.
"I knew I knew you from somewhere kid. You were shorter back then. And I had more facial hair, and less clothing. Jaune Arc right?"
Seeing that Jaune still couldn't connect the dots, he elaborated.
"Vacuo? Like a eight months ago? Long-term contract to escort a caravan delivering supplies to some Dust mines in the desert. Had a run-in with a Ghoul - bastard almost bit my arm off," at that he presented his left arm, with clearly visible bite marks.
"Would have died if not for his teacher cutting the damn thing down. Would have lost the arm too, if not for your medicine kid. I still don't know what the hell was that thing you gave me - but I was sure I was hallucinating when I saw the flesh start to grow back."
Jaune's eyes lit up. "Ah! I remember now. Butch! I also remember that you were quite proud of your beard. What made you decide to shave it?"
He smiled.
"A woman."
Jaune chuckled. Yeah, that would explain a few things. Then he recalled something else.
"Hey, after they got you to the hospital, what did the doctors say?"
The man looked at Jaune surprised.
"Well, at first they couldn't believe my arm was almost completely separated just a few hours before. They gave me a blood transfusion, kept me for a few days, and then let me go."
"There were no.. side effects?" Seeing man's questioning glance, Jaune explained. "What I gave you was not exactly… tested before. I used it few times on myself, and was always fine, but when I gave it to other people there were often...side-effects - nausea, dizziness, increased, or slowed heartbeat. One guy started hallucinating, and lost consciousness for three days."
The older man rubbed his chin. "Can't say for sure. I passed out, but it might have been due to the blood loss. Can't remember if I had anything else."
Jaune just nodded.
Soon after he started traveling with Leon, he had started experimenting with mixing Dust and herbs to create Dust-enhanced medicines (or elixirs, as his teacher called them). They proved to be very effective, but the stronger ones had serious side effect for anyone that used them. Anyone but Jaune. He still didn't know for sure why - Leon speculated it might have been either because his high Aura level, or a sign of his awakening semblance.
"So you're a WITCHER then? What's that like? I've heard a lot about you guys - not sure what to believe."
This time it was girl sitting next to him. She was staring at him too, but with curiosity. She held out a hand.
"I'm Bonnie by the way. The broody type next to me is Clyde." The man raised a few fingers in salute.
Jaune took the offered hand. "Well, it's not that different than being Hunter. You do the same type of thing - only difference is that we're trained on how to properly deal with Harrowed."
"So are there any special tricks? Hidden knowledge? Dark, secret rituals, performed in long-forgotten temples?" She asked excitedly.
Jaune laughed.
"I'm afraid not." She looked disappointed for awhile, but then perked up.
"So, what do you think is out there?" Clyde asked.
Jaune was considering answer for few moments.
"It's… hard to tell. Everything points to it just being a big Alpha Beowolf. But it's acting very strange - goes solo, runs without fighting, sticks to very specific territory. For sure its not a Wraith - they always stay close to place they died, plus they look more human. It could be a heavily corrupted Ghoul - but from the photos I saw it looked too tall and too lean to be one. Plus there is one more problem - if it would be Harrowed there had to be body. And I'm sure someone would have noticed if someone died so close to Beacon."
Jaune eyebrows narrowed.
"It could be an Aberration…" he said slowly.
"Aberration?" asked the boy in front of him.
"They are kind of... special cases. Officially called Class 3: Aberrated Harrowed Existence, they are outliers. Unlike Class 1 and 2, there is almost no common traits between them, no single strategy to fight them - you have to adapt on the fly."
"But they usually have very distinctive looks . Even when it's a parasite-type Aberration - they tend to mutated they host beyond recognition. This one looked like a normal Alpha."
Jaune looked around, and smiled.
"So, any more questions?"
"What is the deal with this black swords you WITCHERs use? I saw few of you, and everyone carried one - but they also had normal weapons. There is something special about them right?" Bonnie asked excitedly.
"Actually not every Witcher has one. Making one is very hard, costly, and you have to do it on your own. It's kind of like graduation ceremony. While you can get Company licence without having one, most veterans don't consider you 'true' Witcher without it."
"So how are they made? And what's so hard about it?"
"First of all, you need very high quality Dust. Several types in fact. You then mix it with steel and few other things to create special alloy. Tricky part is that exact proportions, and types of Dust differ from person to person - only way to find out yours is to experiment. Then the blade is forged with an application of one's Aura. Its delicate process - easy to mess up, and when you do, you have to start from scratch."
