Author's note: [Redacted]
Chapter VI
All through the night did Arc's mind churn with crystal clear memories as he silently treaded through the halls of Beacon. He had done a surmounting job keeping them at bay in the threshold of his psyche, but with an approximation of 36 hours to spare till the next meeting with Ozpin, now was a never better time to address his impeding hindrance. He focused on the memories that threatened to gush out in overwhelming droves and narrowed them down to a trickle as he carefully let the memories flow. His body had begun to involuntarily move as the memories played out in his mind, carrying him all over the campus in remembrance.
Dawn began to melt the darkened skies and mingling clouds flew overhead. Yet he still did not falter as he relived his memories. Arc remembered everything as he shifted from memory to memory and place to place. Although his robotic body could not contain any feeling of what his organic limbs felt long ago, his sharpened and enhanced mind recalled every single stimulus he once felt. Every person that was there with him at the time and every sound that was uttered. Despite the memories playing out within his head, he could only feel faint traces of the emotions that carried with them just as they were sapped away. With each memory he remembered came a new location he found himself standing in, and with every new location came another new memory. It was a slow and gradual process, but it was necessary to undergo if he wanted to function at optimal performance.
He needed this.
Students eventually began waking up and strolling about the campus trying to find something to pass the day with. Many of them had been disturbed at the sight of a seven-and-a-half-foot tall cyborg wandering aimlessly throughout Beacon. To the outside world, Arc gave off the impression paralleled to a ghost with his white armor and distant lost stare. The fact that his foot build rendered his steps inaudible emphasized the portrayal. A wraith-like specter haunting the grounds of Beacon. Everyone quickly stepped aside from his pathway. Most of the students who caught sight of him spared a few disturbing moments to either stare or gawk before moving on with their business. He ignored all of them, too lost in his trickling memories to even bother.
Sometime during the day he passed near Team RWBY. Ruby immediately called out a greeting and moved to accompany him, but Blake knowingly held her back. She immediately recognized the look on his face to determine that he needed to be alone. Ruby's protests were undermined when both Weiss and Yang agreed with Blake's words.
Eventually, the skies were painted in fading hues of yellow and orange before easing its way into the spectrum of dark blue. Dark blue gave way to black and darkness lulled behind to diminish the last reaches of sunlight for the day. Lampposts and night-hour lights hummed to life with electric Dust and brought illumination to the academy's grounds. In the distance shined the city lights of Vale with the white silhouettes of the ever present Atlesian fleet lazing above in the air and floating across the spectacle of the shattered moon. Only now did Arc begin to reach the end of his reminiscing trail of memories. His footfalls gradually eased into a trudge and reality around him slowly began to pull him out of his remembrance.
Arc abruptly cut off his wandering stream of thought when it started to surface the events of the Vytal Festival. A few blinks and a check of the display data screens appeared in his vision. His mind flickered to the calculated and processed data regarding his place in the space-time continuum and any other approximations his system was running. Everything checked out normally and he accepted new data files to pull up another time.
Arc stood motionless on the faintly lit stairway. Inadvertently, his memories had led him along the path to the dorms and into this particular passage way. He did not need his system's location indicator that had instinctively pulled itself up with a flickering thought of his mind to know where and what dorm he was in. Arc took more consciousness steps up the stairs and silently made his way towards the source of the faint traces of noise his auditory systems were detecting. The clashing of blades, the reverberating of shields; all sounds he knew too well.
Reaching the top of the stairway left only the dorm's rooftop exit door keeping him from the other side. His systems picked up two elevated heartbeats accompanied with the grunts from each duelist. Arc waited for the inevitable outcome of the spar before he chose to pry open the metal door handle with his clawed hand and enter the scene.
