Not Even Aura can Heal All Wounds
By wildstraydog
Beta: Super Saiyan Cyndaquil
Chapter Seventeen: Purpose
Well I'm back from the holidays and it was worth the break. I got to think back on a lot of things and mull over some ideas for this year. It also gave me time to write on my novels which I barely had time for earlier this year, partly because of writing on here hah. At this point, I've learned that setting predetermined dates for my chapters is killing me creatively, so I'm getting away from that.
Jaune crept away from the door where the villagers were being treated. Each step sunk into the dirt, and he caught himself releasing an audible gulp. His clammy hands gripped the sweaty hilt of his rapier. He stole a quick glance at Ruby and saw the same expression of confusion and terror tugging at her face. Burgundy, one of the Grimm Talkers, wiped his mouth with the back of palm and stained his chin with a smudge of dry blood.
Jaune assumed that they were preoccupied with Blake and the others, yet somehow he slipped through. He didn't expect one of them to be so bold and charge through the village with Grimm on his back. Ruby sprinted ahead with her semblance, leaving a trail of rose petals fluttering through the air. She flanked Burgundy's right, bringing down Crescent Rose with a broad stroke. Burgundy matched the attack with his teal vambraces.
Ruby pressed her blade against him with what little raw strength she could allow. Her attempt to shed away any aura was met with a sudden blast of air from his vambrace. Ruby's petite figure rolled across the ground near Jaune; her face was covered in dirt, and along her hands were a few scraps. Jaune had never seen a weapon like it. With a click, two shining blades sprung out from his wrists.
"You have speed girl, but you lack the strength to go head-on with me." Burgundy's apathetic tone stung Ruby, as if she wasn't worthy as an opponent.
"Don't let him rile you," Jaune called out.
"I know, he's just being rude." Jaune would have chuckled at her childish description of Burgundy's attitude were their lives not in danger.
Throughout the insults he slowly inched his way around Burgundy with careful steps. They needed to surround him and launch a pincer attack. Jaune already found it strange that he hadn't summoned any Grimm to assist in the battle-perhaps he found unbecoming of him? His blue eyes darted to the house across the street; through the blinds he could make out a few irises staring in fear.
There were still people inside...
"What are you looking at?!" Burgundy shouted.
To Ruby's surprise, Burgundy rushed past her defenses and charged at Jaune. The blade on his right wrist thrust at Jaune's midsection; he brought up his shield and took the blow, the metal from the shield vibrating against his fingers. Burgundy spun around and swiped his left arm forward, only for Jaune to parry against it with his shield. The flurry of attacks came as a shock, forcing him to go rigid and forget Weiss' training.
"Jaune!" Ruby clambered to her feet and spun into a whirlwind of petals that zoomed past Burgundy and disoriented him.
She flipped through the air like a skilled acrobat and collapsed Crescent Rose into it sniper form, unloading a few shots that kicked her back against the wind. Burgundy held up his vambraces and deflected the shots, countering with another shockwave that rippled through the air. Ruby flipped backwards and skidded along the dirt, her red cape fluttering in front of her face. Jaune saw an opening and decided to finally risk it, rushing forward with a quick thrust with his rapier. Sadly, Burgundy saw it coming.
Burgundy twisted his arm around Jaune's and popped it back. Jaune let out croak and tumbled to the ground, his face eating clumps of dirt. The amount of aura he sustained trickled in, helping him bear with the pain, but he struggled to crawl forward and reach for his weapon. Ruby dove in and thrusted the hilt of Crescent Rose into Burgundy's stomach, sending him flying backwards into the house.
"Are you okay, Jaune?!" Ruby asked in a panic.
"I... I'm fine, just concentrate on him, alright?" She almost cried, but held back the tears with a steadfast expression that encompassed her bravery.
"You, little, bitch!" Burgundy's curse was muffled by the sound of falling masonry that clattered against the ground. His boots cracked the glass from the windows that shattered; he was tough.
"Can you use your arm?" Ruby gently whispered.
Jaune looked down and slightly moved his muscles. A tingle of heat rushed through his arm, but he lifted it up and grabbed the rapier on the ground. "A little bit, it needs more time to heal." Ruby bit her lip at the news.
"Then I'll distract him... when you see another opening, make it count, okay!" He relented at her pushy attitude and nodded-yet in the back of his mind fear clouded his senses.
How was he supposed to defeat Burgundy?
