Welcome to Ch 20 of TPA! JJD like usual works hard to make it readable.
Jaune couldn't help but grin. Well, it's not like he tried very hard. All those hours he put into practicing, all those sleepless nights spent studying. It wasn't easy. He couldn't count how many times he wanted to just give up. But how could he? After all the help he got from his family? It would be insulting to give anything less than his best.
And he did it. He achieved his dream. He received a letter of acceptance yesterday evening. So naturally, whole family decided to celebrate it, by going on a picnic. Jaune considered refusing, but quickly changed his mind. He was already accepted, so there was no reason to study anymore, and he really was neglecting his sisters for too long. Spending one day just hanging out with his family wouldn't hurt, especially considering he would be leaving soon. Sure, he would be coming back for holidays and vacations, but still, he will be spending even less time with his family that he was up till now.
He smiled, watching them talking and laughing together. He paused for a moment, just watching as they climbed a small hill.
I already miss you. He thought, smiling wistfully. He looked at his parents, his sisters, burning their happy faces into his memory. They stopped atop the hill,and waved for him to join them.
Jaune sighed. It was so peaceful, so nice.
So wrong.
He looked up to his family again. They were watching him with curious expressions, wondering why he stopped.
"I'm sorry." He said aloud, not sure if it even mattered anymore. He could feel the temperature drop, even though the sun was still high in sky. He turned around, just to see the path they walked just few moments ago gone, covered in black nothingness.
"Jaune." He heard his father call out. He looked up at the older man. His father, his role model. His Hero.
The older man just smiled and nodded once. Jaune smiled back, and let out a stuttering breath.
"Sorry, guys. I gotta go." They all nodded, sending him reassuring nods.
Jaune turned towards his family, basking in warm sunlight.
And then he took a step back.
Darkness swallowed him instantly.
My name is Jaune Arc, age 17, son of Arthur and Victoria Arc. I'm a first year student at Beacon Academy, member and leader of team JNPR. My partner is Pyrrha Nikos, my other teammates are Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. I've been an official WITCHER for six months. I'm recording this message on Sunday, one twenty-four am. I'm part of one of three teams sent to investigate a distress signal from the city of Spring Valley. We set off on Friday, around five pm. We reached our destination around six pm. Upon landing, we encountered an unusually high concentration of Ghouls - far above what was expected.
We had to spend the night in an abandoned house. The next day we managed to reach the mayor's mansion. We found no survivors, only the bodies of two hunters from the other teams. After a short investigation, we discovered that some kind of biological weapon was used to poison the town's water supply. On top of that, we spotted a new type of Harrowed, that we nicknamed "Headhunter'. This creatures are extremely intelligent, and presumably have some form of stealth ability.
We attempted to purge the underground lakes that serve as the town's water supply, and destroy the Headhunters' nest, but we failed. As of the recording of this message all Hunters send to this city, expect of myself and Clay, are dead - fourteen confirmed, the rest presumed. The two of us will attempt to escape using the underground river. If you are a member of the second investigation party - you have to hurry. Whatever was used causes the victims to die, and turn into Ghouls if the victim falls asleep with no Aura. After around thirty hours of exposure, we started hallucinating. I'm leaving all the intel I can on this scroll, in the canteen next to it is a purging agent I developed.
The message ended, leaving the motionless face of a young man with blond hair and blue, bloodshot eyes. He was obviously exhausted, dirty, and there were a few bruises on his face. His voice was quiet, his breath heavy.
The hand holding the scroll squeezed it a bit harder.
"Don't worry Peter. This message wasn't recorded too long ago. We will find him."
The old Witcher chuckled.
"I know. I just hope he left a few of these "Headhunters' for me. It would be a shame to come all the way here, and not find any prey worth hunting."
Doctor Oobleck smiled. His friend tried his best to appear nonchalant, but he could see how nervous the old Witcher was. Well, Oobleck couldn't blame him. This whole situation was a mess, and one of their students was in the middle of it.
"We are through!" The voice sounded. Both of them were at the now cleared, entrance to caves in an instant.
Peter rolled his head, a vicious grin on his face.
"Alright boys, lets get this over with. Remember - our priority is rescuing any survivors. Eliminate any hostiles you come across, but let's not take too long. You all heard the message from young Jaune. Move!"
And as if to set an example, he quickly dashed into darkness of the caves below.
Forty Hunters followed close behind.
It was dark. So dark that he couldn't see anything… or was it? Jaune wasn't really sure. It was more like there simply wasn't anything there.
Where this 'there' was, he had no idea.
Pretty bland for a hallucination. Shouldn't something have happened by now?
He sighed. He wasn't sure how it worked, since he was pretty sure this was just his imagination. Jaune looked around yet again, still seeing nothing. This 'waiting room' was something he ended up in a few times already. Usually, he spent only few seconds here, before the next vision started. Most of them were pleasant ones, where he achieved something great, was living happy life and so on.
It usually took him a bit o realize that they weren't reality. It was all pretty messed up.
But hey, he wasn't going to argue with hallucination logic. Because this had to be hallucination. The only other alternative would be that he…
Well, If I'm dead, and this is afterlife it seems terribly… empty.
He looked around, but saw nothing but neverending blackness.
"Why do you keep coming back?"
He turned to the source of voice and smiled. He had a vague feeling he should be surprised, or maybe startled, but he felt nothing like that.
"Hi Sam." He greeted. The young girl huffed and crossed her arms. She was wearing her favorite white dress and straw hat. Her green eyes narrowed, promising disaster if he didn't gave her a satisfying answer right this instant.
Jaune just shrugged, and ran hand through his hair.
"It just felt… wrong to stay there."
"You were happy."
He chuckled.
"Yeah. But it was false." Another shrug and another chuckle "Beside, I feel like I still have things to do out there. And" He smirked at girl in front of him. "You wouldn't let me live it down if I just gave up like that."