Moonlight illuminated the rooftop setting and its features and occupants. Ignoring the faint traces of his optical scanners graphing the environment and pinpointing key tactical grounds out of the corner of his peripherals, Arc's eyes landed on the roof's two occupants. Bright red, polished bronze, and green eyes stuck out the most to him before he regarded the mess of yellow hair, scuffed white with jeans and a hoodie sprawled out on the rooftop, the sword knocked aside and the shield resting on his chest. Automatic response nerves forced Arc's fingers to twitch as he almost began to reach for Graucus Aegis, but he restrained himself.
Upon seeing him Pyrrha dropped her stance and brought her weapons to her side. Her breath was concentrated but she still had plenty of energy to respond.
"Hello again." she forced herself to say through deep breaths. A swirl of emotions and memories rushed to his head for a brief second before vanishing. Arc merely nodded in acknowledgement before he brought his attention to his past-self still slumped on the ground. The cybernetic knight moved a few steps before his head hung over the tuckered body.
"Was I really this weak?" Arc uttered apathetically.
Upon hearing his voice, Jaune let out a groan before slowly opening his eyes. Arc watched as Jaune realized that he was glaring down at him and watched Jaune steel himself internally from flinching at his intimidating stature. Seeing the faint spark of courage flicker in his face gave Arc a fleeting spec of hope for himself. A nervous laugh escaped Jaune's lips after a second.
"Heh, a little help here?" Jaune requested and willed his sore hand upward in hopes of being lifted off the ground. It didn't happen. Arc merely continued to stare down at Jaune as he continued to awkwardly keep his hand aloft. Despite the apparent expression of Arc's cold glare, Jaune naively ignored the unspoken refusal and kept his hand up. Watching the situation play out stood an idle Pyrrha. Seeing that this ordeal was playing out longer than it should she quickly put away Milo and Akouo and moved to help her partner up. She grabbed Jaune's hand firmly and pulled him up to his feet.
"Thank you Pyrrha," Jaune sighed before searching around for his sword, "at least someone is willing to help."
"You need to learn how to be strong." Arc retorted aloofly, "The sooner that happens the better you'll be off."
"Well yeah I know that," Jaune quipped as he picked up his sword, "why do you think we're up here almost every night?"
"He's been getting a lot better too." Pyrrha added for emphasis.
Arc's unfazed expression turned to the warrior girl who offered a meek smile in response. A part of him wanted to assert his fore-knowledge of his abilities but a majority of him kept silent. He knew better than to argue with Pyrrha Nikos, especially when she was right. After all, she contributed a major part in his training. Arc acknowledged the parallelisms and paradoxes evident at play.
"Awe thanks Pyrrha." Jaune said before turning his attention towards Arc, completely missing the adoring look of joy on Pyrrha's face. Arc drew away and refocused his attention on Jaune.
"See? Pyrrha and I got this." the young knight proclaimed proudly. Arc, however, wasn't persuaded, but his momentary silence indicated that he was choosing what words to say next.
"You need to learn how to be stronger on your own," Arc corrected his statement somberly, the shift of tone in his synthetic voice undetected by the two listeners.
"Pyrrha won't always be around to save you."
All of the tension and gravity in his words was immediately lost with Jaune's follow-up response.
"Yeah I know that." Jaune replied exasperated and readied Crocea Mors. Pyrrha immediately deciphered the gesture and drew Milo and Akouo before dropping into another battle poise. He took one more glance over his shoulder at Arc. "That's precisely why we're training now."
Before Arc to say another word Jaune had already rushed to face his trainer. The sound of metal clashing against metal returned with the grunts and huffs of each of the two combatants. Despite his auditory systems picking up the noise the world around him began to drone out. His eyes fell downward in solemnity. His synthetic jaw slackened as he let out an inaudible breath. The next words were lost to the sounds of training.
"That's not what I meant." Arc mumbled quietly and slowly turned away.