Ruby kicked off the ground and shot a cloud of dust in his face. Jaune retained a steely gaze on Ruby's agile movements. A flash of steel collided with Burgundy's vambraces, each stroke being carelessly parried. They fought like equals, his broad shoulders popping as each fist was thrown. The blades attached to his arms whipped through the air and cut slivers of Ruby's hair that fluttered to the ground like ashes.
Through the exchanges, Jaune panicked. He could barely follow their movements and saw no opportunity to close in with a quick thrust. The vibrations from Burgundy's shockwaves plowed through some of the structures that surrounded the hall where Natsuhiko and the villagers were staying. Broken planks and various debris scattered across the dirt, leaving a cloud of dust that spread with the wind. Jaune caught his hand trembling and focused back on Ruby.
Ruby's tiny feet smashed into the dirt and sent clumps of mud spewing in his direction. The shield reflected most of it, the sound the tiny clunks made reminiscent of water trailing down an old pipe. Her breathing was labored and sweat pooled across her brow; Ruby wasn't known for her stamina, while Burgundy just stood there barely breaking a sweat. He had to tag in eventually and bear with the pain.
Again, Ruby closed in on Burgundy, bringing down Crescent Rose in a wide arc. The blade on his right arm collided with his vambrace-Ruby grit her teeth and pushed in, straining her aura against Burgundy's strength. The blade on Burgundy's left wrist slashed across Ruby's chest, the corset tearing and leaving a trickle of blood. She dropped and hit the ground like a ragdoll, her bright childish face turning pale as blood stained the mass of dirt she fell on.
Crescent Rose rattled on the ground next to her trembling hands. Jaune froze, his grip loosening on the shield until it fell with a thud. He found his vision become hazed, his body moving on its own in blind rage. The shield remained on the ground and he thrust his rapier, the tip gliding against the backend of Burgundy's right vambrace.
"Jaune..." Ruby croaked. A bit of blood spurt from her lips.
The sound of her frail voice didn't reach his ears. The clanging of the blades echoed and vibrated, his movements becoming faster with each motion. Burgundy came off as annoyed, parrying each thrust easily. Jaune didn't stop, thinking back to a previous lesson Weiss taught him.
Burgundy kicked Jaune in the abs and stepped forward, reaching back with his right arm to thrust the end of the blade into his throat. Jaune remained stable on his feet and hopped back, parried the blade and pierced Burgundy's arm with a clean thrust. Burgundy's hidden blade shattered into shards, and he shouted in agony.
"You bastard!" Burgundy clasped his other hand around the hole. Blood seeped through his fingers and stained his other vambrace.
"Ruby!" Jaune ignored Burgundy's wails and crawled toward her bloodied figure, the young girl releasing shallow breaths that tickled his face.
"Did... did you get him...?" Jaune ignored her strained question and grabbed the bag that was on the front steps of the office.
From the bag he pulled out a few bandages and a small plastic bag of IV fluid. He needed to stabilize the bleeding and put pressure on the open wound. Jaune pulled out a bottle of water and flushed out the dirty blood, then lifted her body and wrapped the bandages tight across her chest area. She was panting faster, her skin going pale from losing too much blood. She would need fluids immediately; problem was all this treatment was superficial, even at his level.
"I won't let you," Burgundy hissed.
Jaune turned around and received a fist that knocked him aside. He moaned in pain and desperately tried to get up and finish bandaging Ruby, but Burgundy continued his assault by forcing the end of his boot into Jaune's waist. The air was stolen from his lungs, leaving him to heave in short breaths. His aura quickly soothed the pain, but he knew Burgundy wouldn't stop with just a few punches and kicks.
"Please... let me save her," Jaune begged.
A chuckle escaped from Burgundy and he glanced back at Ruby's dying form; the only thing buying her time was her aura. Burgundy's scruff face twisted in glee with a wide smirk-he kicked a patch of dirt onto her body and flipped off Jaune.
"Why should I care, no one ever helped me."
How can he be so heartless? Jaune thought as he pathetically attempted to crawl toward his rapier. He found his heart beating rapidly, like a thunder in his chest growing louder and louder. His fingers went numb and a warm tickle coursed through his muscles.
Everything went white.
"Sherrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry!" Pinot's shrill voice roared across the grounds. He pushed aside Yang's punch and headed for Sherry's corpse.
Blake just sat there and watched as Pinot cradled her limp head in his tiny arms. He was clearly the youngest of the three, the pale cheeks and freckles that were darted across his nose gave him the appearance of a young teen. Pinot was bawling, a floodgate of tears bursting out from the dam and damping the mud below. Blake found herself trembling, for it was her that killed Sherry; but what could she have done? She wasn't just going to sit by and watch Sherry cut down one of her friends.