She blushed a little and mumbled something, turning her head to the side.
"That being said…" he trailed off, drawing her attention back to him.
"Am I dead?" He asked with a nervous chuckle, his hand running through his hair.
She just shrugged.
"No idea. Maybe. I know only as much as you do. I'm just product of your imagination afterall."
Jaune sighed. So he was presumably dead, and talking with himself. WIth the other him being little girl.
Just great.
"But why you? Why I'm imagining you?" He added when ghost….vision...whatever Sam was now, looked at him quizzically.
She taped her lips a few times with her index finger, lost in thought. Which probably meant he was lost in thought.
I… I better stop thinking too hard about it.
"Probably because we are very close, and you've been thinking about me a lot lately. As you should." She said with a haughty voice.
He tilted his head to the side.
"Wait, shouldn't it be someone from my family then? I pretty sure that…" he trailed off under the suddenly arctic glare of green eyes.
"Jaune Arc," she exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips, and somehow managing to look down on him, despite how much taller he was. "Are you implying I'm not good enough to appear in your thoughts in presumably the last moments of your life?"
Jaune laughed. It was such a.. Sam thing to do that he couldn't help himself.
"Of course you are." He said, rubbing her head. He briefly wondered what happened to her hat, but considering that they were now standing on sunny plain, instead of the black nothingness, he decided to think about it too hard.
"So, what now?" He asked, looking around.
"I guess you have to make your final decision. You either go there." She said, pointing at the entrance to a dark, damp, and very unappealing cave, that definitely wasn't there when Jaune looked just a second ago. "Or there." Her finger pointed at small path leading towards barely visible buildings on the horizon.
Jaune sighed, and turned towards the cave.
"You sure? It looks painful. And hard."
Jaune chuckled.
"I know. That's life for you. But I can't just give up like that. I have to push on, I have to survive. For my friends, my family. " He looked her over, a small smile on his lips. "For you. The real you."
She tilted her head to the side.
"How do you know that there still is a 'real' me? You have a memory of us living together after the incident, but how can you be sure it's real?"
He shrugged.
"I don't. And I can't, but it's all the more reason to go back." Another shrug, and a quiet chuckle. "Besides, I don't care what that bastard Toto said, I'm sure you're fine."
She hummed, then smirked.
"How do you know I'm not just a product of your imagination? That your subconsciousness created me out of your desire to have a strong, intelligent, beautiful woman keeping you in check?"
He laughed.
"No way. My imagination is nowhere near as good to create someone like you." He shook his head and approached the cave's entrance. He could feel an unnatural cold coming from it. His legs trembled in sudden exhaustion. He sighed.
This is going to suck SO hard.
Then he walked into the cave.
Jaune's eyes snapped open, in time to see a bone hook coming down on his face. He managed to swat it aside with his forearm. He grabbed the overextended limb and pulled.
The Headhunter lost its balance and fell on him, Jaune wrapping his arms around its neck, using the creature as shield. They struggled for a few moments, Jaune tried to push himself up using the wall of cave as support, and break the monster's neck at the same time.
Unfortunately, between his exhaustion, and the Headhunter's surprising strength, the creature managed to free itself from his grip. Jaune sighed, slumping to the ground. This was hopeless, he didn't even have the strength to stand. Even if he somehow managed to kill that one, there were five more standing around him, and more filling into the cave.
Well, at least I tried.
He thought, watching as the Headhunter raised both of its arms, and howled loudly. Then it stopped and looked down, towards its chest. Jaune looked too, not sure if what he was seeing was real, or just another hallucination. But considering the Harrowed was looking at it too, it had to be real, right?
A human fist retracted with a wet noise, leaving a perfectly round hole in the creature's chest, it stumbled, and fell apart, cut cleanly in half from the top of its head to the bottom.
Jaune stared at the vaguely humanoid shape behind it. His vision swam, and he had to give it his all just to stay awake. What was this creature? Some new type of Harrowed? Why had it killed the Headhunter? Why weren't the other monsters weren't doing anything?
He looked around, noticing all of them were dead. Something touched his arm, and he could hear some strange sound. It took him a moment to realize that someone was calling a name.
His name.
Fighting to remain conscious, he looked up to meet worried, brown eyes.
"...ne? Jaune can you hear me?"
He nodded weakly.
Doctor Oobleck let out a sigh of relief.
"It's alright young man. You will be fine. We will get you out of here." A new voice sounded. He turned to its source, and saw a lot of red, and round, concerned face with splendid mustache.
"Peter?" He managed to choke out.
"Yes Jaune, my boy, it's me. Just hold on for a little longer."
"Others…" he groaned. He fought desperately to stay awake, but knew he wouldn't last much longer.
"Don't worry about it. Medic, where the hell you are?! Take him out of there. Any news from the other teams?"
There were some shouts, then some people walked over to him, checking his wounds and giving him injections. Jaune sighed and relaxed.
It was finally over. He could rest.
It's still unknown what exactly happened at Spring Valley. Our sources at Vale's Disaster Prevention Center informs us that according to reports from the first investigation team, sent there last Friday, some kind of biological, or chemical weapon was used. The same source assures us, that thanks to swift intervention, there is no danger of the pollution spreading, but the whole area will be locked down for safety reasons. Further investigation will commence shortly, as soon as the surviving member of the initial investigation group recovers enough to provide their testimony. We have no official statement from Beacon or the Vale Police Department, though an anonymous source informed us that considering that significant portion of affected populace were Fanus, it is highly unlikely it was an attack by the White Fang. Headmaster Ozpin, and the director of the VDPC assured us that they will spare no efforts or resources to ensure that similar tragedy will never happen again. Hoever…"
Ozpin sighed, and turned the TV off. It was hard to keep this contained, and rumors were already starting to run wild. The worst thing was - not a single one of them were coming even close to how messed up the reality was.