His shoulders buckled with heavy thoughts as he stood at the edge of the rooftop and overlooked the grounds of Beacon. Arc had resumed his silent brooding. How much catastrophe could he save if he told them everything right now? How many lives could he spare if he simply told them what was going to happen. Every inch of his consciousness and being wanted to activate his synthetic voice to articulate the words he wanted to say. The words that would undoubtingly save millions of lives, save the future as a whole, and most importantly…
Arc tuned into his sensors already recording and analyzing the sparring match playing out behind him. Pyrrha was taking a defensive stance behind her shield while blocking Jaune's swipes and jabs. After a sharp lunge from the blond boy, which his sensors detected as poorly angled, Pyrrha thrashed her shield forward and took the offensive. She quickly berated Jaune with fierce slashes against his shield before she raised Milo and brought it down. Jaune quickly raised his shield to block the high blow, but by doing so it left the rest of him exposed. Pyrrha seized her opportunity and shoved Akouo into his torso and effectively bashed Jaune backwards with the front of her shield.
Arc reverted his attention back to his thoughts. He knew he could not reveal anything to them right now as much as he desired to do so. How much collateral temporal damage would he cause if he did? The best option that he estimated was to inform Professor Ozpin and his league all that he knew. That way if there were any sort of collateral temporal damage Ozpin's specialty and wisdom would reduce it to a bare minimum and make the transition of realities a lot smoother. Arc idly grinded his jaw piece as he reaffirmed his thoughts. Within hours it would be morning and the time that he and Ozpin had chosen would come. That was when he could tell everything; that was when his mission would truly begin.
Pulling away from the insidious temptations of speech, Arc settled into his customary silence overlooking Beacon while mildly trying to ignore his sensors relaying him every single wrong movement and mistake his past-self was making. He could only close his eyes in irritation when he heard the inevitable thud of a body followed by the wimpy groan from his younger and more organically sounding voice.
Repetition tends to wear down anything over a given time. Repetition in training wears down barriers that prevent one from mastery. Constant water flow eventually will carve through solid rock. To Arc, the splendor and gallant beams of the warm promising sun over the horizon had lost its appeal long ago. Even when facing the prospect of saving the future, the dawn would always be that: the dawn. To be fair, Arc could remember a time when he was not always this bleak and cynical. Once his drive burned with hope and determination to drive back the forces of evil and create a better place for everyone, but now?
Arc paused in his reflection before assessing himself. That hope and determination was still there…just contorted and muffled. He quietly made his through the campus and towards the CCT and its clock tower stretching for the sky. Up at the top was his destination, and there he would come face to face with Beacon's headmaster, his assistant, and the headmaster of Atlas/General of the Atlesian military.
Oh, General James Ironwood was here. He had arrived earlier in the morning at the docking area in his private ship resembling a Bullhead augmented with Atlas's finest armor and laser weaponry. General Ironwood imposing self walked calmly out of the Bullhead and stepped with a hardened unfazed demeanor. Even from his hidden location Arc could see both the General's brilliant intelligence of military experience and the conceited rationality that came with it. He promptly decided to wait to reveal himself and let the General make his way to Ozpin.
Arc passed through the doors of the CCT. While there were a few CCT staff members remaining in the facility from their night shift, concealing his presence was not a factor anymore. Ignoring the stares he was gaining from everyone, Arc made his way past the several dozen rows of computers and over to the elevator and its awaiting occupant.
Suddenly his metallic steps froze in place and his eyes widened at the sight: Dark scruffy hair; a slender body frame; a tailing grey dress shirt with a red tattered cloak and black ruffled dress pants accompanied with dress shoes. Arc let the realization subside and approached.
"Come on…" Arc heard Qrow grumble and watched him press the already lighted call button. Arc came within a reaching distance before stopping, he knew that the old scythe-wielder was about to detect him within the next second. He watched as Qrow slowly craned his neck around and scope him out from over his shoulder. Realizing the uncommon sight, Qrow pivoted around to face him, his dark eyes taking in the mechanical titan looking down at him. Arc watched as his sight traced over Graucus Aegis and over his armored features before blinking into a pseudo state of sleaziness.
