The screen began to bubble and boil as the familiar silver door rose from it's depths, the thick purple chains corroding and breaking apart as the door opened up and bathed everything in dark purple.
From the tainted light, came a single red eye that glared at the screen before the door slammed shut and everything became static, a crumbling rose symbol appearing every so often as the title began to form.
The Ruinverse: Chapter Forty Four, End of an Arc.
Xxxxxxx
-Remnant, Anima, Somewhere outside Wind Path's borders-
WOOOOOSH!
Snow fell across the barren Anima wilderness as a group of misfits persevered against the blizzard, hoping to reach the nearest settlement before nightfall and then finally have something good happen to them for once.
For this group….had learned the truth about the world, about immortals and petty gods, and were physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually exhausted.
This included a tall semi muscular fair skinned young man with short blond hair, dark blue eyes, wearing a black short sleeved hoodie with detached reddish-orange sleeves, a pure white diamond shaped chest plate with gold lining, a single white gold lined shoulder guard on the left shoulder, pure white bracers, black gloves with gold metal plates on the fingers, a red sash around the waist, a single brown belt sporting a single pouch, a long silver sword with a golden hilt placed within a white sheath on his left hip, blue jeans with a white patch on the left knee and dark brown laced boots, who seemed to be visibly distant from everyone, deliberately walking behind the others as he kept his right arm over his eye as protection from the snow.
This is Jaune Arc, an unfortunate Hunter that really….didn't want to be here. He was supposed to be at Argus and…that derailed along with the train a few weeks or months ago, not that he kept track of it all given they were in the wilderness.
As he continued to keep his vision intact, he noticed a small cave in the distance, at the base of a snow covered mountain and started to signal to Blake Belladonna.
"Hey, I think I found a cave! Over there!" he called out while using his left hand to point in the direction of the cave. "Look! Shelter!"
Blake, surprised at this sudden turn of events, ran towards her team to tell them the good news as Jaune stayed behind, looking at the group with a sad smile.
(Later)
"Finally, someplace dry." Yang sighed as rested near one of the cave walls. "Still can't believe we got here…without Bumblebee."
"Sorry Firecracker, but you did forget to look where ya going." Qrow said with a deadpan expression, making Yang frowned.
"It's not my fault that tree came out of nowhere!" she huffed while Blake and Weiss rolled their eyes. "It was the sun!"
"Meaning you?" Ruby quipped as Yang glared at her.
"Who's side are you on!?"
"Um….."
"Leave her alone." Weiss deadpanned as Maria Calavera, looking deeper into the cave system via her prosthetic eyes, began to walk towards it. "It's not like she can drive."
"I can SO drive!"
"Into a Dust station, twice." Qrow said with a small smirk, making Ruby pout as he turned to his 'idol'. "Where are you going?"
"Oh, so you are worried about little 'old' me? Want to check up on me while taking a piss?" she retorted crudely, making Weiss and Qrow blush as Blake facepalmed. "I'll be back shortly so don't worry your little head about it."
As the older woman walked away from the group, the camera moved towards Jaune's position, currently sitting near the entrance way and staring at the snow covered landscape outside.
Within his hands was his Scroll, unable to access the CCT tower of the neighboring settlement but capable of accessing some of his apps, including his 'Photos'.
Each row of photos…held significance to him in some way.
With each swipe of his finger, he moved to the next image, each one different in tone and circumstance.
From his team having a school wide food fight, him in a dress, Nora force feeding him coffee flavored pancakes, the Vytal Festival fairgrounds, an image of…Pyrrha's circlet, Haven Academy's entrance way, the Relic of Knowledge in the hands of Ruby….and a ruined farm.
All of these were significant to him, yet….all he felt was loss, a loss of innocent dreams of becoming a true Huntsman, to have friends…to be loved.
Yet, looking upon the images made him feel…nothing but pain, pain for his heart and his soul for he was one of the last Valeian Huntsmen, the last of a forgotten team.