He sighed again, taking a sip from his mug. The coffee was instant, and cold at that. It tasted horrible, but it had caffeine, and that would help him stay awake. There was much work to do.
He sat in his chair and looked over the small room he was in. It was not his office at Beacon - but rather a temporary one at the VDPC headquarters. And one that he will be spending far more time that he would have liked for the foreseeable future.
The sound of knocking, followed soon by the opening door and the clicking of heels on the floor broke him out of his thoughts.
He sighed, exhausted.
"Oh, don't be such a baby. Just sign them, and we will be done for now."
Ozpin chuckled. Only one person would walk into his office like that, and talk to him like that.
"Please forgive me Glynda. I think my age is catching up to me."
His assistant snorted.
"Sure. Like I said, it's just a few forms to sign this time. Nothing too important, but it has to be done. You need to get it done though, or we might have bigger problems if you don't."
Ozpin blinked a few times, and then groaned.
"They are waiting outside, aren't they?"
"Have been for the past three hours, and they look about ready to burst in here, weapons drawn."
Ozpin massaged his forehead, and let out a tired sigh. Dealing with team RWBY and NPR was a conversation he wasn't sure he was ready for.
"Oh, one more thing. Arthur Arc called. He said he will be in Vale in about an hour, and that he would like to have a chat with you."
Ozpin groaned again, this time much louder. That was a conversation he definitely wasn't ready for.
"Alright. Let me sign those, and I will talk with them. Better to deal with that before Arthur storms in."
Ozpin was surrounded the moment he stepped out of his office. One look at faces of his students told him that unless he was willing to use force, he had to give them answers they wanted.
Ozpin sighed, and considered for a moment what to say. Then decided he was too tired to care.
"First of all, I want you to know that I shouldn't be telling you most of the things I will. So please, keep it a secret."
He received seven nods of confirmation.
"Good, Walk with me." He went down the corridor, seven teens in tow.
"Mr. Arc is fine. He was recovered approximately two hours ago, and is currently in the hospital. He is exhausted, and wounded, but it's nothing life-threatening."
Judging by how their eyes narrowed, none of them were satisfied by this answer.
"Then why are we not allowed to see him? The whole wing he is resting in is blocked, and no one is allowed to enter without permission."
Ozpin rubbed his forehead, considering for a moment how much should he say. Then again decided he was too tired for this.
"As you might have heard, we suspect some kind of biological weapon was used. The message left by Mr. Arc seems to confirm this. And considering what happened in the city, there is little reason to doubt this theory."
They stared at him for few moments in complete silence. Just as he hoped, they would accept the answer and go away, Pyrrha Nikos broke the silence.
"And what exactly happened there? And why was Jaune involved in this?"
Ozpin sighed. There were no way they would take what he will said next well.
"People died, Miss Nikos. A great deal of people."
They looked at each other, confused.
"Yeah, we kinda figured. You wouldn't send so many Hunters to investigate if there weren't any casualties. But why is there is no refugee camp anywhere? What did you do with survivors?" Asked Yang.
Ozpin looked at them for a few moments in silence, considering yet again if he should really tell them.
Well, they will learn sooner or later. No way we can cover this up.
"We didn't set up a refugee camp, because there were no need for one, miss Xiao Long."
"What do you.."
"There is no need for one because there are no refugees. Everyone from that city died. There were no survivors among the civilians, and from Hunters sent to investigate, most died too."
No one spoke for a few moments, seven young people absorbing what they had just heard.
"Everyone…? But… how?" Ruby asked, her voice filled with horror and disbelief. Her sister placed one hand on her shoulder, her expression filled with the same emotions.
"Like I said, we believe that some kind of biological weapon was used. According to the information Mr. Arc recorded on his scroll, the city water supply was poisoned. Unfortunately, we won't be able to learn more until him, and other members of his team regain consciousness."
"Why did you send him there?" Asked Pyrrha suddenly. The normally polite girl was staring at him with clear hostility.
Ozpin sighed.
"To be honest - I had little choice in the matter. Mr. Arc would have gotten involved whether or not I would allow him to go. So instead of risking him running off on his own, I decided to put him on a team of experienced Hunters, that could keep him safe."
Yang shook her head.
"But why would he go? What was so important to him in that city?"
"Before I answer that, I want to clarify one thing. You are aware that Mr. Arc assisted the local police in investigating a series of murders we had last week?" Ozpin waited for them to confirm, then continued.
"I don't know how much Mr. Arc told you, but to keep it brief - this is a very personal matter form him. The person who we believe was responsible for those murders… well suffice to say that someone close to Mr. Arc was attacked by him. We believe that what happened in the city might have been his doing too. He was sighed there shortly before we lost contact with the city."
"But.. why can't we see him?" Ruby whined.
"For one, he is asleep, and he needs his rest." He looked them over. "And by the looks of it, you could use some too."
They still looked uncertain, so he smiled at them and nodded.
"Go, get a few hours of sleep. Tomorrow morning, when all of you are rested, and after Mr. Arc has his check ups, you will be able to see him."
Reluctantly, they backed off. Ozpin sighed. It was nice to see them care about their friend so much, he just wished it wasn't at times he had to take care of one catastrophe that already happened, and try to prevent another, even larger one.
A little voice in his head pointed out that this was exactly what he was doing for the past few hundred years. Ozpin shook his head, and turned back to his office. At least he was done for…
A heavy hand landed on his shoulder.
"Hey there Ozzy. I heard you got my son hurt?"
Ozpin turned slowly. Arthur Arc was standing right behind him, a small smile on his lips, and ice-cold eyes boring into his. The old wizard briefly wondered if it was too late to cause some kind of small distraction, like sabotaging Vale's defences, and letting Grimm into the city, for example. But he quickly discarded the idea. The man in front of him would probably just ignore it, and focus solely on real problem - his son being in the hospital.