"Huh, now here's something you don't see every day," Qrow drawled loudly and tilted himself with folded arms, "You must be Ozpin's contact I've heard so much about." The scythe-wielder instinctively reached for the flask on his belt. Arc observed his fingers unscrew the cap and gradually wield it in his hand. He waited till Qrow was about to down another gulp before he communicated.
"Contrary to popular belief, Qrow, your drinking habits won't be the end of you." Arc remarked. The flask immediately stopped before its alcoholic content touched its owner's lips. Cautiously, Qrow lowered the flask and shot a listless glare at Arc's face.
"Oh yeah, I meant to ask," Qrow said, the natural slur in his voice vanishing, "how do you know who I am?"
"You were one of my trainers." Arc revealed. Qrow's eyebrows lifted in response and his eyes blinked. Arc watched the unfathomable confusion cross his eyes and his mind push extensively trying to remember, if the scrunched up expression indicated anything that Arc had observed Qrow do many times in the past.
Ding!
The elevator doors opening snapped Qrow out of his pondering and his eyes dropped back to the flask that he held. Arc moved past him to board the elevator while Qrow exchanged looks between the giant cyborg and his drink at hand.
"Must'a been drinking a whole lot when I trained ya." the old crow groaned before he took a swig and entered.
General James Ironwood slowly paced the floor beneath the rotating clockwork above. The ticking of the gears echoed in near cadence with the clasps of his boots as he treaded around. Normally Glynda would be the one pacing about, but instead she stood silently beside Ozpin's desk. Beacon's Headmaster himself rested behind his desk in a nonchalant manner, the polar opposite of what Ironwood was feeling right now. Without a word he ceased moving and drew his gloved hand to his chin with a deliberating expression staring off into nowhere. Who was this individual? How much importance did Ozpin place in this person that he felt the need to summon him away from his duties? What information did this person have that was so vital?
Ding!
All the heads in the room glanced over at the elevator doors parting and revealing the arriving visitors. Crossing the threshold came the smug lanky scythe-wielder with his arms folded behind his head. His body leaned backwards as he walked into the office.
"Was wondering when you'd call me," Qrow addressed to everyone, "I was fixing on coming up here myself since things were getting a little too quiet on the line."
Wandering off to the side, Qrow gave way to the other occupant of the elevator. Ironwood's sharp eyes quickly summed up the massive bionic man stepping into the room. His entire body, save for his head, was composed of cybernetic enhancements such as his own, except they appeared drastically more advanced. He examined the white armor that cladded the individual which seemed to somehow be powered if the faint light outlets dotting along his body indicated anything. Amongst all the deep incisions and brutal scratches that lingered across his entire body, Ironwood could see the faded insignia of Atlas coated on the cusp of the shoulder piece. All that stood before him was definitely the technology of Atlas, yet it was of a caliber that Ironwood didn't even know existed.
Most peculiar though was while Ironwood was examining him, the examinee was also taking in Ironwood's appearance with a slight tilt of the head in his direction. It took a moment for Ironwood to catch on, but Ozpin had already spoken.
"Welcome Mr. Arc, I trust you are ready to begin?" Ozpin greeted, maintaining a calm demeanor and focusing his attention. Glynda let out a quiet sigh and mirrored her boss. Qrow strode up to one of the room's support beams and slouched against it. Ironwood placed his hands behind his back and gave Arc his courtesy.
"General Ironwood sir," Arc stated with his synthesized voice and casted his sight on Ironwood. The General raised his eyebrows but held his stoicism.
"Qrow Branwen," Arc continued and craned his head over his shoulder to look the scythe-wielder square in the eye, "Both of you have been called here because I bring important news that can save Remnant."
Arc took the beat of silence as a que to continue.
"I am from the future." he stated. The silence still remained before one of the five skilled Huntsmen reacted. Surprisingly, it was General Ironwood who did so first. A disbelieving smirk crept across Ironwood's expression and he turned his head to Ozpin.
"Is he serious?" Ironwood questioned and gestured at Arc, evident skepticism in his voice. Ozpin barely opened his mouth to respond before the cybernetic knight interjected.