It was kill or be killed, simple as that. So why did she feel so horrible about it?
Pinot's handling of her lifeless head was tragic, the trail of blood that dripped across her chin spilled onto his hands. The child was murmuring into her ears with a hushed breath, then started to rock her body back and forth.
"Should we... do something?" Yang inquired. They looked upon the confused boy who cradled a bloodied corpse and questioned their mission.
"We never meant to do this," Pinot said aloud, focusing his red eyes onto Blake. She hitched at his devastated expression and sheathed Gambol Shroud; any threat he once presented was all but gone. "It was years ago, when Merlot picked us up... Sherry was taking care of me, she used to be in a hospital for her personality disorders."
Blake stole a glance at Weiss who nodded in silent agreement. While their battles were quite brief, it was obvious that she wasn't stable. Her mood swings and drastic shift in character told a darker tale of a young girl who wasn't given the proper treatment to live a full life. And Dr. Merlot, manipulated that for his twisted experiment.
"Burgundy isn't with us-just some crazed mercenary that the doctor picked up to mix up his guinea pigs." Blake still found it strange; if Pinot knew all this, why did he still comply with Dr. Merlot's insane machinations?
"Pinot... you can stop, we can take you to Beacon and give Sherry a proper burial," Weiss softly begged.
"I can't." Pinot whimpered.
From his right pocket, he fished out a small curved dagger that glinted off the dimming rays of the sun. The light hit the dry blood on his hands, painting a horrific scene. Blake choked on her gasp as Pinot drove the dagger clean through his throat, releasing a crimson stream upon Sherry's pale face. In a desperate but futile attempt, Blake rushed across the field with some miniscule hope that she could save him.
Her boots skidded against the dirt and she leaned down, pressing both palms onto the hole in his throat that continued to spill out. No amount of aura or strength would save him, yet she tried, biting her lower lip and pressing down harder with more pressure. Pinot returned a lifeless smile, and his eyes turned to glance over at Sherry's body. He died within seconds of Blake's spotty treatment. Her calloused hands were stained with blood, the red flakes chipping along the sides of her dirty palms. She inadvertently killed that boy.
An explosion roused in the distance, drowning out the guilt that surfaced within her heart. Yang approached cautiously from behind and placed a hand on her shoulder, gripping it with a warm intensity.
"Merlot broke them long ago," Weiss said through a hoarse whimper. They were vulnerable children manipulated by the system; just like many Faunus were.
"I'm sorry, Blake." Yang added.
"Professor Goodwitch needs our help." Blake muttered. She clambered to her feet and spun away from the bodies. Killing Merlot would be enough of a distraction.
"Weiss, you should go check on Ruby and Jaune," She suggested, unsheathing Gambol Shroud with a low hiss. Her amber eyes trained on the rapidly moving forms of Glynda and the King Taijitu Dr. Merlot rode.
The serpentine creature writhed with each motion, dodging the professor's attacks with coordinated gestures from Merlot. He controlled the Grimm like a puppet, his fingers twiddling away at the strings. The green crystals that protruded from the Grimm pulsated, flashing as it whipped its tail into a wall of rock and soil that Goodwitch uprooted with her semblance. But Merlot's face, it was twisted in a smile that lacked any empathy that once encompassed his soul.
"Are you sure...?" Weiss hesitated and noticed a few Ursa snap out of their mesmerized dazes from the spell that Pinot conjured.
"Go!" Weiss flinched but conceded to Blake's shout. She cast an ornate blue glyph beneath her feet that would increase her speed and headed further into the village.
She released a sigh and gripped the hilt of Gambol Shroud until the grooves pressed into her skin uncomfortably. It was rare for her to lose her composure over a boy she never knew... but his face when he died in her arms, it was too tragic. Not unlike the one she saw so many years ago when she was in the White Fang with Adam.
"Blake, are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah, let's just get this over with and go home." She whispered hoarsely.
Merlot deserved to die.
A webbing of white light that coalesced traveled across the tinges of Jaune's skin. Through his body, he could feel a sudden sensation of comforting warmth, as if every bone and muscle in his system was reinforced. The pain that lingered in his bruised legs faded away, the flickering light giving him the strength to climb up and seize his weapon from the dirt. Burgundy's narrowed eyes shimmered against the blaze of the white aura that danced around his body like a flame.