"Well, hell…" he began, but stopped when the hand on his shoulder squeezed a bit harder. He could feel his Aura activating.
"Details. Now."
Ozpin sighed, and motioned towards the door of his office.
"Let's talk inside."
I hate my life.
Pyrrha took a deep breath, and slowly opened the doors. The doctors warned her Jaune was probably still unconscious, and even if he was awake, he might not recognize her because of the hallucinations. Still, she insisted she be allowed to see him.
Well, all of them insisted, but the doctors refused to let seven people into his room. It lead to a bit of argument - they'd all come a long way from Beacon to Vale Central Hospital, where Jaune was being held. Thankfully, they had no lessons, they had all been suspended on account of the whole city being in an uproar after recent attack, and most of Beacon's staff being busy trying to contain the mess.
Eventually, it was decided that Pyrrha, as Jaune's partner, would be the one to check up on him. She walked into the small room, with two beds. Only one of them was occupied, and she walked up to her partner.
He was pale, but peaceful. There weren't any medical apertures in the room, and from what doctors said, his condition was good - all he needed was rest. With a sad smile, she pulled herself up a chair, and sat next to him, just watching his face for a few moments.
"Why do you keep doing this?" She asked finally, brushing a few strands of hair off his face.
"Why you keep running off on your own? Why don't you tell us anything? Don't you trust us enough to watch your back?" She sighed. "We are supposed to be a team. Why do you insist on doing things on your own?"
"Because that's the only way he knows." A masculine voice sounded from behind her.
Pyrrha whipped around, to look straight into blue eyes, so similar to Jaune's. The man standing in the doors was tall and well built. His long blond hair was tied up in ponytail. Even though he didn't have any weapon, or armor, Pyrrha had no doubt he was a Hunter. There was something about him, some kind of presence, that made her feel like a little animal locked in a cage together with alpha predator. She swallowed and moved to the side as the man walked to Jaune bed, just watching him.
"It's not that he doesn't trust you guys, or think you are too weak. He simply is the kind of guy who will travel to the end of the world and back just to help a friend. But if it's him who needs help - he will never ask, because he thinks he needs to take care of his problems on his own. That he shouldn't bother others with them." Blue eyes locked on her again, contemplating, judging her.
Pyrrha sat still, not sure what to say, or do. Or if she should do or say anything at all.
"I'm not sure he realizes t=it himself." He shook his head slowly, and chuckled.
"Name's Arthur Arc by the way. Jaune's father." He said extending his hand. Pyrrha just nodded, and took the offered hand. She'd already figured it out herself - the man in front of her was very similar to Jaune. His grip was firm, but Pyrrha was surprised by how smooth his hand felt. She couldn't feel any of the calluses the every person who made their living by fighting should have.
Maybe he has a Semblance similar to Miss Goodwitch? One that allows him to fight without using a weapon?
A small smirk that appeared on the older man's lips told her he knew exactly what she was thinking about. Pyrrha blushed, and let go of his hand. Then realized she didn't introduce herself yet.
"Oh, nice to meet you sir. I'm…"
"Pyrrha Nikos. My idiot son's partner. Nice to finally meet you in person."
Pyrrha's month clicked shut. She laughed nervously, not really sure what to do next.
"Y-you know who I am?" She stammered finally.
"Sure I do." He said, sitting on the edge of Jaune's bed.
"He talked about you all, you know. A lot. He was really happy that he got into Beacon. Called us, and was gushing for about an hour how amazing a team he has." Arthur smiled fondly, looking at his son's face. "This has always been his dream, you know? To go to Beacon. To have a team, and become a Hunter." He looked back at her ,and smirked.
"And besides, there is hardly anyone who doesn't know who Pyrrha Nikos is. You made quite the name for yourself, young lady."
Pyrrha blushed and looked to the side.
"T-thank you sir. Jaune didn't know though." The second part was added quietly, but Arthur heard anyway. He blinked, surprised, then chuckled.
"Yeah, leave it to my son to not know a world-wide celebrity. Well, to be fair, I recognized you only because some of my daughters are big fans of yours."
Pyrrha chuckled, and looked back to Jaune. He looked so peaceful. The bag under his eyes almost gone, expression calm, and a small smile on his lips. She squeezed his hand, and got up.
"It was nice meeting you sir but I think I'll take my leave. Jaune needs his rest after all." She bowed her head a little, and made to leave. She was stopped by a vice-like grip on her hand. She turned around, surprised and looked straight into Jaune's wide opened eyes.
"S-Sam…?" He choked out. His voice was thick with emotions. Worry, relief, uncertainty. Pyrrha opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when Jaune laughed.
"You are ok. I knew it, I knew it. You are alright." He looked at her, his expression changing form relieved to desperate.
"Don't go Sam. It's dangerous. He is still out there, so don't go Sam. I'll protect you this time, I swear. I won't let him…" he slowly trialed of, his voice getting quieter, and quieter until he slipped down into his bed, his hand slipping off her's.
Pyrrha watched him for a few moments, unsure what to do. Who was Sam? And who was this man Jaune was so afraid off? She recalled headmaster Ozpin saying that he had some history with the person suspected of all those murders. Was this him?
She looked at Arthur, his face set in stone, hands clenched in fists. She opened her mouth to ask at least some of the questions that swarmed her head now, but the older man raised one hand stopping her.
"I'm sure you have questions now, but it's not me you should be asking them to. I won't spill my son's secrets to anyone." He looked her in the eyes. "Ask him when he wakes up. I'm sure he will tell you."
Pyrrha just nodded and turned around. She paused at the doors, sparing one last glance towards her partner. He was asleep again, his father sitting in the chair he occupied just a few moments ago.
Wake up quickly Jaune. We miss you.
Pyrrha couldn't stop a small smile from coming to her lips. It wasn't because it was Monday, and they didn't have any lessons. It would be hard to organize any, seeing as most of Beacon staff was busy with… something. She wasn't sure, because no one shared any of that info, but then she didn't really cared either.