The last of Team JNPR.
'...Pyrrha.' he thought to himself while not seeing Yang behind him, as he looked upon the last of his Scroll's images.
That being a tall tan skinned woman with short black hair that trailed down to her neck and had light purple highlights near the tips, pale green eyes, pale pink lipstick, a D cup chest and large ass, long pink nails, a black heart emblem tattoo on her neck, multiple black and purple of King Taijitu tattoos on her arms, palms, legs and upper chest that depict the Grimm coiling around her body with their mouths open, wearing a dark purple sleeveless T-shirt with a black bunny emblem on the chest, dark purple fluffy wristbands, black tight hip length shorts with the word 'Squishy' on the ass in bright pink letters and dark purple bunny slippers, looking at the 'camera' with a puzzled look on her face as she was in the middle of a yoga pose, one involving her ass.
"Huh, didn't expect you to go after a MILF, vomit boy."
"AH! Yang!" he cried out in surprise while Yang took his Scroll and examined the image. "Hey!"
"Hey guys, Jaune has a MILF girlfriend!"
"Wait what!?" Weiss cried out in disbelief as Qrow was currently whispering to himself, seemingly either congratulating the boy for his luck or cursing his own luck, perhaps both.
"Well…that is new." Blake said with a dumbfounded expression as Ruby gasped in disgust.
"FILTH!"
"WAIT!" Jaune yelled while grabbing the Scroll back from Yang, only for her to grab it again and lift it up in the air. "Hey! Give it back!"
"Nope, not until you spill the beans on this MILF."
"What's a MILF?" Oscar asked while currently returning from outside, having acquired some firewood for the group when he heard the forbidden words.
'You are too young for that.'
'Eh?' the boy thought as the voice quickly cut off. '...why did Ozpin come out for that? And I still have no idea what a MILF is.'
"Give it back!"
"Just tell me and I'll drop it. Now talk." Yang smirked as Jaune seemed a little…aggressive and frantic for some reason, making Blake raise an eyebrow at his behavior before chalking it up to hormonal embarrassment.
Jaune groaned in agitated frustration before sighing. "Fine, that's…Bianca Endora, and she was the one that saved me before we got lost."
"You mean when we got stuck at the Brunswick Farm?" Qrow asked while Jaune nodded.
"Yes, she gave me shelter and even some directions to Wind Path." he said while jumping up and took the Scroll back from the busty blonde. "Please don't do that again."
"Oh? So you're not into her?"
"No."
"Even when she has a 'Squishy' logo plastered near your face?"
He blushed bright red while quickly walking towards the entranceway and curled into a ball, making Ruby a little worried about her friend as she gave her sister a 'cute' glare.
"What? It's not my fault Vomit Boy is a MILF magnet. I wouldn't be surprised that he became a Huntress magnet at this point."
"Excuse you!?" Weiss yelled in disbelief.
"You heard me Schneeberry-"
"Don't call me that!"
As Team RWBY started discussing the nature of Yang and her terrible puns, Jaune looked out into the distance, seemilly waiting for something to occur as shadows darted between the flurry of snow.
(Sometime later)
WOOOOSH!
"Zzzzzz." Ruby snored as she, along with her group, had fallen asleep near the slowly burning fire, trying to recover their strength after their encounter with the Apathy Grimm.
However, Maria was not among them, having not returned in hours, making them worry some hours prior.
For right now, all was calm as Jaune kept a vigilant guard on his sleeping companions.
Crackle.
Crackle.
Staring at the burning embers, his eyes filled with tiredness, the blonde recalled old memories from long ago.
His meeting with Pyrrha, his attempts to impress Weiss, fighting an Ursa, battling in the Vytal Festival…and his partner's death.
A cold and wasteful death for one so young, cast aside by those that saw her as a tool and not a human being. Given a choice to become a Maiden yet killed by Cinder Fall for nothing more than envy's sake.