"So what does it do? Does it shoot lighting? Burst in flames? Cuts through every material like a hot knife through butter?"
Jaune just smiled. He could just tell them.
But there were more… entertaining ways of explaining.
He handed his black blade - still in its scabbard - to the girl.
"See for yourself."
She unsheathed the blade and looked it over, face slowly changing from excited, to surprise, and suspicious.
He knew why. The blade was dull, covered in cracks, and...
Wait for it…
The girl turned sword around wanting to inspect the marks near hilt more closely. In doing so she hit bullhead floor with the tip of blade - breaking it.
Jaune somehow managed to not burst out laughing.
The poor girl looked like she wasn't sure whether to apologize, start making excuses, or burst into tears.
Jaune took mercy on her.
"As you can see, the blade is dull, and very brittle. It's basically a piece of junk. Unless its owner is holding it." With that, he grabbed hilt of weapon - and it stirred to life. The cracks started to disappear, the edges sharpened, and the broken tip still lying on floor turned into mist and started reforming on blade.
"The production process makes it very sensitive to Aura - you can use it to strengthen the blade."
"Wait, isn't something like that, like, super hard?"
"Yes. That's why we make them ourselves. By using our aura in the forging process it becomes much easier to insert your aura into it. It also means that no one else would be able to use your blade."
"That's...kinda cool. But there has to be more, right? No way you go through all this trouble just to make sword no one else can use."
Jaune smiled.
"Of course not. This swords has another property - one that is extremely dangerous if mishandled…one that is almost required to deal with most Harrowed. One that makes it so dangerous, some WITCHERS choose not to craft a blade at all. One that is..."
Jaune shot the girl a quick glance.
She looked like she was about to explode from anticipation. And it wasn't just her, all the passengers were now staring intensely at Jaune.
Damn, I almost feel sorry for what I'm about to do. He smiled. Almost.
"... a secret."
Few seconds passed in silence. Then the bullhead exploded. Figuratively.
"Oh come on! You can't leave us hanging like that!"
"I'm sorry, but I really can't tell. How about I tell you some cool stories, to make up for it?"
"Hmpf. They better be good." Bonnie pouted.
Yeah… Black blades weren't exactly secret. And technically he COULD tell them...
It's just that most people tended to get nervous when they learned you had weapon that basically devoured your soul...
They talked for some more, exchanging stories, and Jaune explaining how to best deal with some of the more common Harrowed.
"Two minutes out." The pilot called over the intercom.
Butch turned to the rest of the bullhead.
"I hope you'll all humor an old man." He started, finding his feet. "I know we're not on official teams, but I'd like to cover a few things before we land." He touched his scroll. "We'll be on channel 3 if you need anything, if you wouldn't mind changing yours to the same, this old man can call on you if and when he gets in trouble."
Jaune knew he was anything but, and adjusted his comm channel. He could see Bonnie and Clyde doing the same.
"Bullhead response time is around thirty minutes, but give three shots in rapid succession and we'll find you quicker." He smiled at Jaune. "Any loud noise will do."
"Coming in for landing." The pilot called.
"See you all back at the Rest for a round after this." Butch finished.
Soon after they touched down, the first pair - the Butch and (as Jaune learned) his student, Sunny, left.
The remaining pair tried to bait him into telling the secret of his sword - but this was cut short when they reached his destination. He bid them farewell, and jumped off the bullhead.
Ok, playtime is over. Time to go to work.
It took him long far longer to reach the edge of his target's territory than he expected.
That was… a lot of Grimm. Not overwhelming, but more than I thought it would be.
He thought for a moment as he stopped to catch his breath.
Now - should I go straight for cave, or check out the edges of its territory first?
After brief consideration, he decided to investigate further. He stopped from time to time, to take closer look on some footprints, or claw marks on the trees.
Judging by the footprints and claw marks, it's a Beowolf. A Ghoul would leave deeper marks…the footprints don't match either. So it has to be a little wolfie… or rather a biggie.
Yes, judging by all the traces he found, it was quite big for Beowolf - not abnormally so, but still big.
But why would it leave these marks anyway? Thought Jaune, stopping before one such mark - four deep scars on the tree trunk.
It's clearly marks its territory. But I've never heard of Beowolf doing this. Or any Grimm really - they tend to wander a lot after all.