What she did care about, was her partner. That, if message she received not even hour ago, was to be believed, woke up in a fairly good state, and was undergoing his last checkups, before hopefully being released from the hospital.
"You sure he will be up?" Asked Yang.
Pyrrha smiled at her and nodded.
"Yes. I received a message earlier that he woke up. They said he appears fine and only need to run a few check ups to make sure."
"Oh, he better be fine. Because he has some explaining to do. And there is no way we are letting him run away this time." Yang snorted.
"Yeah. if he tries, we will break his legs!" Nora sing-stoned, high fiving Yang.
"I would appreciate if you didn't try to put my son in the hospital again, before he's even signed out from this one." A new voice sounded from behind. They all turned to see Headmaster Ozpin with his signature mug, and very tired expression. He was accompanied by two people - a tall man with blond hair, dressed in black trousers, a white jacket, and a red shirt underneath. He was saying something to the Headmaster, the other man nodding from time to time.
The one who spoke was a young woman. She looked at them with a small smile, green eyes shining with mirith. She wore simple, green dress that matched her eyes.
"Well, it was just a proposition." Nora trailed off.
The woman walked up to them, looking each in the eyes.
"So you're Jaune's friends. It's nice to meet you in person."
"Likewise" Said Weiss nodding to her." Miss…?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Victoria Arc. I'm Jaune's mom."
Six shocked gasp sounded. All the girls stared at the forty-something woman that looked to be in her mid twenties.
"How?" Yang finally asked the question that was on every girl's mind.
Victoria just laughed.
"Oh, it's a family secret. Anyway, I presume you are here to visit my son?" She waited for them to confirm, before speaking again.
"That's wonderful. Would you mind walking with us? I would love to talk with you all."
Pyrrha smiled and nodded. She would love to have some time to chat with Jaune's parents too. And it looked like she finally would be able to get some answers from her unruly partner. Things were looking good.
"Um.." they all turned to look at Blake. She was standing still, staring to the side with narrowed eyes. "Isn't that...Jaune?" All eyes snapped to the direction she was looking, to see a very familiar blond leaving the hospital with some man dressed in a black suit. They both got into a black car, and it drove off soon after.
Pyrrha could feel her eyebrow starting to twitch. Slowly, her smile morphed into something much more… predatory.
Oh no, you don't. Was her only though when she dashed after her runaway partner. She would get her answers today. And nothing would stop her.
The rest of her team, and RWBY followed soon after.
Victoria Arc watched after running teenagers with conflicted expression. She looked back and up at her husband, whose hand just landed on her shoulder.
"He will be fine. He is thought kid."
She knew this, of course. But it didn't stopped her from worrying
What did you get yourself in this time Jaune?
Jaune sighed. The Company representative was waiting for him outside while he was finishing his check ups, and approached him as soon as he left. Normally, Jaune wouldn't take a new contract as soon after previous one, especially considering that he wasn't even properly signed off hospital after his last job.
But then the man dressed in black explained that they found solid leads on the mysterious 'Master' Toto mentioned. They were getting close, but with the mess caused in the 'town of the Damned' as the media dubbed it, there was a shortage of Witchers in Vale.
And of course the bastard started making new Harrowed as soon as he got into the city.
Thankfully it wasn't anything big-scale, but there were a few stray Ghouls still roaming some of the less populated areas.
He sighed again, and checked the info on his scroll again. The Company was nice enough to provide transportation to and from his 'job zone'. Jaune looked around, the area was deserted. It was basically slums, with the only people in the vicinity being him, and the Company agent accompanying him. He was assured that the area was secure, and he didn't have to worry about any civilians wandering around.
Jaune took a deep breath, and walked out of the car. His target was last seen in the run-down building in front of him. Judging by the sign on the front, it was a bakery of sorts, long since abandoned. Jaune readied Eclipse, and slowly approached. He was mostly rested now, and Aura took care of most of the damage he had taken. His head still hurt a bit, but it wasn't anything serious.
But he still wasn't in top shape, so it was best to be cautious.
Good thing it's just a Ghoul. I shouldn't need any Elixirs for this one. Of course he still brought a few with him. Better safe than sorry.
He walked through the broken door and looked around. The room was big, dusty,and completely empty. He notice two doors on the opposite wall, and broken stairs leading to the second floor. One of the doors lead to small, dirty room with some broken furniture. The other, opened to slightly bigger, empty room with a sizable hole in one of the walls. Jaune peeked outside, noticing a few footprints in the dirt.
Smiling to himself, he followed them. After nearly twenty minutes of wandering through the empty, dark, and gloomy alley, he finally found his mark, rummaging through some garbage.
It turned out to him as soon as he stepped in the alley. It started walking from one side of alley to other, letting out low growling, cleary trying to intimidate him. Jaune smirked, and walked towards it confidently.
When he was about ten meters away from it, the Ghoul lunged. Not wanting to risk any precise maneuvers, he simply ducked under the charge, instead of trying to impale the beast through the chest.
The Ghoul landed heavily, rolled and got up. Jaune was already upon it, Eclipse coming down in a powerful, overhead blow. The beast jumped to the side, successfully avoiding decapitation, but still earning a deep wound on its arm.
It tried to lunge again, but Jaune easily side-stepped it, and took one of its legs with an rising cut. The Ghoul fell, and before it could rise again, Eclipse pinned it to the ground.
Jaune let out a breath of relief when the body turned into a human corpse after just a few seconds.
How nice it is to have job without complications. He thought to himself, getting up and rolling his shoulders.
Better go back fast. Gang is sure to come, and they will freak out if they find I'm gone.
He turned in the direction he came form, and froze.
"Um.. Hi?" He said lamely, waving one hand.
Seven people were standing at the opposite end of the alley looking at dead body next to him, his blood-soaked sword, then him.