And when they met again…he failed to kill her. He was weak, but he wasn't stupid. Cinder Fall will fall in the future, that he knows will be fact.
But at this point…someone…anyone…needed to pay for Pyrrha's death.
He, in foolish loyalty, wanted to help the reincarnating sorcerer, but….how can loyalty be earned when all he could show was death, treachery and broken oaths. He told Pyrrha that she would be protected…and he lied, she died and for Jaune, it was his greatest failure.
If he had been more quick, perhaps she would be alive, comforting him…no, such dreams are not suited for this world of shattered remains.
The death of Pyrrha…haunted him, yet he could move on….he lied to himself every day.
Jaune looked upon the sleeping forms of Team RWBY, his natural expression becoming tainted by a scowl as he recalled their reasons for being a team in the first place.
Blake, running away from responsibility and sin to play the hero.
Yang, a brawler that sulks from losing an arm and makes enemies with her own family.
Weiss, a rich girl trying to be something she's not and neglecting to change her perspective to those outside her ambitions.
Ruby…..the prodigal child, Beacon's youngest student, dunce of a team leader, best friend….Silver Eyes.
The blonde closed his right hand into a fist as he felt his anger boiling.
For, in the two years since he met this girl and the single year where his life went down the hill, she had been nothing but a nuisance.
Making decisions that cost the lives of others, failing to successfully capture criminals, failing to realize the Fall before it occurred, blindly trusting others that will betray and exploit her, dragging others into a wild goose chase for the Relics.
And….letting Pyrrha die.
Ruby, the fastest being in Vale, who could appear and disappear in a flurry of roses….took her time dealing with Roman Torchwick. Let him take the upper hand as Pyrrha fought for her very life against a monster, a woman that controlled the Grimm like puppets.
She failed to save Pyrrha, she failed to save Nora, she failed to save Ren, failed to save everyone in Vale, she failed to save the passengers on the Argus Limited.
She. Failed. Everyone.
And for what? To play the hero like in the fairy tales of old?
Stupid thought, stupid girl, stupid….Silver Eyes.
Silver Eyes…Silver Eyes…Silver Eyes.
Narrowing his eyes, Jaune stood up and walked to the entranceway, the snow still obscuring the land as the night sky was devoid of stars, and-
SNAP!
SNAP!
SNAP!
SNAP!
Quickly snapped his fingers, seemingly signally to someone.
"Grrrrrr."
Jaune smirked as several Sphinxes, about twenty or so, walked towards the cave and stood in front of the human, their hot breath hitting him like a hurricane.
"Grrrrr."
"Grrrrrr."
"They are in the cave, kill them all and deliver me Ruby's head." he said while the Grimm seemingly nodded at his 'command'. "As for the old lady, she is lost in the caves, find and eat her. She isn't of any use for your queen."
The Sphinxes growled before removing passed him, charging towards the group before-
SQUISH!
CRUNCH!
BAM!
They massacred the entire group in their sleep, so tired and weak that they couldn't sense the Grimm's presence until it was too late.
And all the while Jaune turned his back to the carnage, unfazed by their deaths as a Seer floated nearby and the reddened image of a tall marble skinned woman with long bleached pale white hair that was tied in the back by a large bun and six long offshoots held together by curved obsidian ornaments, jet black sclera eyes with dull crimson irises, pale purple veins on her face and arms, a black diamond-shaped marking on her forehead, a G cup chest and wide ass, long jet-black nails, wearing a very long short sleeved black robe that obscures her feet and partially drags across the ground, a curved dark red trimmed high collar that bordered the outer edge of a narrow eye shaped window over her bust, a long shawl emblazoned with three interconnected maroon-colored vertical elliptic eye-like sigils above a series of maroon-colored diamond emblems and a black beetle-like ring on the right hand, appeared from the Grimm's crystalline head.
"It is done, the Relic of Knowledge and the Silver Eyes is captured and killed off, as per your orders."