After a second of thought Jaune took a few pictures of the marks on the tree, and some of the footprints. He sent them to Ozpin, together with his conclusion that it's most probably a very old Alpha Beowolf, and that he was going to look for cave now.
The reply from Ozpin came almost instantly.
"Understood. Proceed with caution."
I will, no need to tell me.
Finding the cave took him a lot longer than he thought it would. He stopped roughly fifty meters before the entrance, and hid behind a tree where he could observe the cave.
He checked his scroll.
Almost 2 pm? It took longer than expected. Now should I go in, or wait?
Thought struck him, and he sent a quick message to Ozpin. A few minutes later he received response - none of cameras caught beast since it hid in the cave.
So it should be still inside. Maybe if I wait a bit it will come out? I'd prefer to fight it in the open.
After thirty or so minutes of nothing happening, Jaune decided that no, whatever was inside wouldn't make it easier on him by walking out of the cave.
That meant he had to go inside.
He knelt, took his backpack off, and started rummaging through it. After few seconds he pulled out a wooden box.
Now, should I use them?
He thought, opening the box and revealing several small bottles made of reinforced glass.
His greatest accomplishment, something even his teacher was surprised by. His masterpiece.
His elixirs.
.
.
.
Just when did I start to call them that? Sure it's easier to say than 'Dust-augmented Herbal Aura Stimulants', but still…
He shook his head, and focused on the task at hand.
I will be fighting in a dark cave… so something for night vision… or maybe a hearing booster? If there wasn't any light to amplify, then night vision would be useless. What else… it will be tight in there, but that will hinder it more than me.
After few minutes of considering his options, he picked six bottles.
Two healing enhancers, - simple potions, that boosted the natural healing factor of one's Aura.
Two perception stimulants - they boosted hearing, touch, sense of smell, and the ability to perceive fast movements. The downside was the brief disorientation when consumed, hindered perception of colours, and a killer migrene that kicked in about a hour after consuming one.
The heart enhancer - despite what it did - was a relatively safe one. After drinking this potion Jaune could, with careful application of Aura, either hasten, or lower his heart rate. The first option was useful when he wanted to speed up the activation of some of the other potions. Second - if he wanted to do the opposite, or, as he learned in very painful way, to slow down bleeding if he ran out of healing enhancers, and help wasn't coming.
And lastly - Dusk. He hesitated a moment, considering if he really wanted to take this one with him.
Dusk was one of the most potent elixirs he'd ever created. The drawbacks were massive - the first time he used it, he passed out after just fifteen seconds, and woke up four days later. It took another two weeks before he could walk again. He'd also lost around three kilograms - just from the brief moment elixir was active.
After a second attempt, when he passed out after a whopping seventeen seconds, he'd abandoned these recipes as impractical. It knocked him out too fast, and he could barely do anything because of intense shock he was experiencing.
Only after discovering the Heart Enhancer, he came back to working on Dusk. The reason it was knocking him out was because it increased his heart rate too much. Now, with ability to control it, and after a lot of practice, Jaune could last for almost four minutes. He still lost consciousness most of the time - but only for few hours, and after day or two of rest he was fine. And the benefits it offered were well worth it.
It completely removed natural inhibitions and sense of pain. His reflexes were greatly increased, and, what was possibly the biggest benefit - he could see others' Aura. Not clearly - it was more of a pulsation of colour - but after some practice he learned how to use it to determine when someone is going to attack him, or if they were using their Semblance.
Overall, it was a good trump card.
Heh, now that I think about it - if I can use stuff like that, 'you can drink potions' Semblance doesn't sound so bad.
Thought Jaune, putting box with the elixirs back to backpack and moving towards the cave.
I really hope it's not too big. Don't want to spend whole day in a damp, dark cave, looking for some strange Beowolf that doesn't have decency to come out and die like any good Grimm.
He made it to entrance, looked inside, and after determining that no, his mark was not nice enough to sit there and wait for him, he he made to push onward.
His scroll ringing stopped him. He looked at the contact name, and took the call.
"Hey Butch, whats up?"
"Just wanted to tell you we finished with our Job. Bonnie and Clyde are done too. How about you? Need some backup?"
Jaune considered it for few moments. Backup sounded nice - it was always good to have someone watch your back. On the other hand…
"I think I'll pass. Need to investigate cave it's hiding in, and it looks pretty narrow. More people will just get in each other way."