Jaune sighed.
"Ok guys, I know how this looks like, but how about you let me explain before you jump to conclusions?" He asked.
"Explain? Oh, you want to explain yourself." He gulped when his partner stormed toward him, anger evident on her face.
"Do you have any idea what we've gone through?" Her fists struk his chest. "First you go on this secret mission with the police. You told us nothing, left us wondering what the hell is happening with you. You barely talked with us for this week!" Another hit in the chest, stronger this time, caused him to wince.
"I was happy when you told us everything, and that you were done with it. I thought we would start acting like a team again.." she trailed off, her head hung low. Then she suddenly looked up, her fist striking him much harder. Jaune made to protest but words left him when he saw tears in her eyes.
"And then you suddenly ran off, went on some secret mission. No one would tell us anything, all we could do was sit there and wait. We were worried! And then they brought you in, unconscious, and we learn that almost everyone in that city died! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!"
Jaune opened his mouth to answer, but she didn't give him a chance.
"We left Beacon as soon as we learned you were awake. We were so relieved that you were ok! But then you just ran off again, and now this!" She gestured to corpse next to him.
She paused, taking a few shuddering breaths.
"So yes Jaune, I would love some explanation. And please, let it be something good. Because otherwise I…" she paused, shaking her head slowly. Then she looked straight into his eyes. "Please, Jaune." She begged.
The blond Witcher closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
"Allright. But not here. Let's move to somewhere more comfortable, ok?"
She nodded, and they all followed him.
Damn. he thought, heading back to where the Company car was waiting for him. I really messed up this time, didnt I?
So, judging by reviews, a lot of people were confused by last chapter. Good, that was my aim. As you can see - this isn't time travel-fic, and it all was just Jaune's fever dream/hallucination. I wouldn't write 19 chapter story just to mess with you all. Promise!
About Sam - In one AN I said I have no intention of writing scene where Sam actually dies. And I'm man of my word - this scene from last chapter was written by JJD.
Next chapter long awaited talk will happen. The rest of cast will finally learn about Jaune's not-so-secret occupation, and what is his connection to Master.
Well this is it for now. See you all next week. But for now - omake. It's direct continuation of last one.
JJD: Fun Fact: That Sam scene was actually the first thing I think we ended up writing for this story.
Cr00cy: Yep. If memory serves right, I wasn't even done with ch 1 when JJD wrote it.
"Hold on kiddo. Just hold on for a little bit longer." Leon said. He had been repeating this for the past hour or so. Or maybe it was just a few minutes? Jaune wasn't sure. His vision was blurry, he could barely hear anything besides the pounding of his heart, and he couldn't focus on anything.
Besides the fact that he was bleeding out, that is.
They reached the village Leon mentioned. Only to find it ruined, and populated only by Grimm. There were only a few Beowolves, not even Alphas, so Jaune just hung back while Leon dealt with them. He was torn about this decision. On one hand - he felt like a coward, just standing there and letting Leon do all the work. On the other hand - he knew that with no Aura, and little training, he would be only be a hindrance in a fight.
He watched for a few moments as Leon dispatched Grimm after Grimm, then with a sigh he backed off and leaned on the wall of some ruined building. He knew it was silly to expect he would be able to fight side by side with Leon so soon. He had still a lot of learning to do. If he recalled correctly, in combat prep schools, students were facing the first Grimm somewhere in the middle of their third year. So he still had around three years of learning before he should start worrying about this. He knew that - but it did little to help his wounded pride.
Lost in thought like that, he stopped paying attention to his surroundings - a mistake that soon came back to bite him.
Literally.
When he noticed the shadow looming over him, he turned around to look at what cast it. In hindsight, it was a bad idea - if something big approached you in a Grimm infested village, one could easily guess what that thing was. So Jaune, after looking in the eyes of the biggest Ursa he'd ever seen - at least form so close - let out a startled yelp and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the beast's maw.
Hours of training with Leon kicked in, and he jumped to his feet, reading his word and shield. Then yelped again, and rolled again, avoiding a massive paw coming down at him.
"Ursa!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping Leon would hear him. They went over what he should do in case he encountered a Grimm when his teacher was busy with something else multiple times, and it all come down to two things: yell at the top of your lungs what Grimm was attacking you, and try to survive long enough for help to arrive.
Step one done, time to focus on step two. He thought, ducking under another swipe. After the initial panic lessened, he realized he had a much better chance of making it out alive than he first thought. The beast was big, strong, and tough. If he needed to kill it, he would be done for.
But he didn't. The only thing he had to do was survive long enough for Leon to come.
The Ursa had many advantages over him - except for speed. Its attacks were nowhere near as fast as Leon's, so Jaune could avoid them, as long as he remained focused. He didn't even considered blocking them, knowing full well it wouldn't do him any good.
So all he needed to do was to keep dodging, and wait. Leon would come, and kill this thing, and he would be safe. He just had to not do anything stupid, and let his teacher save him.
Jaune snarled, and after dodging another swipe, lashed out with his sword. It was a clumsy attack, lacking speed, strength, and down at poor angle, so all it did was scratch the beast's thick hide a little.
But it was enough.
I can hurt it! The blond grinned to himself. And then doged with startled yelp when the angered Grimm almost took his head off with a furious swipe.
Ok, note to self - it doesn't like being hurt. The blond boy winced and dodged another stroke. A loud roar from bear-like Grimm caused him to wince again.
This thing is too loud. I should be able to avoid it long enough for Leon to come, but if all this commotion attracts more Grimm...
His eyes narrowed. He knew he couldn't simply run away. Ursas, similar to normal bears, weren't the most agile of creatures, but they could run very fast. Jaune could keep dodging its attacks, but with all the noise they were making, sooner or later some other Grimm would notice them. And Jaune didn't fancy his chances in two against one - especially if something faster and more agile than an Ursa showed up. And there was always the issue of stamina. Jaune would tire out. The Ursa will not.
