Author's note: It's incredibly difficult to write when all you can think about is "I want real food, not soup!" Thank you wisdom teeth, for growing in the wrong way and requiring surgery so my jaw doesn't hurt like a bitch in the future. Anyway, hope you guys like how the story is going so far. Please leave reviews, feedback helps me write better chapters.
Emerald's eyes widened as soon as she laid her eyes on it. The large black corpse chained to the top of the cave, still emanating an ominous presence, made anything that approached cower in fear. "Foolish human, what is it that you seek?" a raspy, metallic voice spoke in her head, "Or is it you desire to end your life early and become my sustenance?"
"You're in no position to be bargaining with us, grimm," Cinder stepped forward.
"Do you know who you speak to?!" the voice came again, "I am Kane, first of the ancients to rise up out of darkness. I am much more powerful than you can ever imagine. I was worshipped as a god by you lowly creatures."
"Yes, you were and where are you now?" a deep voice came from behind the two women. "Like it or not, your freedom depends on your cooperation with us."
"Mercury's right," the green haired girl spoke up, "we are the key to the freedom you crave so much. All we ask of you is your cooperation, and you'll have the rest of eternity to do as you like."
"If you haven't heard, your brothers and sisters have all been killed, or sealed by us lowly humans," Cinder spoke with a devious grin. "You may be powerful on your own, but us humans outnumber you. Work with us, and we'll give you exactly what you want."
"Hey, Pyrrha," the redhead looked up from her lunch to see Nora looking at her with concern, "you look like crap, are you getting sick?"
"No, I just didn't get much sleep last night," she answered. Looking around at the rest of the group, she noticed the absence of one particular person, "Where's Jaune? He's not one to miss lunch."
"He's in the library," Ren answered, "not sure why, he usually hates studying."
"Did something happen between you two last night?" Yang asked out of curiosity, "It seems like you've been avoiding him all day."
"Something like that," Pyrrha frowned as she recounted the events of the night prior.
"Jaune," she softly spoke to herself. His face was just inches away from her face. If she snuck a kiss now, she would have what she want and he would be none the wiser. 'No!' coming to her senses, she scolded herself and pulled away, 'It's not right. I want his love, not his kiss.'
Pyrrha lay back down on her bed to get away from the alluring temptation of his lips. 'Argh, why Weiss?!' She mentally screamed, 'Why can't you see what's right by your side!'
"She's nothing short of amazing," she recalled his words. 'She's just a rich, spoiled and stuck-up brat who always got what she wants… and who she wants,' she thought to herself before drifting off to sleep.
"Hey dad," Jaune spoke into his scroll.
"Son!" his father exclaimed as he picked up the phone, "What can I do for you?"
"I met our ancestor yesterday," he somberly said, "what does that mean?"
"You mean the statue in front of beacon?" Yves asked nervously trying to avoid the topic, "That statue was of the first Arc, Beltran, in his early years, you know."
"You know what I mean, dad," Jaune scolded, "I met him in a dream, gave me a chance to go to the afterlife early. He said that you were there at one point before."
The young knight heard his father take a deep breath. "Arcs never fall in battle," he began. "Not all humans are born with a semblance; Beltran was one of those humans. Do you know why our family's semblance is so powerful, son?"
"No, why?"
"Because it's an inhuman power," Yves answered. "You should know by now that there are different classes of grimm."
"Minor, major and goliath," he thought out loud, "classified by size, strength and what seems to be intelligence."
"Correct," Jaune's father praised, "But there's one last class, so rare that only a handful exist. Grimm usually don't have sentience, they are just mindless creatures that attack everything that moves. But there are those that have lived for so long, learned from both humans and grimm and have gained a consciousness and an aura."
"What are those called?" Jaune asked, Goosebumps started to form on his skin and chills ran down his spine.
"They have many names, but the most common that we find in legends is 'devil'," he explained. "Our power is fueled by the devil grimm, nicknamed Bedlam, war and chaos incarnate. No one knows how he did it, but Beltran defeated the monster and gained these powers that only get stronger each generation."
"That's cool, I still don't get why it has to do with meeting him in the mindscape," Jaune wondered.
"Jaune… Son, I'm telling you this because you also need to know of its dangers, he only ever appears as sort of a ceremonial inheritance on the battlefield," the older man warned, "An Arc never falls in battle for a reason, we are protectors. If you haven't noticed by now, our power comes from protecting others. But this early for you powers to manifest means something big is coming."
"What do you mean?" Jaune tried to swallow the lump forming in his throat.
"From what our family has seen, our power manifests quickly in times of trouble. Some of our ancestors were lucky and didn't have their powers manifest until their early twenties, they were usually stationed to just protect our borders or just led relatively peaceful lives," Yves recalled, "I'm pretty sure Ozpin told you what happened during the war."
"But dad, we're in a time of peace," Jaune argued, "and there are more huntsmen and huntresses than ever before."
"The fact that your powers are manifesting so early means that something huge is about to happen and you'll need full mastery of them," Yves warned. "Train as much as you can."
"I will," Jaune assured his father.
"I heard about what happened in downtown Vale," Yves tried to lighten the mood, "that's only a small fraction of what your powers entail. But I'm proud of you for how bravely you fought to protect your friends and the city."
"Thanks dad, for everything," Jaune said gratefully.
"No problem, son," Yves said warmly in response, "you should call more often; your mother and I worry about you."
"I will at the next chance that I get," Jaune assured his father. "Bye dad, I'll see you when I get home during the summer."
"Bye son, take care and remember what I told you before you left," With that, the line went dead as the older man hung up the phone, leaving Jaune to his thoughts.
'Something huge is coming…' he thought to himself, recalling the events of his first mission with team RWBY. Jaune got up and started for the library exit, 'He's right, the train incident was just the start, we all need to get ready.'
"I want these walls secured! No more military equipment going unchecked, the White Fang cannot gain more firepower," the general barked, "and I don't want to see any grimm within one hundred kilometers of the city!"
"Sir, the reports say that the white fang has thousands of the mech suits and have stolen several tons of dust," a soldier reported.
"General Ironwood, large amounts of grimm are gathering in quadrant 17, like they're waiting for something," another voice came through the radio.
"There are reports of massive bursts of energy coming from the southern continent," a woman in a laboratory coat walked into the tent.
"Good Lord," the general swore, "It's like they're preparing for war."
"What should we do, sir?" the first soldier asked.
"Contact the other kingdoms," Ironwood decided, "this is no longer a war between humans and faunus."