"Got it. How long do you think it will take?
"No idea - depends how deep this damn cave goes, and how far our friend is hiding." He checked the time - it was 2:14 pm.
"Ok listen - give me like half an hour. If I don't find the bastard by then, I will send you a message, and you can take off without me."
"You sure? We can wait for longer."
"Yeah, no need for you to waste your whole day. I'll be fine - won't be first time I'm going solo."
"Ok. See you later."
At this the call ended. Jaune took deep breath and stepped into darkness.
At least it's straight…
He thought about two hours later. Or was it three? Jaune didn't really know. He always lost track of time in caves - one of reasons he didn't like them. And he couldn't check time on his scroll - not only that would have created an opening for monster to attack him, he already took a perception enhancer - the light from device would surely blind him for few seconds, and make it harder to re-adjust to darkness.
Just as the first signs of a migraine started to show up, Jaune picked up a new sound. He listened for few seconds - yeah that was the sound of claws scraping on stone.
Jaune smiled.
Found you, asshole.
The sound was coming from further ahead - and seemed to be coming closer.
Eager to be done with his task, Jaune huried ahead. Which meant he took slightly less time probing the ground ahead before taking his next step.
He didn't have to go far - just a few steps ahead, after rounding one corner, he came upon a 'room' - about ten meters in diameter. In the middle of it was his mark - a massive Alpha Beowolf.
Ok, show time.
Jaune smiled. Its back was turned to him, and it obviously hadn't noticed him yet.
Perfect. Now all I have to do is approach carefully…should be able to take its head, or at least…
Jaune ducked, and rolled to the side, feeling the wind from the beast's attack pass over his head.
That son of a... CALM.
He ordered himself.
Jaune rolled back to his feet, drawing black sword, and stared at his opponent. It was on all fours now - and still towered over him.
Look. See. The words of his master echoed in his mind.
Jaune barely had time to catch his balance when the beast lunged at him, forcing another dodge roll. This time Jaune found better footing as he reached his feet, so when beast come at him for a third time - he was ready. His black blade caught its arm just below the elbow, and even though he didn't manage to cut it off - damn bone plates got in the way - he still scored a deep cut.
About 4,5 meters high - must be very old. No apparent crippling injuries - assume full fighting capability. Numerus wound marks on the arms and lower torso. Almost none at the upper or head.
He ducked under a clumsy backhand, and scored another deep cut - this time on the creature's chest.
Understand.
It tried to crush him with both hands, but he wasn't there anymore. It looked around, trying to find puny human who dared to challenge it in its own lair - only to catch glimpse of something darker than darkness of the cave moving towards it.
A hastily raised paw stopped the blade from biting into its neck - but there was nothing to stop it from separating said paw from the rest of the arm.
Beast let out a howl of pain - and challenge.
The intruder accepted it.
It tried to squash him - but he dodged and cut deep into the arm.
It tried to bite - but had to pull back when black blade slashed towards its neck.
It continued like that for few moments. The beast grew angrier and angrier - how could this puny human damage it so much? It wanted to kill him, to rend, and tear, and bite, and maul soft, warm flesh. To taste his fear and pain.
The only pain it tasted for now was its own - and it received another serving when the black sword pierced through its hind leg. It lashed out with its healthy paw - only to hit nothing but air, and earn another deep wound on the torso.
It was furious. It wanted to jump at intruder, to crush him - but it didn't. It had survived for a long time, and learned to watch, to observe, to adapt.
The intruder was slippery, and his black blade sharp and fast. So far every attack was dodged, and led to a new injury.
So it wouldn't attack. It will defend and wait - and when intruder will get inpatient it will strike and kill.
It raised it arms to cover head, it bowed a little to cover its torso. It started backing towards the wall - the intruder would have to come from the front. Then it would kill him.
It earned several more cuts - some deep - but its back finally hit the wall. Now to let the intruder attack.
It fell to one knee - on the wounded leg. It wasn't that serious a wound, but intruder would attack when he saw the opportunity - then it would kill him.
There! He is coming from the left - the same side as its injured leg. Now it would kill him, it would tear and rend, and taste his blood!
The beast lashed out with its arm - and the unprepared intruder couldn't dodge in time. Its claw buried itself in his flesh…
It favors defense over offense.
Thought Jaune dodging claws going for his stomach and scoring another deep cut on the offending limb.