"Excellent job Jaune Arc, I must say, you are becoming more and more promising with every mission you undertake. But have you acquired the Silver Eyes?" she asked with interest as a Sphinx walked towards the blonde and dropped the decapitated head of Ruby Rose, her top half broken and dripping with blood stained puncture marks.
Jaune quickly bent down towards the head and showed it to the immortal. "Does this answer your question, Bianca?"
Salem chuckled as the screen faded to black. "Good, you have really exceeded my expectations, my knight."
As the screen became covered in darkness, a single voice echoed within the void, one filled with a cold yet saddened tone.
"Thank you, my queen."
Xxxxxxx
Name/Designation Title: Jaune Arc/The Fallen Arc (End of an Arc Jaune Arc- EAJARWBY)
Age: 18
Affiliation: Normal Evil.
Dimension: - 2999999999- 00 EAJARWBY
Abilities: Enhanced strength, durability, speed and stamina, limited hand to hand combat skills, leadership skills, high aura pool, shield handling and knowledge, swordsmanship skills and knowledge, high adaptability, Grimm control (limited).
Semblance(s): Aura Amp.
Bio: In this timeline, when the Argus Limit was attacked by the Grimm, Jaune was unable to help Ren with protecting the passengers with their semblances due to being attacked by a Sphinx and the train crashed, causing him, Team RWBY and Qrow to go flying in one direction as the others were killed in the explosion, although he never realized it until many months later. During this time, the group learned about Salem and Ozpin's relationship with her, causing strain between them as, before they could reach the Brunswick Farms, a massive blizzard overtook them and caused the last member of Team JNPR to become lost in the snow. Cold and alone, he would have died there and then if he didn't discover a small cottage in the forest, beckoning to him and allowing him shelter from the cold, only to meet its occupant, one Blanca Endoa, who lived alone for many years and wasn't expecting Jaune's arrival. Giving way to small talk, Blanca asked Jaune about his troubles and life, which the Hunter obliged given he needed someone to talk to after the Battle of Haven, revealing his sadness and pain for both himself and his lost partner Pyrrha Nikos. However, what Jaune failed to realize was that Blanca was really Salem, who twisted his words during the conversation to implant seeds of doubt into him, soon considering the fact that he had no idea who to trust anymore and that both Ozpin and Ruby's plans were foreign to him. Confused by this and wanting to turn Jaune's friendship with the Silver Eyes against him, she inquired about his reasons and, once he explained further, revealed the notion that Ruby never knew Pyrrha Nikos as much as Jaune did, always thinking about her dreams and the dreams of her own team instead of the world around her and it's people while also letting Pyrrha's death go unpunished, even allowing for Cinder Fall, the one that murdered a Kingdom, go free out of a 'nessessity' for a 'villain'. In Ruby's mind, according to the immortal, she was just leading a small band of misfits on a wild goose chase across Remnant for a man that allowed Pyrrha Nikos' untimely death and, to the shock of Jaune when the immortal revealed this bit of information, allowed his team to die in a train crash as Jaune Arc remains the only living reminder of better days. Horrified and completely disillusioned by Ozpin's words, Jaune fell into a deep despair and praying to the gods to end his suffering, only for the immortal to reveal herself and, after explaining her reasoning for destroying the world, offers him a deal, he helps kill off the Silver Eyes and anyone else that she travels with, and she will allow him to use the Relics to create a new world where Pyrrha Nikos and his team still lived. Seeing a chance to rectify his mistakes, he joined Salem as a mole within Team RWBY, faking his own allegiance to the Kingdoms of Remnant while allowing Salem to destroy humanity itself. In the end, he tricked his 'friends' into a trap that ended their lives and allowed him satisfaction in the fact that they 'brought this upon themselves'. Loss, the driving force for dark desires, but in this case, it was the driving force for…a new world, bathed in the blood of one Arc's conclusion in this play of destiny. [Would Pyrrha…understand?]