Hello everyone, I hope you are all keeping well. In all honesty, being able to just settle and work on this without having to worry about producing content for any other fics has been such a relief I cant begin to explain it. I'm having a lot more fun doing it which is brilliant because if I'm enjoying writing it then I tend to produce better chapters which means that you, my readers, get the very best that I have to offer. But that's quite enough of me rambling, you guys want the next chapter, and here it is! I hope you enjoy it.
Forever Fall, the forest of eternal autumn. For many it was seen to be a romantic image where one might take their love to walk among the falling leaves, surrounded by hues of dusky orange and bright crimson.
For Jaune Arc and his team however, the forest had proven to be nought but stressful. Ever since Ozpin had dropped them in over one hundred miles from their destination as part of a half-baked idea for a survival exercise, they had been constantly paranoid for Grimm incursions, always looking back over their shoulders in fear.
In the five hours since their drop they had covered very little ground, having had to cut their way through legions of Grimm had severely limited their progress. There had been Grimm of every form from Beowolves to Death-stalkers and then some. Every encounter sapping their energy and perhaps more importantly, their aura reserves.
After their long and intense day of hiking through the undergrowth, fighting to maintain their balance as they passed over gnarled roots, the sun had begun to set sending streaks of blazing orange burning across the sky in tones that matched the patchwork of colours forming the forest canopy.
The exhausted team JSPR chose to settle and camp in a small clearing by a little river, its icy waters flowing down from the mountains north of Vale. Such cold water was a small mercy to them, alleviating their thirst. Weiss, Ruby and Pyrrha all removed their boots and stockings, settling on the riverbank to bathe their feet in the cool water. Its cooling sensation providing great relief to their feet after a whole day scrambling around in both heels and combat boots.
There was a sudden and high pitched squeak as Ruby scooped up some water and threw it towards the ice queen, splashing her. The heiress reared back in shock but was too late to avoid it. Retaliation was immediate, and soon they were engaged in a full scale water fight while Pyrrha watched on laughing melodically to herself.
"I'll kill you for this Ruby!" Weiss cried as she sent a tidal wave of water flying at the little rose.
"I didn't think you'd feel it! You are the Ice Queen!" Ruby countered as she responded in kind.
"And what are you laughing at?!" The heiress shrieked sending a splash towards the champion. Before long all three girls were drawn into an all-out water fight with none of them truly playing fairly.
Jaune stood nearby with a small, amused smile and his sword drawn, keeping watch over the three girls splashing and giggling in the stream behind him. He solemnly hoped that the noise of their fight wouldn't attract any unwanted visitors. He was glad that his team were winding down but not if it was likely to compromise all of their safety.
Not long after, all three of his teammates walked away from the stream soaked through to their skins and shivering violently. They looked rather bedraggled in a way that looked so peculiar that Jaune had to stave off a fit of laughter. One cold look from the three of them collectively had the desired effect.
"I'll try and get a fire going, might help you guys warm up and dry off." He said with a smiled and made for the trees at the edge of their clearing, gradually accumulating a collections of twigs and sticks that seemed as though they would made for excellent kindling. He assembled it all into a small pile and lit it. Slowly feeding it with great care he soon had a humble fire going, illuminating a fair sized circle around them in the dying light.
The three girls who were by this point, freezing cold huddled around it in complete and utter reverence like it were the single most precious thing on the earth, holding their hands out in a silent prayer for warmth. Jaune watched on with a smirk, pleased at his work.
"So uh... does anyone know how to fish or something? Cause if we don't tonight is going to be a long and hungry one." He sighed.
To his surprise it was Ruby that stood up, she grabbed one of the burning branches out of the fire. She slowly walked over to the river and crouched down, overlooking the turbulent waters. Holding the flaming branch out over the water with one hand, she poised the other in a manner reminiscent of a viper ready to strike. Jaune took a seat by the fire, the naked blade of his sword rested across his knees and glinting in the firelight as he sat watching the little reaper with curiosity.
She was perfectly still without so much as a twitch throughout her entire body. The only movement was that of her eyes as they scanned the surface below the light of her makeshift torch. Quite suddenly, her expression changed to that of a confident smirk. In a sudden cloud of rose petals and faster than the eye could follow, she drove her hand forward into the icy waters of the river and back out again holding a sizeable fish. She repeated the process three more times until she had a large fish for each of them. She returned to the fireside and proudly presented her catch to the knight before sitting down.
Jaune took the fish and looked at them with a thoroughly confused expression, turning them over in his hands and trying to work out exactly how to go about cooking them. Weiss shot him a look of frustration before she held out her hand with a sigh.