But it has limited vision when covering its head. It's attacks are strong, but slow.
He ducked under another swipe, stabbing towards its neck.
The beast's head jerked back, its right arm coming up to stop the blade. It pierced deeply, but the beast didn't seem to mind. It tried to counter with it's healthy paw, but Jaune had already retreated.
Will prioritize defending vitals, especially head, over everything else.
Another dodge, and another cut. A shallow one - but it would add up.
Plan.
Don't rush, I'm faster than it. Unless I make mistake it shouldn't be able to catch me. Can't afford to drag this out though - it won't tire, I will.
He ducked under another swing, and jumped back when beast tried to "hug" him.
Hit-and-run. Score as many hits as possible. Agitate it.
He buried his balde into beast armpit, before quickly retreating.
Jaune jumped back few more steps and looked at his opponent.
It was a mess.
His left leg was pierced - even though not too deeply, it was bound to reduce its mobility. Its right paw was cut off just above wrist. It's left arm was heavily wounded - Jaune was sure he could cut it off near the elbow with one good strike. And its whole body was covered with many cuts - some deep, some shallow, but all weakening the monster in front of him.
When agitated, provoke attack. Cripple it's leg, then arms. Go behind, and...
The beast took a low stance, almost kneeling on the ground. It's torso bowed low, It's arms covering its head.
Jaune took deep breath and let it out slowly.
You just want to piss me off, don't you, doggy?
Well, it didn't change anything. It was time to put last step of his teacher '5-step guide to fighting' into practice.
Kill.
How? How could it be?
The beast was furious. The human dodged its attacks - and had scored many more hits.
The beast was… feeling something new. It was weak now, but with every wound it grew stronger.
The beast didn't know what this feeling was, but it knew it didn't like it.
It was this human's fault - he needed to die. Then this feeling will go away.
For sure.
Yes, this intruder.. stumbled! There was its chance!
The beast lunged, its jaws spread wide, ready to finally taste flesh of this annoying human.
It tasted… cold.
And that wraps it up.
Thought Jaune, pulling his sword out of the creature's maw.
Stumble-and-stab. Works every time.
He smiled, turning towards exit.
Never expected to see Grimm that favors defense over offense. Or one that tries to bait you.
Heh, you did well for a Grimm, Doggy... I'd say 6/10.
Now that he was done, he could finally go out of this damn cave, and..
He hit the wall on the opposite side of room.
What?! How?! But I…
While his brain took on the monumental task of making some sense of the situation, his body took care of more mundane things, like hurting, aching, and hurting some more.
Oh, and keeping him alive.
Jaune dodged the next swipe on pure instinct, then rolled, to make more space between him and his attacker. Managing to push himself he looked ahead - straight at the Grimm he just killed.
That's… not good.
He made to attack, but a sudden crack caught his attention. He looked down when another crack sounded - just in time to see growing fissure where he was standing.
Oh, for fucks sake!
He tried to jump to safety. He almost made it. Almost.
When he was falling, he couldn't help to noticed how smug the beast looked.
And how bright its eyes shone in darkness of the cave.
Green eyes.
Fuck.
Was his last thought before his head hit rock, and he lost consciousness.
Cr00cy: Well here it is. I wonder how many of you guessed what crossover it is?
Anyway on subject of Jaune's semblance. After a lot of talking it out with JJD I decided to let Jaune have his semblance unlocked - and stick to cannon one. But since we don't know much about it - I have to improvise a bit. So since in the show Jaune said that he didn't heal Weiss - but rather strengthened her Aura to heal her, I will go with that. He will be able to boost certain properties of Aura - like make it "harder" to block an attack, increase its healing factor, diminish the effects of toxins he might get affected with, or boost positive effects of medicines. It's the latter two that allows him to safely (well, mostly) use elixirs.
Oh and if you wonder how Jaune's little trip to Silver Lake went - read the omake.
JJD: I'm disappointed in all of you if no one picks up on the joke names.
Omake: "Family business"
Jeffrey Falcon slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, he had killer headache, and his arms and legs didn't move properly. He tried to focus, but it was hard.
What happened… he tried to recall what made him feel so terrible.
He went on date with that brunette with the nice ass. What was her name again? Claudie? Cristin? Something starting from 'c' anyway. He had been working on her for a week now, and was certain he would be able to… "reap fruits of his labor" rather soon.