"As serious as the comatose Fall Maiden beneath this very tower."
All eyes in the room immediately shot at him widened stares and lowered jaws. Even Ozpin and Glynda were perturbed by the revelation of his knowledge of the current situation they were in with the Fall Maiden. Seemingly every sense of lightness and nonchalance had been tossed out and destroyed and a grim sense of gravity fell upon the entire chamber. Arc's visible cerulean eye slowly locked with Ironwood, Glynda, and Ozpin's flabbergasted expressions. He could see that his point was driven home. Letting out a hidden breath through his nostrils, he continued.
"Due to your passive tactics with handling the enemy, Professor Ozpin, and your rash actions of bringing the Atlesian military to Vale, General Ironwood, the infiltrators exploit both and bring about the Battle of Beacon near the end of the Vytal Festival Tournament. The Grimm invade the city and the White Fang launch an attack on Beacon. To make matters worse, every Atlesian Knight and Paladin turns against us."
"How is that possible?" General Ironwood interjected with severity.
"According to the aftermath information we gathered, the Atlesian military systems were hacked, thus turning the androids against us and causing the decimation of the entire Atlesian fleet stationed in Vale." Arc replied, ignoring the General's reaction and staring directly at Ozpin, "As the battle grew, the situation turned desperate, forcing you to call forth your candidate for the Fall Maiden's powers."
"You mean…"
"Pyrrha Nikos," Arc affirmed, "I once hated your choice to force this decision upon her, but in hindsight I see that it was a must. Taken into the Vault with Cinder close behind, Pyrrha is put into the Aura Transfer Machine and becomes imbedded with the other half of the Maiden's power at the last second. Combined with her skillset and newfound power, Pyrrha becomes the ultimate Huntress and saves Beacon and Vale though at high costs.
"The consequences following the Vytal Festival are negative: because the battle was broadcasted across Remnant, the three other governments then harbor extreme distrust and doubt to the Huntsmen academies, much so for the Atlas and its military. In addition, Remnant also witnessed the caliber of power Pyrrha now possessed, making her a renowned public figure and a high value target for the darkness. She is put under high protection but it does not last. The bittersweet peace lasts only for months before Vale is swarmed with hordes of Grimm in attempts to kill Pyrrha and obtain her power. Professor Ozpin, Professor Glynda, you both die trying to defend Beacon and the CCT."
Glynda's body language betrayed her as her muscles tensed up while Ozpin's face converted into piercing alertness.
"Though Beacon and Vale fall, some survivors escape to Vytal, including Pyrrha. With the destruction of Vale and Beacon, the world soon comes to view Pyrrha as a symbol of power to rally behind against the darkness. In time the three kingdoms pledge their allegiance to Pyrrha and a new government emerges from the ashes: the Autumn Empire. Pyrrha is granted the title of Regent and she leads Remnant in the all-out war against the Grimm.
"Years pass and we suffer tremendous losses. During one invasion half my team dies while trying to protect Pyrrha and I am mortally wounded. Fortunately, Atlas had made great advancements in technology at the time thanks to the head of the technology division and I was fitted with this body I have now."
"If I may satisfy my curiosity," General Ironwood spoke, earning him Arc's attention, "what type of cybernetic body is that?" Ironwood then proceeded to take off his glove and reveal the robotic hand that he had, "I have cybernetic implants, too, but not as advanced as yours."
"My body is a Mark VI-Centurion Stealth unit augmented with power armor and neural configuration systems and matrix programs, a multitude of sensor arrays, chemical flushers, and recycling energy stabilizers."
"In layman's terms?" Qrow butted in impatiently from his spot in the room. Arc glanced over his shoulder at the scruffy Huntsman.
"My mind is hooked up to a high-speed neural computer, I never run out of energy unless undergoing extremely strenuous performances and therefore do not require any sleep, and I cannot feel emotion because the chemical flushers remove them from my mind in order to keep my judgement and thoughts from interfering with whatever I am doing."