"Is that... your semblance?" Burgundy hissed.
He said nothing and placed his right foot forward. With each careful step he brushed past Burgundy's stunned form over to Ruby and bent down. Ruby's silver orbs were slit, the spark of life fading from her irises. Jaune placed both hands atop the wound and pressed down, spreading the white light until it enveloped her fragile form.
"I won't let you!" Burgundy launched his fist forward.
The bare knuckles were forced back, swinging Burgundy's right arm back in a jerk. He skidded across the dirt and grabbed a handful of mud that shot into his face. He emitted a low growl and stood up, clicking both vambraces together to shoot off a powerful shockwave that was capable of shattering bones. The air ripped and launched at Jaune, but he saw the ripple shatter a wall of ice that rose from the ground.
"I've got him, Jaune!" Weiss shouted.
Weiss' voice barely reached his ears, the vibrations of the barrier around him drowning out sound. Upon inspection of her wound, the slash was suturing itself, the cells of the skin closing up at an accelerated pace. This power was beyond anything normal aura or current scientific medicine was capable of-could it really be his semblance?
Ruby's eyes burst open and she jerked forward in a heaving fit. Her shrill chirp was still frail, but her trembling hand took hold of Jaune's. She parted her lips with barely a whisper, though he knew by that excited smile that she was going to live somehow. His concentration was broken when Weiss let out a moan of pain and was flung into his direction.
The heiress barely managed to stay on her feet, and the right side of her bolero jacket was ripped. A view of her creamy white skin was visible, along with a recent bruise from one of Burgundy's fierce punches.
"Weiss!" Jaune called out in a panic. He looked back down at Ruby who fell unconscious from shock. The light from his body dissipated into a viscous smoke that billowed into the sky. The surge of power that ran through his veins earlier was all but gone, yet he could still move.
"Enough of this," Weiss snapped, casting another glyph in front of her that shifted in a clockwise motion. A spark of lightning slithered within numerous shining orbs that filled the daylight in a white blanket.
The glyph released and sent a volley of lightning bolts at Burgundy, the bolts slithering through the air like frightened snakes. Burgundy braced his feet and held up both vambraces to deflect the attack; the electricity slammed into his arms and threw him back. Thousands of volts coursed through his body and caused it to convulse violently, throwing his back with a force that cracked a rib.
Burgundy collapsed into the dirt, spraying mud and rocks onto his charred armor. Soot covered his skin and the smell of burnt hair rose into the air where he lie. Parts of his hair were frayed, the highlight blackening across the stem, while his lips popped from the extreme heat. With his aura so low he took the brunt of the attack from Weiss; she reserved a great amount aura to release it, a sort of trump card in dire situations.
"How's Ruby?" She brushed Burgundy's sizzled corpse from her mind and ran over to join Ruby's side. She was resting, a steady breath allowing her stomach to rise in a paced rhythm.
"She'll be okay, I think."
"You think?" Weiss questioned. He still didn't know the full details about what happened, other than his extreme anger and sadness ignited a bright light from his soul. It had to be a semblance, but how was that possible?
It was known in his family that he barely had any aura, let alone enough to be a professional Huntsman. His predisposed condition was one of the reasons his father abandoned any hope of training him. So then how in the hell did any sort of semblance activate at all?
"We should move her inside," Weiss suggested, breaking him out of his prolonged stupor.
He scooped up Ruby and held her bridal style, taking her over to the hall where the other injured villagers were staying. They would probably have a spare bed that she could rest in until Dr. Merlot was hopefully defeated. That reminded him of Yang and Blake... they were still out there fighting a horde of Grimm at their backs.
"Not yet!" A garbled moan yelled.
Burgundy's tattering body pulled out a half-melted dagger and lunged at Weiss. The twinkling blade that smelled of burnt metal inched toward her frail throat that flattened in slow motion. Jaune dropped Ruby's unconscious form in a dash and jumped ahead of her, lifting his rapier forward until it pierced through Burgundy's heart, the tip of the blade puncturing every vital artery as it sliced through burnt skin.
A croak sounded over Jaune's trembling arms. Burgundy's limp body jerked forward and released a fountain of blood form his agape mouth. He quickly released the rapier from his opponent and crawled away, fiddling with his uniform stained in the dark liquid. A high pitched screech erupted from Burgundy's exposed blackened chest. The parasite that lorded over him cringed and flapped until its legs stiffened, drying out like a worn leaf in the flames. His life was gone.
Intentional or not, he, Jaune Arc, just killed a man.