Heh, that's why I like country chicks. They are so easy…
Ok, the date went well, but what happened next… Ah yes he went to grab some drinks, maybe scout out a new target. Then this blond guy came over. They started to talk… but he couldn't recall about what.
He noticed some of blurrs moving. They took a vaguely humanoid shape. He opened his mouth to speak… or at least tried to. It turned out his mouth didn't worked properly either - it felt like it was stuffed with something. The blurry shape moved close to him and spoke.
"Finally woken up, huh?"
He vaguely recognized the voice. But from where - he had no idea. Suddenly he could smell a herbal scent. The blobs of color in front of him spoke again.
"Breath deeply. This will make you feel better."
He did as he was told, and sure enough, the headache started to go away and his vision became more focused.
"Hello again Jeffrey." Said the blond boy in front of him. The same one who walked up to him in the bar. He was smiling, but somehow it didn't put him at ease.
He wanted to ask him what happened, but still couldn't. He tried to move, to do anything, but couldn't. A second later he realized a few things - very worrying things.
They were in the forest.
The only source of light was a small campfire nearby.
All his clothing except his underwear was gone.
He was tied to the tree and gagged.
The boy in front of him had a very sharp looking sword in his hand.
Jeffrey gulped. This was looking very bad.
"You know Jeffy… I can call you Jeffy right?" Jeffrey noded. "Great. So, I'll have to apologize to you Jeffy. I usually make more preparations for this kind of stuff. But unfortunatly I'm on scheudle here - had job in Vale, and have to be back before eight for meeting with another client. So unfortunately our talk will be bit rushed."
Jeffrey tried to say he wouldn't mind if the blond boy went to Vale to meet whoever he was supposed to meet, and come back to this 'talk' never.
"But where are my manners. I haven't introduced myself yet." The blond boy sat on log near the campfire.
"My name is Jaune Arc."
He pulled out photograph and threw it at Jeffrey feet. It featured him and some girl he vaguely recognized.
Isn't this… Rowin? Rebin? He couldn't recall the girl's name - not that it mattered. She was a bit too flat for his tastes, but was also so naive he was sure he could easily score with her.
Rubin! That was her name. Rubin A…
He gasped in terror.
"You hurt my sister."
Jeffrey tried to free himself but rope he was tied with held strong.
"I hope you are prepared for the consequences."
Jaune rose from his seat and walked to Jeffrey, sword in hand.
"Tell me Jeffy, do you value tradition?"
He nodded desperately.
Jaune smile grew. Somehow this did nothing to stop the rising panic the tied teen felt.
"That's great! I do too." He sheathed sword and pulled out a very sharp looking knife. "It's great how we, civilized people, can easily come to an agreement, right?"
Jeffrey nodded again.
"Since we both like tradition, how about we solve this in a traditional way?" The blond boy asked, and, not waiting for any answer from his companion, continued.
"You see there was once this beautiful tradition here in Vale, that when guy was caught trying to… disrespect woman, they took him to the forest…" He spread his arms, as if to point that yes, they were in the forest.
"Gave such man sharp knife…" At this he put said tool into Jeffrey hand.
So what, he will say I'll have to free myself before Grimm find me, and never show myself here again? This might not be so bad…
Jaune smile looked like the Devil might had when you just signed away your soul.
"And nailed said guy to tree by his balls. If he wanted to free himself - he had to cut them off."
Jeffrey started to struggle even more.
Things ARE bad. They are very, VERY bad!
"Nowadays they don't nail it anymore…" Jaune said wishfully. Then he looked at his prisoner and smiled again. "But since we both like tradition so much we can bring this one back, right buddy?"
Jeffrey had stinking suspicion his answer didn't really matter.
"Unfortunately in all this hurry I forgot to bring hammer. So wait a bit for me, ok?"
As soon as Jaune walked out of sight Jeff started cutting ropes that bound him.
Like hell I'm going to wait, you psycho! I'm getting the hell out of here!
A few moments later he was free. The only problem was that he was not sure which way safety lay.
He looked around for a few moments and noticed lights between the trees. Unfortunately, they lay in the same direction the Arc went.
Not like I have much choice. Gotta get to my hotel room, grab my things and leave this shithole.
When he reached outskirts of town he paused. He could see the landing platform for bullheads from where he was. Maybe it would be better to just grab some clothes there, and pay someone to fy him out of here. Then he recalled he didn't have any money on him.