That left only one option. A crazy one, potentially lethal, but in this situation…
The blond boy jumped back a few steps after dodging another attack and took a deep breath to steady himself.
Ok Jaune keep calm. Just like Leon taught you. Look at it, notice how it's built, and any potential weak spots.
The Ursa was big, and had multiple bone plates on its back, but none on the front.
Ok, so it has no armor on the belly, but its skin is still tough. My best bet to damage it are its joints and eyes.
He ducked under its paw, lashing out with his sword again, and this time scoring a nice cut. The Ursa roared, and tried to bite his head off, but Jaune had already retreated.
Observe how it moves, learn its habits, and attack patterns. Understand how it reacts to your actions.
The Blond charged in, but at the last second jumped to the side, avoiding the Grimm's jaw, and causing it to clumsy turn after him. He jumped, waited for the Grimm to charge, and the dashed forward again, this time lunging to the other side. This dance continued for a few moments,Jaune taking note of how the Ursa moved. Eventually he jumped back a few steps, breathing heavily.
It was terrifying. He could die at any moment, but the fear he felt at the beginning was now muted, replaced by excitement. Jaune knew full well the Ursa could kill him in just one hit, but at the same time the beast was slow and clumsy. Its attacks were telegraphed, and easy to dodge, not to mention it wasn't smart enough to try to change its rhythm.
Strong, but slow and predictable. Jaune smiled.
I can do this!
His smile fell when he heard the heavy footsteps and snorting of another Ursa.
Correction: I have to do this.
Mumbling a few words he would never allow his mother hear him saying, he dashed in. He ducked under its first swipe, rolled out of the way of another, and before the clumsy beast could turn towards him, he grabbed his sword in both hands and cut at the back of its left knee. The wounded Grimm roared and lashed out with one paw, but Jaune was no longer there. He retreated a few steps, waited for the Grimm to face him, and then dashed in again.
Duck, roll, strike. Another roar from the wounded beast, and another retreat. It took three more attempts for Jaune to finally cut deep enough to cripple its leg, The Ursa attacking the same way every time, only proving its stupidity.
It has to be young, and inexperienced… Jaune thought bitterly. He wished that the first Grimm he faced on his own was something more formidable. But then again if it was, he probably would be dead by now.
Footsteps and loud sniffs coming from behind a nearby building reminded him he had no time to waste. Jaune took a few deep breaths, jumped back a few steps and started circling the beast to the right. It roared, and started running at him. Jaune dashed forward, and at the last second rolled to the left. He knew he didn't have enough strength to kill an Ursa, its skin being too thick. But if he could add the beast own strength, or weight? Well that might just work.
As expected, the Grimm tried to turn, and squash the annoying human, but its wounded leg couldn't support its weight, and it stumbled and fell - right at Jaune's waiting sword.
The blond boy grinned when the ancestral blade buried itself into the Ursa's chest. Though it died an ugly death when he realized two things.
One - he hadn't accounted for what would happen when said Ursa fell on him.
Second - he didn't have a plan for what to do when his attack failed to kill the beast on the spot.
Fortunately, the Ursa didn't fall on him, crushing the would-be Hunter under its weight. Unfortunately, it was because it stopped its fall, looked at the sword buried up the hilt into its body, and rose, letting out a furious roar.
All Jaune could do was to raise his shield, before a massive arm come down at him.
The blond boy let out a pained scream when the bones in his hand shattered. He flew, actually flew and hit something wooden, judging by the sound. Though at that moment he wasn't bothered by it - he was too busy screaming in pain. It wasn't just his hand, which he cradled desperately, but his whole body.
Eventually he gritted his teeth, and managed to look up - straight in the eyes of another Ursa. It was much bigger than the previous one, had more bone plating, and multiple spikes coming out of its back.
Fuck.
Though Jaune, watching as a massive arm rose, then fell.
And then the Ursa died. His arm simply disappeared, followed shortly by beast's head. Jaune blinked a few times, unsure what exactly happened, but then another face appeared in his vision - this one thankfully both friendly and familiar.
"Oh, shit, I'm sorry Jaune. There were more of them than I thought, and they swarmed me. I tried to get here earlier, but… oh, shit." He started to babble.
Jaune chuckled, but it turned into a fit of coughing. He wanted to say he was ok, that this was just a scratch - that's what tough guys said when they got wounded, right?
But only thing that got out of his mouth was a pained whimper.
"Easy there buddy. Just lay down, you will be fine."
Jaune tried to say something, but another fit of coughing stopped him. Something red came out of his mouth, and he realized it was blood. He looked down at his body, and noticed a few things, very worrying things.
His clothes were in shreds, and covered in something wet, slick, with metallic scent. There was a sizable peace of wood popping out of his stomach, covered in something red. And now that he took closer look, there was a lot of red around him.
It took him moment to realize it was blood. His blood.
Oh. I'm bleeding out. He realized. Jaune had vague feeling this revelation should bother him a bit more, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was hurting all over, it was getting colder, his vision swam, and he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep.
"No, no, no, don't you dare. Stay with me Jaune, just hold on. I'll get you help, just stay with me. Don't you fucking dare to die, just hold on a little bit longer" Leon voice sounded strangely clear, despite everything else becoming more and more blurred. The blond boy managed a weak smile. He'd never seen Leon so worried, the man was usual calm and composed, barely showing any emotion.
"Come on Jaune, don't give up now. You're a survivor. A fighter. That's what you do, don't you? You push onward, grasping every straw, every chance, no matter how small to reach your goal. You are man with a plan. Just look at you - not even fourteen years old, less than a year of training, and no Aura, and you killed a fucking Ursa. So don't you fucking dare to die now. Fight Jaune, just hold on."
I killed it? Jaune felt a little warmth in his heart. So he did it after all. He managed to kill his first Grimm. Too bad he was apparently going to die for it, but there was little he could do in that matter.