"Hand them over Arc..." Jaune shrugged and handed her the fish. The heiress practically snatched them from his hands and set about preparing them. She selected four relatively straight sticks that looked as though they might support the weight of the fish from the firewood pile and set them aside. Using the very tip of Myrtenaster she gutted and cleaned the fish before skewering them over the fire. She tended to them only occasionally, turning them until the skin was crisp and lightly charred.
The smell of the cooking fish soon filled the air making their mouths water in anticipation. It wasn't long after that Weiss removed them from the fire and gave them a poke as though to determine something that only she knew. Handing them out to her teammates they began to eat feverishly, well, as feverishly as one can eat an fish with all the bones still inside. Silence settled over them as they ate. It was a humble meal, and in Jaune's eyes they could have used a little lemon yet he was smart enough to hold his tongue and avoid potentially upsetting the heiress.
Turning his head slightly he saw that Ruby had charged head-first into her meal, forgetting about the bones in her fish. As a consequence she was having to pick the bones out of her mouth with a series of whining noises reminiscent of those of a dog with a thorn in its paw, much to her chagrin.
Weiss frowned and rolled her eyes at the display, clearly displeased at the lack of manners. Jaune felt for Ruby, knowing from his own experiences just how awkward it can be to eat a fish with all the bones still inside. He remembered all the well the trip he had taken to the hospital when he swallowed a few and they had gotten lodged in his throat. His parents had rushed him to hospital to have them removed but his sisters had never let him live that one down.
"Hey Ruby slow up, you'll find it easier to eat that way." He offered with a smile. She nodded and slowed down a great deal, taking the time to pick out the bones before each mouthful.
"These are really good Weiss." he said with a smile, trying to drum up some conversation. The heiress' only response was to tilt her head in appreciation and return to her meal, grumbling to herself about it needing a 'nice salad dressing'.
Jaune ate his fill and tossed the remaining part of his fish into the fire for it to burn up. His teammates doing the same in short order after him. Jaune looked up to see the shattered moon rise, beside him Ruby stretched out with an almighty yawn rubbing her eyes. With a smile Jaune took up his sword and stood up looking over his team.
"You guys get some sleep, I'll take first watch tonight. Weiss, you think you'll be up to taking the second?" He said in his most authoritative voice. The three girls looked up at him with a hint of what appeared to be surprise.
"Yeah, I should be alright to cover that." She nodded, lying down on the ground and trying to get comfortable. She would, after all, need as much sleep as she could possibly get.
"Ruby, Pyrrha, you two should bed down too. I need you guys well rested for tomorrow, we have a lot of ground to cover." He smiled settling down cross legged a little way away from the fire and leant against a tree. He produced his whetstone and slowly began to strop away at his sword, freshening the edge for the following day. The action had a two effects, the first was that it helped him wind down by giving him something single-minded and repetitive to focus on, and the second was that the sound went through him and would serve to prevent him falling asleep on his watch.
A hand gently clamped itself on his shoulder causing him to start, he darted round just in time to see Ruby step out from behind the tree and sit next to him. The moonlight was reflected brilliantly in her bright silver eyes.
"You make for a terrible watchman." She giggled quietly and took a seat beside him.
"How come you aren't sleeping, you should be resting with the others." he whispered back.
"I couldn't sleep." She said with a shiver, wrapping her cloak close around her. Jaune wrapped his free arm around her and drew her in for warmth.
"Y'know Ruby, you'd be warmer over by the fire." He said with a smirk.
"Yeah, its more comfy here though..." As she spoke she curled up against him, her tiny body warm against his side.
"Well alright." he relented. Clearly he wasn't about to get anywhere. "Please try and get some sleep though alright?"
"Mhm~" She hummed, closing her eyes and squirming for a moment to get comfortable. Jaune sat back against the tree with a sigh. Though inconvenient, he couldn't help but find Ruby's actions to be thoroughly adorable. He stared out into the gloom for any signs of trouble, listening as Ruby's breathing slowed itself down and she finally fell asleep.
The shattered moon was into the latter part of its journey across the sky when Jaune's watch ended. As quietly as he could and taking the utmost care not to wake her, Jaune lifted Ruby up and into his arms. He carried her back over and lay her down gently by the dying embers of their small fire. Taking a moment or two to warm his hands over the coals he looked over his sleeping teammates. None of them seemed to have a care in the world despite the fact that they were all sound asleep in a Grimm infested forest.
Taking steps over to the heiress and making sure to keep as quiet as possible, he gently shook her awake. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him for a brief instant with complete confusion.