Qrow took a moment to comprehend his words before mouthing an 'oh' and resumed listening.
"Alive once more, I swore to protect my Regent…"
Arc shook off his unintentional lapse of silence and forced the words out, his mind locking onto the matter and his systems already purging the traces of heavy emotions.
"…but I failed. Years after I received my augmentations the armies of Grimm led by Cinder invaded the capital stronghold of the Autumn Empire at Vytal. We held out the best we could, but it wasn't enough; despite all that we did, Cinder managed to kill Pyrrha and obtain the rest of the Fall Maiden's powers. Ruby Rose, Qrow and myself fought her till the very end. I lost half of my helmet during the engagement."
Arc shot another glance at Qrow, who perked up at the mention of his name, "You succumb to your injuries and die afterwards." Qrow's eyes enlarged at the news and moved his hand to his flask. He took a long gulp of his beverage before pulling it away and waving it towards Arc.
"Continue." Qrow gulped. Arc nodded his affirmation and proceeded.
"After her death, the Maiden powers she obtained were transferred elsewhere. Even after all this time we still haven't pinpointed as to whom obtained them, seeing as no reports or sightings of Maiden power usage for many years afterwards. Regardless, Vytal falls to the Grimm and the Autumn Empire collapses, and all that is left are the remains of the three kingdoms. Five years after the destruction of the Autumn Empire, Atlesian scientists completed Project: Continuum, a time-travelling project with the purpose of sending someone back in time to prevent all the disasters and millions of lives being lost. That is what brought me here, and that is my mission."
Silence. Arc's vision scoped out his listeners. Ozpin had closed his eyes and began rubbing his temples. Glynda had bowed her head as she tried to comprehend and accept the words that he said as fact. Ironwood remained silent and brought his hand to his tilted chin in contemplation. Meanwhile, Qrow took another drink from his flask and pushed himself away from the pillar.
"So," Ozpin's agent spoke, "you said the infiltrator's name was…Cinder, right?"
Arc nodded, "Correct, she is under the guise of a visiting student from Haven Academy. Her accomplices are Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black and are here as well." Upon being given the identification of their long sought after infiltrators, Glynda immediately snapped out of her stupor, pulled out her tablet and began tapping away on the touchscreen. Ironwood shifted his glanced and attention to Arc.
"You never mentioned what happens to me." Ironwood noted.
"You were last seen holding off the Grimm in the deserts of Vacuo and commanding our forces there. We then lost all contact and found no trace of you; we had listed you as MIA, most likely captured, if not already killed."
If the General was fazed by the news of his own disappearance, he did not show it.
"And…a horde of Grimm attacks Vale and our Atlesian cyber military units are hacked?" Ironwood added. Arc merely nodded and watched as the General came to a conclusion.
"Thank you for this information," the General said and turned to Ozpin, "if you will excuse me Ozpin, I must see that our computer securities are upgraded and that the number of my men are increased to counter the Grimm assault."
"Did you not hear what he said Jimmy?" Qrow snapped and moved closer to the gathering, "Your decision to bring your military fleet here was half the reason why all of those things happened in the first place!"
"Repeating a mistake again will only yield the same consequences," Ozpin stated and rose from his seat with his cane in his hand, "besides, General, this future that Mr. Arc spoke of has not yet happened."
"Something that I plan on ensuring." Arc added, clenching his clawed fist to show emphasis.
"You have done plenty already, Mr. Arc," Ozpin appraised, "by telling us this information you have already begun to circumvent the future. Now we must plan to make sure that what you have told us never happens."
"Plan?" Arc demanded with a single step forward, his shoulders tensing in response, "We need to act swiftly if we are to prevent my future from ever happening, not sit around and wait for the enemy to act."
"If we were to act upon this knowledge immediately," Ozpin said as he moved around his desk to join them in the front, "we would reveal our knowledge of what the enemy knows and give them the opportunity to counteract and change their plans. Whereas if we pretend to not know we can ensnare them without the chance to react."