He focused on his teacher, his mentor, and friend. Somehow Jaune could see his face clearly, even though everything else was blurry. His expression was one of worry and desperation, he kept asking, no, begging Jaune to not give up.
Jaune sighed. How could he fight? He was too weak, and too tired. It was over. Even though Leon tried his best to patch him up, all the time, trying to convince Jaune to fight. And listening to him like that, Jaune came to a sudden realization.
Leon believed in him. He truly, honestly believed in Jaune. Even though he knew it was silly, there was always this annoying voice in the back of his head asking why Leon even bothered training him. Sure, the man said Jaune had the heart of a Hunter, but upon getting to know him better, Jaune doubted Leon was someone who would accept a student based on something so vague. So what was the real reason? Was this just a whim? Or maybe his parents paid him to train their son?
Jaune knew it was silly. But it didn't stop this little voice from whispering to him, crushing his confidence.
But now, lying down in this ruined town, and bleeding out, Jaune finally understood. Leon truly, honestly, believed in him. The man never said anything too encouraging, he never praised Jaune - not too much anyway. He never said to Jaune, 'you can do it' - because Leon was not one to waste breath saying obvious things. How could Jaune only realize this now? Leon never, ever doubted Jaune could become a Hunter - the older man considered it a fact, something that would happen.
This realization made him feel warm, in a way he never really felt before. It's not that no one believed in him before. His family was always supportive, but that was the problem. It was his family. They would do, or say anything to make him feel better.
Leon was different. He barely knew Jaune when he took him under his wing and he had no reason to say things just to make him feel better.
Jaune smiled, closing his eyes. It felt… nice. And warm. His body didn't hurt as much anymore, though he still felt sleepy. Then his eyes snapped open.
Leon believed in him. It wouldn't do to let him down. He focused, and willed himself to stay awake. He couldn't give up now, he still had so many things to do.
The warmth in his chest turned into a raging inferno, and then, it burst out, washing over him. Jaune let out a single gasp, and passed out.
When he woke up, he was lying in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. He slowly sat up, resting his head on one hand.
What happ…
And then it all came crashing back. The ruined town, the Ursa, his fight, Leon's worried face, his desperate words. He gasped, looking around.
"Hey, kiddo." He heard familiar voice. He turned and looked at a smiling Leon, sitting in the chair next to his bed.
"It's a merchant caravan. Stumbled upon them like half an hour after you lost consciousness. We are heading to Mistral, will be there in about two days. You were out for three days. Anything else?"
Jaune blinked a few times, then chuckled. This felt oddly familiar to his time in Hunter's Rest.
"Nah, I think I'm fine."
And only after he said this, he realized he really was. Nothing hurt him, at least not as much as it should. He looked to his teacher, noticing his serious expression.
"What…"
"You really scared me there. Picking an Ursa as your first kill? And before even unlocking your Aura?" He shook his head. "Ballsy. "
Jaune chuckled.
"Yeah. But I don't think I ever want to try that again. Killing Grimm without Aura, I mean."
"Oh, don't worry about that. You won't have chance to try it again, I assure you."
Jaune gasped in shock. This couldn't it be.. Was Leon…
"Oh…" he slumped. "I guess you wouldn't want to teach me after I messed up like that."
Leon tilted his head to the side.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Jaune blinked, confused.
"But you just said…"
"That you will never get a chance to fight Grimm without your Aura ever again." The older man paused, and hummed, lost in thought.
"Well, you might be… But considering your reserves, you would have to be in some real deep shit for it to happen."
It took Jaune a few seconds to register his friend's words, and only when Leon grinned at him, blond boy finally understood what happened.
"My Aura… it's unlocked?"
Leon's grinn only widened.
"Yep."
Jaune grinned back.
"Guess that means we can start training seriously now?"
Leon laughed.
"You bet we will, Jaune."
The blond boy laughed too. He did it. He unlocked his Aura.
I just hope that unlocking my Semblance will not require a near-death situation.
He smirked.
I wonder what it will be? I hope something cool.
Two days after Jaune woke up, he and Leon were walking beside one of the carts.
"Don't worry Jaune. At least you unlocked it fast. Sometimes it takes years to do so."
The blond boy just groaned, his head hung low. It was so embarrassing! Could he get any lamer?
Leon sighed, and placed a hand on his student's shoulder.
"Jaune, it doesn't matter how you got it. All that matters is that it happened.."
The blond boy shot him an annoyed look.
"It's just so embarrassing!" He cried out.
"I'm sure there are worse ways to discover your Semblance."
Jaune chuckled.
"Yeah? Like what?"
Leon just shrugged.
"Dunno. Like getting struck by lightning. Can you imagine?"."
Jaune groaned again, and hung his head again. Maybe he should be happy that he discovered his Semblance so soon. And he kinda was. If only it wasn't because a few merchants let him taste their products - that he discovered too late were some of the strongest alcohols fit for consumption.
They were really surprised that a young, not even fourteen years old boy could drink almost a whole bottle, when even grown men could barely handle a few shots.
Jaune was sure it was because of his Aura - but then Leon explained that couldn't be it. Aura blocked damage coming from the outside, it couldn't do anything against chemicals that got into the body, beside speeding up recovery. So even veteran Hunters could get drunk. After a few test, only one conclusion came to mind. It had to be thanks to Semblance.
Jaune Arc - man that can't get drunk. Some cool Semblance I have. He sighed.
His self-deprecating thoughts were interrupted when Leon patted his arm.
"We are here." He said, pointing ahead.
Jaune looked up, and gasped. All the gloomy thoughts fled his head, replaced by pure awe.
"Welcome to Mistral. The city where you can buy anything."
And this wraps it up. Jaune unlocked his Aura in a cool way, and his Semblance in a not-so cool way.
Nothing much to say here, so see you guys next week.