He turned back towards the city - and fell when a root caught his foot. When he got up, someone was standing in front of him. He couldn't see much because of the darkness - but he could see a pair of blue eyes.
Panic froze him in place.
"Hey kid, you a'right? Ya not look well."
Jeffrey nearly collapsed from realief. This was a different voice, and silhouette he could make out in the darkness, was bigger than Jaune.
"Y-yeh.. Some guy kidnaped me and tied me to the tree! He took all my clothes and threatened he would nail me to the tree!"
The man in front of him laughed.
"Eh, don't ya worry city-boy. S'me folks 'ust played with ya a bit."
"They played by kidnaping me, and tying me to tree in the middle of the forest?! What if Grimm would have found me?!"
Man laughed again.
"T'ere's no Grimm a'ound 'ere boy. So many retired 'unters, they cull any that shows up."
Jeffrey started to calm down. The man motioned for him to follow, and they started to walk towards the airport.
"Come 'ere city-boy. I'll give ya some spare clothes."
"So, this was just some prank? Still a bit extreme…"
They closed on the Bullhead docks and he could now see his companion more cleary. He was older man, probably in his mid forties. He had brown hair, muscular body, and a pair of dog ears.
Good, that Arc guy was definitely human, so they are probably not related…
"Ya prolly hit on wrong lasse… S'mes sister, or 'omething."
"Yah, he said something like that."
The man laughed.
" 'appens all the time a'ound 'ere. City-folk comes, thinks he can hit 'ometing easy. And folk 'ere are mostly 'unters, so they can get rough… But no one will kill ya, so relax."
They made they way to a small boulding near landing platform. The older man pointed to a sofa for him to sit, and started rummaging through lockers in one corner.
"So who was it?"
Jeffrey looked at him quizzically.
"That lasse who ya get in t'oble for?
"Rubin A…" A big, slightly dirty hand clamped over his mouth. A look of panic on his companion's face stopped him from complaining.
"Ya, hit on lil Rubin?!" He hissed. Jeffrey nodded.
"And Arc caught ya? How'd ya get out alive?!"
Wait, what did he mean by that? Didn't he say it was just prank?!
The older man removed his hand and looked around nervously.
"Never 'ought old Arthur would let someone walk away… Ya one lucky 'astard, kid."
"Arthur? Guy who got me said his name was Jaune."
His companion looked at him for few seconds. Then he jumped to the wall, turned off the lights. Then went and closed the curtains over all windows.
"Ya need to run! Old Arthur would let it go, but Jaune…" He shuddered "He likes to see 'em run. He won't let go, boy's more vicious than a Beowolf!"
Jeffrey could feel his panic come back - twice as strong.
"Lisen ladde - I'll fly to Vale in just a bit. I can put ya in cargo - would be rough ride, but ya'll live."
Jeffrey just nodded and followed the older man. It looked like it was his only chance to get out of here alive…
And that wraps it up… Though Jaune, observing his newest buddy following the other man to hangar.
Too bad I couldn't 'talk' with him more... But that will have to do.
He stretched and started walking towards the plane that would take him back to Vale.
Damn I wish I could visit home. But there is no way the girls would let me go so fast.
He shrugged and tried to find some comfortable place to sit between the cargo of starting plane.
Jeffrey walked into box his companion pointed to. It was long and narrow - he had to lay down to fit. But it was surprisingly comfortable inside - instead of hard wood, he laid on something soft. The clothing he got was nice too - not some worker rags, but a rather nice suit.
What are the odds I'd meet a pilot transporting supplies for one of the most famous clothing stores in Vale? He thought. It was too dark to see anything - the pilot explained boxes here were supposed to be already checked, so they couldn't turn the lights on, so as to not draw any attention.
"Ya never know when Arcs are watching." He said. This sounded just a bit too paranoid for Jeffrey. But after his last encounter with the family - he was willing to accept it.
But I wonder.. What are these boxes? He thought before his savior closed the lid over him.
And that wraps it up… though Hoff Tagar. His brother Jeff called informing him the young Arc would be in the city to have a 'talk' with some city-boy. And that Grandmother wanted to see him after Jaune was done.
I almost feel sorry for ya, kid.
He sat in pilot chair, relaxing before the long flight
At least ya already packed… He thought, seeing as workers started to load his cargo. He wondered how they would react if they found out one of the coffins already had an occupant.