"It's your watch Weiss." He explained in a hushed voice. The Schnee nodded and puled herself up and dusted off her combat skirt. Jaune watched as she crept over to the same tree he had sat himself under and settled down. Jaune could've sworn that he caught her shiver along the way. As quietly as possible he unbuckled his armour and removed his hoodie. Creeping over to her he wrapped it around her shoulders.
"S-so you don't get too cold." He said.
"But what about you? Won't you be cold now?"
"Me? Nah, I'll build the fire up so I'll be toasty warm." he smiled.
"T-thank you Jaune." She said with a nod and pulled the hoodie over her head so that she was wearing it properly.
"What are teammates for." He grinned and made his way back over to the fire, conscious of the two blue eyes boring into his back the whole way. The knight put a few more pieces of wood onto the fire and stoked it back up to a decent size before finding a relatively rock-free patch of ground to call his own. He closed his eyes and drifted off for the night
The sun was barely in the sky when Jaune was shaken awake the following morning. He grumbled to himself as his dreams were pulled out from under him. Stretching his arms out wide and loosing an almighty yawn. He opened his eyes to be met with the intense emerald ones of his partner. Glancing around he found that he was the last one to wake.
"I'm sorry to wake you, but we should probably get moving soon if we're to make the pick up later today." She had sympathy in her eyes.
With a groan Jaune pulled himself to his feet and ran through the various motions of his body, limbering up and preparing for the upcoming day. He wasn't looking forward to it. The previous day had taken its toll on him, his whole body ached after the various skirmishes with the Grimm. That coupled with the limited sleep he had gotten, well, he was thoroughly shattered. Staggering over to the stream, he splashed it's icy water in his face and briefly washed. The sheer freezing nature of it brought him out of his sleepy state and woke him right up.
He stomped out the remaining embers of their fire to kill any smoke that might have attracted the Grimm. Weiss walked over to him and handed him his hoodie back.
"Thank you Jaune, It was very kind of you." She said with a hint of a smile.
"That's alright Weiss, I know it was cold last night."
"It certainly kept me warm so thank you."
Jaune nodded to her and put his hoodie on before re-fastening his armour around his torso and shoulders. Contented that it was sitting comfortably and wouldn't cause him any problems he drew his scroll and, utilising it's GPS, found their heading. He began to walk, his team falling into rank behind him. His lack of a proper wash left him feeling unclean as they walked.
They had been walking for some time by the guidance of Jaune's scroll, over four hours had passed as they scrambled over roots and fought their way through the underbrush. Much like the previous day, it had been hard going. They had been forced to take long diversions more than once as the forest floor fell away to form large steep-sided valleys or sheer ravines.
At around noon after close to seven hours battling against what seemed to be every tree in the forest, they emerged into a large clearing. In the centre sat a large stone circle, most likely built by the first men as a part of their Pagan rituals in the olden times now lost to the ages in the depths of the forest.
Team JSPR paused a moment before making their way over to the ancient stones. They were arrayed into a near-perfect circle. Passing under the huge arches, they stepped into the centre ring. Surrounding them stood a series of small monoliths, each with a statue stood on top. Each and every one was obscured by mounds of moss and lichen, the forest having stepped in to colonise and begin the process of retaking the clearing. In many ways, it saddened Jaune to see such an integral piece of history left to rot in the centre of nowhere.
Ruby slowly and almost reverently picked up one of the statues from the monoliths and rid it of the mosses and lichens clinging to it. Slowly yet surely the object gained definition until it was revealed to be a large white rook chess piece, almost identical to that which they retrieved on their own initiation. Pyrrha, Jaune and Ruby all looked at it with awe and minor confusion while Weiss stood of to one side, a hand over her mouth and a saddened expression.
"What's wrong Weiss?" Ruby asked with an ever-fading smile.
"Do you not know what this is?" She said in hushed tones.
"It looks like an initiation objective that got cancelled." Jaune answered.
"No you dolt! This isn't just any initiation, this is the initiation."
"What do you mean?" Pyrrha gave the heiress a quizzical look.
"Do you not know the history of Beacon?" She asked incredulously. "Beacon is the oldest combat school on Vytal, dating back to the early days of mankind on Remnant, when the order of hunters and huntresses was first formed. Did you ever hear or read about the lost initiates of '85?" Her team gave her a collection of blank expressions.