"Your passive methods can only do so much, Professor," Arc cautioned but relented the stiffness in his shoulders, "but if we are to go about this your way, I suppose I can find other ways to contribute aside from being a messenger."
"Yes, you are already doing so by taking it upon yourself to monitor reality and overseeing how these actions in the present would change the future," Ozpin acknowledged, "and surely there must be other ways to improve our chances."
Arc was at a loss of words of what he should say next, but then recent events in his memory pointed to what he should do. Meanwhile Qrow brought up his flask to satisfy his addiction only to discover that he had once again emptied its contents. Mumbling something about a refill, Qrow excused himself from the group and headed for the elevator. Arc, on the other hand, finally thought up a plan he could put into play.
"I can begin training my past self." Arc acknowledged. Glynda took the moment to look up from her tablet and give Arc a relieved expression.
"Please do," she implored, "I'd hate to have to witness him stumbling through my class for another year."
Despite it being himself that she was referring to, Arc could not have agreed more.
The day passed as like any other day for Arc, minus the Grimm and constant pressure. His memories no longer interfered and his psyche now returned to normal functioning status, he had informed Ozpin and his associates everything they needed to change the future, and he had read through the data files that his internal system had configured earlier regarding the space-time continuum. They had already ruled out the Temporal Paradox Explosion theory through interaction and reality around seemed stable enough at the moment to keep the Time Loop theory out of mind momentarily. Additionally, he had also been assigned a direct task to help sway the odds to their side; a task that brought him back to this very same spot once again.
Arc finished his ascent up the stairway and opened the rooftop door. There, like the night before, were Pyrrha and Jaune practicing with their weapons. This time the instructor was trying to show her trainee how to execute a certain counter. Arc immediately identified what technique she was trying to convey and idly watched what was about to unfold. Jaune tried to mimic the swipes and the stances that Pyrrha just showed him, but Arc noted that his blade was not angled correctly and his body was not in the proper position to pull off the move.
The result was inevitable and all the more painstakingly pitiful to Arc. After a few more attempts, Arc finally decided to initiate his task.
"Your sword needs to be angled higher," Arc spoke, causing both of them to flinch in surprise and Jaune to drop Crocea Mors, "and your torso needs to be more angled to your left when you do that counter."
"When did you get here?!" Jaune exclaimed and bent down to retrieve Crocea Mors. Arc ignored the question and continued.
"Hello again Arc," Pyrrha greeted in a friendly manner, "What brings you up here again?"
"Him," Arc stated and fixed his sight on Jaune. The subject teenager stood up and casted an exasperated glower at his future-self.
"If this is about me being weak I know," Jaune snapped, "and for the record, not everyone can be as strong and as fast as you…err, me?"
"Correct," Arc stated, "Only you can better yourself."
Pyrrha gave him a curious expression, "Are you suggesting…?"
Arc said nothing in response as he reached back and clasped the hilt of Graecus Aegis. A flash of motion later and he had unsheathed the giant sword and cut through the air, its point falling still in the direction of Jaune. Jaune froze in place and raised his hands up. Arc stared down at him with a narrowed sight.
"If you are to become better then you must discover what you are capable of," Arc declared, "and luckily for us, I know what you are capable of."
Arc twisted his wrist and tilted his blade, the flat of the weapon gleaming in the moonlight.
"I wasn't always a cyborg." Arc uttered loud enough for both of them to hear. Jaune, realizing what this meant, bore an eager smile with anticipation. Pyrrha wanted to advise caution; her fighter instincts warned her that Arc's capabilities were not to be trifled with. Yet the expression of her crush's face melted her words and she relented. Besides, she was also curious to see Arc's combat skill, too. Jaune readied Crocea Mors and faced off against Arc.
"Begin." Arc suddenly announced and rushed at his unready self with his sword ready for combat.
Author's note: [Redacted]