"Basically in the year 1985 Beacon was taking on another generation of first years. Back then they used the forest of forever fall to test the abilities of fledgeling hunters due to the relatively tame varieties of Grimm that inhabited the region, it was mostly Beowolves back then. But in '85 an entire intake of initiates were ambushed by a band of Grimm the likes of which hadn't been seen before in this region and hasn't been seen since. The entire class were slaughtered, and their bodies never found. They were the very last class to be tested in Forever Fall, and these 'relics' that you see, I'm pretty sure that they were meant for that class." Weiss' voice lacked its usual edge as she spoke, gradually fading in volume to the point that her final lines were barely audible. Ruby set the piece back down with an anxious expression as she fully comprehended what Weiss had just told them. Every piece before them represented two lives cut immeasurably short, there were a full thirty-two pieces adding up to a total sixty two students that never made it back. Sixty-two students that never got to grow old, form teams or families. The same number that were currently in the same forest as part of a 'survival exercise', it seemed a touch Ironic.
A tear welled up in Pyrrha's eye and rolled its way slowly down her cheek, falling to the soft turf below. Her eyes lost their intensity and instead grew soft, welling up with emotion and pity for those lost. It was almost humbling that thirty years on from the sordid affair, they were stood in the same spot that their predecessors were aiming for paying homage to them.
They stood in deathly silence in front of the thirty-two unclaimed relics, their eyes closed and heads bowed as an act of respect. One by one the hunters broke off and continued their long and arduous march northward. It was Jaune and Pyrrha that were the last to leave, both lingering that extra moment to look over the aged white rook piece.
"Gods rest your souls, peace be always on you." Jaune whispered, Pyrrha uttered something in her native tongue that the knight could neither hear nor understand. Together the partners turned their backs on the sombre monument and followed on after their teammates, catching up to them before long.
It was late afternoon when they finally reached the rendezvous point. It was a wide space that had been clear cut for landings, judging by the huge piles of lumber off to one side. It was completely empty save for a small gathering of students sat in various smaller groups on the grass in the centre, it seemed that they were the last to arrive.
Jaune recognised one small cluster them as team BRNY. Both he and his team jogged over to be greeted by a cheerful looking Yang and an excited Nora. They threw themselves down on the grass by their side.
"What took you so long?" Yang teased.
"Oh y'know, got caught up killing loads of Grimm." Ruby replied, waving it off.
"We did have to fight a lot of them off." Pyrrha confirmed as she took her seat.
"That bad huh? And Vomit-boy made it through?" The brawler grinned.
"You bet he did! And he beat an Alpha to death... With its own leg!" Ruby cried, acting out her story with a series of wild and unpredictable hand motions. Yang just stared at her in disbelief, her eyes wide and her jaw hanging open.
"Y-you're kidding right?" The blonde bombshell said after a moment.
"No, she's actually telling the truth. Jaune's sword got knocked out of his hands after he had severed its leg. So without anything that he might have used as a better weapon, he picked up its leg and stabbed it with the ankle spines." Weiss said stepping in.
Their whole party was silent with all eyes locked on the knight. Even Blake seemed openly surprised for a moment before regaining her composure and returning to her neutral expression. Nora was grinning at him with a look of awe in her eyes while Ren sat beside her looking as indifferent as ever. Jaune blushed and shifted uncomfortably, feeling the heat as seven pairs of eyes bore down on him as well as several others from nearby clusters of students.
There were hushed murmurs and whispers as the tale spread itself around the various other teams nearby, with each rendition getting wilder and wilder like some kind of twisted game of Chinese whispers
"Maybe I was wrong, maybe Vomit-boy isn't all he seems to be..." Yang said with a shrug. "Still gonna call you Vomit-boy though."
It was late afternoon when the distant whirring of turbine engines could be heard. All sixty-four pairs of eyes shot up to the sky, searching for any signs of their impending salvation. It was Ren that first spotted the aircraft, pointing to them with a long and slender finger. They all peered in the direction he was pointing and made out the silhouettes of several approaching aircraft.
"The sap!" Jaune cried jumping to his feet. His teammates eyes and those of team BRNY grew wide in surprise as they all remembered what their main objective had been. It seems they weren't the only ones as there was a mad dash to the trees on the edge of the clearing. Drawing Crocea Mors, Jaune drove its blade straight into the side of one of the trees and manipulated the sword until there was a steady stream flowing down the blade and dripping from the cross guard. His teammates gathered around with their jars and gradually began the process of filling them.
Thankfully, the distance between the clearing and the evacuation flight was deceptive. It was another twenty minutes before they arrived, dropping low with mere feet of clearance over the treetops. Their turbine engines tilted themselves vertically and brought the craft into a low hover before eventually bringing themselves down onto the turf. By the time they touched down the various teams had returned, burdened with jars filled with the sweet sap. The noise alone was positively deafening with six craft all with running engines. It was a stark contrast to the unearthly silence that had preceded that proved the biggest shock to their system.
Before long, the students had boarded and their sweet cargo was stowed away in massive boxes. Jaune collapsed onto the thinly padded seat, military aircraft not affording the luxury of cushioned seats, and strapped himself it, not wanting a repeat of the journey there. He had had quite enough of falling to last a lifetime.
His motion sickness soon kicked in of course, leaving him green in the face and nauseous. Would he really never get used to being on an aircraft? The worst part was perhaps the smug shit-eating grin that Yang was giving him. Some jokes apparently never get old.
"And this is why the name sticks." She laughed, holding onto her seat restraints.
Jaune groaned and wished for it all to be over soon, or else their aircraft would be getting redecorated entirely and he wouldn't be able to guarantee that Yang's shoes would survive the process. He shuddered as he remembered the flight to Beacon and how he nearly lost his head for puking on her shoe then. Resting his head back he closed his eyes and prayed for it all to be over quickly.
Roman stood of to the left of the makeshift stage smoking his usual cigar, puffing out huge clouds of white smoke and watching them drift up and away to the rafters. He was about to do something that, as a thief, he had never expected to have to do. He was about to make a speech. His audience were hardly what one might call conventional either yet Cinder had insisted that getting the White Fang on-side was necessary and so here he was.
"You're on." One of the faunus terrorists told him. He sighed, straightened out his coat and adjusted his hat. He gave his newest colleague an imploring look for advice or motivation but she simply stared back with cold eyes, devoid of any and all emotion. She was certainly different to his usual hired muscle, for a start she was around a foot and a half shorter than them. Neopolitan was her name, or so he had been told, and the name certainly fit. Her hair was a three tone mixture of pink, white and brown. Hidden behind her fringe were her eyes. Her irises alternated colour with every blink, seemingly at her own amusement, switching between brown, pink and even white. Rested over her shoulder was her weapon, a parasol of white lace and trimmed with pink. For many that might have seemed a ridiculous, though how wrong they would be. Unbeknownst to all, there resided a long thin knife within the handle of her parasol, her needle so to speak.
Roman took a steadying breath and stepped out onto the stage in front of hundreds upon hundreds of masked faunus. Without even so much as seeing their faces properly he could tell that they all wore the same look of disgust for him, as though it had been copied and pasted onto every one of them.
"I know what you're all thinking, but, before the claws come out, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy: the ones in control; the people pulling the strings; the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms! Government; military; even the schools: they're all to blame for your lot in life! And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around... No offence to any rodents in the room."
A ripple of assent went through the crowd, with several of the faunus nodding as they began to come around to his way of thinking. Spurred on, the master thief continued.
"And to help me in my little escapade to wipe them off the map, I have a fair few toys that might just do the job. Still, there are too many for me to play with alone! So I want to share them with you, for a price of course. I present to you; the 'Atlesian Paladin'!"
With a smirk he gave the nod and a large dust sheet behind him dropped to reveal a fearsome looking mech suit. There were gasps as many of the faunus looked on in disbelief.
"These bad boys have just rolled into town and are due to go into active service some time next month but I, have managed to...'acquire' twenty six of these and I offer them to you. So what do you say? Will you come with me and strike at the very heart of the kingdom? Will you help me bring your oppressors to their knees? Will you fight with me for your own liberation within the society that has for so long kept you down?"
In unison they replied, pumping their fists into the air in a frenzy chanting the word yes over and over in time with their stamping feet. It was a vision that brought a sense of cold dread into the thief's heart. Looking behind him, even Neo appeared slightly perturbed by the sight. The power of the masses is truly a terrifying thing.
"Then pack your bags and return here in just three days! In three days we head for Mountain Glen! Say goodbye to your loved ones, we're going to be gone for a while..."
Roman Torchwick what are you doing? Supplying terrorists with military grade equipment... bad man.
Well, that's the chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. Leave me a review and let me know what you thought, I read them all. Next time events move apace and we advance towards the Vytal festival dance and we can truly begin to break away from the canon aspects and into my plot. I think you're gonna love where I'm planning on taking this, but you'll just have to wait and see for yourselves. I'm trying to layer on the advancement of relationships slowly, to allow time for the chemistry to develop between the involved characters so do let me know how you think that's going. Follow and favourite if you liked it, updates will be coming in around a week's time so stay tuned.
Before I go, I'd like to give a quick shout out to my fellow author LizzieTheRose. Her work on writing Neo is very very good indeed, she writes Neo in such a way that I haven't seen before and that keeps one curious about her. I'd certainly recommend having a look over her work.
Thank you all for reading and as always, I'll see you all in the next chapter.